US20130021698A1 - Gimbal limiter for suspension with lift tab - Google Patents

Gimbal limiter for suspension with lift tab Download PDF

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Publication number
US20130021698A1
US20130021698A1 US13/186,947 US201113186947A US2013021698A1 US 20130021698 A1 US20130021698 A1 US 20130021698A1 US 201113186947 A US201113186947 A US 201113186947A US 2013021698 A1 US2013021698 A1 US 2013021698A1
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US
United States
Prior art keywords
gimbal
load beam
tab
dimple
suspension
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Legal status (The legal status is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the status listed.)
Abandoned
Application number
US13/186,947
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English (en)
Inventor
Michael Allen Greminger
Razman Zambri
Jackson William Brandts
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Seagate Technology LLC
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Seagate Technology LLC
Priority date (The priority date is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the date listed.)
Filing date
Publication date
Application filed by Seagate Technology LLC filed Critical Seagate Technology LLC
Priority to US13/186,947 priority Critical patent/US20130021698A1/en
Assigned to SEAGATE TECHNOLOGY LLC reassignment SEAGATE TECHNOLOGY LLC ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNORS INTEREST (SEE DOCUMENT FOR DETAILS). Assignors: BRANDTS, JACKSON WILLIAM, GREMINGER, MICHAEL ALLEN, ZAMBRI, RAZMAN
Priority to JP2012160703A priority patent/JP2013025861A/ja
Priority to CN201210341522.9A priority patent/CN102890937B/zh
Publication of US20130021698A1 publication Critical patent/US20130021698A1/en
Priority to US13/951,570 priority patent/US8837090B2/en
Abandoned legal-status Critical Current

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    • G—PHYSICS
    • G11—INFORMATION STORAGE
    • G11B—INFORMATION STORAGE BASED ON RELATIVE MOVEMENT BETWEEN RECORD CARRIER AND TRANSDUCER
    • G11B5/00—Recording by magnetisation or demagnetisation of a record carrier; Reproducing by magnetic means; Record carriers therefor
    • G11B5/48—Disposition or mounting of heads or head supports relative to record carriers ; arrangements of heads, e.g. for scanning the record carrier to increase the relative speed
    • G11B5/4806—Disposition or mounting of heads or head supports relative to record carriers ; arrangements of heads, e.g. for scanning the record carrier to increase the relative speed specially adapted for disk drive assemblies, e.g. assembly prior to operation, hard or flexible disk drives
    • G11B5/4833—Structure of the arm assembly, e.g. load beams, flexures, parts of the arm adapted for controlling vertical force on the head
    • G—PHYSICS
    • G11—INFORMATION STORAGE
    • G11B—INFORMATION STORAGE BASED ON RELATIVE MOVEMENT BETWEEN RECORD CARRIER AND TRANSDUCER
    • G11B5/00—Recording by magnetisation or demagnetisation of a record carrier; Reproducing by magnetic means; Record carriers therefor
    • G11B5/48—Disposition or mounting of heads or head supports relative to record carriers ; arrangements of heads, e.g. for scanning the record carrier to increase the relative speed
    • G11B5/4806—Disposition or mounting of heads or head supports relative to record carriers ; arrangements of heads, e.g. for scanning the record carrier to increase the relative speed specially adapted for disk drive assemblies, e.g. assembly prior to operation, hard or flexible disk drives
    • G11B5/4826—Mounting, aligning or attachment of the transducer head relative to the arm assembly, e.g. slider holding members, gimbals, adhesive

Definitions

  • a read/write head needs to be carefully positioned with respect to a surface of a disk during use to assure optimum performance and to avoid crashing the head into the disk and causing damage.
  • Disk drives that utilize a head assembly for reading and/or writing data on a rotatable magnetic disk are well known in the art.
  • the head assembly is typically attached to an actuator arm by a head suspension assembly.
  • the head suspension assembly, or suspension assembly includes a head suspension and a slider onto which a read/write head is provided. The slider and head fly over the spinning disk at precisely determined heights, due to the lift force caused by an air bearing that spins with the disk.
  • Head suspensions generally include an elongated load beam with a gimbal flexure located at a distal end of the load beam.
