Thomas Peter Gregory

US Patent:

6580585, Jun 17, 2003

Filed:

Jun 12, 2001

Appl. No.:

09/880233

Inventors:

Norbert A. Feliss - Sunnyvale CA
Thomas A. Gregory - Campbell CA
Sylvia L. Lee - San Jose CA
Donald Ray Gillis - San Jose CA
Vedantham Raman - Morgan Hill CA

Assignee:

Hitachi Global Storage Technologies, The Netherlands B.V. - Amsterdam

International Classification:

G11B 2122

US Classification:

3602548, 360 9702

Abstract:

The present invention is a magnetic disk drive for reading or writing magnetically, comprising: (i) a base plate; (ii) one or more of magnetic disks; (iii) a hub fixedly attached to the disks for supporting the disks; (iv) a motor operable to rotate the hub; (v) one or more of magnetic read/write heads, each associated with the surface of a disk; (vi) an actuator for supporting the heads and moving the heads across the disks; (vii) a support shaft attached to the base plate; and (viii) a load/unload structure for displacing the heads from the disk comprising an elongated body, a base portion fixedly attached to the base plate and a plurality of ramps extending outwardly from the body. The body of the structure is mounted through one or more holes in the body onto the support shaft so that the support shaft extends along the length of the body to support the structure.

US Patent:

6678113, Jan 13, 2004

Filed:

Mar 19, 2001

Appl. No.:

09/812017

Inventors:

Norbert A. Feliss - Sunnyvale CA
Sylvia Lui Lee - San Jose CA
Karl A. Flechsig - Los Gatos CA
Donald Ray Gillis - San Jose CA
Thomas A. Gregory - Campbell CA

Assignee:

Hitachi Global Storage Technologies Netherlands B.V. - Amsterdam

International Classification:

G11B 3314

US Classification:

360 9702, 360 9701, 360 9802, 360 7703, 360 60, 360 69

Abstract:

A device for monitoring lubricant within a disk drive includes a reservoir packet impregnated with lubricant. The reservoir packet is disposed between a first metal screen and a second metal screen such that a lubricant reservoir transducer is created. The capacitance of the lubricant reservoir packet is monitored and when it falls below a predetermined percentage of the initial capacitance, a user is warned to back up the files contained in the disk drive before failure due to lack of lubricant occurs.

US Patent:

6700735, Mar 2, 2004

Filed:

Jul 27, 2001

Appl. No.:

09/916857

Inventors:

Thomas A. Gregory - Campbell CA
Owen Ralph Melroy - Morgan Hill CA
Timothy Martin Reith - San Jose CA
Robert James Waltman - Gilroy CA

Assignee:

International Business Machines Corporation - Armonk NY

International Classification:

G11B 3314

US Classification:

360 9702

Abstract:

A lubricating perfluoropolyether (PFPE) composition for lubricating one or more disks in a disk drive system may be formed by providing a first component of PFPE molecules having an aggregate vapor pressure in the range of 1Ã10 to 1Ã10 atm and a second component of PFPE molecules comprising at least 5% of the total number of molecules of the first component, wherein the second component includes an aggregate vapor pressure lower than that of the first component. The first and second components are mixed together to form a homogeneous composition, which may be in the liquid form. The composition may be introduced into a reservoir in a vapor phase lubricant reservoir system in a disk drive enclosure.

US Patent:

6914739, Jul 5, 2005

Filed:

Nov 14, 2002

Appl. No.:

10/295442

Inventors:

Norbert A. Feliss - Sunnyvale CA, US
Donald Ray Gillis - San Jose CA, US
Thomas A. Gregory - Campbell CA, US
Sylvia Lui Lee - San Jose CA, US

Assignee:

Hitachi Global Storage Technologies Netherlands B.V. - Amsterdam

International Classification:

G11B015/18

US Classification:

360 69

Abstract:

A data storage system is described with a system for controlling the amount of lubricant being dispensed from the reservoir using a feedback loop that includes at least one sensor output for a physical parameter inside device such as temperature, humidity and fly-height. In one embodiment the lubricant reservoir housing is equipped with a movable shutter over an aperture in the lubricant reservoir housing. The area of the aperture through which the lubricant vapor can pass is controlled by moving the shutter. In another embodiment the lubricant reservoir housing is supplied with a lubricant diffusion packet such as an effusion cell or diffusion tube containing liquid lubricant. An energy source for the lubricant diffusion packet allows the temperature of the lubricant and, therefore, its vapor pressure, to be increased when the need for additional lubricant is sensed. In a preferred embodiment the output from a Quartz Crystal Microbalance (QCM) with an overcoat similar to that used on a disk is used to measure the degree of lubricant saturation inside the drive by sensing the change in the frequency of a crystal oscillator due to the lubricant adsorbing on a surface of the QCM.

