Western Digital Technologies Assigned Eighteen Patents

Dual spindle motor hard disk drive
Western Digital Technologies, Inc., San Jose, CA, has been assigned a patent (11881232) developed by Han, Nan-Hsun, Santa Ana, CA, Lee, Brian K., Yorba Linda, CA, and Kastler, Danny J., Longmont, CO, for a “dual spindle motor hard disk drive.“

The abstract of the patent published by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office states: “A dual disk spindle motor hard disk drive includes a first portion having a first spindle motor and a first disk media stack mounted thereon and housed in a first enclosure, and a second portion having a coaxial second spindle motor and a second disk media stack mounted thereon and housed in a second enclosure, where the second portion further includes both the first actuator and head sliders corresponding to the first disk stack as well as the second actuator and head sliders corresponding to the second disk stack. The first and second portions are coupled together such that the open sides of the enclosures mate, referred to herein as a clamshell configuration, and each separate spindle motor is configured to operate independently of the other. With independent control of multiple spindle motors, various control functions may be utilized to address power consumption and temperature control.”

The patent application was filed on 2022-06-14 (17/840446).

Leading shield for magnetic recording heads
Western Digital Technologies, Inc., San Jose, CA, has been assigned a patent (11881235) developed by Goncharov, Alexander, Morgan Hill, CA, Li, Zhanjie, Pleasanton, CA, Lam, Terence T., Cupertino, CA, and Song, Suping, Fremont, CA, for a “leading shield for magnetic recording heads.“

The abstract of the patent published by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office states: “The present disclosure relates to a magnetic recording head having an exchange biased leading shield or leading edge shield (LES). The LES is a bilayer structure. One or more layers are coupled below the LES such that the LES is disposed between the main pole and the one or more layers. The one or more layers exchange bias the LES such that the upper layer of the LES has a magnetization parallel to the magnetization of the trailing shield. The lower layer of the LES has a magnetization that is antiparallel to the magnetization of the upper layer of the LES. The one or more layers set the preferred direction for the lower layer of the LES and sets the LES as a two-domain state without relying upon the anisotropy field (Hk) of either the upper or lower layers of the LES.”

The patent application was filed on 2022-02-22 (17/652066).

Spin torque oscillator with enhanced spin polarizer
Western Digital Technologies, Inc., San Jose, CA, has been assigned a patent (11881236) developed by Freitag, James Mac, Sunnyvale, CA, Okamura, Susumu, and Kaiser, Christian, San Jose, CA, for a “spin torque oscillator with enhanced spin polarizer.“

The abstract of the patent published by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office states: “The present disclosure generally relates to a magnetic recording head comprising a spintronic device. The spintronic device is disposed between a main pole and a trailing shield of the magnetic recording head. The spintronic device comprises a multilayer spacer layer comprising a Cu layer in contact with a spin torque layer and a spin transparent texture layer disposed on the Cu layer, the spin transparent texture layer comprising AgSn or AgZn. A multilayer notch comprising a CoFe layer is disposed over the spin transparent texture layer of the multilayer spacer layer and a Heusler alloy layer is disposed on the CoFe layer, the Heusler alloy layer comprising CoMnGe, CoFeGe, or CoFeMnGe. The multilayer spacer layer and the multilayer notch result in the spintronic device having a high spin polarization and a reduced critical current.”

The patent application was filed on 2022-06-21 (17/845797).

Sector mapout of low coercivity media for enhancing aerial density
Western Digital Technologies, Inc., San Jose, CA, has been assigned a patent (11881238) developed Popov, Zarko, Mission Viejo, CA, Vinson, Wayne H., Longmont, CO, Huo, Xing, Foothill Ranch, CA, and Nishiyama, Mao, Fujisawa, Japan, for a “sector mapout of low coercivity media for enhancing aerial density.“

The abstract of the patent published by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office states: “Various illustrative aspects are directed to a data storage device comprising one or more disks, an actuator assembly comprising one or more disk heads, and one or more processing devices, configured to detect a plurality of areas with a coercivity lower than a threshold on the one or more disks, map out one or more sectors in each of the plurality of lower coercivity areas on the one or more disks, write data to, or read data from, the one or more disks, based at least in part on mapping out the one or more sectors in each of the plurality of lower coercivity areas. In some embodiments, the writing or reading data comprises writing data to, or reading data from, one or more sectors of the one or more disks that are not mapped out.”

