Western Digital Technologies, Inc.

Serge Hauert

Raffi Codilian

Lin Yang

Scott Edward Watson

Steven J Alfred

Jai N Subrahmanyam

Yih-Jen Dennis Chen

John R Gustafson

Shawn E Casey

Darrell Dean Palmer

Jin Hui Ou-Yang

Chiao-Ping (Roger) Ku

Drew B Lawson

Aaron D Little

Gary C Griffin

Sudha Narayanan

Haldun Arin

A head stack assembly (HSA) is disclosed for use in a disk drive comprising a disk, wherein a merge tool is used to merge the HSA with the disk. The HSA comprises at least one actuator arm with a suspension connected to the distal end of the actuator arm. A multi-level shipping comb attached to the actuator arm comprises a finger having a first surface and a second, raised surface. During shipping of the HSA, the first surface of the finger contacts the suspension to protect against overstressing. During manufacture of the disk drive, the shipping comb is actuated so that the second surface contacts the suspension thereby bending the suspension in a vertical direction to facilitate the insertion of the merge tool.

Method of assembling a disk drive including actuating a shipping comb to bend a suspension vertically to facilitate a merge tool

An aspect of the invention can be regarded as a disk drive that includes a disk drive base and a spindle motor hub rotatably coupled to the disk drive base. The disk drive further includes a first disk disposed about the spindle motor hub and having a first disk stiffness. The disk drive further includes a second disk disposed about the spindle motor hub and having a second disk stiffness different than the first disk stiffness. According to another aspect of the present invention, the second disk has a second disk thickness different than a first disk thickness. According to another aspect of the present invention, the second disk is formed of a second material having a second material stiffness different than a first material stiffness.

Disk drive with disks having different disk stiffness, thickness and material combinations

Disclosed is a head stack load comb used in the controlled loading of a head of a head stack assembly (HSA) onto a disk during the assembly of a disk drive. The HSA includes an actuator arm, a head, and a loading surface. The load comb includes a base structure and at least one ramp finger projecting approximately perpendicularly from the base structure. In order to load the head in a controlled manner onto the disk, the loading surface of the HSA is rotated along the ramp finger until the head is in a load position and then the base structure is actuated in a vertical direction such that the ramp finger is correspondingly actuated in the vertical direction towards the disk until the head is loaded onto the disk.

Head stack load comb for controlled head loading

Disclosed is a ramp used for the controlled loading of a head of a head stack assembly (HSA) onto a disk of a disk drive. The HSA includes an actuator arm, a head, and a loading surface. The ramp comprises a base structure and at least one ramp finger projecting approximately perpendicularly from the base structure. In order to load the head in a controlled manner onto the disk, the loading surface of the HSA is rotated along the ramp finger until the head is in a load position. The base structure is then actuated in a vertical direction such that the ramp finger is correspondingly actuated in the vertical direction towards the disk until the head is loaded onto the disk.

Disk drive having a ramp used for the controlled loading of a head of a head stack assembly onto a disk

A disk drive comprises a disk, an actuator arm, a head attached to the actuator arm, a voice coil motor, a parking latch for latching the actuator arm in a latched position in order to park the head during a non-operating mode, a post, and an inertial latch for maintaining the actuator arm in the latched position when the disk drive is subjected to a physical shock. The inertial latch comprises a body having a protruding arm and a pivot surface, wherein during the physical shock the body rotates about the pivot surface such that the protruding arm engages the actuator arm. The body of the inertial latch further comprises a strip-spring comprising a first end inserted into a first receptor and a second end inserted into a second receptor such that the strip spring has an initial arc displacement when installed into the body of the inertial latch.

Disk drive comprising an inertial actuator latch with strip-spring biasing

An aspect of the invention can be regarded as a disk drive that includes a disk drive base and a spindle motor hub rotatably coupled to the disk drive base. The disk drive further includes a first disk disposed about the spindle motor hub. The disk drive further includes a second disk disposed about the spindle motor hub. The disk drive further includes a first disk spacer disposed between and in mechanical communication with the first and second disks. The first disk spacer has a first disk spacer first side disposed adjacent the first disk and an opposing first disk spacer second side disposed adjacent the second disk. The first disk spacer first side is defined by a first disk spacer first surface pattern. The first disk spacer second side is defined by a first disk spacer second surface pattern different than the first disk spacer first surface pattern.

Disk drive including disk spacer with different side surface patterns

A disk drive is disclosed comprising a disk, an actuator arm, a head attached to the actuator arm, a voice coil motor, a parking latch for latching the actuator arm in a latched position in order to park the head during a non-operating mode, and a flex circuit having a first end and a second end, the first end coupled to the actuator arm. The disk drive further comprises an inertial latch for maintaining the actuator arm in the latched position when the disk drive is subjected to a physical shock. The inertial latch comprises a body having a protruding arm and defining a pivot axis. The inertial latch further comprises a support member coupled to the base, the support member comprising a connecting surface for connecting to the second end of the flex circuit, and a restraining member connected to the body of the inertial latch proximate the pivot axis, wherein the restraining member vertically restrains the inertial latch.

Disk drive comprising a support member for supporting a flex circuit and having a restraining member for vertically restraining an inertial latch

A disk drive including a disk drive base. The disk drive further includes at least one rotatable disk which includes a disk surface extending to an outer disk edge. The disk drive further includes a head stack assembly rotatably attached to the disk drive base in operable communication with the disk. The disk drive further includes an airflow suppressor comb coupled to the disk drive base and stationary relative to the disk drive base during operation of the disk drive. The comb includes a comb body disposed adjacent to the outer disk edge, and at least one tine extending from the comb body along the disk surface for mitigating disk rotation induced airflow upon the head stack assembly adjacent to the disk surface.

Disk drive having airflow suppressor comb for reduced disk rotation induced airflow

A disk drive is disclosed comprising a base, a disk, an actuator arm comprising a tang attached to a base end of the actuator arm, a head attached to a distal end of the actuator arm, a voice coil motor for rotating the actuator arm about a pivot to position the head radially over the disk, and a crash stop comprising injection molded plastic formed into a body piece having a protruding first arm and a protruding second arm. The body piece of the crash stop is attached to the base of the disk drive. The first protruding arm comprises a magnet at least partially embedded into the plastic for latching the tang of the actuator arm to the first protruding arm. The plastic is formed around the magnet such that at least part of the plastic is between the magnet and the tang. The second protruding arm presents a physical barrier to the tang to limit the stroke of the actuator arm.

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San Jose, CA, United States of America

Serge Hauert