Abstract:
A portable wireless communication terminal includes a sensor to detect a movement of the portable wireless communication terminal and output a first signal based on an acceleration of the movement and a second signal based on a velocity of the movement and a controller to control a hard disk drive (HDD) in response to both the first and second signals.

Description:
PRIORITY  
       [0001]     This application claims priority under 35 U.S.C. § 119 to an application filed in the Korean Intellectual Property Office on Mar. 28, 2005 and assigned Serial No. 2005-25452, the contents of which are herein incorporated by reference.  
       BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
       [0002]     1. Field of the Invention  
         [0003]     The present invention relates generally to a system for controlling a hard disk drive in response to movements of a portable terminal.  
         [0004]     2. Description of the Related Art  
         [0005]     The rapid proliferation of portable terminals has spurred the development of multi-functional portable terminals. A portable terminal as referred to throughout the disclosure may be a portable wireless communication terminal for conducting wireless communication. Portable terminals may perform a variety of functions beyond traditional call functionality in order to meet user demands. Due to drastic wireless network evolution, there is an increased use of the high end portable terminals and high quality services with diverse and dynamic contents. Due to an increased demand for large-volume contents in the changed environment, a Hard Disk Drive (HDD) offering a large memory capacity may be mounted as an auxiliary memory in portable terminals. To protect the HDD from being damaged, these portable terminals may be configured to park the HDD during movements in order to prevent data reading and writing.  
         [0006]     However, the HDD parking at times may be triggered even by a slight movement of the portable terminal, even if the movement is not sufficient to damage the HDD.  
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
       [0007]     A portable wireless communication terminal includes a sensor to detect a movement of the portable wireless communication terminal and output a first signal based on an acceleration of the movement and a second signal based on a velocity of the movement and a controller to control a hard disk drive (HDD) in response to both the first and second signals. 
     
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0008]     The above and other objects, features and advantages of the present invention will become more apparent from the following detailed description when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings in which:  
         [0009]      FIG. 1  is a block diagram of a portable terminal according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention;  
         [0010]      FIG. 2  is a block diagram of a portable terminal according to another exemplary embodiment of the present invention;  
         [0011]      FIG. 3  is a block diagram of a portable terminal according to a third exemplary embodiment of the present invention;  
         [0012]      FIG. 4  is a block diagram of a portable terminal according to a fourth exemplary embodiment of the present invention; and  
         [0013]      FIG. 5  is a flowchart illustrating an operation for judging whether to park an HDD in the portable terminal according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention. 
     
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS  
       [0014]     Preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described herein below with reference to the accompanying drawings. In the following description, well-known functions or constructions are not described in detail since they would obscure the invention in unnecessary detail.  
         [0015]      FIG. 1  is a block diagram of a portable terminal according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention. A portable terminal as referred to throughout the disclosure is a portable wireless communication terminal for conducting wireless communication including but not limited to a mobile telephone, PDA and computer.  
         [0016]     Referring to  FIG. 1 , a Radio Frequency (RF) module  123  is responsible for wireless communications in the portable terminal and is coupled to a first controller  110  and, via  110 , a second controller  140 . The RF module  123  includes an RF transmitter for frequency upconversion and amplification of a transmission signal and an RF receiver for low-noise-amplification and frequency downconversion of a received signal. A MODEM  120  is provided with a transmitter for encoding and modulating the transmission signal and a receiver for demodulating and decoding the received signal.  
         [0017]     An audio processor  125  may have Coders-Decoders (CODECs). The CODECs are a data CODEC for processing packet data and an audio CODEC for processing an audio signal such as voice. The audio processor  125  converts a digital audio signal received from the MODEM  120  to an analog signal at the audio CODEC, for reproduction. It also converts an analog audio signal received through a microphone to a digital audio signal and provides the digital audio signal to the MODEM  120 . The audio processor  125  includes an Analog-to-Digital Converter (ADC) for performing the foregoing analog to digital or digital to analog conversions. According to the exemplary embodiment of the present invention, the ADC converts an analog signal representing a motion value received from a sensor  180  to a digital motion value and outputs the digital signal to a second controller  140 .  
