Abstract: An information storage device (10, 510, 610, 710) includes a cradle (12, 512, 612, 712) which can removably receive a cartridge (11, 411, 511, 611, 711). The cartridge has a sealed housing (59) which contains a rotatably supported disk (91, 326-327), and a pivotal actuator arm (101) that supports a magnetic head (107, 331-334) for movement adjacent the disk. When the cartridge is removed from the cradle, the head is moved to a parked position with respect to the disk, in which a magnetically permeable part (116) on the actuator arm is in close proximity to a magnetic arrangement (141) disposed within the housing. The magnetic arrangement exerts a strong magnetic force that resists movement of the arm and head away from the parked position. The cradle has a shunt (142) which, when the cartridge is removably inserted, interacts with the magnetic field through a wall of the sealed housing, in a manner which reduces the effective magnetic force that tends to retain the arm and head in the parked position.

Abstract: A head loading apparatus and method for a disk drive device adapts the head load characteristics of a disk drive in order to minimize the velocity of the heads during loading of the heads onto the surface of a data storage medium. The apparatus is characterized by attempting to load the heads onto engagement with a medium, determining whether the heads actually load, measuring the head load velocity, and adjusting the load characteristics of the drive based on the measured head load velocity. Preferably, the pulse width of the loading current applied to the actuator of the drive is adaptive, either increasingly or decreasingly, in response to the measured head load velocity. This adaptive soft head load characteristic of the drive allows the head load velocity to be minimizes to a velocity sufficient to move the read-write heads off of a load ramp and onto the surface of a data storage medium without damaging the head, the medium, or both.

Abstract: A system for exchanging digital data among a plurality of hand-held computer devices. Digital signals are written by a first hand-held device to a mini-cartridge that mini-cartridge is inter-operable among a class of hand-held device, each of which is equipped with a mini disk drive. A common digital data format is employed to further facilitate exchange of data between devices.

Abstract: A data cartridge and method for providing a write-securable storage medium that inhibits writing. The medium comprises a write-secure-type indicator in a predefined location that indicates the medium is of a type that is susceptible to write securing. Additionally, the medium comprises a write-secure-complete indicator in a predetermined zone of the disk that is not accessible to a user. When the write-secure-complete indicator is set by a host device, the setting is irreversible and consequently the data on the medium is protected, and additional writing onto any part of the medium is permanently prevented.

Abstract: An improved head assembly having air bearing features for contaminant control in flexible media high contact-pressure zone. The head assembly having one or more air bearing features for improving the performance of the heads by controlling a flow of contaminants away from the head sensor and the high contact-pressure zone. The improved head assembly having air bearing features allows the head to keep contaminants out of the high contact-pressure zone proximate the head disk interface where the sensor communicates (e.g., contacts) the flexible media. The head assembly of the present invention includes a shaped slot air bearing feature formed in the rail having the sensor that directs the flow of contaminants away from the high contact-pressure zone and therefore, away from the sensor. This helps to prevent problems associated with head spacing and also damage to the head, the disk, and/or both.

Abstract: An improved head assembly having a leading edge step scheme for tuned air entrainment for improved head performance in higher capacity disk drives. The head assembly having a tuned leading edge step scheme improves the performance of the heads by controlling the entrainment of air thereby forming a desired air bearing between a disk surface and the longitudinal rails of each slider of the head assembly thereby forcing the storage media to comply in an advantageous way (e.g., conform) to cause intimacy at the sensor. The improved head assembly having a leading edge step scheme allows the flying characteristics of the head to be controlled by providing a first rail including a sensor for interfacing with the disk media and having a bleed leading edge step that does not entrain air well and a second rail not having a sensor and having a structured leading edge step that entrains air better than the bleed leading edge step of the first rail.

Abstract: In a magnetic or optical disk drive the integrity of data written on a disk is verified by writing data to a portion of the disk, and immediately reading the data from the disk after it has been written. If there is error in reading the data and/or the data read from the disk is substantially different from the data written to the disk an error condition is generated. The error condition may be reporting the error to the host which decides whether to rewrite the data or immediately rewriting the data without further instructions from the host.

Abstract: A card-type electronic device comprises a casing (4) composed of a rectangular frame (5) and two covers (6, 7) individually covering the upper and lower surfaces of the frame (5). Substantially U-shaped retaining pieces (11a, 11b) are formed by bending tongues (10), which partially protrude from the long side edge portions of the covers (6, 7), so that their distal ends are directed toward the other covers (6, 7) and further bending the distal ends on the inner peripheral side. On the other hand, the side faces of the frame (5) are formed with recesses (19a, 19b) for vertically guiding the retaining pieces (11a, 11b) and retaining portions (20a, 20b) adapted individually to engage the retaining pieces (11a, 11b) fitted in the recesses when the retaining pieces slide in the longitudinal direction of the casing (4).

Abstract: In a computer system in which a peripheral device is connected to a host computer through two busses each of which has a power supply, a power switching network turns first and second solid state switching devices (FET's) on and off to supply power to the drive. The body diodes of the FET's isolate one power supply from the other and supply power to a controller which turns the FET's on and off. A time constant circuit turns an FET on gradually and a resistor connected between the gate and source of each FET provide enough voltage to turn the FET off if the bus carries a sleep mode signal.

