Western Digital Technologies, Inc.

Brian P Schott

Keith R Berding

Tzong-Shii Pan

Yanning Liu

Wing Chun Shum

Nils E Larson

Kia Moh Teo

Jonathan M Garbarino

Enoch Mylabathula

Thomas J Hitchner

Baekho Heo

A disk drive including a disk having a bottom surface and a base having a first surface lying along a first plane and a second surface lying along a second plane positioned substantially parallel to the first plane. The second surface is spaced apart from the first surface and is beneath at least a portion of the bottom surface of the disk. A damper of the disk drive is located on the second surface adjacent the first surface and is configured to contact a portion of the bottom surface of the disk when the disk is deflected toward the first surface.

Disk deflection damper for disk drive

A disk drive includes an inner frame that has a disk drive base and a disk drive cover. A disk, mounted on a rotary spindle attached to the disk drive base, defines a disk outer periphery that protrudes into a first side opening of the inner frame. A head actuator is attached to the disk drive base and to the disk drive cover. An outer enclosure includes an extruded hollow cylinder with a cross-sectional shape that is a continuous and unbroken ring that is substantially rectangular, and that surrounds a cavity. The outer enclosure surrounds the disk drive base and the disk drive cover. During assembly, the inner frame may be slid lengthwise into an open end of the outer enclosure, and the outer enclosure may be hermetically sealed to enclose air or helium in the cavity.

Disk drive having an inner frame with a side opening and an extruded hermetically sealed outer enclosure

A disk drive motor hub includes a top cylindrical portion defining a longitudinal axis, a middle cylindrical portion proximate the top cylindrical portion, and a bottom cylindrical portion proximate the middle cylindrical portion. The middle cylindrical portion defines an upper mounting surface substantially normal to the longitudinal axis, the upper mounting surface extending radially beyond the top cylindrical portion, and the bottom cylindrical portion defines a lower mounting surface substantially normal to the longitudinal axis, the lower mounting surface extending radially beyond the middle cylindrical portion.

Disk drive with stepped motor hub

A head gimbal assembly for a disk drive includes a read head and a suspension assembly. The suspension assembly includes a load beam and a laminate flexure. The laminate flexure includes a structural layer, a dielectric layer, and a conductive layer that includes a plurality of electrical traces. The laminate flexure includes a tongue portion that connects to the read head and a flexure tail that extends away from the tongue portion. The flexure tail includes a plurality of flexure bond pads. Each of the plurality of flexure bond pads includes a widened region of a corresponding one of the plurality of electrical traces in the conductive layer, and a corresponding one of a plurality of segments or discontinuous islands in the structural layer.

Disk drive head gimbal assembly having a flexure tail with features to facilitate bonding

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San Jose, CA, United States of America

Brian P Schott