Methods and apparatus for preventing disk drive damage by parking a transducer during microprocessor failures
US5872670A · kind A · utility
Assignee
Inventor
Key dates
| Filing date | Feb 7, 1997 |
| Grant date | Feb 16, 1999 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Feb 7, 2017 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC G)Physics
- CPC primaryG11B21/21
- WIPO fieldAudio-visual technology
- WIPO sectorElectrical engineering
Abstract
a An apparatus for preventing damage to components of a hard disk drive having a microprocessor when the microprocessor fails. The hard disk drive further includes at least one read/write head and a data storage disk having a designated parking zone. The apparatus includes a microprocessor monitoring circuit configured to be coupled to the microprocessor. The microprocessor monitoring circuit is configured for detecting a microprocessor failure condition in the microprocessor. The apparatus further includes a head park circuit coupled to the microprocessor monitoring circuit. The head park circuit is configured to receive a park command from the microprocessor monitoring circuit when the microprocessor failure condition is detected by the microprocessor monitoring circuit. The head park circuit, upon a receipt of the park command, parks the at least one read/write head of the hard disk drive over the designated parking zone, whereby the microprocessor monitoring circuit issues the park command to cause the parking of the at least one read/write head without intervention from the microprocessor when the microprocessor failure condition is detected by the microprocessor monitoring ci…
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.