Abstract: A tape drive apparatus employing a tape cassette including a solid-state memory in a cassette half unit that accommodates a magnetic tape. When recording application data on the magnetic tape, the application data is written in an area of a preset size of the memory, beginning from a leading end of the application data. In this manner, it is assured that the management information located at the leading end of the application data can be stored in the memory. In reproducing the application data from the tape cassette, the management information stored in the memory is exploited to save time in accessing the management information recorded on the magnetic tape.

Abstract: A method and system for overriding a hard drive Active Protection System (APS). APS automatically parks a read/write head and locks the platters in a Hard Disk Drive (HDD) in a notebook computer in response to a physical shock, such as when the computer is dropped from the user's lap or during intense vibration caused by air turbulence during a passenger flight. Rather than permanently disabling the APS off, the present invention permits a convenient method and system for temporarily suspending the operations of the APS, thus allowing the user to still access the HDD in conditions in which motion occurs yet physical shock is not necessarily imminent.

Abstract: The present invention provides a magnetic disk storage system including a spindle motor that rotates a magnetic disk, a spindle motor drive circuit that rotatably drives the spindle motor, a magnetic head that performs reading of information on the magnetic disk, a voice coil motor that moves the magnetic head, and a voice coil motor drive circuit that drives the voice coil motor. When the magnetic head is loaded from a standby position to the surface of the magnetic disk, the rotational speed of the spindle motor is made slower than a rotational speed at a normal operation. Upon power-off, the spindle motor drive circuit is caused to carry out a stepup converter operation to thereby generate a voltage higher than a back electromotive voltage, and causes a control circuit and a drive circuit to operate by the high voltage to thereby enable speed control at the movement of the magnetic head to a predetermined standby position.

Abstract: A pair of left and right pressing pieces and to press down the front part of the upward moving drive chassis are provided so as to protrude from the front part of the casing integrally therewith, the left side pressing piece of both the corresponding pressing pieces and is formed so as to be resiliently displaced with a protruding portion erected at the tip end thereof, and the inner side of the corresponding protruding portion is made into an inclined pressing plane which is inclined in the left direction at a prescribed angle so that it is turned downward so as to be widened outwardly, the front part side edge of the upward moving drive chassis is formed so as to be resiliently brought into contact with the inclined pressing plane thereof.

Abstract: Disclosed is a method for reducing spiral write time and clock reference drift while writing spiral reference patterns on a disk of a disk drive. The method includes: controlling a radial location of a head for writing a first band of tracks near one of an outer diameter (OD) circumference of the disk or an inner diameter (ID) circumference of the disk and for writing a second band of tracks near the other of the OD circumference of the disk or the ID circumference of the disk, respectively, wherein a substantial majority of the tracks each include a plurality of servo sectors including a track number and a sync mark; measuring a distance between first and second reference center positions of reference center tracks of the first and second bands of tracks; and writing a spiral reference pattern therebetween.

Abstract: A disk drive, such as a magnetic recording hard disk drive, has a head positioning servo control system that includes an improved repetitive controller included with the conventional feedback controller for suppressing periodic disturbances. The repetitive controller includes a low-pass filter (LPF) and a time-delay memory with a time delay matched to the period of the periodic disturbance. In a digital implementation, where the head position error signal (PES) is sampled, the time delay is the time for N samples. A subsequent PES sample is summed with the time-delay input sample from N samples earlier and this summed value is input to the LPF. The output of the LPF is added to the subsequent PES sample and the added value is input to the feedback controller. The value of N is adjustable, so the repetitive controller is adaptable to changes in frequency of the periodic disturbance.

Abstract: A disc drive apparatus is composed of a disc carrying mechanism, a turntable (1), a pickup unit (2), a pickup transport mechanism, a reversible motor (7), a first transmission system (8A), a second transmission system (8B), and a transmission route changing mechanism. The pickup transport mechanism is further composed of a screw shaft (5) and a driven body (6) linking to the screw shaft (5) and the pickup unit (2). The driven body (6) moves reciprocally and linearly in a transport direction of the pickup unit (2) by reversible rotation of the reversible motor (7), and moves with being accompanied by the pickup unit (2) within a movable range (L) of the pickup unit (2), and moves independently out of the movable range (L).

Abstract: The present invention may be regarded as a disk drive comprising a disk having a plurality tracks, each track comprising a plurality of data sectors. If an error occurs while attempting to read one of the data sectors, a retry operation is executed in an attempt to recover the errant data sector. Averaged read data is generated over multiple retry operations, and the averaged read data processed to recover the errant data sector. In one embodiment, the averaged read data comprises an averaged binary sequence detected over multiple retry operations. In another embodiment, the averaged read data comprises averaged read signal sample values generated over multiple retry operations.