These and/or other aspects and utilities of the present general inventive concept will become apparent and more readily appreciated from the following description of the embodiments, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings of which:
Reference will now be made in detail to the embodiments of the present general inventive concept, examples of which are illustrated in the accompanying drawings, wherein like reference numerals refer to the like elements throughout. The embodiments are described below in order to explain the present general inventive concept by referring to the figures.
Referring to the first graph of
The second graph of
In the inductive sensing operation, six voltage vectors are sequentially applied and the initial position of the rotor is sensed through a voltage change output from the spindle motor. The operation is executed for a short timeframe, for example, of 3 ms. In the motor driving operation, unit startup pulses are applied for a unit startup timeframe, for example, of 6-8 ms. In the commutation sensing operation, the accurate position of the rotor is determined for the next unit rotation for a short timeframe, for example, of 1-2 ms.
Although it is not illustrated in the drawing, after the motor driving and commutation sensing operations are performed repeatedly for a set number of repetitions, there is an operation of determining whether back electromotive force (BEMF) is detected. If no BEMF is detected during the set number of repetitions, then the drive performs a retry operation. If a BEMF is detected, the closed loop period operation of accelerating the motor speed according to the detected BEMF is performed. In this case, a maximum current is applied, for example, of 1-8-2.0 target.
Referring to the third graph of
When the speed of the spindle motor is less than the predetermined value α, the disk drive senses the initial position of the rotor to perform an open loop control operation S520. A unit startup pulse is applied to unit-rotate a rotor operation S530. The position of the rotor is sensed after the unit rotation operation S540. The operations S530 and S540 form a combination and are repeated a preset number of times given operation S550. When the detected BEMF is less than the predetermined value β, and is below a reliable level per operations S560 and S570, the same open loop control is repeated beginning with the sensing initial position of rotor operation S520. Thus, the overall spindle motor startup time is increased by the open loop startup time and the number of repeats required, if any, for the BEMF to reach a predetermined value β.
When the BEMF reaches the predetermined value β, a closed loop control mode starts using the detected BEMF operation S580, and the spindle motor is accelerated until its speed reaches the target speed. Thereafter, prounital control and prounital-integral control are continuously performed so as to obtain a stable motor speed. After the target speed is reached, a running current, for example, of 0.2-0.6 A, is applied to rotate the spindle motor at a constant speed in order to compensate for the frictional force of the fluid bearing, which decreases as time passes.
The BEMF is obtained by measuring a current flowing in the phase of a motor when the motor driving current is zero. As illustrated in
At a predetermined time after the spindle motor 130 starts rotating, a BEMF, in a sine wave, is output. A BEMF detection unit 150 receives the BEMF and outputs a phase signal. A motor speed calculation unit 160 receives the phase signal and calculates the speed of the motor. The calculated motor speed is input to the controller 110, which controls the speed of the spindle motor 130 using the motor speed.
The controller 110 can directly receive the BEMF from the BEMF detection unit 150. When the BEMF is greater than a predetermined value, the closed loop control mode starts. A temperature sensing unit 170 may be a thermistor included in a pre-amplifier unit (not shown).
The disk drive according to the present embodiment can further include a voltage measurement unit 180. In general, although the internal operation voltage is 12V, the voltage may vary according to the internal or external environment. Proper operation must be guaranteed over a voltage variation of 10%. The measured voltage is input to the controller 110.
When the disk drive is turned on, internal temperature sensing is performed by the temperature sensing unit 170. When the sensed temperature is within a predetermined range, the controller 110 controls the spindle driver 120 to generate a default startup current.
When the sensed temperature is outside the predetermined range, the controller 110 controls the spindle driver 120 to generate a startup current that is adjusted according to the temperature. Since the startup current is formed of a plurality of unit startup pulses, the startup current is controlled such that an amplitude A of an applying time B and a repetition frequency C of the unit startup pulse can be changed.
The amplitude A of the unit startup pulse can be changed according to the temperature. In general, considering only the motor, when the amplitude A of the unit startup pulse increases regardless of the temperature, the time for the motor to reach a target rotation rate can be reduced. However, the pulse increase may be limited if the disk drive is subject to a maximum allowable current, which may be predetermined.
