G11B 5/40
Protective measures on heads
Official title: Protective measures on heads, e.g. against excessive temperature (G11B5/31 takes precedence; protection against wear G11B5/255 {; protective structure of the head: see under structures, e.g. G11B5/3106})
G11B5/40 (Protective measures on heads) appears on 1,401 US grants and 862 published applications in this corpus.
Search patents in G11B- Granted patents
- 1,401
- Published applications
- 862
- Assignees
- 213
- Inventors
- 2,426
- Latest grant
- 22 Sep 2026
Filings by year
| Year | Granted patents | Published applications |
|---|---|---|
| 1976 | 2 | 0 |
| 1977 | 1 | 0 |
| 1978 | 2 | 0 |
| 1979 | 4 | 0 |
| 1980 | 2 | 0 |
| 1981 | 0 | 0 |
| 1982 | 1 | 0 |
| 1983 | 4 | 0 |
| 1984 | 6 | 0 |
| 1985 | 1 | 0 |
| 1986 | 2 | 0 |
| 1987 | 6 | 0 |
| 1988 | 2 | 0 |
| 1989 | 6 | 0 |
| 1990 | 2 | 0 |
| 1991 | 3 | 0 |
| 1992 | 3 | 0 |
| 1993 | 8 | 0 |
| 1994 | 9 | 0 |
| 1995 | 16 | 0 |
| 1996 | 17 | 0 |
| 1997 | 22 | 0 |
| 1998 | 75 | 0 |
| 1999 | 64 | 0 |
| 2000 | 58 | 0 |
| 2001 | 60 | 23 |
| 2002 | 69 | 69 |
| 2003 | 63 | 60 |
| 2004 | 63 | 75 |
| 2005 | 59 | 65 |
| 2006 | 74 | 70 |
| 2007 | 68 | 51 |
| 2008 | 57 | 78 |
| 2009 | 57 | 54 |
| 2010 | 39 | 43 |
| 2011 | 48 | 22 |
| 2012 | 45 | 17 |
| 2013 | 29 | 19 |
| 2014 | 32 | 25 |
| 2015 | 52 | 27 |
| 2016 | 39 | 37 |
| 2017 | 59 | 35 |
| 2018 | 49 | 29 |
| 2019 | 36 | 20 |
| 2020 | 25 | 5 |
| 2021 | 15 | 7 |
| 2022 | 12 | 4 |
| 2023 | 8 | 7 |
| 2024 | 9 | 5 |
| 2025 | 12 | 9 |
| 2026 | 6 | 6 |
By publication year. Applications have been published since 2001. 2026 runs to 8 Oct.
Recent patents
- Data storage device with recording head failure prediction and mitigation22 Sep 2026US 12,744,055 B2Western Digital Technologies, Inc.
- Near field transducers having magnetic inlays for improved heat-assisted magnetic recording28 Jul 2026US 12,694,897 B1Seagate Technology LLC
- Heat-assisted magnetic recording heads with additional magnetic material21 Jul 2026US 12,688,873 B1Seagate Technology LLC
- NFT back reflection monitor for heat-assisted magnetic recording head21 Apr 2026US 12,609,137 B1Seagate Technology LLC
- High-fidelity, low-contact data retrieval from legacy tapes17 Feb 2026US 12,555,596 B2ChannelScience, LLC
- Data storage device with recording head failure prediction and mitigation10 Sep 2026US 2026/0268929 A1Western Digital Technologies, Inc.
- Magnetic disk device23 Jul 2026US 2026/0212884 A1Kabushiki Kaisha Toshiba
- Reduction Of High Tape Contact Pressure Points Against Head Assembly12 Feb 2026US 2026/0045273 A1Western Digital Technologies, Inc.
- Parabolic Shaped Plasmonic Waveguide Blocker For Heat Assisted Recording Head5 Feb 2026US 2026/0038530 A1Headway Technologies, Inc.
- Multi-Format Data Retrieval From Legacy Tapes22 Jan 2026US 2026/0024548 A1ChannelScience, LLC
Most cited
By later US patents
- Shorting bar and test clip for protecting magnetic heads from damage caused by electrostatic discharge during manufacture186US 6,034,851 ARead-Rite Corporation · 2000
- High density giant magnetoresistive transducer with recessed sensor183US 6,219,205 B1Read-Rite Corporation · 2001
- Inductive transducer with reduced pole tip protrusion182US 6,751,055 B1Western Digital (Fremont), LLC · 2004
- Laminated carbon-containing overcoats for information storage system transducers181US 6,433,965 B1Read-Rite Corporation · 2002
- Magnetic write element having a thermally dissipative structure177US 6,396,660 B1Read-Rite Corporation · 2002