Apparatus and method for controlling the velocity of a disk storage head

Claim 2

A disk storage apparatus comprising: driving means for moving a head in the radial direction on a recording disk; velocity detecting means for detecting a velocity at which the head moves and for generating a tracking error signal; a velocity profile for storing information on a target velocity of the head; driving signal generating means for comparing the tracking error signal from the velocity detecting means with a signal from the velocity profile and outputting a driving signal to the driving means based on the result of the comparison; and control means for measuring a first time required for moving the head a predetermined distance at a predetermined velocity in the radial direction toward an inner area of the disk and, in a first comparison, comparing the measured first time with a first predetermined reference value, the control means modifying the driving signal by increasing or decreasing an amplitude of the tracking error signal at a time when the head moves toward the inner area based on the result of the first comparison, and further for measuring a second time required for moving the head a predetermined distance at a predetermined velocity in the radial direction toward an outer area of the disk, and in a second comparison, comparing the measured second time with a second predetermined reference value, the control means modifying the driving signal at a time when the head moves toward the outer area, based on the result of the second comparison.

Claim 3

A disk storage apparatus according to claim 1 wherein the control means provides the driving signal generating means with a constant value and measures a time required for moving the head at a predetermined velocity based on the constant value.

Claim 4

A disk storage apparatus having an optical head for projecting a light beam onto a recording surface of an optical disk, comprising: driving means for driving the optical head to move the beam in the radial direction of the disk; velocity detecting means for generating a tracking error signal which indicates the velocity of the beam in movement; a velocity profile for indicating information about a target velocity of the beam during a seek operation; driving signal generating means for comparing the tracking error signal from the velocity detecting means with a signal from the velocity profile; and control means for measuring a first time required for moving the beam a predetermined distance at a predetermined velocity in the radial direction toward an inner area of the disk and, in a first comparison, comparing the measured first time with a first predetermined reference value, the control means modifying the driving signal by increasing or decreasing an amplitude of the tracking error signal at a time when the beam moves toward the inner area based on the result of the first comparison, and further for measuring a second time required for moving the beam a predetermined distance at a predetermined velocity in the radial direction toward an outer area of the disk, and in a second comparison, comparing the measured second time with a second predetermined reference value, the control means modifying the driving signal at a time when the beam moves toward the outer area, based on the result of the second comparison.

Claim 5

A disk storage apparatus having an optical head for projecting a light beam onto a recording surface of an optical disk, comprising: driving means for driving the optical head to move the beam in the radial direction of the disk; velocity detecting means for generating a tracking error signal which indicates the velocity of the beam in movement; a velocity profile for indicating information about a target velocity of the beam during a seek operation; driving signal generating means for comparing the tracking error signal from the velocity detecting means with a signal from the velocity profile; and control means for measuring a first time required for moving the beam a predetermined distance at a predetermined velocity in the radial direction toward an inner area of the disk and, in a first comparison, comparing the measured first time with a first predetermined reference value, the control means modifying the driving signal by increasing or decreasing an amplitude of the tracking error signal at a time when the beam moves toward the inner area based on the result of the first comparison, and further for measuring a second time required for moving the beam a predetermined distance at a predetermined velocity in the radial direction toward an outer area of the disk, and in a second comparison, comparing the measured second time with a second predetermined reference value, the control means modifying the driving signal at a time when the beam moves toward the outer area, based on the result of the second comparison.

Claim 6

The disk storage apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the control means provides the driving signal generating means with a constant value and measures a time required for moving the head at a predetermined velocity based on the constant value.