Patents by Inventor Futa SASAKI

Futa SASAKI has filed for patents to protect the following inventions. This listing includes patent applications that are pending as well as patents that have already been granted by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO).

  • Publication number: 20240053380
    Abstract: A probe unit includes: a contact probe that comes into contact with, at both ends of a longitudinal length of the contact probe, each of electrodes that are contact targets; and a probe holder including a main body portion configured to hold the contact probe, the main body portion being insulating. The main body portion includes, formed therein: a holder hole configured to hold the contact probe inserted in the holder hole; and a counterbore portion drilled in at least part of an area around the holder hole, the area being on one of surfaces of the main body portion, the surfaces being near one end and another end of the contact probe, the counterbore portion having an inner wall surface that forms a hollow space and that is insulating.
    Type: Application
    Filed: September 10, 2021
    Publication date: February 15, 2024
    Applicant: NHK Spring Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Futa Sasaki, Hajime Arai, Kazuya Soma
  • Patent number: 9841457
    Abstract: A test coupon includes a pseudo element circuit which is constituted of a main circuit section and an adjusting section. The main circuit section includes a first pattern conductor and second pattern conductors. The first pattern conductor and the second pattern conductors overlap one another with a dielectric layer interposed therebetween. The first pattern conductor electrically conducts to the second pattern conductors. The main circuit section represents the R-component and the L-component of an equivalent circuit, and is a dominant circuit element which determines a signal waveform. The adjusting section includes linear conductors. A peak of a voltage waveform is suppressed by the R- and L-components of the adjusting section.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 1, 2016
    Date of Patent: December 12, 2017
    Assignees: NHK SPRING CO., LTD., WESTERN DIGITAL TECHNOLOGIES, INC.
    Inventors: Futa Sasaki, Hajime Arai, Tomohisa Okada, Nobumasa Nishiyama, Kazuhiro Nagaoka
  • Patent number: 9576601
    Abstract: A flexure of a disk drive suspension with a magnetic head having first and second elements. The flexure includes a metal base, a conductive circuit along the metal base, and a tail pad in a flexure tail of the flexure. The tail pad includes first and second frames with an opening therebetween; a first pair of tail terminals arranged between and insulated from the first and second frames, connected to the first element; a second pair of tail terminals arranged between and insulated from the first and second frames, connected to the second element; and a third pair of tail terminals arranged between and insulated from the first and second frames, connected to a third element. First, second and third bridge elements of the metal base are arranged between first tail terminals, second tail terminals, and third tail terminals, respectively. A first bridge-free opening portion is between the first and second tail terminals, and a second bridge-free opening portion is between the first and third tail terminals.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 9, 2016
    Date of Patent: February 21, 2017
    Assignee: NHK SPRING CO., LTD.
    Inventors: Hajime Arai, Futa Sasaki
  • Patent number: 9576600
    Abstract: A tail pad portion is provided in a flexure tail including a metal base and a conductive circuit portion. Tail terminals are arranged in the tail pad portion. The metal base is made of stainless steel, and includes a frame structure having a first frame and a second frame. An opening is formed between the first and second frames. The tail terminals are arranged parallel to each other between the first and second frames. A bridge portion is provided between the first and second frames. The bridge portion is constituted of at least one conductive bridge member, and arranged at a position which does not overlap the tail terminals. One end of the bridge member is connected to the first frame, and the other end of the bridge member is connected to the second frame.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 30, 2015
    Date of Patent: February 21, 2017
    Assignee: NHK SPRING CO., LTD.
    Inventors: Hajime Arai, Futa Sasaki
  • Patent number: 9576602
    Abstract: A flexure for mounting a plurality of reproduction elements thereon includes a metal base and an interconnection part. The metal base includes a first area, and a second area in which a window portion is formed. The interconnection part includes an insulating layer including a first lane which covers the first area and a second lane which covers the second area, a write trace pair connected to a recording element, read trace pairs provided on the second lane to face the window portion and connected to reproduction elements, respectively, and a ground trace arranged between two adjacent read trace pairs and provided with grounding points at two end portions.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 14, 2016
    Date of Patent: February 21, 2017
    Assignee: NHK SPRING CO., LTD.
    Inventors: Hajime Arai, Futa Sasaki
  • Patent number: 9564155
    Abstract: A tail pad portion is provided in a flexure tail including a metal base and a conductive circuit portion. Tail terminals are arranged in the tail pad portion. The metal base is made of stainless steel, and includes a frame structure having a first frame and a second frame. An opening is formed between the first frame and the second frame. The tail terminals are arranged parallel to each other between the first frame and the second frame. A bridge portion is formed between the first frame and the second frame. The bridge portion includes at least one bridge element which is a part of the metal base. The bridge element is arranged at a position which overlaps at least one of the tail terminals in the thickness direction.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 30, 2015
    Date of Patent: February 7, 2017
    Assignee: NHK SPRING CO., LTD.
    Inventors: Hajime Arai, Futa Sasaki
  • Publication number: 20160336031
    Abstract: A flexure for mounting a plurality of reproduction elements thereon includes a metal base and an interconnection part. The metal base includes a first area, and a second area in which a window portion is formed. The interconnection part includes an insulating layer including a first lane which covers the first area and a second lane which covers the second area, a write trace pair connected to a recording element, read trace pairs provided on the second lane to face the window portion and connected to reproduction elements, respectively, and a ground trace arranged between two adjacent read trace pairs and provided with grounding points at two end portions.
    Type: Application
    Filed: April 14, 2016
    Publication date: November 17, 2016
    Applicant: NHK SPRING CO., LTD.
