| Patent Number |
Title Of Patent |
Date Issued |
| 7614136 |
Method of producing a framing assembly |
November 10, 2009 |
| A framing assembly with lower stiffness design and a method of manufacturing that framing assembly are disclosed. In one embodiment, a framing assembly pattern is cut from a piece of a thin planar material, such as metal. The pattern is then bent to form a framing assembly with a bas |
| 7609487 |
Thin-film PZT micro-actuator integral with suspension of head gimbal assembly, and disk drive un |
October 27, 2009 |
| A micro-actuator for a head gimbal assembly includes a support structure and a PZT element. The support structure includes a bottom support integrated with a suspension flexure of the head gimbal assembly, a top support adapted to support a slider of the head gimbal assembly, and a l |
| 7596859 |
Method for maintaining alignment of a hard disk micro-actuator and magnetic head with respect to |
October 6, 2009 |
| A system is disclosed for maintaining proper alignment of a hard disk micro-actuator and magnetic head with respect to a drive arm's suspension during the curing process of the bonding agent used in their coupling. Embodiments may include a system to couple an actuator element to a s |
| 7580226 |
Method and mechanism of the PZT micro-actuator application for the magnetic head gimbal assembly |
August 25, 2009 |
| A system and method using a framing assembly to provide support for a micro-actuator and allow the micro-actuator to be connected to a suspension assembly is disclosed. In one embodiment, the framing assembly consists of a base with two arms attached. In a further embodiment a crossp |
| 7554772 |
Head gimbal assembly having an independent spacer therein and disk drive unit with the same |
June 30, 2009 |
| A HGA of the invention includes a micro-actuator, a slider and a suspension to support the micro-actuator and the slider. The suspension comprises a flexure for mounting the micro-actuator thereon, a suspension tongue connected to the flexure and an independent spacer sandwiched betw |
| 7551405 |
Rotational PZT micro-actuator with fine head position adjustment capacity, head gimbal assembly, |
June 23, 2009 |
| A Head Gimbal Assembly (HGA) of the invention includes a slider; a micro-actuator to adjust the position of the slider; and a suspension to support the slider and the micro-actuator. The micro-actuator includes two side arms; a load plate for supporting the slider, which is connected |
| 7551403 |
HSA with air turbulence preventing structure for HGA, disk drive unit with the same, and manufac |
June 23, 2009 |
| A HSA of the present invention includes a voice coil; an E-block connected to the voice coil, which including at least one actuator arms; at least one HGAs, wherein each HGA is swaged on a tip of the respective actuator arm and includes a suspension having a flexure for supporting a slid |
| 7551386 |
Head gimbal assembly with flying height controller, disk drive unit using the same, and flying h |
June 23, 2009 |
| A HGA comprises a slider, a suspension to load the slider, a flying height controller for controlling flying height of the slider; and a flexible cable to be electrically connected with the slider and the flying height controller. In the present invention, the flying height controller |
| 7538984 |
Rotational PZT micro-actuator with a rotatable plate |
May 26, 2009 |
| A micro-actuator for a head gimbal assembly includes a metal frame, PZT elements, and a rigid beam. The metal frame includes a top support adapted to support a slider of the head gimbal assembly, and a pair of side arms extending vertically from respective sides of the top support. T |
| 7535681 |
Micro-actuator including side arms having back-turned extensions, head gimbal assembly and disk |
May 19, 2009 |
| A micro-actuator of the invention includes a support base having two actuator side arms and a rotatable bottom plate positioned between the actuator side arms; wherein at least one of the actuator side arms having a back-turned extension in a first end thereof; a pair of connection e |
| 7535680 |
Micro-actuator with integrated trace and bonding pad support |
May 19, 2009 |
| A micro-actuator for a head gimbal assembly includes a frame, a first set of bonding pads provided to one end of the frame, a second set of bonding pads provided to an opposing end of the frame, and a trace integrated to the frame. The trace interconnects the first set of bonding pads an |
| 7525769 |
Micro-actuator having swing support to allow horizontal swinging movement of slider support |
April 28, 2009 |
| A thin film piezoelectric (PZT) micro-actuator is disclosed. Two thin film pieces of PZT are couple to a slider support frame. The slider support frame has a slider support connected by a leading beam to a base. The two thin film pieces of PZT connect the slider support to the base. Appl |
| 7525763 |
Head gimbal assembly with particle filter device, and disk drive unit with the same |