         [0018]     A memory  130  can have a program memory and a data memory. The program memory can store programs for controlling the typical operations of the portable terminal and programs for controlling parking and unparking of an HDD according to the exemplary embodiment of the present invention. The data memory temporarily stores data generated during execution of the programs.  
         [0019]     A first controller  110  provides overall control to the portable terminal. The MODEM  120  and the CODECs can be incorporated into the first controller  110 . If the portable terminal co-functions as a Personal Digital Assistant (PDA), the first controller  110  may control phone functions and the second controller  140  which in turn may control PDA functionality.  
         [0020]     A display  160  displays user data received from the first controller  110 . A Liquid Crystal Display (LCD) can be used for the display  160 . In this case, the display  160  is provided with an LCD controller, a memory for storing video data, and an LCD display device. In the case where the LCD is implemented in a touch screen fashion, the display  160  can function as an input device. A keypad  127  includes alphanumerical keys and function keys.  
         [0021]     The sensor  180  is a three-axis (X, Y and Z axis-) acceleration sensor for detecting the movement of the portable terminal with respect to the mutually orthogonal X, Y Z axes. The sensor  180  may output an acceleration signal based on an acceleration of the detected movement to an HDD controller  150  and output a movement measurement signal based on a measurement of the movement with respect to the X, Y and Z-axes. The foregoing signals may be outputted to the ADC of the audio processor  125  in accordance with the exemplary embodiment of the present invention. An acceleration of the movement as referred to throughout the disclosure may be any acceleration in the movement including but not limited to an acceleration with respect to the X, Y, Z axes and a vertical acceleration. A measurement of the movement, as referred to throughout the disclosure, can be a measurement of any aspect of the movement including but not limited to a measurement of a velocity with respect to the X, Y, Z axes. With respect to the description related to an acceleration signal throughout the disclosure, a determination may be made by a controller whether the acceleration signal indicates that the acceleration of the movement exceeds a predetermined threshold value. If the determination is made by a controller that the acceleration of the movement exceeds the predetermined threshold value (e.g., a threshold value referred to as zero G), a further determination may be made by a controller whether to park the HDD based on the movement measurement signal (e.g., signal outputted based on a velocity of the movement).  
         [0022]     The HDD controller  150  controls an HDD  170 . Under the control of the second controller  140 , the HDD controller  150  reads data from the HDD  170  or writes data on the HDD  170 .  
         [0023]     In accordance with the exemplary embodiment of the present invention, the HDD controller  150  provides the acceleration received from the sensor  180  to the second controller  140 . It also parks the HDD  170  under the control of the second controller  140 , thereby protecting the HDD  170  against damage. The HDD controller  150  may be a Transition Integrated Circuit (TIC).  
         [0024]     The second controller  140  may determine the movement of the portable terminal based on the acceleration signal received from the HDD controller  150  and may further determine whether to park or unpark the HDD  170  based on the movement measurement signal received from the ADC of the audio processor  125 . After determining to park the HDD  170  according to the movement measurement signal, the second controller  140  controls the HDD controller  150  to park the HDD  170 . After determining not to park the HDD  170  according to the movement measurement signal, the second controller  140  controls the HDD controller  150  to leave the HDD  170  unparked since the movement of the portable terminal will not damage the HDD  170 .  
         [0025]     For example, the second controller  140  may decide not to park the HDD  170  when the movement measurement signal received from the sensor  180  indicates that the user is walking, jogging, or driving or that the movement is causing a load not greater than the limit load of the HDD  170  (for example, at or below a limit load of about 200 g for a 3 GB HDD).  
         [0026]     The second controller  140  may control the PDA functionality under the control of the first controller  110  when the portable terminal co-functions as a PDA, as described before.  
         [0027]     The process of determining as to whether to park the HDD will be described in great detail with reference to  FIG. 5 .  
         [0028]      FIG. 5  is a flowchart illustrating an operation for determining whether to park an HDD in the portable terminal according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention.  
         [0029]     Referring to  FIGS. 1 and 5 , if the portable terminal makes a movement, the sensor  180  detects the movement in step  401 . In step  402 , the sensor  180  senses the acceleration of the movement and provides it to the HDD controller  150 .  
