Disk Drive with Distributed Codeword Blocks
First Claim
1. A method for storing and retrieving blocks of data in a disk drive that has data stored in tracks on a disk that include a plurality of sectors, the method comprising:
- generating a plurality of codewords from a logical block of data, the logical block of data having a predetermined size corresponding to a selected number of sectors, each codeword containing a selected portion of the data from the logical block of data along with additional bits used for error detection;
dividing each of the plurality of codewords into a plurality of segments;
forming a distributed codeword block that corresponds to the selected number of sectors by arranging the plurality of segments of each codeword in a predetermined pattern wherein segments of each codeword are positioned in more than one sector; and
writing the distributed codeword block into the selected number of sectors on the disk.
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Abstract
Disk drives are described in which blocks of data spanning multiple sectors are encoded into a plurality of codewords which are then divided into segments that are physically separated (distributed) on the disk surface over multiple sectors in a distributed codeword block so that the codewords have an improved worst case SNR in comparison to individual sectors. This results in more even SNR performance for each codeword, which improves the performance for portions of a track which have lower than the average SNR. Embodiments are described in which the distributed codeword blocks span across tracks.
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Citations
19 Claims
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1. A method for storing and retrieving blocks of data in a disk drive that has data stored in tracks on a disk that include a plurality of sectors, the method comprising:
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generating a plurality of codewords from a logical block of data, the logical block of data having a predetermined size corresponding to a selected number of sectors, each codeword containing a selected portion of the data from the logical block of data along with additional bits used for error detection; dividing each of the plurality of codewords into a plurality of segments; forming a distributed codeword block that corresponds to the selected number of sectors by arranging the plurality of segments of each codeword in a predetermined pattern wherein segments of each codeword are positioned in more than one sector; and writing the distributed codeword block into the selected number of sectors on the disk. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10)
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11. A method for storing and retrieving blocks of data in a disk drive that has data stored in tracks on a disk that include a plurality of sectors, the method comprising:
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generating a plurality of codewords from at least first and second logical blocks of data including sectors designated for first and second tracks, the logical blocks of data having a predetermined size corresponding to a selected number of sectors on each track, each codeword containing a selected portion of the data from the logical block of data along with additional bits used for error detection; dividing each of the plurality of codewords into a plurality of segments; forming a distributed codeword block that includes the selected number of sectors on each track by arranging the plurality of segments of each codeword in a predetermined pattern wherein segments of each codeword are distributed in more than one sector and on more than one track; and writing the distributed codeword block into the selected number of sectors on at least first and second tracks on the disk. - View Dependent Claims (12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18)
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19. A disk drive comprising:
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a codeword encoder; a codeword block distribution unit that processes a logical block of data corresponding to a selected number of sectors into a plurality of codewords using the codeword encoder, divides each codeword into a plurality of segments and distributes the plurality of segments of each codeword in a predetermined pattern in a distributed codeword block that spans the selected number of sectors so that the segments of each codeword are distributed between a plurality of sectors; and a read/write channel that writes the distributed codeword block on one or more tracks on the disk.
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Specification