The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document.
The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge covers the following: Patent number, Date patent was issued, Date patent was filed, Title of the patent, Applicant, Inventor, Assignee, Attorney firm, Primary examiner, Assistant examiner, CPCs, and Abstract. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document (in Adobe Acrobat format, aka pdf). To download or print any patent click here.
Patent No.:
Date of Patent:
Aug. 20, 2002
Filed:
May. 04, 1998
Nicolas C. Assouad, Niwot, CO (US);
STMicroelectronics N.V., , NL;
Abstract
The invention includes a drive control integrated circuit with an intelligent and efficient tracing capability. The drive control integrated circuit executes operating instructions grouped into modules. The drive control integrated circuit stores the module numbers for executed modules in a memory. System designers can then retrieve the module numbers from the memory to assess the operation of the drive control integrated circuit. Some typical modules are read, write, seek, error, and servo modules. The drive control integrated circuit also stores operating parameters associated with the executed modules in the memory. Some typical operating parameters are instruction codes, head numbers, cylinder numbers, and error codes. The invention allows system designers to specify a particular trace operation and wait for the drive control integrated circuit to load the module numbers and operational parameters of interest into the memory. The use of selected module numbers and operating parameters reduces the amount of data typically stored in conventional trace operation. The effect of the trace operation on system performance is negligible and allows for accurate system evaluation under realistic operating conditions.