Abstract: The present invention provides an electronic assembly 400 and a method for its manufacture 800, 900, 1000 1200, 1400, 1500, 1600, 1700. The assembly 400 uses no solder. Components 406, or component packages 402, 802, 804, 806 with I/O leads 412 are placed 800 onto a planar substrate 808. The assembly is encapsulated 900 with electrically insulating material 908 with vias 420, 1002 formed or drilled 1000 through the substrate 808 to the components' leads 412. Then the assembly is plated 1200 and the encapsulation and drilling process 1500 repeated to build up desired layers 422, 1502, 1702. Assemblies may be mated 1800. Within the mated assemblies, items may be inserted including pins 2202a, 2202b, and 2202c, mezzanine interconnection devices 2204, heat spreaders 2402, and combination heat spreaders and heat sinks 2602. Edge card connectors 2802 may be attached to the mated assemblies.

Abstract: A method (10) for manufacturing a monolithic molded electronic assembly (12). A mold (14) having first and second mold potions (14a-b) that mate to form an interior chamber (16) is provided. The mold has an injection port (22) and channel (24) connecting into the chamber. Electronic parts (30) having electronic contacts (32) are populated onto the second mold portion, to be substantially contained in the chamber. The mold potions are mated together and a liquid insulating molding material (36) is injected through the injection port channel to fill the chamber. The molding material is hardened to a solid, thereby embedding the electronic parts in the molding material as a monolithic sub-assembly (40). The monolithic sub-assembly is removed from the mold and one or more solderless conductive circuits (50) are applied to the electronic contacts of the electronic parts, thereby providing the electronic assembly.

Abstract: An electronic assembly 400 and a method for its manufacture 800, 900, 1000 1200, 1400, 1500, 1700. The assembly 400 uses no solder. Components 406, or component packages 402, 802, 804, 806 with IPO leads 412 are placed 800 onto a planar substrate 808. The assembly is encapsulated 900 with electrically insulating material 908 with vias 420, 1002 formed or drilled 1000 through the substrate 808 to the components' leads 412. Then the assembly is plated 1200 and the encapsulation and drilling process 1500 repeated to build up desired layers 422, 1502, 1702. The planar substrate 808 may be a flexible substrate 2016 allowing bending of an assembly 2000 to fit into various enclosures.

Abstract: An electrical connector. An electrical connector comprising a connector body having a first channel and a first conductive element extending through the first channel in a first tip section. The first tip section having a first moment arm that, when forced in contact with a first conductive surface, twists the first conductive element to produce a torsion force. The torsion force holds the first tip section in contact with the first conductive surface.

Abstract: In one embodiment, method that can be performed on a system, is provided to security implementations for storage devices. In one embodiment, the method comprises providing a separate encryption seed for each of a plurality of separate addressable blocks of a non-volatile storage device, wherein a common encryption method is to encrypt data to be stored on the plurality of separate addressable blocks. In one embodiment, the storage device is a portable storage device. In one embodiment, encryption seed is an Initialization Vector (IV). In one embodiment, the encryption seeds comprise at least one of a media serial number and a logical block address corresponding to the respective block of the non-volatile storage device. In an alternative embodiment, the method further comprises storing at least a part of the separate encryption seed of the separate blocks of the non-volatile storage device within the respective blocks of the storage device.

Abstract: A packaging technique for electronic devices includes wafer fabrication of flexible contacts on the bottom surface of the substrate underneath the active circuit. Inherently reliable contacts suitable for a variety of devices can be formed via a simple fabrication process with good wafer packing density. For one embodiment, a trench is formed from the back of the substrate, exposing an upper conductive layer on the top surface. A standoff is formed on the bottom surface of the substrate. A lower conductive layer is formed that runs from and electrically connects with the exposed portion of the upper conductive layer onto the substrate standoff. The standoff is removed, releasing the formed conductors, resulting in a flexible contact.

Abstract: An electrical connector. An electrical connector comprising a connector body having a first channel and a first conductive element extending through the first channel in a first tip section. The first tip section having a first moment arm that, when forced in contact with a first conductive surface, twists the first conductive element to produce a torsion force. The torsion force holds the first tip section in contact with the first conductive surface.

Abstract: A combination glide test/burnishing head can be utilized in a glide test/burnishing system. The combination glide test/burnishing head includes two piezo-electric elements, which can be utilized in a passive mode as sensors for detecting contacts between the glide test/burnishing head and asperities on the surface of a magnetic recording disc. Contact between the glide test/burnishing head and disc asperities results in generation of a defect detection signal, which can be utilized by associated test logic to define the location of the detected asperities on the disc surface. The piezo-electric elements of the glide test/burnishing head can also be utilized in an active mode to cause yaw variation in the flight attitude of the glide test/burnishing head, in turn causing a burnishing pad on the glide test/burnishing head to be moved radially into contact with a detected disc asperity.

Abstract: A glide test head assembly glide test head assembly in which the mounting orientation of the piezo element has been modified. The glide test head assembly mounts the piezo element with one of its major surfaces coincident with the surface of the laterally-extending wing on which it is mounted. The mounting orientation of the piezo element allows the piezo element to be mounted fully on the laterally-extending wing of the glide test head assembly, raising the resonant frequency of the piezo element, decreasing the glide test head assembly's sensitivity to excitation caused by air flow disturbances, and increasing the reliability of glide test results.

