JP2016066395A - Manufacturing device of head stack assembly - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To make it possible to attach a slider to a suspension fixed to an E block during manufacture of a head stack assembly.SOLUTION: In a manufacturing device of a head stack assembly, arranged is means capable of executing: a step of relatively moving, in a direction parallel to a center plane of a pair of suspensions opposed to each other, the suspensions and an optical axis converter and causing the optical axis converter to enter between the pair of suspensions; a step of photographing two reference marks by a camera of which a photographing optical axis is bent by the optical axis converter; and a step of detecting a loading position of the slider from an image of the two reference marks.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 2

Description

  The present invention relates to an apparatus for manufacturing a head stack assembly. More specifically, the present invention relates to an apparatus for manufacturing a head stack assembly including a plurality of devices called magnetic heads for writing and reading magnetic records to and from a recording medium such as a hard disk.

  In so-called hard disk devices, which have recently increased in recording density, the recording density of the hard disk has been improved and the layer thickness has been reduced along with the increase in the number of mounted hard disks. Is also underway. Further, as exemplified in Patent Document 1, a configuration in which a storage capacity is increased by arranging a plurality of hard disks in a single hard disk device is also generalized. In this case, a head stack assembly (hereinafter referred to as HSA) in which a plurality of magnetic heads are integrated, which enables a magnetic head to be arranged on each of the recording surfaces of the plurality of hard disks, is used.

  The magnetic head itself consists of a member called a slider in which an electric / magnetic conversion element is built. The slider to which the wiring or the like is connected is supported by the tip of an elastic thin plate member called a suspension (see Patent Document 2). The suspension is further supported by a member called a metal load beam, and the suspension, the load beam and the like constitute a head gimbal assembly (hereinafter referred to as HGA) including a slider. The HGA is connected to a rigid body called an E block that rotates around an axis perpendicular to the direction in which the HGA substantially extends at the end opposite to the side on which the slider is fixed. Conventionally, the above-mentioned HSA for magnetic recording reading or the like has been assembled as an integral part by manufacturing this HGA alone and then attaching it to the E block.

JP 2007-164968 A Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 11-031369 JP 2005-158198 A

  As shown in Patent Document 2, conventionally, after a completed HGA is assembled to an E block to form an HSA, a characteristic inspection of each integrated magnetic head is performed. However, as pointed out in Patent Document 3, when the HGA undergoes various processes, there is a high possibility that the slider is electrically or physically damaged in the process. In addition, HGAs for which defects have been found after completion of HSA need to be assembled at the position of the HGA after being removed from the E block. Cause the possibility of damage.

  Patent Document 3 proposes a step of attaching a slider to a suspension after being assembled to an E block in view of the above phenomenon. However, in the step of actually attaching the slider to the suspension, for example, the slider must be attached to each of the opposing suspensions at an interval of 1 mm or less. Here, when attaching the slider to the suspension, it is required to accurately control the positional relationship with reference to a positioning mark or the like provided on the suspension (see Patent Document 2). However, in practice, suitable position control is not easy because the distance between the suspensions is narrow.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above situation, and manufacture of a head stack assembly that enables mounting of a slider while suitably positioning each of a plurality of suspensions arranged with a small interval therebetween. The purpose is to provide a device.

  In order to solve the above-described problem, a head stack assembly manufacturing apparatus according to the present invention includes a head stack assembly in which a slider is mounted on each of opposing surfaces of a pair of suspensions that are arranged to face each other with at least two reference points. A manufacturing apparatus that holds the slider and can place the slider on a slider mounting surface of the suspension; and an optical axis converter having a size that allows the slider to enter between the pair of opposing suspensions. A camera capable of photographing at least one of the two reference points by bending a photographing optical axis by the optical axis converter, and the suspension and the light in a direction parallel to a center plane of the pair of suspensions facing each other. And a relative movement mechanism capable of relatively moving the shaft converter.