Since the frictional force of the motor increases at low temperatures and the motor torque constant decreases at high temperatures, a greater current is required in order to obtain the same acceleration as obtained at room temperature. Thus, the disk drive according to the present embodiment can reduce power consumption by decreasing the startup current in a general environment and maintain a constant startup speed by increasing the startup current in an extreme environment.
The applying time B and repetition frequency C of the unit startup pulse can be changed according to temperature. In general, by increasing the applying time B, which indicates the time to apply a single unit startup pulse, a stable increase in motor speed can be obtained regardless of whether there is an increase in number of disks. In contrast, when the applying time B is decreased, the motor speed increase can be obtained. Also, when the repetition frequency C increases, the retry rate can be reduced as the BEMF can be easily detected.
Thus, the controller 110 can vary the amplitude A, applying time B, and repetition frequency C according to the range of a sensed temperature. For example, default values of the startup factors A, B, and C may be respectively set to 1.8 A, 6 ms, and 10 times at room temperature of 25° C. When the sensed temperature is 10° C., the controller 110 can control A, B, and C respectively to 1.8 A, 10 ms, and 15 times. That is, values of A and B are controllably increased. In the situation where the sensed temperature is lower than a reference temperature, at least one of the A, B, and C values can be increased. Accordingly, since the retry rate can be reduced, a stable open loop startup time can be obtained in a low temperature environment.
The A, B, and C values can be controlled corresponding to the sensed internal voltage of the disk drive. In general, although 12 V is supplied by a power supply to the disk drive, this voltage is not stable and may contain an error of ±10% in the output voltage, which varies from 10.8 V to 13.2 V. The variation in voltage increases the ready time and retry rate as described above. Thus, A, B, and C can be controlled corresponding to the measured internal voltage. In detail, when the measured voltage is lower than a reference voltage, at least one of the A, B, and C values is increased. It is foreseen that values of the startup factor can be controlled using the sensed temperature and/or the measured voltage.
However, it is preferred to apply the above method when the open loop startup time varies linearly according to temperature. When the open loop start time varies non-linearly according to temperature, as described below, it is preferred to store optimal values of startup factors for each temperature period in a storage medium in advance.
At a predetermined time after the spindle motor 230 starts rotating, a BEMF, in a sine wave, is output. A BEMF detection unit 250 receives the BEMF and outputs a phase signal. A motor speed calculation unit 260 receives the phase signal and calculates the speed of the motor. The calculated motor speed is input to the controller 210, which controls the speed of the spindle motor 230 using the motor speed.
A first memory 290 and a second memory 295 are directly connected to the controller 210. The first memory 290 stores optimal values of startup factors related to startup current for each temperature period in a table form. The second memory 295 stores optimal values of startup factors related to startup current for each voltage period in a table form.
The temperature sensed by a temperature sensing unit 270 is input to the controller 210. The controller 210 interfaces with the first memory 290 to obtain optimized values of startup factors corresponding to the sensed temperature. The controller 210 obtains data corresponding to the sensed temperature from the first memory 290 and controls the spindle driver 220 and the spindle motor 230 using the data. That is, the spindle driver 220 generates a startup current for the spindle motor 230 with the driver 220 having optimized values of startup factors according to the temperature. The temperature period in the table of the first memory 290 can have intervals of 5° C., but it is foreseen that the table may have other intervals depending on factors such as intended usage which may be affected by an application or readable media, degree of accuracy required, and/or the intended environment(s) of use, which may include general and/or extreme environments. Applications requiring especially accurate measurements may have small intervals such as 0.5° C.
The voltage measured by a voltage measurement unit 280 is input to the controller 210. The controller 210 interfaces with the second memory 295 to obtain optimized values of the startup factor corresponding to the measured voltage. The controller 210 obtains data corresponding to the measured voltage from the second memory 295 and controls the spindle driver 220 using the data. That is, the spindle driver 220 generates a startup current having startup factors having optimized values according to the voltage. The voltage period in the table of the second memory 295 can have intervals of 0.2 V, but it is foreseen that the table may have smaller or larger intervals depending on factors such as those provided above with respect to temperature.
