JPH04228149A - How to control a floppy disk device - Google Patents

Abstract

(57) [Summary] This bulletin contains application data before electronic filing, so abstract data is not recorded.

Description

[Detailed description of the invention]

0001

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a floppy disk device that protects a floppy disk from damage that may occur when the disk is mounted.

0002

[Prior Art] Traditionally, storage devices such as magnetic tapes and magnetic disks have been widely used as external storage devices for computers, but in recent years, relatively small and relatively small devices called minicomputers, microcomputers, etc. Storage devices using magnetic sheet disks, so-called floppy disks, have come into widespread use as external storage devices for simple computers.

An example of such a floppy disk device is shown in FIG. This figure shows an example of a mini-sized floppy disk device, where 1 is the floppy disk housed in a protective jacket, 2 is the floppy disk device, and 3 is the part into which the floppy disk 1 is inserted. This is a door installed at the entrance. When using this device, open the door 3, insert the floppy disk 1 in the jacket into the device, and then open the door 3.
If you close it, it will be set to an operational state.

FIGS. 2(a) and 2(b) show an example of a disk drive method for such a floppy disk device. FIG. 2(a) shows a method for driving a floppy disk by opening the door 3 (FIG. 1). 1 is inserted, but the door 3 is not yet closed, and FIG. 2(b) shows the state where the door 3 is closed. In these figures, 4 is the centering cone, and 5 is the floppy cone. This is the center hole of the disk 1. In addition,
1' is the jacket of the floppy disk 1.

As the name suggests, the centering cone 4 has a conical shape, and rotates with its outer peripheral surface fitted into the center hole 5 of the disk 1, and serves as a drive shaft for rotationally driving the disk 1. be. Since this centering cone 4 is designed to move in the axial direction in conjunction with the opening and closing of the door 3, when the door 3 is closed after inserting the disk 1, the state shown in FIG. When the state shown in FIG. 2(b) is reached and the door 3 is opened, the state shown in FIG. 2(b) automatically returns to the state shown in FIG. 2(a).

[0006] Therefore, simply by opening and closing the door 3, the centering cone 4 is fitted into and separated from the disk 1, and when the door 3 is closed, the centering cone 4 is engaged with and separated from the disk 1, as shown in FIG. 2(b). This means that it is automatically set to a state where rotational drive is possible.

Next, FIG. 3 shows the state in which the disk 1 is rotationally driven by the centering cone 4, and 6 is a driving motor. Therefore, when writing information to or reading information from the floppy disk 1, the floppy disk 1 is rotationally driven by the drive motor 6, and the necessary information is written or read. .

By the way, since such a floppy disk 1 is rotated while being accommodated in the jacket 1', it is necessary to accommodate it in the jacket 1' with a relatively large margin. floppy disk 1
When the floppy disk 1 is inserted into the floppy disk device and set in a predetermined position, the center of the floppy disk 1 and the center of the jacket 1' may be misaligned as shown in FIG. 4(a). Occurs often.

In this state, if you close the door 3 and try to fit the centering cone 4 into the center hole 5 of the disk 1, the centering cone 4 will open as shown in FIG. 4(b).
The end of the floppy disk 1 rides on top of the disk 1, and the centering cone 4 fits into the center hole 5 of the disk 1 while bending and deforming that portion. There is a risk that the center hole 5 may be deformed into a wavy shape or the center hole 5 may be deformed into an elliptical shape.

At this time, if the centering cone 4 is rotating, the end of the centering cone 4 will touch the floppy disk 1.
When the disk 1 comes into contact with the periphery of the center hole 5, the disk 1 moves so that the centers of the center hole 5 and the cone 4 coincide, a so-called self-centering effect is activated, so that the fitting is performed smoothly and the cone 4 becomes floppy. There is no possibility that the vicinity of the center hole 5 of the disk 1 will be deformed.

However, as mentioned above, storage devices using floppy disks, especially mini-sized floppy disks, are mainly used in small and simple computers, so they must be small and low cost. Therefore, a DC motor is mainly used as the drive motor 6. As a result, in such a floppy disk device, in consideration of the life span of the drive motor, a drive motor start/stop control circuit is provided within the floppy disk device as shown in FIG. 5, and a strobe signal from a computer etc. is provided. Accordingly, the control circuit is operated to drive the floppy disk only when information is to be written or read, and the drive motor is kept stopped at other times.

In FIG. 5, 6 is a motor for rotationally driving the drive cone 4 described above, 7 is a start/stop control circuit, 8 is a holding circuit, and 9 is a motor drive circuit. The start/stop control circuit 7 generates a start signal in response to a command from a computer or the like when writing or reading information, and supplies the signal to the holding circuit 8. The signal held in the holding circuit 8 is supplied to a motor drive circuit 9, the motor 6 rotates, and the floppy disk 1 is rotationally driven via the drive cone 4. Also, when the writing/reading of information is finished,
Since the control circuit 7 supplies a stop signal to the holding circuit 8, the output of the holding circuit 8 disappears and the motor 6 stops.

