System, method, and program product for controlling communication of disk drive motor

Abstract

A system, method, and program product for operating a disk drive motor according to an exponentially decaying commutation curve are disclosed. A disk drive includes a motor, a spindle driven by the motor, one or more rotatable storage media coupled to the spindle, a motor driver circuit coupled to the motor, and a disk drive controller coupled to the motor driver and other disk drive components. The various components of the disk drive are controlled during operation by signals generated by the disk drive system controller. In particular, the disk drive controller can provide commutation timing signals to the motor driver that, in turn, drives the motor. During the first part of motor start-up, the disk drive controller selects external commutation of the motor. Commutation values approximating the first portion of the ideal commutation curve are pre-defined and stored as a look-up table into a memory system. Commutation values approximating the second portion are derived from a linear equation having a slope based on an acceleration characteristic of the motor. If the motor fails to reach the critical BEMF speed, the slope is repeatedly decreased, as necessary, and commutation values are re-calculated for this second portion of the commutation curve until the motor is started. Commutation values generated during both portions of the initial start sequence are used to externally control commutation of the motor. After the motor reaches the critical BEMF speed at which the back-electromotive force is high enough for self-commutation to work properly, internal commutation or self-commutation of the motor is used to commutate the motor.