Maxtor Corporation

Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd.

Seagate Technology Incorporated

Brian D Strom

SungChang Lee

Erhard Theodor Schreck

Thao Anh Nguyen

Duc H Banh

Shuyu Zhang

Francis P Crimi

Bruce C Schardt

Kazuhiro Saito

Scott A Hughes

Andrew LeFebvre

Donald Joseph Brunnett

Michael L Mallary

Richard Oswald

Timothy A Riener

Andrei Khurshudov

Lydia Baril

Jingbo Yu

Chris Hawks

George Tyndall

Joerg Ferber

Anthony R Hurtado

Tim Glassburn

Na Young Kim

Vinod Sharma

Stephen Paul Williams

Richard Edward Martin

Joseph Chang

Douglas J Krajnovich

Rickmer Kose

Duc Bahn

Kaz Saito

Sung Chang Lee

Hyunchul Shim

Zia Zahiri

A hard disk drive with a spindle motor that rotates a disk. When the disk drive is exposed to low temperatures a current can be provided to the spindle motor to heat the motor. For example, a DC current can be provided to the spindle motor. The current flowing through the spindle motor coil generates heat. The current can be provided for a predetermined time interval to sufficiently heat the spindle motor so that the fluid bearings of the motor can operate. The current is terminated and then an AC current is provided to the spindle motor to cause motor rotation.

Heat assisted spindle motor

A slider operating air bearing surface (ABS) to remove a front saturation water vapor pressure peak near a front bulwark and a bad flow pattern area the between front bulwark and a central island. The ABS implementing these operations. Alternatively, ABS includes a front bulwark channel in the front bulwark and a central fin between the front bulwark and the central island. Slider includes an embodiment of the ABS. Head gimbal assembly (HGA) includes the slider. Head stack assembly includes at least one HGA. Hard disk drive includes the head stack assembly. Manufacturing methods for the slider, the HGA, the head stack assembly, the hard disk drive, and these items as products of their manufacturing processes.

Method and apparatus for an air bearing surface to reduce contamination due to saturation water vapor pressure in a hard disk drive

Hard disk drive (HDD) including humidity sensor measuring interior and second humidity sensor measuring exterior with door actuator controlling door for mass transfer between interior and exterior based upon determination of whether or not to transfer. HDD may further include and use temperature sensors for interior and/or exterior to further control door. An embedded circuit and processor at least partly implementing these operations. External cover including door and door actuator, possibly second sensors. Manufacturing methods and these items as their products.

Method and apparatus intelligently adapting to environmental conditions inside and outside a hard disk drive

The head gimbal assembly includes a slider and a micro-actuator assembly sharing power for the micro-actuator assembly to aid in positioning the slider and for an amplifier included in the slider to generate an amplified read signal when the slider read accesses data on a rotating disk surface included in a hard disk drive. The slider includes a read-write head providing a read differential signal pair to an amplifier to generate an amplified read signal reported when read accessing a rotating disk surface near the slider, which includes a read head employing a spin valve or employing a tunneling valve. Hard disk drive including a head stack assembly, which includes at least one of the head gimbal assemblies. Manufacturing the head gimbal assembly, the head stack assembly, and the hard disk drive, as well as these items as products of the invention's manufacturing processes.

Apparatus and method for head gimbal assembly sharing power to slider amplifier and micro-actuator in a hard disk drive

A disk drive that regenerates a desiccant within the drive. The drive includes a housing that encloses a head and a disk. A first desiccant is located adjacent to a hole of the housing. A second desiccant is coupled to the first desiccant. The second desiccant is also coupled to a source of heat. Heat is transferred through the second desiccant to the first desiccant. The heat evaporates fluid within the first desiccant. The evaporated fluid flows into and through the second desiccant. The evaporation of fluid regenerates the first desiccant so that is can continuously absorb humidity within the drive.

Device to regenerate a desiccant in a hard disk drive

A disk drive includes a drive circuitry, a storage disk, a suspension and a slider. The slider is supported by the suspension and receives electrical current from the drive circuitry. The slider includes a flying side that generally faces the storage disk, a read/write head, and a slider deformer that is electrically decoupled from the drive circuitry. In one embodiment, the slider deformer is formed from a material having a coefficient of thermal expansion that is greater than a coefficient of thermal expansion of other portions of the slider. In this embodiment, the slider deformer causes a deformation of a portion of the flying side when the temperature of the slider deformer changes. Thus, when the read/write head expands or contracts due to a change in temperature of the slider, the slider deformer at least partially offsets the expansion and/or contraction of the read/write head to maintain a substantially consistent head-to-disk spacing of the disk drive.

Slider deformation control by thermal-structural compensators

A disk drive includes a drive circuitry, a suspension, a slider assembly that includes a read/write head, and a pressure compensator. The pressure compensator is electrically decoupled from the drive circuitry. A portion of the pressure compensator has a volume that passively changes when an ambient pressure near the pressure compensator changes. The pressure compensator at least partially offsets a change in a head-to-disk spacing that occurs when an ambient pressure near the pressure compensator changes. The pressure compensator can exert a force on the slider assembly to change a pivot angle between the suspension and the slider assembly, and/or to change a pitch angle between the slider assembly and the storage disk. In alternate embodiments, the pressure compensator can include a piston that moves or a resilient membranous material that changes shape based on changes in ambient pressure.

