Toshiba and Toshiba Electronic Devices and Storage Assigned Twenty Two Patents

Magnetic disk and actuator control
Kabushiki Kaisha Toshiba, Tokyo, Japan, and Toshiba Electronic Devices and Storage Corporation, Tokyo, Japan, has been assigned a patent (10,734,022) developed by Sudo, Daisuke, Yokohama Kanagawa, Japan, for “magnetic disk device and actuator control method.“

The abstract of the patent published by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office states: ”According to one embodiment, a magnetic disk device includes a disk, a first head, a second head, an actuator configured to position the first head and the second head over the disk, and a controller configured to control the actuator based on a first value having a first waveform suppressing a disturbance component, wherein the controller is configured to invert, in the first waveform, a polarity of a third waveform succeeding a first timing with respect to a polarity of a second waveform preceding the first timing in a case where the first head is changed to the second head at the first timing.”

The patent application was filed on August 15, 2019 (16/541,885).

Disk device
Kabushiki Kaisha Toshiba, Tokyo, Japan, and Toshiba Electronic Devices and Storage Corporation, Tokyo, Japan, has been assigned a patent (10,734,018) developed by Uehara, Manabu, Kawasaki Kanagawa, Japan, for a “disk device.“

The abstract of the patent published by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office states: ”According to one embodiment, a disk device includes two magnetic disks opposing each other at intervals of 1.2 to 1.5 mm, and at least two suspension assemblies movable respectively between the two magnetic disks. Each of the suspension assemblies includes a base plate, a load beam extending from the base plate, a tab extending from a distal end of the load beam, a wiring member on the load beam and the base plate, including a gimbal portion, and a magnetic head on the gimbal portion, abutting on a dimple of the load beam via the gimbal portion. The ratio of a distance from a bendable location of the load beam to a center of the dimple with respect to a distance from the center of the dimple to a tip of the tab is 2.8 to 3.8.”

The patent application was filed on September 4, 2019 (16/560,240).

Disk and data management
Kabushiki Kaisha Toshiba, Tokyo, Japan, and Toshiba Electronic Devices and Storage Corporation, Tokyo, Japan, has been assigned a patent (10,725,854) developed by Toukairin, Norikatsu, Hino Tokyo, Japan, for “disk device and data management method.“

The abstract of the patent published by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office states: ”A disk device includes a disk medium, a magnetic recording head, a processor configured to control the magnetic recording head to write data to and read data from a plurality of tracks of the disk medium on a sector-by-sector basis, and a check value generation circuit configured to generate, for each of the plurality of tracks, check value data based on data stored in one or more sectors of the track. The processor controls the magnetic recording head to write check value data for a first track of the plurality of tracks in a first sector on the disk medium and check value data for a second track of the plurality of tracks in a second sector on the disk medium that is adjacent to the first sector.”

The patent application was filed on September 3, 2018 (16/120,407).

Disk device
Kabushiki Kaisha Toshiba, Tokyo, Japan, and Toshiba Electronic Devices and Storage Corporation, Tokyo, Japan, has been assigned a patent (10,714,147) developed by Sato, Yuki, Fujisawa Kanagawa, Japan, for a “disk device.“

The abstract of the patent published by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office states: ”A disk device includes a top cover and a disk medium with a recording surface. The top cover includes a center horizontal portion having a surface which extends from a center point of the disk medium along the recording surface to an outer peripheral portion, a curved portion having a surface which extends from the outer peripheral portion of the center horizontal portion in a direction away from the recording surface, and an outer horizontal portion having a surface which extends from the curved portion in a direction away from the center point and along the recording surface. The recording surface includes a first zone in which data is set to be written, and a second zone in which data is set not to be written, the second zone being disposed adjacent to the first zone on an outer edge side of the disk medium from the first zone.”

The patent application was filed on July 22, 2019 (16/518,603).

