Seagate Technology Incorporated

Western Digital Technologies, Inc.

Joseph H Sassine

Zine-Eddine Boutaghou

Wolfgang Rosner

Joel David Limmer

Timothy Edward Langlais

Hany Michael Gross

Roger Lee Hipwell, Jr

John Stuart Wright

Andrew D White

Kevin Jon Schulz

Sandeepan Bhattacharya

James Roger Mahoney

Andrew John Hutchinson

Jagdish L Agrawal

An apparatus is provided, including a base-deck floor; a base-deck frame, overlying the base-deck floor; a top cover, overlying the base-deck frame; and an affixing means operable to attach the base-deck frame to the base-deck floor, wherein the base-deck frame is operable to be fastened to both the base-deck floor and the top cover to provide a housing for a hard disk drive. A method is also provided, including assembling at least a portion of a hard disk drive assembly on a base-deck floor; affixing a base-deck frame to the base-deck floor; and securing a top cover to the base-deck frame.

Multipiece deck for hard disk drive

A support assembly includes a base layer, a circuit defined along the base layer, and a first material molded on at least a portion of the base layer. The first material substantially forms a shape of at least a portion of the support assembly. Further disclosed is a molded suspension assembly. The molded suspension assembly includes a thin and elongate metallic substrate and a non-metallic material molded along at least a portion of one side of the metallic substrate. The non-metallic material interlocks with the metallic substrate. The molded suspension assembly includes a transducer support area at or near a first end of the molded suspension assembly.

Suspension assembly with molded structures

A head suspension assembly for carrying a slider assembly in a disc drive has a beam component having a front end and a rear end, a hinge component near the rear end of the beam component for connecting to an actuation means, and a gimbal component near the front end of the main beam section for carrying a transducing head. At least one of the hinge component and the gimbal component is made from a structural damping material having high stiffness and high damping capacity.

Head suspension assembly having a high damping high stiffness component

A slider suspension assembly includes a positioning arm mounted to a laminate that has a spring layer and a flex circuit layer. The spring layer has a gimbal spring arm. The flex circuit layer has an elongate flex circuit arm separated from the elongate gimbal spring arm by a gap. The flex circuit layer include a flex circuit tab that extends across the gap to an attachment point on the gimbal spring arm.

Slider suspension assembly including a flex circuit arm with a flex circuit tab attached to a gimbal spring arm

An assembly includes a suspension component with a surface extending over a flexible region of the suspension component. The assembly also includes a damping layer disposed in a pattern that extends onto the surface. A sealing layer that is non-friable covers the damping layer. The sealing layer also preferably comprises a shear restraint layer for the damping layer.

Suspension component with sealed damping layer

A suspension including a load beam, a flex gimbal, and a displacement limiter. The load beam includes a distal end having a dimple extending downwardly therefrom and an aperture. The flex gimbal includes a base dielectric layer and a plurality of electrical conductors coupled to the dielectric layer. The dielectric layer includes a top side that is attached to a bottom side load beam at a first location. The displacement limiter is attached to the dielectric layer and includes a limiter member having a first portion extending through the aperture of the load beam and a second portion extending over a top surface of the load beam. Displacement of the flex gimbal relative to the load beam is limited by the second limiter portion.

Head suspension having a displacement limiter

A disk drive includes a disk drive base and a disk stack, the disk stack comprising a first disk including a first recording surface and a second recording surface. A spindle motor attached to the disk drive base rotates the disk stack about a spindle motor rotation axis. A ramp load engages at least the first and second lift tab of a head stack assembly. The ramp load includes a shaft coupled to the disk drive base, the shaft defining a shaft axis that is parallel to the spindle motor rotation axis. The ramp load also includes a first ramp defining a first lift tab engaging surface for engaging the first lift tab and a first facing surface configured to face the first recording surface of the first disk at a first distance, and a second ramp defining a second lift tab engaging surface for engaging the second lift tab and a second facing surface configured to face the second recording surface of the first disk at a second distance. The first and second ramps may be slid parallel to the shaft to a desired position at which the difference between the first distance and the second distance is minimized. The first and second ramps may then be locked onto the shaft at the desired position.

Growing community of inventors

Lakeville, MN, United States of America

Joseph H Sassine