Therefore, in this conventional floppy disk device, since the centering cone does not rotate when the floppy disk is inserted, the floppy disk is easily deformed and damaged as described above. However, there are drawbacks such as the floppy disk being inconvenient to handle, requiring skill to insert, and the life of the floppy disk being shortened, making it easy for valuable information to be lost.

Therefore, in order to eliminate this drawback of the prior art, the insertion operation of the floppy disk is detected and the rotation of the floppy disk drive motor is controlled, so that the drive motor automatically rotates when the floppy disk is inserted. A floppy disk device has been proposed, and this device will be described below with reference to FIG. 6. In the figure, 10 is an opening/closing detection circuit for the door 3 (FIG. 1), and 11 is an OR circuit. In addition, the motor start/stop circuit 7 and the holding circuit 8
, motor drive circuit 9, etc. are the same as in the conventional example shown in FIG.

The door opening/closing detection circuit 10 generates a pulse signal (b) when the door 3 starts to close after opening.
A starting signal is given to the holding circuit 8 via the holding circuit 8. Therefore, since the output from the holding circuit 8 is supplied to the motor drive circuit 9, the drive motor 6 rotates and drives the centering cone 4 in rotation.

Therefore, as shown in FIG. 1, when the door 3 is opened and the floppy disk 1 is inserted, and then the door 3 is closed, the drive cone 4 (FIGS. 2 to 4) immediately starts rotating. Therefore, even if the center of the center hole 5 of the floppy disk 1 and the center of the centering cone 4 are slightly misaligned, for example as shown in FIG. Figure 3
As shown in FIG. 2, when the floppy disk 1 is properly fitted, damage to the vicinity of the center hole 5 of the floppy disk 1 can be prevented.

Next, this device will be explained in more detail with reference to FIGS. 7 and 8. In FIG. 7, 12 is the door 3
13 is a monostable multi-vibrator (mono-multi).
, 14 is an or gate, 15 is a flip-flop (FF)
, 16 are power transistors.

Next, the operation will be explained using the time chart shown in FIG. As shown in FIG. 1, when the door 3 of the floppy disk device 1 is opened, the switch 12 is turned off.

On the other hand, at this time, as a matter of course, no information is being written or read, so the output (c) of the start/stop control circuit 7 remains at a low level. Next, when the floppy disk 1 is inserted and the door 3 is closed, the switch 12 is turned on, and its output (a) becomes low level. The fall of this output (a) triggers the monomulti 13, and its output (b) becomes high level. Therefore, this output (b) passes through the OR gate 14 and becomes the output (d), which sets the FF 15. As a result, the output (e) becomes high level, so the transistor 16 becomes conductive and the drive motor 6 starts rotating.

Therefore, the inserted floppy disk 1
When the centering cone 4 tries to fit into the centering cone 4, the centering cone 4 is always rotating, and when the inserted floppy disk 1 is in the state shown in FIG. Even if the floppy disk 1 is in the state shown in (a), the self-centering effect is effective and the floppy disk 1 is always fitted in the correct state as shown in FIG. Also, the floppy disk 1 will not be damaged.

After inserting the floppy disk 1, the signal (c) from the control circuit 7 is sent to the FF 15 via the OR gate 14, and the starting and stopping of the motor 6 is controlled.

[0022]

[Problem to be solved by the invention]However, these figures 6
~The device explained in Figure 8 does not take into consideration the control of the floppy disk drive motor when the floppy disk device is powered on, and the power to the floppy disk device may turn off with the floppy disk still inserted. When the floppy disk is turned on, the floppy disk drive motor immediately starts rotating, which has the problem of shortening the life of the floppy disk.

In other words, in a floppy disk device, since the information writing/reading head is always in contact with the information recording surface of the floppy disk, the floppy disk drive motor rotates while the floppy disk is inserted. Once the floppy disk device starts, the information writing/reading head of the floppy disk device remains in contact with the information recording surface of the floppy disk until it is given write/read control from the computer. Since the head continues to rotate while being positioned on the track, it takes a long time for the head to slide on the same track, increasing the probability of damage to the recording medium and shortening its lifespan.

An object of the present invention is to provide a method for controlling a floppy disk device that sufficiently suppresses the occurrence of damage to the floppy disk, has a long life, and is highly reliable.

