KR100434748B1 - Ramp load assembly for a disc drive - Google Patents

Abstract

Apparatus for minimizing damage to the disc drive 100 during non-operational mode while maximizing the recording capacity of the disc drive 100 may include an actuator assembly 110 having a controllable positionable head 118 supported over the disc during operation. It includes. The ramp rod assembly 130 is disposed adjacent the disk and has a movable ramp portion 134 that extends over the disk during the non-operational mode and retracts to a position exceeding the outer diameter of the disk during the operational mode. The ramp rod assembly 130 further includes a latch arm 152 latching the actuator assembly 110 and a snubber portion for limiting deflection of the disk in response to mechanical shock applied to the disk drive during the non-operational mode. .

Description

Lamp Load Assembly for Disk Drives {RAMP LOAD ASSEMBLY FOR A DISC DRIVE}

Hard disk drives allow computer system operators to store and retrieve large amounts of data in a fast and effective manner. In a typical disk drive, data is magnetically stored on one or more disks that are accessed by a rotary actuator assembly with a plurality of read / write heads and are rotated at a constant high speed.

This head is suspended from a gimbal assembly that extends from the arm of the rotary actuator assembly and has an aerodynamic characteristic that causes the head to rise above the air bearing achieved by the air flow action generated by the rotation of the disk. When the drive is stopped, the ramp load device causes the disc drive to descend downward, while preventing the read / write head from contacting the disc surface.

Previous ramp rod devices have been used with a set of stationary wedges located on the outer edge of the disk surface. When a typical drive acting with this type of ramp rod is stopped, a control torque is applied to the actuator arm assembly that rotates the head toward the outer periphery of the disc, thereby pressing the gimbal assembly onto the ramp of the ramp rod device. The head is raised from the disk surface. One of the main disadvantages of such a ramp loading device is that the fixed ramp overlaps the outer periphery of the disc, thereby making the disc surface area under the lamp inaccessible, significantly reducing the amount of disk surface on which data can be stored. .

Another problem with the stationary ramp rod arrangement is that during the initial stage of engagement the ramp raises only one side of the gimbal assembly. This causes a roll (shaking up, down, left and right) to the head, which still floats adjacent to the disk. The effect of this generated roll causes one side of the head to float closer to the disk than normal, thereby significantly increasing the likelihood of contact between the head and the disk, which damages the drive. Moreover, the stationary ramp rod arrangement relies on an actuator motor for pushing the head onto the ramp. Thus, this configuration applies a force to the head perpendicular to the centerline of the gimbal assembly each time the head is loaded into any of the ramps. This force is converted into rotational movement about the swage joint of the gimbal assembly. Swage joints are features that attach the gimbal assembly to the actuator arms. Rotational movement applied to the swage joint can cause the swage joint to slip while the ramp is loading, thereby causing a misrecording of the head to the servo track, which can degrade the drive or damage the drive.

The inclination of the fixed ramp affects the level of disturbance applied to the head's flight height and posture while the head is being loaded onto the ramp and unloaded from the lamp. The steeper the slope, the more rolls are generated during ramp loading and unloading. The steeper the ramp slope, the faster the head will be unloaded from the ramp and loaded onto the disc, causing an overshoot and low flight height during the transition period when the head sets the flight height in a fixed state. Conversely, when the tilt of the stationary lamp is reduced to minimize these effects, the storage capacity of the surface area near the outer perimeter of more disks is lost.

Another aspect to be considered when driving a disk drive is that the non-operating mechanical shock applied to the disk drive bends the head as a result of the head being attached to a relatively flexible gimbal assembly in the released state. The bending speed of this head can be severe when accelerated in the direction away from the disk and back towards the disk. If this speed is extreme, the surface of the head and the disk may be damaged.

Therefore, when a disk drive is powered down, there is a need for an improved method that can minimize damage to the data surface of the disk of the disk drive and protect the disk from the effects of non-operational shock.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION The present invention generally relates to the field of disk drive storage devices, and more particularly, to a rotary ramp load assembly for a hard disk drive assembly.