  • the gimbal flexure comprises a platform suspended by gimbal arms or struts.
  • the slider which includes the read/write head or transducer, is mounted to the underside of the platform.
  • the slider is aerodynamically shaped to use the air bearing generated by the spinning disk to produce a lift force off from the disk.
  • the gimbal struts permit the slider to pitch and roll about two axes around a load dimple, thereby allowing the slider to precisely follow the disk surface.
  • the present disclosure provides improved suspensions for precisely supporting the slider during use while precluding excess slider movement during abnormal events, such as external shock.
  • One particular embodiment of this disclosure is a head suspension for a disk drive with a load beam having a proximal end and a distal end and having a distal lift tab.
  • the load beam supports a gimbal that has a slider fixed thereto.
  • a dimple is positioned proximal to the lift tab, either on the load beam or the gimbal, the dimple providing a pitch axis and a roll axis for the slider.
  • the load beam includes continuous rails extending along the load beam toward the distal end, the rails extending to at least the dimple.
  • at least one tab member in fixed relation to the load beam, where each of the at least one tab member is aligned with or is distal to the dimple.
  • the at least one tab and a portion of the gimbal define a gimbal limiter that is aligned with or distal to the dimple.
  • FIG. 1A is a top plan view
  • FIG. 1B is a side elevation view
  • FIG. 1C is a cross-sectional view of a disk drive head suspension without a lift tab having a gimbal limiter.
  • FIG. 2A is a top plan view
  • FIG. 2B is a side elevation view
  • FIG. 2C is a cross-sectional view of a disk drive suspension design with a lift tab having a gimbal limiter positioned proximal to the dimple.
  • FIG. 3A is a top plan view
  • FIG. 3B is a side elevation view
  • FIG. 3D is a cross-sectional end view of a disk drive suspension design with a lift tab having a gimbal limiter positioned longitudinally even with the dimple
  • FIG. 3C is a top plan view of a load beam attachment component.
  • FIG. 4A is a top plan view
  • FIG. 4B is a side elevation view
  • FIG. 4C is a cross-sectional end view of another embodiment of a disk drive head suspension design with a lift tab having a gimbal limiter positioned longitudinally even with the dimple
  • FIG. 4C is a top plan view of a load beam attachment component.
  • FIG. 5A is a top plan view
  • FIG. 5B is a side elevation view
  • FIG. 5C is a cross-sectional end view of a disk drive suspension design with a lift tab having a gimbal limiter positioned distal to the dimple.
  • FIG. 6A is a top plan view
  • FIG. 6B is a side elevation view
  • FIG. 6C is a cross-sectional end view of another embodiment of a disk drive suspension design with a lift tab having a gimbal limiter positioned distal to the dimple.
  • FIG. 7A is a top plan view
  • FIG. 7B is a side elevation view
  • FIG. 7C is a cross-sectional end view of yet another embodiment of a disk drive suspension design with a lift tab having a gimbal limiter positioned distal to the dimple.
  • the present disclosure provides head suspensions for precisely supporting a slider on a load beam with a gimbal and a gimbal limiter.
  • the designs are particularly suited for thin load beams (e.g., less than 0.05 mm in thickness) that have a lift tab at the distal end of the beam.
  • FIGS. 1A , 1 B, and 1 C illustrate a gimbal limiter design for a suspension without a lift tab
  • FIGS. 2A , 2 B and 2 C illustrate a gimbal limiter design for a suspension with a lift tab.
  • Gimbal limiters are more effective if they can be positioned longitudinally along the load beam at the dimple location, or distal to the dimple location.
  • a gimbal limiter is more effective when it is at or near the trailing edge side of the slider, rather than at the leading edge side of the slider. This positioning of the gimbal limiter is readily achievable for suspension designs without lift tabs as shown in FIGS. 1A , 1 B and 1 C.
  • FIGS. 1A , 1 B and 1 C illustrate a suspension design that has a load beam 10 with a proximal end 10 A and a distal end 10 B.
  • Load beam 10 has an elongate central planar surface 11 bounded by rails 12 that extend from the proximal end 10 A toward distal end 10 B of load beam 10 ; rails 12 are illustrated as on the top surface of load beam 10 , although in other embodiments rails 12 may be present on the bottom surface of load beam 10 .
