Magnetic disk protection mechanism, computer system comprising protection mechanism, protection method for magnetic disk, and program for protection method

• US 7,813,074 B2
• Filed: 04/21/2008
• Issued: 10/12/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 10/03/2002
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Western Digital Technologies Incorporated (Western Digital Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Hitachi Global Storage Technologies Netherlands BV (Western Digital Corporation)
• Inventors: Ogawa, Mitsuru, Tanaka, Akiyoshi, Noguchi, Tetsuya, Shimotono, Susumu
• Primary Examiner(s): Mercedes; Dismery E
• Application Number:
  US12/106,955
• Publication Number:
  US 20080259496A1
• Time in Patent Office: 904 Days
• Field of Search: 360/48, 360/55, 360/75, 360/77.02
• US Class Current: 360/75
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 19/04 Arrangements for preventing, inhibiting, or warning against double recording on the same blank or against other recording or reproducing malfunctions
• 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 5/5582 system adaptation for working during or after external perturbation, e.g. in the presence of a mechanical oscillation caused by a shock

Abstract

A mechanical transport device includes a system for transport; and a hard disk drive attached to the system. The hard disk drive comprises a magnetic recording disk to record data, a head to read or write the data to or from the disk, and a drop sensor designed to sense a shock condition. The system for transport may be a vehicle such as a car. Additional systems are also presented.

Claims

1. A mechanical transport device comprising:

a system for transport, wherein the system for transport is a vehicle; and

a hard disk drive data storage system attached to said transport system, wherein

the hard disk drive data storage system comprises;

a magnetic recording disk to record data;

a head to read or write the data to or from the disk; and

a shock manager designed to detect a shock condition,

wherein the hard disk drive data storage system performs the following operation upon detecting a shock condition;

dividing an access request to said magnetic disk device into access requests with a smaller data size per access.

2. The mechanical transport device of claim 1, wherein sensing of the shock condition by the shock manager is changed adaptively.

3. The mechanical transport device of claim 1, wherein the shock condition includes or is derived from information from a sensor about an environmental condition of the hard disk drive data storage system.

4. A mechanical transport device comprising:

a system for transport; and

a hard disk drive data storage system attached to said transport system, wherein

the hard disk drive data storage system comprises;

a magnetic recording disk to record data;

a head to read or write the data to or from the disk;

a sensor designed to sense an environmental condition of the hard disk drive data storage system indicative of a shock condition; and

a shock manager for detecting a shock condition based on information from the sensor,

wherein the hard disk drive data storage system performs at least one of

the following operations upon detecting a shock condition;

dividing an access request to said magnetic disk device into access requests with a smaller data size per access, and

causing the head to escape from the disk, wherein if the hard disk drive data storage system determines that a shock actually occurs after the head has been instructed to escape, the hard disk drive data storage system determines whether or not the magnetic head has escaped before the occurrence of the shock,

wherein the hard disk drive data storage system further comprises;

an information acquisition mechanism for acquiring current information about an environmental change of a magnetic disk device;

a shock prediction mechanism for analyzing the current information acquired by said information acquisition mechanism together with a history thereof occurring immediately prior to the current information, and for determining a status of where said magnetic disk device is used, so as to perform a shock prediction; and

a control mechanism for controlling operations of said magnetic disk device including a magnetic head escape operation based on a prediction result by said shock prediction mechanism,

wherein the history analyzed is longer than an anticipated time required for a fall, wherein if a variation in the status where said magnetic disk device is used falls within a specified range for a specified period, said shock prediction mechanism does not predict that a shock will be caused by the variation in the status.