1 is a top plan view of a disk drive with a lamp rod assembly made in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention and with the top cover removed.

FIG. 2 is a partially enlarged plan view of the disk drive of FIG. 1 with the lamp rod assembly fully assembled and the latch extension of the lamp rod assembly latching the actuator assembly while the disk drive is shut down;

3 is a partial cross-sectional view of the lamp rod assembly of FIG. 1.

4 is a top view of the lamp rod assembly of FIG. 3.

5 is a cross-sectional view taken along line 5-5 of FIG.

6 is a schematic plan view of the lamp rod assembly of FIG. 3.

The present invention provides an apparatus capable of minimizing damage to a disk drive while an operation is stopped while maximizing a storage capacity of the disk drive. This device also protects the disk from the adverse effects of non-operating shocks.

In a preferred embodiment, the disk drive comprises a plurality of rotatable disks, a plurality of controllable heads, a spindle motor for rotating the associated disk, and an actuator assembly for supporting the read / write head adjacent the disk. It is included. A movable ramp rod assembly disposed beyond the outer diameter of the disk extends the lamp member over the disk toward the actuator assembly in the head park position, thereby facilitating ramp loading of the head while the disk drive is inactive. The ramp rod assembly further retracts from the head park position to a position outside of the outer diameter of the disk during operation of the disk drive, thereby providing full access to the recording surface of the disk.

A latch member rigidly connected to the lamp member latches the actuator assembly when the lamp member is moved to the head lamp position. A snubber member firmly connected to the lamp member may also be provided to limit the deflection of the disk due to mechanical shock during the non-operational mode.

The features and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the following detailed description described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

1 is a top view of a disk drive 100 manufactured in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention. This disk drive 100 has a baseeck 102 with a flat base surface 104 on which various components are mounted. Top cover (not shown) is combined with the base deck 102 to create a controlled interior environment for the disk drive 100.

The base surface 104 is equipped with a spindle motor 106, which rotates a plurality of disks 108 at a constant high speed when the disk drive 100 is in the operating mode. An actuator assembly 110 pivotally pivoted about pivot axis bearing assembly 112 is positioned adjacent to disk 108. Actuator assembly 110 includes a plurality of stacked actuator arms 114 that are spatially separated (only the upper one actuator arm is shown in FIGS. 1 and 2), and the end of such actuator arm 114 Is connected to a gimbal assembly 116, often referred to as a support flexure. At the end of the bend 116 is a data read / write head 118 suspended, which is supported on the surface of the disk 108 by an air bearing achieved by the air flow formed by the rotation of the disk 108. It is. As noted above, the head 118 is located above the data track (not shown) of the disc 108 to record data to and read data from the data track.

When the disk drive 100 is dismantled, it is assumed that the disk 108 is stopped in an inactive mode (ie, the disk is stopped on the spindle motor 106). In a transition to the non-operational mode, the actuator assembly 110 is rotated toward the outer perimeter of the disk 108.

With continued reference to FIG. 1, actuator assembly 110 is controlledly positioned by voice coil motor (VCM) 122. As in the prior art, the voice coil motor 122 includes a pair of permanent magnets (not shown in FIG. 1), which are permanently mounted by an actuator assembly 110 opposite the actuator arm 114. A magnetic flux path is formed above and below a supported actuator coil (not shown). The current applied to the actuator coil induces a magnetic field for the actuator coil that interacts with the permanent magnetic flux path, causing the voice coil motor 122 to move the actuator coil relative to it, thereby actuating the actuator assembly 110 and the actuator arm 114. ) Rotates in a controlled manner.

In order to provide the necessary conductive path between the head 118 and the disk drive read / write circuit (not shown), a head wire (not shown) is formed from the head 118 to the bend 116 on the actuator assembly 110. Proceeds to the flexible circuit 124 along the actuator arm 114. The head wires are secured to corresponding pads of the printed circuit board (PCB) of the flexible circuit 124 through appropriate soldering processes. A pair of spaced restricting fixtures 128 are mounted to the base surface 104 that interact with the restrictive securing arms 120 to limit the path of travel of the pair of actuator arm assemblies 110.

