Abstract: A pivoting, passive servo controlled, self propelled and tangentially tracking tone arm, featuring a floating head shell/transducer assembly that tracks the groove in a disk-record independently of the tone arm itself and utilizing the so-called inward force to propel the tone arm across the disk record.

Abstract: According to one embodiment, a magnetic disk device includes a magnetic disk, a magnetic head, a sensor, a non-volatile semiconductor storage device, and a controller. The magnetic head performs writing and reading to and from the magnetic disk. The sensor detects a degree of a physical influence applied from an outside. The controller generates a log when a detection value detected by the sensor satisfies a condition for abnormality determination, and stores the log in the non-volatile semiconductor storage device in response to generation of the log.

Abstract: Provided is an object lens driving device that includes a wire holder coupled to a support portion and on which an end of a plurality of suspension wires are fixed. The wire holder includes a first area supported on the support portion and a second area extending from the first area and on which the end of each of the plurality of suspension wires is fixed. In this example, a thickness of the second area is thinner than a thickness of the first area.

Abstract: A disk device includes a frame, an optical pickup and a shock absorbing component. The frame has a receiving component. The optical pickup is slidable with respect to the frame. The shock absorbing component is fixedly coupled to the optical pickup and arranged to selectively contact the receiving component of the frame. The shock absorbing component includes a support portion and a spring piece. The spring piece has a first end portion that is fixedly coupled to the optical pickup and a second end portion that is spaced from the support portion in an unloaded rest state and that contacts the support portion to support the spring piece at both the first and second end portions with respect to the optical pickup when the spring piece is pushed by the receiving component of the frame to a loaded state.

Abstract: A magnetic disk device including a disk, a spindle motor, a base for supporting the spindle motor and the disk, a slider includes a head element. The device also includes an actuator including arms for supporting the slider and a coil of a voice coil motor for rotating the arms, wherein a first natural bending frequency of the coil is less than a first natural bending frequency of the arms.

Abstract: A voice-coil motor (VCM) with voice coils configured to reduce vibrations of a head when data is accessed on a disk in a disk drive. The VCM includes at least one VCM magnet and a voice-coil assembly. The voice-coil assembly includes a first voice coil and at least a second voice coil. The first voice coil is disposed in proximity to a magnetic pole of the at least one voice-coil-motor magnet. The second voice coil is disposed in close proximity to the first voice coil such that the first voice coil substantially overlays the second voice coil. The first voice coil and the second voice coil are configured to reduce vibrations of the head when data is accessed on a disk in the disk drive. A rotary actuator including the voice coils and a disk drive including the VCM are also provided.

Abstract: As a measure against vibration caused by disturbance due to mass eccentricity of a disc, a conventional disc device has a means to add an auxiliary mass that passively operates. This method has no way to enhance vibration damping effect other than setting the auxiliary mass to be large, and therefore there is a problem that the device becomes large. An auxiliary mass 300 is actively driven by an auxiliary mass driving portion 360. The driving of the auxiliary mass 300 is performed by amplifying a signal corresponding to a force transmitted from a main frame portion 100 to the auxiliary mass 300. This achieves a vibration damping effect using the small auxiliary mass 300 to the same degree as that where the large auxiliary mass is mounted.

Abstract: Embodiments of a computer system that includes a vibration-cancelling mode, and a related method and computer-program product (e.g., software) for use with the computer system, are described. During operation, a processor monitors operations in the computer system, and may select either the vibration-cancelling mode or an inactive mode based on the monitored operations. For example, the processor may select the vibration-cancelling mode when there are input/output-(I/O) intensive workloads to an array of one or more hard disk drives (HDDs) in the computer system. In this way, the processor may reduce the energy consumption associated with vibration-induced retries to the HDDs (and reduced I/O throughput) without increasing the energy consumption associated with active vibration damping at other times, such as when the computer system is idle or during processor-intensive workloads.

