Quantum Corporation

Digital Equipment Corporation

International Business Machines Corporation

Imation Corporation

William D Lewis

William F Even

Bernardo Rub

Patrick L Hearn

Fernando A Zayas

Antonios E Prentakis

Carter J Hansen

Vinay K Aggarwal

A multi-purpose grill is described. The grill may include a housing comprising at least one housing sidewall defining a housing interior. The at least one housing sidewall may include a firebox door and a firebox opening leading to the housing interior. The grill may also include a pan that may be located in the housing interior, a cooking grate that may be located above the pan, a removable sleeve and a removable lid that may be located above the cooking grate. The pan may sit on one or more removable rods.

Multi-purpose grill system

A tape reel assembly for maintaining a data storage tape. The tape reel assembly includes a hub ring, an engagement section, a metallic ring and opposing flanges. The hub ring defines a tape-winding surface and forms a central opening. The engagement section extends substantially radially inwardly relative to the tape-winding surface and includes an inner surface, an outer surface and an annular flange. The annular flange extends substantially axially from the outer surface and defines an axial passage. The metallic ring is secured to the outer surface of the engagement section and has an inner diameter. In this regard, the inner diameter of the metallic ring is greater than a diameter of the axial passage such that the annular flange extends axially within the inner diameter of the metallic ring. Finally, the opposing flanges extend radially from opposite ends of the hub ring, respectively. With this configuration, the annular flange protects the metallic ring from accidental contact with a tape drive post during use. In addition, the annular flange serves to co-axially align a drive assembly with the tape-winding surface, thereby improving cartridge performance.

Tape reel assembly with washer guard for a data storage tape cartridge

In a disk drive, the tendency of a flying head to physically engage a constant-speed data recording disk when the drive is operated at an altitude higher than the altitude at which the drive was manufactured is tested by. During manufacture of the drive, the constant disk speed is reduced to a lower speed that is a function of a mathematical relationship between the manufacturing altitude to the higher altitude. The invention then determines if the head in fact physically engages the disk at this lower speed. In an embodiment, this lower speed is calculated as a function of the ratio of the manufacturing altitude to the higher altitude. An embodiment of the invention provides a rotatable rigid magnetic recording disk and a magneto-resistive (MR) head that is generally stationary relative to the rotating disk.

Method for mapping thermal asperities of a magnetic recording surface in

A disk drive in a multi-disk storage system has a spindle synchronizer and a spindle controller that are microprocessor-based. The spindle synchronizer has a counter used to track the phase of a master phase reference signal that is distributed to all the disk drives in the storage system. The counter may also optionally be used to generate the master reference signal. The spindle synchronizer also has programmable registers and a comparator that are used to generate a spindle reference signal having a programmable phase offset relative to the master reference signal, and a register used to sample the phase of the master reference once per revolution of its associated spindle. The spindle controller contains a counter used to measure the actual rotational period of the associated spindle. The spindle phase error is used in a phase correction algorithm that controls a reference voltage supplied to a motor spin controller. The algorithm employs frequency switching to phase-lock the associated spindle with the spindle reference signal generated by the spindle synchronizer.

Phase locking a disk drive spindle to a reference signal

Synchronization of multiple disk drive spindles

A method and apparatus for writing and reading servo data placed on a plurality of disk surfaces to minimize the degree of overlap of headers written or read by each write/read channel. Time division de-multiplexing (selecting) the writing of servo data to disk surfaces from each write/read channel and time division multiplexing the reading of servo data from the staggered headers contained on the disk surfaces coupled to each write/read channel increases the number of surfaces written to or read in a single rotation by each write/read channel. Disk surfaces are coupled to the write/read channels in groups to minimize the number of rotations required to write to or read from all the surfaces contained in the groups. Groups of surfaces may be sub-grouped. The headers of sub-groups are interleaved so that portions of the header written in a separate disk pass whose length is less than half the total length of the header may be written or read in the same rotation as another group of surfaces.

Method and apparatus for writing or reading servo information

In the manufacture of a high capacity data storage device having multiple surfaces for recording information, the yield of the manufacturing process is improved by providing the storage device with a spare surface. If a recording surface is found to be totally defective, or, substantially worse than the other surfaces, as determined by the manufacturing testing procedures, that surface is, by means of a remapping table, logically retired and the information intended for the defective surface is stored on the logically reallocated spare surface.

Method and apparatus for surface reallocation for improved manufacturing

Methodology and apparatus for in-drive defect testing of recording media, including recording a special defect detection signal in each recording media block from the end of its header to the end of the block, and detecting the recorded defect detection signal in each block from the end of its header to the end of the block.

In-drive defect detector

A modular electrical component packaging system which utilizes a plurality of identical structural elements is disclosed. The system incorporates one or more generally rectangular card cages for receiving and retaining printed circuit boards, power supplies, ventilation fans etc. Welded onto, bolted to, formed integrally on, or attached separately to two opposed sides of each rectangular card cage are a pair of identical vertically oriented channel members which serve to provide vertical support and to enclose a lock mechanism. A plurality of identical exterior panel members is provided, each including a planar surface and a pair of generally perpendicular side walls having mounting pins for coupling each exterior panel member to a pair of vertical channel members. Each exterior panel member thus overlies an entire side of the generally rectangular card cage and a portion of each side of the card cage having a vertical channel member mounted thereon. The lock mechanism within each vertical channel member serves to selectively engage the mounting pins, thereby securing each exterior panel member in place. In this manner, each card cage within a stacked modular system requires two identical vertical channel members and two identical exterior panel members, thereby minimizing the number of distinct structural elements which must be provided for the packaging system.

Growing community of inventors

Northboro, MA, United States of America

William D Lewis