With continued reference to FIG. 1, a movable lamp rod assembly 130 is provided to prevent damage to the disk 108 during operation and to protect the disk 108 from non-operating mechanical shock. The lamp rod assembly 130 includes a motor assembly 132 and a rotary lamp rod device 134 (hereinafter referred to as a "ramp portion"). In general, the lamp portion 134 has a base surface ( It is supported on 104 and rotates about support post 135. As described in more detail below, lamp rod assembly 130 is removed from all parts of disk drive 100 during the operating mode. Disposed beyond the outer periphery of the disk 108 to be in a closed state.

Hereinafter, the lamp rod assembly 130 will be described with reference to FIGS. 2 to 5. FIG. 2 shows the ramp 134 rotated about the support post 135 such that the ramp 134 engages the upper actuator arm 114 to latch the arm in the head park position. That is, while the operation of the disc drive 100 is stopped, the ramp portion 134 is rotated to extend above the disc 108. This rotation is achieved by the motor assembly 132 operably connected to the drive gear 136 mounted to the motor shaft 138 of the motor 140.

3 is a partial cross-sectional view of a lamp rod assembly 130 showing a support post 135 mounted in a hole formed in the base surface through a press fit or other bracket fixture (not shown). The ramp portion 134 generally has a semi-cylindrical central body portion 142 (not described in detail), which body portion 142 has an upper rim extension forming the drive gear 144, This drive gear 144 extends around a portion of the upper rim extension as shown.

As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, the body has a support boss 146 through which the bore 148 (FIG. 3) penetrates. The pair of bearings 150 are disposed within the counterbore portion of the bore 148 and are press fit on opposite ends of the support post 135 as shown. The drive gear 136 of the motor assembly 132 is connected to the drive gear 144 to selectively position the ramp portion 134 in the retracted or head park position. Here, the retracted position is the position where the ramp portion 134 is in a clearing relationship with the disk 108 and the actuator assembly 110 (operation mode) (FIG. 1), and the head park position is the ramp portion 134 with the actuator assembly ( Position rotated to latch in combination with 110 (non-operational mode) (FIGS. 2 and 3). The upper rim extension of the ramp portion 134 forming the drive gear 144 also forms a latch arm 152, which latch arm 152 generally has a hook shape and, as shown, the drive gear 144. Extend from opposite sides of When the actuator arm 114 is in the position shown in FIG. 2, the latch arm 152 is disposed to engage one side of the upper arm of the plurality of actuator arms 114. That is, the thickness dimension of the support bend 116 connected to the end of the upper actuator arm 114 allows passage of the latch arm 152, and the thickness dimension of the actuator arm 114 is such that the latch arm 152 is coupled to the engagement portion and It is sufficient to catch its side to latch the fixing part. In the latching position of the latch arm 152, the restrictive securing arm 120 of the actuator assembly 110 is moved to engage with any of the restrictive securing portions 128.

The motor 140 has a conventional configuration, that is, the motor 140 has a known stepper detent characteristic such that the motor 140 ensures a rotation mode determined by the current flow direction, and when the current flow is stopped, The motor 140 will remain in the final rotational position. The rotation position can only be determined by the current flow, but rotation stops are typically provided so that the motor can only rotate between two positions.

As is known, the spindle motor of the disk drive assembly is used to rotate the disk during the operating mode, and when the power is cut off, the timed shutdown current is useful when downloading the various parts of the disk drive to be fixed. has a back electromotive force (emf) used to generate a time limited shutdown current. Shutdown current from the motor 140 and the spindle motor 106 used to operate the drive gear 136 and the drive gear 144 therethrough causes the ramp portion 134 to move to the engaged and latched position shown in FIG. 2. Rotate On the contrary, when the disk drive 100 is powered up, current is applied to the motor 140 through a conventional driving circuit (not shown) to rotate the motor 140 and the lamp unit 134 in the opposite direction, As a result, the latch arm 152 is retracted to release the upper actuator arm 114.

