JP4963119B2 - Latch arm - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a latch arm applied to a hard disk drive (HDD “Hard Disk Drive”) incorporated in an information processing apparatus such as a computer.

  A current magnetic disk device, particularly a magnetic disk device mounted on a notebook-type portable personal computer, is required to have high reliability against an impact during non-operation.

  That is, when the head is moved from the retracted position to the data area on the hard disk surface due to an impact when the magnetic disk device is not operating, the head is attracted to the data area surface, or the data area surface is damaged, resulting in a fatal failure. . For this reason, there is an actuator lock mechanism as a mechanism for holding the actuator in the retracted position during non-operation and preventing the head from moving to the data area surface due to an impact.

  One such actuator lock mechanism uses an inertial latch mechanism, and an example is shown in FIG. FIG. 12 is a schematic plan view of the HDD having the inertial latch mechanism with the top cover and the yoke removed.

  In the inertial latch mechanism shown in FIG. 12, when an impact is applied that causes the actuator 101 to swing counterclockwise when viewed from above, the latch arm 105 rotates about the pin 107 by the inertial force, and the latch arm The hook portion 109 of 105 is engaged with a notch portion 113 formed in the coil arm 111 of the actuator 101, and the actuator 101 is latched.

  When the shock disappears, for example, a magnetic metal ball embedded in the latch arm 105 is attracted by the leakage magnetic force of the voice coil motor (VCM), and the latch arm 105 returns to the original position by this attraction, The latch of the actuator 101 is released.

  However, since the latch arm 105 is supported on the base of the HDD with a backlash via the pin 107, it is difficult to reduce sliding resistance during rotation and to suppress flutter when vibration occurs.

JP 2007-157319 A

  The problem to be solved is that it is difficult to reduce sliding resistance during rotation and to suppress flutter when vibration occurs.

The present invention has no sliding resistance due to rotation, and a latch that operates to latch the actuator with an impact input when the actuator of the hard disk drive is in a retracted position in order to suppress flutter when vibration occurs. An arm, an elastic arm portion having a spring property, provided with a mounting portion fixed to the hard disk drive at one end, a hook portion for the latch at the other end, and the hook portion side A mass portion is provided for causing the elastic arm portion to perform a swinging operation for the latch by inertial force at the time of impact input , and the elastic arm portion, the attachment portion, the hook portion, and the mass portion are integrally formed by a leaf spring. The elastic arm portion has a plate surface disposed so as to intersect the swinging operation, and the attachment portion includes a vertical wall portion rising from the elastic arm portion at one end of the elastic arm portion. It consists of a lateral wall part bent at the wall part, and the hook part and the mass part are provided at the other end of the elastic arm part, and the mass part is a plate toward the vertical wall part side with respect to the elastic arm part. The mass is secured by increasing the width .

The present invention relates to a latch arm that operates to latch an actuator with an impact input when the actuator of a hard disk drive is in a retracted position, and the hard arm is attached to one end of an elastic arm portion having spring properties. A mounting part for fixing and supporting the disk drive is provided, a hook part for the latch is provided at the other end, and the elastic arm part swings for the latch by an inertial force at the time of the impact input on the hook part side. A mass part is provided to perform the operation, and the elastic arm part, the attachment part, the hook part, and the mass part are integrally formed by a leaf spring, and the elastic arm part is formed on the plate surface so as to intersect the swinging action. The mounting portion is composed of a vertical wall portion that rises from the elastic arm portion at one end of the elastic arm portion and a horizontal wall portion that is bent to the vertical wall portion, and at the other end of the elastic arm portion, Serial hook and parts by weight are provided, wherein parts by weight, to ensure mass by increasing the plate width to the vertical wall portion with respect to the elastic arm portions.

  For this reason, the elastic arm part swings against the spring force due to the inertial force acting on the mass part on the hook part side during vibration input, and the hook part latches the actuator, so there is no sliding resistance due to rotation, Flapping at the time of vibration input such as pin support with sticking can be suppressed by fixing support of the mounting portion.

  The purpose of suppressing the flapping at the time of occurrence of vibration without any sliding resistance due to rotation is realized by providing an attachment portion, a hook portion, and a mass portion on an elastic arm portion having a spring property.