         [0030]     The HDD controller  150  provides an acceleration signal outputted based on the acceleration of the movement to the second controller  140  and the second controller  140  determines that the portable terminal is moving based on the acceleration signal (e.g., based on whether the acceleration signal indicates that the acceleration of the movement is above a threshold value—the threshold value may be referred as the zero G).  
         [0031]     The sensor  180  also provides a movement measurement signal derived from X, Y and Z-axis measurement values (e.g., X, Y and Z axis components of the velocity of the movement) of the movement of the portable terminal to the ADC of the audio processor  125 . The ADC receives the movement measurement signal from the sensor  180  in step  403  and converts the analog movement measurement signal to a digital movement measurement signal and provides it to the second controller  140  in step  404 .  
         [0032]     In step  405 , the second controller  140  determines whether to park the HDD  170  according to the movement measurement signal. After determining to park the HDD  170  according to the movement measurement signal in step  406 , the second controller  140  controls the HDD controller  150  to park the HDD  170  in step  407 . On the contrary, after determining not to park the HDD  170  according to the movement measurement signal in step  406 , the second controller  140  leaves the HDD  170  unparked because the movement of the portable terminal is not serious enough to damage the HDD  170 .  
         [0033]      FIG. 2  is a block diagram of a portable terminal according to another embodiment of the present invention.  
         [0034]     Referring to  FIG. 2 , the sensor  180  may be a three-axis (X, Y and Z axis-) acceleration sensor for detecting the movement of the portable terminal with respct to the mutually orthogonal three axes. The sensor  180  provides an acceleration signal to the HDD controller  150  after detecting the movement and outputs an analog movement measurement signal derived from the X, Y and Z-axis measurement values (e.g., X, Y and Z axis components of the velocity of the movement) of the portable terminal to the second controller  140  in the second embodiment of the present invention.  
         [0035]     The HDD controller  150  controls the HDD  170 . Under the control of the second controller  140 , the HDD controller  150  reads data from the HDD  170  or writes data on the HDD  170 .  
         [0036]     In accordance with the second embodiment of the present invention, the HDD controller  150  provides the acceleration signal received from the sensor  180  to the second controller  140 . It also parks the HDD  170  under the control of the second controller  140 , thereby protecting the HDD  170  against damage. The HDD controller  150  may be a TIC.  
         [0037]     The second controller  140  determines the movement of the portable terminal based on the acceleration signal received from the HDD controller  150 . The second controller  140  includes an ADC. In the second embodiment of the present invention, the ADC converts an analog movement measurement signal received from the sensor  180  to a digital movement measurement signal.  
         [0038]     The second controller  140  judges whether to park the HDD  170  based on the digital movement measurement signal. After determining to park the HDD  170  according to the movement measurement signal, the second controller  140  controls the HDD controller  150  to park the HDD  170 . After determining not to park the HDD  170  according to the movement measurement signal, the second controller  140  leaves the HDD  170  unparked, considering that the movement of the portable terminal will not damage the HDD  170 .  
         [0039]     The second controller  140  decides not to park the HDD  170  when the movement measurement signal received from the sensor  180  indicates that the user is walking, jogging, or driving or that the movement is causing a load not greater than the limit load of the HDD  170 , for example, at or below a limit load of about 200 g for a 3 GB HDD.  
         [0040]     The second controller  140  may control the PDA functionality under the control of the first controller  110  when the portable terminal co-functions as a PDA, as described before.  
         [0041]     The process of determining whether the HDD is to be parked in the portable terminal having the configuration illustrated in  FIG. 2  will be described in great detail with reference to  FIG. 5 .  
         [0042]      FIG. 5  is a flowchart illustrating an operation for judging whether to park the HDD in the portable terminal according to the exemplary embodiment of the present invention.  
         [0043]     Referring to  FIGS. 2 and 5 , if the portable terminal makes a movement, the sensor  180  detects the movement in step  401 . In step  402 , the sensor  180  senses the acceleration and provides it to the HDD controller  150 .  
         [0044]     The HDD controller  150  provides the acceleration signal to the second controller  140  and the second controller  140  determines that the portable terminal is moving based on the acceleration signal.  
