Dual-modular actuators having a common axis of rotation

• US 20020060885A1
• Filed: 04/05/2001
• Published: 05/23/2002
• Est. Priority Date: 04/10/2000
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: James Bryant Money
• Original Assignee: James Bryant Money
• Inventors: Money, James Bryant
• Granted Patent: US 6,678,120 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 360/264.4
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 5/5521 across disk tracks spiral track following G11B5/596
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 5/5526 Control therefor; circuits, track configurations or relative disposition of servo-information transducers and servo-information tracks for control thereof G11B5/556 takes precedence

Abstract

A dramatic way to increase I/O performance, of a disk drive, is by the addition of another actuator to the disk drive. Dual-actuators allows the drive to overlap seeks, which produces a seamless stream of data to the host system by eliminating the breaks caused by conventional single actuators when they are repositioned. A dual-modular actuator assembly that replaces todays single rotary actuator assemblies, on a 1:1 basis, consists of;

an integrated arm that has combined three parts into a single part using existing high volume semi-conductor manufacturing processes;

integrated and data arms that posses rigid vibrational behavior allowing track densities to increase toward 100,000 tpi;

elimination of acoustic noise due to out of plane spiral coil vibrations;

precision attachment of HGA to arm surface to disk by laser welding HGA load beam directly to arm surface;

an automated and precise assembly of arms on a bearing sleeve creating a modular actuator assembly having high stiffness and low moment of inertia;

the stacking of two or more modular actuators on a common shaft and which rotate independently of each other;

Voice Coil Motor (VCM), having multiply magnetic circuits. to interact with the coil structure of each modular-actuator assembly;

Claims

1. A dual-modular rotary actuator assembly comprising:

a. a thin ceramic arm containing a spiral conductor pattern, a conductor interconnect pattern for IC and flex cable attachment and a metal pad for the mounting of the read/write head assemblies (Integrated Arm),

b. a thin ceramic arm containing a conductor interconnect pattern for IC and flex cable attachment and a metal pad for the mounting of the read/write head assemblies (Data Arm),

c. an assembly of the above thin ceramic arms to a ceramic bearing sleeve, containing a least one Integrated Arm and any number of Data Arms (Modular Actuator),

d. a shaft on which multiple Modular Actuators are mounted and rotate independent of each other,

e. a multi-gap Voice Coil Motor to interact with the spiral conductor pattern of the Integrated Arm(s) providing torque to each of the Modular Actuators.