The operation of storing the startup factor optimized for each temperature or voltage period in the first and second memories 290 and 295 is preferably performed during the disk drive manufacturing process, but may be stored post manufacture. The first and second memories 290 and 295 may be ROM (read only memory) in order to prohibit access by a user. However, since the startup factor may change, for instance as a result of a changed number of disks or spindle motor size, RAM (random access memory) such as rewritable flash memory is preferred.
If the sensed temperature is within a predetermined range during operation S630, the following operations are performed: rotor initial position sensing operation S640, unit startup pulse application operation S650, and rotor position after rotation sensing operation S660 are performed according to a default startup factor value. If a default repetition frequency is not reached per operation S670, the operations repeat beginning with the unit startup pulse application operation S650 and continue to repeat until the point at which the default repetition frequency is reached per S670 and/or the BEMF is detected per operation S680. Upon detection of the BEMF, the mode is changed to the closed loop startup mode operation S690. To avoid performing the retry operation at room temperature, the default startup factor can be set with a sufficient margin.
When the sensed temperature is out of a predetermined range, the startup factor(s) are adjusted per operation S635 and the following operations are performed according to the adjusted startup factor value: rotor initial position sensing operation S645, adjusted unit startup pulse application operation S655, and rotor position after rotation sensing operation S665. If an adjusted repetition frequency is not reached per operation S675, the operations repeat beginning with the adjusted unit startup pulse application operation S655 until the point at which the adjusted repetition frequency is reached per operation S675. When the set repetition frequency is reached and/or the BEMF is detected per operation S685, the mode is changed to the closed loop startup mode operation S695. The adjusted startup factor values are changed according to the sensed temperature. To avoid performing the retry operation at low temperatures, it is preferable to increase at least one of the startup factor values.
It is foreseen that an operation of measuring the internal voltage of the disk drive can be added, and/or an operation of controlling the startup of the spindle motor by adjusting the startup factor corresponding to the sensed temperature and/or measured voltage.
When the disk drive is turned on, the internal temperature of the disk drive is sensed during operation S720. A table having stored startup factor values corresponding to the sensed temperature is accessed per operation S730 in order to replace default startup factor values with a startup factor having new values per operation S740. The following operations are performed according to the replaced startup factor values: rotor initial position sensing operation S750, unit startup pulse application operation S760, and rotor position after rotation sensing operation S770. If a replaced repetition frequency is not reached during operation S780, the operations repeat beginning with the replaced unit startup pulse application operation S760 until the point at which the replaced repetition frequency is reached per operation S780. When the replaced repetition frequency is reached per operation S780, and/or the BEMF is detected per operation S790, the mode is changed to the closed loop startup mode operation S795.
It is foreseen that an operation of storing startup factor values optimized for each voltage period and/or an operation of measuring the internal voltage of the disk drive can be added. Also, an operation of driving the spindle motor using the optimized values of startup factor corresponding to the sensed temperature and/or measured voltage can be further added.
Various embodiments of the present generally inventive concept can be embodied as computer readable codes on a computer readable recording medium. The computer readable recording medium may include any data storage device suitable to store data that can be read by a computer system. A non-exhaustive list of possible examples of computer readable recording mediums include read-only memory (ROM), random-access memory (RAM), CD-ROMS, magnetic tapes, floppy disks, optical storage devices, and carrier waves, such as data transmission via the internet. The computer readable recording medium may also be distributed over network-coupled computer systems so that the computer readable code is stored and executed in a distribution fashion. Various embodiments of the present general inventive concept may also be embodied in hardware, software or in a combination of hardware and software.
As described above, the spindle motor startup methods according to the present general inventive concept and the disk drive using the methods can achieve a stable spin-up time regardless of changes in temperature and/or voltage, thus improving the startup performance of the motor. Also, when a thermistor included in a pre-amplifier is used as the temperature sensing unit, the cost and size can be reduced.
Although a few embodiments of the present general inventive concept have been shown and described, it will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that changes may be made in these embodiments without departing from the principles and spirit of the general inventive concept, the scope of which is defined in the appended claims and their equivalents.
| Number | Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2006-74656 | Aug 2006 | KR | national |