Seagate Technology Incorporated

International Business Machines Corporation

Tenksolar, Inc.

Lowell James Berg

Zine-Eddine Boutaghou

Dallas W Meyer

Jerry Lee Neubauer

Lance Eugene Stover

Jerome Thomas Coffey

William Woodrow Brooks, Jr

John R Reidenbach

Peter M Herman

Forrest C Meyer

Lanshi Zheng

John P Novotny

Oscar Jaime Ruiz

Victor Wing Shum

James William Berberich

Moshe Olim

John S Heath

Alexander Gredinberg

Steven Ernest Wheeler

Holger J Baasch

Weimin Qian

Brian Edwin Schultz

Raymond W Knight

Orville Dodd

Zine-Eddine Boutaglou

Thomas L Murnan

Hal Hjalmar Ottesen

Peter Raymond Segar

Mark James Schaenzer

Scott Edward Ryun

Richard Greenberg

Jianxin Zhu

Donald John Wanek

Jeffrey Fred Boigenzahn

Steven Harry Voss

Joseph C Liu

Kurt J Korkowski

Ling Wang

Todd Phillip Fracek

Thomas S Larson

Yu-Li Chang

James Ronald Krolnik

Daniel L Good

Jay Michael Mosbrucker

Walter E Zahn

Kenneth William Meyer

James J Stolte

John Charles Jans, Sr

Shady Gross

Harlan Jon Kragt

Orville D Dodd

In an embodiment, a solar energy system includes multiple photovoltaic modules, each oriented substantially at a same angle relative to horizontal. The angle is independent of a latitude of an installation site of the solar energy system and is greater than or equal to 15 degrees. The solar energy system defines a continuous area within a perimeter of the solar energy system. The solar energy system is configured to capture at the photovoltaic modules substantially all light incoming towards the continuous area over an entire season.

Space and energy efficient photovoltaic array

In one example, a photovoltaic module includes a plurality of discrete photovoltaic cells arranged in a plurality of cell rows, and a substantially electrically conductive and continuous area backsheet. The photovoltaic cells in each cell row are electrically connected in parallel to each other. The cell rows are electrically connected in series to each other and include a first row and a last row. The backsheet forms a current return path between the first and last rows. The photovoltaic cells are configured such that, in operation, current flows substantially uni-directionally through the plurality of photovoltaic cells between the first row and the last row.

Illumination agnostic solar panel

In an embodiment, a photovoltaic system includes multiple photovoltaic modules and a module-to-module bus. Each photovoltaic module defines a first end and a second end opposite the first end. Each photovoltaic module includes multiple photovoltaic cells and multiple converters. Energy generated by each photovoltaic cell has multiple paths through the photovoltaic cells to the second end. The converters are electrically coupled to the photovoltaic cells at the second end such that energy generated by each photovoltaic cell is receivable at any of the converters. The module-to-module bus is electrically coupled to each of the photovoltaic modules. The module-to-module bus has an output. Energy generated by each photovoltaic module is receivable at the output independent of any other of the photovoltaic modules.

Cell-to-grid redundandt photovoltaic system

In an example, a solar energy system includes multiple PV modules, multiple reflectors, and a racking assembly. Each of the reflectors is positioned opposite a corresponding one of the PV modules. The racking assembly mechanically interconnects the PV modules and the reflectors to form an interconnected system. The racking assembly defines gaps within the racking assembly and between adjacent PV modules and reflectors. The interconnected system includes multiple contact points associated with the gaps. The gaps and contact points configure the interconnected system to accommodate surface unevenness of an installation surface up to a predetermined surface unevenness.

Highly efficient solar arrays

A method of contouring a surface of a slider for supporting a transducer relative to a data storage medium includes applying a lithographic resist layer to the slider surface. The resist layer is then exposed through a single mask having 3a mask pattern defined by variation in an optical density through the mask. The resist layer is exposed in an exposure pattern corresponding to the mask pattern. Portions of the resist layer are removed as a function of the exposure pattern to produce a vertically contoured resist layer. The slider surface is etched through the vertically contoured resist layer during a single etching step to form a vertically contoured surface feature within the slider surface.

Disc head slider having vertically contoured features and method of fabricating vertically contoured features on a slider

An apparatus for supporting a recording/reading head and assembling a flex circuit in a disc drive preferably includes a suspension having a first end and a second end, and a stiffener coupled to the suspension at the second end, the stiffener extending substantially in parallel with the suspension. The apparatus further includes a flex circuit having a first portion and a second portion, the first portion is coupled to the suspension, and the second portion is coupled to the stiffener. The stiffener extends along the flex circuit. This allows one to readily locate the flex circuit in a subsequent process, such as a disc drive stack build process, so that the fabrication of the disc drive can be highly automated.