5. A mechanical transport device comprising:

a system for transport; and

a hard disk drive data storage system attached to said transport system, wherein

the hard disk drive data storage system comprises;

a magnetic recording disk to record data;

a head to read or write the data to or from the disk;

a sensor designed to sense an environmental condition of the hard disk drive data storage system indicative of a shock condition; and

a shock manager for detecting a shock condition based on information from the sensor,

wherein the hard disk drive data storage system performs at least one of the following operations upon detecting a shock condition;

dividing an access request to said magnetic disk device into access requests with a smaller data size per access, and

causing the head to escape from the disk, wherein if the hard disk drive data storage system determines that a shock actually occurs after the head has been instructed to escape, the hard disk drive data storage system determines whether or not the magnetic head has escaped before the occurrence of the shock,

wherein the hard disk drive data storage system further comprises;

an information acquisition mechanism for acquiring current information about an environmental change of a magnetic disk device;

a shock prediction mechanism for analyzing the current information acquired by said information acquisition mechanism together with a history thereof occurring immediately prior to the current information, and for determining a status of where said magnetic disk device is used, so as to perform a shock prediction; and

a control mechanism for controlling operations of said magnetic disk device including a magnetic head escape operation based on a prediction result by said shock prediction mechanism,

wherein if the status of where said magnetic disk device is used varies in a predetermined pattern, said shock prediction mechanism predicts that a shock will be caused by the variation in the status.

6. A mechanical transport device comprising:

a system for transport; and

a hard disk drive data storage system attached to said transport system, wherein

the hard disk drive data storage system comprises;

a magnetic recording disk to record data;

a head to read or write the data to or from the disk;

a sensor designed to sense an environmental condition of the hard disk drive data storage system indicative of a shock condition; and

a shock manager for detecting a shock condition based on information from the sensor,

wherein the hard disk drive data storage system performs at least one of the following operations upon detecting a shock condition;

dividing an access request to said magnetic disk device into access requests with a smaller data size per access, and

causing the head to escape from the disk, wherein if the hard disk drive data storage system determines that a shock actually occurs after the head has been instructed to escape, the hard disk drive data storage system determines whether or not the magnetic head has escaped before the occurrence of the shock,

wherein the hard disk drive data storage system further comprises;

an information acquisition mechanism for acquiring current information about an environmental change of a magnetic disk device;

a shock prediction mechanism for analyzing the current information acquired by said information acquisition mechanism together with a history thereof occurring immediately prior to the current information, and for determining a status of where said magnetic disk device is used, so as to perform a shock prediction; and

a control mechanism for controlling operations of said magnetic disk device including a magnetic head escape operation based on a prediction result by said shock prediction mechanism,

wherein said shock prediction mechanism predicts a shock with reference to a history of input operations provided by a predetermined input device, wherein said input device is selected from a keyboard and a mouse coupled to a computer system which is in communication with the magnetic disk device.

7. A mechanical transport device comprising:

a system for transport; and

a hard disk drive data storage system attached to said transport system, wherein

the hard disk drive data storage system comprises;

a magnetic recording disk to record data;

a head to read or write the data to or from the disk;

a sensor designed to sense an environmental condition of the hard disk drive data storage system indicative of a shock condition; and

a shock manager for detecting a shock condition based on information from the sensor,

wherein the hard disk drive data storage system performs at least one of the following operations upon detecting a shock condition;

dividing an access request to said magnetic disk device into access requests with a smaller data size per access, and

causing the head to escape from the disk, wherein if the hard disk drive data storage system determines that a shock actually occurs after the head has been instructed to escape, the hard disk drive data storage system determines whether or not the magnetic head has escaped before the occurrence of the shock,

wherein the hard disk drive data storage system further comprises

an information acquisition mechanism for acquiring current information about an environmental change of a magnetic disk device;

a shock prediction mechanism for analyzing the current information acquired by said information acquisition mechanism together with a history thereof occurring immediately prior to the current information, and for determining a status of where said magnetic disk device is used, so as to perform a shock prediction; and

a control mechanism for controlling operations of said magnetic disk device including a magnetic head escape operation based on a prediction result by said shock prediction mechanism,

wherein said information acquiring mechanism acquires information on acceleration of said magnetic disk device, and said shock prediction mechanism recognizes the status where the magnetic disk device is used based on the acceleration information acquired by said information acquiring mechanism.

