Abstract: A method for writing servo information onto a disk of a hard disk drive with a servo writer. The method includes accelerating a head to a constant velocity across a disk. The disk being defined as having an acceleration zone and a constant velocity zone. The head is then used to write a spiral servo pattern in the constant velocity zone. A final servo pattern is written in the constant velocity zone using the spiral servo pattern. A servo reference pattern is also written in the acceleration zone. The servo reference pattern is used to write a final servo pattern in the acceleration zone. The final servo pattern may be copied using a run-out cancellation algorithm to improve the accuracy of the servo pattern in the acceleration zone.

Abstract: A hard disk drive with a control circuit that controls a heating element in a head of the drive. The heating element is driven by a voltage. The control circuit varies the voltage during read and write operations of the drive. The voltages are varied to minimize fluctuations in the flying height of the drive during the write operations.

Abstract: A hard disk drive with a voice coil motor circuit that provides a current to a voice coil motor to perform a seek routine in a seek time. The disk drive includes a temperature sensor to sense a temperature of the disk drive and a voltage sensor to sense the voltage of the voice coil motor. The circuit adjust the seek time dependent upon the sensed temperature and voltage. By way of example, the circuit will increase the seek time if there is an increase in temperature and/or a decrease in voltage.

Abstract: A detector system that can analyze multiple samples with a single detector. The detector may contain a portal with a first opening and a second opening. A first sample is obtained from the first opening and a second sample is obtained from the second opening. The openings are coupled to a single detector that can analyze both samples.

Abstract: A hard disk drive with a circuit that provides a control signal to a voice coil motor to move a head across a disk. The disk drive includes a circuit that provides a control signal to the voice coil motor to move the head. The circuit also has a state predictor and an inversion filter that compute a vibration estimate used to detect a vibration in the drive. When a threshold vibration is detected a vibration estimate is combined with the control signal to compensate for the vibration. The circuit detects the vibration without the need for an accelerometer or other sensor.

Abstract: An electrochemical reformer 1 using reactant feed structures having both hydrophilic and hydrophobic regions to provide mechanisms for the wicking of liquid reactants into reformer 1 and for the separation and removal of gaseous products from reformer 1. The electrical reformer 1 may be combined with a fuel cell, a portion of the output of which is used to power reformer 1, to create a compact, portable power source.

Abstract: A multi-tier, master-slave control network has a matrix architecture for facilitating monitoring, command and control of the mid- and lower-tiers of the control network. A supervisory network is connected to a hierarchical master-slave control network, and includes a set of supervisory nodes connected to various different buses of the main hierarchical master-slave control network. In one embodiment, the supervisory network comprises a multi-master data bus, and each of the supervisory nodes can control and communicate across the supervisory data bus in a manner similar to a local area networks such as an Ethernet. In another embodiment, the supervisory network is a master-slave network, with a supervisory master node controlling a set of supervisory slave nodes, each of which connects to one of the lower-tier buses. The matrix architecture created by the addition of the supervisory network allows convenient monitoring of the lower-tier buses by the first-tier master node.

Abstract: A system for monitoring, controlling, and locating portable computerized devices performing remote diagnostic analysis of control networks. The portable, wireless equipment includes computerized display device connected to a wireless intermediary device for allowing a wireless connection to be made to a control network. The computerized diagnostic device may be embodied as a personal digital assistant (PDA) having a graphical screen display, on which may be displayed the network nodes and connections of the control network presented against a backdrop of a transit vehicle or other facility shown in three-dimensional, rotatable images. The wireless equipment may allow the operator to force individual system components to output states, and provide for real time monitoring. The portable, wireless equipment is programmed with information pertaining to the connections and locations of the components in the control network, thereby simplifying diagnosis or testing by the operator.

Abstract: A hard disk drive that utilizes a third order curve fit equation to generate a skew table for a head of a hard disk drive. The skew table is used to compensate for offset between a write element and a read element of the head at different radial positions of a disk. A linear algebraic matrix equation can be used to solve the third order equation using offset values measured at different radial positions of the disk.

Abstract: A hard disk drive with a circuit that provides a control signal to a voice coil motor to move a head across a disk of a drive. The circuit includes a state estimator that provides a plurality of state estimates and a disturbance estimator that provides a disturbance estimate that is combined with the state estimates to define the control signal. The disturbance estimator compensates for flex cable disturbances, particularly during a settle mode of a seek routine.

