Seagate Assigned Twenty-Five Patents

Interlaced magnetic recording storage
Seagate Technology LLC , Cupertino, CA, has been assigned a patent (10,593,362) developed by Bi, Qiang, Ooi, Kian Keong, Woldemar, Christopher M., and Lau, ShihMing, Singapore, Singapore, for an “interlaced magnetic recording storage system.“

The abstract of the patent published by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office states: ”The disclosed technology provides a system and method that improves interlaced magnetic recording (IMR) data throughput in vibration in storage systems. In one implementation, a method includes determining whether there are write retry operations in the IMR storage device, determining whether bottom track caching space is available responsive to determining whether there are write retry operations in the IMR storage device, performing a vibration detection scheme to identify vibration events responsive to determining whether bottom track caching space is available, determining if a number of vibration events is above a predetermined threshold, and writing data to available bottom track caching space responsive to determining if the number of vibration events is above a predetermined threshold.”

The patent application was filed on August 14, 2017 (15/676,550).

Multi-actuator interconnector
Seagate Technology LLC , Cupertino, CA, has been assigned a patent (10,593,358) developed by Kraus, Maxwell Reese, Resh, Roger A., Shakopee, MN, Motzko, Andrew R., Delano, MN, and Mewes, Michael Allen, Belle Plaine, MN, for a “multi-actuator interconnector.“

The abstract of the patent published by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office states: ”A data storage device includes a first actuator and a second actuator rotatable around a common axis. The data storage device further includes a first electrical connector configured to communicate electrical signals to and from the first actuator via a first flexible circuit. The data storage device further includes a second electrical connector separate from but in a stacked arrangement with the first electrical connector. The second electrical connector is configured to communicate electrical signals to and from the second actuator via a second flexible circuit.”

The patent application was filed on August 27, 2019 (16/552,907).

Manufacturing for reader side shield
Seagate Technology LLC , Cupertino, CA, has been assigned a patent (10,593,356) developed by Cao, Xin, Londonderry, Great Britain, McElhinney, Frances Paula, Xu, Jiansheng, and Ormston, Marcus Winston, Derry, Great Britain, for a “manufacturing method for reader side shield.“

The abstract of the patent published by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office states: ”A magnetoresistive (MR) sensor shield shields against both down track and cross-track interference and is formed in a single deposition step. A ‘tail’ portion of the shield is eliminated by including a non-magnetic material adjacent to opposite sides of a middle portion of the sensor stack.”

The patent application was filed on September 19, 2016 (15/269,066).

Forming write head with write pole shield having low saturation magnetization layer
Seagate Technology LLC , Cupertino, CA, has been assigned a patent (10,593,355) developed by Basu, Swaraj, Gangmei, Prim, Londonderry, Great Britain, Moore, Angela, Co. Gubbins, Mark Anthony, Co. Donegal, Ireland, and McConnell, Beverley R., Londonderry, Great Britain, for a “method of forming a write head with a write pole shield having a low saturation magnetization layer.“

The abstract of the patent published by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office states: ”A recording head that includes a bearing surface and a write pole having a front surface that forms a portion of the bearing surface. The recording head also includes a side shield for the write pole. The side shield includes a low saturation magnetization cap layer having a front surface that forms a portion of the bearing surface. The side shield also includes a main side shield layer having a saturation magnetization that is higher than a saturation magnetization value of the low saturation magnetization cap layer.”

The patent application was filed on August 30, 2019 (16/557,428).

Interlaced magnetic recording band isolation
Seagate Technology LLC , Cupertino, CA, has been assigned a patent (10,593,354) developed by Ng, Wei Loon, Singapore, Singapore, and Edgar, Brian T., Minneapolis, MN, for an “interlaced magnetic recording band isolation.“

The abstract of the patent published by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office states: ”Methods and apparatus for allocating logical sectors and bands to store data on interlaced magnetic recording tracks. The systems and methods include formatting a data storage medium to include a plurality of bands, each band of the plurality of bands including a plurality of tracks, the plurality of tracks including a subset of top tracks interlaced with a subset of bottom tracks, and each track of the plurality of tracks including a number of sectors, formatting a first band of the plurality of bands, determining an isolation region of the first band, and formatting a second band of the plurality of bands responsive to determining the isolation region of the first band.”

The patent application was filed on January 24, 2019 (16/256,860).

