Hard disk drive protection system and method

• US 7,355,807 B2
• Filed: 04/28/2006
• Issued: 04/08/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 04/28/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P. (HP Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P. (HP Inc.)
• Inventors: Griebenow, L. Joy, Jeansonne, Jeffrey Kevin, Russo, Leonard E.
• Primary Examiner(s): WONG, KIN C
• Application Number:
  US11/413,574
• Publication Number:
  US 20070253091A1
• Time in Patent Office: 711 Days
• Field of Search: None
• US Class Current: 360/75
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 19/042 due to external shock or vibration
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 21/12 Raising and lowering; Back-spacing or forward-spacing along track; Returning to starting position otherwise than during transducing operation
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 33/08 Insulation or absorption of undesired vibrations or sounds

Abstract

A hard disk drive protection system comprises a sensor configured to detect an impending shock event and a hard drive protection module configured to determine whether to issue a fast park command for a hard disk drive in response to detecting the impending shock event based on a permissible quantity of fast park cycles for the hard disk drive.

Claims

1. A hard disk drive protection system, comprising:

a sensor configured to detect an impending shock event; and

a hard drive protection module configured to determine whether to issue a fast park command for a hard disk drive in response to detecting the impending shock event based on a permissible quantity of fast park cycles for the hard disk drive.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein the hard drive protection module is configured to access fast park cycle data to determine the permissible quantity of fast park cycles for the hard disk drive.

3. The system of claim 1, wherein the hard drive protection module is configured to issue a normal park command for the hard disk drive if the permissible quantity of fast park cycles for the hard disk drive has been reached.

4. The system of claim 1, wherein the impending shock event is a free fall event.

5. The system of claim 1, wherein a quantity of previously processed fast park cycles by the hard disk drive is stored in a memory.

6. The system of claim 1, wherein a quantity of previously processed fast park cycles by the hard disk drive is stored in a memory of the hard disk drive.

7. The system of claim 1, wherein the hard drive protection module is configured to determine the type of impending shock event based on information detected by the sensor.

8. The system of claim 1, wherein the hard drive protection module is configured to increment a quantity of previously processed fast park cycles performed by the hard disk drive in a memory of the hard disk drive.

9. The system of claim 1, wherein the hard drive protection module is configured to issue an alert indicating that the permissible quantity of fast park cycles for the hard disk drive is approaching.

10. The system of claim 1, wherein the hard drive protection module is configured to issue an alert indicating that the permissible quantity of fast park cycles for the hard disk drive has been reached.

11. The system of claim 1 wherein the hard drive protection module is configured to issue an alert indicating that the permissible quantity of fast park cycles for the hard disk drive has been exceeded.

12. A hard disk drive protection method, comprising:

detecting an impending shock event; and

determining whether to issue a fast park command for a hard disk drive in response to detecting the impending shock event based on a permissible quantity of fast park cycles for the hard disk drive.

13. The method of claim 12, further comprising storing a quantity of previously processed fast park cycles by the hard disk drive.

14. The method of claim 12, further comprising storing a quantity of previously processed fast park cycles by the hard disk drive in a memory of the hard disk drive.

15. The method of claim 12, further comprising determining a type of shock event.

16. The method of claim 12, further comprising issuing a normal park command for the hard disk drive if the permissible quantity of fast park cycles for the hard disk drive has been reached.

17. The method of claim 12, further comprising comparing a quantity of previously processed fast park cycles of the hard disk drive to the permissible quantity of fast park cycles for the hard disk drive.

18. The method of claim 12, further comprising incrementing a quantity of previously processed fast park cycles performed by the hard disk drive in a memory.

19. The method of claim 12, further comprising incrementing a quantity of previously processed fast park cycles performed by the hard disk drive in a memory of the hard disk drive.

20. The method of claim 12, further comprising accessing fast park cycle data to determine the permissible quantity of fast park cycles for the hard disk drive.

21. The method of claim 12, further comprising accessing a memory of the hard disk drive to determine a quantity of fast park cycles processed by the hard disk drive.

22. The method of claim 12, further comprising issuing an alert indicating that the permissible quantity of fast park cycles for the hard disk drive is being approached.

23. The method of claim 12, further comprising issuing an alert indicating that the permissible quantity of fast park cycles for the hard disk drive has been reached.

24. The method of claim 12, further comprising issuing an alert indicating that the permissible quantity of fast park cycles for the hard disk drive has been exceeded.

25. A hard disk drive protection system, comprising:

means for detecting an impending shock event; and

means for determining whether to issue a fast park command for a hard disk drive means in response to detecting the impending shock event based on a permissible quantity of fast park cycles for the hard disk drive means.

26. The system of claim 25, further comprising means, disposed on the hard disk drive means, for storing a quantity of previously processed fast park cycles of the hard disk drive means.

27. The system of claim 25, further comprising means for issuing a normal park command for the hard disk drive means if the permissible quantity of fast park cycles for the hard disk drive means has been reached.

28. The system of claim 25, further comprising means for incrementing a quantity of previously processed fast park cycles performed by the hard disk drive means in a memory of the hard disk drive means.

29. A hard disk drive protection system, comprising:

a hard drive protection module configured to indicate a quantity of processed fast park cycles for a hard disk drive relative to a permissible quantity of fast park cycles for the hard disk drive.

30. The system of claim 29, wherein the hard drive protection module is configured to issue an alert indicating that the quantity of processed fast park cycles for the hard disk drive is approaching the permissible quantity of fast park cycles.

31. The system of claim 29, wherein the hard drive protection module is configured to issue an alert indicating that the quantity of processed fast park cycles for the hard disk drive has reached the permissible quantity of fast park cycles.

32. The system of claim 29, wherein the hard drive protection module is configured to issue an alert indicating that the quantity of processed fast park cycles for the hard disk drive has exceeded the permissible quantity of fast park cycles.

33. The system of claim 29, wherein the hard drive protection module is configured to log a fast park cycle exceeding the permissible quantity of fast park cycles.