8. A mechanical transport device comprising:

a system for transport; and

a hard disk drive data storage system attached to said transport system, wherein

the hard disk drive data storage system comprises;

a magnetic recording disk to record data;

a head to read or write the data to or from the disk; and

a sensor designed to sense an environmental condition of the hard disk drive data storage system indicative of a shock condition; and

a shock manager for detecting a shock condition based on information from the sensor,

wherein the hard disk drive data storage system performs at least one of the following operations upon detecting a shock condition;

dividing an access request to said magnetic disk device into access requests with a smaller data size per access, and

causing the head to escape from the disk, wherein if the hard disk drive data storage system determines that a shock actually occurs after the head has been instructed to escape, the hard disk drive data storage system determines whether or not the magnetic head has escaped before the occurrence of the shock,

wherein the hard disk drive data storage system further comprises;

an information acquisition mechanism for acquiring current information about an environmental change of a magnetic disk device;

a shock prediction mechanism for analyzing the current information acquired by said information acquisition mechanism together with a history thereof occurring immediately prior to the current information, and for determining a status of where said magnetic disk device is used, so as to perform a shock prediction; and

a control mechanism for controlling operations of said magnetic disk device including a magnetic head escape operation based on a prediction result by said shock prediction mechanism,

wherein if said shock prediction mechanism determines that said magnetic disk device is stable, the shock prediction mechanism notifies said control mechanism that said magnetic disk device is stable, and said control mechanism returns said escaping magnetic head in response to said notification, wherein said shock prediction mechanism adaptively determines whether or not said magnetic disk device is stable, based on a history of the information acquired by said information acquiring mechanism before a shock is predicted to occur.

9. A system for reading or writing data comprising:

a hard disk drive including;

a magnetic recording disk to record data;

a head to read or write the data to or from the disk; and

a shock manager designed to detect a shock condition; and

wherein the shock manager detects the shock condition based on a shock value being over a predetermined threshold level,

wherein the shock value is determined by combining values of a linear accelerometer and an angular speed sensor.

10. The system of claim 9, wherein the threshold level is automatically adjusted after being set by a user.

11. The system of claim 10, wherein the threshold level is automatically adjusted based on a condition including at least one of turning off of an LCD monitor, striking of a keyboard, and manipulating of a mouse.

12. The system of claim 10, wherein the threshold level is adjusted when the system detects a variation in acceleration with a particular pattern.

13. The system of claim 12, wherein the variation in acceleration is due to walking.

14. The system of claim 12, wherein the variation in acceleration is due to a fall from a lap of a user.

15. The system of claim 12, wherein the variation in acceleration is sampled with use of a variable clock.

16. The system of claim 12, wherein the variation in acceleration is detected with use of sampling at variable intervals.

17. A system for reading or writing data comprising:

a hard disk drive including;

a magnetic recording disk to record data;

a head to read or write the data to or from the disk; and

a shock manager designed to detect a shock condition; and

wherein the shock manager detects the shock condition based on a shock value being over an adaptable threshold level set by a user,

wherein the shock value is determined by combining values of a linear accelerometer and an angular speed sensor.

18. A system for reading or writing data comprising:

a hard disk drive including;

a magnetic recording disk to record data;

a head to read or write the data to or from the disk; and

a sensor designed to sense environmental changes of the hard disk drive; and

a shock manager for analyzing information from the sensor for predicting occurrence of a shock, wherein the shock manager determines occurrence of a shock based on a shock value being over a predetermined threshold, wherein the shock value is determined by combining values of a linear accelerometer and an angular speed sensor.

19. The system of claim 18, wherein the diagnosis includes reviewing head escape time velocity to determine if the magnetic recording disk includes defects.