JP2559501Y2 - Floating head support - Google Patents

Description

[Detailed description of the invention]

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a floating head support used in a magnetic disk drive.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In a magnetic disk drive, a floating head slider having a magnetic head mounted on one end surface thereof is used. The floating head slider flies above the disk due to the dynamic effect of the high-speed airflow generated by the high-speed rotation of the disk, and performs recording and reproduction while maintaining a slight gap between the magnetic head and the recording medium. A gimbal spring is used to move the pitch, roll, and perpendicular to the disk surface by a gimbal spring that keeps the space constant and consistent with the surface protrusions and undulations of the floating head slider. A gimbal spring is added to the gimbal spring to control the floating amount of the magnetic head and to support the head for moving the magnetic head over an arbitrary recording track.

On the other hand, in the current magnetic disk drive, as a start / stop method, a floating head slider and a disk are installed in contact with each other when the disk stops rotating.
A so-called contact start / stop that starts the rotation of the disk, levitates the floating head slider as the rotation speed increases, and performs normal operation, and also causes the floating head slider to land on the disk by lowering the disk rotation speed when the disk stops. (CSS)
The method is the mainstream. In the CSS method, the floating head slider and the disk surface are operated through each stage of contact, low-speed sliding, separation, low-speed sliding, and contact, which may cause friction and wear problems, and in some cases, friction and wear. Can cause a head crash.

[0004]

[Problem to be Solved by the Invention] The CSS system has a feature that the structure of the mechanism is simple, but has the following problems. That is, the first problem is the problem of contact sliding that inevitably occurs during CSS. When the rotation speed of the disk reaches a certain speed or more, the floating head slider generates a sufficient levitation force, so that the floating head slider and the disk surface are kept in non-contact. The levitation force acting on the head slider is small, so that the floating head slider and the disk slide while contacting each other. Such contact sliding also occurs when the disk stops, in which case the floating head slider transitions from a fluid lubricated state to a contact sliding state.

[0005] Usually, the floating head slider is made of a very hard material such as ceramic. On the other hand, the disk has a protective film made of carbon or the like to protect the magnetic recording layer, and a lubricant on the surface to reduce the frictional resistance during contact sliding with the floating head slider and to suppress wear. However, due to the characteristics of magnetic recording, since they are formed of a thin film, their hardness is smaller than that of a floating head slider. Therefore, there is a problem of friction and wear at the time of contact sliding, and fine friction and wear powder generated at this time may hinder stable movement of the floating head slider, possibly leading to head crash.

[0006] The second problem is that the finishing precision of the slider lubrication surface of the floating head slider, which is required to be further reduced, is required to be extremely smooth. The demand for high flatness that does not impede the amount may cause the floating head slider and the disk to stick when the disk is stopped. Once suction occurs, the frictional force increases sharply, making it difficult to start the disk.

[0007] Therefore, in order to avoid the above problems, a disk drive start / stop system, that is, a floating head load / unload system in which the floating head slider and the disk surface always operate in a non-contact manner is required. This involves loading the floating head slider, which is mounted on the floating head slider support, through the process of approaching the surface of the magnetic disk medium, and moving the floating head slider away from the surface of the magnetic disk medium by the force provided by some mechanism. Unloading is required.

[0008] An object of the present invention is to provide a floating head support suitable for a floating head load / unload system which has solved the above-mentioned problems.

[0009]

According to the present invention, there is provided a gimbal spring comprising a floating head slider, a tongue-shaped leaf spring supporting the floating head slider, and a gimbal spring joined to one end of the gimbal spring. A floating head support comprising a leaf spring-shaped load spring for applying an appropriate weight to the load head or the gimbal spring, the floating head support including at least a lateral edge portion extending substantially parallel to a longitudinal direction of the load spring or the gimbal spring. It is characterized by having a guard made of a covering resin material.

In another aspect of the present invention, a substantial lateral edge of the load spring or the gimbal spring is formed of a resin material.

