Abstract: A data processing system and method of preparing a presentation-ready document are described. In response to receipt of a document description that includes at least one Page Description Language (PDL) instruction and specifies both fixed data and variable data, the one or more PDL instructions are processed to produce separate presentation-ready images of the fixed data and the variable data. In addition, a bookticket specifying an arrangement of the presentation-ready images of the fixed data and the variable data is automatically generated. In response to receipt of the bookticket, a presentation-ready document is built that includes the presentation-ready images of the fixed data and the variable data in the arrangement specified by the bookticket. In one embodiment of the present invention, the document description specifies the fixed data of the document utilizing a PDL form operator.

Abstract: An improved external semiconductor memory device having a work memory for storing logical address-physical address conversion information.

Abstract: The system, method, and program of this invention allows a user to specify one of a plurality of print layout combinations. Upon specifying a specific combination, an animation, embedded in the graphical user interface and within the dialog for making the selection, shows the page layout and rotates the sheet, about the applicable axis of the sheet, from front to back to show how the selected page layout would appear. Numbers on the animated sheet are used to show the layout of sequential pages. Numbers are used instead of displaying specific page content. The animation gives a clear practical way of visually conveying to a user how a specified page layout combination would appear when printed.

Abstract: A ring shaped-disk clamp for clamping a disk stack to a spindle motor. The ring-shaped disk clamp is referred to as a shrink-fit disk clamp and must be expanded by heating prior to being inserted onto the hub of a spindle motor. Once inserted onto the hub of the spindle motor, an external axial load is applied to the disk clamp. As the disk clamp cools while applying the external load, the clamp contracts and provides a gripping force on the hub of the spindle motor. Subsequently, the external load is removed. The ring-shaped disk clamp includes a top surface, a bottom surface for contacting the disk stack, and an inner peripheral surface for contacting the hub. The inner peripheral surface contacts the hub at a hub contact area that is optimized to provide a localized gripping force on the hub. By optimizing the location of the hub contact area, the disk clamp can provide a relatively high gripping force with a low coefficient of friction between the disk clamp and the hub.

Abstract: The present invention provides a system, method and data format wherein a redundant sync byte or group of sync bytes is provided in a data sector at a distance sufficient to isolate the redundant sync byte from the primary sync byte in the event of multiple byte defects. In a first embodiment, a redundant sync byte, or group of sync bytes, is provided in the AGC field preceding the primary sync region. Upon failure to detect the primary sync byte, an attempt is made on a subsequent revolution to read the secondary sync byte, either by holding the AGC gain prior to reaching the data block, or initiating an "early read" just prior to reaching the data block. In a second embodiment of the invention, the redundant sync byte is provided within the data field subsequent to the primary sync region. On failing to detect the primary sync byte, the secondary sync byte can be read immediately or can be postponed until a subsequent revolution. The missed first data region is reconstructed using ECC information.

Abstract: A data recording disk drive includes a system and method for mapping around skip sectors, both bad sectors and spare sectors. A received logical block address is converted to a corresponding physical block address by mapping through a set of tables. A first table includes entries for virtual tracks which group together LBAs having shared high order bits. A second table contains entries for the skip sectors. The high order bits of a given LBA are used to select an entry in the first table, which entry is an index into the second table. Starting from the index point, the second table is searched, using the low order bits of the LBA, for a skip sector beyond the LBA value. Once the appropriate skip sector is found, the index of this skip sector within the second table is added to the LBA to compute the PBA. The PBA is then mapped to a zone, cylinder, head, sector location on the disk drive.

Abstract: An electronic circuit apparatus is provided for electronic circuits and devices, comprising a component disk drive, a disk controller, and a programmable interface for dynamically adapting the component drive to communicate over a predetermined bus architecture to an external application. The interface is programmed by the disk controller using one of a library of microcode sets stored on the component drive. Alternatively, a microprocessor independent of the disk controller programs the interface from microcode stored in solid state memory. In an alternative embodiment, the apparatus further comprises an application circuit and the programmable interface adapts the component drive for use by the circuit. In another embodiment, the apparatus comprises a subcircuit that communicates with an external application over a predetermined bus architecture, and the programmable interface adapts the subcircuit for such communication.

