Head control device, storage device, and contact detection method
US7623314B2 · kind B2 · utility
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | Nov 29, 2007 |
| Grant date | Nov 24, 2009 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Dec 13, 2027 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC G)Physics
- CPC primaryG11B5/6076
- WIPO fieldAudio-visual technology
- WIPO sectorElectrical engineering
Abstract
A head control device for controlling, through thermal expansion of a heater, a position of a head for reading and writing data from and to a storage medium, includes a heater control unit that increases a current supplied to the heater stepwise; and an external-force sample retrieving unit that retrieves sampling values of signals each indicating a magnitude of an external force acting on the head in a moving direction of a head support mechanism. The head control device also includes an external-force evaluating unit that calculates a representative value of the sampling values retrieved by the external-force sample retrieving unit to evaluate the magnitude of the external force every time the heater control unit increases the current; and a contact detecting unit that detects contact between the head and the storage medium by comparing each evaluation result by the external-force evaluating unit with a predetermined threshold value.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.