Patent ID: 6094725
Filing Date: 2000-07-25
Classification: G06F,G11B

Abstract:
A magnetic disk apparatus having at least two systems each including at least one power unit and at least one battery unit ancillary to the power unit, and at least one common power unit having a pluralities of batteries attached thereto connected in common with the two systems, the apparatus comprising:patrol control means (PC) operatively connected to a power control unit (0) of one system and a power control unit (1) of another system for giving a control signal during a battery monitoring operation and a priority order to the battery monitoring operation,the patrol control means monitoring the function of the common batteries attached to the common power unit and, further, when the common batteries are incorporated in the magnetic disk apparatus, controls the simultaneous monitoring of the common batteries and the time of incorporation of the common batteries into the magnetic disk apparatus;wherein when one of the at least two systems is monitoring the common batteries, the power control unit of the one of the at least two system sends a master signal MAS to the patrol control means (PC) indicating that the one of the at least two systems is monitoring the common batteries, and the patrol control means sends an other-system patrol signal O-TST to the other of the at least two system indicating that the one of the two at least two system is monitoring the common batteries.