  • Load beam 10 is generally formed from stainless steel. Rails 12 provide lateral and bending stiffening and increase torsion resistance to load beam 10 ; in some embodiments, rails 12 provide a mechanism for supporting electrical features (not shown).
  • Rails 12 are typically present on ‘thin’ load beams 10 having a thickness of planar surface 11 that is less than 0.05 mm; load beams made from a thicker material may not include rails, as the material itself provides sufficient stiffness to beam 10 . Rails 12 are often formed by folding or bending the material (e.g., stainless steel) that forms central planar surface 11 .
  • a gimbal flexure or spring 14 Connected to load beam 10 is a gimbal flexure or spring 14 , or merely gimbal 14 , which flexibly supports a slider 100 .
  • Gimbal 14 is positioned on the bottom of load beam 10 , between load beam 10 and the disk.
  • Slider 100 has a leading edge 100 A on the proximal side of slider 100 and a trailing edge 100 B on the distal side of slider 100 , and includes an upper surface facing gimbal 14 and load beam 10 and a lower air bearing surface (ABS) 102 .
  • ABS air bearing surface
  • gimbal 14 extends the length of load beam 10 from proximal end 10 A to distal end 10 B, although in other embodiments gimbal 14 may not extend back to proximal end 10 A.
  • gimbal 14 includes flexure arms or struts 15 supported by and extending both laterally and longitudinally in spaced cantilevered relation from load beam 10 .
  • Distal end 10 B of load beam 10 is operably coupled to gimbal struts 15 .
  • Struts 15 are spaced relative to the width of slider 100 a certain distance from its centerline, and struts 15 are sized to provide desired roll characteristics.
  • central surface 11 includes a load-bearing dimple 16 at distal end 10 B extending toward slider 100 .
  • dimple 16 may be present on gimbal 14 .
  • Dimple 16 applies a load force between load beam 10 and the upper surface of slider 100 and defines a laterally extending pivot axis about which slider 100 can pitch, and a longitudinally extending pivot axis about which slider 100 can roll, to follow the topography of the disk surface.
  • Dimple 16 is generally at the center of slider 100 , both laterally and longitudinally, for flight stability of slider 100 during operation.
  • gimbal 14 is designed to support slider 100 relative to load beam 10 to allow sufficient pitch and roll of slider 100 about dimple 16 during operation. If the pitch and roll stiffness of gimbal 14 is too low, gimbal 14 will lack sufficient mechanical robustness, whereas if gimbal 14 is too stiff in the pitch and roll axes, then slider 100 will not be able to follow the topography of the disk surface.
  • slider 100 can pull gimbal 14 away from load beam 10 in the absence of some deflection limiting mechanism.
  • the stress from the shock event could be high enough to distort gimbal 14 and result in changes to the pitch and roll static angle of gimbal 14 .
  • a deflection limiting mechanism prevents this from happening by ensuring that the deflection is not too large to cause the stress on gimbal 14 to reach the yield point.
  • the suspension of FIGS. 1A , 1 B and 1 C includes a limiter 18 that sets a maximum distance slider 100 can move away from dimple 16 and load beam 10 .
  • limiter 18 includes two arms or tab members that extend from gimbal 14 at slider 100 and bend over load beam 10 , thus limiting the distance of travel of slider 100 from dimple 16 .
  • Limiter 18 is essentially longitudinally aligned with dimple 16 , or in other words, is essentially even with dimple 16 .
  • limiter 18 is easy to implement with gimbal 14 and load beam 10 .
  • the limiter and gimbal design of FIGS. 1A , 1 B, and 1 C is not suitable because the load beam rails extend all the way to the end of the load beam and often to the lift tab, thus interfering with the limiter.
  • the rails do not provide sufficient clearance for the gimbal features to wrap around load beam 10 at dimple 16 .
  • FIGS. 2A , 2 B and 2 C illustrate a suspension design that has a load beam 20 with a proximal end 20 A and a distal end 20 B with a lift tab 23 at distal end 20 B.
  • load beam 20 has an elongate central planar surface 21 bounded by rails 22 that extend from the proximal end 20 A to distal end 20 B.