[HDD]
1 and 2 relate to an HDD to which the first embodiment of the present invention is applied. FIG. 1 is a plan view of a non-latched state with a top cover and a yoke removed, and FIG. 2 is a plan view of the latched state. .

  The HDD 1 in FIGS. 1 and 2 shows a state of a retracted position where the read / write head 3 is unloaded.

  As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the HDD 1 includes a spindle motor 7 for rotating a recording / reproducing hard disk 5 and a read / write head 3 for recording and reproducing data. And an actuator 11 for moving to an upper predetermined position. The spindle motor 7 is installed on the base portion 13 of the HDD 1.

  The actuator 11 is composed of a VCM, and rotates the head suspension 19 via an arm 17 supported by a pivot 15 installed on the base portion 13.

  The actuator 11 includes a coil 23 attached to a coil arm 21 integral with the arm 17 and a yoke 25 on the base portion 13 side, and rotates the arm 17.

  Therefore, the head suspension 19 is turned through the arm 17 by the drive of the actuator 11 and the head 3 enters the hard disk 5 to be in a loading state or is detached from the hard disk 5 to the outside. Will be unloaded.

  A lamp block 27 made of synthetic resin is provided outside the hard disk 5. When the hard disk 5 is stopped, while the head 3 moves to the retracted position, the tab at the tip of the head 3 is slidably guided on the slope of the ramp block 27, and the head 3 is moved from above the hard disk 5. It is designed to be separated.

The actuator 11 is provided with an inertia latch mechanism 29. The inertia latch mechanism 29 includes a latch arm 31 and a notch portion 33. The latch arm 31 is fixedly supported on the base portion 13 side, and the notch portion 33 protrudes from the coil arm 21.
[Latch arm]
FIG. 3 is an enlarged perspective view of the latch arm.

  The latch arm 31 shown in FIG. 3 operates to latch the actuator 11 with an impact input when the actuator 11 of the HDD 1 is in the retracted position as shown in FIGS.

  The latch arm 31 includes an elastic arm portion 35, an attachment portion 37, a hook portion 39, and a mass portion 41, and is integrally formed by a leaf spring such as metal or resin.

  The elastic arm portion 35 is formed with a relatively small vertical width in the axial direction of the pivot 15, and is slightly curved in an S shape when viewed from the plane direction of the HDD 1, and has a spring property as a whole. Yes.

  The attachment portion 37 is provided at one end of the elastic arm portion 35. The mounting portion 37 is fixedly supported on the base portion 13 side of the HDD 1, and includes a vertical wall portion 37a that rises from the elastic arm portion 35 and a horizontal wall portion 37b that is bent so as to be orthogonal to the vertical wall portion 37a. A through hole 37c for fixing with a screw or the like is formed in the lateral wall portion 37b.

  At the other end of the elastic arm portion 35, the hook portion 39 and the mass portion 41 are provided. The hook portion 39 is bent toward the actuator 11 side, and the mass portion 41 is formed of the entire mass including the hook portion 39 by forming the hook portion 39 wide upward. The hook portion 39 is for latching, and the mass portion 41 is for causing the elastic arm portion 35 to perform a swinging operation for the latch by an inertial force at the time of impact input.

The latch arm 31 having such a structure has a mounting portion 37 disposed on the seat portion on the base portion 13 side, and is fixedly supported on the base portion 13 side by screwing a screw 43 inserted into the through hole 37c into the seat portion.
[HDD operation]
When the power is turned on and the hard disk 5 rotates in the unloading state of the HDD 1 as shown in FIG. 1, the actuator 11 rotates the arm 17 to load the head 3 onto the recording surface of the hard disk 5. The head 3 floats to a predetermined height from the surface of the hard disk 5 due to the lift generated by the rotating hard disk 5.

  In this state, the head 3 follows a specific track of the hard disk 5 and records data on the recording surface of the hard disk 5 or reproduces data recorded on the recording surface.

