Francis M Lee

6497021, Dec 24, 2002

Jan 14, 1999

09/231424

Francis Chee-Shuen Lee - San Jose CA
Michael Lee McGhee - San Jose CA
Salvador Navarro - Hollister CA
Ullal Vasant Nayak - San Jose CA
Hang Fai Ngo - San Jose CA

International Business Machines Corporation - Armonk NY

B24B 3900

29 9001, 451290, 451317

A method and apparatus for providing a low cost contact burnish slider is disclosed that can remain in contact or at the initial low flying heights even as the pad surfaces and leading edges wear. The burnish slider includes a body having a leading edge and a trailing edge and an air bearing surface being configured at the leading edge of the body to cut disk asperities as the slider flies and configured away from the leading edge to maintain a flying attitude wherein the leading edge is near the data recording surface and to provide restoring forces to maintain the flying attitude. The air bearing surface may include a front pad proximal to the leading edge and a rear pad distal to the leading edge. Alternatively, the air bearing surface may include two front pads proximal to the leading edge on opposite sides of the body and two rear pads distal to the leading edge and disposed on opposite sides of the body. The front and rear pad(s) extends substantially across the body of the slider.

6697216, Feb 24, 2004

Jul 31, 2001

09/920534

Qinghua Zeng - Fremont CA
Toshiki Hirano - San Jose CA
Tzong-Shii S. Pan - San Jose CA
Francis C. Lee - San Jose CA

Hitachi Global Storage Technologies

G11B 5012

360 9701

The present invention is directed towards a disk drive that comprises at least one head carrying assembly that includes an actuator arm, a suspension attached to the actuator arm, and a head carried by the suspension. Each head is positioned upstream of its actuator arm. This reversed-flow orientation reduces head vibration and disk power requirements.

6714382, Mar 30, 2004

Oct 13, 2000

09/687234

Pantelis S. Alexopoulos - San Jose CA
Lee K. Dorius - San Jose CA
Francis Chee-Shuen Lee - San Jose CA
Timothy C. OSullivan - San Jose CA
Gurinder Singh - San Jose CA

Hitachi Global Storage Technologies

G11B 560

3602358

The present invention provides a non-actuatable, self-limiting wear contact pad slider and method for making the same. A protruding element surrounding the transducer is fabricated using a third etch step so that the protruding element has a height that is greater than or equal to the designed fly height of the aerodynamic lift surface minus the disk roughness.

6735051, May 11, 2004

Jun 12, 2003

10/460910

Qinghua Zeng - Fremont CA, 94538
Toshiki Hirano - San Jose CA, 95120
Tzong-Shii S. Pan - San Jose CA, 95129
Francis C. Lee - San Jose CA, 95120

G11B 555

3602457

The present invention is directed towards a suspension for use with heads that are positioned upstream of the actuator arm in a disk drive. The suspension includes a motion limiter to limit displacement both away from the load beam and towards the flexure proximal end. The suspension also includes traces with connections located on the proximal end of the gimbaled region of the flexure for making electrical contact with a head on a slider.

6751063, Jun 15, 2004

Jul 31, 2001

09/920272

Robert N. Payne - San Jose CA
Francis C. Lee - San Jose CA

Hitachi Global Storage Technologies Netherlands B.V.

G11B 560

3602347, 3602363, 360237

The present invention is directed towards air-bearing sliders that are used in disk drives. The invention involves pitching a slider so that the leading portion of the slider is closer to the disk than the trailing portion of the slider. The negative pitch reduces the sensitivity of the slider to ambient air pressure, radial position, and to data accessing over the disk. When used in combination with a reverse-flow disk drive, negatively pitched sliders facilitate the routing of traces to the head.

6914752, Jul 5, 2005

Mar 26, 2003

10/400210

Thomas R. Albrecht - Au ZH, CH
Francis Chee-Shuen Lee - Cupertino CA, US
Charles Mathew Mate - San Jose CA, US
Tzong-Shii Pan - San Jose CA, US
Robert N. Payne - San Jose CA, US

Hitachi Global Storage Technologies Netherlands B.V. - Amsterdam

G11B005/60

3602461, 3602462, 3602463, 3602354, 3602453

A magnetic recording disk drive achieves continuous contact recording with a head-suspension assembly that compensates for the moment generated from an adhesive force between the head carrier or slider and the disk. The slider pivot point, which is the point where the load force is applied to the flexure that supports the slider, is located closer to the front end of the slider than the net force applied by the air-bearing surface of the slider when the disk is rotating at its operational speed. This assures that the net air-bearing force generates a moment about the pivot point to partially counteract the flexure moment and the moment generated from the adhesive force between the disk and the slider's contact pad.

6965498, Nov 15, 2005

Dec 18, 2003

10/742660

Robert N. Payne - San Jose CA, US
Francis C. Lee - San Jose CA, US

Hitachi Global Storage Technologies Netherlands B.V. - Amsterdam

G11B005/60

3602347, 3602363, 360237

The present invention is directed towards air-bearing sliders that are used in disk drives. The invention involves pitching a slider so that the leading portion of the slider is closer to the disk than the trailing portion of the slider. The negative pitch reduces the sensitivity of the slider to ambient air pressure, radial position, and to data accessing over the disk. When used in combination with a reverse-flow disk drive, negatively pitched sliders facilitate the routing of traces to the head.

7029590, Apr 18, 2006

Jun 20, 2003

10/600730

Pantelis S. Alexopoulos - San Jose CA, US
Lee K. Dorius - San Jose CA, US
Francis Chee-Shuen Lee - San Jose CA, US
Timothy C. O'Sullivan - San Jose CA, US
Gurinder Singh - San Jose CA, US

Hitachi Global Storage Technologies Netherlands B.V.

G11B 5/60

216 22, 21 41, 2960312, 2960315, 360113

The present invention provides a non-actuatable, self-limiting wear contact pad slider and method for making the same. A protruding element surrounding the transducer is fabricated using a third etch step so that the protruding element has a height that is greater than or equal to the designed fly height of the aerodynamic lift surface minus the disk roughness.