Abstract: A system for loading a transducing head (22) to a flying elevation proximate a rotating surface of a disc (16) is disclosed. The system includes a piezoelectric device (40) that is selectively expanded and contracted to control a height of the head (22) on a flexure spring (14) from the surface of the disc (16). The system preferably includes control circuitry (50) for generating electrical control signals to manage the expansion and contraction of the piezoelectric device (40) according to operating characteristics of the disc (16).

Abstract: According to the present invention spindle bearings are assembled with at least one annular gimbal to compensate for undesired components of bearing compression force. Specific devices and methods are directed to compensating for either (a) operational force variations such as those caused by temperature variation or (b) assembly-related force variations such as those caused by misalignment.

Abstract: A method and system for monitoring in real-time changes in operating conditions such as temperature of a magnetic super resolution magneto-optical system which produce variations in aperture size in the media readout layer. The magnitude of a magneto-optical (MO) amplitude signal in a reflected laser beam is monitored, normalized by dividing by the laser power, compared to the amplitudes in a table of stored values, and used to derive a laser power feedback signal for controlling the power of the laser to maintain a predetermined aperture size. The MO amplitude signal is derived from patterns representing calibration tones prerecorded onto portions of the data tracks of the MSR media.

Abstract: A glide test head assembly optimized for glide avalanche testing. The glide test head assembly of the present invention includes air bearing surfaces formed with a negative crown, or slightly concave surface. The negative crown of the air bearing surfaces of the inventive glide test head lowers the hydrodynamic pressure between the glide test head assembly and a spinning disc for given disc rotational speeds, enabling the glide test head assembly to fly at a lower heights at a greater linear velocity, and thus with increased stability. The increased flying stability of the inventive glide test head assembly improves the correlation between true flying height and disc/head contact detection for glide avalanche testing.

Abstract: An energy absorbing disc travel limiter which not only mechanically defines a limit to the extent to which a disc in a disc drive can be axially displaced in response to applied mechanical shocks, but which also acts to damp the shock-induced motion of the discs, thus preventing contact between the discs and the actuator head mounting arms. The amount of damping provided by the disc travel limiter is determined by selection of the material of the disc travel limiter and selection of certain dimensions of the disc travel limiter.

Abstract: A means is provided for packaging disc drives and other information-storage devices in a manner that reduces transmittal of shock to the packaged device. The device is placed in a static-dissipative package comprising an upper and lower portion, each of which is externally ribbed to absorb shock. Further anti-impact protection is provided by internal buttresses that cushion the packaged device. The package is preferably a unitary article molded from PVC plastic sheeting, with the upper and lower portions joined at an accordion-like hinge. The upper and lower portions nest together at the peripheral edges, providing a labyrinthine path (in effect, a seal) that prevents passage of contaminants. Shock transmittal (relative to a bare drive) is reduced by a factor of approximately 5-7.

Abstract: An apparatus and method for controlling the frequency at which data is written in a disk drive system is disclosed. Data is written into a record stored in a disk drive system at a frequency which is controlled by a clock signal that accounts for the frequency of format data in the record to be written and the rotational speed of a disk in the disk drive system. The clock is generated by a phase locked loop which receives format data read from the record to be written and a compensation factor received by monitoring rotational speed of the disk, resulting in data being written with a frequency and phase equal to the frequency and phase that the format data read from the record to be written would have had if the disk were rotating at its nominal speed.

Abstract: A combination multi-channel magneto-resistive (MR) certification and thermal asperity test head. The test head includes a MR stripe which has multiple taps which define multiple certification test MR stripe segments. Simultaneous connection of sensing logic to the multiple segments of the MR stripe allows for increased magnetic certification speed, and proper connection of sensing circuitry across appropriate taps on the MR stripe allows for testing for thermal asperities over a large portion of the disc surface. Various embodiments of the test head are disclosed.

Abstract: A disc mounting system for mounting the discs of a disc drive in a fixed radial relationship to the hub of a spindle motor. The disc mounting system includes a radially-loaded, snap-fit disc mounting ring associated with each disc. The disc mounting rings include disc contact features for interaction with the inner diameters of the discs, and hub contact features for axially positioning the discs and associated disc mounting rings relative to the spindle motor hub. Various embodiments of the disc mounting ring are disclosed.

Abstract: Servo-pattern information is magnetically recorded on a product disc by magnetic print-through from a master medium. The master servo-writing medium is brought into close proximity with the product “slave” disc, and the two are subjected to an external magnetic field which assists in transferring magnetic servo-patterns to the slave disc in a print-through process. The preferred external magnetic field alternates and rotates with respect to the master/slave combination. In an alternative product disc structure, the magnetic layer is magnetically altered in a servo-pattern configuration. Non-magnetic portions of the servo pattern are created which define both gray code and servo burst information for the product disc.

Abstract: The present invention provides a graphics processing unit for rendering objects from a software application executing on a processing unit in which the objects to be rendered are received as control points of bicubic surfaces. According to the method and system disclosed herein, the graphics processing unit includes a transform unit, a lighting unit, a renderer unit, and a tessellate unit for tessellating both rational and non-rational object surfaces in real-time.