Passive fly height adjustment to compensate for ambient pressure changes in a disk drive
US7639449B1 · kind B1 · utility
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | Feb 15, 2005 |
| Grant date | Dec 29, 2009 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Jun 9, 2026 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC G)Physics
- CPC primaryG11B19/04
- WIPO fieldAudio-visual technology
- WIPO sectorElectrical engineering
Abstract
A disk drive includes a drive circuitry, a suspension, a slider assembly that includes a read/write head, and a pressure compensator. The pressure compensator is electrically decoupled from the drive circuitry. A portion of the pressure compensator has a volume that passively changes when an ambient pressure near the pressure compensator changes. The pressure compensator at least partially offsets a change in a head-to-disk spacing that occurs when an ambient pressure near the pressure compensator changes. The pressure compensator can exert a force on the slider assembly to change a pivot angle between the suspension and the slider assembly, and/or to change a pitch angle between the slider assembly and the storage disk. In alternate embodiments, the pressure compensator can include a piston that moves or a resilient membranous material that changes shape based on changes in ambient pressure.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.