[0025]

[Means for Solving the Problems] The above object is to provide a reset signal that prohibits rotation of the floppy disk drive motor from the computer side to the floppy disk device when the power to the floppy disk device is turned on. This is achieved in such a way that

[0026]

[Operation] The reset signal functions to prevent the floppy disk drive motor from starting rotation simply by turning on the power to the floppy disk device. Therefore, the information writing/reading head of the floppy disk device does not continue to rotate while being positioned on the same track, and the life of the floppy disk can be sufficiently extended.

[0027]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS The method of controlling a floppy disk device according to the present invention will be explained in detail below with reference to the illustrated embodiments. 9 and 10 show one embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 9 is a block diagram showing the overall configuration, and FIG. 10 is a specific circuit diagram of a part thereof. In these FIGS. RS flip-flop with clear input and reset priority (RSF
F), 21 is a centering completion detection circuit, and 22 is an exclusive OR circuit (EXOR). In addition, the floppy disk 1, the centering cone 4, the center hole 5, the drive motor 6, the motor drive circuit 8, and the opening/closing detection switch 12 for the door 3.
etc. are the same as those in FIGS. 6 and 7.

After the RSFF 20 is cleared by a clear signal (h) given from a computer or the like when power is applied to the floppy disk device and it becomes operational, the RSFF 20 receives a signal (a) from the switch 12. Since it is set preferentially by the signal (g) from EXOR 22, its operation is as shown in the logic table of FIG. In FIG. 11, H represents a high level signal, L represents a low level signal, and X indicates that even if the input state is H, it is not related. And No.
Q in 5 indicates that the previous state is preserved as is.

The centering completion detection circuit 21 mainly consists of a switch that operates when the centering cone 4 fits into the center hole 5 of the floppy disk 1 and reaches a predetermined position. While the voltage is not reached, it is maintained at the power supply voltage, that is, H, and when the centering is completed and the predetermined position is reached, a signal (f) that becomes the contact voltage, that is, L is generated.

Next, the operation will be explained using the time chart shown in FIG. First, when the power of the floppy disk device is turned on, a power reset circuit (not shown) causes a signal (h
) is supplied to the clear terminal CLR of the reset priority RSFF 20, and No. As shown in FIG. 1, the output signal Q of the FF 20 becomes low level as shown in FIG. At this time, RSFF2
Signals (a) and (g) applied to input terminals S and R of 0
) are both at a high level, so No. 11 in Figure 11. 5, the output signal (e
) is maintained at a low level, so the motor 6 is also maintained in a stationary state.

Next, when the floppy disk 1 is inserted into the floppy disk device 2 and the door 3 is closed, the function of the door switch 12 causes the RSFF 2 to open as shown in FIG. 12(a).
The 0 set input signal (a) falls to a low level. At this time, the output Q of the RSFF 20 is No. 1 in FIG. 2, the signal becomes high level as shown in FIG. 12(e), and this signal (e) is supplied to the motor drive circuit 8, so the motor 6 starts rotating and the centering cone 4 also starts rotating. On the other hand, by closing the door 3, the centering cone 4 moves forward toward the hole 5 of the floppy disk, as explained in FIG. It functions to align the centers of the disks 1, but in this embodiment, the centering cone 4 moves forward toward the hole 5 of the floppy disk while rotating, so that the centering cone 4 as shown in FIG. 4(a)
Even if the hole 5 is placed at a position shifted from the centering cone 4, the centering action can be performed without damaging the floppy disk sheet.

This is because the centering cone 4 is rotating, so when it comes into contact with the floppy disk 1,
This is because since the disk immediately begins to rotate, a so-called self-centering effect can be obtained in which the center of the center hole 5 and the axis of rotation of the centering cone 4 are aligned with each other due to the action of centrifugal force as described above.

The centering cone 4 inserted into the hole 5 of the floppy disk 1 in this manner moves the switch of the centering completion detection circuit 21 from the position shown by the solid line to the position shown by the broken line in FIG. As a result of this movement, since the switch is grounded, the upper input terminal of the exclusive OR circuit 22 is dropped from high level to low level as shown in FIG. 12(f). The lower input terminal of the exclusive OR circuit 22 is set to low level only when the floppy disk device is accessed from the outside by signal (c), but is set to high level when the floppy disk device is not being accessed, that is, at this time. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 12(g), the output (g) of the exclusive OR circuit 22 falls to a low level.

On the other hand, at this time, the input of RSFF20 is
No. in FIG. 4, the output (e) of the FF 20 falls to a low level, so the input signal to the motor drive circuit 8 falls to a low level as shown in FIG. 12(e), and the motor 6 be stopped. Therefore, it can be seen that by closing the door 3 of the floppy disk device, the motor 6 that has started rotating will automatically stop after completing the centering operation of the inserted floppy disk 1. .

