JPH0632206B2 - Hard disk device - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a hard disk device, and more particularly to a hard disk device having a cooling fan as cooling means.

[Prior Art] With the development of computer technology, various magnetic disk devices have come to be used as external storage devices. In particular, a hard disk device is known as a large-capacity magnetic disk. Since the disk is rotated at a high speed in this type of apparatus, the mechanism section generates a considerable amount of heat. Therefore, it is usual to provide an electric fan or the like as a cooling means of the mechanism for preventing heating of the mechanism and improving reliability of recording and reproduction.

[Problems to be Solved by the Invention] In the conventional device of this type, since the cooling fan is always operated when the power of the device is turned on, there is a drawback that power consumption and operation noise are large. This type of device is often used for offices and the like, and the large operating noise is a serious problem.

[Means for Solving Problems] In order to solve the above problems, in the present invention, a hard disk mechanism having a hard disk, control means for accessing the hard disk of the hard disk mechanism, and access for the hard disk of the hard disk mechanism. A first means for continuously controlling cooling of the hard disk mechanism in response to detection of access by the detection means, and the hard disk in response to non-access of the detection means. The configuration of the hard disk drive having the second means for intermittently controlling the cooling of the mechanism is adopted.

[Operation] With such a configuration, the hard disk mechanism is continuously cooled while the hard disk is being accessed.
Cooling is performed intermittently during non-access. That is,
The noise due to the cooling operation can be reduced without unnecessary cooling during non-access.

[Embodiment] The present invention will be described in detail below based on an embodiment shown in the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a cooling mechanism of a hard disk device. In FIG. 1, reference numeral 1 is a recording / reproducing and driving mechanism portion of a known hard disk including a hard disk, a disk driving portion and a magnetic head. The mechanical unit 1 receives cooling air from a cooling fan 2. Recording / playback on the disk and drive control of the disk are performed via a signal line 4 by a CPU 9 configured by using a microcomputer or the like.

On the other hand, the drive control of the fan 2 is performed by the switch 6. The switch 6 is for applying a power supply voltage to the fan 2. The control of the switch 6 is performed by giving a control signal to the signal line 5 via the fan control unit 3 including the microcomputer 8 and the like. A temperature detector 7 composed of a thermistor or the like is provided at a predetermined position of the mechanism section 1. This temperature detection signal is input to the CPU 9.

Next, the operation of the above configuration will be described. FIG. 2 is a timing chart showing ON / OFF operation of the switch 6 for controlling the cooling fan 2. This ON / OFF control is performed by the fan control unit 3. As shown in FIG. 2, in the access mode for recording / reproducing the hard disk, the switch 6 is continuously turned on, and as a result, the cooling fan 2 is continuously driven. Further, the switch 6 is intermittently turned on and off by the fan control unit 3 via the signal line 5 except during access, and as a result, the cooling operation is performed so that the mechanical unit 1 of the hard disk is not heated.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing the control procedure of the fan control unit 3. This control procedure is stored in the ROM 8 as a control program.

In step S1, it is checked whether the mechanical unit 1 is accessing the disk. The fan control unit 3 can know the access state through the signal line 4. Depending on the access status in step S1, steps S2 through S
3, the switch 6 is continuously turned on in step S2 as shown in FIG. 2, and the switch 6 is intermittently turned on / off in step S3.

In a mode other than the access mode, when the temperature inside the machine detected by the temperature detector 7 including a thermistor exceeds a predetermined value, C
The PU 9 turns on the switch 6 via the fan control unit 3 to execute the cooling operation of the cooling fan 2.

As described above, the cooling fan 2 is continuously driven in the important operation mode in which the disk is accessed, and the cooling fan 2 is intermittently driven in the other modes, so that the power consumption and the operation noise are reduced in the modes other than the access mode. be able to.

Although the temperature detector 7 detects the ambient temperature of the hard disk mechanism 1 and controls the operation of the cooling fan 2 in the modes other than the access mode according to the detected temperature, the strict temperature control is not necessary. May be configured so that the cooling fan 2 is turned on and off at a timing determined in advance according to heat generation conditions, temperature, and the like.

In the above, the detection signal of the temperature detector 7 is input to the CPU 9, but it is directly input to the fan control unit 3 and the fan control unit 3
May perform fan control according to the detected temperature.

The fan control unit 3 is not limited to the microcomputer, and may be composed of other control circuits.

[Effects of the Invention] As is apparent from the above description, according to the present invention, in the hard disk device, access to the hard disk is detected and the hard disk mechanism is continuously cooled during access, but cooled during non-access. Intermittently,
Since unnecessary cooling is not performed, it is possible to obtain an excellent effect that operating noise can be reduced and power consumption can be reduced.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a cooling mechanism of a hard disk device according to the present invention, FIG. 2 is a timing chart diagram showing a cooling operation of a cooling fan of FIG. 1, and FIG. 3 is a cooling fan control procedure. FIG. 1 ... Mechanism part, 2 ... Cooling fan 3 ... Control part, 6 ... Switch 7 ... Temperature detector, 8 ... ROM 9 ... CPU

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A hard disk mechanism having a hard disk, control means for accessing the hard disk of the hard disk mechanism, detection means for detecting access to the hard disk of the hard disk mechanism, and response to detection of access by the detection means, A hard disk device comprising: first means for continuously controlling cooling of the hard disk mechanism; and second means for intermittently controlling cooling of the hard disk mechanism in response to non-access detection by the detection means.