Patents by Inventor Karl Frank Beckle

Karl Frank Beckle 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).

  • System and method for rounding disk drive slider corners and/or edges using a flexible slider fixture, an abrasive element, and support elements to control slider orientation
    Patent number: 6926582
    Abstract: A system and method for burnishing the edges and corners of hard disk drive sliders uses a combination of flexible tape fixturing and mechanical protrusions located beneath the tape to systematically orient selected slider corners and edges to be exposed to an abrasive in a flexible manner. This solution carefully exposes the sliders even when there is very little clearance between the sliders. A variety of different rounding geometries are achieved by customizing the protrusions underneath the flexible tape. Multiple slider corners and/or edges are exposed to the abrasive at one time for bulk processing. The sliders are oriented in such a way that sensitive structures located on the air bearing surfaces of the sliders are not harmed during burnishing.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 16, 2002
    Date of Patent: August 9, 2005
    Assignee: Hitachi Global Storage Technologies Nethrlands B.V.
    Inventors: Karl Frank Beckle, Michael William Chaw, Richard H. Koch, Mark Clinton Thurber, Bruno Alejandro Valdes
  • System and method for rounding disk drive slider corners and/or edges using a flexible slider fixture, an abrasive element, and support elements to control slider orientation
    Publication number: 20030192167
    Abstract: A system and method for burnishing the edges and corners of hard disk drive sliders uses a combination of flexible tape fixturing and mechanical protrusions located beneath the tape to systematically orient selected slider corners and edges to be exposed to an abrasive in a flexible manner. This solution carefully exposes the sliders even when there is very little clearance between the sliders. A variety of different rounding geometries are achieved by customizing the protrusions underneath the flexible tape. Multiple slider corners and/or edges are exposed to the abrasive at one time for bulk processing. The sliders are oriented in such a way that sensitive structures located on the air bearing surfaces of the sliders are not harmed during burnishing.
    Type: Application
    Filed: April 16, 2002
    Publication date: October 16, 2003
    Applicant: International Business Machines Corporation
    Inventors: Karl Frank Beckle, Michael William Chaw, Richard H. Koch, Mark Clinton Thurber, Bruno Alejandro Valdes