  • the suspension of this embodiment includes lift tab 23 , which is configured to engage a ramp (not shown) when the disk drive is in a non-operating state and during deceleration of the disk during power-down operations.
  • rails 22 extend to lift tab 23 .
  • gimbal 24 Connected to load beam 20 is a gimbal 24 , which flexibly supports slider 100 .
  • gimbal 24 extends the length of load beam 20 from proximal end 20 A to distal end 20 B.
  • Gimbal 24 in this embodiment, extends short of the end of lift tab 23 .
  • a dimple 26 formed in load beam 20 applies a load force between load beam 20 and the upper surface of slider 100 and defines a laterally extending pivot axis about which slider 100 can pitch, and a longitudinally extending pivot axis about which slider 100 can roll.
  • dimple 26 may be present on gimbal 24 .
  • Dimple 26 is at the center portion of slider 100 for flight stability of slider 100 .
  • rails 22 extend distal of dimple 26 .
  • limiter 28 sets a maximum distance slider 100 can move away from dimple 26 and load beam 20 .
  • limiter 28 includes a single center tab member that extends from gimbal 24 , through load beam 20 to engage load beam 20 , thus limiting the distance of travel of slider 100 from dimple 26 .
  • the limiter 28 of FIGS. 2A , 2 B and 2 C is not a preferred embodiment, because limiter 28 is positioned at leading edge 100 A of slider 100 , or on the proximal side of dimple 26 .
  • the suspension includes at least one tab member fixed to the load beam, and a gimbal limiter defined by the at least one tab member and a portion of the gimbal. Either the tab member or the gimbal is bent or folded to connect the tab member to the gimbal and form the gimbal limiter.
  • the gimbal limiter is present outside of the footprint of the slider, i.e., either laterally spaced out from the slider or distal to the slider (at or distal to the trailing edge of the slider)).
  • FIGS. 3A , 3 B, 3 C, 3 D and 4 A, 4 B, 4 C, 4 D illustrate embodiments where two tab members extend out laterally from the load beam and longitudinally aligned with the dimple.
  • a portion of the gimbal is folded to engage the tab members and in the other embodiment, a portion of the tab members is folded to engage the gimbal.
  • the suspension design has a load beam 30 with a proximal end 30 A and a distal end 30 B with a lift tab 33 at distal end 30 B.
  • Load beam 30 has an elongate central planar surface 31 bounded by continuous rails 32 that extend from the proximal end 30 A to distal end 30 B and to lift tab 33 in order to provide sufficient stiffness to load beam 30 .
  • a gimbal 34 Connected to load beam 30 is a gimbal 34 , which flexibly supports slider 100 .
  • gimbal 34 extends the length of load beam 30 from proximal end 30 A to distal end 30 B.
  • Gimbal 34 extends short of the end of lift tab 33 .
  • a dimple 36 positioned at the center of slider 100 , applies a load force between load beam 30 and the upper surface of slider 100 and defines a laterally extending pivot axis about which slider 100 can pitch, and a longitudinally extending pivot axis about which slider 100 can roll.
  • rails 32 extend distal of dimple 36 .
  • gimbal limiter 38 Fixed to load beam 30 , between load beam 30 and gimbal 34 , is at least one tab member 35 , in this embodiment two tab members, a first tab member 35 A and a second tab member 35 B, which extend laterally out from load beam 30 in opposite directions.
  • a portion of gimbal 34 is folded to engage tab members 35 A, 35 B, which are sufficiently long to extend past rails 32 and engage with gimbal 34 , to form gimbal limiter 38 laterally outside of rails 32 and laterally outside of a footprint 105 of slider 100 .
  • gimbal limiter 38 is composed of two structures, one formed by each tab member 35 A, 35 B, and is longitudinally aligned with dimple 36 .
  • tab members 35 A, 35 B are present on a component 37 that is not integral with, but prior to being fixed to load beam 30 , is a separate and discrete component.
  • a discrete component 37 may be preferred over having the component formed integral with gimbal 34 or load beam 30 .
  • a discrete component may be attached to load beam 30 and/or gimbal 34 by, e.g., soldering, welding, or adhesive.
  • component 37 includes an aperture 39 that allows dimple 36 to pass therethrough.
