Abstract: This application discloses a hard disk drive, a head stack assembly, and a head gimbal assembly, each including a micro-actuator hinge configured to position a slider over a rotating disk surface with greater stroke sensitivity while reducing bending perpendicular to the disk surface. The micro-actuator hinge includes at least one micro-actuator, a hinge plate and at least one hinge plate cover, with the micro-actuator including a first region and a second region, each coupled between the hinge plate and the hinge plate cover.

Abstract: A hard disk drive with a disk base including a disk wall with a first intake, a second intake off of the first intake, an outlet and an air filter configured to receive a first airflow from the first intake and suction from a second airflow from the second intake creating negative pressure at a trapping surface of the air filter away from the outlet. At least one disk rotates to create a rotating disk surface generating airflow configured to enter the first intake to create the first airflow. A disk damper includes an enclosing wall neighboring the air filter to create a flow chamber providing a third airflow through the outlet formed of the first air flow crossing the trapping surface and the second air flow. A disk cover mounts on the disk base to encapsulate the air chamber. The disk base and disk damper are disclosed.

Abstract: Disclosed is a head gimbal assembly for a hard disk drive that includes a head pivotally connected to a flexure. The flexure has a longitudinal axis. The assembly includes first and second micro-actuators that are located between the flexure and the head and spaced from the longitudinal axis. By way of example, the first and second micro-actuators may be thin piezo-electric transducers. Control signals can be provided to the micro-actuators to vary the pitch and/or roll of the head.

Abstract: A hard disk drive is disclosed including at least one air filter mounted on a shroud wall of the base and at least two disk dampers where at least one disk damper covers a fraction of the maximal covering angle configured with the air filter to optimize both the air filter and disk dampening. Methods of manufacturing the hard disk drive are also disclosed.

Abstract: A region of flexure layer, including slider mounting face coupled to offset mounting face for at least one piezoelectric device. The offset mounting face for piezoelectric device provides asymmetry between first contact region and second contact region based upon notch and slot. This is cost effective, reliable support for piezoelectric devices used for micro-actuation in hard disk drives. The slider moves based upon asymmetry of the offset mounting face coupled to the piezoelectric device twisting the slider mounting face. The invention includes flexure containing the region of the flexure layer. The invention includes head gimbal assembly including flexure, actuator arm including head gimbal assembly, and actuator assembly including actuator arm, and hard disk drive including actuator assembly. The invention includes manufacturing the region, the flexure, the head gimbal assembly, the actuator arm, the actuator assembly and the hard disk drive, as well as these products of the manufacturing processes.

Abstract: Micro-actuator assembly including micro-actuator mount coupled to micro-actuator bridge to provide merged footprint with slider and micro-actuator bridge gap. Flexure finger including micro-actuator assembly for coupling to slider. Head gimbal assembly including flexure finger coupled to the slider. A head stack assembly including at least one of the head gimbal assemblies coupled to a head stack. Hard disk drive including head stack assembly. The invention includes manufacturing the micro-actuator assembly, the flexure finger, the head gimbal assembly, the head stack assembly, and the hard disk drive, as well as these items as products of the invention's manufacturing processes.

Abstract: A region of flexure layer, including slider mounting face coupled to offset mounting face for at least one piezoelectric device. The offset mounting face for piezoelectric device provides asymmetry between first contact region and second contact region based upon notch and slot. This is cost effective, reliable support for piezoelectric devices used for micro-actuation in hard disk drives. The slider moves based upon asymmetry of the offset mounting face coupled to the piezoelectric device twisting the slider mounting face. The invention includes flexure containing the region of the flexure layer. The invention includes head gimbal assembly including flexure, actuator arm including head gimbal assembly, and actuator assembly including actuator arm, and hard disk drive including actuator assembly. The invention includes manufacturing the region, the flexure, the head gimbal assembly, the actuator arm, the actuator assembly and the hard disk drive, as well as these products of the manufacturing processes.

Abstract: A hard disk drive with a disk base including a disk wall with a first intake, a second intake off of the first intake, an outlet and an air filter configured to receive a first airflow from the first intake and suction from a second airflow from the second intake creating negative pressure at a trapping surface of the air filter away from the outlet. At least one disk rotates to create a rotating disk surface generating airflow configured to enter the first intake to create the first airflow. A disk damper includes an enclosing wall neighboring the air filter to create a flow chamber providing a third airflow through the outlet formed of the first air flow crossing the trapping surface and the second air flow. A disk cover mounts on the disk base to encapsulate the air chamber. The disk base and disk damper are disclosed.

Abstract: Disclosed is a head gimbal assembly for a hard disk drive that includes a head pivotally connected to a flexure. The flexure has a longitudinal axis. The assembly includes first and second micro-actuators that are located between the flexure and the head and spaced from the longitudinal axis. By way of example, the first and second micro-actuators may be thin piezo-electric transducers. Control signals can be provided to the micro-actuators to vary the pitch and/or roll of the head.

Abstract: The invention includes a disk damper containing an extended area located on the upstream side of the head stack assembly. The extended area is joined to a tail section. In the extended area, the disk damper provides a wall near the neighboring rotating disk surface that extends from the outside diameter to the inside diameter of the rotating disk surface. Experimental results have shown that this provides much more consistent dampening of disk vibrations and vibrations of a head stack assembly positioned anywhere from the inside diameter to the outside diameter. The hard disk drive including the disk damper. Using the disk damper in a hard disk drive to improve the reliability of the hard disk drive during track following. Making the hard disk drive using the disk damper, and the hard disk drive as a product of that manufacturing process.