In the above-described head stack assembly manufacturing apparatus, the head stack assembly manufacturing apparatus includes a horizontal camera capable of detecting the center plane by photographing a gap between the pair of suspensions facing each other, and the relative movement mechanism is configured to be perpendicular to the center plane. It is preferable that relative movement between the suspension and the optical axis converter is possible.
The optical axis converter and the camera are preferably moved relative to each other by the relative movement mechanism.
The optical axis converter preferably bends the direction of the photographing optical axis of the camera by 90 °.
Alternatively, the camera has a lower camera for photographing the slider held by the chuck from below in a direction perpendicular to the center plane, and the chuck is arranged around an axis perpendicular to the center plane based on the image of the camera. More preferably, the holding posture of the slider is corrected by rotation.
Preferably, the relative position moving mechanism stops the relative movement at a position where the optical axis converter corresponds to each of the reference points, and the camera captures the reference point in response to the stop. Alternatively, the relative position moving mechanism relatively moves the optical axis converter at a predetermined speed within a range including each of the reference points, and the camera continuously acquires images during the relative movement at the predetermined speed. Preferably it is possible. Furthermore, each of the suspensions is fixed to an E block that can rotate around a predetermined rotation axis at an end opposite to the side on which the slider is fixed, and the center plane is orthogonal to the predetermined rotation axis. More preferably, it is a flat surface.

  According to the present invention, it is possible to mount the slider while performing suitable positioning with respect to each of the plurality of suspensions arranged at a minute interval.

It is a side view which shows typically an example of the positional relationship of HGA which the HSA manufacturing apparatus of this invention makes object. It is a figure which shows typically the main structure with 1 set of HGA mentioned above about the HSA manufacturing apparatus which concerns on one Embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which illustrates other forms of a mirror. It is a figure which shows typically each process of the HSA manufacturing method concerning a first embodiment of the present invention, respectively. It is a figure which shows typically each process of the HSA manufacturing method concerning a second embodiment of the present invention, respectively. It is a figure which shows typically schematic structure of the HSA manufacturing apparatus which concerns on one Embodiment of this invention.

  In the description of the present invention, the actual positional relationship between the suspension and the slider will be described first. FIG. 1 schematically shows a state in which a front end portion of a pair of HGAs arranged opposite to each other in the HSA is viewed from the side. In the figure, a set of HGAs 10 is shown in which a slider 13 is attached to the tip of the suspension 11 and the sliders 13 face each other. When functioning as a hard disk device, a hard disk (not shown) enters between these sliders 13, and recording or reading is performed in that state.

  Here, for example, it is assumed that the slider has a thickness of 0.2 mm and the interval between the suspensions 11 is set to about 1.5 mm. In this case, the operation of positioning the slider 13 and attaching it to the suspension 11 needs to be performed between 1.1 mm between the slider 13 surfaces. It is considered that a pair of HGAs are further arranged above and below the pair of HGAs 10 shown in the figure. Therefore, it has been difficult to photograph a positioning mark or the like placed on the suspension 11 with a conventional camera or the like. there were.

  An embodiment of the present invention that enables the slider 13 to be attached to the suspension 11 while maintaining the above positional relationship will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 2 schematically shows the main configuration of the HSA manufacturing apparatus according to one embodiment of the present invention together with the set of HGAs 10 described above. The HSA manufacturing apparatus according to this embodiment includes a mirror 15 as an optical axis conversion unit and a camera 17 as a photographing apparatus. In addition, the HSA manufacturing apparatus mounts a slider on each of the opposing surfaces of a pair of suspensions that are opposed to each other with reference marks.

  As described above, the thin plate-like suspension 11 is provided with positioning marks such as holes (not shown) in a plane. The positioning marks are for defining the position (for example, XY) and angle (θ) of the suspension. As the mark, for example, two circles that are separated from each other by a predetermined distance or an ellipse having a predetermined length can be considered. In order to define the angle of the reference position for these marks, a reference reference point is actually obtained from these marks and used for positioning. Therefore, if the posture and position of the suspension can be grasped, the mode of the mark and the like are not limited to the example described here, and it is sufficient that at least two of these reference points are owned.

