International Business Machines Corporation

Hitachi Global Storage Technologies Netherlands B.v.

Herman Russell Wendt

Charles Allan Brown

John Beck

Leo Volpe

Marie Angelopoulos

Wu-Song S Huang

Wayne Martin Moreau

David Robert Medeiros

Arthur R Zingher

Karen Elizabeth Petrillo

Thomas A Gregory

Thomas Edward Karis

Ranee Wai-Ling Kwong

Christopher Karl Magg

Luke A Cossette

Run-Han Wang

Daniel C Stucky

Heidi Lee Merkins

Benjamin N Eldridge

Thomas R Albrecht

Christopher Guild Keller

Richard Anthony Dipietro

Shingo Tsuda

Robert J Baseman

Michael Scott Good

James M Rigotti

John Martin Burns

Gurinder P Singh

Robert Carl Reinhart

Jeffrey Fred Boigenzahn

Richard Edward Lagergren

Brian Lee Rappel

Holavanahally Seshachar Nagaraj

James T Yeh

Dale E Goodman

Lyle R Tufty

Todd Phillip Fracek

Muhammad Inayet Ullah

Darrell Eugene Bratvold

Laura Beth Rothman

Gregory Allen Lyons

Ronald Lee Weaver

Nigel F Misso

Dale C Goeke

Kanako Abe

Susan G Scanlon

Charles Leverne Taylor, Jr

Stephen Leonard Schmidt

Scott McCoy

Sharon Lum

Farokh Ziari

James Joseph O'Neill

Andrew Marian Homola

Ronald Louis Herbold

A method and apparatus for regulating the concentration of a vapor within a hard drive are provided. In one embodiment, the method may include providing a source chemical of a vapor in a first cavity formed within a first object, providing an absorptive chemical which absorbs the vapor in a second cavity formed within the first object, and providing a third cavity formed by a hard drive housing of the hard drive. A first conductance path having a first conductance connects the first cavity to the third cavity, a second conductance path having a second conductance connects the second cavity to the third cavity, and the first conductance and the second conductance maintain a partial pressure level of the vapor within the third cavity.

Control system to regulate the concentration of vapor in a hard disk drive

A rotating disk storage device is provided with a charging filter capable of efficiently removing dust staying in the interior of the device. In one embodiment, a charging filter is disposed below a magnetic disk and on a bottom of a base. The charging filter has plural through holes by forming a fibrous electret filter medium in a pleat shape. The through holes are formed so as to face a flowing direction of air. Dust, which is moving together with the air flow, is polarized and is attracted to the charging filter. The charging filter can collect even very fine particles without causing such problems as clogging and pressure loss. The pleat portion, which forms the through holes, further exhibits an air flow uniforming effect.

Disk device with charging filter outside pivotal range of head actuator and having projection plane overlapping the disk

Embodiments of the present invention pertain to maintaining an acceptable level of relative humidity inside of a disk drive. According to one embodiment, clean dry air is blow over a cover of the disk drive. The cover includes an unsealed servo write slot. The amount of clean dry air blown over the cover is regulated while a servo write process is performed so that a portion of the clean dry air is introduced into the disk drive.

Method and a system for maintaining an acceptable level of relative humidity inside of a disk drive

The present invention includes a packaged coated workpiece. The packaged coated workpiece has: (1) a workpiece coated with a resist film sensitive to optical radiation, particulates or chemical contaminants; (2) an inner barrier sealed to enclose the coated workpiece and optionally a first getter agent, to produce a sealed first enclosure; and (3) an outer barrier sealed to enclose the sealed first enclosure and optionally a second getter agent, provided that the packaged coated workpiece has at least one getter agent, to produce a packaged coated workpiece suitable for storage for a period of at least one week without substantial loss of sensitivity, resolution or performance. The present invention also includes a process for preparing a packaged coated workpiece and a method of increasing the storage time of a coated workpiece to at least one week without substantial loss of sensitivity, resolution or performance.