         [0045]     The sensor  180  also provides a movement measurement signal derived from X, Y and Z-axis measurement values of the movement of the portable terminal to the ADC of the second controller  140 . The ADC receives the movement measurement signal from the sensor  180  in step  403  and converts the analog movement measurement signal to a digital movement measurement signal and provides it to the second controller  140  in step  404 .  
         [0046]     In step  405 , the second controller  140  determines whether to the HDD  170  according to the movement measurement signal. After determining to park the HDD  170  according to the movement measurement signal in step  406 , the second controller  140  controls the HDD controller  150  to park the HDD  170  in step  407 . On the contrary, after determining not to park the HDD  170  according to the movement measurement signal in step  406 , the second controller  140  keeps the HDD  170  unparked, considering that the movement of the portable terminal will not damage the HDD  170 .  
         [0047]      FIG. 3  is a block diagram of a portable terminal according to a third embodiment of the present invention.  
         [0048]     Referring to  FIG. 3 , the sensor  180  may be a three-axis (X, Y and Z axis-) acceleration sensor for detecting the movement of the portable terminal. The sensor  180  provides an acceleration signal and an analog movement measurement signal derived from the X, Y and Z-axis measurement values of the portable terminal to the HDD controller  150  after detection of the movement in the third embodiment of the present invention.  
         [0049]     The HDD controller  150  controls the HDD  170 . Under the control of the second controller  140 , the HDD controller  150  reads data from the HDD  170  or writes data on the HDD  170 .  
         [0050]     In accordance with the third embodiment of the present invention, the HDD controller  150  provides the acceleration signal received from the sensor  180  to the second controller  140 . The HDD controller  150  includes an ADC. In the third embodiment of the present invention, the ADC converts an analog movement measurement signal received from the sensor  180  to a digital movement measurement signal and provides the digital movement measurement signal to the second controller  140 . The HDD controller  150  also parks the HDD  170  under the control of the second controller  140 , thereby protecting the HDD  170  against damage. The HDD controller  150  may be a TIC.  
         [0051]     The second controller  140  determines the movement of the portable terminal based on the acceleration signal received from the HDD controller  150 . The second controller  140  determines whether to park the HDD  170  based on the digital movement measurement signal received from the ADC of the HDD controller  150 .  
         [0052]     After determining to park the HDD  170  according to the movement measurement signal, the second controller  140  controls the HDD controller  150  to park the HDD  170 . After determining not to park the HDD  170  according to the movement measurement signal, the second controller  140  leaves the HDD  170  unparked, considering that the movement of the portable terminal will not damage the HDD  170 .  
         [0053]     The second controller  140  decides not to park the HDD  170  when the movement measurement signal received from the sensor  180  indicates that the user is walking, jogging, or driving or that the movement is causing a load not greater than the limit load of the HDD  170 , for example, at or below a limit load of about 200 g for a 3 GB HDD.  
         [0054]     The second controller  140  can control the PDA functionality under the control of the first controller  110  when the portable terminal co-functions as a PDA, as described before.  
         [0055]     To the process of determining whether the HDD is to be parked in the portable terminal having the configuration illustrated in  FIG. 3  will be described in great detail with reference to  FIG. 5 .  
         [0056]      FIG. 5  is a flowchart illustrating an operation for judging whether to park or unpark the HDD in the portable terminal according to the exemplary embodiment of the present invention.  
         [0057]     Referring to  FIGS. 3 and 5 , if the portable terminal makes a movement, the sensor  180  detects the movement in step  401 . In step  402 , the sensor  180  senses the acceleration and provides the acceleration signal to the HDD controller  150 .  
         [0058]     The HDD controller  150  provides the acceleration signal to the second controller  140  and the second controller  140  determines that the portable terminal is moving based on the acceleration signal.  
         [0059]     The sensor  180  also provides a movement measurement signal derived from X, Y and Z-axis measurement values of the movement of the portable terminal to the ADC of the HDD controller  150 . The ADC receives the movement measurement signal from the sensor  180  in step  403  and converts the analog movement measurement signal to a digital movement measurement signal and provides it to the second controller  140  in step  404 .  
