HGST Assigned Two Patents

Storage device with shingled data and unshingled cache regions
HGST Netherlands B.V., Amsterdam, NL, has been assigned a patent (8,913,335), developed by Coker Jonathan Darrel, and Hall David Robison, Rochester, MN, for a “storage device with shingled data and unshingled cache regions”.

The abstract of the patent published by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office states: “Shingled magnetic recording (SMR) devices according to embodiments of the invention include unshingled cache regions that can be used for storage of data. The unshingled cache regions can be used in a variety of flexible ways including in an implementation of write-twice caching or for opportunistic temporary storage to improve performance. The cache regions can be offset between top and bottom surfaces of the disk and staggered between disks to provide shorter seek times to the nearest cache region. Embodiments of the invention are adapted for use with symmetric or asymmetric heads.“

The patent application was filed on July 18, 2011 (13/135,953).

Three-dimensional magnetic memory with multi-layer data storage layers
HGST Netherlands B.V., Amsterdam, NL, has been assigned a patent (8,911,888), developed by Hellwig Olav, San Jose, CA, Terris Bruce D., and Thiele Jan-Ulrich, Sunnyvale, CA, for a “three-dimensional magnetic memory with multi-layer data storage layers .”

The abstract of the patent published by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office states: “Magnetic memories and methods are disclosed. A magnetic memory as described herein includes a plurality of stacked data storage layers to form a three-dimensional magnetic memory. The data storage layers are each formed from a multi-layer structure. At ambient temperatures, the multi-layer structures exhibit an antiparallel coupling state with a near zero net magnetic moment. At higher transition temperatures, the multi-layer structures transition from the antiparallel coupling state to a parallel coupling state with a net magnetic moment. At yet higher temperatures, the multi-layer structure transitions from the antiparallel coupling state to a receiving state where the coercivity of the multi-layer structures drops below a particular level so that magnetic fields from write elements or neighboring data storage layers may imprint data into the data storage layer.”

The patent application was filed on December 16, 2007 (11/957,476).