| Patent Number |
Title Of Patent |
Date Issued |
| H1424 |
Transducer gimbal structure |
April 4, 1995 |
| A magnetic head suspension 10 has a flexure portion 18 constituted as a single one-piece structure with a load beam spring element portion 12. The flexure portion 18 projects beyond a distal apex of the load beam spring element portion 12. The flexure portion 18 includes a first connecti |
| 7471488 |
Load beams for disk drive head suspensions having snap-on mounts comprising deflectable arms wit |
December 30, 2008 |
| Mounts for securing magnetic disk drive head suspensions to actuator arms. The mounts include structures that snap onto the actuator arm to provide a secure friction fit engagement. The mounts can be efficiently removed to permit rework of the suspension and head components. |
| 7469464 |
Method for adjusting a head suspension for positioning a read/write head over a disk |
December 30, 2008 |
| A method for adjusting a performance parameter of a head suspension for positioning a read/write head in a disk drive. The suspension includes a beam and flexible element for carrying a read/write head extending from the beam. The flexible element has one or more adjustment portions. The |
| 7466518 |
Slidably engaging snap-on arm mounts for disk drive head suspensions |
December 16, 2008 |
| Mounts for securing magnetic disk drive head suspensions to actuator arms. The mounts include structures that snap onto the actuator arm to provide a secure friction fit engagement. The mounts can be efficiently removed to permit rework of the suspension and head components. |
| 7460897 |
Patient interface for spectroscopy applications |
December 2, 2008 |
| A patient interface and a method of installing a patient interface for a spectroscopy kit on a patient. The patient interface includes a butterfly-shaped patient interface with a cap on top of the patient interface and in proximity to an optical head. |
| 7441323 |
Method of aligning components for installation on a head suspension assembly |
October 28, 2008 |
| A head suspension for supporting a head slider over a storage media in a dynamic storage device is provided with a head suspension component having a spring metal layer, an electrically conductive layer and a dielectric layer interposed between the metal layer and the electrically co |
| 7440236 |
Apparatus for insulating and electronically connecting piezoelectric motor in dual stage actuato |
October 21, 2008 |
| Apparatus and method for selectively applying a voltage to one major surface of a pair of piezoelectric motors (PZTs) on a disk drive head suspension with a primary plane of a load beam of the head suspension parallel to the major surfaces of the PZT elements electrically insulated f |
| 7430096 |
Head suspension with etched rail load beam |
September 30, 2008 |
| A head suspension load beam having a longitudinal axis, first and second edges, and first and second opposite side surfaces. The load beam includes a central rail structure extending along at least a part of the longitudinal axis. The load beam also includes a first elongated partial |
| 7388733 |
Method for making noble metal conductive leads for suspension assemblies |
June 17, 2008 |
| A method of manufacturing an integrated lead head suspension flexure of the type having conductors on a spring metal layer capable of being etched by a first etching process. The method includes forming a patterned layer having gaps one or more flying lead regions of dielectric mater |
| 7385787 |
Loadbeam with improved partial etching geometry |
June 10, 2008 |
| A head suspension for supporting a read/write head in a dynamic rigid disk data storage device and applying a load force on the read/write head in a load direction when the storage device is in operation, the suspension comprising an elongated loadbeam portion extending along a longitudi |
| 7384531 |
Plated ground features for integrated lead suspensions |
June 10, 2008 |
| A method for forming an electrical interconnect on an integrated lead suspension or suspension component of the type formed from a laminated sheet of material having a stainless steel layer, a conductive lead layer and an insulating layer separating the stainless steel and conductive |
| 7375927 |
Laminated headlift structure for disk drive suspensions |
May 20, 2008 |
| A head suspension load beam including a beam region and a headlift formed by etching from a laminated sheet of material having first and second stainless steel layers separated by a polyimide layer. The beam region includes a base portion formed from the first stainless steel layer and a |
| 7360653 |
Packaging tray for disk drive head suspension assemblies |
April 22, 2008 |
