Selectable format computer disk copier machine

• US 4,494,156 A
• Filed: 05/14/1982
• Issued: 01/15/1985
• Est. Priority Date: 05/14/1982
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd.
• Original Assignee: Media Realty Technologies, Inc. (Renesas Electronics Corporation)
• Inventors: Batra, Subhash C., Kadison, Eric M., Meir, Gad E.
• Primary Examiner(s): Canney, Vincent P.
• Application Number:
  US06/378,484
• Time in Patent Office: 977 Days
• Field of Search: 360/98, 360/15, 360/63, 360/48, 360/39
• US Class Current: 360/48
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0601 Interfaces specially adapted for storage systems
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0673 Single storage device
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 19/02 Control of operating function, e.g. switching from recording to reproducing
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 19/28 Speed controlling, regulating, or indicating G11B19/24 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 2020/1087 wherein a selection is made among at least two alternative ways of processing
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 5/86 Re-recording, i.e. transcribing information from one magnetisable record carrier on to one or more similar or dissimilar record carriers by varying the order of the information G11B27/029, G11B27/036

Abstract

A disk copier machine uses a host computer, disk controller, disk drive, and mechanical disk feeder in order to automatically copy information onto each of a number of disks. The selectable format computer disk controller is used in order to connect the host computer to the computer disk drive. The disk controller is constructed to receive format definition program steps from the host computer so that the controller may configure itself to accommodate the particular format of the disk in the computer disk drive. The controller contains standardized process control program steps which are executed inside the controller in order to interact with the particular format definition program provided by the host computer. The process control program is standardized to work with a large variety of disk formats and serves to control the execution of the format definition program, which is a particularized sequence of steps adapted to a particular disk format. The format definition program contains a format definition segment which serves to define the disk format, and an indirect addressing pointer table which is accessed by the process control program in order to control the use of the steps of the format definition segment. The selectable format disk controller is particularly useful for copying computer floppy diskettes so that the same disk copier machine may be used in order to copy disks having any of a variety of format types.

Claims

1. A selectable format disk drive controller for controlling the operation of a computer disk drive in reading and writing operations, said controller comprising:

means for process control program storage for permanently storing a process control program;

means for format definition program storage for storing a format definition program so that the contents of said format definition program may be changed in order to select the format for use with said disk drive; and

means for processing connected to both said means for program storage so that steps of said process control program may be executed to use steps of said format definition program in order to control the operation of said disk drive in reading and writing operations.

2. The selectable format disk drive controller of claim 1 wherein said means for process control program storage comprises read only memory having a process control program encoded therein, said means for format definition program storage comprises random access memory, and said means for processing comprises a digital computer processor.

3. A computer disk copying apparatus for copying stored digital data onto a destination computer disk in a predefined format, said disk copying apparatus comprising:

a host computer for reading the digital data from a data storage source, and for defining a format definition program for the format in which the digital data is to be written on the destination computer disk;

a destination disk drive into which said destination computer disk may be mounted so that said digital data may be transferred to said destination disk; and

a selectable format disk controller, connected between said host computer and said disk drive, for executing the format definition program defined by said host computer so that said disk drive is operated by said controller to place said digital data on said destination disk in the format defined by said host computer.

4. The computer disk copying apparatus of claim 3 wherein said controller executes said format definition program by accessing an instruction pointer table in said format definition program which, in turn, references corresponding format specification instructions in said format definition program.

5. A disk controller for controlling the operation of a computer disk drive and for responding to commands issued by a host computer so that data from the host computer may be written on and read from the disk drive, wherein said controller comprises:

a format decoder connected to said host computer for receiving commands therefrom, and connected to said disk drive for controlling the operation thereof in response to said commands received from said host computer;

a format definition memory connected to said host computer for receiving format definition program steps therefrom, and connected to said format decoder so that said format definition program steps may be executed by said format decoder to control the format of data written on and read from said disk drive; and

a process memory having process control steps stored therein, and connected to said format decoder so that said process control steps may be executed thereby in order to respond to said host computer commands, and to control the sequence of execution of said format definition program steps.

6. The disk controller of claim 5 wherein said format definition memory comprises:

a format definition segment containing format specification instructions for said disk drive; and

an instruction pointer table containing indirect address references to said format definition segment so that when said table is accessed by said process control steps, format specification instructions corresponding to the accessed pointer table entry will be executed by said format decoder in order to control the operation of said disk drive.

7. A method of copying computer disks in a disk copier machine having a selectable format disk drive controller connected to a source disk drive and to a destination disk drive, said method comprising the steps of:

mounting a format definition disk in said source disk drive and transferring information from said format definition disk to said selectable format disk drive controller in order to configure said selectable format disk drive controller for the particular disk format to be used;

removing said format definition disk from said source disk drive;

mounting a source disk in said source disk drive;

mounting a destination disk in said destination disk drive; and

transferring information from said source disk to said destination disk.

8. A method of copying information onto computer disks in a disk copier machine having a selectable format disk drive controller connected to a destination disk drive, said method comprising the steps of:

transferring a format definition program to said controller in order to configure said controller for the particular disk format to be used;

mounting a destination disk in said destination disk drive; and

transferring said information to said destination disk in the particular disk format.