Contamination control on actuator arms in a disk drive
AssigneeHitachi Global Storage Technologies Netherlands B.V.
InventorGordon James Smith
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A hard disk drive actuator includes a plurality of arms for holding the heads over the disks. Each arm has one or more contaminant collectors for collecting contaminants, such as airborne particles, humidity, and/or organic gasses during operation. The contaminant collectors can take a variety of forms, including air porous filters mounted within existing cutouts within the plurality of arms. In this instance, the plurality of arms may be aerodynamically shaped to create a pressure differential between the top and bottom surfaces of the arms, causing an increased airflow through the filters. In another instance, the contaminant collector is a material applied to the top and bottom surfaces of the plurality of arms which attracts and/or captures airborne particles during normal operation.
Claims29
An actuator assembly for supporting a magnetic head in a disk drive assembly, comprising:
- an actuator body;
- at least one actuator arm connected to the actuator body;
- at least one contaminant collector operably attached to the at least one actuator arm wherein the contaminant collector is made of a conductive material, wherein the conductive material is maintained at a predetermined electric potential by a DC power supply.
An actuator assembly for supporting a magnetic head in a disk drive assembly, comprising:
- an actuator body;
- at least one actuator arm having, connected with the actuator body and having a cutout extending there through;
- and
- a contaminant collector, mounted within the cutout and made of a porous material that allows the flow of air there through.
A disk drive, comprising:
- at least one storage disk;
- an actuator body positioned adjacent the at least one storage disk and movable relative thereto;
- a motor coupled to the actuator body for moving the actuator body in response to a control signal;
- at least one transducer disposed for data transfer with the at least one storage disk;
- at least one actuator arm connected to the actuator body, the at least one actuator arm including an end distanced from the actuator body for holding the at least one transducer, the at least one actuator arm having a top and a bottom surface and a cutout extending there through;
- and
- at least one contaminant collector operably attached to the at least one actuator arm, and extending through the cutout, wherein the at least one contaminant collector is made of a porous material, allowing the flow of air there through.
An actuator assembly for supporting a magnetic head in a disk drive assembly, comprising:
- an actuator body;
- at least one actuator arm connected to the actuator body;
- at least one contaminant collector operably attached to the at least one actuator arm, wherein the contaminant collector is an electret material.
An actuator assembly for supporting a magnetic head in a disk drive assembly, comprising:
- an actuator body;
- at least one actuator arm connected to the actuator body;
- at least one contaminant collector operably attached to the at least one actuator arm wherein the contaminant collector is a stick, non-outgassing adhesive.
An actuator assembly for supporting a magnetic head in a disk drive assembly, comprising:
- an actuator body;
- at least one actuator arm connected to the actuator body;
- at least one contaminant collector operably attached to the at least one actuator arm, wherein the collector is an inert oil.
A digital processing apparatus, comprising:
- a computer;
- at least one storage disk disposed in the computer;
- an actuator body positioned in the computer adjacent the at least one storage disk and moveable relative thereto;
- a motor displayed in the computer and coupled to the actuator body for moving the actuator body in response to a control signal;
- at least one transducer disposed in the computer for data transfer with the at least one storage disk;
- at least one actuator arm in the computer and connected to the actuator body, the at least one actuator arm including an end distanced from the actuator body for holding the at least one transducer, the at least one actuator arm including a top surface and a bottom surface;
- and
- a contaminant collector operably attached to the at least one actuator arm.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.