Abstract: An apparatus for vibration reduction in a hard disk drive, the hard disk drive comprising at least one hard disk and at least one actuator arm. The apparatus comprises a flow mitigating device disposed on the at least one actuator arm, the flow mitigating device comprising at least one surface being inclined with respect to a reference plane of the actuator arm to generate streamwise vortices for interacting with and weakening vortex structures generated at a trailing edge of the actuator arm during spinning of the hard disk.

Abstract: Provided is an optical disk device installed in a personal computer, including: an information creation unit that creates identification information for identifying the type of the personal computer based on a command transmitted from the personal computer; and a parameter selection unit that conducts switching, for parameter selection, concerning a parameter indicating an amount of unbalance of an optical disk, which has previously been determined depending on the type of the personal computer, in accordance with the identification information created by the information creation unit.

Abstract: A hard disk drive frame is provided. The distances from its hard disk drive fixing parts to the substrate center are not the same. During the process of vibrational energy transfer, three-dimensional reactions are induced correspondingly to cancel the kinetic energy transfer. The reactions generated at the static balance point in the three dimensions interfere one another to destroy vibrational frequencies in specific directions. Therefore, the disclosed hard disk drive is resistant to vibrations and suffers less from the resonance effect.

Abstract: There is provided a motor. The motor includes a shaft rotatably installed and supported by a sleeve, a rotor case coupled with the shaft and on which a disk is mounted, and a pressure difference generation portion disposed in a space between the disk and the rotor case and generating a pressure difference using airflow in the space.

Abstract: A hard disk damping device is disclosed, which includes a hard disk having at least one long side and at least one short side, a side bracket disposed on the long side and having at least one salient, and at least one damping structure disposed on the side bracket. The damping structure has plural protrusions disposed on a surface of the damping structure. The damping structure has at least one slot to couple to the salient.

Abstract: To provide a floating lock device which can smoothly and continuously perform an operation of swinging-in and swinging-out a drive unit and switching between a floating state and lock state with a reduced space and simple configuration. The floating lock device comprises: a pick arm 130 which can be swung into and swung out of a space created by splitting trays 250 capable of housing a plurality of disks D; a drive chassis 120 which is mounted on the pick arm 130 and which has a drive unit playing the disk D; a drive mechanism which drives the pick arm 130; a floating lock mechanism of the drive chassis 120; a turning table 123 on which the disk D is mounted; and a control plate 136 which transmits drive power of the drive mechanism to the floating lock mechanism.

Abstract: Embodiments of a computer system that includes a vibration-cancelling mode, and a related method and computer-program product (e.g., software) for use with the computer system, are described. During operation, a processor monitors operations in the computer system, and may select either the vibration-cancelling mode or an inactive mode based on the monitored operations. For example, the processor may select the vibration-cancelling mode when there are input/output-(I/O) intensive workloads to an array of one or more hard disk drives (HDDs) in the computer system. In this way, the processor may reduce the energy consumption associated with vibration-induced retries to the HDDs (and reduced I/O throughput) without increasing the energy consumption associated with active vibration damping at other times, such as when the computer system is idle or during processor-intensive workloads.

Abstract: This application discloses a Load-UnLoad (LUL) hard disk drive comprising a disk base, a spindle motor mounted on the disk base for rotating at least one disk to create at least one rotating disk surface, and a head stack assembly pivotably coupled to the disk base and configured to engage an actuator latch when the sliders of the head stack assembly are to be parked. The actuator latch includes a latch beam coupled through a latch pivot to the disk base and a boss coupled to the latch beam and configured to limit the stroke of latch motion in the event of a rotary non-operational shock.

Abstract: This application discloses a hard disk drive comprising a arm limiter mounted on a disk base to limit movement of the actuator arms during a non-operational shock event while parked. The arm limiter and disk base are disclosed in various combinations to limit actuator arm movement during non-operational shocks.

