Seagate Technology Incorporated

Priam

Lawrence W Gollbach

Thomas A Hickox

Ramgopal Battu

John R Yaeger

Brian L Phillips

John E Jones

A method and apparatus for adjusting fly height between a disc surface of a magnetic storage system disc and a slider supported on a flexure arm in a magnetic disc drive. The slider carries a transducing head. The disc drive is rotated at a reduced testing RPM. The flexure arm is heated using a laser to achieve a desired flexure arm bend which corresponds to a desired fly height. Desired bend is achieved at the point when the slider is just in contact with asperities on the disc surface. Following heating, the disc is operated at a normal RPM rate of rotation which is greater than the testing RPM, thereby insuring that the slider flies in close proximity to the disc surface but without contacting the disc surface. Contact between the slider and the disc surface is determined by detecting acoustic noise on the flexure arm.

Fly height adjustment in magnetic storage system

A landing zone inertial latch which prevents the rotation of an actuator arm of a disc drive following a shock and has a latch mechanism whose axis is perpendicular to the central axis of the actuator arm. The latch mechanism is self-energizing so that the latch remains out of the way during normal operation of the inertial latch, but then is energized by the shock to prevent the actuator arm and, in particular, the transducer from leaving the landing zone during a shock. The landing zone inertial latch is small and compact since the inertia of the latch is not required to hold the actuator arm. A landing zone inertial latch is also provided which can prevent rotation of the actuator arm in either direction.

Landing zone inertial latch

An actuator arm assembly includes an actuator arm and a voice coil coupled to the actuator arm. A crash stop is connected to the actuator arm and extends away from a perimeter of the actuator arm.

Deflectable crash stop in actuator arm assembly overmold

The present invention is a novel latch and air vane system for a disk drive actuator assembly which releases automatically in response to the aerodynamic force generated by the rotation of the storage disk. The latch and air vane system latches and recaptures the actuator assembly and holds the arm and transducer supported thereby in a fixed position. The latch and air vane system comprises a latch journaled for rotation immediately adjacent the disk and including a latch arm extending substantially perpendicular to the direction of movement of the actuator assembly when the actuator assembly is at rest with the transducer resting on the landing zone, a center shaft to allow the latch to rotate, and an air vane. The latch arm has a latch finger at one end thereof engaging a notch on the perimeter of the actuator assembly pivot region. The air vane extending in the opposite direction from the center shaft comprises a flag adjacent the space between the rotating disks and has a flag finger supported near the bottom of the flag and inserted in the region between the disks so that air flow generated by the rotation of the disks presses against the air vane and causes the air vane to move away from the edge of the rotating disks. In this way rotation of the disks causes the latch finger to move away from the notch releasing the actuator assembly for movement of the transducer across the surface of the disk. The latch and air vane mechanism is also intended to withstand considerable shock without allowing the actuator assembly to be dislodged, thereby preventing damage to data storage disks.

Anti-rotation air vane inertia latch

Each spacer separating adjacent discs in a magnetic disc drive includes an insert having a body portion having a height equal to the height of the spacer and with a plurality of finger portions extending from the body portion less than one-half the thickness of a disc, the finger portions separating a disc from the hub and permitting movement of a disc relative to the hub during temperature cycling. Each insert further includes a plurality of cavities in the body portion in association with the finger portions for accommodating a finger which might be folded during assembly of the discs on the hub.

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Felton, CA, United States of America

Lawrence W Gollbach