Disk drive having actuator motion damper via histeresis energy loss of low energy magnet placed within magnetic field of a voice coil motor
AssigneeWestern Digital Technologies, Inc.
InventorScott E. Watson
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A disk drive includes a disk having a recording surface and a head stack assembly that includes an actuator body; an actuator arm cantilevered from the actuator body and including a head for reading and writing on the recording surface; a coil cantilevered from the actuator body in an opposite direction from the actuator arm, the coil defining a first leg and a second leg and a damping magnet disposed between the first and second legs. The damping magnet is configured to exert a damping force on the head stack assembly that is greater when the head is at a predetermined non-operational position than when the head is over the recording surface.
Claims12
A disk drive, comprising:
- a disk having a recording surface;
- a ramp structure defining a ramp surface;
- a head stack assembly including:
- an actuator body;
- an actuator arm cantilevered from the actuator body and including a head for reading and writing on the recording surface, the head resting on the ramp surface when the disk drive is non-operational,
- a coil cantilevered from the actuator body in an opposite direction from the actuator arm, the coil defining a first leg and a second leg;
- and
- a damping magnet disposed between the first leg and the second leg, the damping magnet being configured to exert a damping force on the head stack assembly, the damping force being greater when the head is on the ramp surface than when the head is over the recording surface.
A head stack assembly for a disk drive including a disk having a recording surface, comprising:
- an actuator body;
- an actuator arm cantilevered from the actuator body and including a head configured for reading and writing on the recording surface of the disk;
- a coil cantilevered from the actuator body in an opposite direction from the actuator arm, the coil defining a first leg and a second leg;
- and
- a damping magnet disposed between the first leg and the second leg for exerting a damping force on the head stack assembly, the damping force being greatest when the head is positioned at a predetermined non-operational position in the disk drive.
A disk drive, comprising:
- a disk having a recording surface;
- a head stack assembly including:
- an actuator body;
- an actuator arm cantilevered from the actuator body and including a head for reading and writing on the recording surface;
- a coil cantilevered from the actuator body in an opposite direction from the actuator arm, the coil defining a first leg and a second leg;
- and
- a damping magnet disposed between the first leg and the second leg, the damping magnet being configured to exert a damping force on the head stack assembly, the damping force being greater when the head is at a predetermined non-operational position than when the head is over the recording surface.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.