When the HDD 1 is turned off and the rotation of the hard disk 5 is stopped, the actuator 11 rotates the arm 17 in the reverse direction to rotate the head 3 out of the recording surface of the hard disk 5. As described above, the head 3 deviating from the recording surface of the hard disk 5 rides on the ramp block 27 outside the hard disk 5 and is unloaded.
[Latch operation]
When an impact in the clockwise direction in FIG. 1 is input from the outside in the unloading state, the arm 17, the head suspension 19, and the head 3 are counterclockwise toward the hard disk 5 around the pivot 15 due to the inertial force. Try to turn.

  At this time, an inertial force also acts on the mass portion 41 and the like of the latch arm 31, the elastic arm portion 35 bends toward the actuator 11 against the spring force, and the hook portion 39 engages with the notch portion 33 to engage the actuator 11. Are latched as shown in FIG.

  This latching can be performed by the hook part 39 which is widened to provide the mass part 41.

  The latch prevents the coil arm 21 from rotating about the pivot 15, restricts the pivoting movement of the arm 17 and the like, and prevents the head 3 from moving onto the hard disk 5.

When the impact is stopped, the abutting engagement force of the notch portion 33 with respect to the hook portion 39 disappears, and the elastic arm portion 35 returns to the original state in FIG.
[Effect of Example 1]
The first embodiment of the present invention is a latch arm 31 that operates to latch the actuator 11 with an impact input when the actuator 11 of the HDD 1 is in the retracted position, and has one end of an elastic arm portion 35 having spring properties. A mounting portion 37 for fixing and supporting the HDD 1 is provided at the other end, and a hook portion 39 for the latch is provided at the other end. For this purpose, a mass part 41 for performing a swinging motion for the purpose is provided.

  For this reason, it is not necessary to make the latch arm 31 support the pin with the backlash, there is no sliding resistance due to rotation, and the fluttering at the time of vibration such as the pin support with the backlash is fixedly supported by the mounting portion 37. Can be suppressed.

  Here, when the latch arm is supported on the base of the HDD via a pin, it is difficult to suppress the generation of sliding resistance when the latch arm rotates and the flutter when vibration occurs. In the case where fluttering occurs, in order to suppress the contact sound to the top cover of VCM and HDD, a device such as a cushioning material such as resin is attached to the contact point with other parts of the latch arm. Cause inconvenience and cost.

  On the other hand, in the latch arm 31 according to the first embodiment of the present invention, since the mounting portion 37 is fixedly supported on the base portion 13 of the HDD 1 as described above, there is no flapping like pin support, and the contact sound is suppressed. There is no need to add a cushioning material, and the manufacturing process can be complicated and costly.

  Even when the latch arm 31 is made of a resin, the moment of inertia can be gained by the mass portion 41, and it is not necessary to use a high specific gravity resin containing metal powder, so that the manufacture can be easily performed.

  When the impact input is settled, the latch of the actuator 11 is released by the elastic return force of the elastic arm portion 35, so there is no need to consider the return using the leakage magnetic force of the actuator 11.

  This eliminates the need for a metal ball to be embedded in the latch arm when the latch arm is restored using leakage magnetic force, making it easier to manufacture the latch arm and contributing to weight reduction. .

  Further, when the latch arm is returned using the leakage magnetic force, the VCM shape is complicated to generate the optimum torque. However, the return using the leakage magnetic force of the actuator 11 is considered. Since there is no need, the VCM shape is not complicated.

  The elastic arm portion 35, the attachment portion 37, the hook portion 39, and the mass portion 41 are integrally formed by a leaf spring.

  For this reason, the latch arm 31 can be obtained by metal pressing or integral molding with resin, and can be manufactured very easily.

  The mass portion 41 secures mass by increasing the plate width with respect to the elastic arm portion 35.

  For this reason, it is easy to mold the mass portion 41, and the engagement with the notch portion 33 can be surely performed by the hook portion 39 which is wide.

  FIG. 4 is an enlarged perspective view of a latch arm according to the second embodiment. Note that the basic configuration is the same as that of the first embodiment, and the same or corresponding components are denoted by the same reference numerals or the same reference signs with A, and redundant description is omitted.

  As shown in FIG. 4, the latch arm 31A of the second embodiment is obtained by adding a weight 41Aa such as metal or resin to the mass portion 41A.