April 28, 2009 |
| A HGA includes a slider, a suspension to load the slider, and a particle filter device to fix in leading side of the slider. The particle filter device is made of power material or porous material. The HGA further comprise a micro-actuator to connect with the slider. Because the part |
| 7522383 |
System and method for damage prevention by improving the shock resistance of a hard disk actuato |
April 21, 2009 |
| A system and method are disclosed for improving the vibration/ mechanical shock-resistance of a hard disk actuator arm. A guide block is located behind the actuator arm's angular range of motion, preventing over-flexure/vibration during operation, and/or the drive's actuator screw he |
| 7518833 |
Micro-actuator with electric spark preventing structure, HGA, and disk drive unit with the same, |
April 14, 2009 |
| A micro-actuator includes a metal frame having two side arms, a top support arm and a bottom support arm respectively connected with the top ends of the two side arms. The two side arms are in parallel with and spaced from each other a distance adapted to hold a slider therebetween t |
| 7508634 |
Micro-actuator, vibration canceller, head gimbal assembly, and disk drive unit with the same |
March 24, 2009 |
| A head gimbal assembly (HGA) for a disk drive unit that includes a micro-actuator, a slider and a suspension to load the slider and the micro-actuator. The micro-actuator is provided with a vibration canceller that counteracts forces generated by activation of the micro-actuator when |
| 7501737 |
Method and mechanism of PZT micro-actuator attachment for the hard disk driver arm |
March 10, 2009 |
| A fixture with a shaped molding may hold a first micro-actuator part and a second micro-actuator part in place for coupling while maintaining the structure of the first micro-actuator part. The first micro-actuator part and the second micro-actuator part may be a frame or a strip of |
| 7474512 |
Miro-actuator, head gimbal assembly, and disk drive unit with the same |
January 6, 2009 |
| A micro-actuator for a head gimbal assembly includes a support frame including a bottom support adapted to be connected to a suspension of the head gimbal assembly, a top support adapted to support a slider of the head gimbal assembly, and a leading beam that couples the bottom support |
| 7471490 |
Micro-actuator including U-shaped frame and metal support frame, and manufacturing method thereo |
December 30, 2008 |
| A micro-actuator for a head gimbal assembly includes a U-shaped frame and a metal support frame. The U-shaped frame includes a bottom support, a pair of side arms extending from the bottom support, and a PZT element mounted to each of the side arms. Each PZT element is excitable to cause |
| 7468869 |
Micro-actuator, micro-actuator suspension, and head gimbal assembly with the same |
December 23, 2008 |
| A micro-actuator for a head gimbal assembly includes a support frame integrated with a suspension flexure of the head gimbal assembly, a block, and a pair of PZT elements. The support frame includes a bottom support, a top support adapted to support a slider of the head gimbal assemb |
| 7433159 |
Micro-actuator unit, head gimbal assembly, and disk drive unit with vibration canceller |
October 7, 2008 |
| A HGA of the invention includes a slider, a micro-actuator for adjusting the position of the slider; a suspension to load the slider and the micro-actuator; and a vibration canceller interposed between the micro-actuator and the suspension. The micro-actuator includes a first base-pa |
| 7417831 |
Micro-actuator and head gimbal assembly for a disk drive device |
August 26, 2008 |
| A micro-actuator for a head gimbal assembly includes a metal frame including a bottom support adapted to be connected to a suspension, a top support adapted to support a slider, and a pair of side arms that interconnect the bottom and top supports. The side arms extend vertically fro |
| 7408745 |
Sway-type micro-actuator with slider holding arms for a disk drive head gimbal assembly |
August 5, 2008 |
| A micro-actuator of the invention includes a support frame having a base, a moving plate, a leading beam to connect the base with the moving plate; and two slider holding arms extending from both sides of the moving plate; at least one piezoelectric element bonding to the support frame t |
| 7405554 |
Vehicle wheel speed and acceleration sensor and method for calculating the same |
July 29, 2008 |
| Systems and/or methods for detecting a rotating wheel's speed and/or acceleration are provided. A sensor is attached to the rotating wheel. The sensor includes a circuit (e.g. a Wheatstone bridge circuit) having a plurality of resistors (e.g. 4 resistors). Each resistor includes a giant |
| 7377190 |
Method and mechanism of the suspension resonance optimization for the hard disk driver |
May 27, 2008 |