The patent application was filed on 2022-08-03 (17/880251).

Cross track current design for energy assisted magnetic recording
Western Digital Technologies, Inc., San Jose, CA, has been assigned a patent (11881237) developed Asif Bashir, Muhammad, Lee, Edward Hin Pong, San Jose, CA, Baer, Amanda, Campbell, CA, Pentek, Aron, San Jose, CA, Bai, Zhigang, Ding, Yunfei, Fremont, CA, Olson, James Terrence, San Jose, CA, Goncharov, Alexander, Morgan Hill, CA, and Van Der Heijden, Petrus Antonius, Cupertino, CA, for a “cross track current design for energy assisted magnetic recording.“

The abstract of the patent published by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office states: “The present disclosure is generally related to a magnetic recording device comprising a magnetic recording head having a current flow in a cross-track direction around a main pole. The magnetic recording device comprises a main pole disposed between a trailing shield, a leading shield, and side shields. A trailing gap is disposed between the main pole and the trailing shield. A hot seed layer is disposed between the trailing gap and the trailing shield. A first insulation layer is disposed between the hot seed layer and the trailing shield, where the first insulation layer contacts the side shields. A second insulation layer is disposed between the main pole and leading shield, where the second insulation layer contacts the side shields. The first and second insulation layers direct the current through the side shields and across the main pole in a cross-track direction.”

The patent application was filed on 2021-11-24 (17/456440).

Adaptive dual heater mode for HDD
Western Digital Technologies, Inc., San Jose, CA, has been assigned a patent (11869546) developed Zeng, Qinghua, Fremont, CA, Kermiche, Noureddine, Dana Point, CA, Saito, Kazuhiro, Salt Lake City, UT, and Knigge, Bernhard E., San Jose, CA, for an “adaptive dual heater mode for hard disk drive.“

The abstract of the patent published by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office states: “Various illustrative aspects are directed to a data storage device comprising a disk, a read/write head having read and write portions configured to read data from and write data to the disk, read and write heaters configured to thermally adjust read and write spacings of the read and write portions from the disk surface, and a controller configured to control power applied to the read and write heaters based on a dual heater power ratio (DHR) of the respective power applied to each heater. The DHR is set based on a point during touchdown at which a reader shield and a writer shield have maximum contact with the surface of the disk (DHRmax).”

The patent application was filed on 2022-07-27 (17/874903).

Load/unload ramp for high-capacity HDD
Western Digital Technologies, Inc., San Jose, CA, has been assigned a patent (11869541) developed Nakamura, Taichi, Sagamihara, Japan, Sun, Biao, Fremont, CA, and Tanaka, Katsuhide, Hiratsuka, Japan, for a “load/unload ramp for high-capacity hard disk drive.“

The abstract of the patent published by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office states: “A multi-slope load/unload ramp for a hard disk drive includes an inner first portion having a non-horizontal first slope and an adjacent outer second portion having a different non-horizontal second slope. The first slope may be steeper than the second slope, and the ramp may further include a third portion adjacent to the second portion and also having a third slope steeper than the second slope, with the ramp configured for positioning the first and second portions to overlap the disk while the third segment may be in part outside the disk. The second slope may be steeper than the first slope, with the ramp configured for positioning the first portion to overlap the disk while the second portion may be in part outside of the disk. Hence, any slider rebound from the steeper portions would occur outside of the disk and avoid a slider-disk crash.”

The patent application was filed on 2022-07-13 (17/864259).

