International Business Machines Corporation

Hitachi Global Storage Technologies Netherlands B.v.

Masayuki Kanamaru

Shunichiroh Ohta

Naoyuki Kagami

Akira Tokizono

Toshihiko Tsunokawa

Shingo Tsuda

Yoshiaki Sonobe

Nobuyuki Kitazaki

Akira Morita

Hidetsugu Tanaka

Yasunori Kawamoto

Sachiyo Baba

Osaaki Watanuki

Hiroyuki Akiyama

Shunichiro Ota

Masahiro Nagayoshi

A method and apparatus for use with a rotating storage device. The rotating storage device includes a storage medium driven to rotate, a head for reading and writing information on the storage medium and a ramped loading mechanism in which the head is stored. In accordance with the method of the present invention, the head is loaded from the ramped loading mechanism onto the storage medium. Next, determining whether or not a write operation on said storage medium is performed within a predetermined amount of time after loading said head on said storage medium and in response to said determination, setting a verification flag to indicate a data verification is required immediately after said write operation.

Control method and apparatus for reducing the effects of hard disk contamination

A slider is disposed to face a disk-like recording medium and enabled to support a read/write head. The slider has an air bearing surface formed between a leading edge and a trailing edge ; side rails and formed on the air bearing surface almost like a U-letter so as to dispose its tip at the trailing edge side ; a cross rail ; and a pair of landing pads and formed between the tip of each of the side rails and the cross rail to and the trailing edge . One of the pair of landing pads and is formed as a convex surface at its side facing the rail of the landing pad disposed at the outer periphery side of the disk-like recording medium while the slider is disposed so as to face the disk-like recording medium.

Slider, head assembly, and disk drive unit

A method and apparatus for use with a rotating storage device. The rotating storage device includes a storage medium driven to rotate, a head for reading and writing information on the storage medium and a ramped loading mechanism in which the head is stored. In accordance with the method of the present invention, the head is loaded from the ramped loading mechanism onto the storage medium. Next, location information stored in the storage medium via the head is read. A location of the head is then retained for a predetermined period above a track of a region other than a valid storage region of the storage medium after successfully reading the location information.

At least part of the surface of a read/write element of the magnetic head surface is coated with low surface energy materials. The low surface energy materials have sufficient humidity resistance, wetting resistance, and hydrophobicity to repel water from the coated surfaces. Such properties yield improved corrosion resistance for the coated surfaces. The low surface energy materials include fluorocarbon compounds (FCOC) and special materials such as perfluoroalkylpolyoxyethyleneethanol. The low surface energy materials are coated on the magnetic heads as thin films. The thin films have a thickness in the range of 5-100 angstroms, but are preferred in the range of 10-20 angstroms. The thin films provide sufficient adhesion on and corrosion protection of the heads without decreasing their performance.

Hard disk drive magnetic head coated with low surface energy material

The present invention provides a method and apparatus for moving a head arm assembly to a landing zone in a disk drive storage device. In disk drive according to the present invention, a control means responds to termination of a read/write operation by applying a drive current for moving an actuator arm toward an actuator lock, and then continuously applies the drive current to the actuating means to maintain an engagement of the actuator arm with the actuator lock stopped at a predetermined position, after the termination of read/write operation, and then stops a rotation of said rotating data recording disk.

Method and apparatus for moving a head arm assembly to a landing zone in a disk drive storage device

A magnetic recording disk of a disk drive apparatus is constructed having a radially sloped surface, so that the outer area of the disk is thinner than the inner area. The radially downward slope of the disk surface has the effect of increasing the crown of the disk head, this effect being greatest closest to the disk axis and decreasing as the head moves toward the outer diameter. A head landing zone is preferably located at the inner part of the disk surface, where the crown is greatest, reducing stiction during disk start-up. Furthermore, the gradual reduction in crown as the head moves radially outward compensates for the increasing velocity of the head relative to the disk surface, achieving a more uniform flying height of the disk head.

Magnetic disk and magnetic disk apparatus having an annular start-stop

To provide a lubricant supply being capable of supplying adequate lubricant over a long period in a magnetic disk unit comprising a lubricant supply to reduce friction between a magnetic disk and magnetic head. A unit of the invention can supply lubricant uniformly to a magnetic disk, and easily controls supply volume. This comprises a material impregnated with lubricant having sufficient lubricant to supply over a long period, a thin film to supply predetermined lubricant to a disk surface, the film permeable by lubricant from the material impregnated with lubricant, and a clamp assembly to fix the material impregnated with lubricant and the thin film to the disk. The thin film is fixed on the disk and compressed by a compression part formed at the edge of the clamp assembly. The degree of compression controls lubricant supply to the disk.

Growing community of inventors

Fujisawa, Japan

Masayuki Kanamaru