Western Digital Technologies, Inc.

Apple Inc.

Western Digital Corporation

Nils E Larson

John Robert Edwards

Lidu Huang

David K Myers

Scott Edward Watson

Jonathan M Garbarino

Michael K Liebman

Robert P Ryan

James N Malina

Jun Xu

Grant C Mackey

Robin O'Neill

Ajit Fathailal Sancheti

Keith R Berding

John R Gustafson

Jere C Harrison

Gregory G Foisy

Brian P Schott

Jianren Lin

Qing Zhang

Eric Lee

Vu A Hong

Mats A Engwall

James Risinger

Sudha Narayan

David Hiemstra

A haptic actuator may include a housing that includes first and second shells. The first shell may define a first tab and the second shell may define a second tab. The housing may also include a plastic end portion positioned between the first and second shells. The plastic end portion may define recesses that receive the first and second tabs. At least one coil may be carried by the housing. A field member may be movable within the housing responsive to the at least one coil. A flexure may be coupled to the plastic end portion and the field member.

Haptic actuator

Systems, methods, and apparatuses described herein correspond to non-linear spring assemblies of a haptic engine. An enclosure and/or lid of a haptics engine may include a number of non-linear spring assemblies to dampen or reduce peak forces between internal components of the haptics engine and the enclosure and/or the lid. By dampening or reducing peak forces, damage to internal components of the haptic engine and/or an associated electronic device may be reduced or eliminated.

Electronic device having a shock-resistant haptic engine

A haptic actuator may include a housing that includes first and second shells coupled together. The first shell may include a first body and first terminals extending outwardly therefrom. The second shell may include a second body and second terminals extending outwardly therefrom with each of the second terminals being secured with a respective one of the first terminals defining pairs of first and second secured-together terminals. The haptic actuator may also include at least one coil carried by the housing and a field member movable within the housing responsive to the at least one coil. A respective flexure may be between adjacent end portions of the housing and the field member.

Haptic actuator including outwardly extending terminals from first and second housing shells and related methods

A network device includes memory with permanent storage. A request for information is received from a user device. In response to determining that an erasure encoded version of the requested information is not stored in the memory of the network device, the requested information is requested to be transmitted from a storage external to the network device and partially received. In response to determining that an amount of the partially received requested information does not satisfy an erasure encoding threshold, it is determined whether the erasure encoding threshold can be satisfied within a time duration. If so, the partially received requested information is erasure encoded, stored in the permanent storage, and transmitted. If not, the requested information is requested to be retransmitted from the storage external to the network device.

Integrated erasure coding for data storage and transmission

A haptic actuator may include a housing that includes a ferromagnetic material having a first heat conductance, and a coil carried by the housing in a medial portion thereof and generating waste heat when electrically powered. The haptic actuator may also include a field member movable within the housing responsive to the coil. The field member may include at least one permanent magnet establishing a magnetic path with the housing. A heat spreading layer may be thermally coupled to the housing adjacent the coil. The heat spreading layer may have a second heat conductance greater than the first heat conductance to spread the waste heat from the coil to adjacent portions of the housing.

Haptic actuator including thermally coupled heat spreading layer and related methods

A haptic actuator may include a housing, a coil carried by the housing, and a field member movable within the housing responsive to the coil. The field member may include a frame having opposing first and second ends, at least one magnet carried by the frame, and a first overmolded endcap coupled to the first end of the frame. The field member may also include a second overmolded endcap coupled to the second end of the frame. The haptic actuator may include a first flexure having an inner end coupled to the first overmolded endcap, and an outer end coupled to adjacent portions of the housing. The haptic actuator may also include a second flexure having an inner end coupled to the second overmolded endcap, and an outer end coupled to adjacent portions of the housing.

Haptic actuator including overmolded field member and related methods

Embodiments of network devices for content distribution are described. In some embodiments, an edge network device integrates network coding for content distribution with erasure coding for data storage. Embodiments of methods of integrating network coding and erasure coding are also disclosed. In some embodiments, an edge network device can determine content distribution and storage for content based on one or more penalty functions that assess storage capacity, computational power, user demand, and/or network bandwidth for optimal resource usage. In some embodiments, an edge network device creates fragments of content and transmits a subset of the fragments for early distribution. In response to a user request for the content, the edge network device can transmit the remaining fragments to the user device for the user device to reconstruct the original content.