3 and 4, it can be seen that a plurality of disk snubber members 154 extend from one side of the central body 142. The separation space between the snubber members 154 provides a clearance groove 156 that receives the outer rim of the disk 108 when the ramp portion 134 is pivoted toward the disk 108 as shown in FIG. 2. Form.

The lamp member 158 is connected to each snubber member 154 and extends from each snubber member 154. Preferably, the lamp member 158 has a ramp surface 160 with uniform inclination, but such ramp surface 160 may optionally be formed of several different inclined portions. Importantly, since the ramp portion 134 completely separates the disk 108 in the retracted mode (as shown in FIG. 1), the ramp member 158 can extend with a gradual increase in slope. Preferably, the slope of the ramp surface 160 will be about 2 degrees. Since this requires the lamp member 158 to be relatively thin and deep, the lamp member 158 may be constructed of metal or reinforced with an initially placed reinforcement. The latter can be achieved by overmolding or providing a coating selected from a polymeric material, such as the trade name "Carilon" from the "Shell Oil Company".

6 schematically illustrates a rotary lamp portion 134 provided to illustrate the advantages, operation, and other characteristics of the present invention. 6 shows the lamp unit 134 in the state where the disk drive 100 is shut down. That is, the motor 140 operably connected to the lamp member 158 through the lamp unit 134 causes the lamp member 158 to be arrows 162 when the disk drive 100 transitions between the operating mode and the non-operating mode. To move in a direction. This rotation of the ramp 134 positions the ramp member 158 in the head park position so that when the actuator arm 114 is moved toward the circumference of the disk 108 while the disk drive 100 is shut down, The curved portion 116 may press on the lamp surface 160.

Further movement of the ramp portion 134 in the direction of the arrow 162 causes the circumference of the disk 108 to be received in the clearance groove 156 (as shown by the dotted line extension of the disk 108). At the junction of the disc snubber member 154 and the ramp member 158, the disc snubber member 154 is deliberately provided at a thickness greater than the thickness of the ramp member 158, so that the disc 108 may deflect from mechanical shock. When the disk 108 is only in contact with the disk snubber member 154, it minimizes contact with undesirable disk arm contacts.

The cross-sectional area of the clearance groove 156 (spatial dimensions between the disc snubber members 154) is not critical, but at a minimum the disc 108 is a disc snubber member when the disc 108 is received in the clearance groove 156. You must be completely away from In addition, the cross-sectional area of the clearance groove 156 should take into account the amount of disk deflection that can be tolerated during mechanical shock.

When the support bend 116 contacts the ramp member 158, the contact edge rises first, and as described above, this initial contact generates a roll in the flying position of the head 118, i.e. along one side edge. The raised heads 118 will rotate or twist about their centerline. This roll deflection will be minimized in comparison with known stationary ramp rod devices due to the increasing slope of the ramp surface 160. Therefore, in recent years, it is believed that the deflection of the roll generated by the ramp portion 134 does not cause contact between the head and the disk. However, because the flight distance between the head and the surface of the disk 108 is so low that the deflection difference between the sides of the head 118 causes harmful contact with the disk 108, the roll deflection caused by the head's flight attitude is reduced. Sometimes not allowed.

The generated roll deflection of the head 118 can be prevented by using a modified support bend indicated by reference numeral 164 in FIG. 6, ie, a support bend in which the lower half of the support bend shown in FIG. Each support curve 164 is shown with a corresponding head 118 removed to indicate a lift button 166 disposed along the longitudinal centerline of the support curve 164. Lift button 166 has dimensions that can extend below support flexure 164 to provide a single point of rise, whereby lift button 166 is supported against ramp member 158 and ramp member ( 158). This eliminates any roll deflection occurring at the head 118 supported by the support curve 164. Thus, when the support flexure 164 is raised, the modified support flexure 164 or gimbal assembly minimizes the occurrence of a roll in the head 118 during the transition time, and the head 118 is adjacent to the disk 108. It will still float.

