Method and apparatus for load/unload testing of disk drives
US6693762B2 · kind B2 · utility
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | Jul 27, 2001 |
| Grant date | Feb 17, 2004 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Jul 31, 2022 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC G)Physics
- CPC primaryG11B5/54
- WIPO fieldAudio-visual technology
- WIPO sectorElectrical engineering
Abstract
The invention provides an apparatus (10) and method for monitoring the load/unload process of a head-gimbal assembly (HGA) (14), disk (12) and ramp (16) combination. A ramp strain arm (18) is used to monitor the entire load/unload process. The ramp strain arm (18), on which the ramp (16) is mounted, includes force sensors (46,48) that measure the friction force between the HGA (14) and ramp (16) as well as the air-bearing force on the slider (30) of the HGA (14) during the load/unload process. The signals form the force sensors (46,48) are input to a computer (22) through an interface circuit (24) for recording and analysis in order to evaluate the performance of the combination of the HGA (14), disk (12) and ramp (16).
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.