Apparatus for improving the continuous supply or display time of full-motion video and other data

• US 5,745,639 A
• Filed: 01/04/1995
• Issued: 04/28/1998
• Est. Priority Date: 01/04/1995
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Original Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Inventors: Gensheimer, Joseph Michael
• Primary Examiner(s): TRAN, THAI Q
• Application Number:
  US08/368,681
• Time in Patent Office: 1,210 Days
• Field of Search: 386/69, 386/70, 386/45, 386/125, 386/126, 386/82
• US Class Current: 386/267
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 2220/20 Disc-shaped record carriers
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 2220/65 wherein solid state memory is used for storing indexing information or metadata
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 27/034 on discs G11B27/036, G11B27/038 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 27/036 Insert-editing
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 27/105 of operating discs
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 27/11 by using information not detectable on the record carrier
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 27/36 Monitoring, i.e. supervising the progress of recording or reproducing for digital recording G11B20/00 and s.gr.; for monitoring, testing or measuring of TV recorders of the type covered by H04N5/76 and subgroups, see H04N17/06
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 5/781 on disks or drums

Abstract

A magnetic disk drive used for full-motion video has independently actuated read and write heads combined with a register and buffer to permit data on a disk of the disk drive to be read by the read head while simultaneously new data is being written elsewhere on a disk of the disk drive over data already read by the read head. The register and buffer ensure that new data is not written over stored data until the stored data has been read by the read head.

Claims

1. In a data processing system, an apparatus for increasing the length of time for continuous display of full-motion video data, said apparatus comprising:

(a) a disk drive having at least one magnetic disk, wherein the location of data on said at least one disk is tracked by clusters, said disk drive including an independently actuated write head and an independently actuated read head, said write and read heads being capable of accessing data on said at least one magnetic disk by an associated cluster address;

(b) a buffer for temporary storage of said video data which is to be written to said at least one disk;

(c) a cluster address list store;

(d) a write controller for writing said video data, if possible, to a location on said at least one disk which location is indicated in said address list store as having already been read, or, if not possible, to said buffer; and

(e) a read controller for updating said address list store to indicate as being available, cluster locations on said at least one disk from which associated video data have already been read.