JPH01134775A - Flexible disk device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To give a constant pressure unconcerned with the warpage of a cartridge to a flexible disk and to obtain stable recording and reproducing characteristics by incorporating one part of a thrust bearing in a device main body. CONSTITUTION:A thrust bearing 21a is formed to the inner surface of an upper board 21 of a cartridge 2, and further, a thrust bearing 61 is formed also to the inner surface of a thrust board 6 fitted to an oscillating shaft 9. Thus, an air pressure due to the thrust bearing 21a in the cartridge 2 is changed, but the thrust bearing 61 pressure of the thrust board 6 is always maintained constant. Namely, it is because the height of the thrust board 6 is hardly changed and, simultaneously, the pressure is separated from the pressure on the cartridge 2 in the view of an aerodynamics by a void 13 between the cartridge 2 and thrust board 6, and thus, the recording and reproducing characteristics are stabilized.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Field of Industrial Application] The present invention relates to a magnetic or base material 4 that aerodynamically levitates a flexible disk from a head and performs recording and reproduction without contact.
The present invention relates to flexible disk devices such as g devices, and particularly to flexible disk devices that have established high performance and high reliability.

[Background of the invention]

This type of flexible disk device is generally shown in Figure 4 (a).
The configuration is shown in (b). That is, a flexible disk 1 having signal markings on the T and P planes inside or on the surface.
, a cartridge 2 that accommodates the flexible disk 1 and is attached and detached together with the disk l; a head 3 having a spherical surface that aerodynamically levitates the flexible disk 1 to record and reproduce signals; and the flexible disk It is composed of a spindle motor 4 and the like that rotates the motor 1.

On the inner surface of the upper plate 21 of the cartridge 2, a fifth
As shown in the figure, a thrust bearing 21a is formed to aerodynamically press the flexible disk l against the head 3 side.

The recording/reproducing principle in this type of flexible disk device is described in, for example, the Institute of Electronics and Communication Engineers' Magnetic Recording Study Group Material MR7.
1-3 (1971) p. 1 or the Proceedings of the 1985 Spring Conference of the Japan Society for Precision Technology, p. 607. That is, when the flexible disk 1 rotates in the direction of arrow a, the surrounding air rotates with it, and the air is compressed in the gap between the step part of the thrust bearing 21a and the inflow part of the head 3. This compressive force causes the flexible disk 1 to float away from the head 3 and the thrust bearing 21a, and is stabilized at a position where the pressures therebetween are balanced. As a result, the flexible disk 1 moves relative to the head 3 at regular intervals without contacting it, and can perform recording and reproduction without friction or wear.

[Problem that the invention seeks to solve]

However, the above conventional technology has the following problems.

First, in order to reduce the cost, the cartridge 2 is usually made of A-quality plastic and is formed to be as thin as several tens of inches or less. For this reason, warping of approximately 10 (bjm) occurs due to temperature changes, self-weight, and processing errors. Therefore,
When the cartridge 2 is inserted into a flexible disk device, the distance between the thrust bearing 21a and the head 3 varies from cartridge to cartridge 2 or changes over time.

The distance between the flexible disk 1 and the head 3 changes depending on the aerodynamic force applied to the flexible disk 1 by the thrust bearing 21a, and this aerodynamic force is approximately inversely proportional to the cube of the distance between the flexible disk 1 and the thrust bearing 21a. Therefore, as the cartridge 2 warps, the distance between the head 3 and the flexible disk 1 changes, causing recording and
Playback characteristics sometimes fluctuated.

Second, when the spindle motor 4 is not rotating, no aerodynamic force is generated, so the flexible disk 1 is in contact with the head 3 due to its own weight or flexural rigidity. Therefore, during startup/stop, the flexible disk 1 moves relative to the head 3 in an extremely narrow gap, and is easily damaged by floating dust in the air or minute waviness on the surface of the flexible disk 1.

Thirdly, even during steady rotation, the flexible disk 1
/Since the gap between the heads 3 is minute, it is easily damaged by external vibrations and floating dust in the air.

The present invention was made in view of the above circumstances, and its purpose is to prevent fluctuations in recording/playback characteristics due to cartridge warping, damage caused by ultra-fine conditions in the gap between the flexible disk and the head during startup/stop, and It is an object of the present invention to provide a flexible disk device that can prevent damage caused by external vibrations and airborne dust during steady rotation.

[Means to solve the problem]

To this end, the present invention provides a flexible disk that has a signal recording surface inside or on the surface and is removable from the device body, and a head that aerodynamically levitates the flexible disk and records and reproduces the signals. , a flexible disk device comprising a thrust bearing located on a side of the flexible disk facing the head and aerodynamically pressing the flexible disk against the head side, at least a portion of the thrust bearing; It is built into the main body of the device.

〔Example〕

A flexible disk device according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described below. FIG. 1 (j) is a plan view showing one embodiment, and FIG.

The flexible disk 1 is housed in a plastic cartridge 2, and is rotated by a spindle motor 4 via a hub 5.

A hole 22.2 is formed in a part of the upper and lower parts of the cartridge 2.
3 are open, and the head 3 is inserted through the lower hole 23, and the thrust plate 6 is inserted through the upper hole 22.

The cartridge 2 and the flexible disk 1 are removably attached to the main body of the apparatus. The cartridge 2 has holes 2 at the top and bottom when it is taken out from the main body of the device.
A shutter 24 is attached to close the 2.23. On the other hand, the head 3 is operated by a linear guide 7 and a feed motor 8.
This allows the flexible disk 1 to move in the radial direction.