  • FIGS. 4A , 4 B, 4 C and 4 D illustrate an embodiment similar to that of FIGS. 3A , 3 B, 3 C, 3 D, where two tab members extend out laterally from the load beam to form a gimbal limiter that is longitudinally aligned with the dimple.
  • the suspension design of FIGS. 4A , 4 B and 4 D has a load beam 40 with a proximal end 40 A and a distal end 40 B with a lift tab 43 at distal end 40 B.
  • Load beam 40 has an elongate central planar surface 41 bounded by continuous rails 42 to provide sufficient stiffness to load beam 40 .
  • a gimbal 44 Connected to load beam 40 is a gimbal 44 , which extends the length of load beam 40 from proximal end 40 A to distal end 40 B yet extends short of the end of lift tab 43 .
  • a dimple 46 positioned at the center of slider 100 , applies a load force between load beam 40 and the upper surface of slider 100 and defines a laterally extending pivot axis about which slider 100 can pitch, and a longitudinally extending pivot axis about which slider 100 can roll. Best seen in FIG. 4B , rails 42 extend distal of dimple 46 .
  • gimbal limiter 48 Fixed to load beam 40 , between load beam 40 and gimbal 44 , is at least one tab member 45 , in this embodiment two tab members, a first tab member 45 A and a second tab member 45 B, which extend laterally out from load beam 40 in opposite directions past rails 42 .
  • a portion of tab members 45 A, 45 B is folded to engage gimbal 44 to form gimbal limiter 48 laterally outside of rails 42 and laterally outside of footprint 105 of slider 100 .
  • gimbal limiter 48 is composed of two structures, one formed by each tab member 45 A, 45 B, and is longitudinally aligned with dimple 46 .
  • tab members 45 A, 45 B are present on a separate and discrete component 47 .
  • component 47 includes an aperture 49 that allows dimple 46 to pass therethrough.
  • FIGS. 5A , 5 B and 5 C, 6 A, 6 B and 6 C, and 7 A, 7 B and 7 C illustrate embodiments where one tab member extends distally from the load beam distal to the dimple.
  • a portion of the gimbal is folded to engage the tab member and in other embodiments a portion of the tab member is folded to engage the gimbal.
  • the resulting gimbal limiter is positioned at the trailing edge side of the gimbal.
  • the suspension design has a load beam 50 with a proximal end 50 A and a distal end 50 B with a lift tab 53 at distal end 50 B.
  • Load beam 50 has an elongate central planar surface 51 bounded by continuous rails 52 that extend from the proximal end 50 A to distal end 50 B and to lift tab 53 in order to provide sufficient stiffness to load beam 50 .
  • a gimbal 54 Connected to load beam 50 is a gimbal 54 , which flexibly supports slider 100 .
  • gimbal 54 extends the length of load beam 50 from proximal end 50 A to distal end 50 B yet extends short of the end of lift tab 53 .
  • a dimple 56 positioned at the center of slider 100 , defines a laterally extending pivot axis about which slider 100 can pitch, and a longitudinally extending pivot axis about which slider 100 can roll. Best seen in FIG. 5B , rails 52 extend distal of dimple 56 .
  • tab member 55 Fixed to load beam 50 at distal end 50 B is at least one tab member 55 , which extends longitudinally, centrally and distally out from load beam 50 .
  • Tab member 55 is positioned between lift tab 53 and gimbal 54 .
  • a portion of gimbal 54 in this embodiment the distal-most portion of gimbal 54 , is folded to engage tab member 55 to form gimbal limiter 58 on the trailing edge side of slider 100 , and in this illustrated embodiment, distal to the trailing edge of slider 100 and distal to (i.e., outside of) footprint 105 of slider 100 .
  • FIGS. 6A , 6 B and 6 C illustrate another embodiment having a tab member extending distally from the load beam and distal of the dimple, the tab member forming a gimbal limiter.
  • the suspension design of FIGS. 6A , 6 B and 6 C has a load beam 60 with a proximal end 60 A and a distal end 60 B with a lift tab 63 at distal end 60 B.
  • Load beam 60 has an elongate central planar surface 61 bounded by continuous rails 62 that extend from the proximal end 60 A to distal end 60 B and to lift tab 63 in order to provide sufficient stiffness to load beam 60 .
