Abstract: A barrier mechanism, which is often utilized in a disk changer device, is disclosed herein, in which the barrier mechanism includes two wheels and a barrier belt loop. The two wheels are respectively installed on a top terminal and a bottom terminal of an edge of the disk insertion opening of the magazine. A barrier belt loop which is used for selectively traverse one of the plurality of disk holding members, includes an inner section with a traversing recess carved therein. The inner section is adjacent to the disk insertion opening of the magazine of the disk changer device, and the mechanical coupling between the barrier belt loop and the processing mechanism enables the traversing recess constantly aligned with the optical pick-up unit. Accordingly, the traversing recess is horizontally aligned with the predetermined disk holding member, thereby the procedure enables the drafting unit to extract the predetermined disk holding member through the traversing recess into the optical pick-up unit.

Abstract: It has been found that the insertion of a copper laminate within CoFe, or a CoFe/NiFe composite, leads to higher values of CPP GMR and DRA. However, this type of structure exhibits very negative magnetostriction, in the range of high ?10?6 to ?10?5. This problem has been overcome by giving the copper laminates an oxygen exposure treatment When this is done, the free layer is found to have a very low positive magnetostriction constant. Additionally, the value of the magnetostriction constant can be adjusted by varying the thickness of the free layer and/or the position and number of the oxygen treated copper laminates.

Abstract: The write protect mechanism provides a method for identifying the write protect state of the tape media enclosed in a tape cartridge from at least two orientations. A write protect switch on the front side of the tape cartridge housing moves to block the write protect aperture on the side of the tape cartridge housing when the write protect switch is in the write enable position and away from the aperture in the write protect position. A write protect indicator on the tape cartridge top cover includes a window that allows the user to view the position of the write protect switch by viewing the top of the switch. The top of the switch may include an arrow that moves corresponding to the position of the write protect switch, thus providing a means for the user to determine the write protect state. Human readable icons or color combinations on the write protect switch and/or adjacent to the write protect indicator clearly indicate the write protect state of the tape media enclosed within the tape cartridge.

Abstract: An optical recording medium includes a plane ring-shaped substrate in which a center hole is opened at the center thereof, a recording-retrieving function layer and a cover layer each having an outer diameter approximately equal to that of the substrate and an inner diameter larger than an outer diameter of the center hole, are stacked on the substrate, and as a separate entity from the cover layer, a clamp portion which is for holding and fixing the substrate and which has an outer diameter smaller than inner diameters of the recording-retrieving function layer and the cover layer, is provided around the center hole in a region where the cover layer is not formed.

Abstract: A thin-film magnetic head wafer includes a first principal surface and a second principal surface which are substantially parallel to each other. An electrical/magnetic transducer is provided on the first principal surface. Identification information is recorded on the first principal surface of the wafer.

Abstract: The present invention includes a data storage system. The data storage system includes an enclosure and at least one perpendicular recording device positioned within the enclosure and in communication with a recording medium. The recording medium includes a layer of magnetic material that has a permeability that is substantially similar to a permeability of a magnetic material in the recording device. The data storage system also includes a soft magnetic material included in the enclosure for shielding magnetic stray fields from the perpendicular recording device. The soft magnetic material has a permeability that is at least as great as approximately the permeability of the layer of magnetic material of the recording medium.

Abstract: The upper magnetic pole layer and/or lower magnetic pole layer comprises a soft magnetic film having a variable region in which the chemical composition of Fe changes in the direction of thickness in at least a part thereof, and the difference of the proportions of Fe between the regions most abundant in Fe and most deficient in Fe is 4% by mass or more in the variable region. The structure of the soft magnetic film permits the saturation magnetic flux density Bs to be improved while decreasing the coercive force Hc by forming fine crystal grains, thereby enabling a thin film magnetic head excellent in high density recording to be manufactured.

Abstract: Embodiments of the invention position accurately an actuator head suspension assembly (AHSA) relative to a magnetic disk without using any positioning jig, as achieved through a simple structure and involving no increase in manufacturing, and to prevent the AHSA from being charge. In one embodiment, a conductive AHSA includes a pivot opening formed to provide a step at an adjoining portion of two holes having different hole diameters from each other. A pivot bearing assembly includes a first conductive roller bearing and a second conductive roller bearing. The first and the second roller bearings include outer races and inner races with balls interposed between the outer races and the inner races. The first and the second roller bearings are disposed in tandem to achieve the following arrangements.

Abstract: In an optical storage, a base is defined in a bottom of a space which receives a disk. A drive unit is mounted on the base for turning the disk around a drive axis. A shroud is defined in a side of the space, and a cover is defined in a top of the space. The cover has a slanted line extended from a central portion of the cover toward the shroud at an upward inclination with respect to a disk plane when seen in a cross-section taken along a line perpendicular to the disk plane.

Abstract: A CPP magnetoresistive effect element includes a free magnetization layer, a fixed magnetization layer, and a plurality of conductive non-magnetic intermediate layers formed between the free magnetization layer and the fixed magnetization layer. An insulating layer and a magnetic layer including magnetic atoms are provided between any two of the non-magnetic intermediate layers.

Abstract: A thermal flying height adjustment slider capable of being mounted on a small-sized thin film magnetic head slider is provided wherein terminals of an energizer serving as a heater prevent corrosion of pole pieces and the number of terminals is reduced. In one embodiment, one of terminals of the energizer serving as the heater is electrically connected to the lower pole piece, so that a relay terminal for a heating device is used also as the terminal for preventing the corrosion of pole pieces.

