Method and apparatus for electromagnetic interference reduction in magnetic recording devices
AssigneeGuzik Technical Enterprises
InventorAnatoli B. Stein
Life of this patent
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Abstract
In a magnetic recording/reproduction device, such as a disk drive one or more conductive elements is positioned in close proximity to a recording/reproduction head in order to absorb EMI generated by the head as it reads and/or writes data from/to magnetic media. The conductive element is connected through a low impedance path to an electrical sink, such as ground, for absorbed EMI. The conductive element thereby significantly reducing EMI in a manner analogous to the operation of a groundplane in a circuit board. In a disk drive implementation, the conductive element may be positioned on the opposite side of the disk from the head, on the same side of the disk as the head, or one or more conductive elements may be positioned on each side of the disk.
Claims32
A magnetic head assembly for reading andior writing information from/to a magnetic medium on a rotatable disk, said disk having first and second sides, comprising:
- a magnetic head and loading arm affixed thereto, said magnetic head being selectively positionable opposite said magnetic medium and configured to read information from or write information to said magnetic medium;
- and
- an electrically conductive element mechanically coupled to said loading arm and adapted to capacitively couple electromagnetic interference (EMI) arising from the operation of said magnetic head and to conduct the energy from said EMI to an electromagnetic energy sink.
A magnetic disk assembly comprising:
- a magnetic disk having a magnetic medium bearing surface disposed about a central axis;
- an associated driver for rotating said disk about said central axis;
- a read and/or write head;
- a support assembly including a loading arm for positioning said head adjacent to and separated from said magnetic medium-bearing surface of said disk, as said disk is rotated by said driver;
- and
- an electrically conductive element mechanically coupled to said loading arm and adapted to capacitively couple electromagnetic interference (EMI) arising from the operation of said magnetic head and to conduct the energy from said EMI to an electromagnetic energy sink.
A method of reducing EMI within a disk drive having a magnetic disk recording medium and one or more heads each including at least one electromagnetic transducer, comprising the steps of:
- A) electrically connecting a conductive element to an electromagnetic sink through a low impedance conductive path;
- and
- B) positioning the conductive element in close proximity to a head to capacitively couple EMI from the head to said electromagnetic sink.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.