| A packaging tray for disk drive head suspension assemblies is comprised of a generally rectangular frame having longitudinal members adapted to support suspension assemblies. A baseplate support member and a flexure tail support member are adapted to support both complementary upper and |
| 7354519 |
Method and apparatus for fabricating a stent |
April 8, 2008 |
| A method for fabricating a tubular article having a wall structure defined by a selected pattern. The method includes the steps of providing a tube having an outer surface and an inner surface; coating the outer surface with first photosensitive resist; exposing the selected pattern port |
| 7352533 |
Head suspension with polymer stiffener |
April 1, 2008 |
| A head suspension assembly including a stainless steel hinge member, an integrated lead flexure and a polymer stiffener member. The stainless steel hinge member includes a proximal mounting region, a beam region having a load point dimple, and a spring region between the mounting and |
| 7339767 |
Baseplate for a disk drive head suspension |
March 4, 2008 |
| A baseplate for swaging a head suspension to an actuator arm includes a flange with an opening having a back bore diameter and a boss tower extending from the flange and having an outer diameter. The back bore diameter is less than or equal to about 105% of the outer diameter and gre |
| 7330338 |
Method for adjusting pitch and roll in a head suspension |
February 12, 2008 |
| Apparatus and method for adjusting at least one of a pitch and roll parameter of a gimbal for a head suspension assembly having a pair of members contacting at least one gimbal arm at spaced apart locations and having an additional member contacting the gimbal arm intermediate the sp |
| 7312954 |
Suspension bearings for data storage drive |
December 25, 2007 |
| A stacked suspension assembly for a data storage drive having, for example, at least two suspension members with each suspension member has a bearing hole therethrough. At least one spacer is positioned between the at least two suspension members to separate adjacent suspension membe |
| 7303636 |
Method of laser cleaning surfaces on a head suspension |
December 4, 2007 |
| A method of cleaning an contaminated surface on a head suspension with laser energy. A laser beam is patterned such that a single pulse extends across the entire contaminated surface. One or more pulses of the laser energy is applied to the contaminated surface sufficient to melt the |
| 7256968 |
Microactuated dimple for head suspensions |
August 14, 2007 |
| A head suspension for supporting a head slider over a disk in a dynamic storage device and providing precise movement of the head slider relative to tracks on the disk. The head suspension includes a load beam, a flexure having a slider mounting region, and a dimple interface transmi |
| 7239901 |
Tissue spectrometer with improved optical shutter |
July 3, 2007 |
| An improved system and method for calibrating spectrophotometric instruments for the effects of light source drift. An instrument includes both received light and reference light paths to a light sensor where light signals are converted to electrical signals to be used by a processor |
| 7239385 |
Method and apparatus for monitoring output signal instability in a light source |
July 3, 2007 |
| A spectrophotometric instrument is comprised of a processor, a probe having a tissue engaging surface with an aperture therethrough and a light source producing measurement light signals and optically coupled to the probe via a first optical path. A partially reflective first reflect |
| 7230194 |
Elongated bridge shunt formed by stretching and rupturing a conducting bridge |
June 12, 2007 |
| Structure and method for forming a switchable shunt for a suspension assembly having conductive, insulating and metal base layers. The shunt includes a bridge in the conductive layer with either a continuous connection or small gap between ends of the bridge. The continuous connectio |
| 7220920 |
Flexible electrical circuit with slotted coverlay |
May 22, 2007 |
| An integrated lead flexure having a slotted coverlay to compensate for curling caused by thermal and hygroscopic-induced expansion and contraction of the coverlay. |
| 7219413 |
Adjusting system and method for head slider mounting regions on head suspensions |
May 22, 2007 |
| A method for adjusting static attitude of a head suspension is provided that includes providing an adjustment pin and adjusting the static attitude of a supported head suspension by contacting the head suspension with the adjustment pin to cause a predetermined attitude change in the |
| 7218481 |
Apparatus for insulating and electrically connecting piezoelectric motor in dual stage actuator |