| A system and method are disclosed for using a test slider to test the resonance performance of a head gimbal assembly. The test slider has a two-stripe air-bearing surface to allow the test slider to glide above a surface and a block with a mass equal to the combined mass of the elec |
| 7359154 |
Method and apparatus for connecting a micro-actuator to driver arm suspension |
April 15, 2008 |
| A system and method for connecting an actuator to a suspension element is disclosed. The actuator is electrically coupled using a silver paste. The silver paste is further covered by a coating application to provide structural support. A step, attached to either the actuator base or the |
| 7339766 |
System and method for a subambient pressure air bearing slider utilizing negative pressure groov |
March 4, 2008 |
| A system and method are disclosed for a subambient pressure air bearing slider utilizing negative pressure grooves. In one embodiment, a groove extends from a slider's leading edge, splits, and terminates in two locations at the slider's trailing edge. In one embodiment, a groove is |
| 7312956 |
Micro-actuator, head gimbal assembly, and disk drive unit with the same |
December 25, 2007 |
| A head gimbal assembly includes a slider, a rotatable micro-actuator and a suspension to load the slider and the rotatable micro-actuator. The rotatable micro-actuator horizontally rotates the slider with a central portion of the slider as an axis, which includes a bottom plate to be |
| 7298593 |
Micro-actuator including a leading beam pivot part, head gimbal assembly and disk drive unit wit |
November 20, 2007 |
| A HGA includes a slider, a micro-actuator horizontally rotating the slider with a central portion of the slider as a rotation center, and a suspension to load the slider and the micro-actuator; wherein the micro-actuator comprises a support frame having a base, a moving plate, and a |
| 7256967 |
Micro-actuator, head gimbal assembly, disk drive unit and manufacturing method thereof |
August 14, 2007 |
| A head gimbal assembly (HGA) including a slider, a micro-actuator and a suspension to load the slider and the micro-actuator. The micro-actuator includes a support base and a piezoelectric unit used for both position displacement adjustment and flying height adjustment. The support base |
| 7240417 |
Collocated metal frame PZT micro-actuator with a lower stiffness suspension design and method of |
July 10, 2007 |
| A framing assembly with lower stiffness design and a method of manufacturing that framing assembly are disclosed. In one embodiment, a framing assembly pattern is cut from a piece of a thin planar material, such as metal. The pattern is then bent to form a framing assembly with a bas |
| 7225513 |
Method for preventing operational and manufacturing imperfections in piezoelectric micro-actuato |
June 5, 2007 |
| A method of manufacturing an actuator includes applying at least one layer of electrically-conductive material and at least one layer of electrically-insulative material to an actuator block, and separating the actuator block into a plurality of actuators, each actuator having at lea |
| 7224550 |
Hard disk drive device and method of assembling the hard disk drive device |
May 29, 2007 |
| A hard disk drive device and method for assembling such a device are provided. The hard disk drive device includes storage medium components comprising a drive motor and disk for digital data storage, which are attached to a section of a casing that encloses the drive's mechanical co |
| 7221542 |
System and method for hard drive damage prevention by providing reinforcing material to corners |
May 22, 2007 |
| A system and method are disclosed for hard drive damage prevention by improving the shock resistance of a hard disk micro-actuator. The interior angles of the micro-actuator are rounded and structurally supported by a reinforcing material. |
| 7218482 |
Micro-actuator, head gimbal assembly and manufacturing method thereof |
May 15, 2007 |
| A head gimbal assembly comprising a slider having a read\write sensor; a suspension to load the slider; a micro-actuator; wherein the micro-actuator comprises a piezoelectric unit with two piezoelectric elements and a support base having a base to be coupled with the suspension physi |
| 7199978 |
Method and apparatus for connecting a micro-actuator to driver arm suspension |
April 3, 2007 |
| A system and method for connecting an actuator to a suspension element is disclosed. The actuator is electrically coupled using a silver paste. The silver paste is further covered by a coating application to provide structural support. A step, attached to either the actuator base or the |
| 7181825 |
Method and mechanism of PZT micro-actuator attachment for the hard disk driver arm |
February 27, 2007 |
| A fixture with a shaped molding may hold a first micro-actuator part and a second micro-actuator part in place for coupling while maintaining the structure of the first micro-actuator part. The first micro-actuator part and the second micro-actuator part may be a frame or a strip of |
| 7160403 |