Open block stability scanning
Seagate Technology LLC , Cupertino, CA, has been assigned a patent (10,592,134) developed by Goss, Ryan James, Prior Lake, MN, Khoueir, Antoine, Edina, MN, and Patapoutian, Ara, Hopkinton, MA, for an “open block stability scanning.“

The abstract of the patent published by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office states: ”Systems and methods are disclosed for open block stability scanning. When a solid state memory block remains in an open state, where the block is only partially filled with written data, for a prolonged period of time, a circuit may perform a scan on the block to determine the stability of the stored data. When the scan indicates that the data is below a stability threshold, the data may be refreshed by reading the data and writing it to a new location. When the scan indicates that the data is above a stability threshold, the circuit may extend the time period in which the block may remain in the open state.”

The patent application was filed on January 1, 2018 (15/859,689).

Tracking of data erasures
Seagate Technology LLC , Cupertino, CA, has been assigned a patent (10,587,590) developed by Trantham, Jon D., Chanhassen, MN, Gaertner, Mark A., Vadnais Heights, MN, Forehand, Monty Aaron, Loveland, CO, and Wiggins, Paul Michael, Longmont, CO, for “tracking of data erasures.“

The abstract of the patent published by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office states: ”A method includes adding a key version tag to an encryption key store that stores encryption keys. The key version tag is inserted into a data stream. The data stream including the key version tag is written to media. The data in the data stream is erased by scrambling the encryption keys and incrementing the key version tag in the encryption store by a digit. The data stream is replaced with a replacement data pattern when the key version tag stored in the encryption store and the key version tag located in the data stream mismatch.”

The patent application was filed on June 12, 2017 (15/620,270).

Storage medium enterprise and block chain enabled communication
Seagate Technology LLC , Cupertino, CA, has been assigned a patent (10,587,397) developed by Schnabel, Dieter Paul, Erie, CO, for “storage medium enterprise and block chain enabled communication.“

The abstract of the patent published by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office states: ”A system includes a storage medium enterprise and a processing component. The storage medium enterprise includes a first storage medium configured to store data and a second storage medium configured to store data. The processing component external to the storage medium enterprise is configured to receive and process data received from the storage medium enterprise. The first storage medium is configured to transmit a first operational data associated with the first storage medium to the processing component and the second storage medium is configured to transmit a second operational data associated with the second storage medium to the processing component. The first operational data is formed into a block of a block chain prior to transmission to the processing medium and the second operational data is formed into another block of the block chain prior to transmission to the processing medium.”

The patent application was filed on February 13, 2018 (15/895,871).

High passive stiffness and low active pressure air bearing feature
Seagate Technology LLC , Cupertino, CA, has been assigned a patent (10,586,563) developed by Zhang, HaiFeng, and Rakshit, Abhik, Normandale, MN, for “high passive stiffness and low active pressure air bearing feature.“

The abstract of the patent published by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office states: ”Active pressure in the air bearing surface of a slider in the region of the transducer is reduced by introducing two channels in the center pad of the advanced air bearing along each side of the centerline and spaced apart from the transducer. This configuration moves the high pressure region away from the transducer zone at the trailing edge of the slider.”

The patent application was filed on March 22, 2019 (16/361,650).

Read head having sensors with conflicting design characteristics
Seagate Technology LLC , Cupertino, CA, has been assigned a patent (10,586,562) developed by Sapozhnikov, Victor, Minnetonka, MN, Krivosik, Pavol, Eden Prairie, MN, Patwari, Mohammed Shariat Ullah, Edina, MN, and Stokes, Scott Wilson, Brooklyn Park, MN, for a “read head having sensors with conflicting design characteristics.“

The abstract of the patent published by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office states: ”A hybrid dual reader. The hybrid dual reader includes first and second read sensors with conflicting design characteristics. The first read sensor includes at least one signal-to-noise ratio favoring design characteristic. The second read sensor includes at least one pulse width favoring design characteristic. The at least one signal-to-noise ratio favoring design characteristic is in conflict with the at least one pulse width favoring design characteristic.”

The patent application was filed on November 1, 2017 (15/800,503).