The lift button 166 is generally convex in shape to have a lowest tangential contact point, the lift button 166 may simply be stamped or embossed onto the top surface of the support bend 164, or the lift button 166 may be manufactured separately. And may be connected to the lower side of the support curved portion 164 by welding or adhesive bonding. To reduce friction, lift button 166 may be coated with a rigid smooth material, such as polyimide.

Since the head 118 slides along the ramp surface 160, the lamp portion 134 is preferably made of a material having a low coefficient of friction, for example, a polymeric material such as the trade name "Carilon". Of course, the ramp surface 160 should be smooth enough to allow the ramp member 158 to raise the support curve 116 or 164 with low friction.

Looking back at the disc drive 100, during the non-operational mode the support flexure 116 (or 164) will be positioned on the ramp member 158, and the outer periphery of the disc 108 is between the disc snubber member 154 Will be positioned within the clearance groove 156 of the. When the disk drive 100 is actuated, the disk 108 will again be rotated by the spindle motor 106. When a sufficient rotational speed is achieved by the disk 108, the ramp portion 134 is rotated in the reverse direction in the direction of the arrow 168. This reverse rotation releases the latch arm 152 associated with any of the actuator arms 114. At the same time, the ramp member 158 will retract from below the support curve 116 (or 164), and the support curve 116 (or 164) will slide downward along the retracting ramp surface 160. ) Is lowered to within the flight distance on the surface of the disk 108, and when the lamp member 158 is fully withdrawn, the head 118 will be positioned in an air bearing state in flight.

Reverse rotation of ramp portion 134 in the direction of arrow 168 is achieved by applying power to motor 140 to reverse drive gear 136, thereby driving drive gear 144. The operating power is used during startup of the disk drive 100 to operate the motor 140, and in most cases sufficient power to operate the motor 140 is generated by the spindle motor 106 while the power is shut down. It is obtained from the generation of white electromotive force affected by reducing the rotational speed. Sufficient shutdown power is not used in the particular application of the present invention and it is known to apply spring energy to store potential energy to effectively perform rotation of the lamp rod assembly 130 while the power supply is interrupted. Such an apparatus and the necessary control mechanisms are known and are not described in detail herein because they are the same as those that were energized to reverse the motor 140.

Moreover, torque for providing rotation of the ramp portion 134 may be provided in a number of ways. One preferred system has a torsion spring and a gear coupled to the shaft. The toe spring is configured to provide sufficient torque to engage the lamp rod device during the power down cycle and is configured to provide sufficient latching torque to hold the lamp member and the actuator arm during use. An electromagnetic motor can be used to provide torque through the gear system to stop the action of the spring and release the lamp member. Another approach is to use the drift from the rotating disk by applying wind speed vanes on the shaft to stop the action of the torsion spring and release the ramp member.

It will be appreciated that the present invention can be used in several modified forms. For example, the snubber member can be removed because the lamp member is not functionally affected by the snubber member. Moreover, a version of the lamp rod assembly can be manufactured without the use of a lamp member in applications where only disk snooze is required. In this case, the present invention provides a ramp rod device, a snubber device or a combination thereof, and a novel latching structure, wherein the device is equipped with an outboard around the disk and the time when the disk drive is inactive. Except for this, the discs do not overlap.

The present invention further provides a latching structure without increasing the cost or size of the actuator arm. The latch arm of the present invention is separate from the structure of the actuator assembly and has the advantage that the symmetry of the actuator assembly can be maintained. That is, the latch arm changes the dimensional characteristics of the actuator arm while removing the crash arm extending from one side of the actuator assembly, and the potential asymmetric vibration source is eliminated when compared to conventional disk drives. Asymmetric structures, such as crash arms, can cause the arm to oscillate during navigation, making it difficult to navigate and maintain on the track. As a result, since the lamps move beyond the outer diameter of the disc during drive operation, the lamps are progressively larger than the fixed lamps of the prior art, which advantageously protrudes permanently over the disc, hindering the use of the entire recording capacity of the disc. Can provide a slope.