Passive fly height adjustment to compensate for ambient pressure changes in a disk drive

A hard disk drive including an electrical property meter sensing a spindle control signal to create an electrical property reading. Spindle control signal stimulates spindle motor to rotate at least one disk, creating rotating disk surface accessed by slider. Control circuit receives electrical property reading to create contact indication of slider contacting rotating disk surface, which may further include determining contact indication as spike in electrical property history of the readings. The electrical property meter may include ammeter and/or voltmeter. The control circuit, printed circuit board assembly, and/or motor control interface may include the electrical property meter. The control circuit may also include processor receiving electrical property reading to create contact indication. The hard disk drive may update contact log when contact indicated and may further update access parameter list for the slider accessing the rotating disk surface based upon the contact log.

Apparatus and method for slider-disk contact indication by monitoring the spindle control signal in a hard disk drive

Hard disk drive housing including at least one inlet, at least one outlet. The inlet is situated near spindle and above disk in hard disk drive. The outlet is situated near outside diameter of disk. When disk rotates, air pressure near the inlet is lower than air pressure near the outlet, causing a flow of air through the hard disk drive from the inlet to the outlet, tending to cool the hard disk drive. The inlet may include inlet filter. Outlet may include outlet filter. Manufacturing the housing by providing the inlet and the outlet. The disk cover as manufacturing product. Operating the hard disk drive containing the housing. The hard disk drive containing the housing, and manufacturing the hard disk drive. The hard disk drive as manufacturing product. A system containing at least one of the hard disk drives. Manufacturing the system, and the system as a manufacturing product.

Method and apparatus for circulating air through a hard disk drive

A method for manufacturing a first disk drive includes incorporating a first storage disk having a first storage surface, and a first slider having a first read/write head and a slider mover into the first disk drive. Further, the first read/write head is movably positioned a first head-to-disk spacing relative to the first storage surface. The method also includes determining an incremental power level necessary to be delivered to a second slider mover of a second slider having a second read/write head to adjust a second head-to-disk spacing relative to a second storage surface by a predetermined increment. In addition, the method includes adjusting a first head-to-disk spacing by directing an operational power level to the first slider mover. The operational power level is derived from the incremental power level. The step of determining an incremental power level can include directing power to the second slider mover and detecting approximately when a portion of the second slider first contacts the second storage surface. Moreover, the step of adjusting can be performed during one or more manufacturing operations of the first disk drive.

Method for adjusting head-to-disk spacing in a disk drive

A slider with an intake heater near front edge heating air passing between air bearing surface and rotating disk surface to reduce change in flying height caused by water condensation. Method of operating the slider. Head gimbals assembly including slider. Head stack assembly including at least one HGA. Operating hard disk drive by receiving temperature and humidity reading to determine heater control and asserting heater control to stimulate intake heater to heat air. Embedded processor directing hard disk drive at least partly implementing operations. Embedded circuit including embedded processor. A hard disk drive including temperature, humidity sensors, embedded circuit and head stack assembly. Manufacturing methods for slider, head gimbals assembly, head stack assembly, embedded processor, embedded circuit and hard disk drive, and these items as products of their manufacturing processes.

Method and apparatus reducing flying height drop in a hard disk drive under humid conditions

A method for monitoring the operability of a slider of a disk drive includes the steps of providing a slider that includes a read/write head that magnetically interacts with a storage disk, and a slider mover that adjusts a head-to-disk spacing, controlling an electrical stimulus to the slider mover with a drive circuitry, measuring an actual electrical response from the slider mover with the drive circuitry, and comparing the actual electrical response to an expected electrical response to determine an operability status of the slider mover. Further, changes in the actual electrical response can be monitored and used to predict future failure of the slider mover.

Method of detecting changes in operability status of a slider mover in a disk drive

A hard disk drive with a controller that controls a movement of a head relative to a disk. The controller causes the head to avoid a defect on the disk during a seek routine. The location of the defect is previously identified and stored in the drive. The drive may create a 'no-fly' zone about the defect to insure no contact with the head. The no-fly zone can be avoided by delaying the start of a seek routine, varying the displacement profile of the head or other techniques.

Method to avoid contact between the head and disk protrusions

Hard Disk Drive (HDD) including a humidity sensor. Humidity sensor communicating with embedded circuit to provide humidity reading to alter flying height control asserted to control vertical positioning of slider above disk surface. Method operating HDD using humidity sensor and apparatus implementing method. Methods of manufacturing embedded circuit and HDD, and their products.

Method and apparatus for adaptation to humidity in a hard disk drive

CSS hard disk drive providing improved take-off and/or touchdown by asserting pitch actuation control signal stimulating a pitch actuator to flex a flexure finger, altering the pitch angle of slider coupling through flexure finger to pitch actuator. Method implemented by embedded circuit and/or embedded processor. Manufacturing embedded processor, embedded circuit, CSS hard disk drive, and these process products.

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Cupertino, CA, United States of America

Brian D Strom