Ques Tek Innovations, LLC

Questak Innovations, Inc.

James M Adley

Lloyd C Goss

Scott M Stole

A disk drive system includes a base, a disk rotatably attached to the base, and an actuator assembly pivotally attached to the base. The actuator assembly moves the transducer to selected areas of the disk where information representative of data is to be written or read. The actuator assembly maintains the transducer in a transducing relationship with the disk. The actuator assembly includes an arm and a head gimbal assembly. The head gimbal assembly includes a suspension. The arm has a length from the point where it pivots to the end of the arm. The arm and suspension can be thought of as having a fixed length for a certain sized disk drive. The length of the arm is greater than 4.0 times the length of the suspension. The ratio of the length of the arm to the length of the suspension is in the range of 4.0 to 20.0. The arm is made of a material with a stiffness-to-mass ratio in the range of 6.0 to 20.0&times;10,m. The resulting actuator arm is long and stable and the suspension is short so that the signal processing preamplifier chip attached to the arm near the end carrying the transducer is 8 mm or less from the head transducer. The material of the arm conducts heat away from the chip by moving it from the preamplifier chip to the surface of the arm in the airstream between the disk and the arm. The suspension includes signal-carrying wires which electrically connect the transducer to the preamplifier chip which have a length in the range of 4 mm to 12 mm.

Low impedance head/preamplifier chip position in a disk drive

A disk drive system includes a base, a disk rotatably attached to the base, and an actuator assembly movably attached to the base. The actuator assembly moves the transducer to selected areas of the disk where information representative of data is to be written or read. The actuator assembly maintains the transducer in a transducing relationship with the disk. The actuator assembly also includes an arm which has a first layer of material including a plurality of elongated fibers orientated in a first direction, and a second layer of material including a plurality of elongated fibers orientated in a second direction. The first and second layers are part of a composite material. The transducer is attached to said arm. The resulting actuator arm has a resonant frequency that can be varied or moved or shifted by varying the direction of the elongated fibers in the second layer with respect to the direction of the elongated fibers in the first layer. The resonant frequency is varied so that it is at a different frequency than the resonant frequency peaks associated with the other components of the disk drive, such as the resonance frequency of the disk or disks of the drive and the head suspension assembly (HSA). The arm may also include signal-carrying wires which are positioned between the layers of the composite arm and heat conductive fibers to remove heat from a heat producing source, such as from a chip on the arm.

Disk drive actuator components made of composite material including

A disk drive system includes a base, a disk rotatably attached to the base, and an actuator assembly movably attached to the base. The actuator assembly moves the transducer to selected areas of the disk where information representative of data is to be written or read. The transducer is attached to the suspension. The arm has at least one suspension attached thereto using a wire wound sleeve or wrap. The wire wound sleeve or wrap surrounds the end of the arm and captures one or two suspensions between the arm and the wire wound coil. A transducer is attached to the suspension. The electrical connections between the arm and the suspension can also be made along with the mechanical connection of these two elements.

Suspension attachment technique and apparatus for attaching suspension

A disk drive system includes a base, a disk rotatably attached to the base, and an actuator assembly pivotally attached to the base. The actuator assembly moves the transducer to selected areas of the disk where information representative of data is to be written or read. The actuator assembly maintains the transducer in a transducing relationship with the disk. The actuator assembly includes an arm and a head gimbal assembly. The head gimbal assembly includes a suspension. The arm has a length from the point where it pivots to the end of the arm. The length of the arm is greater than 1.5 times the length of the suspension. The ratio of the length of the arm to the length of the suspension is in the range of 2.0 to 10.0. The arm is made of a composite material that includes elongated stiffening fibers. The resulting composite has a stiffness to mass ratio higher than aluminum, steel, or magnesium. An actuator arm made of the composite material having the high stiffness to mass ratio resonates at a frequency greater than 3 kHz, which is outside the operating range of the actuator servo bandwidth. The arm and the suspension can be thought of as having a fixed length for a certain design. The length of the arm, made of the high stiffness to mass material, is extended and the length of the suspension is shortened to form an actuator assembly of the overall length with higher than previously obtainable resonance frequencies.

Disk drive actuator assembly with arm having high stiffness to mass ratio

A disk drive system includes a base, a disk rotatably attached to the base, and an actuator assembly movably attached to the base. The actuator assembly moves the transducer to selected areas of the disk where information representative of data is to be written or read. The actuator assembly maintains the transducer in a transducing relationship with the disk. The first embodiment of the actuator assembly also includes an arm which has a first layer of material including a plurality of elongated fibers orientated in a first direction, and a second layer of material including a plurality of elongated fibers orientated in a second direction. The first and second layers are part of a composite material. The second embodiment of the actuator assembly also includes an arm made of a ceramic material. The transducer is attached to the arm. The resulting actuator arm is long and stable. A preamplifier chip is attached to the arm near the end carrying the transducer. The material of the arm is able to conduct heat away from the arm by moving it from the preamplifier chip to the surface of the arm in the airstream between the disk and the arm. The arm may also include signal-carrying wires which are positioned between the layers of the composite arm and heat conductive fibers to remove heat from a heat producing source, such as from a chip on the arm.

Chip attached to actuator arm having heat conducting fibers

A disk drive system includes a base, a disk rotatably attached to the base, and an actuator assembly movably attached to the base. The actuator assembly moves the transducer to selected areas of the disk where information representative of data is to be written or read. The actuator assembly maintains the transducer in a transducing relationship with the disk. The actuator assembly also includes an arm which allows a suspension to be attached to materials other than metals, such as composite materials or ceramic materials. The arm is provided with a protruding attachment feature. In the preferred embodiment, two protruding attachment features are provided. The suspension includes at least one folding metal tab that is tightly folded around the attachment feature while the metal is at an elevated temperature. One metal tab is provided for each attachment feature on the arm. The elevated temperature used while the suspension is attached to the attachment feature is above the operating temperature of the drive. The resulting attachment forms a rigid compressional bond between the shrinking metal and unyielding arm material.

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Hutchinson, MN, United States of America

James M Adley