Hitachi Global Storage Technologies Netherlands B.v.

International Business Machines Corporation

Kohichi Takeuchi

Satoshi Hayakawa

Takeshi Chawanya

Eiji Soga

Takao Suzuki

Tatsuo Nakamoto

Ichiroh Koyanagi

Naoaki Kanada

Fu-Ying Huang

Shingo Tsuda

Akihiko Aoyagi

Mutsuro Ohta

Jun Ishikawa

Keishi Takahashi

Masakazu Sasaki

Yoshihiro Hirasaka

Takuma Muraki

Takashi Kumazawa

Yoshitaka Kakizaki

Masataka Hashizume

Ichiro Koyanagi

Embodiments of the invention provide a hard disk drive base adapted to prevent release of a strain due to the difference in thermal expansion between the vice coil motor and the base and thereby prevent a degradation in the positioning accuracy of the magnetic head. In one embodiment, a hard disk drive base is provided which includes a plurality of contact surfaces to which a lower yoke of a voice coil motor is fixed and thin portions each formed around a respective one of the plurality of contact surfaces and having a thickness smaller than that of other portions of the base.

Hard disk drive adapted to prevent release of strain between voice coil motor and base

Embodiments suppress a fluttering phenomenon of a wiring structure portion for signal transmission between a head and an FPC. In one embodiment, an actuator has a support portion which accommodates a wiring structure portion. The wiring structure portion is provided at a rear end portion thereof with a wide tab, the tab having pads for connection with the FPC. The support portion has a convex wall portion formed so as to overlap a front end portion of the tab. An air current occurs at an end portion of a magnetic disk in the vertical direction. When the head accesses a track present on the inner periphery side of the magnetic disk, the tab approaches the disk end portion. Since the convex wall portion protects the tab against the air current, it is possible to suppress fluttering of the wiring structure portion and improve the head positioning accuracy.

Data storage device with support for wiring structure portion to suppress fluttering

Embodiments in accordance with the present invention improve the head characteristic and avoid collisions between a head element section and a recording disk. A hard disk drive according to an embodiment of the present invention performs TFC (Thermal Fly height Control) to adjust the clearance between the head element section and recording disk by means of thermal expansion. A head slider includes a TFC heater. The hard disk drive detects its acceleration and controls the TFC heater in accordance with the detected acceleration, thereby reducing the probability of collision between the head element section and recording disk. Further, the hard disk drive detects residual vibration prevailing after impact application. The heater turns back ON when the residual vibration becomes lower than a reference level.

Disk drive and disk drive control method

Embodiments of the invention provide a disk drive capable of reducing vibrations of a disk generated by an airflow produced as the disk rotates. In one embodiment, a disk drive comprises: a rotary magnetic disk, a base for housing the magnetic disk, a top cover for closing the disk in the base to form an enclosure, a circulating filter arranged externally of the magnetic disk to trap dust within the enclosure, and an airflow guide for guiding an airflow which flows out of the circulating filter more to the center side than to the outer edge portion of the magnetic disk. Further, a shut out portion is provided in the vicinity of the outer edge portion of the magnetic disk to shut out an airflow which flows out in the vicinity of the outer edge portion.

Filtered air separator for disk drive

Turbulence of an airflow returning to a magnetic disk along the base sidewall of a HDD is reduced to thereby reduce flutter of an actuator or a magnetic disk caused by the airflow, thus improving read/write performance. An HDD according to an embodiment of the present invention comprises a base, a top cover fixed to the base, a motor for rotating a magnetic disk, an actuator for moving a head which gets access to the magnetic disk, a ramp slope portion on which an extreme end is ridden up, a ramp support portion for supporting the ramp slope portion, and a stage for holding the ramp support portion. A flow passage is formed which runs toward the magnetic disk through an area near the ramp support portion on the side of the top cover. An inclined portion running toward the bottom of the base is formed on the end of the flow passage on the side of the magnetic disk.

Disk drive with an air flow passage within enclosure to reduce flutter

Embodiments of the invention suppress the occurrence of turbulence in a disk drive. In one embodiment, an HDD includes a spindle motor for rotating a magnetic disk, and a base for housing the spindle motor therein. The base includes a first bottom surface opposed to the magnetic disk, and a second bottom surface that is opposed to the magnetic disk and that is larger in distance to the magnetic disk than the first surface. A step is formed between the first bottom surface and the second bottom surface, where rotation of the magnetic disk produces an airflow running from the first surface toward the second surface. The step is provided with upright fins extending from the first surface toward the second surface which are stood upright.