Abstract: A disk drive receives a removable storage disk thereinto and has a frame and a disk motor helically mounted thereto for engaging the disk and applying a rotating force thereto. The motor has first threads integral therewith and the frame has second, mating threads integral therewith. The first and second threads interact to achieve helical movement.

Abstract: A disk drive that sustains a constant rate to a host and provides a method for allowing retries and accesses to reallocated sectors if the disk drive's recent historical performance has been sufficient to guarantee that the minimum transfer rate will be met while performing a retry or accessing a reallocated sector. During the transfer of data, the disk drive determines a reserve value that represents the amount of data that is stored in a transfer buffer. The reserve value is increased by the number of sectors actually sent to an intermediate buffer between the disk drive and the host, and decreased based on the minimum or constant data rate, normalized to revolutions of a disk within the drive. Based on this value, the disk drive determines if the disk drive can seek for data in reallocated sectors or to perform retries to correct faulty data while maintaining the minimum transfer rate.

Abstract: A defect map for a data-storage medium is generated without the use of a hard index on the medium. The servo sectors normally written to the medium during formatting operations are utilized to identify the angular positions of defective data sectors. The track-location data typically stored in each data sector is used to identify the radial positions of defective sectors. This positional information is processed by a set of computer-executable instructions that generate a graphical representation of the data-storage medium. Symbols are placed on the graphical representation in positions corresponding to the locations on the medium at which defective data sectors are identified.

Abstract: This invention includes a carnage assembly for carrying read/write heads into engagement with a recording medium. The carriage assembly comprises a carriage body formed from molded plastic. The body defines a sidewall having a first open end and a second open end with a passage extending therebetween. A coil is interlockingly coupled with the carriage body sidewall by being molded to carriage body. At least one carnage arm for carrying at least one head is interlockingly coupled with the carriage body sidewall by being molded to the carnage body.

Abstract: The present invention relates to a data recovery technique for recovering unrecoverable data from a sector having a synchronization field damaged after formatting time or a synchronization mark that has been written improperly. The present invention may try conventional or traditional data recovery techniques first, but if these techniques are ineffective, these techniques can be bypassed in favor of an additional recovery mode. Based upon overall design parameters of a disk drive system and the recording medium format, the disk drive firmware estimates a synchronization mark starting position, analyzes the accuracy of that position and when re-synchronization has not yet occurred, the firmware makes iterative estimates within a window relative to the starting position, and analyzes these subsequent positions for accuracy as well. Once a synchronization mark is located, the data in the sector can be recovered.

Abstract: When a lower head (34b) mounted on a lower head arm (32b) is in a standby position permitting no access to a magnetic recording disk (13), the lower head arm (32b) is housed in an opening (37) formed in a frame plate (3). Thus, the lower head arm (32b) and another (upper) head arm (32a) may maintain a predetermined distance even in a card-type magnetic recording device of small thickness. An electromagnetic shield material is adhered to the opening to protect the heads 34 (34a, 34b).

Abstract: An optical head has a head gimbal assembly on which a light emitting laser is mounted. A tab extends from the assembly and a photo-detector is mounted on the tab. The tab extends from the load beam of the head gimbal assembly. Alternatively, the tab extends from a flexure of the head disk assembly.

Abstract: A magnetic hubbing assembly for engaging and rotating the hub of a removable recording medium has a segmented hub and a hubbing magnet including four or more poles. The hubbing magnet is ring-shaped and the hub is a high permeability SiFe metal. Segments of the hub are equal in number to the number of poles of the magnet.

Abstract: An inertial latch for a linear actuator disk drive includes a carriage assembly carrying read/write heads linearly into and out of engagement with a recording medium. An arm rotating about a pivot has one end which engages the latch, and a counterweight on the other end of said arm. A key on the counterweight slides linearly in a slot as the carriage assembly moves linearly. The key fits into a keying portion of the slot which constrains said counterweight so that it cannot move if it is tilted by gravity or shock.

Abstract: Methods are provided for preventing data from being written to a data sector that has been identified as faulty on a disk in a disk drive system. It is first determined whether data of a data sector of a portion of a disk is recoverable. If the data is non-recoverable, an invalid logical ID is written to the logical block address (LBA) corresponding to the data sector thereby identifying the data sector as faulty and preventing data from being written at the data sector. The LBA is then reallocated to point to a different data sector if the data is non-recoverable. Thus, further data directed to the LBA will be written to the different data sector responsive to the reallocated LBA, thereby avoiding writing the new data to the data sector identified as faulty. Internal drive read re-tries can still take place on the faulty data sector even after the LBA has been assigned an invalid logical ID.

Abstract: A system and method for automatically executing a participating application upon insertion of a removable media into a computing device. When the computing device detects that the removable media containing has been inserted, a task disk control file is read from the removable media. The task disk control file contains all of the configuration information necessary to run the participating application from the removable media. The participating application is then launched for use by a user. After the user is finished using the participating application, the removable disk is automatically ejected. In addition to monitoring for insertion of the removable media, events such as a completion of the self-contained application and a request to eject the media are monitored. When a completion event is encountered, all data files are saved, temporary files deleted and configuration information removed prior to the removable disk ejection.