POY5.JAN–HP–rm
1.3-in. hard-disk drive uses electronic shock protection
The Kittyhawk 1.3-in. hard-disk drive is a mechanical marvel
developed at Hewlett-Packard's Boise, ID, Mass Storage Div., with the
manufacturing cooperation of Citizen Watch, in Japan. With either a PCMCIA
or IDE interface, the drive could be used in the same way as 1.8-in.
drives. However, the drive's 100-g shock tolerance (while running, not
parked), as well as its size and small power demand, could suit it for
jobs the bulkier drives can't handle. The shock tolerance comes from the
one HP-designed chip, a shock sensor that lifts the heads and avoids
bouncing. Control electronics other than the shock sensor came from AT&T,
in Berkeley Heights, NJ (Electronic Products, May, p. 100). One unusual
feature of the design is the power control chip. It produces a surge that
lifts the heads free of the disk surface as the disk starts to accelerate,
so the heads don't slide along until flying speed is reached. The first
announced design win for Kitty Hawk is as an option in the Personal
Communicator 440 from EO, Inc., of Mountain View, CA. The EO communicators
are pen-based devices using the AT&T Hobbit microprocessor and Go Corp.'s
Penpoint operating system in ROM. With built-in fax modems and optional
cellular phones they aim to keep traveling executives in touch everywhere.
The drive's 21-Mbyte capacity is smaller than that achieved at 1.8 in.,
but HP expects to reach 200 Mbytes by 1995. It only requires 5 V for
writing as well as reading. HP envisions the drive's use in battery
equipment and in appliances that have not had mass storage in the past.
(Evaluation units, $450; production, $250 ea/large qty–available now.)
Hewlett-Packard Co. Mass Storage Div. Boise, ID Customer Information
Center 800-637-7740
CAPTION:
This minuscule disk drive uses three heads on two glass 34-mm platters.
The PCMCIA height limitation leaves no room for a head on the top surface.
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