         [0060]     In step  405 , the second controller  140  determines whether to park the HDD  170  according to the movement measurement signal. After determining to park the HDD  170  according to the movement measurement signal in step  406 , the second controller  140  controls the HDD controller  150  to park the HDD  170  in step  407 . On the contrary, after determining not to park the HDD  170  according to the movement measurement signal in step  406 , the second controller  140  keeps the HDD  170  unparked because the movement of the portable terminal will not damage the HDD  170 .  
         [0061]      FIG. 4  is a block diagram of a portable terminal according to a fourth embodiment of the present invention.  
         [0062]     Referring to  FIG. 4 , the sensor  180  may be a three-axis (X, Y and Z axis-) acceleration sensor for detecting the movement of the portable terminal. The sensor  180  provides an acceleration signal to the HDD controller  150  and provides an analog movement measurement signal derived from the X, Y and Z-axis measurement values of the movement of portable terminal to the controller  110  after the movement detection in the fourth embodiment of the present invention.  
         [0063]     The HDD controller  150  controls the HDD  170 . Under the control of the controller  110 , the HDD controller  150  reads data from the HDD  170  or writes data on the HDD  170 .  
         [0064]     In accordance with the fourth embodiment of the present invention, the HDD controller  150  provides the acceleration signal received from the sensor  180  to the controller  110 . The HDD controller  150  also parks the HDD  170  under the control of the controller  110 , thereby protecting the HDD  170  against damage. The HDD controller  150  may be a TIC.  
         [0065]     The controller  110  provides overall control to the portable terminal. The controller  110  may include the MODEM  120  and the CODECs. In accordance with the fourth embodiment of the present invention, the controller  110  determines the movement of the portable terminal based on the acceleration signal received from the HDD controller  150 . The controller  110  includes an ADC. The ADC converts an analog movement measurement signal received from the sensor  180  to a digital movement measurement signal according to the fourth embodiment of the present invention.  
         [0066]     The controller  110  determines whether to park the HDD  170  based on the digital movement measurement signal. After determining to park the HDD  170  according to the movement measurement signal, the controller  110  controls the HDD controller  150  to park the HDD  170 . After determining not to park the HDD  170  according to the movement measurement signal, the controller  110  leaves the HDD  170  unparked, because the movement of the portable terminal will not damage the HDD  170 .  
         [0067]     The controller  110  decides not to park the HDD  170  when the movement measurement signal received from the sensor  180  indicates that the user is walking, jogging, or driving or that the movement is causing a load not greater than the limit load of the HDD  170 , for example, at or below a limit load of about 200 g for a 3 GB HDD.  
         [0068]     The process of determining whether the HDD is to be parked in the portable terminal having the configuration illustrated in  FIG. 4  will be described in great detail with reference to  FIG. 5 .  
         [0069]      FIG. 5  is a flowchart illustrating an operation for determining whether to park the HDD in the portable terminal according to the exemplary embodiment of the present invention.  
         [0070]     Referring to  FIGS. 4 and 5 , if the portable terminal makes a movement, the sensor  180  detects the movement in step  401 . In step  402 , the sensor  180  senses the acceleration and provides the acceleration signal to the HDD controller  150 .  
         [0071]     The HDD controller  150  provides the acceleration to the controller  110  and the controller  110  determines that the portable terminal is moving based on the acceleration signal.  
         [0072]     The sensor  180  also provides a movement measurement signal derived from X, Y and Z-axis measurement values corresponding to the movement of the portable terminal to the ADC of the controller  110 . The ADC receives the movement measurement signal from the sensor  180  in step  403  and converts the analog movement measurement signal to a digital movement measurement signal in step  404 .  
         [0073]     In step  405 , the controller  110  determines whether to park the HDD  170  according to the movement measurement signal. After determining to park the HDD  170  according to the movement measurement signal in step  406 , the controller  110  controls the HDD controller  150  to park the HDD  170  in step  407 . On the contrary, after determining not to park the HDD  170  according to the movement measurement signal in step  406 , the controller  110  keeps the HDD  170  unparked, because the movement of the portable terminal will not damage the HDD  170 .  
         [0074]     As described above, an exemplary embodiment of the present invention may park an HDD when the portable terminal makes a movement serious enough to damage the HDD.  
         [0075]     While the invention has been shown and described with reference to certain preferred embodiments thereof, it will be understood by those skilled in the art that various changes in form and details may be made therein without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as defined by the appended claims.