Nitto-denko Corporation

Magnecomp Corporation

Western Digital (fremont), Inc.

Western Digital Corporation

Xerox Corporation

Western Digital Technologies, Inc.

Hyundai Electronics Industries Co. Ltd.

Optimem

Martin John McCaslin

Visit Thaveeprungsriporn

Szu-Han Hu

Alex Enriquez Cayaban

Khampon Sittipongpanich

Voon Yee Ho

Sitthipong Footrakul

Yasunari Ooyabu

Hiroshi Yamazaki

Weijin Li

Jason Aquinde Gomez

Tzong-Shii Pan

Yih-Jen Dennis Chen

Shawn E Casey

Masami Inoue

Drew B Lawson

Takeshi Tanaka

Yiduo Zhang

Michael J Kennedy

Arshad A Alfoqaha

Jimmy D Godwin

Kenneth Frederick Young

Mats Anders Engwall

Voonyee Ho

Yimin Niu

James K Benning

Sittipong Footrakul

Kah Yuen Kam

Yukimasa Kawato

Mark G Dube

Joon-Bae Kim

John C Kolar

A hard drive gimbal trace circuit includes: a stainless steel gimbal strut (SGST) configured to support a transducer and nullify a natural pitch angle of a flexure from mechanical-coarse adjustment of the SGST; traces forming a trace structure, and being plastically deformed at a high strain region from the mechanical-coarse adjustment of the SGST; and a first protrusion and a second protrusion being at least partially disposed under the high strain region. The SGST has an edge which is disposed on the transducer side to be spaced apart from the traces in the high strain region and extends substantially parallel to the traces. The first protrusion and the second protrusion extend from the edge in an orthogonal direction to an extending direction of the traces and across the traces, and are disposed side by side in the extending direction of the traces.

Copper residual stress relaxation reduction means for hard disk drive slider gimbals

A single layer dynamic loop is provided. A single layer dynamic loop includes a set of traces divided by a slit on the single layer dynamic loop, wherein the set of traces are divided into a first region and a second region; and wherein the single layer dynamic loop is folded along the slit to move at least part of the first region in relation to the second region.

Dynamic loop with fold

An Extended Circuit Integrated Suspension (ECIS) design and manufacture thereof, to allow for circuit elements to be disposed onto the load beam on the opposite side of the flexure circuit. An Extended Circuit Integrated Suspension (ECIS) may include a load beam; a flexure circuit comprising a plurality of traces; and a connection portion which connects the load beam laterally to the flexure circuit. The load beam, the flexure circuit, and the connecting portion may be formed as a single component from a single panel, and the connection portion is oriented so that the connection portion is folded to place the flexure circuit onto a first side of the load beam. Applications for the use of the extended circuit are many, and a semi-collocated micro-actuator (SCLMA) is illustrated for example.

Circuit integrated suspension and method of manufacture thereof

Described is a preamp flex cable for use in a hard drive. The flex cable incorporates a stiffener layer operable to provide a mechanical support, an insulating layer provided over the stiffener layer and having at least one via provided therein to expose the stiffener layer, and at least one conductive layer provided over the insulating layer. The at least one conductive layer forms an electrical circuit and at least one heat removing element that extends through the via and establishes a contact with the stiffener layer.

Ground vias for enhanced preamp heat release in hard disk drives

Disclosed are various techniques for reduction of the magnitude of the residual stress in the HDD gimbal circuits, or more specifically, the residual plastic strain. Various trace structures of the gimbal circuits as well as stress suppressors are utilized to achieve the reduction of the residual stress in the circuit.

Systems and methods for flexure based shock and vibration sensor for head suspensions in hard disk drives. Specifically, this invention deals with operational shock and vibration management within a hard disk drive. In one implementation, the assembly includes a circuit embedded optical waveguide sensor that includes a flexible electrical circuit board with a configuration of either a single or multi layers of conductor traces, a thin flexure gimbal for carrying and flying a HDD slider, a consecutive sensing layer constructed by an optical core and by clad construction with a configuration of either a single core array or a plural core array, an optical loop formed by light input and an output core, optical grating disposed on the consecutive sensing layer forming an optical grating waveguide sensor, a light emitter for injecting light into the optical core, and a receiver receiving the output light from the optical core.

