Rail Dampening Or Resonance Suppression Patents (Class 720/679)
  • Patent number: 8504209
    Abstract: Some embodiments of the present invention provide a system that controls a device that generates vibrations in a computer system. During operation, a critical vibration frequency is determined for the computer system. Next, a keep-out zone is generated based on the critical vibration frequency, wherein the keep-out zone specifies a range of frequencies to be avoided. Then, the device is controlled based on the keep-out zone to reduce vibrations generated by the device in the keep-out zone.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 29, 2008
    Date of Patent: August 6, 2013
    Assignee: Oracle America, Inc.
    Inventors: Kenny C. Gross, Aleksey M. Urmanov, Kalyanaraman Vaidyanathan
  • Patent number: 8448198
    Abstract: A traverse module of an optical disc drive includes a base and a cover connected to the base that includes at least one spring tab integrally formed therewith. A pair of guide bars is connected to the base. A pickup head module is slidably connected to the guide bars. At least one adjusting member is movably connected to the base. The at least one adjusting member supports at least one of the guide bars and the at least one spring tab presses against the at least one of the guide bars, the at least one adjusting member is able to urge the at least one of the guide bars to move.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 3, 2011
    Date of Patent: May 21, 2013
    Assignee: Hon Hai Precision Industry Co., Ltd.
    Inventor: Teng-Yuan Chang
  • Patent number: 8413178
    Abstract: A disk device includes a frame, an optical pickup and a shock absorbing component. The frame has a receiving component. The optical pickup is slidable with respect to the frame. The shock absorbing component is fixedly coupled to the optical pickup and arranged to selectively contact the receiving component of the frame. The shock absorbing component includes a support portion and a spring piece. The spring piece has a first end portion that is fixedly coupled to the optical pickup and a second end portion that is spaced from the support portion in an unloaded rest state and that contacts the support portion to support the spring piece at both the first and second end portions with respect to the optical pickup when the spring piece is pushed by the receiving component of the frame to a loaded state.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 19, 2008
    Date of Patent: April 2, 2013
    Assignee: Funai Electric Co., Ltd.
    Inventor: Masahiro Ando
  • Patent number: 8332881
    Abstract: An optical disc apparatus capable of reducing looseness vibrations resulting from a gap between a sub-guide shaft and a bearing is provided. According to an optical disc apparatus in the present invention, both ends of the sub-guide shaft are supported by being sandwiched between a pair of support parts formed in a chassis and a pair of pressing members mounted on the chassis. The support part is formed by bending a protruding portion both protruding in an inward direction of a hole from an edge of the hole of the chassis and extending along the direction perpendicular to the sub-guide shaft.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 19, 2008
    Date of Patent: December 11, 2012
    Assignees: Hitachi, Ltd., Hitachi-LG Data Storage, Inc.
    Inventors: Seiichi Katou, Yoshiaki Yamauchi, Ikuo Nishida, Youichi Narui
  • Patent number: 8284640
    Abstract: An optical pickup, having an optical pickup housing made of resin, for maintaining the heat radiation performance or capacity of a semiconductor laser, also an objective lens driving mechanism, and further a driver IC for the semiconductor laser, while keeping small-size and light-weight thereof, comprises a pickup housing, in which an optical part and a semiconductor laser are fixed; an objective lens, which is attached within the pickup housing; and an objective lens driving mechanism, which is configured to drive the objective lens, further comprising: a metal-made bottom cover, which is configured to cover a lower surface of the pickup housing and a side surface of an inner periphery of an optical disc, wherein the metal-made bottom cover and the semiconductor laser are thermally connected with each other.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 31, 2009
    Date of Patent: October 9, 2012
    Assignee: Hitachi Media Electronics Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Hiroyuki Toyoda, Takehiro Hayama, Junichi Senga, Hitoshi Matsushima, Takayuki Fujimoto
  • Patent number: 8208352
    Abstract: An optical disc apparatus comprising: a spindle motor configured to drive a turntable on which an optical disc is loaded to rotate; a first substrate on which a first support member rotatably supporting a rotation shaft of the spindle motor is fixed, and on which a second support member is formed at a position adjacent to the spindle motor; a second substrate; an optical pickup device; and a guide member configured to guide the optical pickup device in a radial direction of the optical disc loaded on the turntable, one end of the guide member being supported by the second support member on the first substrate and fixed to a fixing member on the second substrate, and the other end of the guide member being fixed to the fixing member on the second substrate.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 24, 2009
    Date of Patent: June 26, 2012
    Assignees: Sanyo Electric Co., Ltd., Sanyo Optec Design Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Takeshi Aoki, Takashi Miyamoto
  • Patent number: 8069456