Abstract: A servo control system and method for accurately controlling the actuator in a rotatable storage device by adjusting a corrective control signal according to the mode of operation of the actuator and the direction of actuator movement. During track following the corrective control signal is adjusted by a first factor determined by the ratio of a nominal force or torque factor to the actual force or torque factor at the current radial actuator position. When the actuator is seeking in a first direction, the corrective control signal is adjusted by a second factor determined by adjusting the first factor by a first amount, K.sub.fwd. When seeking in the reverse direction, the corrective control signal is adjusted by a third factor determined by adjusting the first factor by a second amount, K.sub.rev. K.sub.fwd incorporates measured variations in force or torque factor when the actuator is moving in the forward direction. Similarly, K.sub.

Abstract: A non-invasive servo-write system for use in a data recording disk drive. The system measures actuator position and generates a reference clock using semiconductor lasers. Internal position references are provided by reflective diffraction gratings affixed to the actuator arm and the spindle hub. Wavefront reconstruction optics correct for aberrations in the gratings. Optical sensors detect differential changes in the diffraction patterns created by the gratings, eliminating sensitivity to frequency drift. Decode electronics convert optical sensor data into an actuator position measurement. Control electronics drive the voice coil motor within the disk drive, which positions the write transducer to record servo information provided in a servo pattern generator. Transparent windows in the head-disk-assembly cover allow the servo-writer to write drives which are completely assembled and sealed.

Abstract: A container for shipping and handling devices is described. The container is particularly well suited to store sliders used in magnetic storage systems. The container includes a bottom piece and a detachable top piece. The bottom piece includes a base with a channel (also referred to as a device chamber) and two side walls. At least one device is stored in a channel in the base. The detachable top piece is secured to the bottom piece with a locking device. The locking device may include two substantially straight edges and two curved outer ridges. When the top piece is attached to the bottom piece, each of the curved outer ridges of the locking device extends into a groove in the inner surface of the side walls. The devices are contained within the container by a pair of slider stop devices.

Abstract: A spindle motor assembly includes a hub, a motor, and a bearing cartridge having a plurality of bearing balls disposed between a sleeve and a shaft. The shaft includes a cylindrical hollow portion which is attached to a cylindrical protrusion portion of the hub to provide a stable attachment between the hub and shaft without increasing the height of the spindle motor assembly. Grooves are formed on the outer peripheral surface of the cylindrical protrusion portion to alleviate stress between the hub and shaft resulting from thermal expansion.

Abstract: A method and system provide for selectively distributing communications between an application and multiple servers, allowing cooperative use of a single copy of an application. The system is situated between an application and the multiple servers. Requests from the application, responses to the requests, and events from the multiple servers, are managed in such a way that each server believes it is connected directly to the application and the application believes it is connected directly to a single server. The requests are categorized and distributed to the servers based on the type of request. The responses to these requests may be sent to the application or discarded based on the type of request and the role of the server sending the request. The events are also categorized and, based on the role of the server causing the event, they may be passed on to the application or discarded.

Abstract: An accurate and time-efficient method and system for self-servowriting wherein at least one reference value used to position the transducer is updated for some, but not all, of the tracks to be written. The reference value(s) is dependent upon a predefined indicium of transducer position, such as the amplitude of the readback signal obtained from a written track when the transducer is positioned on the track. In a first embodiment, updating of the reference value(s) is performed at every Nth track written, where N is a fixed number or range of numbers determined by an expected track-to-track variation of the indicium. The servowriting system may be designed to dynamically increase or decrease N during servowriting in response to actual variations in the indicium. According to a second embodiment, updating is only performed when needed, e.g. when the variation of the measured indicium between two written tracks (not necessarily adjacent tracks) exceeds a predefined threshold value.