  • Connected to load beam 60 is a gimbal 64 , which flexibly supports slider 100 .
  • a dimple 66 positioned at the center of slider 100 , defines a laterally extending pivot axis about which slider 100 can pitch, and a longitudinally extending pivot axis about which slider 100 can roll. Best seen in FIG. 6B , rails 62 extend distal of dimple 66 .
  • tab member 65 Fixed to load beam 60 at distal end 60 B is at least one tab member 65 , which extends longitudinally and centrally out from load beam 60 .
  • Tab member 65 is positioned between lift tab 63 and gimbal 64 .
  • a portion of tab member 65 is folded to engage gimbal 64 to form gimbal limiter 68 on the trailing edge side of slider 100 , and in particular, distal to the trailing edge of slider 100 and distal to footprint 105 formed by slider 100 .
  • tab member 65 is folded less than 90 degrees, e.g., about 60 degrees, to engage gimbal 64 .
  • FIGS. 7A , 7 B and 7 C illustrate an embodiment similar to that of FIGS. 6A , 6 B and 6 C where a tab member extending distally from the load beam and distal of the dimple is bent to form a gimbal limiter. Similar to the suspension of FIGS. 6A , 6 B and 6 C, the suspension design of FIGS. 7A , 7 B and 7 C has a load beam 70 with a proximal end 70 A and a distal end 70 B with a lift tab 73 at distal end 70 B.
  • Load beam 70 has an elongate central planar surface 71 bounded by continuous rails 72 that extend from the proximal end 70 A to distal end 70 B and to lift tab 73 in order to provide sufficient stiffness to load beam 70 .
  • a gimbal 74 Connected to load beam 70 is a gimbal 74 , which flexibly supports slider 100 .
  • a dimple 76 positioned at the center of slider 100 , defines a laterally extending pivot axis about which slider 100 can pitch, and a longitudinally extending pivot axis about which slider 100 can roll. Best seen in FIG. 7B , rails 72 extend distal of dimple 76 .
  • tab member 75 Fixed to load beam 70 at distal end 70 B is at least one tab member 75 , which extends longitudinally and centrally out from load beam 70 .
  • Tab member 75 is positioned between lift tab 73 and gimbal 74 .
  • a portion of tab member 75 is folded down and back to engage gimbal 74 to form gimbal limiter 78 on the trailing edge side of slider 100 and in particular, distal to the trailing edge of slider 100 and distal to footprint 105 formed by slider 100 .
  • tab member 75 is folded about 90 degrees twice, to form a return to gimbal 74 .
  • each of these embodiments has at least one tab member, extending either longitudinally or laterally from the load beam at or distal to the dimple, the tab member forming a gimbal limiter.
  • the gimbal limiter is symmetric along the longitudinal axis of the suspension.
  • the illustrated embodiments can be separated into two general categories. The first has the tab member(s) extending laterally from the load beam directly at or distal to the dimple.
  • the tab member(s) may be integrally formed on, in, or with the load beam or be present on a component separate from the load beam, the component being secured to the load beam in some manner (e.g., soldering, welding, or adhesive). As indicated above, however, in most embodiments the gimbal limiter is symmetric along the longitudinal axis, so that the same number of tab member(s) is present on each side of the load beam and in the same location.
  • the second category has a tab member extending longitudinally from the load beam (in most embodiments, a centrally located tab member extending from the load beam), the tab member being distal to the dimple, and in some embodiments distal to the trailing edge of the slider.
  • the longitudinal tab member may be integrally formed on, in, or with the load beam or be present on a component separate from the load beam. Both of the categories of tab members allow the gimbal limiter to be positioned in the desired location, which is at the dimple or on the trailing edge half of the slider without interrupting the continuous rails on the load beam.
  • FIGS. 3A , 3 B, 3 C and 3 D and FIGS. 4A , 4 B, 4 C and 4 D are particular examples that utilize an additional component for the tab members to enable a limiter at the dimple location.
  • the embodiment of FIGS. 3A , 3 B, 3 C and 3 D has an additional component that is flat and a gimbal feature (e.g., upwardly extending posts or ears) that engages the tab members on this flat component.
