Patents by Inventor Masaya Kudo

Masaya Kudo 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: 9245557
    Abstract: According to one embodiment, a head gimbal assembly includes a support plate, a wiring member including a thin metallic plate, an insulating layer and a conductive layer, the wiring member including a tongue portion located on a convex portion of the support plate, a proximal end portion fixed onto the support plate, and a bridge portion bridged between the tongue portion and the proximal end portion and including a inflection point with respect to a height direction of warping, a magnetic head attached to the tongue portion, and a piezoelectric element bonded to the bridge portion at a section between the proximal end portion and the inflection point.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 29, 2015
    Date of Patent: January 26, 2016
    Assignee: KABUSHIKI KAISHA TOSHIBA
    Inventors: Masaya Kudo, Yasutaka Sasaki, Takuma Kido
  • Patent number: 9245552
    Abstract: According to an embodiment, a head gimbal assembly includes a support plate, a wiring member, a magnetic head and drive members. A gimbal portion of the wiring member includes a thin metallic plate including a tongue portion mounted with a magnetic head, a proximal end portion fixed to the support plate, support projections, and link portions, an insulating layer including first bridge portions extending from the proximal end portion to the tongue portion, and second bridge portions extending from the proximal end portion to middle portions of the first bridges, and a conducive layer including signal wirings extending to the tongue portion through the second and first bridge portions, and reinforcement wiring portions. The drive members are provided at the first bridge portions.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 6, 2015
    Date of Patent: January 26, 2016
    Assignee: Kabushiki Kaisha Toshiba
    Inventors: Takuma Kido, Yasutaka Sasaki, Masaya Kudo
  • Patent number: 9196276
    Abstract: A head gimbal assembly includes a load beam, a wiring member including a metal plate disposed on the load beam, a magnetic head attached to a tip section of the wiring member, and a piezoelectric element that is fixed to and supported by supporting pads and deforms in response to a voltage applied thereto. The metal plate includes a tip section to which the magnetic head is fixed, and a base section that is spaced apart from the tip section and is fixed to the load beam. The supporting pads include first and second supporting pads proximate to the tip section and distal from the base section and a third supporting pad proximate to the base section and distal to the tip section, each of supporting pads separated from and independent of both the tip section and the base section.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 26, 2014
    Date of Patent: November 24, 2015
    Assignee: Kabushiki Kaisha Toshiba
    Inventor: Masaya Kudo
  • Publication number: 20150262600
    Abstract: According to one embodiment, a head gimbal assembly includes a support plate, a wiring member including a thin metallic plate, an insulating layer and a conductive layer, the wiring member including a tongue portion located on a convex portion of the support plate, a proximal end portion fixed onto the support plate, and a bridge portion bridged between the tongue portion and the proximal end portion and including a inflection point with respect to a height direction of warping, a magnetic head attached to the tongue portion, and a piezoelectric element bonded to the bridge portion at a section between the proximal end portion and the inflection point.
    Type: Application
    Filed: May 29, 2015
    Publication date: September 17, 2015
    Inventors: Masaya KUDO, Yasutaka SASAKI, Takuma KIDO
  • Publication number: 20150243309
    Abstract: According to an embodiment, a head gimbal assembly includes a support plate, a wiring member, a magnetic head and drive members. A gimbal portion of the wiring member includes a thin metallic plate including a tongue portion mounted with a magnetic head, a proximal end portion fixed to the support plate, support projections, and link portions, an insulating layer including first bridge portions extending from the proximal end portion to the tongue portion, and second bridge portions extending from the proximal end portion to middle portions of the first bridges, and a conducive layer including signal wirings extending to the tongue portion through the second and first bridge portions, and reinforcement wiring portions. The drive members are provided at the first bridge portions.
    Type: Application
    Filed: February 6, 2015
    Publication date: August 27, 2015
    Inventors: Takuma Kido, Yasutaka Sasaki, Masaya Kudo
  • Patent number: 9064510
    Abstract: According to one embodiment, a suspension assembly includes a support plate including a distal end portion, a trace member attached to the support plate, an elastic supporting member made from a distal end portion of the trace member and configured to support a head, and an actuation element expandable/contractible in the longitudinal direction of the trace member, at least a part of a bottom of which is adhered to a seating surface formed from a cover insulating layer of the trace member.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 23, 2014
    Date of Patent: June 23, 2015
    Assignee: Kabushiki Kaisha Toshiba
    Inventors: Takafumi Kikuchi, Yasutaka Sasaki, Takuma Kido, Kenichiro Aoki, Masaya Kudo
  • Patent number: 9047896
    Abstract: According to one embodiment, a head gimbal assembly includes a support plate, a wiring member including a thin metallic plate, an insulating layer and a conductive layer, the wiring member including a tongue portion located on a convex portion of the support plate, a proximal end portion fixed onto the support plate, and a bridge portion bridged between the tongue portion and the proximal end portion and including a inflection point with respect to a height direction of warping, a magnetic head attached to the tongue portion, and a piezoelectric element bonded to the bridge portion at a section between the proximal end portion and the inflection point.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 10, 2014
    Date of Patent: June 2, 2015
    Assignee: KABUSHIKI KAISHA TOSHIBA
    Inventors: Masaya Kudo, Yasutaka Sasaki, Takuma Kido
  • Publication number: 20150138669
    Abstract: A head gimbal assembly includes a load beam, a wiring member including a metal plate disposed on the load beam, a magnetic head attached to a tip section of the wiring member, and a piezoelectric element that is fixed to and supported by supporting pads and deforms in response to a voltage applied thereto. The metal plate includes a tip section to which the magnetic head is fixed, and a base section that is spaced apart from the tip section and is fixed to the load beam. The supporting pads include first and second supporting pads proximate to the tip section and distal from the base section and a third supporting pad proximate to the base section and distal to the tip section, each of supporting pads separated from and independent of both the tip section and the base section.
