Disk drive using virtual hands for continuous access and execution

Claim 2

A disk drive comprising: at least one rotating disk medium which is constituted by a plurality of tracks each divided into a plurality of sectors for storing data; command-receiving means for receiving and forwarding a read/write command from a host device, by which access operations for consecutive sectors of said disk medium are requested; access-designating means for designating continuous-access operations in the form of jump-access operations with respect to the sectors, when said read/write command is forwarded from said command-receiving means; and continuous-access executing means for sequentially writing continuous data in consecutively non-adjacent sector locations during write operations, and sequentially reading continuous data from consecutively non-adjacent sector locations during read operations when said continuous-access operations are designated by said access-designating means based on said read/write command, said host device obtaining additional addresses at least partially as said head passes between consecutively non-adjacent sectors.

Claim 3

A disk drive as set forth in claim 1, wherein the disk drive is comprised of a magnetic disk drive including one magnetic disk as said disk medium and including one magnetic head which performs access operations for read/write operations of said data on said sectors.

Claim 4

A disk drive as set forth in claim 1, wherein the disk drive is comprised of a magnetic disk drive including a plurality of magnetic disks as said disk medium and including a plurality of magnetic heads which perform access operations for read/write operations of said data on said sectors of the respectively corresponding magnetic disks.

Claim 5

A disk drive comprising: at least one disk medium that is constituted by a plurality of tracks each divided into a plurality of sectors including odd sectors and even sectors for storing data, on which access operations for read and write operations of said data are performed by a single physical head; command-receiving means for receiving and forwarding a command from a host device which includes a requirement for said access operations for consecutive sectors of said disk medium, and which includes content such that either one of two virtual heads defined with respect to the same head is selected in said access operations; access-designating means for designating continuous-access operations of either said odd sectors or said even sectors in accordance with said virtual head selected by said command, when said command is forwarded from said command-receiving means; and continuous-access executing means for sequentially writing continuous data into only said odd sectors during said write operations, and sequentially reading continuous data from only said odd sectors during said read operations, or for sequentially writing continuous data into only said even sectors during said write operations, and sequentially reading continuous data from only said even sectors during said read operations by utilizing said single physical head in accordance with an instruction given by said access-designating means based on said command, said host device obtaining additional addresses at least partially as said head passes between every other sector.

Claim 6

A disk drive comprising: at least one disk medium that is constituted by a plurality of tracks each divided into a plurality of sectors including odd sectors and even sectors for storing data, on which access operations for read and write operations of said data are performed by a single physical head; command-receiving means for receiving and forwarding a command from a host device which includes a requirement for said access operations for consecutive sectors of said disk medium, and which includes content such that either one of two virtual heads defined with respect to the same head is selected in said access operations; access-designating means for designating continuous-access operations of either said odd sectors or said even sectors in accordance with said virtual head selected by said command, when said command is forwarded from said command-receiving means; and continuous-access executing means for sequentially writing continuous data into only said odd sectors during said write operations, and sequentially reading continuous data from only said odd sectors during said read operations, or for sequentially writing continuous data into only said even sectors during said write operations, and sequentially reading continuous data from only said even sectors during said read operations by utilizing said single physical head in accordance with an instruction given by said access-designating means based on said command, said host device obtaining additional addresses at least partially as said head passes between every other sector.

Claim 7

A disk drive as set forth in claim 4, wherein the disk drive is comprised of a magnetic disk drive including one magnetic disk as said disk medium and including one magnetic head provided on said magnetic disk as said head.

Claim 8

A disk drive as set forth in claim 4, wherein the disk drive is comprised of a magnetic disk drive including a plurality of magnetic disks as said disk medium and including a plurality of magnetic heads provided corresponding to the respective magnetic disks.

Claim 9

A disk drive as set forth in claim 1, wherein said command-receiving means includes: at least one driver/receiver which receives said command transmitted from said host device through at least one interface cable; and a transfer buffer circuit which receives data including said command transferred from said driver/receiver, wherein said access-designating means includes: a circuit for converting a width of data between a first width of data that is handled in said command-receiving means and a second width of data that is handled in said continuous-access executing means and sending data corresponding to said second width of data to said continuous-access executing means, so that said continuous-access operations at consecutively non-adjacent sector locations can be realized, and wherein said continuous-access executing means includes a read/write control circuit which controls said continuous-access operations in accordance with the data sent from said circuit for converting a width of data.

Claim 10

A disk drive as set forth in claim 4, wherein said command-receiving means includes: at least one driver/receiver which receives said command transmitted from said host device through at least one interface cable; and a transfer buffer circuit which receives and forwards data including said command transferred from said driver/receiver, wherein said access-designating means includes: a circuit for converting a width of data between a first width of data that is handled in said command-receiving means and a second width of the data that is handled in said continuous-access executing means and sending data corresponding to said second width of data to said continuous-access executing means, so that said continuous-access operations at each odd sector only or each even sector only can be realized, and wherein said continuous-access executing means includes: a read/write control circuit which controls said continuous-access operations in accordance with the data sent from said circuit for converting a width of data.

Claim 11

A disk drive as set forth in claim 8, wherein said circuit for converting a width of data has: a first-in/first-out buffer through which the data is transferred to and from said host device; a data transmission/reception control unit in which the data forwarded from said transfer buffer circuit is converted to data adequate for said continuous-access operations; and a read/write control processing unit which sends signals for selecting either said even sectors or said odd sectors in accordance with said command from said host device, to said data transmission/reception control unit.

Claim 12

A disk device comprising: at least one rotating storage medium which stores continuous data in a plurality of consecutively non-adjacent sectors such that continuous data is read in sequence from consecutively non-adjacent sectors; at least one head which reads said data from said alternating sectors during a read operation as said storage medium rotates, and a processor which selects addresses to be read by said head and processes said data read by said head at said selected addresses, said processor obtaining additional addresses for data to be read at least partially as said head passes between alternating sectors.

Claim 13

A disk device comprising: at least one rotating storage medium which stores continuous data in a plurality of consecutively non-adjacent sectors such that continuous data is read in sequence from consecutively non-adjacent sectors; at least one head which reads said data from said alternating sectors during a read operation as said storage medium rotates, and a processor which selects addresses to be read by said head and processes said data read by said head at said selected addresses, said processor obtaining additional addresses for data to be read at least partially as said head passes between alternating sectors.

Claim 14

A disk device as set forth in claim 10, wherein the disk device is comprised of a magnetic disk drive including one magnetic disk as said rotating storage medium, and including at least one magnetic head which performs access operations for read/write operations of said data on said sectors.

Claim 15

A disk device as set forth in claim 10, wherein the disk device is comprised of a magnetic disk drive including a plurality of magnetic disks as said rotating storage medium and including a plurality of magnetic heads which perform access operations for read/write operations of said data on said sectors of the respectively corresponding magnetic disks.