Patents Examined by Andrea Wellington
  • Patent number: 7428116
    Abstract: A dibit response estimation generator receives a DSS sequence and a DSS readback sequence, which is a function of a channel processing of the DSS sequence by a read channel. The generator generates a cyclic dibit response vector as a function of the DSS sequence and the DSS readback sequence. The generator further generates an error signal as a function of a comparison of the DSS readback sequence and a filtering of the DSS sequence based on the cyclic dibit response vector. An unacceptable error signal indicates a need to adjust the cyclic dibit response vector to yield an acceptable comparison of the DSS readback sequence and the filtering of the DSS sequence based on the cyclic dibit response vector.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 5, 2005
    Date of Patent: September 23, 2008
    Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
    Inventors: Robert A. Hutchins, Evangelos S. Eleftheriou, Sedat Oelcer
  • Patent number: 7423825
    Abstract: A disk unit is capable of detecting a track, the track width of which deviates from a normal value, with high accuracy at high speed. A HDD includes a read head, a disk and defective-track detecting part. The disk has servo data including bursts A, B written thereon. The servo data is used to position the read head to a track center. The defective-track detecting part detects a defective track as below. The sum of the amplitude of bursts A and B, which have been read by the read head by one read operation, is divided by the amplitude of a burst C or D to obtain a compared value. If the compared value deviates from a criterion by a specified percentage or more, it is judged that the track width of a track is abnormal. Since bursts A through D are written without trimming, the size of bursts A through D in the track width direction are kept constant regardless of the track width. Accordingly, a gap G fluctuating in accordance with the track width is formed in the radial direction between bursts A and B.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 29, 2005
    Date of Patent: September 9, 2008
    Assignee: Hitachi Global Storage Technologies Netherlands B.V.
    Inventors: Naoki Shimamura, Osama Takazawa, Kaoru Umemura, Kazuhiko Washizu
  • Patent number: 7423826
    Abstract: A readback system includes a magnetic sensor that receives a sensor current. The magnetic sensor senses magnetic bits at a bit frequency and generates a sensor output. The readback system includes a channel circuit that modulates the sensor current at a modulation frequency higher than the bit frequency. The channel circuit samples the sensor output and combines multiple samples of the sensor output per magnetic bit into a combined sample output.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 10, 2006
    Date of Patent: September 9, 2008
    Assignee: Seagate Technology LLC
    Inventors: Shaoping Li, Jin Insik, Kaizhong Gao, Song Xue, Mike Montemorra, Housan Dakroub, Jason C. Jury
  • Patent number: 7423955
    Abstract: A method of recording information stores lead-out information on a multilayer record carrier of an opposite track path type. A two part recording area across two layers is logically interrupted by an intermediate zone. The recording area is preceded by a lead-in zone located at the start of the first recording layer and followed by a lead-out zone located at the end of the second recording layer. An outer lead-out part and an inner lead-out part are recorded separated by an unrecorded area and together constituting the lead-out information on the second recording layer. The inner lead-out part covers a predefined radial position range corresponding to a range of radial positions used by reading devices for accessing the second recording layer during a disc loading procedure. The outer lead-out part is recorded at the end of an area of the second recording layer containing user information.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 11, 2004
    Date of Patent: September 9, 2008
    Assignee: Koninklijke Philips Electronics N.V.