Abstract: A system and method for synchronizing and selectively addressing multiple receivers in a wireless communication system includes a spread spectrum transmitter and one or more spread spectrum receivers. The transmitter transmits a signal having an observable parameter which is pseudo-randomly varied. The receiver measures the relative times between recurrences of a selected value of the observable parameter being pseudo-randomly varied, and determines an initial state of the transmitter based upon the measured relative times. The receiver then synchronizes itself to the estimated current state of the transmitter using the determined initial state as a starting reference. In a frequency hopping embodiment, the spread spectrum transmitter comprises a feedback shift register, and transmits a sequence of pseudo-randomly hopped frequencies determined by the shift register.

Abstract: A hard disk drive that includes a voice coil motor and a micro-actuator. The micro-actuator is controlled by a servo that utilizes a micro-actuator controller and a corresponding micro-actuator transfer function. The servo enters a mode to self-determine at least one transfer function coefficient of the micro-actuator controller.

Abstract: A hard disk drive with a controller that controls a movement of a head relative to a disk. The controller causes the head to avoid a defect on the disk during a seek routine. The location of the defect is previously identified and stored in the drive. The drive may create a “no-fly” zone about the defect to insure no contact with the head. The no-fly zone can be avoided by delaying the start of a seek routine, varying the displacement profile of the head or other techniques.

Abstract: A hard disk drive with a servo circuit that provides a control signal to a voice coil motor to perform a servo to align a head with a disk track of the drive. The servo circuit includes a fifth order state estimator that provides five estimates that are used to create the control signal. The fifth order state estimator may incorporate a first flexible mode of the voice coil motor to calculate the estimates.

Abstract: A disk drive that has an air deflector which deflects at least a portion of airflow away from an actuator arm assembly of the drive. The air flow is typically generated by a rotating disk of the disk drive.

Abstract: A wireless audio distribution system may have a wireless transmitter, responsive to a plurality of audio input channels, for transmitting signals carrying the audio, a receiver, responsive to the transmitted signals for selecting one or more of the audio input channels to be reproduced in accordance with local setting selectors at the receiver. An additional audio source, such as a microphone, can be selectively used by for example the driver to talk on the cell phone or to make announcements to passengers via the wireless audio distribution system in accordance with a master settings selector which may be used to override local settings such as audio channel or volume selection.

Abstract: The present invention provides systems and methods of retrieving the pages according to the quality of the individual pages. The rank of a page for a keyword is a combination of intrinsic and extrinsic ranks. Intrinsic rank is the measure of the relevancy of a page to a given keyword as claimed by the author of the page while extrinsic rank is a measure of the relevancy of a page on a given keyword as indicated by other pages. The former is obtained from the analysis of the keyword matching in various parts of the page while the latter is obtained from the context-sensitive connectivity analysis of the links connecting the entire Web. The present invention also provides the methods to solve the self-consistent equation satisfied by the page weights iteratively in a very efficient way. The ranking mechanism for multi-word query is also described. Finally, the present invention provides a method to obtain the more relevant page weights by dividing the entire hypertext pages into distinct number of groups.

Abstract: A method for measuring the mobility of a lubricant located on the top surface of a disk used in hard disk drives. The method includes forming one or more scribe lines in a lubricant layer of the disk. The disk is then spun by a spin stand where lubricant moves in response to the centrifugal forces of the spinning disk. The disk is removed from the spin stand and the height of lubricant that moved into the scribe line is measured to determine lubricant mobility.

Abstract: A hard disk drive with a voice coil motor controlled by a circuit. The circuit provides a driving current to the voice coil motor to move a head of the drive in a seek routine. The seek routine includes a settle mode that has an initial state and a velocity versus head position eigenvector. The eigenvector is changed to coincide with on the initial state when the seek routine enters the settle mode. Changing the eigenvector to coincide with the initial state induces a head velocity and movement with minimal overshoot or undershoot during the settle mode.

Abstract: A laser diode array assembly. The assembly includes a plurality of vertical emitting laser diodes. Each laser diode has a vertical emitting surface and an exposed substrate surface opposite from the emitting surface. Each vertical emitting surfaces emit a laser beam. The assembly further includes one or more nozzles that directly spray a liquid onto the exposed substrate surfaces.