Thereafter, after the above-mentioned operations are completed, unless the door 3 of the floppy disk device is opened, the RS
Since the set input S of the FF 20 is maintained at a low level, No. 1 in FIG. 2, No. As shown in 4,
When the reset input R of the FF becomes high level, the output Q
When the reset input R becomes a high level and the motor 6 rotates, and the reset input R becomes a low level, the output Q of the FF also becomes a low level, so the motor 6 stops. Then, the output of the centering completion detection circuit 21 is maintained at a low level.

Therefore, when the access signal (c) of the floppy disk device is lowered to a low level, the output of the exclusive OR circuit 22 becomes a high level, causing the motor 6 to rotate, and conversely, lowering the signal (c) to a high level. If you raise the level, the circuit 22
The output becomes low level to stop the motor 6, and as before, the motor 6 can be rotated only when accessing the floppy disk device.

Therefore, according to this embodiment, even if the power is turned on with the floppy disk still inserted in the device, the floppy disk will remain unused until a specified access is made from the computer side. Since the rotation of the floppy disk can be reliably prohibited, unnecessary wear of the recording medium of the floppy disk can be reliably prevented, and the life of the floppy disk can be sufficiently extended.

Furthermore, in the above embodiment, when the floppy disk is inserted, the centering cone automatically rotates to perform the centering function, and only after the centering is completed, the drive motor is stopped to ensure reliable centering at all times. Since the present invention is applied to a floppy disk device as described above, the rotation of the floppy disk can be sufficiently limited to only when centering and when information is written and read by computer access. Unnecessary wear of the media can be reliably suppressed, the rotation time of the drive motor can be reliably limited to the necessary period, and the risk of damage when inserting the disk can also be eliminated. , it is possible to sufficiently extend the life of the floppy disk and the drive motor.

The above embodiments are all directed to a floppy disk device in which the floppy disk 1 is driven by the centering cone 4; As shown, the floppy disk uses a drive cup 25 that is rotationally driven by a drive motor, and the floppy disk 1 is rotationally driven by sandwiching the floppy disk 1 between the cup 25 and the centering cone 4. Needless to say, the present invention can be similarly applied to devices.

[0040]

[Effects of the Invention] As explained above, according to the present invention,
Even if the power is turned on with the floppy disk still inserted in the device, rotation of the floppy disk can be reliably prohibited until the specified access is made from the computer side. Unnecessary wear and tear on the floppy disk recording medium can be reliably prevented.
Not only can the life of the floppy disk be sufficiently extended, but also the excellent effects listed below can be obtained.

[0041] ■ Since unnecessary rotation of the disk drive motor can be eliminated, power saving can be achieved reliably.
It is possible to significantly extend the usable time of power sources such as batteries. ■ In a floppy disk device, when a disk is inserted, the information writing/reading head is always in contact with the information recording surface of the disk, so if the disk is left inserted, the head and the information recording surface of the disk may stick together. If the floppy disk starts rotating in this state, the information recording surface of the disk will be destroyed. However, in the present invention, the floppy disk does not start rotating just by turning on the power to the floppy disk device. This provides an opportunity for the floppy disk to be pulled out, thereby reducing the probability of damaging the floppy disk.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing an example of a floppy disk device.

FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram showing the relationship between the centering cone and the floppy disk and the centering operation in a normal state in the floppy disk device.

FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of a centering cone drive system in a floppy disk device.

FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram showing a problem with centering operation in a floppy disk device.

FIG. 5 is a block diagram of a control circuit in a conventional example of a floppy disk device.

FIG. 6 is a block diagram showing an example of a floppy disk device in which a drive motor is rotated when a floppy disk is inserted.

FIG. 7 is a circuit diagram showing an example of a floppy disk device in which a drive motor is rotated when a floppy disk is inserted.

FIG. 8 is a time chart for explaining the operation of an example of a floppy disk device in which a drive motor is rotated when a floppy disk is inserted.

FIG. 9 is a block diagram showing an embodiment of a method for controlling a floppy disk device according to the present invention.

FIG. 10 is a circuit diagram showing an embodiment of a method for controlling a floppy disk device according to the present invention.

FIG. 11 is a logic diagram for explaining the operation in one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 12 is a time chart for explaining the operation in one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 13 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of a drive mechanism of a floppy disk device.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 Floppy disk 2 Floppy disk device 3 Door 4 Centering cone 6 Drive motor 7 Motor start/stop control circuit 8 Holding circuit 9 Motor drive circuit 10 Door opening/closing detection circuit 11 OR circuit 12 Door opening/closing detection switch 20 Reset with clear input Priority RS flip-flop 21 Centering completion detection circuit 22 Exclusive OR circuit

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. In a floppy disk device in which rotation of a floppy disk drive motor is controlled by an information write/read command from a computer, a clearing signal generated by the computer after the floppy disk device is powered on. A method for controlling a floppy disk device, characterized in that the method is configured to prohibit rotation of the floppy disk drive motor by a signal.