JP2653350B2 - Information reading head support device - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a device for supporting an information reading head for reproducing and recording / reproducing information from / on an information recording disk such as a magnetic disk and a magneto-optical disk. Also,
The present invention relates to a head support device for inspecting (reading) a defect (information) on a member surface.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In a magnetic disk drive, for example, as shown in FIG. 7 , a magnetic disk 30 is driven to rotate, and a magnetic head is moved back and forth in a radial direction of the magnetic disk (or in a direction parallel to a circumferential tangent as described later). The information is recorded and reproduced. As is well known, in order to achieve a large storage capacity and a high data transfer rate, almost all types of magnetic heads have a floating (floating) head with excellent stability in head gap and distance between disk media. It is often referred to as mold or flying.)
A magnetic head is used. This uses a dynamic pressure generated by the viscosity of air when the magnetic head and the disk relatively move at a high speed, and uses a dynamic pressure generated by the viscosity of the air to make a small gap (flying height, flying height) between the magnetic head 31 as a transducer and the disk 30. A gas-lubricated bearing that maintains a floating clearance. A head in which a portion for generating dynamic pressure (referred to as a floating surface) is formed in a part of a transducer is referred to as a monolithic head, and a Winchester type head is a typical example. Other types include a composite head in which a transducer is fixed to a structure such as a ceramic having an air bearing surface commonly called a slider by glass, or a thin film element made by a process similar to semiconductor manufacturing technology. There is a thin film head attached to a ceramic structure. In any of these heads, when the disk is at rest, the head is pressed against the disk surface by a spring force, and when the disk starts to rotate, dynamic pressure is generated, and the disk is lifted in balance with the spring force. (Contact start / stop) loading method. In addition to this, there is a disk pack type disk device in which a disk can be replaced, and in that case, a Ramp Load Head
) Is used.

[0003] The above magnetic head is shown in FIG. 8 ( VI in FIG. 7) .
As shown in the sectional view taken along the line II - VIII ), the load arm 33 is attached to the distal end of a load arm 33 via a support member 32 which is usually called a gimbal. Generally load arm 3
3 is attached so that the longitudinal direction thereof coincides with the radial direction of the disk 30. Incidentally, in recent years, there is a type in which a load arm commonly referred to as an in-line is attached so as to coincide with a circumferential tangent direction of a disk. A driving device is connected to the head arm so that the magnetic head can move forward and backward in a seek direction, that is, in a direction parallel to a radial direction or a circumferential tangent of the disk. This drive is a head positioning mechanism (positioner, Positi
oner or Actuator). This driving device includes a carriage on which a head arm is mounted, and a motor for driving the head arm. The mechanism of the carriage is roughly classified into a linear type and a rotary type.
Open-loop control mainly using stepping motor drive and voice coil motor (Voice C)
oil Motor, VCM) There is a closed loop control system mainly using drive. In the case of closed loop control, there are several methods depending on how the position signal is obtained, but the most common one today is a servo surface servo method using a dedicated servo disk.

Incidentally, the floating magnetic head operates as follows. That is, when the medium is stopped, the floating head is pressed against the medium with a force of about 10 gf by the spring force of the load arm. When the rotation of the recording medium is started, the air bearing surface of the floating head (which is Mn-Zn ferrite, Ni-Zn ferrite, Al ₂ O ₃ -TiC and ZrO ₂ or CaTiO
Take off while gliding on the disk with the mirror surface made in ₃ , the disk rotation at a certain peripheral speed (for example, 4 m / sec
In the case of c), the floating head moves 0.15 from the disk by the flow of air moving with the rotation of the disk.
Floating at a height of ~ 0.5 μm. During this time, the floating head sometimes comes into contact with the disk surface due to vibration applied from the outside or unevenness of rotation of the disk. Also,
When the landing or the rotation of the disk is stopped in the same manner as when the head is taken off, the floating head gradually approaches the disk, moves so as to be dragged on the disk, or stops while bouncing on the disk.

The operation method in which the head comes into contact with the surface of the disk when the rotation of the disk is stopped and the head floats when the disk is rotated is called a CSS (contact start / stop) method.

[0006]

In a CSS-type magnetic disk drive, when the static friction at the interface between the disk and the head increases (for example, when moisture invades the interface and causes adsorption), the disk rotation drive motor is driven. When the head is pulled backward by the torque and the pulling force parallel to the disk surface overcomes the frictional force due to suction or the like, the head is displaced in parallel to the disk surface and the head is separated from the disk surface. However, with conventional suspensions,
As shown in FIG. 9, when the head 31 is separated from the disk surface, the center of rotation of the head in the pitching direction is above the sliding surface of the head. At the same time that the entirety of the head 31 is pulled backward, the front edge 15 of the head 31 is deformed downward. Not only the static friction between the head 31 and the disk 30 but also the dynamic friction force between the head 31 and the disk during the floating increases, as in the case described above, the head 31 behaves like the above and behaves like the head sticks into the disk surface from the head.

