International Business Machines Corporation

Hitachi Global Storage Technologies Netherlands B.v.

Western Digital Technologies, Inc.

Other

Hgst Netherlands, B.v.

Hitachi Global Storage Technologies

Kirk Barrows Price

Mantle Man-Hon Yu

Louis Joseph Serrano

Thomas R Albrecht

Toshiki Hirano

Darya Amin-Shahidi

Daniel Robert Stacer

Michael R Hatchett

Eric Alan Eckberg

Jr-Yi Shen

Brad Vaughn Johnson

Steven Alf Hanssen

Neal Bertram Schirle

Robert Carl Reinhart

Andrew Keith Hanlon

Iraj Kavosh

Oscar Jaime Ruiz

David W Albrecht

Lei Zhang

Andre Sirilutporn Chan

Ta-Chang Fu

Darrell Dean Palmer

David Eric Peters

Donald Giles Allen

Hitoshi Shindo

Gregory Michael Frees

Edgar Dennis Rothenberg

Ryan Thomas Davis

Dale E Goodman

Antony Nguyen

David Harwood McMurtry

Jeffrey Kerner

Roy J Flowers

Anthony George Dunn

Brad J Kriehn

Robert A Holleran

A data storage device involves a plurality of sidewalls of a bent sheet metal cover, either pre-formed or shaped-in-place, overlapping with and hermetically sealed with a corresponding plurality of sidewalls of an enclosure base, using an applied epoxy adhesive. Base protrusions and/or cover dimples may be used to set a suitable gap between the parts. A robust hermetic seal provides for filling the data storage device with a lighter-than-air gas.

Adhesive cover seal for hermetically-sealed data storage device

A data storage device involves a plurality of continuous sidewalls and corner portions of a tub cover overlapping with and hermetically sealed with a corresponding plurality of sidewalls and corners of an enclosure base using an epoxy adhesive. Base protrusions and/or cover dimples may be used to set a suitable gap between the parts. A robust hermetic seal provides for filling the HDD with a lighter-than-air gas. A tub cover may include pleated corners, and a base may include corners having a constant-radius outer surface and sidewalls having a sloped upper surface, whereby an assembly interference fit between the base and the tub cover is formed by forcing outward each sidewall of the tub cover while forcing inward at least a portion of each corner of the tub cover.

A method of assembling a data storage device comprises forming an enclosure by overlapping each of a plurality of sidewalls of a cover with a corresponding sidewall of a base part, dispensing a liquid adhesive between the respective sidewalls of the cover and base part in such a quantity at each of a plurality of locations to promote capillary flow of the liquid adhesive to form a continuous film of liquid adhesive between the sidewalls, and curing the continuous film of liquid adhesive to form a hermetic seal between the cover and the base part. Embodiments may include surface treating the sidewall surface(s), which can help promote the capillary flow of the liquid adhesive. The hermetic seal provides for a lighter-than-air gas to be held therein.

A data storage device involves a plurality of continuous sidewalls and corner portions of a tub cover overlapping with and hermetically sealed with a corresponding plurality of sidewalls and corners of an enclosure base using an epoxy adhesive. Base protrusions and/or cover dimples may be used to set a suitable gap between the parts. A robust hermetic seal provides for filling the HDD with a lighter-than-air gas. A tub cover may include corners having a tapered radius that decreases from the top to the bottom edge, and a base may include corners having a constant-radius outer surface and sidewalls having a sloped upper surface, whereby an assembly interference fit between the base and the tub cover is formed by forcing outward each sidewall of the tub cover while forcing inward at least a portion of each corner of the tub cover.

A method for forming a seal for hermetically sealing a hard disk drive assembly. The method includes forming a solder channel within a top cover of a disk drive enclosure and disposing a solder preform on a base of the disk drive enclosure such that the solder preform aligns with the solder channel when the top cover is positioned on the base.

Hermetically sealing a disk drive assembly

Disk drive with a solder preform hermetic seal

A flex cable assembly for a head stack assembly of a hard disk drive comprises a flex cable for conducting data signals from the head stack assembly to a connector. The flex cable comprises a dynamic loop section between a termination for the head stack assembly and the connector. A constrained layer damper is attached adjacently to an area of the flex cable that is configured to receive the coupler. The constrained layer damper extends into the dynamic loop section of the flex cable.

