Western Digital Corporation

Darryl L Hyde

John Robert Edwards

A magnetic disk drive with a head stack assembly includes a body portion, a coil portion cantilevered from one side of the body portion, and an actuator arm cantilevered to the opposite side of the body portion, wherein the body portion includes a plastic inner sleeve to provide a quick, press-fit connection with a pivot bearing cartridge. The body portion further includes a non-plastic outer portion which is preferably part of an aluminum E-block having integrally formed actuator arms. The plastic inner sleeve and non-plastic outer portion preferably include a spline and a recess, respectively, that are firmly compressed together by the press-fit connection to prevent relative angular motion. The plastic inner sleeve preferably includes a flat that is aligned with the spline and recess in order to contact the pivot cartridge along the flat and thereby ensure that the press-fit forces are focused onto the spline and recess. The preferred head stack assembly further includes a molding port at a rear portion of the non-plastic outer portion so that the plastic inner sleeve and a plastic overmold of the coil portion may be simultaneously formed and interconnected via the molding port, the molding port and plastic interconnection serving to prevent relative longitudinal motion.

Head stack assembly for a disk drive having a plastic inner sleeve

An intelligent hard disk drive, which includes a head disk assembly (HDA) and a printed circuit board assembly (PCBA), has a thin configuration. The HDA includes a spindle motor and the PCBA includes spindle motor driver circuitry. Spring loaded contacts and exposed electrical contacts provide automatic electrical connection between the spindle motor and the spindle motor driver circuitry.

Intelligent disk drive having spring contacts on a board assembly for

A magnetic memory disk storage system has a pair of storage disks rotatably mounted in a housing. A head actuator assembly is pivotably mounted adjacent to the storage disks and includes a plurality of load beam assemblies for placing read/write heads adjacent to the disk surfaces. Each of the load beam assemblies has a load beam, a magnetic recording slider adjacent an outboard end of the load beam, an actuator arm welded to the inboard end of the load beam and two alignment ears on the actuator arm. A pivot bearing assembly extends through pivot holes through the load beam assemblies for pivotable support of the head actuator assembly. The load beam assemblies are clamped together with the alignment ears on all of the load beam assemblies being in alignment. A torque washer next to the nut which clamps the parts on the bearing assembly includes a hole for resisting torque and preventing twisting of the load beam assemblies. The head actuator assembly is assembled from its component parts in a comb which protects the load beam assemblies and sliders during assembly, testing and transport.

Growing community of inventors

San Jose, CA, United States of America

Darryl L Hyde