[0007] If the head collides with the disk surface with the head protruding, plastic deformation may occur on the disk surface, which may damage the recording medium. In general, when the static friction increases, damage occurs in a small number of times (for example, 5000 times) in a test in which CSS is repeatedly performed.

Further, in order to avoid the above-mentioned damage, the CSS system is avoided, and the head is lowered (closed) onto an air film on the surface of the rotating disk so as not to touch the disk.
Similarly, a method of lifting (separating) (called a load / unload method) is also being studied. However, in the conventional suspension, since the gimbal is soft in the pitching direction and the load arm is also a single flat plate, it is soft in the rolling direction. ,
There was also a problem that the rear surface of the head rubs against the disk surface.

[0009]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided an information reading head supporting apparatus, wherein an information reading head is attached to a leading end of a load arm via a gimbal.

The gimbal has a pair of main plates arranged on the disk so as to be parallel to the disk surface, a front plate on the front side in the disk rotation direction connecting the main plates, and a rear plate on the rear side. ing. The gimbal has a trapezoidal frame side view shape in which the distance between the front plate and the rear plate decreases as the disk approaches the disk, and the information reading head is attached to the main plate on the disk side. .

According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided an information reading head supporting device.
2. The support device according to claim 1, wherein the front plate and the rear plate of the gimbal are configured such that, when the head is arranged in the information reading posture, the extension lines of the front plate and the rear plate intersect at a deeper portion than the disk surface. It is provided.

[0012]

According to the information reading head support device of the first and second aspects, when a frictional force is applied in the rearward direction of the head, the front plate of the gimbal is made horizontal with the disk surface, and the rear plate is made vertical with the disk surface. Deform to become. For this reason, the head is in a posture in which the head is raised, and it is possible to prevent the leading edge of the head from sticking into the disk surface. As a result, it is possible to prevent the disk from being damaged by the magnetic head in the CSS type magnetic disk device or a magneto-optical disk device having the same configuration. Also, when the disk starts to rotate while the head is attached to the disk surface for some reason, the front of the head is lifted by the force parallel to the disk surface due to the adhesive force, and the head is peeled against the adhesive force. This also has the effect of preventing damage to the disk surface. In order to achieve only the head plunging prevention, the gimbal structure of claims 1 and 2 is sufficient, and the load arm may be a conventional type consisting of one flat plate.

[0013]

Embodiments will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing the internal configuration of a magnetic disk drive provided with a support device according to the embodiment, and FIG. 2 is an enlarged view of the main part.

Reference numeral 1 denotes a casing constituting an outer shell of the apparatus, which incorporates a disk drive motor and a spindle (both not shown) provided in conjunction with the motor, and the spindle is mounted on the upper surface of the casing 1. The protruding disk 2 can be driven to rotate in the direction of arrow 10.

A magnetic head 9 having a head core for performing recording and reproduction above the disk 2 fixed to a slider is attached to a distal end of a load arm 4 via a gimbal 3 and a base end of the load arm 4. The side is fixed to the head arm 5 by bolting or the like. The head arm 5 is supported by a carriage 6.
Can move forward and backward along the guide shaft 7 in the seek direction. Reference numeral 8 denotes a motor which constitutes a device for driving the carriage 6 forward and backward.

As shown in FIG. 2, the gimbal 3 has a trapezoidal frame shape in a side view, and a pair of main plate portions 3a, 3b parallel to the surface of the disk 2 and a front surface connecting the main plate portions 3a, 3b. A plate 14 and a rear plate 13 are provided. The front plate 14 located on the front side in the rotation direction of the disk 2 (arrow 10), the rear plate 13 is positioned on the rear side of the rotational direction 10. These front plate 14 and rear plate 13, FIG. 3 (a second
As shown in the cross-sectional view taken along the line III-III in FIG.
D is provided so as to intersect the surface Z (disk surface) 2A of the disk 2 on the back side. 12 this extension C, shows an intersection and D, in other words, front <br/> plate 14 and rear plate 13 extends radially with respect to the intersection point 12.

The gimbal 3 shown in FIGS.
As schematically shown in FIG. 11 (a), both the front plate 14 and the rear plate 13 are inclined with respect to the disk surface, but the gimbals 3 ', 3 shown in FIGS. 11 (b), (c). ", One of the front plate 14 and the rear plate 13 may be inclined with respect to the disk surface and the other may be trapezoidal in shape perpendicular to the disk surface. In the case of FIGS. 11 (b) and 11 (c). Even if there is, the intersection 12 is located on the back side of the disk surface.

The load arm 4 is provided on the surface 2A of the disk 2.
The hole has a shape penetrating in a direction parallel to the direction of the disk 2, and has an upper plate 17 on a side separated from the disk 2 and a lower plate 18 on a side close to the disk 2. The upper plate 17 and the lower plate 18 are substantially parallel to the disk surface 2A, and their base ends are at the tip of the head arm 5 or the root 19 of the load arm 4.
(In the present embodiment, it is in contact with the base 19 of the load arm 4 ), and the distal end is in contact with the gimbal 3.