  • the embodiment of FIGS. 4A , 4 B, 4 C and 4 D has an additional component with a formed tab feature (e.g., downwardly bent returns) that engage the gimbal with no additional feature required on the gimbal.
  • the additional component may be any suitable material, e.g., plastic, metal, etc., although in some embodiments the same material is used for the component as for the load beam (e.g., stainless steel).
  • FIGS. 5A , 5 B and 5 C, FIGS. 6A , 6 B and 6 C, and FIGS. 7A , 7 B and 7 C are particular examples that utilize a center tab feature extending longitudinally from center of the load beam. All three of these embodiments have a gimbal limiter that engages the gimbal at the trailing edge side of the gimbal.
  • the embodiment of FIGS. 5A , 5 B and 5 C maintains a flat center tab feature on the load beam, extending from the planar center portion of the load beam.
  • the gimbal has a feature that is formed upward (e.g., bent) to engage this flat center tab.
  • FIGS. 5A , 5 B and 5 C have a feature that is formed upward (e.g., bent) to engage this flat center tab.
  • FIGS. 7A , 7 B and 7 C has the center tab formed downward (e.g., bent) from the load beam center portion and is interleaved with an aperture in the gimbal.
  • the embodiment of FIGS. 7A , 7 B and 7 C has a center tab that is formed (e.g., bent) around the gimbal to form a return.
  • ‘thin’ load beams those with thicknesses of about 0.05 mm or less (e.g., 0.025-0.05 mm) utilize continuous rails along their lengths to provide sufficient torsional stability and stiffness to the load beam.
  • load beams thicker than 0.05 mm may include side rails.
  • the rails extend at least to the dimple, and in most embodiments, extend distal of the dimple.
  • the rails are continuous, void of any breaks along their length.
  • a stainless steel load beam about 0.03 mm thick, has side rails that extend about 0.25 mm above the planar surface of the load beam.
  • the gimbal limiter allows no more than 0.1 mm travel of the gimbal and slider from the dimple, in some embodiments no more than 0.08 mm.
  • the distance of travel allowed is usually at least 0.05 mm, which is generally sufficient to accommodate the pitching and rolling of the slider.

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US13/186,947 2011-07-20 2011-07-20 Gimbal limiter for suspension with lift tab Abandoned US20130021698A1 (en)

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US13/186,947 US20130021698A1 (en) 2011-07-20 2011-07-20 Gimbal limiter for suspension with lift tab
JP2012160703A JP2013025861A (ja) 2011-07-20 2012-07-19 ヘッドサスペンション
CN201210341522.9A CN102890937B (zh) 2011-07-20 2012-07-20 用于具有抬升突舌的悬架的万向节限制器
US13/951,570 US8837090B2 (en) 2011-07-20 2013-07-26 Gimbal limiter for suspension with lift tab

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WO2015009733A1 (en) * 2013-07-15 2015-01-22 Hutchinson Technology Incorporated Partially flangeless dimple for a disk drive
US20150064672A1 (en) * 2013-09-05 2015-03-05 Matthew Bars Systems and methods for treatment of substance addiction
US9147413B2 (en) 2013-12-31 2015-09-29 Hutchinson Technology Incorporated Balanced co-located gimbal-based dual stage actuation disk drive suspensions
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US10629232B2 (en) 2013-05-23 2020-04-21 Hutchinson Technology Incorporated Two-motor co-located gimbal-based dual stage actuation disk drive suspensions with motor stiffeners
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US9734852B2 (en) 2015-06-30 2017-08-15 Hutchinson Technology Incorporated Disk drive head suspension structures having improved gold-dielectric joint reliability
US10748566B2 (en) 2015-06-30 2020-08-18 Hutchinson Technology Incorporated Disk drive head suspension structures having improved gold-dielectric joint reliability
US10109305B2 (en) 2016-05-12 2018-10-23 Hutchinson Technology Incorporated Co-located gimbal-based DSA disk drive suspension with traces routed around slider pad
US9646638B1 (en) 2016-05-12 2017-05-09 Hutchinson Technology Incorporated Co-located gimbal-based DSA disk drive suspension with traces routed around slider pad

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US20130321957A1 (en) 2013-12-05
JP2013025861A (ja) 2013-02-04

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