Patents by Inventor Luis P. Franco

Luis P. Franco 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: 6014288
    Abstract: For use in a disk drive, a head comprising a slider having a bottom air bearing surface, a leading edge and a trailing edge; a magnetic transducer mounted by the slider at the trailing edge of the slider; and a protective overcoat adhered to the air bearing surface of the slider and having a leading edge and a trailing edge. The trailing edge of the protective overcoat being spaced from the trailing edge of the slider such that the minimum distance from the slider to the surface of a disk in the disk drive is between the magnetic transducer and the disk surface.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 9, 1997
    Date of Patent: January 11, 2000
    Assignee: Seagate Technology, Inc.
    Inventors: Ellis Taeho Cha, Jia-Kuen Jerry Lee, Luis P. Franco, Michael L. Workman
  • Patent number: 5985163
    Abstract: For use in a disk drive, a head comprising a slider having a bottom air bearing surface, a leading edge and a trailing edge; a magnetic transducer mounted by the slider at the trailing edge of the slider; and a protective overcoat adhered to the air bearing surface of the slider and having a leading edge and a trailing edge. The trailing edge of the protective overcoat being spaced from the trailing edge of the slider such that the minimum distance from the slider to the surface of a disk in the disk drive is between the magnetic transducer and the disk surface. A method for manufacturing a slider with an overcoat spaced from the trailing edge of the slider includes applying a carbon overcoat to the entire bottom air bearing surface, masking, and oxygen plasma etching exposed portions of the overcoated.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 11, 1997
    Date of Patent: November 16, 1999
    Assignee: Seagate Technology, Inc.
    Inventors: Ellis Taeho Cha, Jia-Kuen Jerry Lee, Luis P. Franco, Michael L. Workman
  • Patent number: 5418667
    Abstract: A data recording disk drive has an improved head-disk interface provided by a transducer carrier which is essentially a low-flying air-bearing slider that is also able to be in contact and near contact with the lubricant film on the disk. The slider has a front air-bearing surface in the form of a pair of equally-spaced air-bearing pads, a rear air-bearing pad, and a central nonair-bearing recessed surface which separates the front and rear air-bearing pads. The two front pads have a surface area greater than that of the rear pad and thus provide a positive pitch up of the slider. This causes the rear pad to also be pitched up so that air can flow beneath the rear pad to generate an air bearing in the rear portion of the slider. The presence of the central nonair-bearing region eliminates any lift in the central part of the slider, which allows for the low-flying height. The flying height of the rear pad of the slider above the disk is controlled by the width of the rear air-bearing pad.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 3, 1993
    Date of Patent: May 23, 1995
    Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
    Inventors: George L. Best, Moris M. Dovek, John S. Foster, Luis P. Franco, Randall T. Kerth
  • Patent number: 5388017
    Abstract: A contact start/stop (CSS) disk file has an improved head-disk interface which has significantly reduced static friction between the head-supporting slider and the disk. The slider has a plurality of narrow skids which project from the air-bearing surface of the slider and support the air-bearing surface off the disk when the disk file is not operating. The skids are designed to not affect the flyability of the slider and contain a protective overcoat to minimize wear at the head-disk interface.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 3, 1994
    Date of Patent: February 7, 1995
    Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
    Inventors: Luis P. Franco, Andrew M. Homola, Leela Viswanathan
  • Patent number: 5285337
    Abstract: A data recording disk file of the liquid-bearing type has an improved head-disk interface provided by a transducer carrier with new properties. The carrier supports a conventional head for reading and writing data to the disk. The carrier has an air-bearing surface near its front end, a ski pad near its rear end, and a plurality of ski feet or struts which support the air-bearing surface off the liquid film of the disk when the disk file is not operating. The air-bearing surface is in the form of a pair of air-bearing rails located forward and outboard of the rear ski pad so that no air-bearing effect occurs in the rearward region of the carrier to assure the skiing action of the rear ski pad. The struts are separated from the air-bearing rails to not interfere with their air-bearing performance and support the rails away from the liquid film on the disk.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 30, 1992
    Date of Patent: February 8, 1994
    Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
    Inventors: George L. Best, Moris M. Dovek, John S. Foster, Luis P. Franco, Andrew M. Homola
  • Patent number: 5151294
    Abstract: A method is described for depositing a thin protective carbon film on the air bearing surface of a slider in a magnetic recording disk file. A disk file with a conventional slider and a disk with an essentially carbon protective overcoat is cycled on and off at a frequency such that the slider is maintained in contact with the disk. Alternatively, the disk is rotated at a low constant speed so that the slider is maintained in contact with the disk. In both cases, carbon is transferred from the carbon overcoated disk to the air bearing surface of the slider such that during subsequent operation of the disk file, the disk file has excellent durability, especially when operated at relatively low humidity, as is required in those disk files which use a magnetoresistive sensor on the slider.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 19, 1991
    Date of Patent: September 29, 1992
    Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
    Inventors: Herman E. Bleich, Luis P. Franco, Ian L. Sanders