Disk and media scanning
Kabushiki Kaisha Toshiba, Tokyo, Japan, and Toshiba Electronic Devices and Storage Corporation, Tokyo, Japan, has been assigned a patent (10,714,142) developed by Segawa, Makoto, Tawada, Fuyuki, and Yoshida, Osamu, Kanagawa, Japan, for “disk device and media scanning method.“

The abstract of the patent published by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office states: ”According to one embodiment, a disk device includes a disk, a head that performs data read/write processing on a recording region of the disk, a controller that performs a media scan processing for detecting the presence or absence of a defect in a sector in the recording region of the disk in track unit. When the controller performs the media scan processing on a first sector and a second sector arranged in the track, and a third sector arranged between the first sector and the second sector, the controller performs skip processing in which the controller scans the first sector and the second sector, and does not scan the third sector.”

The patent application was filed on September 10, 2018 (16/126,422).

Magnetic disk
Kabushiki Kaisha Toshiba, Tokyo, Japan, and Toshiba Electronic Devices and Storage Corporation, Tokyo, Japan, has been assigned a patent (10,706,881) developed by Uchida, Takato, Hiratsuka Kanagawa, Japan, and Ikeda, Naomichi, Yokohama Kanagawa, Japan, for a “magnetic disk device.“

The abstract of the patent published by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office states: ”A magnetic disk device includes a case including a magnetic disk, a magnetic head configured to read or write data from or to the magnetic disk, an actuator configured to move the magnetic head, and a humidity sensor positioned within the case to measure a humidity in the case and output a measurement value, a control circuit configured to calculate a value of a voltage to be applied to the actuator based on a displacement amount of the magnetic head and the measurement value output from the sensor, and output the calculated value, and a servo controller configured to control the actuator by applying the voltage to the actuator according to the value output by the control circuit.”

The patent application was filed on August 20, 2019 (16/545,440).

Magnetic disk and write method
Kabushiki Kaisha Toshiba, Tokyo, Japan, and Toshiba Electronic Devices and Storage Corporation, Tokyo, Japan, has been assigned a patent (10,705,739) developed by Umeda, Michihiko, and Yamamoto, Minoru, Kanagawa, Japan, for “magnetic disk device and write method.“

The abstract of the patent published by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office states: ”According to one embodiment, a magnetic disk device including a disk, a head configured to write data to the disk, a buffer memory configured to temporarily hold data to be written to the disk, a recorder configured to temporarily hold data to be input from the buffer memory, and a controller configured to transfer first data from the buffer memory to the recorder and to transfer second data corresponding to the first data from the recorder.”

The patent application was filed on September 10, 2018 (16/126,229).

Disk and disk device control
Kabushiki Kaisha Toshiba, Tokyo, Japan, and Toshiba Electronic Devices and Storage Corporation, Tokyo, Japan, has been assigned a patent (10,684,952) developed by Aida, Kimiyasu, Masuyama, Hidekazu, Ohta, Katsushi, Kawasaki Kanagawa, Japan, Iima, Hirotaka, Yokohama Kanagawa, Japan, Kakuya, Takumi, Ebina Kanagawa, Japan, Kuji, Takato, Karakawa, Yuji, Yokohama Kanagawa, Japan, and Inoue, Kenji, Kamakura Kanagawa, Japan, for “disk device and disk device control method.“

The abstract of the patent published by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office states: ”According to one embodiment, a disk medium rotates in a first rotation state when access is given, and rotates in a second rotation state lower in rotation number than the first rotation state when access is not given. A controller receives, from a host device, a read command for reading first data stored in a first buffer, when the disk medium is in the second rotation state. The controller transmits the first data from the first buffer to the host device, without causing a shift into the first rotation state, and then shifts the disk medium into the first rotation state after completion of execution of the read command.”

The patent application was filed on August 31, 2018 (16/118,821).

