Patents by Inventor Richard S. Weir

Richard S. Weir 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).

  • Method for making titanium or titanium-alloy substrate for magnetic-recording media
    Patent number: 5961792
    Abstract: An improved magnetic-recording disk and a process for manufacturing magnetic-recording disks are disclosed. Precision cold-rolled titanium or titanium alloy is the substrate for a magnetic-recording disk. The surface of the substrate may be hardened by plasma nitriding, plasma carburizing, or plasma carbonitriding. A hard coating may be applied to the substrate by evaporative reactive ion plating or reactive sputtering of aluminum nitride, silicon nitride, silicon carbide, or nitrides, carbides, or borides of titanium, zirconium, hafnium, vanadium, niobium, tantalum, chromium, molybdenum, or tungsten.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 18, 1997
    Date of Patent: October 5, 1999
    Assignee: Tulip Memory Systems, Inc.
    Inventors: Carl W. Nelson, Richard D. Weir, Richard S. Weir
  • Method for making ceramic substrates for magnetic-recording media
    Patent number: 5855951
    Abstract: An improved magnetic-recording disk and a process for manufacturing magnetic-recording disks are disclosed. An electrically conductive hard coating is deposited upon a ceramic substrate. This coating can be one from the group including the nitrides, carbides, and borides of titanium, zirconium, hafnium, vanadium, niobium, tantalum, chromium, molybdenum, or tungsten. Graded interfacial diffusion or pseudo-diffusion layers are formed between the ceramic substrate and the coating by the elemental metal present in the coating. Magnetic-recording media is then deposited upon the electrically conductive coating. Optionally, a texturable coating that is softer than the hard coating can be placed over the electrically conductive hard coating before the magnetic-recording media is deposited. This texturable coating limits the depth to which abrasive tape texturing can take place.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 18, 1997
    Date of Patent: January 5, 1999
    Assignee: Tulip Memory Systems, Inc.
    Inventors: Carl W. Nelson, Richard D. Weir, Richard S. Weir
  • Titanium or titanium-alloy substrate for magnetic-recording media
    Patent number: 5707705
    Abstract: An improved magnetic-recording disk and a process for manufacturing magnetic-recording disks are disclosed. Precision cold-rolled titanium or titanium alloy is the substrate for a magnetic-recording disk. The surface of the substrate may be hardened by plasma nitriding, plasma carburizing, or plasma carbonitriding. A hard coating may be applied to the substrate by evaporative reactive ion plating or reactive sputtering of aluminum nitride, silicon nitride, silicon carbide, or nitrides, carbides, or borides of titanium, zirconium, hafnium, vanadium, niobium, tantalum, chromium, molybdenum, or tungsten.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 8, 1993
    Date of Patent: January 13, 1998
    Assignee: Tulip Memory Systems, Inc.
    Inventors: Carl W. Nelson, Richard D. Weir, Richard S. Weir
  • Magnetic recording medium having a ceramic substrate, an underlayer having a dense fibrous zone T structure, and a magnetic layer
    Patent number: 5681635
    Abstract: An improved magnetic-recording disk and a process for manufacturing magnetic-recording disks are disclosed. An electrically conductive hard coating is deposited upon a ceramic substrate. This coating can be one from the group including the nitrides, carbides, and borides of titanium, zirconium, hafnium, vanadium, niobium, tantalum, chromium, molybdenum, or tungsten. Graded interfacial diffusion or pseudo-diffusion layers are formed between the ceramic substrate and the coating by the elemental metal present in the coating. Magnetic-recording media is then deposited upon the electrically conductive coating. Optionally, a texturable coating that is softer than the hard coating can be placed over the electrically conductive hard coating before the magnetic-recording media is deposited. This texturable coating limits the depth to which abrasive tape texturing can take place.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 20, 1994
    Date of Patent: October 28, 1997
    Assignee: Tulip Memory Systems, Inc.
    Inventors: Carl W. Nelson, Richard D. Weir, Richard S. Weir
  • Austenitic stainless steel substrate for magnetic-recording media
    Patent number: 5536549
    Abstract: An improved magnetic-recording disk and a process for manufacturing magnetic-recording disks are disclosed. A precision cold-rolled austenitic stainless steel is the substrate for a magnetic-recording disk. The surface of the substrate may be hardened by plasma nitriding, plasma carburizing, or plasma carbonitriding. A hard coating may be applied to the substrate by evaporative reactive ion plating or reactive sputtering of aluminum nitride, silicon nitride, silicon carbide, or nitrides, carbides, or borides of titanium, zirconium, hafnium, vanadium, niobium, tantalum, chromium, molybdenum, or tungsten.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 2, 1993
    Date of Patent: July 16, 1996
    Assignee: Tulip Memory Systems, Inc.
    Inventors: Carl W. Nelson, Richard D. Weir, Richard S. Weir