DATA STORAGE DEVICE EMPLOYING SLIDING MODE CONTROL OF SPINDLE MOTOR
A data storage device is disclosed comprising a head actuated over a disk, and a spindle motor configured to rotate the disk. A speed of the spindle motor is sampled, and an error signal is generated based on a difference between the sampled speed and a target speed. A sliding mode control signal for controlling a speed of the spindle motor is generated based on a first non-zero gain when the error signal is greater than zero and less than a first positive threshold, and a second non-zero gain when the error signal is greater than the first positive threshold.
This application is a divisional of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 14/287,511, filed on May 27, 2014 (Atty. Docket No. T6961), which is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety.
BACKGROUNDData storage devices such as disk drives comprise a disk and a head connected to a distal end of an actuator arm which is rotated about a pivot by a voice coil motor (VCM) to position the head radially over the disk. The disk comprises a plurality of radially spaced, concentric tracks for recording user data sectors and servo sectors. The servo sectors comprise head positioning information (e.g., a track address) which is read by the head and processed by a servo control system to control the actuator arm as it seeks from track to track.
A spindle motor rotates the disk (or disks) at a high speed so that the head essentially flies over the disk surface on an air bearing. When accessing the disk during write/read operations, it is typically important for the spindle motor to maintain the disk at a target rotation speed so as to maintain a target data rate when writing data to the disk and reading data from the disk. Certain disturbances affecting the spindle motor may cause the rotation speed to deviate significantly from the target rotation speed. For example, tilting the disk drive may cause a large underspeed disturbance due to a gyroscopic effect. A linear controller, such as a proportional/integral or PI controller, may be unable to sufficiently compensate for these large disturbances and may even become unstable due to the controller saturating the digital-to-analog converter (DAC) that generates the control signal (e.g., current) applied to the spindle motor.
In the embodiment of
Block 44 of
In one embodiment, block 46 of
In one embodiment, employing a sliding mode control algorithm to control the speed of the spindle motor 20 provides improved disturbance compensation, such as by saturating the sliding mode control signal 30 during a large disturbance while maintaining stability of the speed control loop. In one embodiment, the gains G2 and G3 may be selected so that the sliding mode control signal 30 quickly reaches saturation in the presence of a large disturbance, thereby decreasing the response time to compensate for the disturbance without losing stability as may happen when employing a linear control algorithm, such as with a proportional-integral (PI) algorithm.
In one embodiment, it may be desirable to reduce the switching noise (chatter) caused by a sliding mode controller when the error signal 26 is near zero while still ensuring the error signal 26 is eventually driven to zero so that the spindle motor 20 maintains the target speed 28. In the embodiment of
Although in the embodiment of
In one embodiment, after increasing the sampling rate of the spindle motor speed due to the error signal 26 exceeding one of the thresholds +Th or −Th, there may be a delay in decreasing the sampling rate after the error signal 26 falls below the threshold. In another embodiment, there may be multiple thresholds for implementing hysteresis when adjusting the sampling rate. For example, there may be a first positive threshold +Th1 and a second positive threshold +Th2 greater than +Th1. The sampling rate may be increased when the error signal 26 exceeds +Th2, and then decreased when the error signal 26 falls below +Th1.
Any suitable sliding mode control 46 may be employed in the embodiment where the sampling rate of the error signal 26 is adjusted based on the magnitude of the error signal 26.
That is, the sliding mode control 46 in the embodiment of
Any suitable control circuitry may be employed to implement the flow diagrams in the above embodiments, such as any suitable integrated circuit or circuits. For example, the control circuitry may be implemented within a read channel integrated circuit, or in a component separate from the read channel, such as a disk controller, or certain operations described above may be performed by a read channel and others by a disk controller. In one embodiment, the read channel and disk controller are implemented as separate integrated circuits, and in an alternative embodiment they are fabricated into a single integrated circuit or system on a chip (SOC). In addition, the control circuitry may include a suitable preamp circuit implemented as a separate integrated circuit, integrated into the read channel or disk controller circuit, or integrated into a SOC.
In one embodiment, the control circuitry comprises a microprocessor executing instructions, the instructions being operable to cause the microprocessor to perform the flow diagrams described herein. The instructions may be stored in any computer-readable medium. In one embodiment, they may be stored on a non-volatile semiconductor memory external to the microprocessor, or integrated with the microprocessor in a SOC. In another embodiment, the instructions are stored on the disk and read into a volatile semiconductor memory when the disk drive is powered on. In yet another embodiment, the control circuitry comprises suitable logic circuitry, such as state machine circuitry.