Magnetic recording devices having external alternating current sources
Western Digital Technologies, Inc., San Jose, CA, has been assigned a patent (11869548) developed Asif Bashir, Muhammad, San Jose, CA, Van Der Heijden, Petrus Antonius, Cupertino, CA, Olson, James Terrence, San Jose, CA, Goncharov, Alexander, Morgan Hill, CA, Bai, Zhigang, and Ding, Yunfei, Fremont, CA, for “magnetic recording devices having external alternating current sources.“

The abstract of the patent published by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office states: “Aspects of the present disclosure generally relate to a magnetic recording head assembly that includes an external alternating current (AC) source. A magnetic recording head of the magnetic recording head assembly includes a conductive structure between a main pole and a trailing shield. The conductive structure includes a conductive layer, and the conductive layer is nonmagnetic. The magnetic recording head assembly also includes an external AC source to supply AC current that flows through the conductive structure. In one aspect, the conductive structure is between a coil structure and the trailing shield, and the external AC source is coupled to the coil structure. The conductive structure and the external AC source facilitate consistently providing an enhanced AC writing field to facilitate effective and reliable writing, high ADC, high SNR, and reduced jitter.”

The patent application was filed on 2021-02-23 (17/183161).

Multi-channel recording head having servo readers proximate to write transducers and read transducers
Western Digital Technologies, Inc., San Jose, CA, has been assigned a patent (11862195) developed Biskeborn, Robert G, Hollister, CA, Seagle, David J., Morgan Hill, CA, and Brown, Diane L, San Jose, CA, for a “multi-channel recording head having servo readers proximate to write transducers and read transducers.“

The abstract of the patent published by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office states: “The present disclosure is generally related to a tape head and a tape drive including a tape head. The tape head comprises one or more head assemblies, each head assembly comprising a plurality of write heads aligned in a row, at least one writer servo head aligned with the row of write heads, a plurality of read heads aligned in a row, and at least one reader servo head aligned with the row of read heads. The writer servo head and the reader servo head are independently controllable and are configured to operate concurrently. The tape head is able to accurately and independently position the write heads using the writer servo head(s) when writing data to a tape and position the read heads using the reader servo head(s) when reading data from the tape, even if the write heads and read heads are or become mis-aligned.”

The patent application was filed on 2022-02-08 (17/667242).

Spin torque oscillator with multilayer seed for improved performance and reliability
Western Digital Technologies, Inc., San Jose, CA, has been assigned a patent (11862205) developed Freitag, James Mac, Sunnyvale, CA, Ahn, Yongchul, Okamura, Susumu, and Kaiser, Christian, San Jose, CA, for a “spin torque oscillator with multilayer seed for improved performance and reliability.“

The abstract of the patent published by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office states: “The present disclosure generally relates to a magnetic recording device having a magnetic recording head comprising a spintronic device. The spintronic device is disposed between a main pole and a trailing shield at a media facing surface. The spintronic device comprises a spin torque layer (STL) and a multilayer seed layer disposed in contact with the STL. The spintronic device may further comprise a field generation layer disposed between the trailing shield and the STL. The multilayer seed layer comprises an optional high etch rate layer, a heat dissipation layer comprising Ru disposed in contact with the optional high etch rate layer, and a cooling layer comprising Cr disposed in contact with the heat dissipation layer and the main pole. The high etch rate layer comprises Cu and has a high etch rate to improve the shape of the spintronic device during the manufacturing process.”

The patent application was filed on 2022-06-21 (17/845809).

Storage device with flexible logical tracks and radius-independent data rate
Western Digital Technologies, Inc., San Jose, CA, has been assigned a patent (11862211) developed Hall, David R., Rochester, MN, for a “data storage device with flexible logical tracks and radius-independent data rate.“

The abstract of the patent published by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office states: “Various illustrative aspects are directed to a data storage device, comprising one or more disks, at least one actuator mechanism configured to position at least a first head proximate to a first disk surface and a second head proximate to a second disk surface, and one or more processing devices. The one or more processing devices are configured to: assign logical tracks to physical tracks of the disk surfaces such that a respective logical track comprises: at least a portion of sectors of a primary physical track, the primary physical track being on the first disk surface, and at least a portion of sectors of a donor physical track, the donor physical track being on the second disk surface. The one or more processing devices are configured to perform, using the first head and the second head, a data access operation with at least one of the logical tracks.”