Side shield formation
Seagate Technology LLC , Cupertino, CA, has been assigned a patent (10,586,559) developed by Sun, Jia, Lin, Dong, Eden Prairie, MN, Zhe, Shen, Lakeville, MN, Xue, Jianhua, Maple Grove, MN, Tian, Wei, and Mundenar, Joe, Eden Prairie, MN, for a “side shield formation.“

The abstract of the patent published by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office states: ”A method includes forming a write pole layer having a front surface, a leading surface, a trailing surface and side surfaces connecting the leading surface to the trailing surface. The method also includes forming side shield layers proximate to the side surfaces of the write pole layer. A patterned sacrificial layer is deposited over the side shield layers, and a trailing surface bevel is formed on the write pole layer.”

The patent application was filed on December 11, 2018 (16/216,419).

Virtual flash
Seagate Technology LLC , Cupertino, CA, has been assigned a patent (10,585,615) developed by Kadam, Prasad Ramchandra, Jagtap, Sachin Sudhir, and Patankar, Kedar, Pune, India, for a “virtual flash system.“

The abstract of the patent published by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office states: ”An apparatus may include a virtual flash device configured to emulate a flash memory device. The virtual flash device may include a flash interface configured to communicate with a flash controller, an address translation module configured to translate memory addresses from a flash based memory space to another memory space of another memory, a metadata and control module configured to manage metadata from the emulation of the flash memory device, and a non-flash memory controller configured to communicate with the other memory.”

The patent application was filed on May 10, 2018 (15/976,056).

HAMR device incorporating laser diode temperature control using common-mode voltage
Seagate Technology LLC , Cupertino, CA, has been assigned a patent (10,580,446) developed by Wessel, James Gary, Savage, MN, for a “heat-assisted magnetic recording device incorporating laser diode temperature control using common-mode voltage.“

The abstract of the patent published by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office states: ”An apparatus comprises a slider configured to facilitate heat assisted magnetic recording. The slider comprises a plurality of bond pads including a first electrical bond pad, a second electrical bond pad, and a ground pad. A laser diode comprises an anode coupled to the first electrical bond pad and a cathode coupled to the second electrical bond pad. The laser diode is operable in a non-lasing state and a lasing state. A heater is coupled between the ground pad and at least one of the anode and cathode of the laser diode. The heater is configured to generate heat for heating the laser diode during the non-lasing state and the lasing state.”

The patent application was filed on September 20, 2018 (16/136,512).

Bolometer and contact sensor arrangement for HAMR
Seagate Technology LLC , Cupertino, CA, has been assigned a patent (10,580,444) developed by Macken, Declan, Eden Prairie, MN, and Klarqvist, Jon Kartsen, Roseville, MN, for “bolometer and contact sensor arrangement for a heat-assisted magnetic recording device.“

The abstract of the patent published by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office states: ”A slider of a heat-assisted magnetic recording head comprises an air bearing surface and an optical waveguide configured to receive light from a laser source. The slider comprises a plurality of electrical bond pads including a first bond pad and a second bond pad. A first resistive sensor is configured to sense for spacing changes and contact between the slider and a magnetic recording medium at or near a first close point of the slider. A second resistive sensor is configured to sense for spacing changes and contact between the slider and the medium at or near a second close point of the slider. A bolometer is situated at a location within the slider that receives at least some of the light communicated along the optical waveguide. The first resistive sensor, the second resistive sensor, and the bolometer are coupled together and between the first and second bond pads.”

The patent application was filed on February 11, 2019 (16/272,448).

Devices including diffusion barrier layer
Seagate Technology LLC , Cupertino, CA, has been assigned a patent (10,580,440) developed by Sahoo, Sarbeswar, Shakopee, MN, Blaber, Martin, Plymouth, MN, Brickner, Hui, Savage, MN, Zhao, Tong, Eden Prairie, MN, Cheng, Yuhang, Edina, MN, Duda, John, Bloomington, MN, and Lee, Tae-Woo, Eden Prairie, MN, for “devices including a diffusion barrier layer.“

The abstract of the patent published by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office states: ”Devices having an air bearing surface (ABS), the devices including a write pole, a near field transducer (NFT) that includes a peg and a disc, wherein the peg is at the ABS of the device, a heat sink positioned adjacent the disc of the NFT, a dielectric gap positioned adjacent the peg of the NFT at the ABS of the device, and a conformal diffusion barrier layer positioned between the write pole and the dielectric gap, the disc, and the heat sink, wherein the conformal diffusion barrier layer forms at least one angle that is not greater than 135.degree.”

The patent application was filed on January 29, 2019 (16/260,910).

