Abstract: To provide a disk drive having a mechanism to limit position of a tray while being transferred by a simple configuration, guiding parts each having a guide rib and a supporting portion are provided on at least one outer wall on the side facing inside the chassis, and a sliding part having a guide groove is provided on a sidewall of the tray corresponding to the guiding part. The guide rib of the guiding part is slidably fitted in the guide groove. A horizontal limiting-rib sliding face is formed on a connecting part connecting outer and inner walls of the chassis. The sliding part includes a position-limiting rib extending upward and downward from the leading edge of the tray sidewall with a guide groove formed between the position-limiting rib and the edge of the sidewall. The position-limiting rib is slidably held between the supporting portion and the limiting-rib sliding face.

Abstract: A long aperture extending along the forward and backward movement direction is formed on each of the brackets, each of the supporting shafts is movably inserted into each of the long apertures, a spring shaft in parallel with one of the supporting shafts is protruded to the back of the front panel, a hold-down spring is formed in the door spring, the door spring is wound up by one of the supporting shafts, the free end of which is engaged with the tray door and also the hold-down spring is wound up by the spring shaft, the free end of which is engaged with the front panel, the forward-advanced tray pushes the tray door against the hold-down spring, by which the tray door is moved forward, and then the tray door is axially opened and moved around the supporting shaft against the door spring.

Abstract: A disk drive thin-film write head has a first ferromagnetic pole tip that includes a pedestal pole layer and a capping layer on the pedestal pole layer. A substantial portion of the pedestal pole layer is formed of a lower-moment alloy and the capping layer is formed of a higher-moment alloy and is made thick enough to compensate for the lower-moment alloy in the pedestal pole layer. The pedestal pole layer may be a bilayer of two different NiFe alloys with the upper layer in the bilayer having a higher moment, and the capping layer may be a CoFe alloy. The width of the pedestal pole layer is substantially reduced to reduce the pole tip area exposed. The reduced pole tip area and the increased use of lower-moment alloys enable a thinner protective film to be used to protect the pole tips from corrosion.

Abstract: Disclosed are a magnetic sensing element in which side reading can be prevented, read sensitivity can be improved, and gap narrowing is enabled, and a method for fabricating the same. A magnetic sensing element includes a pair of first antiferromagnetic layers separated by a first spacer section. A first spacer layer is disposed in the first spacer section. The first spacer layer has the same composition as that of the first antiferromagnetic layers, and has a disordered crystal structure with a thickness that is smaller than that of the first antiferromagnetic layers. A first free magnetic layer is disposed on the continuous surface including the upper surfaces of the first antiferromagnetic layers and the first spacer layers. The magnetic sensing element also includes a nonmagnetic interlayer, a second free magnetic layer, and a pair of second antiferromagnetic layers separated by a second spacer section on the second free magnetic layer.

Abstract: There are provided: detection sections 71, 72 for detecting an edge of discs 52, 53 so as to be laterally symmetrical about a center, at a lower edge portion inside a long sideways opening 12 of a front panel 11; and a detection section 73 for detecting a reflective foil 60 having lack portions 61, 62 put on a lower surface of a tray 13. If the disc is not in a regular mounting position in the tray 13, the disc may be prevented from falling to the inside of the drive by detecting the discs 52, 53 mounted in a misaligned state and discontinuing an operation of pulling the tray 13 in, with the combination of detection outputs from those three detection sections.

Abstract: A data storage library comprising a plurality of library modules (13, 15) for storing a plurality of data storage media (35) and writing data to and reading data from said media (35), at least two of said library modules (13, 15) being in adjacent vertical arrays, and transfer means (33) for transferring said media (35) from one array to an adjacent array, the transfer means (33) effecting translation of the data storage media (35) from one array to the adjacent array in a substantially horizontal direction whilst substantially maintaining the orientation of the transferred media (35) relative to respective arrays.

Abstract: A method of enhancing the thermal stability of gray codes is disclosed. The gray code block in a servo area is recorded with a combination of two different magnetization directions. When the two different magnetization directions are expressed as “+” and “?”, the information “1” is recorded as “++??” or “??++” with the information “0” recorded as “+?+?” or “?+?+”. Since the filter for gray code demodulation is provided with a perpendicular recording mode, the servo area does not use long-wavelength signals that are susceptible to thermal demagnetization. As a result, thermal stability is enhanced.

Abstract: A system for providing a single display for control of multiple data storage drives in an automated library incorporates a switching unit that allows the different drives to be displayed on the single display unit. The drives are mounted in a frame and connected to the display. A connection and switching mechanism and microcode are used to attach and control the drives with the display. The switching mechanism controls the drive that is currently displayed on the display unit. The operations panel and the switching mechanism fit into an existing frame without modification. When a user selects one of the drives through the operations panel, the operations panel controls the drive without having to switch physical connections.

Abstract: An HAA includes a head slider having at least one head element, a high-stiffness arm member for supporting the head slider at one end section, an actuator, mounted to the other end section of the arm member, for rotationally moving the arm member in a direction substantially parallel with a recording medium surface around a horizontal rotation axis of the arm member, and a resilient plate spring for generating a load, the plate spring having one end section fixed to the arm member and the other end section provided with a load point for energizing the head slider in a direction to the recording medium surface.

Abstract: An eccentricity compensating apparatus of a disk drive servo system using frequency response characteristics of an actuator actuating a head to a position on a disk to read data on or reproduce data from the disk. The apparatus includes an error detector that detects a position error between a reference head position and an actual position of the head on the disk and a first compensation controller that receives the position error from the error detector and changes the actual position of the head to compensate for the position error.

