FLOATING GUARD BAND FOR SHINGLE MAGNETIC RECORDING

• US 20110304935A1
• Filed: 06/10/2010
• Published: 12/15/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 06/10/2010
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Seagate Technology LLC (Seagate Technology Holdings Plc)
• Original Assignee: Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd.
• Inventors: Chang, Dar-Der, Hong, Keng, Lee, Byeung Jun, Guo, Xin
• Granted Patent: US 8,179,627 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 360/48
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 20/1217 on discs
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 2020/1277 for managing gaps between two recordings, e.g. control data in linking areas, run-in or run-out fields, guard or buffer zones
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 2020/1297 wherein the focus is on the write access speed
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 2220/2516 Hard disks
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 5/012 Recording on, or reproducing or erasing from, magnetic disks G11B17/00, G11B19/00 take precedence

Abstract

A hard disk drive that includes a disk with data written onto a plurality of tracks, a spindle motor that rotates the disk, and a head that is coupled to the disk. The disk drive also includes a circuit that writes data onto a first writable shingle band of tracks if the first writable shingle band is adjacent to a guard band of tracks. The first writable shingle band includes a number of tracks that is a function of a head width. The guard band of tracks is capable of becoming a writable shingle band. Changing the designation of a shingle band between guard and writable creates floating guard bands. The creation of floating guard bands allows for the writing of a single band without having to move and restore adjacent tracks until reaching a fixed guard band as required in the prior art.

Claims

1. A hard disk drive, comprising:

a disk that includes data written onto a plurality of tracks adjacent a guard band of tracks for invalid data;

a spindle motor that rotates said disk;

a head coupled to said disk, said head has a width; and

a circuit that writes data onto a first writable shingle band of the tracks abutted to at least one track of the guard band designated as a floating guard band for valid data.

2. The disk drive of claim 1, wherein said circuit moves data from said guard band to a second writable shingle band before writing data onto said first writable shingle band.

3. The disk drive of claim 2, wherein said circuit writes said data from said second writable shingle hack into said guard band.

4. The disk drive of claim 1, wherein said disk includes a fixed guard band.

5. The disk drive of claim 1, wherein said shingle hand is equal to a width of said head plus 1 track width.

6. A hard disk drive, comprising:

a disk that includes data written onto a plurality of tracks for invalid data;

a spindle motor that rotates said disk;

a head coupled to said disk, said head has a width; and

circuit means for writing data onto a first writable shingle band of the tracks abutted to at least one track of the guard band designated as a floating guard band for valid data and as another writable shingle band.

7. The disk drive of claim 6, wherein said circuit means moves data from said guard hand to a second writable shingle band before writing data onto said first writable shingle band.

8. The disk drive of claim 7, wherein said circuit means writes said data from said second writable shingle back said writable shingle band.

9. The disk drive of claim 6, wherein said disk includes a fixed guard band.

10. The disk drive of claim 6, wherein said shingle band is equal to a width of said head plus 1 track width.

11. A method for writing data onto a disk of a hard disk drive, comprising:

providing a disk with shingle bands of tracks with data adjacent a guard band of tracks for invalid data;

rotating the disk with a spindle motor;

coupling a head having a width with the disk;

writing data onto a first writable shingle band of the tracks abutted to at least one track of the guard band; and

designating the guard band of tracks as a floating guard band for valid data.

12. The method of claim 11, further comprising moving data from the guard band to a second writable shingle band before writing data onto the writable shingle band.

13. The method of claim 12, further comprising writing the data from the second writable shingle back to the guard band.

14. The method of claim 11, wherein the disk includes a fixed guard band.

15. The method of claim 11, wherein the first writable shingle band is equal to a width of the head plus 1 track width.