Western Digital was granted a patent for precise disk-drive head positioning.

{
  "signal_id": "295b7bd0-c2a4-5018-847a-fb386a961ed8",
  "signal_type": "patents-company",
  "signal_subtype": "patentGrant",
  "detected_at": "2026-09-30T17:27:35+00:00",
  "company": {
    "name": "Western Digital",
    "domain": "westerndigital.com"
  },
  "data": {
    "cpc": [
      {
        "code": "G11B 5/59688"
      },
      {
        "code": "G11B 5/59627"
      },
      {
        "code": "G11B 5/59666"
      }
    ],
    "tags": [
      "Intellectual Property",
      "Research & Development",
      "Storage",
      "Engineering"
    ],
    "detail": "In September 2026 Western Digital patented servo-control technology for improving track alignment in magnetic disk drives used for data storage.",
    "summary": "Western Digital was granted a patent for precise disk-drive head positioning.",
    "event_at": "2026-09-29",
    "inventors": [
      {
        "name": "Guoxiao Guo",
        "status": "unresolved",
        "is_primary": true
      },
      {
        "name": "Tianyu Jiang",
        "status": "unresolved",
        "is_primary": false
      },
      {
        "name": "Charles A. Park",
        "status": "unresolved",
        "is_primary": false
      },
      {
        "name": "Scott A. Ottele",
        "status": "unresolved",
        "is_primary": false
      }
    ],
    "event_kind": "grant_date",
    "grant_date": "2026-09-29",
    "source_url": "https://patents.google.com/patent/US12749504",
    "cpc_primary": {
      "code": "G11B 5/59688"
    },
    "patent_title": "Burst pattern track-to-track phase adjustment in a data storage device",
    "patent_number": "US12749504",
    "uspto_assignee": "Western Digital Technologies, Inc.",
    "patent_abstract": "Example storage medium servo patterns, data storage devices, and methods to provide position error burst pattern track-to-track phase adjustment relative to other servo data in the servo sector are described. The data storage device may include storage media, such as magnetic disks, having servo sectors that define servo tracks, where each servo sector has a first portions, such as a preamble, servo address mark, and Gray code, and a set of position error bursts, where the position error bursts are written with a phase offset relative first portion. For example, a first burst in the set of position error bursts may be shifted by a phase offset value in one direction and a second burst may be shifted in the opposite direction and the shifts may vary from track-to-track in direction and phase offset value.",
    "precision_class": "structural",
    "invention_explanation": "A method that adjusts the timing of position-error signals from neighboring tracks so the drive head can stay accurately centered while reading or writing.",
    "technologies_mentioned": [
      "hard disk drives",
      "servo control",
      "magnetic storage",
      "position error sensing"
    ]
  }
}

curl https://signals.autobound.ai/v1/signals/295b7bd0-c2a4-5018-847a-fb386a961ed8 \
  -H "X-API-KEY: $AUTOBOUND_API_KEY"

curl -X POST https://signals.autobound.ai/v1/companies/enrich \
  -H "X-API-KEY: $AUTOBOUND_API_KEY" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"domain":"westerndigital.com","limit":20}'