• Journal of Applied Reliability
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• v.14 no.3
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• pp.147-151
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• 2014

An actuator latch device of a hard disk drive is installed for locking an actuator to hold a magnetic head parked in a parking zone. Applying an external force to the drive, the head can move away from the parking zone and destroy data on the disk. A magnet latching mechanism is used to prevent the actuator from moving when the computer is not in use. A permanent magnet holds the actuator when the head is in the parking zone. When the computer is turned on, the actuator has to overcome the latch magnet in order to move. A stronger latch magnet will hold the actuator adequately, but the actuator will not be released when unlocking is required. A breakthrough solution is needed to improve the reliability of the drive without any deterioration of its performance. In order to obtain the idea for resolving this technical contradiction, we analyse patents for actuator latch device of a hard disk drive. A practical way for solving contradictions in product development using TRIZ is proposed in this paper.