Western Digital Technologies Assigned Four Patents

Head assembly with suspension system for tape embedded drive
Western Digital Technologies, Inc., San Jose, CA, has been assigned a patent (11,393,498) developed by Kobayashi, Masahito, Ushiko, Japan, for a “head assembly with suspension system for a tape embedded drive.“

The abstract of the patent published by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office states: “A storage device comprises tape reel(s) holding tape media for storing data, a head assembly, motor(s) configured to actuate the head assembly, a sealed casing, and a printed circuit board assembly (PCBA) configured to control operations of the motor(s). The head assembly comprises a support structure, a head bar with read head(s) and write head(s, and a suspension system connecting the head bar to the support structure. The sealed casing encloses in its interior the tape reel(s, the head assembly, and the motor(s). Meanwhile, the PCBA is mounted on an external surface of the casing.”

The patent application was filed on April 26, 2021 (17/240,691).

Storage device demodulating servo stripes using matched filter
Western Digital Technologies, Inc., San Jose, CA, has been assigned a patent (11,386,928) developed by Yamamoto, Satoshi, San Jose, CA, Burton, Derrick E., Ladera Ranch, CA, and Kobayashi, Masahito, Ibaraki, Japan, for a “data storage device demodulating servo stripes using matched filter.“

The abstract of the patent published by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office states: “A data storage device is disclosed comprising at least one head configured to access a magnetic tape comprising a plurality of servo frames each comprising a plurality of servo bursts, wherein each servo burst comprises a plurality of servo stripes. The servo stripes in a first servo burst are read using the head to generate a first read signal that is processed using a first matched filter matched to the first servo burst in order to generate an average time stamp for the servo stripes in the first servo burst. A position error signal (PES) is generated based on the average time stamp of the first servo burst, and the head is positioned relative to the magnetic tape based on the PES.”

The patent application was filed on February 15, 2021 (17/176,024).

Storage device synchronizing first channel based on sync mark detected in second channel
Western Digital Technologies, Inc., San Jose, CA, has been assigned a patent (11,386,927) developed by Burton, Derrick E., Ladera Ranch, CA, Hanson, Weldon M., Galbraith, Richard L., and Oboukhov, Iouri, Rochester, MN, for a “data storage device synchronizing first channel based on sync mark detected in second channel.“

The abstract of the patent published by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office states: “A data storage device configured to access a magnetic tape is disclosed comprising a plurality of data tracks. A first head is configured to access a first data track comprising a first sync mark, and a second head is configured to access a second data track comprising a second sync mark. The first head is used to read first data from the first data track, wherein the first data comprises a plurality of symbols, and the second head is used to read the second sync mark from the second data track. The first data is symbol synchronized based on the second head reading the second sync mark from the second data track.”

The patent application was filed on May 26, 2021 (17/330,675).

Storage device compensating for head/tape wear
Western Digital Technologies, Inc., San Jose, CA, has been assigned a patent (11,386,925) developed by Malina, James N., Irvine, CA, Watson, Mark L., Boulder, CO, Boyle, William B., Lake Forest, CA, and Chew, David W., San Juan Capistrano, CA, for a “data storage device compensating for head/tape wear.“

The abstract of the patent published by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office states: “A data storage device is disclosed comprising at least one head configured to access a magnetic tape. A plurality of access commands are stored in a command queue, and a wear value is generated for each access command in the command queue, wherein the wear value represents a level of wear on the head or magnetic tape associated with executing the access command. An execution order for the access commands is generated based on the wear values, and at least one of the access commands is executed based on the execution order.”

The patent application was filed on February 18, 2021 (17/178,376).