  The mounting position of the slider 13 is determined by accurately grasping the relative position and angle between the HSA manufacturing apparatus and these marks by the camera. In the present invention, a mirror 15 having a thickness t is inserted between the opposing HGAs 10. This mirror thickness t is set to a value smaller than 1.1 mm in the illustrated embodiment. The mirror thickness t may be set to a thickness that can be positioned between the sliders 13 without contacting the sliders 13 even when the sliders 13 are attached to the suspension 11. The camera 17 in which the optical axis of the photographing light 19 is arranged along the extending direction of the suspension 11 obtains images of these marks via the mirror 15. Here, if the positional relationship between the mirror 15 and the camera 17 is known in advance, the relative positional relationship between the suspension 11 and the HSA manufacturing apparatus can be obtained by analyzing the image of the mark.

  In the present embodiment, a prism having a trapezoidal cross section perpendicular to the extending axis is used as the mirror 15 serving as an optical axis converter. More specifically, in the case of the wedge shape in which one equilateral side of a right-angled isosceles triangle has a predetermined width removed from the end, it is easy to support the prism, set the angle of the inclined surface, and the like. However, the mirror 15 of the present invention is not limited to this shape, and may be a simple triangular prism as shown in FIG. 3A in the same manner as the mirror 15 of FIG. Further, as shown in FIG. 3B, the reflecting surface that reflects the photographing light 23 from the camera 17 may be formed in a convex mirror shape in order to widen the visible region. That is, it suffices if the photographing optical axis of the camera 17 can be suitably bent so that the image of the positioning mark can be suitably photographed by the camera 17. The mirror 15 has a reflective surface size that can provide the camera 15 with an angle of view capable of capturing at least one of a plurality of positioning reference marks, and can enter between a pair of opposing suspensions. It only has to be large.

(First embodiment)
Next, an HSA manufacturing method according to the first embodiment in which the slider 13 is actually attached to the suspension 11 using the above-described HSA manufacturing apparatus will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 4 schematically shows the positional relationship and the like of various components at each stage of the mounting process in the same manner as FIG. First, in step 1, the area of the imaging area 25 is imaged by the horizontal camera 41 (see FIG. 6), and the center position between the suspensions 11 (corresponding to a center plane described later) is detected. The horizontal camera 41 can detect the center position by photographing the gap between the pair of suspensions 11 facing each other. The suspension 11 has a region bent by a predetermined angle from the extending direction from a predetermined point, and the slider 13 is attached to the bent region. However, for the sake of easy understanding in the figure, these suspensions 11 are described as being perpendicular to an E block (not shown) fixed so as to be perpendicular to the rotation axis, and extending in parallel. ing. Accordingly, the center position between the suspensions 11 is detected as a first reference line 27 that intersects the rotation axis of the E block perpendicularly or at a predetermined angle.

  With respect to these suspensions 11, the camera 17 and the mirror 15 are arranged in advance at a predetermined position on the photographing optical axis of the camera 11 so that the distance therebetween becomes a predetermined reference distance. The photographing optical axis is defined as a second reference line 29. In step 2, the camera 17 and the mirror 15 are moved so that the first reference line 27 and the second reference line 29 are substantially matched. Thereby, even if the mirror 1 moves along the photographic optical axis, it does not come into contact with the slider 13 previously attached to one side and the other suspension 11 to which the slider is scheduled to be attached.

  In step 3, the mirror 15 and the camera 17 in this state are moved along the photographing optical axis (coincided with the first reference line 27). The positioning marks will be described in the case of the first reference mark 31 and the second reference mark 33 that are separated by a predetermined distance. Here, when the first reference line 27 is detected in step 1, the position of the end portion of the suspension 11 in the direction of the reference line 27 in the imaging region 25 is also detected. In step 3, the mirror 15 and the camera 17 are moved from the end to a predetermined position with reference to the end of the suspension. The first reference mark 31 for detecting the slider mounting position is provided at a predetermined interval from the end of the suspension 11. The mirror 15 and the camera 17 move to the position where the first reference mark 31 can be photographed. The size of the reflection surface of the mirror 15 needs to be able to detect the first reference mark 31 in the imaging region. Since the mirror 15 is moved in the subsequent steps, the function of performing position detection in the present invention is ensured if the imaging region can be secured.