As previously described, the present invention provides an apparatus for parking the read / write head 118 of the disc drive 102 by using a controllable positionable ramp rod assembly 130 adjacent to the disc 108 of the disc drive. It is about. The ramp rod assembly includes a ramp member 158 that supports the head by rotating to the head park position while the disk drive is in the inoperative mode, the ramp rod assembly retracting from the head park position when the disk drive is in the operating mode. . It also includes a snubber member 154 coupled to the ramp member to limit disk deflection when a mechanical shock is applied to the disk drive during the non-operational mode.

Although the specification has been described in terms of preferred embodiments of the invention, modifications and variations can be made without departing from the scope of the invention.

Claims (10)

A snubber assembly for use in a disc drive having a rotatable disc that rotates during an operating mode of the disc drive and is stationary during an inactive mode of the disc drive and an actuator assembly arm supporting the head adjacent the disc, A controllable snubber that is positionable proximate to the outer rim of the disk and movable towards the disk to limit deflection of the outer rim of the disk during the inactive mode of the disk driver; And a latch arm supported by the snubber to hold the actuator assembly arm during the inactive mode of the disk driver. 2. The snubber assembly of claim 1, further comprising a motor to move the snubber when the disc drive transitions between the actuation and non-operation modes. 2. The apparatus of claim 1, further comprising a lamp member rigidly connected to the snubber, wherein the snubber is configured to lift the data head from the disk when the lamp member is in support engagement with the actuator assembly. And an extendable position of the lamp member on the disk in support engagement with the data head, wherein the data head freely flows on the disk when the lamp member is removed from the support assembly with the actuator assembly. A lamp rod assembly for use in a disk drive having a rotatable disk that rotates during an operating mode of the disk drive and stops during an inactive mode of the disk drive, and an actuator assembly arm supporting the head adjacent to the disk. Controlled positionable ramp to move to a head park position on the disk to support the head during the non-operational mode and to move from the head park position to a retracted position exceeding the outermost diameter of the disk during the operation mode Absence, A latch member rigidly connected to the lamp member, the latch member holding the actuator arm when the lamp member is moved to the head park position and releasing the actuator arm when the lamp member is moved away from the head park position. Lamp rod assembly. 5. The lamp rod assembly of claim 4, further comprising a motor operatively connected to the lamp member and moving the lamp member when the disk drive transitions between the operating mode and the inactive mode. The snubber member of claim 4, further comprising a snubber member rigidly connected to the lamp member, the snubber member limiting the deflection of the disc in response to the application of a non-operating shock to the disc drive, wherein the snubber member comprises: A ramp rod assembly that rotates over the disc drive while the disc drive is inactive and rotates beyond the outermost diameter of the disc while the disc drive is in operation. As a disk drive, Rotatable disc, An actuator assembly adjacent to the disk, the actuator assembly having a head supportable on the disk during operation of the disk drive, and A lamp rod assembly adjacent to the disk having a movable lamp member rotatable over the disk to support the head during non-operation of the disk drive, And the ramp member may retract to a position exceeding the outermost diameter of the disk during operation of the disk drive. 8. The disk drive of claim 7, wherein the lamp rod assembly further comprises a latch arm that secures the actuator assembly during non-operation of the disk drive. 8. The disk drive of claim 7, wherein the ramp member comprises a continuously extending inclined surface having an inclination of about 2 [deg.] With respect to the disk. 8. The apparatus of claim 7, further comprising a snubber member coupled to the latch member, wherein the snubber member corresponds to the application of a mechanical shock to the disk drive to minimize contact between the disk and the actuator assembly. Thereby limiting deflection of the disk, wherein the snubber member may extend over the disk during non-operation of the drive and may retract beyond the outermost diameter of the disk during operation of the disk drive.