May 15, 2007 |
| Apparatus and method for selectively applying a voltage to one major surface of a pair of piezoelectric motors (PZTs) on a disk drive head suspension with a primary plane of a load beam of the head suspension parallel to the major surfaces of the PZT elements electrically insulated f |
| 7213433 |
Method for adjusting a head suspension parameter |
May 8, 2007 |
| A method for adjusting the static attitude of a head suspension by scanning a region of the head suspension with a laser. A head suspension having a gimbal region is provided that permits a head slider attached thereto to gimbal about pitch and roll axes in response to fluctuations i |
| 7211935 |
Enhancements for adhesive attachment of piezoelectric motor elements to a disk drive suspension |
May 1, 2007 |
| Adhesive attachment features for bonding piezoelectric motors to a load beam substrate. The attachment features have one or more reliefs under or partially under or adjacent to a piezoelectric transducer to control the flow of adhesive by limiting or influencing adhesive travel or flow a |
| 7207097 |
Method for making an actuator assembly for supporting a read/write device in an information stor |
April 24, 2007 |
| An actuator assembly for supporting a read/write device in an information storage device having an actuator arm having at least one tower protruding from a first surface of the actuator arm, a loadbeam having at least one tower receiving means for receiving the at least one tower, wh |
| 7194795 |
Method for manufacturing a head suspension |
March 27, 2007 |
| A head suspension or head suspension component for supporting a head slider over a rigid disk in a dynamic storage device and a method of manufacturing. The head suspension includes a head suspension component and a compliant locating feature formed within the head suspension compone |
| 7177119 |
Microactuated head suspension with ring springs |
February 13, 2007 |
| A microactuated head suspension including a mounting region for attachment of the head suspension to a source of primary actuation, a pair of generally arcuate ring springs and a connecting member. The ring springs at spaced locations extending from the mounting region with at least one |
| 7170716 |
Method of forming a head suspension with an integral boss tower |
January 30, 2007 |
| A method of making a multi-piece head suspension for a rigid disk drive. The method includes providing a first layer including a mounting region with an integral boss tower attached to a stiffener by one or more positioning tabs; attaching a second layer including a spring region to |
| 7165893 |
Multi-fiber optical connect |
January 23, 2007 |
| An optical connector comprises a first block having a channel for accommodating a first set of optical cables and a second block having a channel for accommodating a second set of optical cables. Each block has three protrusions, each adapted to be engaged to a respective one of the |
| 7158350 |
Ground interconnects |
January 2, 2007 |
| Apparatus and method for grounding a flexure of a head suspension assembly to a moving support such as an actuator arm or an E block close to a preamplifier, write driver or other wiring such as a flexible circuit located on the moving support in a disk drive assembly, including conn |
| 7149054 |
Reverse flow disk drive and head suspension for same |
December 12, 2006 |
| A head suspension for a reverse flow disk drive. The head suspension includes a load beam having a mounting region at a proximal end, a rigid region at a distal end and a spring region between the mounting region and the rigid region. A flexure is mounted on the distal end of the rigid |
| 7147789 |
Process for control of contours formed by etching substrates |
December 12, 2006 |
| The present invention provides a process for controlling the contour of a feature in a transition area made by etching a substrate. This process includes applying a patterned resist mask to the substrate to form a plurality of mask openings and mask land areas. The mask land areas are |
| 7142395 |
Method for making noble metal conductive leads for suspension assemblies |
November 28, 2006 |
| A method of manufacturing an integrated lead head suspension flexure of the type having conductors on a spring metal layer capable of being etched by a first etching process. The method includes forming a patterned layer having gaps one or more flying lead regions of dielectric mater |
| 7130156 |
Suspension base plate with boss tower having tapered swage ball-engaging surface |
October 31, 2006 |
| A base plate adapted to attach a head suspension assembly to an actuator arm. The base plate includes a flange portion with a boss tower perpendicular to a plane of the flange portion. The boss tower includes a swaging hole with a tapered portion that increases in diameter in a direc |