Described herein are enhancements for deploying a Peripheral Component Interconnect Express (PCIe) switch in a computing enclosure. In one implementation, a PCIe switch is coupled to a plurality of hosts and at least one network interface via PCIe lanes. The PCIe switch is configured to exchange communications between the plurality of hosts and the one or more physical network interfaces and emulate, to each host of the plurality of hosts, a physical network interface. The PCIe switch is further configured to receive a communication from a first host of the plurality of hosts directed at a second host in the plurality of hosts using an emulated physical network interface for the first host, and transfer the communication to the second host as though the communication were received at an emulated physical network interface for the second host.

Peripheral Component Interconnect Express (PCIe) switching for multi-host computing system deployments

A fastener comprises a shaft extending along a longitudinal axis, and a sleeve wrapped partially around the shaft. The sleeve comprises an inner surface adjacent the shaft, an outer surface, an upper extent, a lower extent, a first circumferential extent, a second circumferential extent, and a gap extending longitudinally from the upper extent to the lower extent and separating the first circumferential extent from the second circumferential extent. The sleeve has a first thickness adjacent the first circumferential extent that is less than a second thickness between the second circumferential extent and the first circumferential extent. A cross-sectional centroid of the shaft between the upper extent and the lower extent is in substantially the same location, with the sleeve in different first and second rotational positions.

Wedge based fastener

A disk drive motor hub includes a top cylindrical portion defining a longitudinal axis, a middle cylindrical portion proximate the top cylindrical portion, and a bottom cylindrical portion proximate the middle cylindrical portion. The middle cylindrical portion defines an upper mounting surface substantially normal to the longitudinal axis, the upper mounting surface extending radially beyond the top cylindrical portion, and the bottom cylindrical portion defines a lower mounting surface substantially normal to the longitudinal axis, the lower mounting surface extending radially beyond the middle cylindrical portion.

Disk drive with stepped motor hub

A novel disk drive includes a disk drive base that includes a plurality of mounting recessions. Each of a plurality of mounting inserts at least partially protrudes into a respective one of the plurality of mounting recessions, and contacts the disk drive base. Each of the plurality of mounting inserts includes a body portion that is adapted to be attached to a host computer system. Each of the plurality of mounting inserts also includes at least one cantilevered beam having a root end that is attached to the body portion and having a distal end that is in contact with the disk drive base in a respective one of the plurality of mounting recessions. The root end is not in contact with the disk drive base when the mounting insert is in an undeformed state.

Disk drive having mounting inserts with cantilevered beams

A disk drive includes a ramp having a fixed portion that is fixed to the disk drive base, and a guide portion that is not. The guide portion includes a guide surface having a parking region that is in contact with an HGA lift-tab with the disk drive in a non-operational state. The guide surface also has a load/unload region that extends over a disk outer periphery. The guide surface defines a guide surface length that is measured from the parking region to the load/unload region. The ramp also includes a torsionally-compliant member connecting the fixed portion to the guide portion. A distance between the torsionally-compliant member and the parking region, measured approximately parallel to the guide surface length, is less than half the guide surface length. The guide portion is not connected to the fixed portion over at least two-thirds of the guide surface length.

Disk drive having a head loading/unloading ramp that includes a torsionally-compliant member

A novel actuator latch includes a catch portion interfering with actuator rotation with the latch in a closed position. The latch includes a first stop portion that is in contact with a fixed member with the latch in the closed position. The latch includes a pusher portion that is in contact with the actuator with the latch in the closed position and with the actuator in an extreme rotational position. The pusher portion has a torsional stiffness about the latch pivot location in the range 5 J/rad&#xb7;secto 30 J/rad&#xb7;sec, where Jis the rotational inertia of the actuator about the actuator pivot location expressed in units of kg&#xb7;m. The first stop portion has a torsional stiffness about the latch pivot location that is at least 5 times that of the pusher portion.

Disk drive including an actuator latch with a torsionally compliant pusher portion

A fastener that includes a shaft and a sleeve is provided. The shaft extends along a longitudinal axis that passes through a central portion, e.g., the centroid of a head of the shaft. The sleeve is wrapped partially around the shaft. The sleeve has a gap that separates first and second circumferential extents thereof, a first thickness adjacent the first circumferential extent, and a second thickness between the second circumferential extent and the first circumferential extent. The first thickness is less than the second thickness. The sleeve has a first rotational position relative to the shaft and a second rotational position relative to the shaft different form the first rotational position. The longitudinal axis is in substantially the same location in both the first and second rotational positions.

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San Jose, CA, United States of America

Nils E Larson