The patent application was filed on 2022-06-30 (17/855660).

Current assisted HAMR magnetic writer
Western Digital Technologies, Inc., San Jose, CA, has been assigned a patent (11854584) developed Asif Bashir, Muhammad, San Jose, CA, Goncharov, Alexander, Morgan Hill, CA, Matsumoto, Takuya, San Jose, CA, and Van Der Heijden, Petrus Antonius, Cupertino, CA, for a “current assisted HAMR magnetic writer.“

The abstract of the patent published by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office states: “The present disclosure relates to heat-assisted magnetic recording (HAMR) write heads including a waveguide and a main pole having a main pole tip. One or more current paths are provided through the main pole tip. Terminals of the one or more current paths can be coupled to the main pole, a trailing shield, a leading shield, a heat sink layer, a touch pad, a pole diffusion barrier layer, a NTS sensor, or another suitable component of the HAMR write head.”

The patent application was filed on 2022-07-29 (17/876900).

Anti-parallel coupled writer shields with stable magnetic domain configuration
Western Digital Technologies, Inc., San Jose, CA, has been assigned a patent (11848034) developed Chen, Yingjian, Fremont, CA, Chen, Yonghua, Zheng, Anna, San Jose, CA, Li, Zhanjie, Pleasanton, CA, Wang, Yi, Mountain View, CA, Shen, Jian Xiang, Pleasanton, CA, and Guan, Lijie, San Jose, CA, for an “anti-parallel coupled writer shields with stable magnetic domain configuration.“

The abstract of the patent published by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office states: “The present disclosure generally relates to magnetic recording devices with stable magnetization. The magnetic recording device comprises a lower leading shield, an upper leading shield disposed on the lower leading shield, a main pole disposed above the upper leading shield, a trailing shield disposed above the main pole and upper leading shield, and an upper return pole disposed above the trailing shield. A first non-magnetic layer is disposed between the lower leading shield and the upper leading shield, and a second non-magnetic layer is disposed between the trailing shield and the upper return pole. The lower leading shield has a different domain state than the upper leading shield, and the trailing shield and the upper leading shield have a same domain state. The materials and thickness of the first and second non-magnetic layers result in magnetostatic coupling or anti-ferromagnetic coupling.”

The patent application was filed on 2021-12-03 (17/541794).

Storage device having dual actuators and method for data egress throttling during Emergency Power Off Retract (EPOR)
Western Digital Technologies, Inc., San Jose, CA, has been assigned a patent (11837264) developed Johnson, Brian, Laguna Hills, CA, Byoun, Jaesoo, Irvine, CA, Ikedo, Gaku, Ito, Hideaki, Kagami, Naoyuki, and Watanabe, Hiroki, Fujisawa, Japan, for “data storage device having dual actuators and method for data egress throttling during Emergency Power Off Retract (EPOR).“

The abstract of the patent published by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office states: “A data storage device comprises a lead actuator that actuates a first read-write head over a first disk and a support actuator that actuates a second read-write head over a second disk. A spindle motor rotates the first and second disks. In response to an emergency power off (EPO) event, a processing device retracts and parks the actuators using an internal supply voltage generated from a back electromotive force (BEMF) voltage of the spindle motor, and egresses data from a volatile to a non-volatile semiconductor memory. Egress is throttled before the actuators are retracted and parked when the internal supply voltage falls to or below a first egress throttling threshold voltage. Egress is throttled after the actuators are retracted and parked when the internal supply voltage falls to or below a second egress throttling threshold voltage.”

The patent application was filed on 2022-04-08 (17/716296).

