Abstract: A disk drive is disclosed comprising a head actuated over a disk, and a spindle motor configured to rotate the disk. The disk drive further comprises control circuitry configured to measure a rotation speed of the spindle motor, generate a feed-forward control based on the measured rotation speed, and spin-up the spindle motor based on the feed-forward control.

Abstract: A disk drive is disclosed comprising a head actuated over a disk, and a spindle motor operable to rotate the disk. The disk drive comprises control circuitry configured to a rotation speed of the spindle motor, generate a gain as a function of the measured rotation speed, wherein the function comprises a polynomial having a degree greater than one, and spin-up the spindle motor based on the gain.

Abstract: A disk drive is disclosed comprising a head actuated over a disk, a spindle motor for rotating the disk, and a spindle motor control system comprising a servo compensator operable to generate a control signal applied to the spindle motor, the servo compensator comprising a programmable gain term (PGT). The disk is spun at a first speed RPM—1 using a first value PGT—1 selected for the PGT, and the disk is spun at a second speed RPM—2 using a second value PGT—2 selected for the PGT, wherein the second value PGT—2 is generated in response to the first value PGT—1 scaled by a function of a ratio of RPM—2 to RPM—1.

Abstract: A disk drive is disclosed comprising a head actuated over a disk, and a spindle motor for rotating the disk, the spindle motor comprising a plurality of windings. During a spin-up operation a sinusoidal driving voltage is applied to each winding of the spindle motor. A back electromotive force (BEMF) voltage generated by at least one of the windings is measured, and a rotation speed of the spindle motor is measured. The sinusoidal driving voltage is adjusted in order to optimize a lead angle relative to the rotation speed, wherein the lead angle represents a degree the sinusoidal driving voltage leads the BEMF voltage.

Abstract: A disk drive is disclosed comprising a disk, a head coupled to a distal end of an actuator arm, a voice coil motor (VCM) operable to rotate the actuator arm about a pivot in order to actuate the head radially over the disk, and a ramp located near an outer edge of the disk for parking the head. A first back electromotive force (BEMF) voltage of the VCM is measured, and a current is applied to the VCM for a first interval in order to move the actuator arm in a first radial direction. After the first interval, a second BEMF voltage of the VCM is measured, and whether the head is parked is detected in response to the first and second BEMF voltages.

Abstract: A disk drive is disclosed comprising a disk and a head actuated over the disk by a voice coil motor (VCM) comprising a voice coil, wherein the VCM is controlled by a VCM control loop comprising an IR voltage detector. The IR voltage detector is updated by measuring a first back EMF voltage of the voice coil, and after measuring the first back EMF voltage, applying a first control current to the voice coil for a first interval and applying a second control current to the voice coil for a second interval. After the second interval, a second back EMF voltage is measured, and a delta voltage is computed relative to a difference between the first back EMF voltage and the second back EMF voltage. The IR voltage detector is adjusted in response to the delta voltage and at least one of the first and second control currents.

Abstract: A disk drive is disclosed comprising an IR voltage detector operable to detect a resistive voltage due to a resistance of a voice coil in a voice coil motor, and a BEMF detector operable to subtract the resistive voltage from the voice coil voltage to generate a BEMF voltage. A gain Gr of the IR voltage detector is calibrated by: (a) adjusting a control current applied to the voice coil; (b) adjusting the gain Gr; (c) detecting and saving the BEMF voltage corresponding to the adjusted gain Gr; (d) repeating steps (b) and (c) at least once; (e) repeating steps (a) through (d) at least once; and (f) selecting an operating gain Gr of the IR voltage detector in response to the adjusted control currents, the adjusted gains Gr, and the saved BEMF voltages.

Abstract: A disk drive is disclosed including a disk having a plurality of tracks, wherein each track comprises a plurality of embedded servo sectors. A head connected to a distal end of an actuator arm is rotated about a pivot by a voice coil motor (VCM) in order to actuate the head radially over the disk. The actuator arm is unloaded onto a ramp by seeking the head to a track near an outer diameter of the disk in response to the embedded servo sectors, switching to a velocity control mode to unload the actuator arm onto the ramp at a controlled unload velocity in response to a back electromotive force voltage generated by the VCM, and ramping a velocity command so that the velocity of the actuator arm when contacting the ramp is less than half the maximum unload velocity while traveling along the ramp.

Abstract: A disk drive is disclosed including a disk, a spindle motor operable to rotate the disk, a head, and a voice coil motor (VCM) operable to actuate the head over the disk, wherein the VCM comprises a voice coil. The disk drive further comprises a capacitor, and a back electromotive force (BEMF) voltage generator operable to generate a BEMF voltage from the spindle motor. The disk drive further comprises switching circuitry operable to connect the voice coil to the capacitor while accelerating the VCM, and to disconnect the voice coil from the capacitor and connect the voice coil to the BEMF voltage while decelerating the VCM.

Abstract: A disk drive is disclosed comprising a disk and a voice coil motor (VCM) for rotating an actuator arm about a pivot in order to actuate a head over the disk. During a park operation, a latching characteristic associated with latching the actuator arm is measured and used to configure a latching parameter that reduces acoustic noise. The latching parameter is used to latch the actuator arm by seeking the head to a latching track, maintaining the head over the latching track for a predetermined interval, applying an acceleration pulse to the VCM for an acceleration pulse period, applying a braking pulse to the VCM for a brake pulse period, and applying a latching current to the VCM.

