The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document.
The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge covers the following: Patent number, Date patent was issued, Date patent was filed, Title of the patent, Applicant, Inventor, Assignee, Attorney firm, Primary examiner, Assistant examiner, CPCs, and Abstract. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document (in Adobe Acrobat format, aka pdf). To download or print any patent click here.
Patent No.:
Date of Patent:
May. 27, 2003
Filed:
Dec. 27, 1999
Derek A. Lewis, Minneapolis, MN (US);
Wayne A. Bonin, North Oaks, MN (US);
Anthony P. Sannino, Shakopee, MN (US);
Zine-Eddine Boutaghou, Vadnais Heights, MN (US);
Lee C. Knippenberg, Burnsville, MN (US);
Seagate Technology, LLC., Scotts Valley, CA (US);
Abstract
To allow for adjusting the fly height of a read/write head carried by a slider, a shear transducer is added to the slider. The shear transducer comprises a layer of piezoelectric material added to the slider so that the portion of the slider carrying the read/write head can be moved when the shear transducer is sheared. To cause the shear transducer to shear, a voltage is applied across the piezoelectric layer. To control the movement of the transducer, a closed-loop control system is used. The control system senses the spacing between the read/write head and the disc surface, compares the sensed spacing to a desired spacing, and adjusts the voltage applied to the shear transducer to reduce the difference between the actual and desired spacing.