Western Digital Technologies, Inc.

Jon Jacoby

John R Gustafson

David K Myers

Arman V Golgolab

Robert P Ryan

William Don Huber

Jon M Garbarino

Alan P Rice

Frederick J Hanke

Joseph T Lin

Hamid R Rejae

An approach to a reduced-head hard disk drive (HDD) includes a load/unload (LUL) ramp subsystem that includes a translatable ramp assembly that includes a biasing member and a magnet coupled thereto, which is magnetically engaged with a guide post to provide a bias force at an interface of a lead screw and the ramp assembly. The bias force acts upon the interface by reducing a gap between outer threads of the lead screw and inner threads of a mating threaded interface structure of the ramp assembly that would otherwise cause lead screw hysteresis without the bias force.

Eliminating lead screw hysteresis for vertically translating load/unload ramp mechanism for data storage device

An approach to a reduced-head hard disk drive (HDD) involves a load/unload (LUL) ramp subsystem that includes a ramp assembly that includes a translatable lever member and a LUL ramp member coupled thereto, and interconnected elevator interfaces coupled with the ramp by way of a set of flexures. The ramp subsystem is configured such that in response to a sufficient force being applied to the lever by the HSA, a distal end of the ramp is positioned so that an outer perimeter of a recording disk of an HDD is free of a channel at the distal end of the ramp. The subsystem may further include a motor configured to drive rotation of a lead screw to which the ramp assembly is attached, to drive vertical translation of the ramp assembly, thereby providing for loading the vertically-translatable HSA onto and off of each of the disks of a multiple-disk stack.

Vertically translating load/unload ramp mechanism for cold storage data storage device

A disk drive includes a disk that has a data side and an unread side. A first read head faces and is adjacent the data side. The disk drive also includes a cylindrical shroud wall that is substantially orthogonal to the unread side and that completely encircles the disk outer periphery. A radial spacing between the cylindrical shroud wall and the disk outer periphery nowhere exceeds 1 mm. The disk drive does not include any read head that faces and is disposed adjacent the unread side.

Disk drive having a shroud wall that completely encircles a disk outer periphery

A disk drive includes a disk drive enclosure having a canister opening, and a disk rotably mounted to and within the disk drive enclosure. A canister containing a desiccant or adsorptive material is removably externally fixed within the canister opening. An external surface of the canister is external to and facing away from the enclosure. A hermetic seal covers the external surface of the canister and is externally adhered to the disk drive enclosure.

Disk drive with removably externally fixed canister under a hermetic seal

Systems and methods for providing adsorptive surface coatings on internal components of a storage drive to adsorb contaminants are provided. One such system relates to a storage device including a magnetic media configured to store information, a head configured to read information from the media and to write information to the media, and at least one internal component selected from the group consisting of an internal surface of a housing of the storage device, a recirculation filter, an anti-disk, an actuator arm for moving the head, and a voice coil motor, where a contaminant adsorptive coating is disposed on a portion of the at least one internal component, where the contaminant adsorptive coating is configured to bond with preselected contaminants.

Systems and methods for providing adsorptive surface coatings on internal components of a storage drive

A novel disk drive includes an enclosure and a disk rotatably mounted to and within the enclosure. The disk drive enclosure has a fill port opening with an internally threaded section and an internal annular seating surface. A fill port valve is disposed within the fill port opening. The fill port valve includes an externally threaded section that is engaged with the internally threaded section of the fill port opening, an external annular seating surface in contact with and forming a continuous annular seal with the internal annular seating surface of the fill port opening, and a gas flow channel spanning the externally threaded section of the fill port valve. The disk drive may be helium-filled, and may also include a metal foil seal that is externally adhered to the disk drive enclosure and covers the fill port opening and the fill port valve.

Hermetically sealed disk drive with fill port valve

A solderless compression connector is disclosed operable to couple first and second electrical components. The solderless compression connector comprises a housing comprising a dielectric forming a plurality of chambers, and an elongated conducting element disposed in each chamber. Each elongated conducting element comprises a first end operable to engage a first electrical lead of the first electrical component, and a second end operable to engage a second electrical lead of the second electrical component. Each elongated conducting element comprises a substantially constant thickness, and each elongated conducting element comprises a substantially constant width along a length of the elongated conducting element. A spacing between at least two of the elongated conducting elements is substantially constant. After installing the solderless compression connector, the elongated conducting elements are housed substantially within the respective chambers.

Solderless compression connector comprising constant width conducting elements housed substantially within a dielectric when installed

A novel disk drive includes a hermetically sealed helium-filled enclosure that has an opening extending through the disk drive base. A laminated electrical connector is disposed inside the enclosure, spans the opening, and is accessible from outside the disk drive base via the opening. The laminated electrical connector has an adhesive layer that is adhered to the disk drive base continuously around the opening, and that has a hole therethrough that is aligned with the opening. The laminated electrical connector includes electrically conductive traces that are electrically connected to the actuator flex cable, and a first insulative layer that is disposed on the trace layer. The laminated electrical connector has a metal foil sealing layer that continuously spans and completely covers the opening, and that has no holes therethrough that are aligned with the opening. The metal foil sealing layer overlaps the adhesive layer continuously around the opening.

Sealed laminated electrical connector for helium filled disk drive

A disk drive is disclosed comprising a disk, a head actuated over a surface of the disk, and a spindle motor for rotating the disk. The spindle motor comprises a ring-shaped stator having a plurality of stator teeth each wound with a winding. The spindle motor further comprises a hub having a plurality of magnets for interacting with the stator teeth to rotate the hub about the shaft when the windings are energized. A ring-shaped shield is disposed in a vertical gap between the windings and the hub to reduce a voltage coupled from the windings to the surface of the disk.

Growing community of inventors

San Jose, CA, United States of America

Jon Jacoby