Method of making a packaged radiation sensitive resist film-coated workpiece

A magnetic recording disk drive has self-limiting wear contact type air-bearing sliders that support the read/write heads. The magnetic elements of the read/write head extend into and are surrounded by a wearable pad that protrudes beyond the air-bearing surface of the slider. The end of the protrusion pad and the ends of the magnetic elements are covered by a corrosion-resistant overcoat that protects the magnetic elements during slider fabrication and disk drive assembly. The overcoated protrusion pad sliders are assembled into the disk drive in a special environment, typically air with humidity controlled below a level above which corrosion of the magnetic elements would occur. The drive is then hermetically sealed and the drive is operated with the protrusion pads in contact with the disks until the overcoats and a portion of the pads are worn or burnished away. The combination of protrusion pad air bearing sliders with a hermetically sealed disk drive in a controlled atmosphere, and the burnishing of the head overcoat either after the drive has been sealed or under controlled humidity conditions prior to sealing, allows for a very low magnetic spacing to be achieved in manufacturable disk drives.

Magnetic recording disk drive with self-limiting wearable contact pad air-bearing slider in hermetically sealed environment

The magnetic surfaces of the magnetoresistive or magnetic tunnel junction and inductive write head and magnetic recording disk of a hard disk drive are protected from corrosion by inserting a vapor phase corrosion inhibitor (VPCI) package into the disk drive for providing additives in the vapor phase of the disk drive enclosure to maintain an equilibrium and renewable adsorbed film of metal passivators on the head and disk surfaces. The VPCI package includes at least one vapor phase corrosion inhibitor (VPCI) embedded in a polymeric matrix.

Magnetic recording device with improved reliability

The present invention includes a packaged coated workpiece. The packaged coated workpiece has: (1) a workpiece coated with a resist film sensitive to optical radiation, particulates or chemical contaminants; (2) an inner barrier sealed to enclose the coated workpiece and optionally a first getter agent, to produce a sealed first enclosure; and (3) an outer barrier sealed to enclose the sealed first enclosure and optionally a second getter agent, provided that the packaged coated workpiece has at least one getter agent, to produce a packaged coated workpiece suitable for storage for a period of at least one week without substantial loss of sensitvity, resolution or performance. The present invention also includes a process for preparing a packaged coated workpiece and a method of increasing the storage time of a coated workpiece to at least one week without substantial loss of sensitivity, resolution or performance.

Packaged radiation sensitive coated workpiece process for making and method of storing same

A coil assembly for disk drive components is presented which includes a coil winding free of lubricants that cause stiction problems during the operation of the disk drive assembly. An actuator coil and spindle motor winding are disclosed which include a conductor, an insulating layer over the conductor, a bond coat overlying the insulating layer, and a lubricant coating on the insulating layer. The lubricant coating is a hydrocarbon based oil having a molecular weight within ranges that will not volatilize and condense on the surface of the disks in the drive.

Coil wire lubricant for use in magnetic disk drives

A method of degassing a disk drive component including heating the drive component to a temperature ranging from about 70.degree. C. to 250.degree. C.; subjecting the drive component to vacuum pressure during heating, the vacuum pressure having a first pressure and a second pressure; and monitoring the vacuum pressure to determine the level of degassing of the disk drive component.

Vacuum baking process

A method and apparatus for detecting and measuring organic materials present on components used in magnetic storage systems, such as an actuator coil. The component is heated on a hot plate, and a concave lens with a low surface energy coating is placed over the component. The contaminants volatilize and condense on the glass lens. The condensate is collected in solvent. The solvent is evaporated and the size of the residue is measured. A determination can be made whether the component is suitable for used in a magnetic storage system.

Method and apparatus for detecting and measuring organic materials on

A data storage disk drive is provided with a spindle which supports a plurality of disks having at least one magnetic disk surface to form a spindle assembly for rotation of the disk surfaces about a common axis and a rotary actuator which supports magnetic transducers for movement in unison about respective disk surfaces. The disk drive includes a disk drive enclosure having die-cast generated predetermined zero draft geometries for mounting the spindle motor shaft and the actuator bearing shaft. The enclosure includes a base casting and a cover casting, each casting including structure for locating and retaining electrical connectors used for connecting to a planar electronics card located outside the drive enclosure. The disk drive includes an effective and easily manufacturable electrical path from a flex circuit to an actuator comb. The disk drive includes a tubular chemical breather filter arranged with integral housing and diffusion channels formed in the cover casting.

