Rotational, shear mode, piezoelectric motor integrated into a collocated, rotational, shear mode, piezoelectric micro-actuated suspension, head or head/gimbal assembly for improved tracking in disk drives and disk drive equipment

Abstract

A rotational, shear mode, piezoelectric motor is integrated with a suspension, head or head gimbal assembly (HGA) into a collocated, rotational, shear mode, piezoelectric micro-actuated suspension, head or head gimbal assembly (HGA) for use in disk drives and disk drive manufacturing equipment. When excited by a control voltage, the collocated, shear mode, piezoelectric micro-actuated HGA rotates the head enabling high frequency, high resolution track positioning of the read/write element. The motor is integrated with the head and flexure (collocation). The head rotates about a rotation axis that is ideally located at the center of mass of the head. A shear mode piezoelectric motor rotates the head. A collocated, rotational, shear mode, piezoelectric micro-actuated HGA has high stiffness, high frequency response, high positioning resolution, low mass and low internal vibration for improved tracking, increased track density and greater disk drive storage capacity. Furthermore, its solid integration improves shock resistance and reduces micro-contamination.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.