While the above examples concern a disk drive, the various embodiments are not limited to a disk drive and can be applied to other data storage devices and systems, such as magnetic tape drives, solid state drives, hybrid drives, etc. In addition, some embodiments may include electronic devices such as computing devices, data server devices, media content storage devices, etc. that comprise the storage media and/or control circuitry as described above.
The various features and processes described above may be used independently of one another, or may be combined in various ways. All possible combinations and subcombinations are intended to fall within the scope of this disclosure. In addition, certain method, event or process blocks may be omitted in some implementations. The methods and processes described herein are also not limited to any particular sequence, and the blocks or states relating thereto can be performed in other sequences that are appropriate. For example, described tasks or events may be performed in an order other than that specifically disclosed, or multiple may be combined in a single block or state. The example tasks or events may be performed in serial, in parallel, or in some other manner. Tasks or events may be added to or removed from the disclosed example embodiments. The example systems and components described herein may be configured differently than described. For example, elements may be added to, removed from, or rearranged compared to the disclosed example embodiments.
While certain example embodiments have been described, these embodiments have been presented by way of example only, and are not intended to limit the scope of the inventions disclosed herein. Thus, nothing in the foregoing description is intended to imply that any particular feature, characteristic, step, module, or block is necessary or indispensable. Indeed, the novel methods and systems described herein may be embodied in a variety of other forms; furthermore, various omissions, substitutions and changes in the form of the methods and systems described herein may be made without departing from the spirit of the embodiments disclosed herein.
Claims
1. A data storage device comprising:
- a head actuated over a disk;
- a spindle motor configured to rotate the disk; and
- control circuitry configured to: sample a speed of the spindle motor at a sampling rate; generate an error signal based on a difference between the sampled speed and a target speed; generate a sliding mode control signal for controlling a speed of the spindle motor based on the error signal; and when the error signal exceeds a threshold, increase the sampling rate.
2. The data storage device as recited in claim 1, wherein the control circuitry is further configured to:
- sample the speed of the spindle motor based on a back electromotive force (BEMF) voltage generated by the spindle motor;
- when the error signal is less than the threshold, sample the speed once per revolution of the disk; and
- when the error signal exceeds the threshold, sample the speed at least twice per revolution of the disk.
3. The data storage device as recited in claim 2, wherein:
- the BEMF voltage crosses a threshold at least twice per revolution of the disk; and
- the control circuitry is further configured to sample the speed based on a duration between the BEMF voltage crossings.
4. The data storage device as recited in claim 1, wherein the disk comprises a plurality of servo sectors and the control circuitry is further configured to sample the speed of the spindle motor based on the servo sectors.
5. The data storage device as recited in claim 4, wherein the control circuitry is further configured to sample the speed based on a duration between the servo sectors.
6. A method of operating data storage device, the method comprising:
- sampling a speed of a spindle motor at a sampling rate;
- generating an error signal based on a difference between the sampled speed and a target speed;
- generating a sliding mode control signal for controlling a speed of the spindle motor based on the error signal; and
- when the error signal exceeds a threshold, increasing the sampling rate.
7. The method as recited in claim 6, further comprising:
- sampling the speed of the spindle motor based on a BEMF voltage generated by the spindle motor;
- when the error signal is less than the threshold, sampling the speed once per revolution of the disk; and
- when the error signal exceeds the threshold, sampling the speed at least twice per revolution of the disk.
8. The method as recited in claim 7, wherein:
- the BEMF voltage crosses a threshold at least twice per revolution of the disk; and
- the method further comprises sampling the speed based on a duration between the BEMF voltage crossings.
9. The method as recited in claim 6, wherein the disk comprises a plurality of servo sectors and the method further comprises sampling the speed of the spindle motor based on the servo sectors.
10. The method as recited in claim 9, further comprising sampling the speed based on a duration between the servo sectors.
Type: Application
Filed: Sep 25, 2015
Publication Date: Jan 14, 2016
Inventors: MICHAEL T. NICHOLLS (LAGUNA HILLS, CA), TAYLOR NORITO KELENA WATANABE (TUSTIN, CA)
Application Number: 14/866,005