Dphi Acquisitions, Inc.

Western Digital Technologies, Inc.

Apple Inc.

Maxtor Corporation

Scott D Abrahamson

Thomas Edward Berg

Robert David Freeman

Peter Jeffrey Raymond

Darya Amin-Shahidi

Andre Sirilutporn Chan

Ian Russell Redmond

Bernard W Bell

David William Niss

Brian Lee Rappel

Jerry Coffey

Pongpinit Towashiraporn

Edmund Harbuz

A hard disk drive damper plate comprises a planar main body having a generally rectangular cross-section and a splitter portion extending away from the main body in a radial direction. The splitter portion operates to disrupt vortex shedding corresponding to secondary gas flow associated with the planar main body. Various embodiments involve the length, thickness, and shape of the splitter portion, as well as how much of the planar main body may be provisioned with such a splitter portion.

Control of vortex shedding associated with a hard disk drive damper plate

A haptic actuator may include a housing having opposing ends and opposing sides extending therebetween. The haptic actuator may also include at least one coil carried by the housing and a field member having opposing ends and opposing sides extending therebetween. The haptic actuator may also include a respective flexure coupling each end of the field member to an adjacent end of the housing so that the field member is reciprocally movable within the housing responsive to the at least one coil over an operating range and while maintaining a respective sidewall clearance between each side of the field member and an adjacent side of the housing. At least one sidewall clearance restricting feature may be configured to restrict the sidewall clearance when the field member moves beyond the operating range when subject to mechanical shock.

Haptic actuator including sidewall clearance restricting feature and related methods

A pivot bearing for an actuator assembly of a disk drive includes a first stationary member, a second pivoting member, and a third flexible member interconnecting the first and second members. The first stationary member is secured preferably between the base and top cover of the drive, while the second pivotal member is secured to the actuator. The second pivoting member rotates about the stationary member, and the third flexible member bends in response to the pivoting action of the second member. Rolling contact occurs between bearing surfaces of the first and second members. Overall bearing stiffness is increased with use of the bearing, and particularly radial stiffness. Increased bearing stiffness enhances system mode frequency and thereby improves bandwidth capability for a disk drive.

Band pivot bearing

Disclosed is a method for aligning a rotating device such as an actuator assembly to a base of, for example, a disk drive. The device is rotatably mounted to the base about the pivot pin. The method may involve adjusting the angular position of the pivot pin relative to the base unless or until the actuator assembly rotates in a first plane parallel to a second plane containing a surface of the data storage disk. In one embodiment, the data storage disk is mounted for rotation on a disk rotation motor. The disk rotation motor, in turn, is mounted to a base. With the device positioned between the base and the data storage disk, the device is rotated about the pivot pin. While the device is rotated about the pivot pin, electrical current is provided to the device. The magnitude of the electrical current is proportional or inversely proportional to a distance D separating the device from the data storage disk. The electrical current is monitored as the device rotates about the pivot pin. When the monitored current is constant in magnitude as the device rotates about the pivot pin, the angle between the device and the base is such that the device should rotate in the first plane.

Method for aligning actuator assembly to a base in a miniature optical disk drive

A hub assembly for a data storage disk including a hub member and a raised boss near a center axis of the hub member, the raised boss being surrounded by an annular bonding surface and being configured so as to protrude into a center hole of a data storage disk when the bonding surface is in contact with a surface of the disk.

Magnetic hub assembly for data storage disk

An optical pickup assembly includes an optical pickup unit (OPU), a thermally conductive plate, and a flex circuit. The flex circuit is mounted atop the plate. The OPU is also mounted atop the plate through a cutout of the flex circuit. Alternatively, the flex circuit is mounted below the plate and the OPU is mounted atop the plate. The optical pickup assembly further includes an actuator arm. The OPU is mounted on the actuator arm with a portion of the plate contacting the actuator arm.

Laser thermal management system

An optical assembly including a service loop extended from a focus section of an actuator arm. A portion of the service loop bends when a tracking section of the actuator arm rotates around a tracking axis while a portion of the flex circuit twists when the focus section of the actuator arm rotates around a focus axis.

Continuous flexible connection for miniature optical head

An optical pickup assembly includes an optical pickup unit (OPU) and a flex circuit. The OPU is mounted atop a thermally conductive plate through a cutout of the flex circuit. Bond wires couple contacts pads on the OPU and the flex circuit. Alternatively, OPU is mounted atop the plate and the plate is mounted atop the flex circuit. The plate includes a cutout where bond wires pass through to couple the contact pads on the OPU and the flex circuit.

Continuous flexible connection method for miniature optical head

A method of designing an actuator arm of a head stack assembly for use in a disk drive is disclosed. The disk drive comprises a disk, the actuator arm for positioning a head over the disk while the disk is rotating at a selected spin-rate. The actuator arm having a leading edge and a trailing edge and a selected thickness, and the head stack assembly having a structural resonance frequency. The disk is rotated such that the disk generates air flow around the actuator arm while the disk is spinning at the selected spin-rate. The actuator arm positions the head over the disk while the disk is spinning at the selected spin-rate, wherein the air flow travels from the leading edge to the trailing edge of the actuator arm such that the air flow causes vortex shedding at a vortex shedding frequency resulting in an undesirable force being applied to the actuator arm when the vortex shedding frequency is aligned with the structural resonance frequency. A perturbing effect due to the undesirable force applied to the actuator arm is measured. The thickness of the actuator arm is then modified and the thickness data stored. The process is then reiterated for a plurality of different actuator arm thickness values. A manufacturing thickness is then selected for the actuator arm from the stored thickness data to compensate for the undesirable force that is applied to the actuator arm due to the vortex shedding.

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Longmont, CO, United States of America

Scott D Abrahamson