    Inventors: Benno Tieke, Hubert Cécile François Martens
  • Patent number: 7424725
    Abstract: An optical disk player with improved opening and closing of a door, transport of a tray, and an improved pivoting structure of a chassis to pivot a turntable. The optical disk player includes: a body; a tray to move in and out of the body so as to transport an optical disk; a chassis installed to pivot inside the body; an optical pickup, which is installed to be able to move back and forth in the chassis, to record/reproduce information onto/from the optical disk that is rotatably placed on the turntable; a cover installed on a front of the body, the cover including: a door holder with an aperture through which the tray moves; a door to be able to slide along the door holder so as to open and close the aperture; and a cam driving device to activate the tray, to pivot the chassis, and to open and close the door by sliding.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 11, 2005
    Date of Patent: September 9, 2008
    Assignee: Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Hong-kyun Yim, Yong-hoon Lee, Jae-yong Eum, Jeung-rak Lee
  • Patent number: 7420782
    Abstract: Embodiments of the present invention provide a rotating disk storage device adopting a thin yoke structure. In one embodiment, the yoke structure of a voice coil motor includes a base of a casing formed from a ferromagnetic material; an auxiliary yoke disposed so as to be magnetically coupled to the base; a magnet disposed so as to be magnetically coupled to a front surface of the auxiliary yoke; and a main yoke provided with yoke legs magnetically coupled to the auxiliary yoke and an opposing surface that confronts a front surface of the magnet. In addition, a yoke gap is defined between the opposing surface and the front surface of the magnet. The base and the auxiliary yoke form a magnetic path, which allows a dedicated yoke on a lower portion to be eliminated.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 16, 2004
    Date of Patent: September 2, 2008
    Assignee: Hitachi Global Storage Technologies Netherlands B.V.
    Inventors: Takanori Kawakami, Shinichi Kimura, Hiroki Kitahori, Hiroshi Matsuda
  • Patent number: 7420757
    Abstract: A magnetic transfer wherein the exchange of master mediums is made easy to perform is provided, whereby the operational efficiency and transfer efficiency are improved, leading to an overall improvement in productivity in the manufacture of preformatted slave mediums. A master fixing base for determining and supporting the position of a master medium, which bears transfer data, and a conjoining apparatus for conjoining the master medium and the slave medium that is to receive the transfer therefrom are provided. The master medium is exchanged along with the master fixing base. It is preferable that a cleaning means be provided.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 12, 2005
    Date of Patent: September 2, 2008
    Assignee: FUJIFILM Corporation
    Inventors: Akito Kamatani, Tsuneo Inui, Masashi Aoki, Masakazu Nishikawa
  • Patent number: 7417815
    Abstract: A recording control apparatus includes a waveform rectification section for receiving a digital signal generated from an analog signal representing information reproduced from an information recording medium, and rectifying a waveform of the digital signal; a maximum likelihood decoding section for performing maximum likelihood decoding of the digital signal having the waveform thereof rectified, and generating a binary signal representing a result of the maximum likelihood decoding; a reliability calculation section for calculating a reliability of the result of the maximum likelihood decoding based on the digital signal having the waveform thereof rectified and the binary signal; and an adjusting section for adjusting a shape of a recording signal for recording the information on the information recording medium based on the calculated reliability.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 17, 2005
    Date of Patent: August 26, 2008
    Assignee: Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Harumitsu Miyashita, Takeshi Nakajima, Naohiro Kimura
  • Patent number: 7417814
    Abstract: A magnetic recording device comprising a magnetic recording medium, a read-write channel for modulating write data, writing it on the magnetic recording medium, reading data from the magnetic recording medium, and demodulating the read data, and a processor for supplying the write data to the read-write channel and being supplied with the read data from the read-write channel. The processor supplies to the read-write channel a microdefect detection pattern having a first pattern for generating a consecutive magnetization inversion during writing and a second pattern for generating, during reading, a signal having a S/N ratio higher than the signal produced by the first pattern, the read-write channel modulates the microdefect detection pattern, writes it to the magnetic recording medium, reads the microdefect detection pattern, which was written, from the magnetic recording medium, and conducts abnormality detection of the microdefect detection pattern, which was read out.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 5, 2005
    Date of Patent: August 26, 2008
    Assignee: Fujitsu Limited
    Inventor: Yuichiro Yamazaki
  • Patent number: 7417818
    Abstract: A magnetic recording device capable of reducing the size of a writing circuit and the power consumption by readily adjusting the overshoot of the write current pulses is provided. Two or more transmission lines having different characteristic impedances are provided between an output driver having an impedance Zs and a magnetic head, the transmission lines are formed so that the characteristic impedances Z1, Zn?1, and Zn (n?2) thereof on the output driver side are higher than those on the magnetic recording head side (Z1>Zn?1>Zn), and the impedance Zs of the output driver is equal to or higher than the characteristic impedance Z1 of the transmission line.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 31, 2006
    Date of Patent: August 26, 2008
    Assignee: Hitachi, Ltd.
