Seagate Technology Incorporated

Frank William Schadewald, Jr

Mark James Schaenzer

Scott Michael Franzen

Zuxuan Lin

Arnold W Johansen

Robert Paul Ekstrum

An electrostatic discharge protection device can protect a head gimbal assembly circuit from electrostatic discharge. The device includes a housing and a shunt positioned within the housing. The shunt includes a pair of electrical contacts and the shunt has a first position in which the electrical contacts are in electrical communication with the circuit and a second position in which the electrical contacts are removed from electrical communication with the circuit. The shunt can be placed in its first position to protect the head gimbal assembly against electrostatic discharge and is moved into its second position to permit testing operations of the head gimbal assembly. The shunt is then returned to its first position.

Disc drive shunting device

A connector board which interfaces a disk drive head assembly to a test apparatus. The connector board is capable of being separated into segments which facilitate head assembly testing without changing connector boards, wherein test connections may be established supporting differing numbers of head assembly wires. By way of example, the connector board is adapted so that it may be used with either four-wire heads or two-wire heads, and further provides simplified separation should only a two-wire connection be required.

Double-double (2&times;2) tester paddle board AKA 2&times;2 paddle board

A paddle board with flexible extended leads is provided. The paddle board includes a chassis and a flexible lead portion. The flexible lead portion has wire traces disposed therein for receiving a plurality of wires from a parametric test head. The paddle board may be connected to a socket of a testing assembly for testing the performance of a batch of storage media. The paddle board reduces the amount of damage or breakage to the wires extending from the testing head.

Paddle board with extended flexible leads

An apparatus for protecting a magnetoresistive head from electrostatic discharge. The apparatus includes an actuator assembly including the magnetoresistive head, and a connector board including a plurality of conductive traces in electrical contact with the magnetoresistive head. The connector board defines a plurality of openings therein, each of the openings having sides surfaces in electrical contact with one of the traces. The apparatus further includes a conductive shunting member including a plurality of protruding members adapted to be inserted into the openings and contact the side surfaces of the openings. The shunting member, when so inserted into the openings shorts the traces to provide protection of the magnetoresistive head from electrostatic discharge.

Comb shunt for ESD protection

An interface for connection between a printed circuit board and a device associated with a disk drive apparatus for extending the flexible connection between the printed circuit board and the disk drive device. The device includes a planar substrate relatively flexible to the board, and conductors are formed on the substrate. The conductors are in conductive communication with the circuit board and with a circular flexible wire having conductors associated with the head gimbal assembly of a disk drive device.

Flex lead extender

An integrated connector board for a head of a disc drive including a base having a lead, connector pad and insertion connector formed on the base, the lead connector pad and insertion connector being electrically coupled to define a circuit. The connector pad is adapted for connection to a pin type connector terminal and the elongated insertion connector is adapted for connection to an insertion type connector terminal for providing a connector board adapted for use with insertion type connector terminals and pin type connector terminals.

Growing community of inventors

Bloomington, MN, United States of America

Frank William Schadewald, Jr