Abstract: A method for mounting a flexible flexure, which has a slider fixed thereto and having an electro-magnetic conversion element integrally, on a load beam includes the steps of joining a main flexure, which has a junction piece for joining the load beam, to the load beam with the junction piece therebetween; inspecting characteristics by floating the electromagnetic conversion element onto a magnetic disc; when the characteristics do not satisfy a reference as a result of the inspection, removing the main flexure from the load beam by cleaving the main flexure at a cleavage part disposed in a vicinity of the junction piece; and at least one time joining a sub-flexure having no junction piece to the load beam, from which the main flexure is removed.

Abstract: A cartridge locking mechanism for a magnetic tape apparatus wherein variation of the pulling out force for a cartridge is prevented so that the cartridge can be removed smoothly is disclosed. A right guide plate and a left guide plate are provided for movement on the inner sides of a right side plate and a left side plate on the opposite sides of a deck base, respectively, and a cartridge tray is inserted in the inner sides of the right guide plate and the left guide plate. Aright locking lever and a cam lever, and a left locking lever and a cam lever for locking a cartridge are provided for rocking movement on pins provided at lower portions on the opposite sides of the cartridge tray each through a torsion spring and a torsion spring. A guide pin and a pair of pins are provided on side faces of the cartridge tray and fitted in guide slots in the right side plate and right guide plate and the left side plate and left guide plate, respectively, to guide the cartridge tray.

Abstract: A disk apparatus includes a stock section for storing a plurality of stacked disks, a disk transfer mechanism for withdrawing a selected disk out of the stock section, a selection mechanism for causing the selected disk and the disk transfer mechanism to face each other, a rotating section for driving the disk, a common motor, a power transmission mechanism for selectively transmitting the power of the motor to the selection mechanism and to the disk transfer mechanism, and a switching mechanism for switching between a first switching state in which the power of the motor is transmitted to the disk transfer mechanism and a second switching state in which the power of the motor is transmitted to the selection mechanism. The switching mechanism is switched between the states by the moving force of the disk transfer mechanism moving between a transfer-force transmitting position and a transfer-force interrupting position.

Abstract: In a spin-up process in a disk drive, the values of a PMA counter and a TOC counter are compared with each other with respect to a write-once disk. The PM counter is a adapted to count the number of disks in which information is written in a PMA region, among the disks from which information is theretofore read in the disk drive. The TOC counter is adapted to count the number of disks in which information is not written in the PMA region.

Abstract: A head for use in accessing data from an electrically conductive media surface is provided. The head has a slider body defining a bearing plane configured to face the media surface. A fly height control electrode is positioned on the raised portion. Further, the fly height control electrode and the media surface are adapted to form opposing plates of a capacitor with a dielectric layer of air supporting the head. Also, the fly height control electrode is electrically isolated from the slider body. A head electrical connection disposed on the slider body is electrically connected to the fly height control electrode. The head electrical connection is adapted to provide a fly height control voltage to the fly height control electrode.

Abstract: An objective lens has an actuator base and a lens holder for supporting an objective lens. The lens holder has a shaft hole. A shaft is disposed on the actuator base and fitted to the shaft hole. A cover is attached to the actuator base so as to cover the lens holder in a manner that the cover comes into contact with or comes close to the top face of the shaft. Protrusions are disposed on an actuator base opposing face and a cover opposing face of the lens holder without contacting the shaft. When the protrusions are contacted with the actuator base and the cover, a predetermined gap is formed between the lens holder and the actuator base and between the lens holder and the cover, the gap is communicated with a space in the cover through the side of the protrusions.

Abstract: A magnetoresistance effect device having a basic structure wherein a multi-layer film comprising a unit of magnetic layer/non-magnetic layer/magnetic layer/antiferromagnetic layer, or antiferromagnetic layer/magnetic layer/non-magnetic layer/magnetic layer is formed with a protective film on a surface of the magnetoresistance effect device employing one of a metal, oxide material, nitride material, a mixture of oxide and nitride material, a double-layer film of metal/oxide, a double-layer film of metal/nitride, or a double-layer film of metal/(mixture of oxide and nitride) of film thickness between 2 nm and 7 nm.

Abstract: An information recording medium, such as a disc, is provided from which data can be read in a stable fashion even when a label for the information recording medium is adhered thereon. A label is partially attached to the information recording member in which an information recording layer is formed on a substrate, on a label surface opposite the substrate. The so-called partial attachment involves attaching the label to the disc at only a few selected points and not to the entire disc surface.

Abstract: An offline self servo writing method capable of improving servo writing accuracy and reducing copying time by designing a servo pattern of a reference disk to have the same resolution as a final servo pattern, and a disk drive using the method. The offline self servo writing method includes a servo information writing process performed after a reference disk, where a reference servo pattern having the same resolution as a final servo pattern, is written and one or more blank disks are assembled in the disk drive, wherein the servo information writing process is performed by simultaneously writing identical final servo information on all disks including the reference disk by using the reference servo pattern while following tracks of the reference disk.

Abstract: A pickup is moved in a direction opposite to a pickup moving direction in which the pickup is to be moved. At a timing at which a period of time corresponding to one period of oscillation generated on an objective lens of the pickup has passed after moving the pickup in the direction opposite to the pickup moving direction, the pickup is moved in the pickup moving direction.