Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd.

Unisys Corporation

Maxtor Corporation

Castlewood Systems, Inc.

Seagate Technology Incorporated

Memorex Corporation

Syquest Technology, Inc.

Unisys Corporation (formerly Burroughs Corp.)

Frank Ivan Morris

Whitney B Kroetz

Joseph Chang

Syed H Iftikar

King L Wong

Vinod Sharma

Albert J Guerini

Bipin V Gami

Ron Kirkish

Young-Hoon Kim

Paul Joseph Hack

John Edward Scura

Seong-Woo Kang

David M Drouin

Raju S Ananth

Dong-Ho Oh

Hans K Tannert

David Chew

Shiao-Hua Chen

Adolf L Fick

Wendy Lorimer

John Beley

Nikollay Ivanov

Momo K Boljanovic

Babu S Rahman

Scott Tran

Howard Steinhoff

Venkat R Koka

David W Basehore

Leonard S Bleininger

Robert L Talbot

Haeng-Soo Lee

A rotary actuator motor is provided including a stationary coil section and a rotating magnet. The magnet is incorporated with the pivot bearing assembly, and the coil section is aligned with the magnet along an axis of rotation of the actuator. The magnet fully encircles the axis of rotation. The coil comprises one or more closed loops of electrically conductive material. The motor in this arrangement maintains a much smaller profile in comparison to a traditional voice coil motor that is mounted to a yoke extending away from the axis of rotation of the actuator.

Low-profile rotary motor with fixed back iron

The invention includes sliders provided with indented surfaces, reducing the roll center for head gimbal assemblies below the effective thickness of the slider. Head gimbal assemblies built with these sliders may reduce off-track displacements induced by disk vibration. The load beam gimbal may contact the indented surface, creating a slider roll center less than the slider thickness. Alternatively, the sliders may include a slider contact cover interfacing to the load beam forming the gimbal. The slider contact covers may couple with the slider through an indented surface located closer than the slider thickness. These may have a negative slider roll center. The invention includes actuator arms, actuator assemblies, and hard disk drives including these head gimbal assemblies. The invention includes making the invention's sliders, head gimbal assemblies, actuator arms, actuator assemblies, and hard disk drives. The invention includes the products of these processes.

Method and apparatus reducing off track head motion due to disk vibration in a hard disk drive

The present invention includes a spindle motor with a dampened spindle motor flange, which includes a shallow groove on the disk face. The shallow groove includes a first rim, a trough, and a second rim. In use, the trough fills with a visco-elastic material compressed by a metallic ring. A disk pack assembly uses the spindle motor coupling through the dampened spindle motor flange to at least one clamped disk. The invention includes a disk pack using the spindle motor, visco-elastic material, and metallic ring, as well as hard disk drives built with these disk packs. The invention includes the method of disk pack assembly, as well as making a hard disk drive using disk pack. The manufactured disk pack and the hard disk drive are products of the invention's processes.

Damped spindle motor flange for the disk pack in a hard disk drive

The invention includes an impact rebound crash stop pivoting about a pivot between the top and bottom yoke of an actuator magnet assembly. The impact rebound crash stop includes a latch bias tab magnetically attracted to the voice coil magnet when it is near. The invention further includes a proximity latch allowing the actuator to stay on the ramp when not in use. The invention includes the operation of actuator arms embedding part of the magnetic proximity latch, actuators, and disk drives using the crash stop and proximity latch.

Disk drive actuator parking method using impact rebound crash stop with bias tab and pusher and crash stop faces

What is disclosed is a method and apparatus for writing servo information on disks to be used in a hard disk drive assembly. In one embodiment, servo information is pre-written onto a disk using an offline servo track writer which employs a fluid dynamic bearing spindle to rotate the disk(s) during read/write operations. In another embodiment, servo information is written onto a disk by a method of track following on a reference disk using an offline servo track writer.

Method and apparatus for servo track writing by track following on a dedicated servo disk on a fluid spindle bearing

The invention includes an impact rebound crash stop pivoting about a pivot between the top and bottom yoke of an actuator magnet assembly. The impact rebound crash stop includes a latch bias tab magnetically attracted to the voice coil magnet when it is near. The invention further includes a proximity latch allowing the actuator to stay on the ramp when not in use. The invention includes actuator arms embedding part of the magnetic proximity latch, actuators, and disk drives using the crash stop and proximity latch, as well as methods of making actuator arms, actuators and disk drives.

Disk drive actuator impact rebound crash stop with bias tab and pusher and crash stop faces

A method for centering the disk of a disk stack assembly. The method includes the step of applying a torque to the disk stack and spinning the disks. Both the torque and the spinning speed are less than normal operating values. A series of radial forces may then be applied to the disk stack. The series of forces will cause the rotating disks to self center. The rotating disks are eventually spun down and a full torque is applied to the disk stack to secure the disks.