US Patent:

6958876, Oct 25, 2005

Filed:

Jul 27, 2001

Appl. No.:

09/916854

Inventors:

Norbert A. Feliss - Sunnyvale CA, US
Donald R. Gillis - San Jose CA, US
Thomas A. Gregory - Campbell CA, US
Sylvia Lui Lee - San Jose CA, US
Vedantham Raman - Morgan Hill CA, US

Assignee:

Hitachi Global Storage Technologies Netherlands B.V. - Amsterdam

International Classification:

G11B015/18

US Classification:

360 69, 360 9703, 428 654

Abstract:

A method for detecting leakage from a disk drive enclosure includes providing a lubricating composition having a lubricating material and a tag material therein. The tag material has a volatility characteristic that is amenable to analysis. The method includes measuring a concentration of the tag material in the vapor phase. By measuring a concentration of the tag material, a leak rate of the lubricating material can be determined. The lubricating composition may include a perfluoropolyether lubricating material and a halogenated sulfur tag material such as SFand/or SF.

US Patent:

62050028, Mar 20, 2001

Filed:

Jun 13, 1997

Appl. No.:

8/874848

Inventors:

Peter Michael Baumgart - San Jose CA
Thomas Allen Gregory - Campbell CA
Ulla Vasant Nayak - San Jose CA
Thao Anh Nguyen - Malibu CA
Michael Luis Ramirez - San Jose CA
Andrew Ching Tam - Saratoga CA
Run-Han Wang - San Jose CA

Assignee:

International Business Machines Corporation - Armonk NY

International Classification:

G11B 582
G11B 554

US Classification:

360135

Abstract:

A disk drive having a disk with a contact start/stop (CSS) region on which a slider can rest is described. The CSS region is divided into at least three zones with the inner and outer zones having a surface topography which is different from the surface topography of the middle zone. The middle zone of the CSS region may be textured with bumps having a lower average height, a lower average density and/or a different bump diameter. The middle zone may also be left untextured. The slider is maintained over the CSS region during spin up and/or spin down.

US Patent:

39892069, Nov 2, 1976

Filed:

Aug 28, 1975

Appl. No.:

5/608483

Inventors:

Thomas J. Gregory - Saratoga CA

Assignee:

The United States of America as represented by the Administrator of the
United States National Aeronautics and Space Administration - Washington DC

International Classification:

B64F 106

US Classification:

244 63

Abstract:

A method and apparatus for launching a remotely piloted aircraft is disclosed wherein the aircraft, is revolved about a fixed pivot point until a pretermined speed is reached whereupon the vehicle is released from the launching apparatus. The vehicle is attached to one end of a rotatable arm, the imbalance on the arm being counteracted by a counter weight attached to the opposite end. The counter weight is released from the arm at the same time as the aircraft so as to avoid structural damage to the apparatus caused by rotation in the unbalanced condition. The arm is oriented such that it rotates in a plane inclined obliquely to the local gravitational field of the launch site. The supporting structure for the arm may be made stationary, or may be attached to a mobile vehicle for ground transportation.

US Patent:

52298990, Jul 20, 1993

Filed:

May 8, 1992

Appl. No.:

7/884262

Inventors:

Charles A. Brown - San Jose CA
Thomas A. Gregory - Rochester MN
Christopher G. Keller - Rochester MN
Herman R. Wendt - San Jose CA
Arthur R. Zingher - White Plains NY

Assignee:

International Business Machines Corporation - Armonk NY

International Classification:

G11B 3314

US Classification:

360 9702

Abstract:

The vapor drain is a device that permits steady state control of the composition of the atmosphere within a substantially sealed enclosure. For any fabricated enclosure the will be sources of vapor phase molecules: molecules evaporating from a deliberately installed lubricant reservoir, molecules outgassed from components, and molecules diffusing in from the outside world. The purpose of the vapor drain is to minimize the second two classes of molecules in the composition of the enclosure atmosphere as they are considered to be contaminants. An example application is a rigid disk magnetic data storage device which requires a monomelecular layer of lubricant on the disk and slider surfaces. The vapor drains suppresses the contaminant population by capturing a portion of all three sources of molecules in the vapor phase. The vapor drain is a filter which has an active element of at least one of activated carbon, silica gel, activated alumina, synthetic zeolite, and other material with a large surface to volume ratio with the ability to adsorb vapor components from the atmosphere.