Abstract: This application discloses a hard disk drive, a head stack assembly, and a head gimbal assembly, each including a micro-actuator hinge configured to position a slider over a rotating disk surface with greater stroke sensitivity while reducing bending perpendicular to the disk surface. The micro-actuator hinge includes at least one micro-actuator, a hinge plate and at least one hinge plate cover, with the micro-actuator including a first region and a second region, each coupled between the hinge plate and the hinge plate cover.

Abstract: A piezoelectric sensor-actuator, including a piezoelectric sensor bonded through non-conductive adhesive to a piezoelectric actuator to determine the pressure and/or temperature near the coupled slider. The piezoelectric actuator contributes to slider positioning. The piezoelectric sensor determines the experienced stress-strain. The hard disk drive uses the piezoelectric sensor-actuator creates a stress-strain measurement, a sensor spectrum, deriving the temperature estimate and/or the pressure estimate from said sensor spectrum, and operating at least one positioning control group member based upon the temperature estimate and/or pressure estimate. The micro-actuator containing at least one of the piezoelectric sensor-actuators, flexure finger, head gimbal assembly, head stack assembly, an actuator assembly, an embedded circuit, and the hard disk drive.

Abstract: A hard disk drive is disclosed including at least one air filter mounted on a shroud wall of the base and at least two disk dampers where at least one disk damper covers a fraction of the maximal covering angle configured with the air filter to optimize both the air filter and disk dampening. Methods of manufacturing the hard disk drive are also disclosed.

Abstract: A hard disk drive that includes an optical pick-up coupled to a head of a hard disk assembly (“HDA”). The head is located adjacent to a disk. The optical pick-up can sense the surface of the disk by detecting light reflected from the surface. The optical pick-up is coupled to a particle circuit that can distinguish between an embedded particle and a floating particle from the reflected light.

Abstract: A region of flexure layer, including slider mounting face coupled to offset mounting face for at least one piezoelectric device. The offset mounting face for piezoelectric device provides asymmetry between first contact region and second contact region. This is cost effective, reliable support for piezoelectric devices used for micro-actuation in hard disk drives. The slider moves based upon asymmetry of the offset mounting face coupled to the piezoelectric device twisting the slider mounting face. The invention includes flexure containing the region of the flexure layer. The invention includes head gimbal assembly including flexure, actuator arm including head gimbal assembly, and actuator assembly including actuator arm, and hard disk drive including actuator assembly. The invention includes manufacturing the region, the flexure, the head gimbal assembly, the actuator arm, the actuator assembly and the hard disk drive, as well as these products of the manufacturing processes.

Abstract: A magnetic head follows a track in a hard disk drive as positioned by micro-actuator and voice coil motor. Embodiments operate two control paths. The micro-actuator control path generates a version of micro-actuator control signal stimulating the micro-actuator. The voice coil motor control path generates a version of voice coil control signal, amplified based upon tuning gain to stimulate voice coil motor. A decoupling feedback filter decouples these control paths, using the micro-actuator control signal version. Either control path may include a notch filter. A track following command, with PES removed, directs the micro-actuator control. The servo-controller may digitally support the invention, which may include the servo-controller program system. An implementation may be optimized within a hard disk drive, possibly as part of the manufacturing process. The hard disk drive is a product of that process.

Abstract: A method and its implementation as a program system are disclosed herein for generating an air flow report based upon a cellular model of the air flow of a hard disk drive including a parameterized component approximated by a component parameter list and a map of the partitioned regions of the hard disk drive. The air flow report is generated based upon the cellular model and a partition/region map. The partition/region map lumps the simulation domain into a small number of regions and then calculates the fluxes across boundaries of the regions. These fluxes accumulate the results of many individual cells, averaging out small variations caused by rounding and/or the convergence properties of the specific cellular approach used. A simulation figure of merit is calculated from the air flow report that further refines the accuracy, effectively removing even more noise.

Abstract: Method of estimating the stroke sensitivity of micro-actuator coupled with slider and its read-write head. Micro-actuator stimulus signal used to drive micro-actuator, inducing noise into lateral positioning of read-write head near track by voice coil motor to create PES. Lateral position noise derived from Position Error Signal. Stroke sensitivity estimated from lateral position noise and micro-actuator stimulus signal. Apparatus supporting method estimating stroke sensitivity: servo controller, embedded circuit including servo-controller, and hard disk drive may include servo-controller and/or embedded circuit. Method making servo-controller, embedded circuit, and/or hard disk drive. Servo-controller, embedded circuit, and hard disk drive are products of these processes.

Abstract: A slider, flexure finger, head suspension assembly, head gimbal assembly, main flex circuit, actuator assembly, spindle motor, embedded circuit, and hard disk drive using and/or supporting method of estimating flying height of read-write head near rotating disk surface. Method senses leakage current between slider and spindle motor to create potential difference measurement, and converts potential difference measurement to create estimate of flying height. Method controlling flying height using method for estimating by adjusting vertical actuation signal to micro-actuator assembly. The invention includes methods of manufacturing and their products.

Abstract: A slider cradle for lateral positioning slider near rotating disk surface in hard disk drive, consisting essentially of piezoelectric micro-actuator coupling to slider cradle blank, further including piezoelectric micro-actuator coupling to first slider mount arm near slider mount and near slider mount base. A head gimbal assembly including slider cradle coupling to slider, flexure finger, and flexure finger electrically coupling to piezoelectric contacts. An actuator arm coupling to at least one head gimbal assembly. An actuator assembly, comprising voice coil coupling to at least one actuator arm. A hard disk drive containing actuator assembly. The invention includes a method of making slider cradle blank and slider cradle. The products of this process. Making head gimbal assembly, actuator assembly and hard disk drive using the invention's components. The head gimbal assembly, the actuator assembly, and the hard disk drive are products of these processes.