Abstract: A magnetic storage system having an air bearing slider designed to minimize disk damage. The magnetic storage system may include a load/unload structure for loading or unloading the slider when the spindle motor is powered down. The air bearing slider includes an air bearing surface and at least one non-air bearing surface. For example, the non-air bearing surface may include a first etch surface and/or a second etch surface. The non-air bearing surface has at least one rounded corner. The non-air bearing surface may also have at least one rounded edge.

Abstract: A contaminant reduction system is shown for a disk drive assembly having a closed interior and slider disk components located therein which would be adversely affected by condensed volatiles generated within the assembly. A Peltier element is located within the closed interior of the disk drive assembly so as to condense volatiles present within the interior at a desired condensation point within the closed interior. A getter material, such as a microporous sintered alumina, is located within the closed interior of the disk drive assembly at the condensation point for permanently trapping and maintaining condensed volatiles which are condensed by the Peltier element.

Abstract: An air bearing slider for use in carrying a transducer adjacent a recording medium exhibits reduced sensitivity to variations in roll, crown, and skew. In one embodiment, the slider comprises an air bearing slider having a pair of substantially coplanar side rails disposed along the sides of the air bearing surface so as to form a recessed section between the side rails. The recessed section is open at both the leading and trailing ends of the slider while each side rail has a tapered section or etched step at the leading edge of the slider. One rail carries the transducer and extends for the entire length of the slider body. The rail without a transducer extends from the leading edge toward the trailing edge, but does not extend all the way to the trailing edge. Under some skew, accessing, and crash stop impact conditions, the resulting slider roll causes the flying height of the inactive rail to drop.

Abstract: An apparatus, system and method are described for generating a continuous and linear position signal generated from stitched position error signal (PES) components, for use by a servo control system in positioning a transducer with respect to a storage surface. Continuity is achieved by providing a normalization stage in the servo control loop for correcting discontinuities at the stitch points with minimal impact to the PES zero-crossing points. According to a first preferred embodiment normalization is applied using an algorithm determined by the width of the read transducer. According to a second preferred embodiment, normalization is selectively applied near the stitch points of the PES components, but is not applied at their zero-crossing points. In another preferred embodiment, a first normalization algorithm is applied near the stitch points, and a second normalization algorithm is applied at the zero-crossing points.

Abstract: A self-servowriting system and method for implementation in a storage device such as a disk drive are described. Two problems associated with self-propagation are greater mechanical disturbances and the growth of errors during many thousands of servowriting steps. Error growth is attributable to the special properties of servo loops as applied to a repetitive self-propagation process. Greater resistance to mechanical disturbances and reduction in error growth are achieved, in part, by adjusting a step amplification factor, S, at the initiation of servowriting to within desired parameters. However, S is known to vary with movement of the head in a direction transverse to the direction of the tracks. This problem is addressed by the present invention, wherein S is determined at a plurality of transverse transducer positions. S is dependent upon the closed loop response of the servo system C and upon a set of step-to-step correction factors f.

Abstract: For a slider having convex curvature along its length, or "crown", a method for reducing fly height variation due to crown by shifting the peak of the crown toward the leading end, and the resultant slider structure. In a preferred method, peak shifting is accomplished in a slider with symmetrical crown by affixing a suspension to the bonding surface of the slider near the leading end. The bonding process creates a displacement force upon the slider to effect the shift. An alternative approach reshapes a row of sliders prior to rail shaping, e.g., by sand or bead blasting.

Abstract: A contact magnetic storage system in which the slider, which supports the magnetic read/write head, is in physical contact with a rigid magnetic storage medium during system operation at a selected operating speed. The slider material has a load versus friction characteristic that is non-linear in the negative load region. This characteristic allows the slider to be suspended from an access arm with zero or negative external loading. In a conventional magnetic storage system, at operating speed the slider is lifted away from the surface of the storage medium by at least the thickness of the air film adjacent the moving storage medium surface. In the present invention, due to the non-linear load versus friction characteristics of the slider material, a restoring force is generated at system operating speed which overcomes the lift of the air bearing and maintaining the slider in contact with the storage medium surface without substantial wear or damage to either the slider or the storage medium.