Flexure based shock and vibration sensor for head suspensions in hard disk drives

A substrate for mounting a preamp chip thereupon, fabricated using a stiffener layer made of a conductive material; an insulating layer provided over the circuitry area of the substrate; a circuitry made of a conductive material provided over the insulating layer; and a flap which is an extension of the stiffener layer having no insulating layer provided thereupon. The flap is fabricated to fold over the preamp chip to remove heat therefrom.

Method for manufacturing a substrate supporting an integrated circuit chip

A first insulating layer is formed on a suspension body. A write wiring trace is formed on the first insulating layer. A second insulating layer is formed on the first insulating layer to cover the write wiring trace. A write wiring trace and read wiring traces are formed on the second insulating layer. The write wiring trace is arranged above the write wiring trace. The write wiring trace includes a conductor layer and reinforcing alloy layers. The reinforcing alloy layers are sequentially formed to cover an upper surface and side surfaces of the conductor layer.

Printed circuit board with a signal line pair and method of manufacturing the same

Described is a preamp flex cable for use in a hard drive. The flex cable incorporates a stiffener layer operable to provide a mechanical support, an insulating layer provided over the stiffener layer and having at least one via provided therein to expose the stiffener layer, and at least one conductive layer provided over the insulating layer. The at least one conductive layer forms an electrical circuit and at least one heat removing element that extends through the via and establishes a contact with the stiffener layer. In one implementation, the heat removing element includes a rectangular plate having a recessed center portion and an edge portion. The recessed center portion protrudes through the at least one via in the insulating layer to mechanically couple with the stiffener. In another implementation, the heat removing element includes first portion and second rectangular portions. The first portion protrudes through the at least one via in the insulating layer to thermally couple with the stiffener and the second portion is disposed over the insulating layer, such that the second portion can be thermally coupled to the preamp.

Heat transfer for a hard-drive pre-amp

A wired circuit board has an insulating layer extending in a longitudinal direction, a conductive layer having a plurality of signal wirings covered with the insulating layer and arranged in mutually spaced-apart and parallel relation in a perpendicular direction to the longitudinal direction and a thickness direction of the insulating layer, and connecting terminals provided on both longitudinal ends of each of the signal wirings and exposed from the insulating layer, and a ground layer covered with the insulating layer and formed to surround each of the signal wirings in a perpendicular direction to the longitudinal direction. A slit along the longitudinal direction is formed between each of the signal wirings in the insulating layer.

Wired circuit board and electronic device

A disk drive suspension assembly includes a load beam, a first hinge arm, a second hinge arm, a base plate, and a flexure that includes a head mounting surface. The base plate has a first base plate layer that includes a first base plate side and an opposing second base plate side. The first base plate side has a main base plate surface and a recessed base plate surface parallel to and offset from the main base plate surface. A first hinge arm is attached to the main base plate surface. A second hinge arm is attached to the recessed base plate surface. The first and second hinge arms are attached to the load beam. The base plate has a first thickness at the main base plate surface and a second thickness at the recessed base plate surface that is the same as the first thickness.

Disk drive suspension assembly with a hinge arm attached at a recessed surface

A suspension assembly for a hard disk drive includes at least two spring extensions that couple to a proximal portion of a load beam. These spring extensions are disposed by a vertical offset and couple to the load beam on opposite sides of a longitudinal axis of the load beam. The method for operating a disk drive apparatus includes following by a suspension assembly from a reference position to a second position a vertical movement of a rotating disk. The suspension assembly is predisposed to move from the reference position to the second position by the vertical offset. A read/write head coupled to the suspension assembly is in closer alignment to a selected track during the vertical movement in the second position than if the first and second spring extensions were disposed to be co-planar.

Method for operating a disk drive apparatus employing a suspension having a vertical offset to reduce track mis-registration

A wired circuit board has a plurality of insulating layers, a conductive layer having a signal wiring extending in a longitudinal direction which is covered with the insulating layers, and a signal connecting terminal provided on a longitudinal end of the signal wiring and exposed from the insulating layers, and a ground layer having a ground wiring covered with the insulating layers and formed to surround the signal wiring in a perpendicular direction to the longitudinal direction, and a ground connecting terminal provided on a longitudinal end of the ground wiring and exposed from the insulating layers. The signal connecting terminal and the ground connecting terminal are formed on an upper surface of the same insulating layer among the plurality of the insulating layers.

Wired circuit board

Growing community of inventors

Pleasanton, CA, United States of America

Martin John McCaslin