    Inventors: Hajime ARAI, Futa SASAKI
  • Patent number: 9449624
    Abstract: A tail pad portion is provided in a flexure tail including a metal base and a conductive circuit portion. Tail terminals are arranged in the tail pad portion. The metal base is made of stainless steel, and includes a frame structure having a first frame and a second frame. An opening is formed between the first frame and the second frame. The tail terminals are arranged parallel to each other between the first frame and the second frame. A bridge portion is formed between the first frame and the second frame. The bridge portion includes at least one bridge element which is a part of the metal base. The at least one bridge element is arranged at a position which does not overlap the tail terminals in the thickness direction.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 30, 2015
    Date of Patent: September 20, 2016
    Assignee: NHK SPRING CO., LTD.
    Inventors: Hajime Arai, Futa Sasaki
  • Publication number: 20160254013
    Abstract: A flexure of a disk drive suspension with a magnetic head having first and second elements. The flexure includes a metal base, a conductive circuit along the metal base, and a tail pad in a flexure tail of the flexure. The tail pad includes first and second frames with an opening therebetween; a first pair of tail terminals arranged between and insulated from the first and second frames, connected to the first element; a second pair of tail terminals arranged between and insulated from the first and second frames, connected to the second element; and a third pair of tail terminals arranged between and insulated from the first and second frames, connected to a third element. First, second and third bridge elements of the metal base are arranged between first tail terminals, second tail terminals, and third tail terminals, respectively. A first bridge-free opening portion is between the first and second tail terminals, and a second bridge-free opening portion is between the first and third tail terminals.
    Type: Application
    Filed: May 9, 2016
    Publication date: September 1, 2016
    Applicant: NHK SPRING CO., LTD.
    Inventors: Hajime ARAI, Futa SASAKI
  • Publication number: 20160012837
    Abstract: A tail pad portion is provided in a flexure tail including a metal base and a conductive circuit portion. Tail terminals are arranged in the tail pad portion. The metal base is made of stainless steel, and includes a frame structure having a first frame and a second frame. An opening is formed between the first frame and the second frame. The tail terminals are arranged parallel to each other between the first frame and the second frame. A bridge portion is formed between the first frame and the second frame. The bridge portion includes at least one bridge element which is a part of the metal base. The at least one bridge element is arranged at a position which does not overlap the tail terminals in the thickness direction.
    Type: Application
    Filed: June 30, 2015
    Publication date: January 14, 2016
    Applicant: NHK SPRING CO., LTD.
    Inventors: Hajime ARAI, Futa SASAKI
  • Publication number: 20160012839
    Abstract: A tail pad portion is provided in a flexure tail including a metal base and a conductive circuit portion. Tail terminals are arranged in the tail pad portion. The metal base is made of stainless steel, and includes a frame structure having a first frame and a second frame. An opening is formed between the first and second frames. The tail terminals are arranged parallel to each other between the first and second frames. A bridge portion is provided between the first and second frames. The bridge portion is constituted of at least one conductive bridge member, and arranged at a position which does not overlap the tail terminals. One end of the bridge member is connected to the first frame, and the other end of the bridge member is connected to the second frame.
    Type: Application
    Filed: June 30, 2015
    Publication date: January 14, 2016
    Applicant: NHK SPRING CO., LTD.
    Inventors: Hajime ARAI, Futa SASAKI
  • Publication number: 20160012838
    Abstract: A tail pad portion is provided in a flexure tail including a metal base and a conductive circuit portion. Tail terminals are arranged in the tail pad portion. The metal base is made of stainless steel, and includes a frame structure having a first frame and a second frame. An opening is formed between the first frame and the second frame. The tail terminals are arranged parallel to each other between the first frame and the second frame. A bridge portion is formed between the first frame and the second frame. The bridge portion includes at least one bridge element which is a part of the metal base. The bridge element is arranged at a position which overlaps at least one of the tail terminals in the thickness direction.
    Type: Application
    Filed: June 30, 2015
    Publication date: January 14, 2016
    Applicant: NHK SPRING CO., LTD.
    Inventors: Hajime ARAI, Futa SASAKI
  • Patent number: 9064516
    Abstract: A flexure tail is provided in a flexure including a metal base and a conductive circuit portion. The flexure tail includes a tail pad portion. In the tail pad portion, tail electrodes to are arranged. At the tail pad portion, a stub which remains after a test pad portion is cut off is formed. The stub includes conductors to which are left uncut. The conductors to which are left uncut are electrically connected to the tail electrodes to, respectively. The stub includes a bent portion. The bent portion is formed by bending a frame portion of the tail pad portion, and forms an angle of 30° or more with respect to a circuit board. The tail electrodes to are joined to terminals to of the circuit board.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 12, 2014
    Date of Patent: June 23, 2015
    Assignee: NHK SPRING CO., LTD.
    Inventors: Hajime Arai, Futa Sasaki
  • Publication number: 20150138675
    Abstract: A flexure tail is provided in a flexure including a metal base and a conductive circuit portion. The flexure tail includes a tail pad portion. In the tail pad portion, tail electrodes to are arranged. At the tail pad portion, a stub which remains after a test pad portion is cut off is formed. The stub includes conductors to which are left uncut. The conductors to which are left uncut are electrically connected to the tail electrodes to, respectively. The stub includes a bent portion. The bent portion is formed by bending a frame portion of the tail pad portion, and forms an angle of 30° or more with respect to a circuit board. The tail electrodes to are joined to terminals to of the circuit board.
    Type: Application
    Filed: November 12, 2014
    Publication date: May 21, 2015
    Applicant: NHK SPRING CO., LTD.
    Inventors: Hajime ARAI, Futa SASAKI