Patents by Inventor John R. Shelor

John R. Shelor 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).

  • Patent number: 8125741
    Abstract: A rotational, shear mode, piezoelectric motor is integrated with a suspension, head or head gimbal assembly (HGA) into a collocated, rotational, shear mode, piezoelectric micro-actuated suspension, head or head gimbal assembly (HGA) for use in disk drives and disk drive manufacturing equipment. When excited by a control voltage, the collocated, shear mode, piezoelectric micro-actuated HGA rotates the head enabling high frequency, high resolution track positioning of the read/write element. The motor is integrated with the head and flexure (collocation). The head rotates about a rotation axis that is ideally located at the center of mass of the head. A shear mode piezoelectric motor rotates the head. A collocated, rotational, shear mode, piezoelectric micro-actuated HGA has high stiffness, high frequency response, high positioning resolution, low mass and low internal vibration for improved tracking, increased track density and greater disk drive storage capacity.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 20, 2007
    Date of Patent: February 28, 2012
    Assignee: Magnecomp Corporation
    Inventor: John R. Shelor
  • Patent number: 7940490
    Abstract: An apparatus and a method for improving bandwidth of a fine positioning mechanism in data storage manufacturing and test equipment that require fine positioning of a head on or about a track. The method comprises the steps of sensing separate sources of mechanical disturbance that mis-position the head with one or more non-contact position sensors, generating a compensating position control signal from one or more input signals, and positioning the head with a fine positioning mechanism and position control signal. The apparatus uses a shear mode micro-actuator as a fine positioning mechanism.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 26, 2008
    Date of Patent: May 10, 2011
    Assignee: Magnecomp Corporation
    Inventor: John R. Shelor
  • Publication number: 20090268326
    Abstract: An apparatus and a method for improving bandwidth of a fine positioning mechanism in data storage manufacturing and test equipment that require fine positioning of a head on or about a track. The method comprises the steps of sensing separate sources of mechanical disturbance that mis-position the head with one or more non-contact position sensors, generating a compensating position control signal from one or more input signals, and positioning the head with a fine positioning mechanism and position control signal. The apparatus uses a shear mode micro-actuator as a fine positioning mechanism.
    Type: Application
    Filed: April 26, 2008
    Publication date: October 29, 2009
    Inventor: John R. Shelor
  • Publication number: 20090021857
    Abstract: A rotational, shear mode, piezoelectric motor is integrated with a suspension, head or head gimbal assembly (HGA) into a collocated, rotational, shear mode, piezoelectric micro-actuated suspension, head or head gimbal assembly (HGA) for use in disk drives and disk drive manufacturing equipment. When excited by a control voltage, the collocated, shear mode, piezoelectric micro-actuated HGA rotates the head enabling high frequency, high resolution track positioning of the read/write element. The motor is integrated with the head and flexure (collocation). The head rotates about a rotation axis that is ideally located at the center of mass of the head. A shear mode piezoelectric motor rotates the head. A collocated, rotational, shear mode, piezoelectric micro-actuated HGA has high stiffness, high frequency response, high positioning resolution, low mass and low internal vibration for improved tracking, increased track density and greater disk drive storage capacity.
    Type: Application
    Filed: July 20, 2007
    Publication date: January 22, 2009
    Inventor: John R. Shelor
  • Patent number: 5517111
    Abstract: A preprogrammed controller, preferably a stored program computer such as an IBM PC computer, is programmed to automatically control all the steps in the testing of a MR reproduce head. First, the magnitude of the sense current is established by command of the controller, and a voltage proportional to the sense current flowing in the head is monitored by the controller. An electromagnet, having high permeability pole pieces, and whose current is programmed by the controller provides a the magnetic field for exciting the MR head. The MR device is placed on an measured magnetic equipotential of the field of the electromagnet, and a Hall sensor magnetic detector is placed on the same magnetic equipotential line but in a different physical position from the MR device. The output of the Hall sensor is fed into the preamplifier electronics, digitized by a converter and this digital output is stored in the controller memory for future processing.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 16, 1995
    Date of Patent: May 14, 1996
    Assignee: Phase Metrics
    Inventor: John R. Shelor
  • Patent number: 4972284
    Abstract: A previously disclosed "C" shaped thin film deposited permanent magnetic structure of essentially symmetrical form is designed to provide a planar region of transverse field with little or no longitudinal field component. Practice of the present invention teaches asymmetrically modifying the "C" shaped magnet to restore a small controlled amount of unidirectional longitudinal field component. The symmetry is broken by either angling the direction of magnetization of the magnet relative to the symmetric geometric form of the structure, or by angling the direction of the magnetization and also changing the geometric shape of the magnet from a "C" shape to an "L" shape.The resultant field distribution of the deposited asymmetrical magnetic structure produces a magnetic field of sufficient strength for biasing the hard axis of a coplanarly deposited MR element with an additional relatively smaller magnitude unidirectional easy axis field for longitudinally biasing it.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 3, 1989
    Date of Patent: November 20, 1990
    Assignee: Eastman Kodak Company
    Inventors: Neil Smith, John R. Shelor