Next, the deformation behavior of the gimbal 3 and the load arm 4 in the magnetic disk device configured as described above will be described. 3 and 4 show the deformation of the gimbal. FIG. 3 shows the stationary state when no force is applied. FIG. 4 shows the frictional force in the direction of arrow 11 applied to the head 9. FIG.

[0020] Friction force is applied to the head 9 in the direction of arrow 11, the front plate 14 so as to be horizontal (parallel to the disk surface 2A), also rear plate 13 is disk surface 2A
Deform to be perpendicular to For this reason, the head 9 assumes a posture in which the front edge 15 is raised. Since the gimbal 3 is deformed so that the front edge 15 is lifted when the frictional force is applied to the head 9 in this manner, the head 9 does not stick into the disk 2 from the head.

FIG. 5 is a view showing a modification of the load arm 4. As shown in FIG. When the upper plate 17 or the lower plate 18 constituting the load arm 4 is deformed in the direction of the arrow 16, the head 9 can be lifted vertically because it can only move up and down. Further, since the load arm 4 has a parallel plate structure, it is unlikely to be twisted by a force in a direction perpendicular to the paper surface of FIG. 5 (the direction of arrow 11 in FIG. 4).

FIG. 6 is a perspective view showing a main part of a magnetic disk drive for the sole purpose of preventing the magnetic head from sticking into the head. In this embodiment, the load arm 33 is formed of a single flat plate, but the gimbal 3 has the same configuration as the gimbal of FIG.

[0023] According to the magnetic disk apparatus of the FIG. 6,
When a frictional force acts in the direction of arrow 11, the gimbal 3 is deformed as shown in FIG. 4 so that the head 9 does not protrude from the head against the disk surface 2A.

In the support device of the present invention, the width of the front plate and the rear plate may be smaller than the width of the head. In this way, the head is more flexibly supported in the rolling direction, and when the head is pressed against the disk or the like, the surface of the head facing the disk or the like is entirely on the surface of the disk or the like. It will be easier to contact. Here, the width means a width in a direction orthogonal to the moving direction of the surface of the disk or the like.

The front and rear plates are made of S4 having a thickness of 0.04 mm.
In the case of US304, the width of the front plate and the rear plate is about 5 to 50%, especially 1% when the width of the head is 100%.
About 0 to 30% was suitable.

The supporting apparatus of the present invention, since the extremely excellent between the head and the dynamic plane as a mechanism to maintain a constant small distance, and a magnetic field modulation type magneto-optical disk device, the result to the dynamic pressure entrainment air Optical disk drive and V that maintain non-contact
It can be applied to TR devices, floppy disk devices, etc.

As shown in FIG. 10, the magneto-optical disk drive of the magnetic field modulation type is a disk 3 which transmits light moving in the direction of arrow 38.
5, a laser irradiation device 36 is arranged on the back side, and a magnetic head 37 having exactly the same mechanism as the magnetic disk is arranged on the front side. The head 37 is supported by a load arm 37B via a gimbal 37A.

[0028]

As described above, according to the support device of the first and second aspects, in a magnetic disk device, a magneto-optical disk device, or the like, a movement such that the front edge of the head projects into the disk surface is prevented. Damage is prevented and durability is improved.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a configuration of a magnetic disk drive provided with a support device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an enlarged view of a main part of the apparatus of FIG.

FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating a modification of a gimbal.

FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram of a modified gimbal.

FIG. 5 is a modified explanatory view of a load arm.

FIG. 6 is an enlarged view of a main part of another embodiment device.

FIG. 7 is a perspective view of a conventional suspension.

8 is a sectional view taken along the line VIII-VIII in FIG.

FIG. 9 is a modified explanatory view of a conventional suspension.

FIG. 10 is a partial sectional view of the magneto-optical disk device.

FIG. 11 is a schematic side view of a gimbal used in another embodiment device .

[Explanation of symbols]

 2 disc 3 gimbal 4 load arm 9 head

Claims (2)

(57) [Claims] An information reading head for reading information from an information recording disk is attached to a leading end of a load arm via a gimbal. An information reading head supporting device, wherein the gimbal is mounted on a disk so as to be parallel to a disk surface. A pair of main plates, which are opposed to each other, a front plate and a rear plate on the front side in the disk rotation direction connecting the main plates, and the gimbal has the front plate and the rear plate approaching the disk. The information reading head is attached to the main plate portion on the disk side, the supporting device of the information reading head having a trapezoidal frame-like side view shape in which the distance between the information reading heads becomes smaller in accordance with the following. 2. A front plate and a rear plate of the gimbal are provided such that extended lines of the front plate and the rear plate intersect at a deeper portion than a disk surface when the head is arranged in an information reading posture. The information reading head support device according to claim 1.