| 7076859 |
Method of limiting movement of a head suspension away from disk surface |
July 18, 2006 |
| A method of limiting movement of a head suspension away from a disk surface, the head suspension used for supporting a head slider over the disk surface in a rigid disk drive, the method comprising the steps of providing a load beam for use in a head suspension, the load beam having |
| 7065858 |
Method for welding components of a disk drive head suspension |
June 27, 2006 |
| A method of affixing head suspension components to one another using an edge weld formed at the edge of one head suspension assembly component positioned in an overlapping fashion relative to another head suspension assembly component, and an apparatus assembled by the method. |
| 7042680 |
Swaging-optimized baseplate for disk drive head suspension |
May 9, 2006 |
| A baseplate for swaging a disk drive head suspension to an arm having a thickness and a neutral axis. The baseplate includes a boss tower having an outer diameter high point configured to be located within about .+-.6% of the arm thickness from the neutral axis when swaged to an arm. |
| 7041920 |
Elongated bridge shunt switch formed by stretching and rupturing a conducting bridge |
May 9, 2006 |
| Structure and method for forming a switchable shunt for a suspension assembly having conductive, insulating and metal base layers. The shunt includes a bridge in the conductive layer with either a continuous connection or small gap between ends of the bridge. The continuous connectio |
| 7032294 |
Method of making switchable shunts for integrated lead suspensions |
April 25, 2006 |
| A switchable shunt has an insulating layer separating conductive lead and spring metal layers. The shunt includes a base region formed on the spring metal layer, one or more arms formed in the conductive lead layer and at least one of the insulating and spring metal layers, one or more |
| 7021097 |
Method for adjusting a head suspension parameter |
April 4, 2006 |
| A method for adjusting the static attitude of a head suspension by scanning a region of the head suspension with a laser. A head suspension having a gimbal region is provided that permits a head slider attached thereto to gimbal about pitch and roll axes in response to fluctuations i |
| 7016159 |
Disk drive head suspension with spring rails for base plate microactuation |
March 21, 2006 |
| A base plate for a head suspension assembly having a pair of side rails including spring portions. The base plate including first and second portions connected by the pair of side rails and separated by an opening, with the spring portions positioned adjacent to the opening. The base |
| 6967819 |
Head suspension with chip as structural element |
November 22, 2005 |
| A head suspension or head suspension component for use in supporting a read/write head in a storage device, the head suspension or head suspension component including an integrated circuit chip as a structural element of the head suspension or head suspension component. The chip is i |
| 6966976 |
Electroplating panel with plating thickness-compensation structures |
November 22, 2005 |
| An electroplating panel having a strip of components to be electroplated. The components are spaced apart from one another along an edge of the strip. The panel includes a main buss and a plating thickness-compensation structure electrically connecting the main buss to the components at |
| 6965499 |
Head suspension configured for improved thermal performance during solder ball bonding to head s |
November 15, 2005 |
| A head suspension or head suspension component article configured for solder ball bonding of a head slider to electrical traces on article. The article including electrical traces formed from electrically conductive material with the electrical traces having a bonding region adapted for |
| 6944936 |
Method for manufacturing an integrated lead suspension |
September 20, 2005 |
| A method for manufacturing an integrated lead suspension or component having an integrated circuit (IC) with an array of terminals. The suspension or component is formed from a laminated sheet of material including a spring metal layer and a conductive material layer separated by an |
| 6941641 |
Method for mounting an arm to an actuator |
September 13, 2005 |
| A method for mounting removably secured actuator arms that include head suspensions to an actuator assembly spindle. Each arm is mounted to an actuator spindle via a spacer with an annular lip with at least one detent formed into its perimeter edge. Each actuator arm includes two resilie |
