Maxtor Corporation

Seagate Technology Incorporated

Western Digital Technologies, Inc.

Francis P Crimi

Andrew LeFebvre

Erhard Theodor Schreck

Brian D Strom

Bruce C Schardt

Thao Anh Nguyen

Donald Joseph Brunnett

Timothy A Riener

Kazuhiro Saito

Scott A Hughes

Michael L Mallary

Stephen Paul Williams

Duc H Banh

Shuyu Zhang

Bernhard Hiller

Jingbo Yu

Chris Hawks

Duc Bahn

Xiaoping Hu

Wentao Yan

James D Fahey

Tave Joseph Fruge

Mark Heimbaugh

Debasis Baral

Douglas J Krajnovich

Anthony R Hurtado

Naum V Gitis

Joerg Ferber

Haibao Zhao

Hyunchul Shim

A plurality of commands is received from a host to perform at least one of reading data and writing data on a magnetic storage media of a Data Storage Device (DSD). The plurality of commands is clustered for performance based at least in part on a timing control of a fly-height heater of the DSD that is configured to adjust a flying height of a head of the DSD while the head is flying over the magnetic storage media. A cluster of commands is performed including the plurality of commands by controlling the head to perform at least one of reading and writing data on the magnetic storage media for the cluster of commands.

Command clustering for data storage device

A slider that includes a necked ABS pad is disclosed. More specifically, the slider includes an ABS pad having a first ABS region and a second ABS region, where the second ABS region is disposed immediately in front of the first ABS region proceeding in the direction of a leading edge of the slider. A transducer and a thermal actuator each may be disposed within the first ABS region. The width of the second ABS region (a necked portion of the ABS pad) is less than a width of the first ABS region.

Controlled fly height slider with necked ABS

A disk drive head-gimbal assembly includes a flexure that is modified to address the effects that the operating temperature of the disk drive may have on fly height. Generally, the flexure tongue is split into a leading edge flexure tongue section and a trailing edge flexure tongue section that are separated by a slider decoupling section. The slider decoupling section structurally interconnects the leading and trailing edge flexure tongue section, and further provides a reduced contact area with the slider. This reduced contact limits the ability of the flexure tongue to induce a positive crown on the air bearing surface of the slider.

Thermally-compensating attachment of disk drive slider to flexure

A disk drive includes a rotatable data storage disk and a vane positioned adjacent to the disk that receives airflow generated during rotation of the disk. A sensor is operably coupled to the vane and measures airflow force on the vane. Because of a known relationship between altitude and airflow force, the amount of airflow force on the vane is indicative of altitude of the disk drive. The sensor provides an output signal that is indicative of measured airflow force on the vane. The vane surface may be oriented substantially orthogonal to a plane of the disk or substantially parallel with a plane of the disk.

Disk drive with altitude detection air vane

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 for storing data includes a rotating storage disk and a slider positioned near the storage disk. The slider has a flying side and a read/write head. The flying side includes a leading bearing surface and a leading recessed surface positioned near a leading edge of the slider. The leading bearing surface can include a leading transverse section that is positioned within approximately 20 and 200 microns of the leading edge. The leading recessed surface is positioned between the leading transverse section and the leading edge. The leading bearing surface and the leading recessed surface cooperate to form a relatively high pressure area near the leading edge that facilitates a relatively rapid take-off of the slider away from the storage disk during start up of the disk drive.

Slider having fast take-off fluid bearing surface

A controller is provided having a circuit that uses non-repeatable run-out data and temperature data to provide a compensation for a fly height of a head. A disk drive may also be provided having a head for reading data from a disk, a thermistor, and a controller for controlling a fly height of the head based on temperature data obtained from the thermistor to refine a pressure determination. A method can include estimating a first pressure by the use of non-repeatable run-out data and temperature data corresponding to a disk drive.

Fly height compensation using temperature and non-repeatable runouts

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 disk drive includes a rotatable storage disk, an actuator motor, a slider that magnetically interacts with the storage disk, and a drive circuitry. A portion of the slider moves between a first position wherein the slider does not contact the storage disk and a second position wherein the slider contacts the storage disk. The drive circuitry can detect when the position of the slider changes between these positions. In one embodiment, the drive circuitry monitors off-track movement of the slider to detect when the slider has moved between these positions. The drive circuitry can also current that is directed to the actuator motor that is used to compensate for off-track movement to detect when the slider moves between these positions. In yet another embodiment, the drive circuitry monitors a rotational velocity of the storage disk to detect approximately when the slider moves between these positions.

System for detecting a change in head-to-disk contact status in a disk drive

A disk drive having a drive housing, a storage disk that is rotatably coupled to the drive housing, and a slider assembly that includes a head and a slider mover. The head reads data from the storage disk during a read operation and writes data to the storage disk during a write operation. The slider mover maintains the head at a read HtD spacing during the read operation, at a pre-write HtD spacing during the read operation prior to the write operation, at a write HtD spacing during the write operation, and at an idle HtD spacing when the drive is not performing the read operation or the write operation. The disk drive includes a drive circuitry that directs a read power level to the slider mover to maintain the head at the read HtD spacing, a pre-write power level to maintain the head at the pre-write HtD spacing, a write power level to maintain the head at the write HtD spacing, and a idle power level to maintains the head at the idle HtD spacing.

Disk drive that positions a head at multiple head-to-disk spacings

A disk drive includes a drive housing, a storage disk, a slider and a drive circuitry. The storage disk has an inner and an outer diameter. The slider includes a read/write head and a slider mover that receives power from the drive circuitry to position the read/write head at a predetermined head-to-disk spacing during radial movement of the slider relative to the storage disk. The drive circuitry can direct a varying level of power to the slider mover during radial movement of the slider. In addition, the drive circuitry can increase the power to the slider mover as the read/write head nears a target track in order to decrease the head-to-disk spacing at the appropriate time. The drive circuitry can adjust the power to the slider mover so that the head-to-disk spacing remains within a predetermined range as the slider moves radially relative to the storage disk. The drive circuitry can also direct power to the slider mover so that the head-to-disk spacing is substantially the same at the start of a seek operation and when the read/write head arrives at a target track. The drive circuitry can also direct power to the slider mover based at least partially on the temperature of a portion of the slider.

System and method for adjusting head-to-disk spacing in a disk drive

A transducer suspension assembly comprises mounting base plate (40), a spring element (42), a load beam (44) and a flexure (46) having a reduced-footprint slider (60). A partial etch (50) is formed in the spring element of the suspension. The spring element further includes a pair of lateral flanges (54). The flexure contains a second pair of flanges (64) and two longitudinal arrays of openings (70 and 72) formed in the flanges. A shortened, high-stiffness service loop (69) is connected to the reduced-footprint slider.

Growing community of inventors

Saratoga, CA, United States of America

Francis P Crimi