Abstract: In an engine, blow-by is substantially eliminated and friction is significantly reduced using one or more combinations of non-metallic rings. By substantially eliminating blow-by and by reducing friction, certain engine parameters may be changed. In addition, by substantially eliminating blow-by and by reducing friction, pollution may be reduced, fuel economy may be increased and power may be increased.

Abstract: Basketball training systems and methods are disclosed herein. In one embodiment, a basketball training apparatus includes a first rim and a second rim. The first rim has a center and the second rim has a center. The first rim rotates about its center and the second rim revolves about the center of the first rim.

Abstract: An electrical connector includes a crimpable tubular body including a receiving portion for receiving a wire conductor via an opening at a longitudinal end of the tubular body. The tubular body provides a permanent electrical connection to the wire conductor only upon at least a portion of the tubular body being crimped. The receiving portion has a tapered shape and inward projections for engaging the wire conductor to provide sufficient frictional force to resist removal of the wire conductor from the receiving portion prior to crimping, without providing a permanent electrical connection between the tubular body and the wire conductor. In one implementation, the electrical connector is a butt connector with two such equally sized receiving portions for splicing together two wires. In another implementation, the electrical connector is a butt connector with two different sized receiving portions for splicing together two differently sized wires.

Abstract: A wind turbine with improved response to wind conditions is provided. Blade flap angle motion is accompanied by a change in pitch angle by an amount defining a pitch/flap coupling ratio. The coupling ratio is non-constant as a function of a flap angle and is preferably a substantially continuous, non-linear function of flap angle. The non-constant coupling ratio can be provided by mechanical systems such as a series of linkages or by configuring electronic or other control systems and/or angle sensors. A link with a movable proximal end advantageously is part of the mechanical system. The system can provide relatively large coupling ratios and relatively large rates of coupling ratio changes especially for near-feather pitches and low flap angles.

Abstract: A read/write device for a disk drive is disclosed. The read/write device includes a pre-amplifier and a recording head. The read/write device also includes a write signal path between the pre-amplifier and the recording head. The write signal path includes a write current. The read/write device also includes a read signal path between the pre-amplifier and the recording head. The read signal path includes an induced current related to the write current. The read/write device also includes a shunt path in the pre-amplifier to draw a part of the induced current from the read signal path.

Abstract: A servo system includes a first member and a second member that is positionable relative to the first member. A position error signal causes the second member to be positioned at a desired location relative to the first member. The position error signal includes a position error due to a disturbance in the servo system, and the position error is reduced by attenuation of a disturbance signal as a non-linear function of the amplitude of the disturbance signal.

Abstract: A method for encoding a bit stream to meet a minimum bit transition requirement includes providing uncoded bits, determining whether the uncoded bits meet the minimum bit transition requirement, and replacing selected bits in the uncoded bits with replacement bits that meet the minimum bit transition requirement if the uncoded bits do not meet the minimum bit transition requirement, thereby encoding the uncoded bits into encoded bits that meet the minimum bit transition requirement.

Abstract: The present invention is directed to a method and apparatus for reducing off-track writes in a data storage device. In one embodiment, a command is received to perform a write operation using a write head at a first location on a disk surface. A determination is made as to whether to perform or inhibit the write operation using an equation having a tunable acceleration coefficient. The equation is used to predict a position error signal (PES) value for a write head at a servo sector that immediately circumferentially follows the first location (i.e., there are no intervening servo sectors between the servo sector and the first location). If the predicted PES value is outside of (e.g., greater than or less than) a predetermined threshold, an off-track write is likely to occur and the write operation is inhibited.

Abstract: Systems and apparatus are described for modifying fluid flow in a hard disk drive system to reduce cross-track motion. The systems and methods provide advantages because they include at least one flow modification element. In some embodiments, the flow modification system comprises a set of approximately parallel combs occupying a portion of the space present in between the disks in the hard disk drive system. The combs change the flow pattern of the fluid and act as a momentum channeling mechanism relative to the actuator assembly and suspension assemblies resulting in a considerable reduction in track misregistration error. Various embodiments of the invention include baffle-integrated combs, fixture-integrated combs, contoured enclosure surfaces, and enclosure attached combs.

Abstract: Disk drive self-servo writing includes transferring a reference pattern by magnetic printing onto a reference disk, wherein the resulting printed reference pattern includes embedded servo information that provides servo timing and head position information, installing the reference disk and a head into the disk drive, reading the printed reference pattern using the head to generate a readback signal, sampling the readback signal at a sampling rate to generate a sampled signal, processing the sampled signal waveform spectrum to generate a recovered signal including the embedded servo information and fundamental and higher harmonics of the sampled signal, using the embedded servo information from the recovered signal to precisely position and maintain the head at concentric tracks of the reference disk, and self-writing servo patterns onto the tracks with the head.

Abstract: A rotatable storage media includes a first data segment stored in first tracks and a second data segment stored in second tracks. The first tracks include a first start track and a first end track, and the second tracks include a second start track and a second end track. The first data segment starts in the first start track at a start rotational phase, ends in the first end track at an end rotational phase, starts in adjacent first tracks at start rotational phases offset by an intra-segment rotational skew angle and ends in adjacent first tracks at end rotational phases offset by the intra-segment rotational skew angles. The second data segment starts in the second start track at the start rotational phase, ends in the second end track at the end rotational phase, starts in adjacent second tracks at start rotational phases offset by the intra-segment rotational skew angle and ends in adjacent second tracks at end rotational phases offset by the intra-segment rotational skew angle.

Abstract: A disk drive controls head velocity during ramp load/unload by measuring voltages across a VCM and a sense resistor in series with the VCM, calculating a back EMF voltage using the VCM and sense resistor voltages, and adjusting the head velocity using the back EMF voltage. An embodiment includes amplifying the VCM and sense resistor voltages, multiplexing the amplified voltages, digitizing the multiplexed voltages and calculating the back EMF voltage in discrete-time based on the digitized voltages. Another embodiment includes selecting between PWM and IR cancellation techniques and calculating the back EMF voltage using the selected technique.

Abstract: A disk drive provides increased read and write element widths and tolerances, and also provides reduced track widths. The head with the read and write elements has a large skew angle relative to the tracks on the disk. The skew angle reduces the effective width of the read and write elements. Based on this reduction in effective width, the physical width of the read and write elements may be increased. Furthermore, the width of the tracks may be reduced instead of, or in addition to, the increased read and write element width.