  After the movement of the mirror 15 and the camera 17, the first reference mark 31 is photographed and detected in step 3. Thereafter, in order to photograph the second reference mark 33 provided at a predetermined distance from the first reference mark 31, the mirror 15 and the camera 17 are moved by the predetermined distance. The size of the reflecting surface of the mirror 15 needs to be able to detect the second reference mark 33 in the imaging area. After moving a predetermined distance, the second reference mark 33 is photographed in step 4 and the position is detected. The relative positions of the first reference mark 31 and the second reference mark 33 with respect to the HSA manufacturing apparatus are obtained through the above steps. Based on the relative positions of these reference marks, the reference position at which the slider 13 is actually attached is calculated.

  In step 5, the lower camera 19 captures an image of the slider 13 to be attached that is gripped by the chuck 21 that is a slider gripping mechanism. Thereby, the relative position and gripping posture of the slider 13 with respect to the HSA manufacturing apparatus are detected. Based on the mounting reference position obtained in step 4 and the relative position and orientation of the slider 13, data such as the moving amount of the slider 13 for mounting and the correction direction and correction amount of the posture are calculated. Based on these data, the chuck 21 starts movement and posture control of the slider 13 to correct the holding posture, and performs the mounting operation of the slider 13 in step 6. That is, the chuck 21 holds the slider 13 and places the slider 13 on the slider mounting surface of the suspension 11. The lower camera 19 has a photographing optical axis perpendicular to the first reference line 27 and photographs the slider 13 held by the chuck 21 from below in the perpendicular direction.

(Second embodiment)
Next, a second embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. The second embodiment differs from the first embodiment in steps 3 and 4. Therefore, description of other steps is omitted here, and only these steps are described. In other words, in the first embodiment, the photographing of the reference mark by the camera 17 is performed by stopping the relative movement at the position where the mirror 15 corresponds to each of the reference marks. On the other hand, in the second embodiment, photographing of a plurality of reference marks by the camera 17 is performed continuously while relatively moving the mirror 15 at a predetermined speed within a range including all or at least two of these reference marks. To be done. The camera 17 in the second embodiment preferably uses a line camera in which pixels are arranged one-dimensionally.

  In this embodiment, in step 3, imaging (scanning) of one surface of the suspension 11 by the camera 17 via the mirror 15 is started from a preset measurement start position from the end of the suspension 11. This photographing is continued until the position where the slider 13 is to be attached is exceeded as shown in step 4. Based on the continuous images thus obtained, the first reference mark 31 and the second reference mark 33 described above are detected. In this embodiment, the load on the control device side such as a CPU for processing and acquiring images is increased, but the stop accuracy at a plurality of positions required in the first embodiment is unnecessary.

  As in the above-described embodiment, a mirror 15 having a size capable of entering between a pair of opposing HGAs 10 is disposed, and a configuration in which the photographing optical axis of the camera 17 is bent using the mirror 15 is conventionally provided. This makes it possible to detect the reference mark on the suspension 11 after the E block is attached. Therefore, it is possible to perform the mounting process of the slider 13 after mounting the E block, and it is possible to reduce the process of handling the suspension after mounting the slider. Therefore, it is possible to eliminate the addition of damage to the slider that may occur during handling of the suspension and to improve the production efficiency of HSA. In addition, it is possible to remove the slider alone, which is regarded as defective in the final inspection stage, and to mount a new slider, it is possible to improve the reproduction rate in the HSA state.

  In the embodiment described above, the mirror 15 and the like move with respect to the E block (not shown) that supports the suspension 11 and the like. However, these configurations are relative to each other, for example, the E block side moves. It can be a move. Therefore, the mechanism for driving the mirror 15 is preferably grasped as a relative movement mechanism capable of relatively moving the suspension 11 and the mirror 15 in a direction parallel to the first reference line 27. In the first embodiment, the mirror 15 and the camera 17 are moved together. However, in the present embodiment, if the change in the focal length of the camera 17 by the mirror 15 can be absorbed by the depth of field of the line camera, only the mirror 15 may move relative to the suspension 11. good. In addition, because the mirror 15 is positioned between the pair of suspensions 11, the suspension 11 and the mirror 15 need to move relative to each other in the direction perpendicular to the horizontal plane exemplified by the first reference line 27. Therefore, the relative movement mechanism described in the present embodiment and the like can also relatively move the suspension 11 and the mirror 15 in the direction perpendicular to the first reference line 27.

