Patent · US Expired

Friction control on HGA ramp load/unload surface

US6278584A · kind A · utility

16Cited by
20References
17Claims
0Family size

Assignee

Inventors

Key dates

Filing dateMay 14, 1998
Grant dateAug 21, 2001
Priority date
Expiry dateMay 14, 2018

Classification

  • Technology area (CPC G)Physics
  • CPC primaryG11B5/54
  • WIPO fieldAudio-visual technology
  • WIPO sectorElectrical engineering

Abstract

A disk drive system includes a base, a disk rotably attached to the base, and an actuator assembly movably attached to the base. The actuator assembly moves the transducer to selected areas of the disk where information reprexentative of data is to be written or read. The actuator assembly maintains the transducer in a transducing relationship with the disk. The actuator assembly also parks the transducer or unloads the transducer to a park position. A portion of the actuator assembly rides over a ramp to a park position. The ramp includes a mechanism for increasing the coefficient of friction on the surface of the ramp. The coefficient of friction on the surface of the ramp is increased to help retain the actuator in its parked position. This helps maintain the actuator assembly in a parked position in the event of shock loading from dropping a computer or a disk drive. This in turn helps prevent head crashes or failure of the disk drive and possible data loss.

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