Disk drive with base and cover
Kabushiki Kaisha Toshiba, Tokyo, Japan, and Toshiba Electronic Devices and Storage Corporation, Tokyo, Japan, has been assigned a patent (10,672,424) developed by Kato, Yasuhiko, Setagaya Tokyo, Japan, for a “disk drive with base and cover.“

The abstract of the patent published by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office states: ”According to one embodiment, a disk device includes a disk-shaped recording medium, a base accommodating the recording medium, the base including a bottom wall, a sidewall on a peripheral portion of the bottom wall, and a rib on a part of an upper surface of the sidewall, a first cover on a part of the upper surface of the sidewall, and a second cover on a first surface of the rib and above the first cover. The rib includes a first region with a first width, a second region with a second width less than the first width, and the first surface with a fixed width around an entire circumference of the rib. The first region and the second region are located corresponding to a side portion of the recording medium.”

The patent application was filed on February 25, 2019 (16/284,308).

Shingled magnetic recording device capable of setting track-pitch at target track and two adjacent tracks
Kabushiki Kaisha Toshiba, Tokyo, Japan, and Toshiba Electronic Devices and Storage Corporation, Tokyo, Japan, has been assigned a patent (10,672,418) developed by Aoki, Shunsuke, Yokohama Kanagawa, Japan, for a “shingled magnetic recording device capable of setting track-pitch at target track and two adjacent tracks.“

The abstract of the patent published by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office states: ”According to one embodiment, a magnetic disk device including a disk, a head, and a controller which sets a first track pitch based on fringing when a second track is written, sets a second track pitch based on fringing when a third track is written, calculates a difference between the first track pitch and the second track pitch, sets, when the difference is less than or equal to a reference value, an area to which the first track is written in a first recording area, and sets, when the difference is greater than the reference value, the area to which the first track is written in a second recording area.”

The patent application was filed on October 24, 2018 (16/169,266).

Parallel micro-actuator SSW writing
Kabushiki Kaisha Toshiba, Tokyo, Japan, and Toshiba Electronic Devices and Storage Corporation, Tokyo, Japan, has been assigned a patent (10,665,257) developed by Schmidt, Thorsten, Livermore, CA, Calfee, Gary W., Santa Clara, CA, Szita, Gabor, Mountain View, CA, and Pham, Hieu, San Jose, CA, for a “parallel micro-actuator SSW writing.“

The abstract of the patent published by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office states: ”A self servo-write process in performed on two or more recording surfaces simultaneously. In a dual-stage servo system, a first fine positioning servo system that includes a first microactuator independently controls the position of a first read/write head over a first recording surface of a hard disk drive, while a second fine positioning servo system that includes a second microactuator independently controls the position of a second read/write head over a second recording surface of the hard disk drive.”

The patent application was filed on March 12, 2018 (15/919,123).

Magnetic disk and write processing
Kabushiki Kaisha Toshiba, Tokyo, Japan, and Toshiba Electronic Devices and Storage Corporation, Tokyo, Japan, has been assigned a patent (10,658,004) developed by Kawabe, Takayuki, Sagamihara Kanagawa, Japan, for “magnetic disk device and write processing method.“

The abstract of the patent published by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office states: ”According to one embodiment, a magnetic disk device includes a disk, a head configured to write data to the disk and read data from the disk, and a controller configured to control the head to write a first track based on a first error rate read immediately after writing a second track adjacent in a radial direction of the disk to the first track.”

The patent application was filed on March 6, 2019 (16/294,009).

Magnetic disk, control, and regulator
Kabushiki Kaisha Toshiba, Tokyo, Japan, and Toshiba Electronic Devices and Storage Corporation, Tokyo, Japan, has been assigned a patent (10,658,002) developed by Kawamitsu, Yuki, Yokohama Kanagawa, Japan, for “magnetic disk device, control device, and regulator device.“

The abstract of the patent published by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office states: ”According to one embodiment, a magnetic disk device includes a control device and a regulator device. The control device and the regulator device are connected to each other through a first interface and a second interface. The control device transmits a required voltage value to the regulator device through the first interface and transmits a correction value based on the required voltage value and an output voltage output from the regulator device to the regulator device. The regulator device outputs a voltage to the control device on the basis of the received required voltage value and corrects a value of the voltage to be output to the control device on the basis of the received correction value.”