Apparatus for supporting a recording/reading head and assembling a flex circuit in a disc drive

An apparatus and method is presented for controlling initial load and unload wear on a slider by using a trailing edge extender. A slider for supporting a transducer proximate to a recording medium is disclosed. The slider includes a trailing edge extender positioned on a trailing edge to allow additional controlled wear to occur before a substrate of the slider contacts the recording medium. The trailing edge extender can be positioned at an outer corner on the trailing edge of the slider and at a transducer pad on the trailing edge of the slider. The trailing edge extender can include a depth of the step depth, cavity depth, or air bearing surface level depth. The method includes fabricating a trailing edge extender positioned on a trailing edge to allow additional controlled wear to occur before a substrate of the slider contacts the recording medium.

Ramp load slider with trailing edge extenders controlling load wear

An air bearing slider for a disc drive includes an air bearing surface defined on the disc opposing face at least in part by a first step or cavity. An additional corner step is defined in bar processing, deeper than the first cavity. With the corner step, the first cavity does not extend quite all the way to the corner of the slider. The corner of the slider, formed on one face by dicing of the bar into individual sliders, is at an additional depth due to the corner step. The corner steps are preferably narrow, such as nominally one to two times the tolerance value on the dice cut. If a shock event occurs which causes the air bearing slider to contact the disc at certain roll and pitch angles, the corner step edge will contact the disc rather than the dice cut corner. The corner step thus lessens the probability of contact between the disc and the corners of the air bearing slider, and contact with a dice cut edge of the slider is avoided. This reduces the amount of damage to the disc drive caused by the shock event.

Air bearing slider with corner steps

A disc head slider supports a transducer relative to a data storage disc. The slider includes a slider body having a disc-facing surface with a leading slider edge, a trailing slider edge, and first and second slider corners at opposing ends of the trailing slider edge. First and second rails are disposed on the disc facing surface about a central recess and form first and second bearing surfaces, respectively. The central recess has a depth measured from the first and second bearing surfaces. First and second recessed surfaces are positioned between a trailing edge of the first and second rails and the first and second slider corners, respectively, and are generally coplanar with the central recess. Third and fourth recessed corner surfaces are positioned at the first and second slider corners, respectively, and are recessed from the first and second recessed surfaces.

Disc head slider having deeply recessed corners

A method and system is presented for a slider positioned to control a flow of lubricant over the slider body. The slider can also include a raised rail. A pad can be positioned on the slider between the raised rail and a trailing edge of the slider. The pad can extend to the trailing edge of the slider. The pad can include at least two separated edges, which form a central channel. The pad can be made of carbon. The pads can be approximately 0.03 micron tall in a cavity that is approximately 2 micro deep. The pad can be angled in relation to an air flow across the slider to control lube.

Method of channeling accumulated disc lube off of recording head sliders

A self-loading disc head-slider has a slider body, with a leading slider edge and a trailing slider edge, and first and second raised rails. Each raised rail has a leading rail edge, inside and outside rail edges and a bearing surface. A cavity dam extends between the first and second raised rails. A subambient pressure cavity trails the cavity dam, between the first and second raised rails. A stepped leading taper extends from the leading slider edge to the bearing surfaces of the first and second raised rails. The stepped leading taper is formed of first and second steps. The first step is positioned along the leading slider edge. The second step wraps around the leading rail edges of the first and second raised rails and extends along a portion of the inside and outside rail edges of the first and second raised rails. The first and second steps have a step height of 0.05 to 1.5 microns.

Self-loading disc head slider having multiple steps approximating a leading taper

Method of making air bearing with corner steps

A slider assembly for an optical disc drive includes a flyable slider supporting a pad with a pair of piezoelectric beams mounted to the pad to extend in spaced relation over the slider. An objective lens is mounted to the beams as to be cantilevered over the slider body. The beams are operable to deflect along the yawl axis of the slider to thereby move the objective lens and alter the position of the focal point. When operated independently, the beams rotate the objective lens about the roll axis of the slider to alter the radial position of the focal point. When operated together, the beams move the objective lens to focus the focal point relative to the recording medium. The beams are optionally operable to deflect along the pitch axis of the slider to thereby radially move the objective lens and alter the position of the focal point.

Microactuator for track positioning a slider-mounted lens of an optical disc drive

Elongate microactuator spanning leading edge surface of slider

Growing community of inventors

Eden Prairie, MN, United States of America

Lowell James Berg