Disk drive with airflow control and fins at a transition surface between base surfaces

An actuator arm with suppressed arm fluttering is provided. On a main surface of each actuator arm in an actuator arm unit there are formed a rigid area which extends centrally in the longitudinal direction and flow uniformizing areas which are each formed in a substantially flat shape extending longitudinally in adjacency to the rigid area and which are thinner than the rigid area. A balance aperture is not formed in the portion where the flow uniformizing areas and the rigid area are formed, to diminish arm fluttering. Instead of a balance aperture, the flow uniformizing areas also exhibit the effect of reducing the weight of the actuator arm.

Rotating disk storage device with suppressed arm fluttering

A rebounding phenomenon of an actuator assembly is to be prevented and device assembling work and maintenance work are to be carried out separately from stopper removing work. In one embodiment, a magnetic disk device includes a stopperfor restricting a turning range of an actuator assemblyhaving a coil supportin a magnetic disk device. In the stopper, rubberis cantilevered by a support rodso as to undergo a moment of force and fulfill a shock absorbing function in order to restrict an excessive movement of the actuator assemblyto an inner or an outer side when the rubberis abutted against a first armor a second armof a bifurcated shape of the coil support, the support rodis disposed outside a turning track of turning ends of the first and second armsof the coil support, and a permanent magnetis embedded in the rubberto attract the first and second arms

Rotary disk storage device

One feature of the invention is to support a wiring structure on a side surface of an actuator arm used in a magnetic disk device so as not to allow fluttering to occur. In one embodiment, a wire support memberused in a magnetic disk device includes a protruding wallprovided with an opposing surface facing a wiring structureand protruding in a width direction, and a protruding wallprovided with an opposing surface facing the wiring structureand protruding in a width direction. The wire support memberis provided with a fixing area for accommodating the wiring structure between the opposing surface of the protruding walland the opposing surface of the protruding wall. The wire support memberis further provided with an open area adjoining the fixing area at a longitudinal end portion of the protruding wall and includes protruding wallseach having an opposing surface facing the wiring structure.

Wire support member and rotary disk storage device

A disk drive unit such as a hard disk drive is provided in which the efficiency of manufacturing processes, cost reductions, and space savings are achieved. The hard disk drive has a stopper that is arranged between a set of coil holding arms of an actuator. The stopper regulates inward and outward turning of the actuator. A magnet is embedded in the stopper and holds a magnetic head of the actuator on a ramp.

System and method of limiting a range of motion of an actuator in a hard disk drive

A disk clamp has a data position in a recording track that is resistant to positional deviations even after temperature cycling is conducted. The distribution of data positions can be centered in the vicinity of the center position. A disk top clamp and hub are made from materials that are stable in terms of chemical properties over a temperature range in which the disk recording apparatus is used and have such a coefficient of elasticity that a clamping force required to clamp the recording disks while the disk recording apparatus is in use can be obtained from the tightening force to tighten the screws. The material of the top clamp and the hub has a thermal expansion coefficient that is close to that of the recording disk.

Disk clamp for disk recording apparatus and disk recording apparatus

A disk drive head assembly enables adjustment of a center of gravity of the head assembly of a depopulation version, while suppressing an occurrence of a resonance frequency affecting the performance of the disk drive apparatus. The head assembly for the data storage media includes: magnetic heads for reading/writing data from/to the data storage media, arms to which the magnetic heads are attached, a pivot shaft holder for supporting the arms, a coil for a voice coil motor extended from the pivot shaft holder, and a counter weight provided at a predetermined position opposite to a coil for the voice coil motor with respect to the pivot shaft holder.

Head assembly, disk drive apparatus, hard disk drive and method for manufacturing disk drive apparatus

A disk drive apparatus is constructed with a filter attached to an enclosure through a through hole formed in the enclosure. A special positioning operation is eliminated by inserting the filter into the through hole because a portion of the filter is exposed to the outside through the enclosure. The disk drive apparatus can be constructed so that the filter is supported on the enclosure. In this case, the enclosure has a chamfered portion around the circumference of the through hole; the filter has a flange corresponding to the chamfered portion; and the flange is brought into contact with the chamfered portion. The filter can be fixed to the enclosure by sticking adhesive tape on a circumference of the flange and a circumference of the chamfered portion of the enclosure. Adhesive residue is eliminated because the fixation of the filter is performed with single-coated tape.

Disk drive apparatus, hard disk drive, filter, and method for inspecting disk drive apparatus

A hard disk device with air stabilizing wings which enable the straightening of the airflow between disks and the suppression of the vibration of disks and actuators.

Growing community of inventors

Kanagawa, Japan

Kohichi Takeuchi