The patent application was filed on March 12, 2019 (16/299,653).

Magnetic disk and method
Kabushiki Kaisha Toshiba, Tokyo, Japan, and Toshiba Electronic Devices and Storage Corporation, Tokyo, Japan, has been assigned a patent (10,657,995) developed by Shimokawa, Hideo, Tokyo, Japan, and Yoshida, Kenji, Kamakura Kanagawa, Japan, for “magnetic disk device and method.“

The abstract of the patent published by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office states: ”According to one embodiment, a magnetic disk device includes a magnetic disk including a plurality of tracks, first and second actuators, and a control circuit. The magnetic disk includes the plurality of tracks. The control circuit writes, in a first track by using the first actuator, second data having a size corresponding to a first number among the first data. In addition, the control circuit writes, in a second track by using the second actuator, third data having a size corresponding to a second number among the first data. Each of the first track and the second track is a track among the plurality of tracks. The first number is a number of writable sectors included in the first track. The second number is a number of writable sectors included in the second track. The third data is data received subsequent to the second data.”

The patent application was filed on March 8, 2019 (16/296,633).

Disk device with dual actuator configuration
Kabushiki Kaisha Toshiba, Tokyo, Japan, and Toshiba Electronic Devices and Storage Corporation, Tokyo, Japan, has been assigned a patent (10,657,993) developed by Uehara, Manabu, Kawasaki Kanagawa, Japan, and Sasaki, Yasutaka, Yokohama Kanagawa, Japan, for a “disk device with dual actuator configuration.“

The abstract of the patent published by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office states: ”According to one embodiment, a disk device comprises a plurality of rotatable magnetic disks, a first actuator assembly, and a second actuator assembly. A slit provided in each of arms of the first actuator assembly is provided to be offset in a direction spaced away from a border plane between actuator assemblies with respect to a center of the arm in its thickness direction. A connection end portion of a wiring member is partially located in the slit, such as to be offset in a direction spaced away from the border plane, and disposed on a wiring board, and joined to the wiring board.”

The patent application was filed on August 8, 2019 (16/535,248).

Magnetic disk and write processing
Kabushiki Kaisha Toshiba, Tokyo, Japan, and Toshiba Electronic Devices and Storage Corporation, Tokyo, Japan, has been assigned a patent (10,650,860) developed by Maeto, Nobuhiro, and Takeo, Akihiko, Tokyo, Japan, for “magnetic disk device and write processing method.“

The abstract of the patent published by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office states: ”According to one embodiment, a magnetic disk device includes a disk, a head for writing data to the disk and reading data from the disk, and a controller configured to detect a positioning error of the head as the head is writing the data in a first track of the disk, and change a first threshold value for interrupting the writing based on one or more evaluation values corresponding to a possibility of correcting error data in the first track of the disk. The controller interrupts the writing when detecting the positioning error of the head writing the first track that exceeds the first threshold value.”

The patent application was filed on February 14, 2019 (16/275,967).

Switching circuit on power supply for magnetic disk recording
Kabushiki Kaisha Toshiba, Tokyo, Japan, and Toshiba Electronic Devices and Storage Corporation, Tokyo, Japan, has been assigned a patent (10,650,858) developed by Sudo, Daisuke, and Isokawa, Hiroshi, Yokohama Kanagawa, Japan, for a “switching circuit on power supply for magnetic disk recording device.“

The abstract of the patent published by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office states: ”According to one embodiment, there is provided a disk device including a head, a disk, a first motor, and a first circuit. The disk has a recording surface. The first motor causes the head to seek along the recording surface. The first circuit can switch between a first state and a second state. The first state is a state where a current path of the first motor is electrically cut off from a first electricity storage unit. The second state is a state where the current path of the first motor is electrically connected to the first electricity storage unit.”

The patent application was filed on August 28, 2018 (16/114,560).