Structure and enclosure assembly for a disk drive

A data storage disk drive is provided with a spindle which supports a plurality of disks having at least one magnetic disk surface to form a spindle assembly for rotation of the disk surfaces about a common axis and a rotary actuator which supports magnetic transducers for movement in unison about respective disk surfaces. The disk drive includes a voltage reference tab provided for quick assembly and removal from an actuator comb. The voltage reference tab maintains the magneto-resistive transducers and the magnetic disks at the same reference voltage potential thus minimizing electrical discharge from the transducer to the disk. The voltage reference tab is a copper tab having symmetrical slots about a fastening hole to facilitate the bending operation and to reduce the rate at which heat is conducted during the soldering process. The tab maintains the voltage reference potential between the head and disk through an extension of the flex cable attached to the actuator.

A data recording disk drive has an improved breather filter assembly that removes both chemical contaminants and particulate matter. The filter assembly includes a housing having an internal passage and a recess that supports and contains the chemical and particulate filter elements. The passage in the filter housing provides fluid communication between the breather opening and a sheet of chemical filter material. A barrier plate is also located in the filter housing recess adjacent to the side of the chemical filter sheet not exposed to air from the passage. The barrier plate prevents air from flowing through the chemical filter material and redirects the air flow across the surface of the chemical filter sheet. After the air flows by the chemical filter sheet, it is redirected through the particulate filter element and into the disk drive enclosure. The air entering the disk drive enclosure does not generally enter into the interior of the chemical filter material by forced conduction, but flows by the surface of the material so that the chemical filter does not significantly increase the flow impedance of the filter assembly, as in prior art breather filter assemblies. The flow across the surface of the material allows contaminants to diffuse into the getter material and become trapped.

Chemical breather filter assembly

A data recording disk drive has an improved breather filter assembly that removes both chemical contaminants and particulate matter. The filter assembly includes a housing having an internal passage and a recess that supports and contains the chemical and particulate filter elements, The passage in the filter housing provides fluid communication between the breather opening and a sheet of chemical filter material. A barrier plate is also located in the filter housing recess adjacent to the side of the chemical filter sheet not exposed to air from the passage. The barrier plate prevents air from flowing through the chemical filter material and redirects the air flow across the surface of the chemical filter sheet. After the air flows by the chemical filter sheet, it is redirected through the particulate filter element and into the disk drive enclosure. The air entering the disk drive enclosure does not generally enter into the interior of the chemical filter material by forced conduction, but flows by the surface of the material so that the chemical filter does not significantly increase the flow impedance of the filter assembly, as in prior art breather filter assemblies. The flow across the surface of the material allows contaminants to diffuse into the getter material and become trapped.

Disk drive with flow-by chemical breather filter

During wafer fabrication, a transportable enclosure, such as a Standard Manufacturing InterFace (SMIF) pod encloses a nascent product, such as a semiconductor wafer, to protect the wafer against contamination during manufacture, storage or transportation. However chemical vapors emitted inside the pod can accumulate in the air and degrade wafers during subsequent fabrication. In order to absorb the vapors inside a closed pod, a vapor removal element typically including an activated carbon absorber, covered by a particulate-filtering vapor-permeable barrier, and covered by a guard plate with holes is disposed within the enclosure. A vapor removal element is disposed closely adjacent to each respective wafer. Alternatively, a single vapor removal element is located inside the enclosure. In certain instances, a fan or thermo-buoyant circulation causes any vapors located inside the enclosure to a vapor removal element for removal. Alternatively a porous vapor removal element may be disposed for removing vapors from air entering the enclosure. In another embodiment a vapor removal element is integrated with the back face of each wafer.

Vapor drain system

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San Jose, CA, United States of America

Herman Russell Wendt