Storage device with split burst servo pattern
Western Digital Technologies, Inc., San Jose, CA, has been assigned a patent (11830524) developed Yasuna, Kei, Kanagawa, Japan, Guo, Guoxiao, Irvine, CA, and Yokokawa, Ichiro, Kanagawa, Japan, for a “data storage device with split burst servo pattern.“

The abstract of the patent published by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office states: “Various illustrative aspects are directed to a data storage device, comprising: one or more disks, an actuating mechanism comprising one or more heads, and configured to position the one or more heads proximate to disk surfaces of the one or more disks, and one or more processing devices. The one or more processing devices are configured to: determine a first burst value based on an averaged value of a first set of one or more bursts, determine a second burst value based on an averaged value of a second set of one or more bursts, generate a position error signal (PES) based on the determined first burst value and the determined second burst value, and control a position of at least one head among the one or more heads based on the PES.”

The patent application was filed on 2022-06-13 (17/839011).

High concurrent channels magnetic recording head having same-gap-verify and multiple servo readers
Western Digital Technologies, Inc., San Jose, CA, has been assigned a patent (11817137) developed Biskeborn, Robert G., Hollister, CA, for a “high concurrent channels magnetic recording head having same-gap-verify and multiple servo readers.“

The abstract of the patent published by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office states: “The present disclosure generally relates to a tape drive including a tape head. The tape head comprises one or more modules, each module comprising a plurality of writers disposed in a first row, a plurality of readers disposed in a second row parallel to the first row, a first servo reader aligned with either the first row or the second row, and a second servo reader aligned in a third row parallel to the first and second rows. The first servo reader and the second servo reader are offset from one another in a first direction and in a second direction perpendicular to the first direction, the first direction being a cross-track direction. The first servo reader and the second servo reader are spaced apart in the first direction about 1 μm to about 20 μm.”

The patent application was filed on 2022-06-24 (17/849512).

RW device for archival data storage library
Western Digital Technologies, Inc., San Jose, CA, has been assigned a patent (11810600) developed Hirano, Toshiki, San Jose, CA, for a “read-write device for an archival data storage library.“

The abstract of the patent published by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office states: “A magnetic read-write device includes a disk spindle on which disk media are rotatably mounted, an enclosure in which the spindle is housed, an opening/closing mechanism such as a cover configured for opening to provide access to the spindle and for closing to contain particles that may be generated during operation of the device, and a seal configured for sealing the enclosure when the opening/closing mechanism is closed. The device may further include a pre-loaded hinge coupling the cover with the enclosure, and a loading mechanism such as a spring coupled with the hinge and configured for biasing the cover to a closed position and for applying a sealing force to the seal at an interface of the cover and the enclosure. This type of device may be implemented for use in an archival data storage system library such as in a cleanroom storage system.”

The patent application was filed on 2021-08-18 (17/405991).

Magnetic recording media with tungsten pre-seed layer
Western Digital Technologies, Inc., San Jose, CA, has been assigned a patent (11810605) developed Tang, Kai, San Jose, CA, for a “magnetic recording media with tungsten pre-seed layer.“

The abstract of the patent published by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office states: “Various apparatuses, systems, methods, and media are disclosed to provide a magnetic recording medium with a tungsten (W) pre-seed layer. The W pre-seed layer has a higher conductance than a CrTi pre-seed layer with a similar thickness. In one embodiment, the W pre-seed layer is made of about 95 atomic percent or more of W. The W pre-seed layer has lower electrical resistivity than the CrTi pre-seed layer. As a result, the thickness of the W pre-seed layer can be reduced as compared to the thickness of a CrTi pre-seed layer if a similar conductance is to be achieved. The magnetic recording materials deposited on top of the W pre-seed layer with the reduced thickness provide comparable crystallographic orientation and recording performance to those deposited on top of a thicker CrTi pre-seed layer with a similar conductance.”

The patent application was filed on 2021-09-29 (17/488703).