Magnetic disk and control
Kabushiki Kaisha Toshiba, Tokyo, Japan, and Toshiba Electronic Devices and Storage Corporation, Tokyo, Japan, has been assigned a patent (10,650,857) developed by Horiguchi, Yutaka, Yokohama Kanagawa, Japan, for “magnetic disk device and control method.“

The abstract of the patent published by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office states: ”According to one embodiment, a magnetic disk device includes a disk medium which has a first region, a second region, and a redundant third region, and a control circuitry. The first region is a region to which first data received from a host is written. The second region is a region to which the first data is temporarily written before the first data is written to the first region. The control circuitry executes defect detection to the first region. Upon detecting a defect, the control circuitry substitutes a first location having the defect in the first region with a second location in the third region. Depending on a total size of free regions of the third region, the control circuitry reallocates a fourth region from the second region to the third region. The fourth region is part or all of the second region.”

The patent application was filed on February 27, 2019 (16/287,078).

Magnetic disk device configured to specify range of previously written track
Kabushiki Kaisha Toshiba, Tokyo, Japan, and Toshiba Electronic Devices and Storage Corporation, Tokyo, Japan, has been assigned a patent (10,650,845) developed by Ikeshima, Hitomi, Ota Tokyo, Japan, for a “magnetic disk device configured to specify a range of previously written track that is to be overlapped during a write and verify data previously written in the specified range after the write.“

The abstract of the patent published by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office states: ”A magnetic disk device includes a magnetic disk and a control circuit. The magnetic disk includes a first area where writing is performed in a manner such that a newly written track partially overlaps a previously written adjacent track. The control circuit is configured to specify a range of a second track, which is to be overlapped as a result of writing first data to a first track, write second data written in the specified range of the second track to a saving area prior to writing the first data to the first track, write the first data to the first track, and verify the second data in the second track after writing the first data to the first track.”

The patent application was filed on February 26, 2019 (16/286,519).

Hard disk and controlling
Kabushiki Kaisha Toshiba, Tokyo, Japan, and Toshiba Electronic Devices and Storage Corporation, Tokyo, Japan, has been assigned a patent (10,649,693) developed by Kondo, Yosuke, Fujisawa Kanagawa, Japan, and Furuhashi, Kana, Kawasaki Kanagawa, Japan, for “hard disk device and method of controlling the same.“

The abstract of the patent published by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office states: ”A hard disk device accepts logical block addresses (LBAs) from a host. The hard disk device includes a disk having a plurality of physical sectors from which data is read and to which data is written, and a processor configured to perform read and write operations on the disk in response to read and write commands from the host that designate LBAs. The processor, in response to a request for initialization, does not perform any write operations on the disk, and generates a new mapping of LBAs to the physical sectors for a current generation based on unusable sectors detected during a previous generation, and tracks differences in correspondence between LBAs and the physical sectors between the current generation and the previous generation.”

The patent application was filed on March 2, 2018 (15/910,396).

Disk apparatus and head
Kabushiki Kaisha Toshiba, Tokyo, Japan, and Toshiba Electronic Devices and Storage Corporation, Tokyo, Japan, has been assigned a patent (10,643,658) developed by Yamasaki, Nobuyoshi, Kamakura Kanagawa, Japan, for “disk apparatus and head apparatus.“

The abstract of the patent published by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office states: ”A disk apparatus includes a disk, a head, a circuit board, and an abnormality detection circuit. The head includes a plurality of loads, including at least a first load and a second load, associated with writing or reading of data to or from the disk, and a plurality of head terminals corresponding to and connected to the plurality of loads, respectively. The circuit board includes board terminals corresponding to and connected to the plurality of head terminals, respectively, and a preamplifier that applies a voltage to the loads via the plurality of board terminals during writing or reading of the data to or from the disk. The abnormality detection circuit detects a short-circuit between a first board terminal, which is the board terminal connected to the head terminal of the first load, and a second board terminal, which is the board terminal connected to the head terminal of the second load.”

The patent application was filed on February 14, 2019 (16/275,862).