Patent · US Expired

Disc drive head bias current optimization

US6115201A · kind A · utility

10Cited by
8References
19Claims
0Family size

Assignee

Inventors

Key dates

Filing dateMar 18, 1998
Grant dateSep 5, 2000
Priority date
Expiry dateMar 18, 2018

Classification

  • Technology area (CPC G)Physics
  • CPC primaryG11B2005/0018
  • WIPO fieldAudio-visual technology
  • WIPO sectorElectrical engineering

Abstract

An apparatus and method are disclosed for determining a maximum magnitude of bias current that can be safely applied to a head of a disc drive. The disc drive comprises a head disposed adjacent a rotatable disc having a recording surface on which data are magnetically stored, a preamplifier circuit which selectively applies bias currents to the head, and a head bias current selection circuit, operably coupled to the preamplifier circuit, which first determines the maximum magnitude of bias current that can be applied to the head in relation to a maximum power dissipation rating of the head and voltage measured across the head when at least one initial bias current of selected magnitude is applied to the head. Thereafter, a range of bias currents having different magnitudes less than or equal to the maximum magnitude are selected and evaluated to select an optimum magnitude for subsequent use by the drive.

Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.