    Abstract: A guide mechanism is configured for guiding an optical pick-up head to move on a chassis. The guide mechanism includes a carriage, a first guide rail, a second guide rail, and a buffering device. The carriage includes a main body for receiving the optical pick-up head, and a first engaging portion and a second engaging portion formed on two opposite sides of the main body. The first guide rail is slidably received in a slot of the first engaging portion. The second guide rail is slidably engaging with the second engaging portion. The buffering device is clipped between the first guide rail and the first engaging portion. An optical disk drive using the guide mechanism is also provided.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 17, 2008
    Date of Patent: November 29, 2011
    Assignees: Hong Fu Jin Precision Industry (ShenZhen) Co., Ltd., Hon Hai Precision Industry Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Hung-Ming Lin, Xian Wei
  • Patent number: 8060898
    Abstract: A pickup head is provided with a second shaft receiving section. A cutout is formed in the second shaft receiving section. A sub shaft supports the pickup head in a movable manner via the second shaft receiving section. A diameter of the sub shaft is smaller than the size of the cutout. A retainer is attached between the second shaft receiving section and the sub shaft. The retainer includes a body section and a pressing section. The body section enters the cutout in a state that a slide groove of the body section slidably fits to the sub shaft. The pressing section is elastically deformed upon contact with the sub shaft when the body section enters the cutout, and biases the second shaft receiving section via the body section such that a lower surface of the cutout is pressed against the sub shaft.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 28, 2009
    Date of Patent: November 15, 2011
    Assignee: TEAC Corporation
    Inventor: Nobuhiko Fujimura
  • Patent number: 7711452
    Abstract: One embodiment of the present invention provides a system that efficiently conducts vibrational characterizations for a computer system having variable component configurations. During operation, the system receives a given component configuration associated with the computer system. Next, the system looks up the given component configuration in a resonant spectra library, which contains structural resonant frequencies for a number of possible component configurations for the computer system. If the given component configuration is found in the resonant spectra library, the system retrieves a set of structural resonant frequencies associated with the given component configuration. The system subsequently controls one or more vibration sources within the computer system to avoid the set of structural resonant frequencies.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 22, 2007
    Date of Patent: May 4, 2010
    Assignee: Oracle America, Inc.
    Inventors: Georgios K. Konstadinidis, Kenny C. Gross, Keith A. Whisnant
  • Patent number: 7610592
    Abstract: A pickup apparatus comprising a housing equipped with components for reading data on a medium, the housing being disposed with a bearing portion correspondingly to a shaft member supporting the housing movable, the bearing portion being disposed with a crack generation preventing portion that preventing the housing from becoming cracked when an impact is applied to the housing with the shaft member disposed in the bearing portion.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 17, 2006
    Date of Patent: October 27, 2009
    Assignee: Sanyo Electric Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Yasufumi Yamagishi, Toshio Enokido, Noboru Onojima
  • Patent number: 7552454
    Abstract: An optical pickup module reading data along a track-seeking path is provided. The optical pickup module comprises a base, a first fastening component, a first shaft and an optical pickup head. The base has a fastening plate and the fastening plate has a sliding hole, wherein an included angle is formed between the extension direction of the sliding hole and the track-seeking path. Since the included angle is formed between the extension direction of the sliding hole and the track-seeking path, one end of the first shaft can be easily inserted into the sliding hole of the fastening plate along the extension direction of the sliding hole. Then, another end of the first shaft is assembled with the first fastening component so that the first shaft is parallel to the track-seeking path. At the same time, one end of the first shaft tightly fits to the fastening plate.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 15, 2005
    Date of Patent: June 23, 2009
    Assignee: Lite-On It Corporation
    Inventors: Shih-Lin Yeh, Shih-Ming Hsu
  • Patent number: 7472406
    Abstract: A disk drive in which a turntable-equipped spindle motor is provided at the front part of a metal plate-made chassis, an optical pick-up is arranged in a central aperture of the chassis, ends of the both right and left pairs of guide shafts or movably supporting the optical pick-up are engaged with the four supporting members on the chassis, the torsion coil spring is engaged between the ends of each of the guide shafts and the chassis, the front end of a height adjusting screw fixed together with the thread groove of the chassis against each of the torsion coil springs is pressed to the ends of each of the guide shafts and a part left after cutting during press-molding the chassis is pulled up and folded appropriately, thereby integrally molding four supporting members on the chassis.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 20, 2005
    Date of Patent: December 30, 2008
    Assignee: Funai Electric Co., Ltd.