  When the weight 41Aa is a metal, it can be attached to the mass portion 41A by welding or caulking. In the case of caulking, a through hole (not shown) is formed in the mass portion 41A, and a caulking projection (not shown) protruding from the joint surface of the weight 41Aa is inserted and fitted into the through hole. Install by tightening the fastening protrusion.

  When the weight 41Aa is a resin, the weight 41Aa can be attached by bonding or resin caulking with the same structure as the caulking.

  Therefore, in the present embodiment, the mass of the mass portion 41A can be easily secured, and the moment of inertia at the time of impact input can be easily earned.

  Also in the present embodiment, it is possible to achieve substantially the same operational effects as in the first embodiment.

  FIG. 5 is an enlarged perspective view of a latch arm according to the third embodiment. Note that the basic configuration is the same as that of the first embodiment, and the same or corresponding components are denoted by the same reference numerals or Bs, and redundant description is omitted.

  As shown in FIG. 5, the latch arm 31 </ b> B of the third embodiment increases the mass of the mass portion 41 </ b> B by forming the hook portion 39 </ b> B that is a leaf spring by folding it back. The hook portion 39B is formed with a bent portion 39Ba formed by folding.

  The elastic arm portion 35B is not bent in an S shape but is bent in one direction.

  Therefore, in the present embodiment, the mass of the mass part 41B can be easily increased. When the hook part 39B engages with the notch part 33, the notch part 33 can be abutted and guided by the curved part 39B, and the latching operation can be performed more smoothly.

  Also in the present embodiment, it is possible to achieve substantially the same operational effects as in the first embodiment.

  6 to 9 relate to a fourth embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 6 is a plan view of the HDD in a non-latched state with the top cover and the yoke removed, FIG. 7 is a plan view of the latched state, and FIG. FIG. 9 is a perspective view of the latch arm, and FIG. 9 is a perspective view showing the operation of the latch arm. The basic configuration is the same as that of the first embodiment, and the same or corresponding components are denoted by the same reference numerals or the same reference numerals, and redundant description is omitted.

  As shown in FIGS. 6 to 9, the latch arm 31 </ b> C of the fourth embodiment includes a reaction plate 45. The reaction plate 45 is formed along the elastic arm portion 35, and the distal end 45 a is in contact with or close to the rear surface on the distal end side of the elastic arm portion 35.

  The vertical wall portion 37 d rising from the base end 45 b of the reaction plate 45 is integrated with the horizontal wall portion 37 b of the attachment portion 37.

  When an impact in the clockwise direction in FIG. 6 is input from the outside in the unloading state, the elastic arm portion 35 bends toward the actuator 11 against the spring force and the hook portion 39 is notched as in the first embodiment. The operation of the actuator 11 is latched as shown in FIG.

  When the counterclockwise impact in FIG. 6 is input, the arm 17, the head suspension 19, and the head 3 pivot about the pivot 15 in the clockwise direction by the inertial force.

  At the same time, an inertial force acts on the mass portion 41 and the like of the latch arm 31C, and the elastic arm portion 35 bends toward the reaction plate 45 against the spring force. Due to the bending of the elastic arm portion 35, the distal end side of the elastic arm portion 35 collides with the reaction plate 45 as shown in FIG. 9, and the elastic arm portion 35 is bounced back to the actuator 11 side by the reaction force as shown in FIG.

  The arm 17, the head suspension 19, and the head 3 shown in FIG. 6 try to rotate counterclockwise around the pivot 15 due to a collision with a stopper (not shown) such as the coil arm 21 but are bounced back to the actuator 11 side. The hook portion 39 at the tip of the elastic arm portion 35 is engaged with the notch portion 33, and the operation of the actuator 11 is latched as shown in FIG.

  Therefore, this embodiment can achieve the same effects as those of the first embodiment. In the present embodiment, the actuator 11 can be latched against an impact in any direction.

  FIG. 10 is an enlarged perspective view of a latch arm according to the fifth embodiment. Note that the basic configuration is the same as that of the fourth embodiment, and the same or corresponding components are denoted by the same reference numerals or Cs instead of Ds, and redundant description is omitted.

  As shown in FIG. 10, the latch arm 31D of the fifth embodiment corresponds to a combination of the second and fourth embodiments, and a structure in which a weight 41Da such as metal or resin is added to the mass portion 41D is implemented. Corresponds to Example 2.