In another aspect of the present invention, the guard made of a resin material is set to have an inclination angle with respect to a plane of the load spring or the gimbal spring facing the disk medium.

Another aspect of the present invention is characterized in that a guard made of a resin material is fixed using a small diameter hole used for relative positioning joining of the load spring and the gimbal spring.

[0013]

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a floating head support according to the present invention; FIG. 1 is a view showing a preferred embodiment of the floating head support according to claim 1 of the present invention. There are many possible configurations for the floating head support of the present invention, but the most general configuration will be described here.

The floating head support of this embodiment has a floating head slider 1, a gimbal spring 2 for supporting the floating head slider, and this gimbal spring joined to one end thereof, and at the same time, applies an appropriate load to the floating head slider 1. The basic part is constituted by a leaf spring-shaped load spring 3 to be added and a mount 4 joined to a positioner mechanism (not shown), and is made of resin so as to cover a lateral edge 5 which is a part of the load spring 3. The guard 6 is partially set.

FIG. 2 is a sectional view taken along the line XX in FIG. 1 to explain the relationship between the guard 6 and the load spring 3. As described above, the guard 6 is joined so as to cover the lateral edge 5 included in the load spring 3.

The floating head support of the present invention is effective for realizing a head load / unload technique for preventing a head crash, as described in the problems solved by the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a plan view for explaining a commonly used load / unload system, in which a floating head support comprising a floating head slider, a gimbal spring, a load spring, and a mount 4 rotates about a rotation shaft 108. And is supported by a positioner mechanism 103 for causing it to move. In this state, the floating head slider 1
Is floating on the magnetic disk 102 based on the principle of an air bearing. In order to load and unload the floating head slider 1, the floating head support moves in the radial direction of the magnetic disk 102, that is, the T direction shown in FIG. At this time, the horizontal edge 5, which is a part of the load spring 3 of the floating head support, slides in contact with the inclined surface 201, which is also a part of the ramp 101 provided independently outside the magnetic disk 102. Thus, the floating head slider 1 can be loaded and unloaded in the direction perpendicular to the surface of the drawing.

FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view for explaining the loading / unloading motion, which is a cross-sectional view taken along the line XX of FIG. When the load is unloaded, the load spring 3 and the guard 6 joined thereto move in the radial direction T of the magnetic disk (not shown).
At this time, the lateral edge of the guard 6 is the inclined surface 20 of the ramp 101.
1 while sliding in the Y direction. Since the direction Y has a component in the H direction in addition to the component in the T direction, the floating head slider (not shown) moves in the H direction, and a load / unload operation is realized. Generally, when performing this operation using a floating head support having no resin guard 6,
The lamp is preferably made of a resin material from the viewpoint of frictional wear caused by the sliding contact with the lamp. In sliding with a metal lamp, fine wear powder is generated, and there is a high risk of head crash. However, in the case of a resin-based ramp, in the case of a stacked disc often used for a magnetic disc, the thickness of the ramp needs to be extremely thin, so that deformation due to pressing of a load spring increases due to low rigidity. May come into contact with the magnetic disk. Also, in terms of processing accuracy in manufacturing, stacking resin-based lamps may lead to uneven operation of many magnetic heads included in the apparatus. However, in this embodiment of the present invention, since the lamp has a resin-based guard, a metal-based material can be used for the lamp, and the lamp has a structure in which the uniformity of the load / unload operation is ensured in terms of strength and accuracy. Therefore, the thickness of the ramp can be reduced, which can reduce the stacking interval of the magnetic disks, and as a result, a large-capacity magnetic disk device can be realized.

FIG. 5 is a view showing a preferred embodiment of the floating head support according to the second aspect of the present invention. In the case of the present floating head support, in the same configuration as the first embodiment of the floating head slider 1, the gimbal spring 2, the load spring 3, and the mount 4,
The horizontal edge of the load spring 3 is directly constituted by a guard 6 made of a resin material. FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line XX in the figure, and a lateral edge portion of the load spring 3 is formed by the guard 6. FIG. 7 is a view for explaining a case where the floating head support of the present embodiment is applied to load / unload. The operation of sliding the inclined surface 201 of the ramp 101 in the Y direction is the same as that of the first embodiment. It is the same, and the operation and effect are also the same.