Devices including at least one multilayer adhesion layer
Seagate Technology LLC , Cupertino, CA, has been assigned a patent (10,580,439) developed by Brons, Justin, Savage, MN, Zhao, Tong, Eden Prairie, MN, Cheng, Yuhang, and Dimitrov, Dimitar V., Edina, MN, for “devices including at least one multilayer adhesion layer.“

The abstract of the patent published by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office states: ”Devices that include a near field transducer (NFT), the NFT having at least one external surface, and at least one multilayer adhesion layer positioned on at least a portion of the at least one external surface, the multilayer adhesion layer including a first layer and a second layer, with the second layer being in contact with the portion of the at least one external surface of the NFT, the first layer including: yttrium (Y), scandium (Sc), zirconium (Zr), hafnium (Hf), silicon (Si), boron (B,) tantalum (Ta), barium (Ba), aluminum (Al), titanium (Ti), niobium (Nb), calcium (Ca), beryllium (Be), strontium (Sr), magnesium (Mg), lithium (Li), or combinations thereof, and the second layer including: lanthanum (La), boron (B,) lutetium (Lu), aluminum (Al), deuterium (D), cerium (Ce), uranium (U), praseodymium (Pr), yttrium (Y), silicon (Si), iridium (Ir), carbon (C), thorium (Th), scandium (Sc), titanium (Ti), vanadium (V), phosphorus (P), barium (Ba), europium (Eu), or combinations thereof.”

The patent application was filed on October 15, 2018 (16/160,661).

Data storage device with rewriteable in-place memory
Seagate Technology LLC , Cupertino, CA, has been assigned a patent (10,559,376) developed by Canepa, Timothy, Los Gatos, CA, Ish, Mark, Sandy Springs, GA, and Ebsen, David S., Minnetonka, MN, for a “data storage device with rewriteable in-place memory.“

The abstract of the patent published by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office states: ”A data storage device can have at least a buffer memory, a selection module, and a non-volatile memory. The buffer memory and non-volatile memory may consist of different types of memory while the non-volatile memory has one or more rewritable in-place memory cells. The buffer memory and non-volatile memory may each store data associated with a pending data request as directed by the selection module until a settle time of the rewritable in-place memory cell has expired.”

The patent application was filed on October 1, 2018 (16/148,409).

Selectable magnetic writers of different target geometries for reducing performance variance
Seagate Technology LLC , Cupertino, CA, has been assigned a patent (10,559,319) developed by Wiesen, Kurt, Lyons, CO, Guzman, Javier, Minneapolis, MN, Mundenar, Joseph, Eden Prairie, MN, and Conover, Michael, Edina, MN, for “selectable magnetic writers of different target geometries for reducing performance variance.“

The abstract of the patent published by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office states: ”A method of forming a recording head for use with a data storage medium in a data storage device. The method includes forming first and second writers of different target geometries. A first recording measurement is performed on one or more storage media using the first writer. A second recording measurement is performed on the one or more storage media using the second writer. Based on a comparison of the first and second recording measurements to a predetermined quantity, either the first writer or the second writer is selected to be operational in the data storage device.”

The patent application was filed on March 21, 2019 (16/360,770).

Enhancing quality of service of storage device
Seagate Technology LLC , Cupertino, CA, has been assigned a patent (10,558,392) developed by Ebsen, David Scott, Shakopee, MN, and Simonson, Dana, Owatonna, MN, for “enhancing quality of service of a storage device.“

The abstract of the patent published by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office states: ”Systems and methods presented herein provide a controller that is operable to monitor a plurality of background commands to a storage device over a pre-determined period of time and to determine how often each of the background commands is issued during the pre-determined period of time. The controller is further operable to establish a time interval for each of the background commands, and to issue each of the background commands at their respective time intervals.”

The patent application was filed on June 30, 2017 (15/639,893).

Patterned bit in error measurement
Seagate Technology LLC , Cupertino, CA, has been assigned a patent (10,552,252) developed by Seokhun, Jeon, Kyunggi-do, Korea, Sungchul, Oh, Gyeonggi-do, Korea, Pil-Woo, Jung, Kyunggi-do, Korea, and Seungyoul, Jeong, Gyeonggi-do, Korea, for “patterned bit in error measurement apparatus and method.“

The abstract of the patent published by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office states: ”A method includes detecting different data patterns in data read from a portion of a non-transitory data storage medium. Bit errors in the different data patterns are then determined. Further, bits in error for a total number of bits in each of the different data patterns are calculated from the determined bit errors in the different data patterns.”