    Inventor: Kazumasa Nasu
  • Publication number: 20080288971
    Abstract: An antivibration guide rail for a computer disk drive, in which soft elastic antivibration pads are additionally located at appropriate positions on a hard plastic guide rail, and the guide rail is fitted to two sides of a disk drive. Accordingly, the antivibration pads are able to absorb vibration produced when the disk drive is running, thereby improving read accuracy of the disk drive, and reducing noise produced by vibration when the disk drive is running.
    Type: Application
    Filed: May 15, 2007
    Publication date: November 20, 2008
    Inventor: Vincent Lai
  • Patent number: 7451465
    Abstract: An optical pickup device is provided that permits, with an inexpensive construction, adjustment of the parallelism of a pair of guide rods for guiding an optical head relative to a recording surface of an optical disc. The guide rods 2 receive, from twist coil springs 5 fitted to a chassis, an elastic restoring force and are thereby loaded with a force that tends to move the guide rods 2 away from the recording surface of the optical disc. At a position close to each of at least three of a total of four ends 2a of the guide rods 2, an adjustment screw 5 is fitted to the chassis by being screw-engaged into a nut 6 so as to, when rotated, move close to and away from the recording surface of the optical disc. The position in which the guide rods 2 remain loaded with the force is determined as a result of the outer circumference of the guide rods 2 at the at least three ends 2a thereof making contact with a flat inner end face 5aa on the head portion 5a of each of the adjustment screws 5.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 18, 2006
    Date of Patent: November 11, 2008
    Assignee: Funai Electric Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Ryuuji Hayashi, Nobuyuki Okazaki
  • Patent number: 7420891
    Abstract: An optical pickup device comprises a semiconductor laser that causes outgoing of laser beam used for reproduction and recording of information on an optical disk, and an objective lens that conducts the laser beam outgoing from the semiconductor laser to the optical disk. The objective lens is driven by a yoke, a focusing coil, a tracking coil, etc. These elements are accommodated in a pickup housing. First and second bearing portions supporting the pickup housing to make the same movable are attached to the pickup housing and arranged on both sides with the objective lens therebetween. The yoke is thermally connected to the first bearing portion positioned on an opposite side of the yoke to the semiconductor laser.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 19, 2005
    Date of Patent: September 2, 2008
    Assignee: Hitachi Media Electronics Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Manabu Ochi, Hirofumi Taguchi, Hiroyuki Toyoda
  • Patent number: 7406700
    Abstract: A deck is formed integrally on a front side of a drive chassis. As the drive chassis is moved upward, a disk is mounted on a turntable. The disk is rotated at high speed by a spindle motor, and an optical pick up is reciprocatingly moved along a guide rail and a guide shaft, and a lens holder is moved in focusing directions and tracking directions. Laser light is projected onto the disk through an objective lens so as to read information recorded on the disk. Vibration damping holes are respectively provided penetratingly in the deck substantially between a spindle motor fixing recessed groove of the deck and the guide rail and between the recessed groove and the guide shaft.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 6, 2005
    Date of Patent: July 29, 2008
    Assignee: Funai Electric Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Hiroaki Iwaasa, Mio Koga
  • Patent number: 7380254
    Abstract: An optical pick-up feeding device (100) includes a bracket (1) defining an opening (10), a carrier (41) supporting an optical pick-up (3), a stepping motor (42) having a worm screw (420) for driving the carrier, a pair of guide rails (43) for guiding the carrier, and a connecting body (44) for transmitting driving force from the worm screw to the carrier. A slot (446) and a beam (447) are defined at a front end of the connecting body. A protrusion (445) extends horizontally outwardly from a middle of the beam. The protrusion can elastically bend into the slot when a force is applied on the protrusion. When the protrusion collides with an inside wall of the bracket at the opening, the protrusion presses the beam to bend into the slot, thereby translating the force of the collision into elastic deformation force of the beam. This reduces vibration of the optical pick-up.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 18, 2004
    Date of Patent: May 27, 2008
    Assignee: Hon Hai Precision Industry Co., Ltd.