Flex cable assembly damper

An airflow diverter in a hard disk drive system. A top portion configured to couple with a top housing of the disk drive system. A thickness configured to create a top clearance between the diverter and a top actuator arm of the disk drive system wherein the top clearance approximates a bottom clearance between a bottom housing of the disk drive system and a bottom actuator arm of the disk drive system. At least one surface configured to divert the airflow in the disk drive system during the operation of the disk drive system.

Airflow diverter in a hard disk drive system

A sealed head disk assembly has a base casting for providing attachment points for the major components of the head disk assembly. The base casting has a semi-hermetic seal encompassing an outer perimeter of the base casting and allows the semi-hermetic seal to be juxtaposed to at least one complementary surface on the cover. The cover for enclosing the major components of the head disk assembly has a hermetic seal outside a perimeter of the complementary surface for the semi-hermetic seal thus allowing the hermetic seal to be juxtaposed to at least one complementary surface on the base casting.

Hermetically sealed head disk assembly and method of sealing with soldering material

Systems and methods for biasing a neutral axis of a flex cable in a hard drive are discussed. The hard drive comprises a flex cable, a read/write head, and a control card. The flex cable comprises a base film, adhesives, a conductive trace, a cover film, and a neutral axis. The neutral axis is configured to be biased so that stresses in the conductive trace are more compressive and less tensile than stresses without a biased neutral axis.

Flex cable with biased neutral axis

A card insulator is formed with slits that conform to height changes required by the components mounted to a card. The insulative sheet has simple linear slits that extend completely through the sheet and allow the insulator to deform with simple linear bends when contacted by the tall components mounted to the card. The linear bends allow the surface of the deformed insulator to be flexible without buckling the insulator and without bowing the card.

Card insulator with provision for conformance to component height changes

A sealed head disk assembly having a base casting that provides attachment points for major components of the head disk assembly and a cover for enclosing major components of the head disk assembly. The base casting has a hermetic seal encompassed by an outer perimeter of the base casting. The hermetic seal is juxtaposed to at least one complementary surface on the cover. The cover has a semi-hermetic seal inside a perimeter of the complementary surface for the hermetic seal. The semi-hermetic seal is juxtaposed to at least one complementary surface on the base casting. The sealed head disk assembly includes a screw causing deflection in a zone of the cover and provides spring force allowing registering the hermetic seal against a complementary surface of the hermetic seal on the base casting and the semi-hermetic seal against the complementary surface of the semi-hermetic seal on the base casting.

Hermetically sealed head disk assembly

A sealed head disk assembly has a cover for enclosing major components of the head disk assembly. The cover has a hermetic seal encompassing an outer perimeter of the cover and a semi-hermetic seal inside a perimeter of the hermetic seal. The hermetic seal and semi-hermetic seal are juxtaposed to at least one complementary surface on the base casting. The base casting, which provides attachment points for the major components of the head disk assembly has at least one complementary surface.

A method of erasing information on one or more disks in a disk drive uses a high strength magnetic field to erase the disks while the disks are in the HDD assembly. The design of the head disk enclosure provides a reduced thickness in a localized region over the disks. This allows a narrower working magnetic gap of the HDD level disk erase apparatus. The localized region of the HDD may be a formed indentation on the top cover, elimination of flange, and reduced floor thickness of the HDD base.

Method for assembly level disk erase

A hard disk drive limit stop is designed with bilinear-nonlinear properties including a second element between a collar and the actuator. The second element has characteristics that are desired for a self servo write (SSW) start-up process. The limit stop has a crown, such as a cantilever spring, that is mounted to the collar. The stiffness of the crown gives the desired motion under the electrical current applied to the voice coil. The crown is made from material that does not stick to the actuator. Alternatively, the limit stop is used for SSW only, then rotated out of the way so that it is not used during normal operation of the hard disk drive. The SSW limit stop moves out of the way after SSW is complete so that another limit stop may be used during operation.

Growing community of inventors

San Jose, CA, United States of America

Kirk Barrows Price