FIG. 8 is a view for explaining an embodiment of the invention described in claim 3 of the present invention. The structure of the floating head support is the first embodiment, that is, a utility model. This is the same as the case 1 of the registered claim. This figure is an explanatory view corresponding to the explanation of the load / unload operation shown in FIG. 4, but the guard 6 joined to the load spring 3 is a plane substantially parallel to the magnetic disk of the load spring. It is characterized in that it is formed to have an angle. Since the inclined surface 202 is provided on the guard 6, the ramp 105 required for loading and unloading does not need to have an inclined surface, and has a configuration substantially parallel to a magnetic disk surface (not shown). The floating head support slides in contact with the ramp 105 and the inclined surface 202 in the Y direction in the drawing, but the operation and effect are equivalent to those of the first embodiment so that the load / unload operation is easily analogized.

FIG. 9 is a view for explaining an embodiment of the invention described in claim 4 of the utility model registration according to the invention. The structure of the floating head support is the same as that of the first embodiment. However, in this case, the gimbal spring 2 shown in FIG.
Positioning hole 301 for manufacturing the spring and the load spring 3
Is characterized by being fixed using the boss 106 provided on the guard 6, and the operation and effect in loading and unloading are completely the same as those in the first embodiment. Note that the positioning holes 301 are shown by broken lines in this drawing.

[0022]

By using the floating head support of the present invention, it is possible to minimize the abrasion powder generated by the contact between the floating head support and the ramp mechanism in the magnetic disk drive adopting the load / unload method, The accuracy of the load / unload operation made possible by the use of a ramp made of a metal-based material is realized, and the problems of head crash and head attraction can be avoided, so that a highly reliable magnetic disk device can be realized.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing one embodiment of a floating head support according to the first embodiment.

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view obtained by cutting the embodiment of FIG. 1 along the XX plane, showing a configuration of a floating head slider support.

FIG. 3 is a plan view illustrating a load / unload operation of the magnetic disk device.

FIG. 4 is a diagram for explaining the operation of the embodiment in FIG. 1;

FIG. 5 is a perspective view showing an embodiment of the floating head support according to the second embodiment.

6 is a cross-sectional view obtained by cutting the embodiment of FIG. 5 along the XX plane, showing a configuration of a floating head slider support.

FIG. 7 is a diagram for explaining the operation of the embodiment in FIG. 6;

FIG. 8 is a view showing an embodiment of the floating head support according to claim 3 together with an operation description.

FIG. 9 is a view showing an embodiment of the floating head support according to claim 4 together with an operation description.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Floating head slider 2 Gimbal spring 3 Load spring 4 Mount 5 Side edge 6 Guard 101 Lamp 102 Magnetic disk 103 Positioner mechanism 105 Lamp 108 Rotation axis 201 Inclined surface 202 Inclined surface 301 Alignment hole

Claims (4)

(57) [Scope of request for utility model registration] A gimbal spring comprising a floating head slider, a tongue-shaped leaf spring supporting the floating head slider, and the gimbal spring joined to one end thereof;
A floating head support comprising a leaf spring-shaped load spring for simultaneously applying an appropriate load to the floating head slider, wherein the load spring or the gimbal spring has a lateral edge portion extending substantially parallel to a longitudinal direction thereof. A floating head support having a guard made of a resin-based material covering at least a region including: 2. The floating head support according to claim 1, wherein a substantial lateral edge of the load spring or the gimbal spring is formed of a resin material. 3. The guard made of a resin material is set to have an inclination angle with respect to a plane of the load spring or the gimbal spring facing the disk medium.
A floating head support according to claim 1. 4. The floating head support according to claim 1, wherein the guard made of a resin material is fixed using a small-diameter hole used for relative positioning joining of the load spring and the gimbal spring.