Further, the thrust plate 6 is formed of a metal plate with several thicknesses, and is attached to the swing shaft 9. A spring 10 is attached to the swing shaft 9.
A swing plate 11 is attached to the swing plate 11, and a solenoid 12 is operatively connected to the swing plate 11.

Therefore, the thrust plate 6 can be rotated up and down by the solenoid 12 and the spring 10, and when the cartridge 2 and the flexible disk 1 are attached or detached, the cartridge 2 and the flexible disk 1 can be easily attached or detached by bouncing upward as shown in FIG. After insertion, it is set in a horizontal state as shown in FIG.

As described above, the thrust bearing 21a is formed on the inner surface of the upper plate 21 of the cartridge 2, but in the present invention, as shown in FIG. was formed.

This thrust plate 6 is made of metal and has high rigidity, so
In the horizontal state shown in FIG. 1, it is possible to position the distance from the head 3 with an accuracy of about 10 μm. In this case, since the curl ridge 2 can have a warp of about 100 μm, the air pressure caused by the thrust bearing 212 in the cartridge 2 generally changes. However, the thrust bearing pressure of thrust+Fx 6 in this embodiment is always kept constant1,). This means that the height of the thrust plate 6 hardly changes, and that the cartridge 2 and the thrust plate 6
This is because the pressure on the cartridge 2 is aerodynamically separated from the pressure on the cartridge 2 by the gap 13 between the cartridge 2 and the cartridge 2.

In addition, the flying gap between the head 3 and the flexible disk 1 is affected most strongly by the air pressure on the thrust plate 6 near the head 3, so even if the air pressure on the cartridge 2 changes, the gap will remain the same. Therefore, this eliminates the first problem mentioned above, which is the fluctuation in recording/reproducing characteristics due to warping of the cartridge 2.

Further, the thrust plate 6 is in the upturned state shown in FIG. 2 when the spindle motor 4 is started/stopped and is not rotating, and is in the horizontal state shown in FIG. 1 only during steady rotation. Therefore, at the time of starting/stopping, air pressure by the thrust plate 6 is not applied to the flexible disk 1, and the flexible disk 1 flies high above the head 3 surface even at a small rotational speed. Therefore, this makes it possible to reduce the damage caused when starting and stopping, which is the second problem mentioned above.

Furthermore, even during steady rotation, the thrust plate 6 is in a raised state as shown in Figure 2 when no signal is being recorded or reproduced, and is in a horizontal state as shown in Figure 1 only when recording or reproduction is being performed. becomes. Therefore, when recording/reproducing is not performed, the flexible disk 1 floats high above the henode 3 surface. This can also reduce the possibility of scratches during steady rotation, which is the third problem.

〔Effect of the invention〕

As explained above, in the present invention, at least a portion of the thrust bearing is built into the main body of the flexible disk device, so that a constant pressure that is not affected by the warping of the cartridge can be applied to the flexible disk, making it stable. It is possible to obtain excellent recording and playback characteristics. In addition, if the thrust bearing built into the flexible disk 48, 2nd position is brought close to the flexible disk during steady rotation and moved far away during startup/stop, a high flying height can be achieved even when the rotational speed is minute. Therefore, damage to the flexible disk during startup/stopping can be reduced. Furthermore, during steady rotation, signal recording and
By moving the built-in thrust bearing close to the flexible disk only when performing playback, and moving it far away in other situations, floating time in minute gaps can be reduced, and this will also prevent the flexible disk from moving. can reduce the possibility of damage.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 (01) is a plan view of a flexible disk device according to an embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 1 (bl is a sectional view thereof, and FIG. 2 (
a) is a plan view of the flexible disk device with the thrust plate rotated upward; FIG. 2 is a sectional view of the flexible disk device; FIG. Figure 4(a) fa) is a plan view of a conventional flexible disk device, Figure 4 (bl is a sectional view thereof, and Figure 5 is a bottom view showing the inner surface of the upper plate of the cartridge. I...Flexible disk, 2...Cartridge, 21...Upper plate, 21a...Thrust bearing, 22.
23...hole, 23...shutter, 3...head,
4... Spindle motor, 5... Hub, 6... Thrust plate, 7... Linear guide, 8... Feed motor, 9... Swing axis, 10 (1))... spring, 1
1... Swing rod, 12... Solenoid, 13... Gap. Figure 1 / Figure 2 Figure 4

Claims (3)

[Claims] (1) A flexible disk that has a signal recording surface inside or on the surface and is removable from the device body, a head that aerodynamically levitates the flexible disk to record and reproduce the signals, and the flexible disk In a flexible disk device comprising a thrust bearing located on a side facing the head and aerodynamically pressing the flexible disk against the head side,
A flexible disk device characterized in that at least a portion of the thrust bearing is built into the device main body. (2) The built-in thrust bearing is in a position where it exerts aerodynamic force on the flexible disk during steady rotation of the flexible disk, and is in a position where it does not exert aerodynamic force on the flexible disk when the rotation of the flexible disk starts and stops. A flexible disk device according to claim 1, characterized in that: (3) The built-in thrust bearing is in a position where it exerts an aerodynamic force on the flexible disk when recording and reproducing the above signal, and in other cases it is in a position where it does not exert an aerodynamic force on the flexible disk. A flexible disk device according to claim 1, characterized in that: