Robert A Smith

Title: Innovations of Robert A. Smith

Introduction

Robert A. Smith is a notable inventor based in Berkeley, California. He has made significant contributions to the field of magnetic storage technology, holding a total of four patents. His work focuses on enhancing the performance and efficiency of magnetic storage disks.

Latest Patents

One of his latest patents is titled "Method and apparatus for texturizing disks." This invention discloses a method and apparatus for texturizing magnetic storage disks. The disk texturizing apparatus utilizes a combination of servomotors for rotating the disk and oscillating the disk towards and away from a texturizing media. The servomotors are controlled by a closed-loop control system that monitors and synchronizes the angular and linear position of the disk. Through such control, the disk rotation speed may be modulated in conjunction with the linear oscillation, allowing a higher degree of triangularity in the texturization pattern. Additionally, a pattern generation system and a graphical user interface for specifying, modeling, generating, modifying, and displaying disk texturizing patterns are also disclosed. The texturizing pattern can be displayed in polar plot and linear plot form, enabling users to visualize and design the texturizing pattern more easily. Warning signals are employed when the texturizing pattern exceeds the acceleration or amplitude limitations of the physical texturizing apparatus or when the designed pattern repeats. The pattern generation system may also generate a data sequence describing a particular pattern, which is exportable to the physical disk texturizing apparatus.

Another significant patent is the "Automated rigid-disk finishing system providing in-line process control." This invention provides an automated rigid-disk finishing system with 'fly-by-wire' control of each relevant parameter involved in the texturing process. The system includes an abrasive tape and a means for forcibly pressing the tape against the substrate to cut microscopic grooves into the substrate's surface. A control means simultaneously controls the speed and tension of the tape while sensing the tension developed in the tape on both sides of the tape/substrate interface. This system is capable of establishing tape speed and tape tension simultaneously while providing a measure of the actual work being accomplished on the rigid disk surface.

Career Highlights

Robert A. Smith has made a significant impact in his field through his innovative patents and contributions to magnetic storage technology. He works at Exclusive Design Company, where he continues to develop cutting-edge solutions for disk