Head-to-disk interference detector

Claim 2

In a disk drive system, the combination comprising: a head/disk assembly including a plurality of rotatable disks, a plurality of radially movable heads cooperating with said disks for transfer of data therebetween, and carriage means for supporting said heads; means, coupled to said carriage means, for conducting acoustic stress waves therefrom, said acoustic stress waves corresponding to vibrations caused by a mechanical interaction within the disk drive system; transducer means, coupled to said conductinq means, for sensing said acoustic stress waves and for outputting a first signal which is proportional thereto; processing means connected to receive said first signal for determining a degree of mechanical interaction, said processing means outputting a second signal; and means for displaying said second signal.

Claim 3

The combination according to claim 1, wherein said carriage means includes a threaded bore.

Claim 4

The combination according to claim 2, wherein said conducting means comprises a waveguide adapted to be coupled with said threaded bore.

Claim 5

The combination according to claim 3, wherein said waveguide comprises an aluminum rod.

Claim 6

The combination according to claim 1, wherein said processing means comprises: means for preamplifying said first signal; filter means, coupled to receive said preamplified first signal, for removing undesirable frequencies therefrom; and means for demodulating said preamplified and filtered first signal

Claim 7

The combination according to claim 5, wherein said demodulating means includes means for extracting time domain information from said first signal.

Claim 8

The combination according to claim 5, wherein said filter means comprises a high-pass filter.

Claim 9

The combination according to claim 5, wherein said filter means comprises a low-pass filter.

Claim 10

The combination according to claim 5, wherein said filter means comprises a bandpass filter.

Claim 11

The combination according to claim 5, wherein said filter means comprises: a filter network including at least one high-pass filter, at least one low-pass filter, and at least one bandpass filter; and means for selecting one of said filters included in said filter network.

Claim 12

The combination according to claim 1, wherein said transducer means comprises a piezoelectric sensor.

Claim 13

The combination according to claim 1, wherein said display means comprises a waveform analyzer.

Claim 14

The combination according to claim 1, wherein said mechanical interaction comprises head-to-disk interference.

Claim 15

A head-to-disk interference detector for use in a disk drive system having a head/disk assembly including a plurality of rotatable disks, a plurality of radially movable heads cooperating with the disks for transfer of data therebetween, and carriage means for supporting the heads, the carriage means including a threaded bore at a face thereof remote from the heads, wherein the detector comprises: means, coupled to the carriage means, for conducting acoustic stress waves therefrom, said acoustic stress waves corresponding to vibrations caused by an interaction between the disks and the heads; transducer means, coupled to said conducting means, for sensing said acoustic stress waves and for outputting a first signal which is proportional thereto; processing means connected to receive said first signal for determining the degree of head-to-disk interference, said processing means outputting a second signal; and means for displaying said second signal.

Claim 16

A head-to-disk interference detector for use in a disk drive system having a head/disk assembly including a plurality of rotatable disks, a plurality of radially movable heads cooperating with the disks for transfer of data therebetween, and carriage means for supporting the heads, the carriage means including a threaded bore at a face thereof remote from the heads, wherein the detector comprises: means, coupled to the carriage means, for conducting acoustic stress waves therefrom, said acoustic stress waves corresponding to vibrations caused by an interaction between the disks and the heads; transducer means, coupled to said conducting means, for sensing said acoustic stress waves and for outputting a first signal which is proportional thereto; processing means connected to receive said first signal for determining the degree of head-to-disk interference, said processing means outputting a second signal; and means for displaying said second signal.

Claim 17

The detector according to claim 14, wherein said conducting means comprises a waveguide coupled to the threaded bore.

Claim 18

The detector according to claim 15, wherein said waveguide comprises an aluminum rod.

Claim 19

The detector according to claim 14, wherein said processing means comprises: means for preamplifying said first signal; a high-pass filter, coupled to receive said preamplified first signal, for removing undesirable frequencies below a preselected frequency therefrom; means, coupled to said high-pass filter, for demodulating a signal received therefrom.

Claim 20

The detector according to claim 17, wherein said demodulating means comprises an absolute value detector.

Claim 21

The detector according to claim 17, wherein said preselected frequency comprises approximately twenty kilohertz.

Claim 24

The method according to claim 20, wherein said outputting step comprises the steps of: preamplifying said signal; selectively filtering said preamplified signal to remove undesirable frequencies therefrom; demodulating said filtered signal; and extracting time domain information from said demodulate signal for pulse height analysis.

Claim 25

The method according to claim 20, further comprising the step of displaying said signal on a waveform analyzer.

Claim 28

The method according to claim 23, wherein said impedance matching means comprises an aluminum rod threadedly coupled to the carriage means.

Claim 29

The method according to claim 24, wherein said processing step comprises the steps of: preamplifying a signal corresponding to said acoustic stress waves; selectively filtering said preamplified signal; and demodulating said selectively filtered signal.

Claim 30

The method according to claim 25, wherein said selectively filtering step comprises the steps of: providing a filter network, including a high-pass filter, a low-pass filter, and a bandpass filter; coupling said filter network between said aluminum rod and said waveform analyzer; and selecting one of said high-pass, low-pass, and bandpass filters.