    Inventors: Fumio Yuuki, Hiroki Yamashita, Masayoshi Yagyu, Tatsuya Kawashimo
  • Patent number: 7414932
    Abstract: In step S1, the address generator generates address information composed of a sync signal which is recorded on an optical disc, address data and an error correction code for the address data, pre-encodes and supplies it to a modulator. At the same time, a carrier signal generator generates a carrier signal which is to carry the address information, and supplies it to the modulator. In step S2, the modulator makes MSK modulation of the carrier signal supplied from the carrier signal generator on the basis of the pre-encoded address information supplied from the address generator, and supplies a resultant MSK modulation signal to a wobbling unit. In step S3, the wobbling unit forms, on the optical disc, a spiral groove wobbled adaptively to the MSK modulation signal supplied from the modulator. In this optical disc, a given address can be accessed quickly and accurately.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 19, 2006
    Date of Patent: August 19, 2008
    Assignee: Sony Corporation
    Inventors: Shoei Kobayashi, Nobuyoshi Kobayashi, Tamotsu Yamagami, Shinichiro Iimura
  • Patent number: 7414816
    Abstract: A magnetic head (slider) which requires no lapping is described. The head is fabricated with an air bearing surface that is parallel to the wafer surface. The saw cuts used to separate the individual sliders from the rest of the wafer are perpendicular to the air-bearing surface and do not pass through any critical features. The read and write components are formed from thin films disposed parallel to the air bearing surface and can be side-by-side or tandem in relation to the recording track. The stripe height of the read sensor is controlled by the deposition process rather than by lapping. Various embodiments of the read head include contiguous junction biasing, external hard magnet biasing, and in-stack biasing. In one embodiment a permeable field collector is included below the sensor layer structure. An aperture shield surrounding the sensor at the ABS is included in one embodiment.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 28, 2004
    Date of Patent: August 19, 2008
    Assignee: Hitachi Global Storage Technologies Netherlands B.V.
    Inventors: Robert E. Fontana, Jr., Kuok San Ho, Ching Hwa Tsang
  • Patent number: 7411753
    Abstract: A disk drive of a perpendicular magnetic recording system has a magnetization test function, for testing the magnetized state of a write head. The disk drive is provided with a write driver and a head amplifier unit. The write driver supplies a write current to the write head, for perpendicular magnetic recording. The degaussing unit degausses the write head.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 10, 2005
    Date of Patent: August 12, 2008
    Assignee: Kabushiki Kaisha Toshiba
    Inventor: Yuji Sakai
  • Patent number: 7411873
    Abstract: An information recording medium 1 at least comprises a substrate 13 having a microscopic pattern 20, which is constituted by a shape of continuous substance of approximately parallel grooves formed with a groove section G and a land section L alternately, a recording layer 12 formed on the microscopic pattern 20 and a light transmission layer 11 formed on the recording layer. The microscopic pattern 20 is formed so as to satisfy a relation of P<?<NA and a thickness of the light transmission layer 11 is within a range of 0.07 to 0.12 mm, wherein P is a pitch of the groove section G or the land section L, ? is a wavelength of reproducing light beam and NA is a numerical aperture of an objective lens. Further, there provided an information recording medium, which is improved in cross erase and recorded in high density, and a reproducing apparatus and a recording apparatus for the information recording medium.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 15, 2006
    Date of Patent: August 12, 2008
    Assignee: Victor Company of Japan, Limited
    Inventors: Tetsuya Kondo, Kenji Oishi
  • Patent number: 7411754
    Abstract: A method for operating a tester for testing heads and disks of a magnetic recording disk drive during manufacturing calculates the readback signal amplitude asymmetry in the frequency domain without the need for measurement in the time domain with a peak detection channel. The tester first signals the write head to write a first pattern on the disk to generate a readback signal with positive pulses. The read head then detects this first recorded pattern and sends the readback signal to a spectrum analyzer connected to the tester. The tester then signals the write head to write a second pattern on the disk to generate a readback signal with negative pulses. The read head then detects this second recorded pattern and sends the readback signal to the spectrum analyzer. The spectrum analyzer measures the amplitudes of the first and second readback signals in the frequency domain using a bandpass filter.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 8, 2006
    Date of Patent: August 12, 2008
    Assignee: Hitachi Global Storage Technologies Netherlands B.V.
