Maxtor Corporation

Seagate Technology Incorporated

Quantum Corporation

Stanislaw Dobosz

Larry Ernest Wittig

David John Jennings

Jackson Wagner Nichols

Freeman Fisher

Edward George Acciardi

Gordon A Harwood

Hany Michael Gross

Bruce Gifford

A David L Michael

Mark R Lanciault

Mark R Dunbar

Upendra Ummethala

Described are electronic hard disk drives that are made to include: a base; a cover; interior components such as a stack of magnetic recording disks, reading and recording heads, electronics to read and record and to transfer data to and from an external electronic device; and a cover support at the interior of the device to inhibit movement of the cover.

Hard disk drive with cover and cover support

Certain exemplary aspects of the present disclosure are directed towards an apparatus including a base deck, a plurality of storage mediums, and a plurality of disc separator plates. Each disc separator plate includes one or more mounting pad surfaces, at least one of the surfaces having a protrusion. The disc separator plates are coupled to one another and the base deck via the mounting pads, with the disc separator plates in a stacked arrangement. The protrusion or protrusions facilitate alignment of the plurality of disc separator plates in the stacked arrangement, and mitigate contact between the storage mediums and the disc separator plates.

Disc separator plate with mounting pads

The present invention is a device for increasing the stiffness of a pivot bearing assembly generally employed along with an actuator assembly of a magnetic disk drive. More specifically, bearing cartridges generally used in the art, are modified with a smaller spacer and a stiffener that is associated with the shaft. This modification reduces the rotating mass of the actuator assembly and increases the stiffness of the pivot assembly about which it rotates, thereby yielding greater system performance by increasing a critical resonance mode frequency.

Stiffened shaft bearing cartridge

A clamping system includes a stack of storage media discs that includes an annular outer disc surface. A clamp includes a clamp surface that faces the outer disc surface. A ring is disposed between the clamp surface and the outer disc surface. The ring has a crested ring face with a circular crest line that contacts the clamp surface.

Clamping system for a data storage device

A disk drive includes a storage disk having a data surface, a head suspension assembly, an actuator assembly and an E-block. The actuator assembly moves the E-block relative to the storage disk. The E-block includes a first actuator arm and a second actuator arm. The first actuator arm supports the head suspension assembly while the second actuator arm supports no head suspension assemblies. The first actuator arm has a first upper surface having a first configuration. The second actuator arm has a second upper surface having a second configuration that is different than the first configuration and is tuned to decrease off-track displacement of the data transducer. In non-exclusive alternative embodiments, the actuator arms have substantially similar thicknesses, but have different perimeters, shapes, volumes and/or other properties.

Tuned mass actuator arms for decreasing track misregistration in a depopulated head suspension disk drive

A disk drive base plate () that incorporates a plurality of cooling ribs () on its bottom () is disclosed. In the illustrated embodiment, all of these cooling ribs () are disposed in parallel relation, and are oriented parallel to an airflow past the disk drive base plate (). An exposed primary surface () of a printed circuit board () is coplanar with base sections () associated with the cooling ribs ().

Disk drive baseplate with cooling ribs

A circuit assembly for mounting one or more integrated circuits that effectively dissipates heat generated by the integrated circuits, and a corresponding method for fabricating such a circuit assembly. The circuit assembly comprises a substrate, a thermally-conductive adhesive layer and a heat-dissipating layer. The substrate includes an opening extending between a first surface and a second surface of the substrate. An integrated circuit is to be mounted on the first surface of the substrate substantially coincident with the opening. The thermally-conductive adhesive layer is at least partially disposed within the opening in the substrate. The heat-dissipating layer is disposed on the second surface of the substrate and includes a raised portion that at least partially extends through the opening in the substrate.

Thermally-enhanced circuit assembly

A disk drive includes a head stack assembly having a storage disk, a data transducer, an actuator pivot center and a positioner. The positioner includes a magnet assembly, a primary coil array that generates a first rotational displacement of the data transducer, and a secondary coil array that generates a second rotational displacement of the data transducer. The absolute value of the ratio of the first rotational displacement to the second rotational displacement is at least approximately 1.5:1. The primary coil array generates a first vibration displacement that causes the data transducer to move off track, and the secondary coil array generates a second vibration displacement that is out of phase from the first vibration displacement. The absolute value of the sum of the first and second vibration displacements is less than the absolute value of the first vibration displacement. The disk drive can also include a control system that directs a first current to the primary coil array and a second current to the secondary coil array that is out of phase from the first current. The secondary coil array can include a proximal coil and a distal coil, with the proximal coil being positioned closer to the actuator pivot center than the distal coil. Further, only a portion of at least one of the coils is positioned directly between the magnet arrays. In another embodiment, the head stack assembly includes a latitudinal axis that divides the head stack assembly into a positioner region and a transducer region. The secondary coil array is positioned substantially within the positioner region of the head stack assembly. The positioner generates a primary force and a secondary force that combine to generate a constant net force in a direction along the longitudinal axis while the data transducer moves between the inner diameter and the outer diameter.

Positioner of a disk drive that positions a data transducer with reduced vibration

A suspension assembly ( ) for a storage device ( ) that includes a load beam ( ) and a damper assembly ( ). The load beam ( ) couples a data transducer ( ) to an actuator arm ( ). The damper assembly ( ) is secured to the load beam ( ). The damper assembly ( ) includes a damper beam section ( ) and a damper mass section ( ). The damper beam section ( ) cantilevers from the load beam ( ). The damper mass section ( ) is secured the damper beam section ( ). The damper assembly ( ) also includes a resilient layer ( ) and a cover layer ( ). The resilient layer ( ) extends between the damper mass section ( ) and the load beam ( ). The cover layer ( ) covers the resilient layer ( ). During rotation of a storage disk ( ), the load beam ( ) has a load beam resonance frequency. The damper assembly ( ) has a damper resonance frequency that is tuned to be similar to the load beam resonance frequency to decrease off-track movements of the data transducer ( ) relative to the storage disk ( ).

Damper for attenuating hard disk drive suspension vibration

A disk separator for a disk assembly of a disk drive is provided herein. The disk assembly includes a plurality of storage disks which are spaced apart on a spindle by a plurality of the disk separators. As provided herein, each disk separator includes a disk spacer and a pair of disk dampers. The disk spacer is rigid and includes a first section which extends between adjacent storage disks for maintaining the storage disks accurately spaced apart on the spindle. Each disk damper is positioned between one of the storage disks and a second section of the disk spacer for dampening the level of vibration in the storage disks. The reduced vibration level decreases the level of mis-registration which occurs during operation of the disk drive and allows for the use of high rotational speed, high density, storage disks.

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Shrewsbury, MA, United States of America

Stanislaw Dobosz