  Furthermore, in this embodiment, the mirror 15 is inserted between the suspensions 11 facing each other from the free end direction of the suspension 11. However, the insertion direction of the mirror 15 may be from a direction perpendicular to the paper surface. Here, the suspensions 11 facing each other are preferably arranged in plane symmetry. In this case, the mirror 15 may be inserted by being relatively driven from a direction parallel to the central plane serving as the symmetry plane. Further, since the suspension is planar, it is possible to set a plane that is an intermediate position facing each other even if it is not plane-symmetric, and determine the relative drive direction of the mirror 15 with this plane as the center plane. Is also possible. Each of the suspensions 11 is fixed to an E block (not shown) that can rotate around a predetermined rotation axis at the end opposite to the side on which the slider 13 is fixed. It is a plane orthogonal to the predetermined rotation axis.

  In the embodiment, the configuration in which the camera 17 and the mirror 15 are relatively moved together is illustrated. However, if the distance between the camera 17 and the mirror 15 can be easily determined and the optical axis of the camera 17 bent within the moving range of the mirror 15 can reach the range where the positioning mark can be photographed, these May be configured to move relative to each other individually. In this case, in order to facilitate the detection of the position of the positioning mark, it is preferable that the imaging optical axis and the first reference line 27 are parallel. Furthermore, the mirror 15 is preferably relatively moved in parallel with a straight line connecting the two reference marks.

  In this embodiment, the mirror 15 is used as an optical axis converter that bends the photographing optical axis of the camera 17 so that at least one of the two reference marks can be photographed. For example, a prism-like optical member that changes the direction of the optical path can be used. Furthermore, in this embodiment, the case where the bending angle of the imaging optical axis is substantially 90 ° is illustrated. This is because the image is not distorted in the direction of the first reference line 27 of the image obtained in the case of the angle, but the bending angle is not limited to this. Further, the shooting angle of view of the camera 17 may be large enough to capture at least one reference mark in cooperation with the reflecting surface of the mirror 15.

  Next, a specific configuration of the HSA manufacturing apparatus including these configurations will be described. FIG. 6 is a plan view schematically showing an HSA manufacturing apparatus including various configurations described in the previous embodiment. In addition, about the same structure as the structure demonstrated by embodiment mentioned above, description here is abbreviate | omitted using the same referential mark. The HSA manufacturing apparatus 100 according to an embodiment of the present invention includes three cameras, a pallet supply unit 47, a pallet discharge unit 49, a slider mounting head 51, a slider supply unit 57, a resin application unit 59, a pallet table 61, and a mirror unit. 63, and pallet conveying sections 53 and 55.

  The mirror unit 63 includes the camera 17 and the mirror 15 described above, and has an integrated structure in which the positional relationship in the horizontal direction and the distance of the camera 17 from the mirror 15 in the direction of the photographing optical axis of the camera 17 are defined. ing. The three cameras include the above-described camera 17, the horizontal camera 41 that captures the imaging region 25, and the lower camera 19 that detects the gripping posture of the slider 13 by the chuck 21. The pallet supply unit 47 is supplied with a pallet on which a plurality of pre-slider-mounted HSAs with the suspension 11 fixed to the E block 35 are placed. The pallet is placed on the pallet table 61 via the pallet transport unit 55. At that time, resin is applied to the substantially fixed position of the slider 13 on the suspension 11 by the resin application portion 59.