The patent application was filed on August 29, 2016 (15/250,617).

Hybrid data storage device with performance mode data path
Seagate Technology LLC , Cupertino, CA, has been assigned a patent (10,552,053) developed by Tiotantra, Harry, Chen, Kai C., Xie, WenXiang, and Shen, Feng, Singapore, Singapore, for a “hybrid data storage device with performance mode data path.“

The abstract of the patent published by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office states: ”Apparatus and method for managing data in a hybrid data storage device. In some embodiments, a hybrid data storage device operates in a normal mode in which data transfer commands received from a host device are serviced by a top level controller circuit which directs a first subset of the received data transfer commands to a non-volatile rotatable recording memory and a second subset of the received data transfer commands are directed to a non-volatile solid-state memory. The controller circuit transitions to a performance mode responsive to a detected first parameter so that subsequently received data transfer commands are directed exclusively to the solid-state memory. The controller circuit terminates the performance mode and resumes the normal mode responsive to a detected second parameter.”

The patent application was filed on September 28, 2016 (15/278,068).

Asynchronous discovery of initiators and targets in storage fabric
Seagate Technology LLC , Cupertino, CA, has been assigned a patent (10,534,541) developed by Ish, Mark, Sandy Springs, GA, Panda, Siddhartha Kumar, Sharma, Dileep Kumar, and Bhattarai, Durga Prasad, Bangalore, India, for an “asynchronous discovery of initiators and targets in a storage fabric.“

The abstract of the patent published by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office states: ”Method and apparatus for asynchronous discovery of processing and storage nodes coupled via an expander switch in a fabric. In some embodiments, an initiator device operates as a processing node to transfer data to and from a non-volatile memory (NVM) of a target device at a storage node. One of the initiator or target devices is activated prior to the other device. The second activated device broadcasts a discovery command responsive to the activation of the second activated device and prior to receipt of a request for the discovery command from the first activated device. The first activated device processes the discovery command to establish an I/O communication link between the first activated device and the second activated device. The discovery command may include a non-volatile memory express (NVMe) controller list, and the NVM may be arranged as one or more NVMe namespaces.”

The patent application was filed on September 20, 2017 (15/709,681).

Wear mitigation for magnetic recording medium
Seagate Technology LLC , Cupertino, CA, has been assigned a patent (10,529,375) developed by Gaertner, Mark A., Vadnais Heights, MN, for a “wear mitigation system for a magnetic recording medium.“

The abstract of the patent published by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office states: ”A wear mitigation system can be implemented in a data storage device. A data storage medium may be separated from a transducing head by an air bearing. A controller connected to the data storage medium and transducing head can be configured to reassign a physical address of the data storage medium from an unusable condition to a usable condition as a result of a self-healing of the data storage medium predicted by the controller.”

The patent application was filed on April 19, 2018 (15/957,354).

Heat-assisted removal of head contamination
Seagate Technology LLC , Cupertino, CA, has been assigned a patent (10,529,364) developed by Brand, John L., Burnsville, MN, and Kiely, James D., Edina, MN, for a “heat-assisted removal of head contamination.“

The abstract of the patent published by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office states: ”Provided herein is a magnetic write head including a near field transducer and a magnetic recording media including a media lubricant. The media lubricant includes a first portion and a second portion. The second portion of the media lubricant is evaporated in response to heat emitted from the near field transducer. The second portion of the media lubricant that is evaporated removes a contaminant over the near field transducer.”

The patent application was filed on February 15, 2017 (15/433,829).

Data management for storage media
Seagate Technology LLC , Cupertino, CA, has been assigned a patent (10,528,348) developed by Liu, Xiong, Xie, WenXiang, Li, Quan, and Qiang, Jian, Singapore, Singapore, for a “data management method for storage media.“

The abstract of the patent published by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office states: ”In one implementation, this disclosure provides a method for executing a partial band rewrite operation comprising identifying a first track of a shingled data band to receive data of a write received at a shingled media storage device and writing a first subset of the received data to a media cache, where the first subset corresponds to the first track of the shingled data band to receive data of the write command. The method also includes writing a remaining subset of the received data to target locations within the shingled data band without updating data on the first track within the shingled data band corresponding to the first subset of the received data.”

The patent application was filed on March 7, 2018 (15/914,598).