Low power hard disk drive using multiple, individually controllable actuators
AssigneeInternational Business Machines Corporation
InventorsTimothy J. Chainer, Anthony P. Praino
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A disk drive which incorporates separate actuators for each recording head so as to only place required recording heads over the recording media of multiple surface hard disk drives. The reduction in recording heads that are placed over the recording media reduces drag on the rotating disk holding the recording media and thereby reduces the power consumption. Reducing the number of recording heads over the recording media also reduces damage to the recording media surfaces in the event of a physical shock to the drive since inactive transducer heads are not in a position to damage the recording media.
Claims21
A method for placing a recording head over a recording media within a rotatable storage medium, the method comprising the steps of:
- maintaining a plurality of recording heads within a rotatable storage medium, wherein each recording head within the plurality of recording heads may be individually activated and wherein each of the recording heads is parked when not activated;
- determining a required transducer to access a requested data set, wherein the requested data set is stored within the disk drive and wherein the required transducer is a transducer which may access the requested data set;
- and
- activating only the required transducer to access the requested data set.
A rotatable storage medium, comprising:
- a plurality of recording heads within the disk drive, wherein each recording head within the plurality of recording heads may be individually activated and wherein each of the recording heads is parked when not activated;
- and
- a disk drive controller for determining a required transducer to access a requested data set, wherein the requested data set is stored within the disk drive and wherein the required transducer is a transducer which may access the requested data set.
A computer readable medium including computer instructions for a disk drive controller, the computer instructions comprising instructions for:
- controlling a plurality of recording heads within a disk drive, wherein each recording head within the plurality of recording heads may be individually activated and wherein each recording head is parked when not activated;
- determining a required transducer to access a requested data set, wherein the requested data set is stored within the disk drive and wherein the required transducer is a transducer which may access the requested data set;
- and
- activating only the required transducer to access the requested data set.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.