    Inventors: Mike X. Wang, Jing Zhang
  • Patent number: 7411756
    Abstract: An apparatus and method for demagnetizing a write head of a disc drive. Under control of a clock oscillator, synthetic demagnetizing pulses are generated and applied to a writer-driver bridge. Also under control of the clock oscillator, a write current produced by the writer-driver bridge incorporates the demagnetizing pulses and ramps down to about zero. The train of demagnetizing pulses and the write current ramp down demagnetizes the head, reducing write head magnetic bias that may influence the proximate read head of the disc drive head.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 4, 2005
    Date of Patent: August 12, 2008
    Assignee: Agere Systems, Inc.
    Inventors: Ross Schwensen Wilson, Carl F. Elliott
  • Patent number: 7411755
    Abstract: A write driver system comprises first switching devices that generate gate drive signals. A write driver circuit includes second switching devices that are controlled by the gate drive signals. The second switching devices have higher voltage stress thresholds than the first switching devices and wherein the second switching devices have slower switching times than the first switching devices.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 28, 2006
    Date of Patent: August 12, 2008
    Assignee: Marvell International Ltd.
    Inventors: Farbod Aram, Pantas Sutardja
  • Patent number: 7411752
    Abstract: A disc drive including a transducer supported on the head suspension assembly to induce a transducer signal in response to head vibration. The transducer signal is level detected to output a level detected signal indicative of head vibration. A method for detecting head vibration via a transducer on a head suspension assembly. The transducer on the head suspension assembly operating between a detection mode and an actuator mode for selectively detecting vibration and actuating the head.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 22, 1999
    Date of Patent: August 12, 2008
    Assignee: Seagate Technology LLC
    Inventors: James E. Angelo, John S. Wright
  • Patent number: 7408732
    Abstract: An information recording method in a rotating storage apparatus comprising a rotating recording medium for recording information, a head for performing at least a write operation onto the rotating recording medium, and an acceleration sensor for detecting a shock. The method comprises outputting a shock out signal if an output from the acceleration sensor exceeds a predetermined threshold. A signal is output at a first level for a write inhibit period in response to the input of the shock out signal, where the write inhibit period is selected based at least in part on a time span in which the output of the acceleration sensor exceeds the predetermined threshold. Writing to the rotating recording medium is prohibited during the write inhibit period.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 29, 2005
    Date of Patent: August 5, 2008
    Assignee: Hitachi Global Storage Technologies Netherlands B.V.
    Inventors: Masashi Kisaka, Yutaka Ozawa, Kenji Toga
  • Patent number: 7408865
    Abstract: It is an object of the invention to record and reproduce information successfully even when light having small energy is used for hologram. A drive means to move a collimator lens according to movement of a recording medium is provided, and an angle of light for recording which enters from the collimator lens to a polarizing beam splitter is changed. In result, a position of light which enters the recording medium is shifted, and therefore, information can be recorded in a normal position of the recording medium, and information can be reproduced from the normal position on the recording medium according to movement of the recording medium.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 7, 2004
    Date of Patent: August 5, 2008
    Assignee: Optware Corporation
    Inventor: Hideyoshi Horimai