Abstract: A disk drive and a method for operating the disk drive compensates for rotational vibration (RV) by adaptively modifying the gains of two separate linear vibration sensors so the sensor gains are optimal under any given condition. The two sensors provide two signals S1, S2, respectively, to the disk drive's servo control processor that generates the control signal to the voice coil motor (VCM) actuator that controls the positioning of the read/write head. The processor uses S1, S2 and the head position error signal (PES) as inputs to run an adaptive RV feedforward (RVFF) algorithm. The adaptive RVFF algorithm takes the PES and sensor outputs S1 and S2 as inputs, mathematically determines the required correction to the sensor gain factors k1 and k2, respectively, and then adjusts the gain factors k1 and k2 accordingly. Each signal S1, S2 is then modified by its adjusted gain factor k1, k2, respectively.

Abstract: Disclosed are various techniques for reduction of the magnitude of the residual stress in the HDD gimbal circuits, or more specifically, the residual plastic strain. Various trace structures of the gimbal circuits as well as stress suppressors are utilized to achieve the reduction of the residual stress in the circuit.

Abstract: A method and system for sensing the current applied to the motor of a data storage device and determining whether a shock event has occurred by processing the sensed current levels.

Abstract: An optical disk device which includes a pickup module; a control board for processing the electrical signal received by a pickup from an optical disk and controlling sliding of the pickup; and a flexible cable for coupling the pickup and the control board. The pickup module includes the pickup for reading information on a recording face of the optical disk; a spindle motor for retaining and rotating the optical disk; and a frame on which the spindle motor is disposed. The control board is fixed to a chassis, and the pickup module is fixed to the chassis only via elastic bodies. The cable is disposed to be surrounded by the chassis and the pickup module.

Abstract: A motor drive control unit includes a chip in which everything about a control system is provided and controls a spindle motor which rotates magnetic disks at a constant speed. When a measurement instruction is received from a disturbance generating unit and the upper-level device, sine wave disturbance is generated in the revolution speed of the spindle motor which depends on the motor drive control unit. A speed detecting unit detects the revolution speed of the spindle motor as measured data while the disturbance is being generated by the disturbance generating unit. A measured data transferring unit transfers the detected measured data detected by the speed detecting unit to the upper-level device, wherein control characteristics such as gains and phases with respect to frequencies of the motor control unit are computed.

Abstract: A shock detection circuit housed in an electronic device includes an output shock signal that is indicative of vibration amplitude. To compensate for vibrations that are experienced by the electronic device, the output shock signal is analyzed. The analysis of the output shock signal allows a vibration frequency of the output shock signal to be identified and used in vibration compensation.

Abstract: A skew adjustment mechanism of an optical disk drive includes: a pair of rod-shaped guide shafts 32a and 32b that hold an optical pick-up unit 31 therebetween and guide the optical pick-up unit; four fixing members each having a pair of claw portions 44b1 and 44b2 that are provided at a predetermined interval; four extension springs 37a, 37b, 37c and 37d each having ring-shaped hook portions at both leading ends thereof, the hook portions are hooked over the claw portions where the extension spring surrounds the shaft, thereby pressing the end portions of the shaft against the fixing member; four adjustment mechanisms that move the guide shafts 32a and 32b against the fixing member so as to allow the end portion of the guide shafts to be away from the fixing member in order to tilt the optical pick-up unit 31 in accordance with the tilt of the optical disk.

Abstract: A wire isolation apparatus for a record playback system includes a plurality of lead wires having a first end of the lead wires connected to a phono cartridge of a tone arm on a turntable, and a second end of the lead wires connected to at least a terminal connectable to an amplifier or pre-amplifier, with the lead wires separated from the tone arm and held to a suspending device which is separated from the tone arm and the turntable so as to be isolated from the vibration and noise sources of the tone arm and the turntable, thereby causing no distortion when communicating or transferring the signals as picked up by the phono cartridge.

Abstract: An apparatus and method reduce the transfer of vibration to and/or from a data a data transfer mechanism in a data storage device by coupling an adaptive mount responsive to an electrical stimulus to the data transfer mechanism. In one embodiment of the invention, a controller reads a signal that relates to the position error of a read/write component in a data transfer mechanism, applies an algorithm, and varies the damping of an adaptive mount coupled to the data transfer mechanism. The controller may be further configured to report an error to a host system that identifies a substandard data transfer mechanism so that such data transfer mechanism can be repaired or replaced.