    Type: Application
    Filed: February 26, 2014
    Publication date: May 21, 2015
    Applicant: KABUSHIKI KAISHA TOSHIBA
    Inventor: Masaya KUDO
  • Patent number: 8988831
    Abstract: According to an embodiment, a head gimbal assembly includes a support plate, a wiring member, a magnetic head and drive members. A gimbal portion of the wiring member includes a thin metallic plate including a tongue portion mounted with a magnetic head, a proximal end portion fixed to the support plate, support projections, and link portions, an insulating layer including first bridge portions extending from the proximal end portion to the tongue portion, and second bridge portions extending from the proximal end portion to middle portions of the first bridges, and a conducive layer including signal wirings extending to the tongue portion through the second and first bridge portions, and reinforcement wiring portions. The drive members are provided at the first bridge portions.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 10, 2014
    Date of Patent: March 24, 2015
    Assignee: Kabushiki Kaisha Toshiba
    Inventors: Takuma Kido, Yasutaka Sasaki, Masaya Kudo
  • Patent number: 8885294
    Abstract: According to one embodiment, a head gimbal assembly includes a load beam, a base plate fixed to a proximal-end portion of the load beam, a flexure attached to the load beam and the base plate, a gimbal portion formed of a distal-end portion of the flexure positioned on a distal-end portion of the load beam, a magnetic head attached to the gimbal portion, and electrically connected to the traces of the flexure, a concave portion formed in the gimbal portion, and concaved toward the thin metallic plate side, and a piezoelectric element arranged in the concave portion, fixed on a bottom of the concave portion, and configured to expand/contract in a longitudinal direction of the flexure by application of a voltage thereto.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 9, 2013
    Date of Patent: November 11, 2014
    Assignee: Kabushiki Kaisha Toshiba
    Inventor: Masaya Kudo
  • Publication number: 20140168815
    Abstract: According to one embodiment, a head gimbal assembly includes a load beam, a base plate fixed to a proximal-end portion of the load beam, a flexure attached to the load beam and the base plate, a gimbal portion formed of a distal-end portion of the flexure positioned on a distal-end portion of the load beam, a magnetic head attached to the gimbal portion, and electrically connected to the traces of the flexure, a concave portion formed in the gimbal portion, and concaved toward the thin metallic plate side, and a piezoelectric element arranged in the concave portion, fixed on a bottom of the concave portion, and configured to expand/contract in a longitudinal direction of the flexure by application of a voltage thereto.
    Type: Application
    Filed: December 9, 2013
    Publication date: June 19, 2014
    Applicant: KABUSHIKI KAISHA TOSHIBA
    Inventor: Masaya Kudo
  • Publication number: 20140168814
    Abstract: According to one embodiment, a head gimbal assembly includes a load beam, a base plate fixed to a proximal-end portion of the load beam, a flexure attached to the load beam and the base plate, a gimbal portion formed of a distal-end portion of the flexure positioned on a distal-end portion of the load beam, a magnetic head attached to the gimbal portion, and electrically connected to the traces of the flexure, a concave portion formed in the gimbal portion, and concaved toward the thin metallic plate side, and a piezoelectric element arranged in the concave portion, fixed on a bottom of the concave portion, and configured to expand/contract in a longitudinal direction of the flexure by application of a voltage thereto.
    Type: Application
    Filed: May 23, 2013
    Publication date: June 19, 2014
    Applicant: KABUSHIKI KAISHA TOSHIBA
    Inventor: Masaya Kudo
  • Publication number: 20100157481
    Abstract: According to one embodiment, a magnetic disk drive includes a magnetic disk including a recording surface, a head gimbal assembly including a slider in which a head is incorporated and a tab, and a ramp in a vicinity of the magnetic disk, the ramp including a first counter surface opposed to a peripheral part of the magnetic disk, a second counter surface opposed to an edge surface of the magnetic disk, and a ramp edge, in which the ramp includes a part of a side surface which is adjacent to the first counter surface and faces to a rotating direction of the magnetic disk, and is recessed toward a downstream side in the rotating direction of the magnetic disk, and the part of the side surface which is recessed and a tangent line to an outer circumference of the magnetic disk form an acute angle.
    Type: Application
    Filed: December 21, 2009
    Publication date: June 24, 2010
    Applicant: KABUSHIKI KAISHA TOSHIBA
    Inventor: Masaya KUDO
  • Publication number: 20090002892
    Abstract: According to one embodiment, a head support mechanism includes a plate-shaped arm, a load beam in the form of an elongated plate having a distal end portion on which a head is supported and a proximal end portion spaced from the distal end portion; and a hinge plate which connects the arm and the proximal end portion of the load beam and has a load bending portion which is subjected to bending work and applies a predetermined load to the head. The load beam includes a sub-bent portion which is less stiff than any other parts of the load beam, and the hinge plate includes a traverse portion which is fixed overlapping the sub-bent portion on the load beam and configured to adjust the stiffness of the sub-bent portion.
    Type: Application
    Filed: June 24, 2008
    Publication date: January 1, 2009
    Applicant: KABUSHIKI KAISHA TOSHIBA
    Inventor: Masaya Kudo