Treatment system and method for a head gimbal assembly static altitude control |
January 9, 2007 |
| A system and method to control the head suspension assembly static attitude during the manufacturing process are disclosed. A loading fixture loads and supports a head suspension while a slider is attached. A pitch static attitude and roll static attitude (PSA/RSA) monitor takes a fi |
| 7159300 |
Method for manufacturing a suspension design for a co-located PZT micro-actuator |
January 9, 2007 |
| A micro-actuator that reduces suspension tongue stiffness and a method of manufacturing the micro-actuator are disclosed. In one embodiment, the micro-actuator has a base piece with two arms extending from the base piece. The electric contact pads for the arms are situated on the ext |
| 7156139 |
Treatment system and method for a head gimbal assembly static altitude control |
January 2, 2007 |
| A system and method to control the head suspension assembly static attitude during the manufacturing process are disclosed. A loading fixture loads and supports a head suspension while a slider is attached. A pitch static attitude and roll static attitude (PSA/RSA) monitor takes a fi |
| 7142396 |
System and method for damage prevention by improving the shock resistance of a hard disk actuato |
November 28, 2006 |
| A system and method are disclosed for improving the vibration/mechanical shock-resistance of a hard disk actuator arm. A guide block is located behind the actuator arm's angular range of motion, preventing over-flexure/vibration during operation, and/or the drive's actuator screw hea |
| 7119991 |
System and method for preventing computer storage media surface contaminant accumulation and for |
October 10, 2006 |
| A system and method are disclosed for preventing computer storage media surface contaminant accumulation and for preventing impact-related head/slider damage. Such a system may include a component having a plurality of pads, where the component is to collect contaminants between a me |
| 7083078 |
System and method for manufacture of a hard disk drive arm and bonding of magnetic head to suspe |
August 1, 2006 |
| A system and method are disclosed for the manufacture of a hard disk drive arm and the bonding of magnetic head to suspension on the drive arm. |
| 7065845 |
Method for preventing operational and manufacturing imperfections in piezoelectric micro-actuato |
June 27, 2006 |
| A method for preventing operational and manufacturing imperfections in piezoelectric micro-actuators by physically and electrically isolating conductive layers of the piezoelectric material. At least one layer of electrically-conductive material and at least one layer of electrically |
| 7051424 |
Method and apparatus for electrically and physically coupling a micro-actuator and slider to a h |
May 30, 2006 |
| A system and method are disclosed for coupling a replacement micro-actuator to a drive arm suspension after a micro-actuator, such as a defective micro-actuator, has been detached from the suspension. |
| 7023663 |
Method and apparatus for improved attachment of a micro-actuator to a slider device |
April 4, 2006 |
| A system and method for improving the process of attaching a hard disk micro-actuator to a slider device with a bonding agent such as epoxy, the slider having design characteristics to avoid various problems associated with bonding the components with a bonding agent such as epoxy. |
| 7013554 |
Wireless suspension salvage method |
March 21, 2006 |
| The invention is a method to salvage suspensions from defective head gimbal assembly units. At present the hard disk industry is undergoing rapid product cycles. The products are being upgraded faster and faster, and the ability for sliders to meet higher density requirement becomes |
| 6950288 |
Integrated method and device for a dual stage micro-actuator and suspension design for the hard |
September 27, 2005 |
| A system and method using a connection plate to electrically couple a magnetic read/write head to a printed circuit assembly. The connection plate has a set of contact pads to control reads and a set of contact pads to control. The printed circuit assembly also allows control of the |
| 6943991 |
Suspension design for the co-located PZT micro-actuator |
September 13, 2005 |
| A micro-actuator that reduces suspension tongue stiffness and a method of manufacturing the micro-actuator are disclosed. In one embodiment, the micro-actuator has a base piece with two arms extending from the base piece. The electric contact pads for the arms are situated on the exterio |
| 6927945 |
Collocated metal frame PZT micro-actuator with a lower stiffness suspension design |
August 9, 2005 |
| A framing assembly with lower stiffness design and a method of manufacturing that framing assembly are disclosed. In one embodiment, a framing assembly pattern is cut from a piece of a thin planar material, such as metal. The pattern is then bent to form a framing assembly with a bas |