Auto centering of disks on a hard disk drive

A method of writing data to multiple disks on a servo track writing machine comprises the steps of providing a cylindrical disk stacking tool comprising a base and a spindle, loading a first disk onto the spindle in alignment with the base, loading a second disk onto said spindle in alignment with the first disk, placing the loaded disk stacking tool on the servo track writing machine, and simultaneously writing data to the disks with the servo track writing machine. As many disks as desired may be so written to. The disk stacking tool further includes a clamp for locking the disks in place.

Multiple disk write method and device

Devices, systems, and methods prevent rigid recording media for video and other data from rattling within a cartridge when that cartridge is removed from a disk drive. To decrease rattling (and the resulting damage to the disk), a hub of the disk is urged against an inner surface of the cartridge housing. A door translates laterally to provide access to the disk within the cartridge. A feature is defined by an inner surface of the cartridge housing, and one or more resilient arms extend from the door assembly so as to engage the feature when the door moves towards a closed position. The feature deflects the arm axially against the disk, so that the arm can act as both an actuation mechanism and a biasing spring.

Video disk cartridge disk hub locking mechanism

An anti-rattle mechanism for a disk cartridge addressing the problems of particulate generation which occur in disk cartridges when a disk assembly moves around inside the cartridge contacting the cartridge walls. The anti-rattle mechanism includes an anti-rattle ring which is movable by a cam surface between a clamping position and a released position. When the disk cartridge is outside of a disk drive, the anti-rattle mechanism is in a clamping position to completely or partially captivate the disk assembly within the cartridge. As the disk cartridge is inserted into the disk drive, the anti-rattle mechanism moves to a released configuration where a disk is freely rotatable within the cartridge. The anti-rattle mechanism is moved between the clamping position and the released position by rotation of a movable door.

Disk cartridge with anti-rattle mechanism

Methods and apparatus for increasing the reliability of removable storage media by dynamically reducing particulate contaminants from magnetic disks. The apparatus and methods include using wipers which slidingly engage both sides of the magnetic disk as the disk rotates, in order to reduce particulates. In some embodiments, the wiper can be coupled to a swing-type actuator or to any resilient member which can be moved over the surface of the magnetic disk.

Moveable disk wiper apparatus and method

Anti-rattle mechanism for a removable video disk cartridge

A disk drive having a hermetically sealed disk chamber capable of being filled with gas at pressures above ambient pressure with a specially designed connector assembly for use with the sealed chamber. Helium or nitrogen is injected into the sealed disk chamber. To decrease power consumption at high platter spin rates, the present invention advantageously utilizes a sealed disk chamber filled with helium to reduce tribological resistance forces associated with the surfaces of the spinning platters. Nitrogen is used to reduce oxidation of the disk platters. Special fixtures maintaining high position tolerance and connectors are designed to coupled the PC board controller of the disk drive unit to the components of the disk drive within the sealed disk chamber to eliminate connecting flexcircuits from the junction of the hermetically sealed chamber.

Method of manufacturing a hermetically sealed disk drive

A sleeveless rotatable beryllium/aluminum alloy actuator arm for a disk drive for a computer. A rotatable actuator for a magnetic disk drive for a computer is also described. The rotatable actuator includes a sleeveless beryllium/aluminum alloy arm, a suspension attached to a first end of the arm, a transducer attached to the suspension, and a voice coil attached to a second end of the arm.

Sleeveless rotatable beryllium/aluminum actuator arm for a magnetic disc

A pivoting armset assembly is disclosed herein that has substantially reduced misregistration due to thermal effects. The armset assembly is useful for an actuator in a magnetic disk drive; the preferred embodiment is an armset assembly in an actuator for reading from, or writing to, one or more magnetic storage disks. The armset assembly, constructed according to the present invention, includes an armset having a smooth bore aligned with the axis of rotation. The assembly further includes a sleeve having a smooth outer perimeter with a size for an interference fit within the smooth bore. An anti-friction material is positioned between the smooth sleeve and the smooth bore. The assembly also includes a bearing disposed within the sleeve, to pivot the arm about its axis. The coefficient of friction between the bore and sleeve is high enough that they rotate together as a unit throughout their operating temperature range, without creating radial clearance between the arm and the sleeve, but low enough to permit slight axial adjustments during thermal expansion in which the bore expands at a different rate than the sleeve. Preferably, the anti-friction material is disposed on the sleeve, and includes a coating of tungsten disulfide (WS.sub. 2). The coefficient of friction can be selected by a choice of the heaviness of the interference fit, the type of the anti-friction material, and the smoothness of the bore and the sleeve.

Growing community of inventors

San Jose, CA, United States of America

Frank Ivan Morris