Real-time particle sensor for disk drives
US5055698A · kind A · utility
Assignee
Inventor
Key dates
| Filing date | Apr 3, 1990 |
| Grant date | Oct 8, 1991 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Apr 3, 2010 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC G)Physics
- CPC primaryG11B33/1446
- WIPO fieldAudio-visual technology
- WIPO sectorElectrical engineering
Abstract
A real-time particle sensor is provided which can monitor particles near the surface of a disk in a computer disk drive system and in the region between disks in a multiple disk stack. A laser and lens are housed in a compact cartridge which is mounted on an actuator arm of a disk. Photocells which are also mounted on the actuator arm detect light scattered by particles passing through the laser beam, and so generate an electrical signal used to count the detected particles. The sensor's small size allows a separate sensor to fit in each of the regions between adjacent disks in a stack of disks, or near the surface of a single disk.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.