    Inventor: Hong-Jen Liu
  • Patent number: 7216354
    Abstract: An optical scanning device for reading data stored on a rotating recording medium having a scanning head; at least one guide device for guiding the scanning head along a predefined track; at least one bearing device connected to the scanning head for supporting the at least one guide device and having at least one elastic prestressing device to provide a static prestress on the at least one guide device to prestress the same and the at least one bearing device connected to the scanning head against each other to eliminate a relative displacement.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 11, 2001
    Date of Patent: May 8, 2007
    Assignee: Robert Bosch GmbH
    Inventor: Ingo Hermanns
  • Patent number: 7191457
    Abstract: Guide members for guiding an optical pickup for movement in directions parallel to a diameter of an optical disk relative to the optical disk are formed of a metal, support members supporting the guide members on a chassis are formed of a resin, and heat transfer members formed of a metal are set in contact with the guide members and the chassis to achieve both the dissipation of heat generated by the optical pickup and the isolation of the optical pickup from vibrations. The guide support members attenuate vibrations propagating from the chassis toward the optical pickup, and heat generated by the optical pickup is dissipated through the heat transfer members into the chassis.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 23, 2004
    Date of Patent: March 13, 2007
    Assignee: Hitachi-LG Data Storage, Inc.
    Inventors: Hironori Saito, Ikuo Nishida, Yoichi Narui, Kohei Takita, Kenji Watabe
  • Patent number: 6922841
    Abstract: The present invention relates to an apparatus for connecting a transmission device to an optical pick-up. The transmission device includes a connecting unit and a lead screw and a driving unit. The connecting unit includes a main portion, an elastic portion, a tooth-like portion and a restriction portion. The restriction portion limits the elastic portion to move within a range of a first value. The lead screw engages with the tooth-like portion. A maximum engagement depth between the lead screw and the tooth-like portion is a second value. The second value is larger than the first value to prevent the lead screw and the tooth-like portion from disengaging.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 19, 2003
    Date of Patent: July 26, 2005
    Assignee: Benq Corporation
    Inventors: Nan-Ching Lee, Chiao-Fan Huang
  • Publication number: 20040205795
    Abstract: An optical pickup unit feeding apparatus for moving an optical pickup unit by rotation of a lead screw with a spiral groove in an optical disc drive, including a guide member combined with the optical pickup unit, the guide member including one or more contact parts engaging the spiral groove formed on the lead screw, applying a force to the optical pickup unit in response to the rotation of the lead screw, wherein the force moves the optical pickup; and an elastic member having a first elastic section elastically engaging the contact parts to the spiral groove, and a second elastic section forcing the contact parts not to separate from the spiral groove, wherein a spring constant of the second elastic section is greater than a spring constant of the first elastic section.
    Type: Application
    Filed: August 7, 2003
    Publication date: October 14, 2004
    Applicant: SAMSUNG Electronics Co., Ltd.
    Inventor: Un-Jin Choi
  • Patent number: 6795971
    Abstract: An adjustable positioning device for an optical pickup of an optical disc apparatus, including four bar holders, connected to a traverse; two sliding bars, each with opposing ends inserted into a receiving chamber of two bar holders respectively; and an optical pickup head with lateral ends slidably sleeved on each of the two sliding bars respectively and which is movable back and forth on the sliding bar. The bar holder is integrally formed and provided with an elastic support capably against the sliding bar.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 10, 2002
    Date of Patent: September 21, 2004
    Assignee: EPO Science & Technology, Inc.
    Inventor: Hung-Jui Lin