Abstract: A disk drive is discloses comprising a disk, a head connected to a distal end of an actuator arm, and a voice coil motor (VCM) for rotating the actuator arm about a pivot in order to actuate the head radially over the disk. If when a power failure occurs the radial location of the head is less than a predetermined distance from the outer diameter of the disk, the VCM is controlled to move the head toward the inner diameter of the disk and stopping the head before it reaches the inner diameter of the disk. The VCM is then controlled to move the head toward the outer diameter of the disk until the actuator arm unloads onto a ramp.

Abstract: A system for positioning a plurality of heads traversing multiple disks in a disk drive system is disclosed herein. The positioning system includes a servo pattern recorded on at least one of the hard disks, the servo pattern having a sequence of servo locations successively recorded along concentric tracks on the disks. Burst zones are also recorded on the hard disks, each burst zone having multiple transitions recorded at staggered separate radial distances from the center of the disks. The positioning system contains means for computing servo burst signal magnitudes based on head position relative to the transitions in each burst zone, and means for calculating a head offset based on differences between the servo burst signal magnitudes and radial displacement of each head in each track. The positioning system transmits a correction signal based on calculated head position, and the output signal has a linear response for any head position on the disk.

Abstract: The power amplifier for the head positioning coil of a Winchester or hard disk drive digital storage system includes circuitry for generating complementary variable width pulses at a frequency above 100 kilohertz. The filter coupling the positive and negative power pulses to the head positioner coil includes two oppositely poled coils mounted on a single enclosing coil to avoid D.C. saturation and to maintain high inductance for high frequency noise filtering. Circuitry is also provided for improving the common mode noise rejection capability of the feedback circuit, and the head retract circuitry.

Abstract: The invention is directed to a head positioning servo system for disk drives employing a dedicated servo surface. A plurality of servo cells are recorded on the servo surface each including a sync field for storing multiple magnetic flux transitions. Each sync field consists of multiple unit areas wherein each of said transitions is selectively stored in one or more of said unit areas. In the preferred embodiment, each sync field includes double frequency (2f) transitions which are stored in a single unit area and single frequency (1f) transitions which are stored in two adjacent unit areas. The two types of transitions are used to encode each sync field to define either a valid ("1") sync or a nonvalid ("0") sync. Valid syncs are detected to generate sync pulses for timing control to derive both rotational and radial position information from the servo surface.

Abstract: A method and apparatus for originally recording servo information on a disk surface. The apparatus comprises a servo writer assembly which includes an optical encoder having a movable input member and means for producing an output signal which indicates small uniform units of movement of said input member. The servo writer assembly is detachably mounted to a disk storage system with the optical encoder input member tightly physically coupled to the head arm of the storage system head disk assembly. During servo writing, the optical encoder output signal is connected in a closed servo loop with the head positioner motor so that the positioner motor can then be operated to precisely radially increment the servo head, track by track, over the disk servo surface.

Abstract: A transient temperature compensation system for use in a magnetic disk drive comprised of both fixed and removable disks. The system includes first and second thermistors respectively mounted immediately adjacent the fixed and removable disks. The second thermistor is preferably mounted for movement between an operative position and an inoperative position. In the operative position, the thermistor is positioned in very close proximity to the disk. In the inoperative position, the thermistor is spaced from the disk to permit sufficient clearance to enable the disk to be removed from the drive. The outputs of the two thermistors are used to develop a signal representing the temperature differential between the two discs which signal is supplied to the disk drive head positioning system. This signal is used to modify the positioning of the heads relative to the fixed disk to compensate for differences in the radial positions of corresponding tracks on the fixed and removable disks.

Abstract: Apparatus for detecting the direction of motion from a reference signal, R, and a quadrature signal, Q, derived from the output signals X+0 and X+90 of a position transducer, wherein the polarity of the reference signal alternates with every fixed increment of motion of a transducer and the quadrature signal which maintains phase difference of +90.degree. or -90.degree. with respect to the reference signal depending on the direction of motion, is comprised of: digital means for producing a narrow pulse, P, at each low-to-high transition of the quadrature signal and a narrow pulse, N, at each high-to-low transition of the quadrature signal; means for determining the direction of motion from these narrow pulses and the reference signal once during each half cycle of the reference signal, and means for storing this direction information until a subsequent determination is made in order to provide a continuous signal indicating the direction of motion.

Abstract: A clock pulse generating system is disclosed for recovery of read data from magnetic record media comprised of a phase-locked loop for tracking data pulses. The loop employs simple digital logic gates for phase error detection, third-order filtering for the transient phase and frequency error reduction and a voltage controlled oscillator (VCO) comprised of a capacitor charged by current from a voltage controlled current source, voltage threshold detection means, and means responsive to the threshold detection means to quickly discharge the capacitor. The VCO includes a flip-flop at its output to produce a square-wave feedback signal to the phase detection gates and to a data recovery circuit.

Abstract: In a rotating magnetic memory, a phase-locked loop tracks pulses derived from sector marks on means mechanically connected to rotate with the memory. The output frequency of the phase-locked loop, which is significantly higher by a factor of N than the frequency of the sector mark pulses, is cyclically counted down to divide each revolution of the memory into M equally time spaced sectors. Third and fourth order filtering in the phase-locked loop assures a high degree of precision and consistency in the sectoring.