  Therefore, similarly to the second embodiment, the mass of the mass portion 41D can be easily secured, and the moment of inertia at the time of impact input can be easily earned.

  Also in this embodiment, substantially the same functions and effects as those of the fourth embodiment can be achieved.

  FIG. 11 is an enlarged perspective view of a latch arm according to the sixth embodiment. The basic configuration is the same as that of the fourth embodiment, and the same or corresponding components are denoted by the same reference numerals or the same reference numerals C instead of E, and duplicate descriptions are omitted.

  As shown in FIG. 11, the latch arm 31E of the sixth embodiment corresponds to a combination of the third and fourth embodiments, and is formed by folding back a hook portion 39E that is a leaf spring. The structure with increased mass corresponds to Example 3. The hook portion 39E is formed with a bent portion 39Ea formed by folding.

  Therefore, similarly to the third embodiment, the mass of the mass portion 41E can be easily increased. When the hook portion 39E engages with the notch portion 33, the notch portion 33 can be abutted and guided by the curved portion 39E, and the latching operation can be performed more smoothly.

Also in this embodiment, substantially the same functions and effects as those of the fourth embodiment can be achieved.
[Others]
The elastic arm portions 35 and 35B can also be formed linearly.

  It is also possible to form the elastic arm portions 35, 35B and the like in a rod shape or the like.

  The mounting portion 37, the hook portion 39 (39B, 39E), and the mass portion 41 (41A, 41B, 41C, 41D, 41E) may be separated from the elastic arm portion 35 and connected by welding or the like. Is possible.

  The reaction plate 45 may be configured separately from the attachment portion 37 and coupled by welding or the like.

FIG. 3 is a plan view of the HDD in a non-latched state. Example 1 FIG. 3 is a plan view of the HDD in a latched state. Example 1 It is a perspective view of a latch arm. Example 1 It is a perspective view of a latch arm. (Example 2) It is a perspective view of a latch arm. (Example 3) FIG. 3 is a plan view of the HDD in a non-latched state. Example 4 FIG. 3 is a plan view of the HDD in a latched state. Example 4 It is a perspective view of a latch arm. Example 4 It is a perspective view which shows operation | movement of a latch arm. Example 4 It is a perspective view of a latch arm. (Example 5) It is a perspective view of a latch arm. (Example 6) FIG. 3 is a plan view of the HDD in a non-latched state. (Conventional example)

Explanation of symbols

1 HDD
11 Actuator 31, 31A, 31B, 31C, 31D, 31E Latch arm 35, 35B Elastic arm part 37 Mounting part 39, 39B, 39E Hook part 41, 41A, 41B, 41C, 41D, 41E Mass part 45 Reaction plate

Claims (4)

A latch arm that operates to latch the actuator with an impact input when the actuator of the hard disk drive is in a retracted position;
An elastic arm portion having a spring property is provided with an attachment portion to be fixedly supported by the hard disk drive, a hook portion for the latch is provided at the other end, and the inertia force at the time of impact input is provided on the hook portion side. By providing a mass portion for causing the elastic arm portion to swing for the latch ,
The elastic arm portion, the attachment portion, the hook portion, and the mass portion are integrally formed with a leaf spring,
The elastic arm portion has a plate surface so as to intersect the swinging motion,
The mounting portion includes a vertical wall portion that rises from the elastic arm portion at one end of the elastic arm portion and a horizontal wall portion that is bent and formed in the vertical wall portion,
On the other end of the elastic arm portion, the hook portion and the mass portion are provided,
The mass portion secures mass by increasing the plate width to the vertical wall portion side with respect to the elastic arm portion.
A latch arm characterized by that. The latch arm of claim 1,
The mass portion secures mass by folding the leaf spring,
A latch arm characterized by that. The latch arm according to claim 1 or 2,
The mass part is provided with a weight,
A latch arm characterized by that. The latch arm according to any one of claims 1 to 3,
A reaction plate formed along the elastic arm portion and having a distal end abutting on or close to the back surface of the elastic arm portion and a proximal end supported by the mounting portion;
A latch arm characterized by that.

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