Zero Skew Disk Drive With Dual Actuators And Movable Ramp
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional hard disk drives (HDDs) face limitations in increasing performance due to the lack of up/down movement of read/write heads, which restricts simultaneous operation and efficient data access across multiple disk surfaces, and the existing ramp designs prevent up/down movement, leading to reduced efficiency and reliability.
Innovation Solution
The implementation of a split ramp system with a movable ramp portion and an elevator mechanism allows for up/down movement of the head stack assembly, enabling simultaneous operation of multiple heads across different disk surfaces by supporting heads on a movable ramp portion and moving them in unison with the elevator, thereby overcoming the limitations of conventional ramp designs.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If conventional fixed ramp designs are used to support read/write heads, then head positioning is simple, but up/down movement is prevented reducing efficiency and reliability
Solution Approach 1:
The ramp is designed as a movable component that can move in the up/down direction to enable the head stack assembly to access multiple disk surfaces. The linear driver dynamically positions the ramp between different vertical locations, allowing heads to move between disks while maintaining proper positioning support.
2Reliability
If a single disk surface is accessed by one head, then head collision with disk edges is avoided, but simultaneous operation of multiple heads is restricted
Solution Approach 1:
The system transitions from accessing a single disk surface to accessing multiple disk surfaces by adding the vertical dimension through ramp movement. Multiple heads can simultaneously access different disk surfaces in the stack by positioning the movable ramp at appropriate vertical locations, enabling parallel data access operations.
3Device complexity
If read/write heads remain stationary relative to disk surfaces, then mechanical complexity is reduced, but immediate read-after-write operations cannot be performed
Solution Approach 1:
The movable ramp can be positioned in advance to the appropriate vertical location corresponding to the target disk surface. This preliminary positioning enables immediate read-after-write operations by eliminating the need for mechanical reconfiguration, as the ramp is already at the correct location when data transfer is complete.
Data Source
AI summary
A data storage device includes a stack of a plurality of disks, first and second arms, first and second heads, first and second linear drivers and an elevator. Each of the plurality of disks includes a read/write surface. The first arm has a first head end that is movable relative to the stack. The first head is configured to interact with a selected one of the read/write surfaces. The first linear driver is configured to move the first arm along a first straight line in a x-y plane defined by the one of the read/write surfaces. The elevator is configured to move the first arm in a z direction. The second arm has a second head end that is movable relative to the stack and supports the second head. The second linear driver is configured to move the second arm along a second straight line in the x-y plane.