Abstract: There is provided a disc holding mechanism capable of easily loading and unloading optical discs having different shapes on a disc tray, in which an optical disc is securely fixed and held on the disc tray and the load applied to the disc when it is loaded and unloaded on and from the disc tray can be eliminated. The disc holding mechanism is adapted to position and hold a disc on the surface of a disc tray 90 in place. The disc holding mechanism comprises a plurality of holding pins 57 and 58 that hold a central hole of the disc, in which at least one movable pin 59 of the holding pins controls a holding state of the disc. When loading the disc on the disc tray 90, the movable pin 59 presses the central hole of the disc in a centrifugal direction to secure the disc to be in its holding state. When unloading the disc, the movable pin 59 moves in a centripetal direction of the central hole to release the disc from its holding state.

Abstract: A method and apparatus for aligning and securing a spindle shaft and actuator shaft in a low-density gas-filled hard disk drive and independent of the disk drive cover is provided. A capture plate is positioned above the memory disk(s) and is secured to the base plate. The spindle shaft and, optionally, the actuator shaft are secured between the base plate and capture plate. The capture plate may be configured to reduce vibration. This structure eliminates use of the cover to secure the spindle shaft and actuator shaft and, thereby, eliminates a potential pathway for low-density gas to escape. The capture plate may also be configured to reduce air turbulence created by the rotating disk and reduce track misregistration of the read/write element(s).

Abstract: An optical disk drive comprises a drive body, a spindle motor, an optical pickup device, a sled motor, a tray, a loading motor, and a controller. When the loaded optical disk is ejected, the controller controls the sled motor and the loading motor so that the returning of the optical pickup device and the opening of the tray are performed in non-chronological order. Accordingly, the time for the ejection of the optical disk is reduced.

Abstract: A disk cartridge, which is easy to handle, is provided. The disk cartridge includes a cartridge main body having: an opening facing a disk; and a shutter for opening and closing the opening. A part of the cartridge main body is formed in an approximately semicircular shape. Such a shape allows a user to easily know an insertion direction. Moreover, since the cartridge main body does not have any corners, the insertion into a drive device is simplified. The shutter is provided pivotably for the cartridge main body. Any one of a plurality of types of medium can be provided in the disk cartridge. When the disk cartridge is inserted into an external device such as the drive device, the device receives a signal indicating the type of medium, which is transmitted through an electric terminal, so as to perform a process in accordance with the type of medium.

Abstract: An air flow generated during disk rotation is rectified to suppress disk vibrations and prevent the qualities of recorded and reproduced signals from being degraded. Notches 24 and 26 are formed on top edges of right and left side walls 22 and 22 of a frame 10. Opposite ends of a clamp holder 28 along its long side direction are fixedly mounted on the notches 24 and 26. Rectifiers of repetitive structures 32 and 34 having a wave shape as viewed in plan are formed on the clamper holder 28 on the plate portions 28a and 28b on both sides of a clamper 30 and at edges on the output side of an air flow generated during disk rotation.

Abstract: Various embodiments of the present invention are directed to a compact, portable, external optical disc drives. In one embodiment of the present invention, an optical disc drive is comprised of one or more substrates having a width smaller than the diameter of an optical disc and that covers and protects one or more data recording surfaces of the optical disc. The optical disc drive may also include an external connector that is capable of plugging into an outlet of an electrical device so that the optical disc drive extends beyond an external sidewall of the electrical device and is electronically interconnected to the electrical device.

Abstract: Shock-absorbing member 18, a shock-absorbing method and an electronic device employing the member are disclosed, wherein the shock-absorbing member prevents electronic equipment main body from receiving a large shock and avoids a fatal damage to the equipment, even when the equipment is subjected to substantially a large impact of dropping of the equipment for instance. More specifically, shock absorbing member 18 is formed by integrally molding shock-absorbing base part 18a of resin material having a flexibility but having a certain degree of hardness and formed into a thin plate, and highly soft shock-absorbing base part 18a having a cushion capability, into a unit having a certain degree of thickness, wherein shock-absorbing base part 18a is thinner than shock-absorbing flexible part 18b, wherein shock-absorbing base part 18a bends when receiving an impact, and start absorbing the shock by buckling at a bending part thereof.

Abstract: A disc cartridge including a disc medium which is loaded into a drive device and into/from which information can be recorded/reproduced; a case that houses the disc medium rotatably; a disc opening from which the disc medium provided into the case can be taken out; and a disc taking-out history detecting portion that can be deformed recognizably and irreversibly according to an operation for firstly taking out the disc medium from the case, is provided to judge whether a disc medium is taken out of the case.

Abstract: A disk drive includes a disk drive base and a spindle motor including a spindle motor hub, a spindle motor shaft and a stator. The hub includes an upper end and a lower end. The hub is rotatably coupled to the base via the shaft for rotating the hub about an axis of rotation. The lower end is disposed towards the disk drive base. The stator is attached to the base adjacent the lower end. A balancing ring is attached to the lower end of the hub about the shaft. The disk drive further includes a balancing weight attached to the ring. The weight is attachable to the ring through the disk drive base with the ring attached to the lower end of the hub. A method of balancing the hub is further provided using the ring and the weight.