Quantum Corporation

Plus Development Corporation

Peter S Hahn

Donald C Westwood

Eric J Botto

David B Jeppson

Scott E Richmond

Richard J Blackborow

Claude E Camp

Rodica Florea

William G Moon

Joel N Harrison

Thomas R Stone

A removable and transportable hard disk subsystem is provided for use with at least one computer and includes at least one hard disk module. The module contains a shock mounted, thin and compact micro-Winchester head and disk assembly which plugs into a base housing which is installable entirely within a well of the computer nominally allotted to receive a 51/4 inch half height disk drive. The base housing includes a head positioning and data module loading/unloading portion of the subsystem control electronics and an electromechanical mechanism for automatically loading and unloading the hard disk module. The base housing provides electrical connections for operating the head and disk assembly when loaded therein. The subsystem further includes an adapter board having a host interface portion of the subsystem control electronics and connected by a cable with the control electronics portion of the base housing, the adapter board for connecting the subsystem directly to address, data and control buses of said computer to enable storage and retrieval in the loaded module of host computer data blocks.

Removable and transportable hard disk subsystem

A compact polyphase optical encoder subassembly for installation in host equipment is disclosed. The subassembly includes a moveable scale; and, a unitized rotatable housing for aligning a light source, a mask and a photodetector array having at least a pair of photodetector areas symmetrically disposed about an axis of rotation of the housing and responsive to light energy from the light source in further response to relative position of the scale. The housing further includes in its preferred form a bolt having a widened head and a threaded shank for passing through an opening in a base of the host, a threaded nut engageable with the shank opposite to the head for thereby securing the bolt to the base, and a compressible washer for enabling a predetermined range of vertical compression between the head and the base as the nut is tightened on said shaft. The housing further includes a light source holder which in preferred form comprises a central support, a reflective surface in optical alignment with the photodetector array and being aligned and supported by the central support, and a lateral arm spaced away from the central support, the lateral arm for holding the light source in optical alignment with the reflective surface, whereby the subassembly may be made very compact in terms of height and still provide a substantial distance between the light source and the mask, thereby minimizing penumbra effects.

Compact polyphase optical position encoder

Growing community of inventors

Fremont, CA, United States of America

Peter S Hahn