Patent · US Expired

Fly height detector

US6785081B2 · kind B2 · utility

47Cited by
33References
21Claims
0Family size

Assignee

Inventors

Key dates

Filing dateOct 11, 2001
Grant dateAug 31, 2004
Priority date
Expiry dateApr 25, 2022

Classification

  • Technology area (CPC G)Physics
  • CPC primaryG11B33/10
  • WIPO fieldAudio-visual technology
  • WIPO sectorElectrical engineering

Abstract

A fly height detector apparatus and associated method for detecting the fly height of a read/write head spatially disposed from a data storage surface during a data transfer operation. The fly height detector apparatus comprises a receiver circuit measuring the frequency of the read/write head; a perturbation deliverable to the gap between the read/write head and the data storage surface to invoke a dynamic response in the read/write head; and a processor circuit responsive to the receiver circuit to derive a fly height in relation to the dynamic response frequency. The processor circuit comprises a memory in which is stored a numerical model describing a functional interrelationship between the fly height and the read/write head frequency.

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