  The slider supply unit 57 supplies the slider 13 to be mounted that is placed on the slider tray 45. The slider mounting head 51 has a chuck 21. After the slider 13 is taken out from the slider supply unit 57, it is temporarily placed on the temporary placement stage and gripped by the chuck 21. The HSA before mounting the slider on the pallet table 61 is moved by the pallet table 61, and the horizontal position is detected by the horizontal camera 41 and the reference marks 31 and 33 are detected by the mirror unit 63. At the same time, the lower camera 19 detects the holding posture of the slider 13 held by the chuck 21. Thereafter, the attachment of the slider 13 to the suspension 11 is executed by the chuck 21. After the sliders 13 are attached to all the suspensions 11, the HSA is conveyed to the pallet discharge unit 49 via the pallet conveyance unit 53. Each HSA transported together with the pallet to the pallet discharge section 49 is carried to the subsequent inspection process or the like.

  By using the above-described HSA manufacturing apparatus, it is possible to mount the slider while performing suitable positioning with respect to each of the plurality of suspensions arranged at a minute interval. It should be noted that other than the configuration relating to the mirror unit 63 and the relative position detection of the suspension 11 using the mirror unit 63 in the HSA manufacturing apparatus exemplified here, various known configurations can be replaced. As for the relative movement between the E block and the other components, various driving devices such as a known slider driving device and motor can be used as long as the driving range and the necessary stopping accuracy are obtained.

  As described above, the present invention is suitable as a so-called magnetic head manufacturing apparatus. However, this apparatus or the like can be applied as long as it is a process of mounting a member with high positional accuracy on a plate-like member arranged with a narrow interval of about 1 mm.

10: HGA (head gimbal assembly), 11: suspension, 13: slider, 15: mirror, 17: camera, 19: lower camera, 21: chuck, 23: photographing light, 25: photographing area, 27: first reference Line: 29: Second reference line, 31: First reference mark, 33: Second reference mark, 35: E block, 41: Horizontal camera, 45: Slider tray, 47: Pallet supply unit, 49: Pallet Discharge unit 51: Slider mounting head 53, 55: Pallet transport unit 57: Slider supply unit 59: Resin application unit 61: Pallet table 63: Mirror unit

Claims (8)

A head stack assembly manufacturing apparatus in which a slider is mounted on each of opposing surfaces of a pair of suspensions each having at least two reference points and arranged to face each other.
A chuck capable of holding the slider and placing the slider on a slider mounting surface of the suspension;
An optical axis converter having a size capable of entering between the pair of suspensions facing each other;
A camera capable of photographing at least one of the two reference points with a photographing optical axis bent by the optical axis converter;
An apparatus for manufacturing a head stack assembly, comprising: a relative movement mechanism capable of relatively moving the suspension and the optical axis converter in a direction parallel to a center plane of the pair of suspensions facing each other. A horizontal camera capable of detecting the center plane by photographing a gap between the pair of suspensions facing each other;
The head stack assembly manufacturing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the relative movement mechanism is capable of relative movement between the suspension and the optical axis converter in a direction perpendicular to the center plane.   3. The head stack assembly manufacturing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the optical axis converter and the camera are integrally moved relative to each other by the relative movement mechanism. 4.   4. The head stack assembly manufacturing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the optical axis converter bends the direction of the photographing optical axis of the camera by 90 °. 5. A lower camera that photographs the slider held by the chuck from below in a direction perpendicular to the center plane;
The said chuck | zipper corrects the holding attitude | position of the said slider by rotation around an axis | shaft perpendicular | vertical to the said center plane based on the image of said camera. Head stack assembly manufacturing equipment.   2. The relative position movement mechanism stops the relative movement at a position where the optical axis converter corresponds to each of the reference points, and the camera photographs the reference point in response to the stop. The head stack assembly manufacturing apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 5.   The relative position movement mechanism relatively moves the optical axis converter at a predetermined speed within a range including each of the reference points, and the camera can continuously acquire images during the relative movement at the predetermined speed. The head stack assembly manufacturing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the head stack assembly manufacturing apparatus is provided. Each of the suspensions is fixed to an E block that can rotate around a predetermined rotation axis at an end opposite to the side on which the slider is fixed,
The head stack assembly manufacturing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the center plane is a plane orthogonal to the predetermined rotation axis.

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