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:
Oct. 28, 2003
Filed:
Aug. 29, 2001
Applicant:
Inventor:
Jeffrey E. Thomsen, Cosmos, MN (US);
Assignee:
Hutchinson Technology Incorporated, Hutchinson, MN (US);
Attorney:
Primary Examiner:
Assistant Examiner:
Int. Cl.
CPC ...
G01R 3/300 ;
U.S. Cl.
CPC ...
G01R 3/300 ;
Abstract
A method for detecting failures in microactuator motors in head suspensions including exciting the head suspension at its natural resonant frequency, monitoring and evaluating the voltage produced by one or both piezoelectric elements in the motor, and comparing the voltage produced with one or more voltage waveforms corresponding to a properly functioning and mounted motor in response to a similar input. The method also includes applying a sweep frequency signal to provide visibility of a microcrack in the motor that may initially be concealed by plating on the motor.