JPH0845210A - Magnetic head support mechanism - Google Patents

Abstract

(57) [Summary] [Object] It is an object of the present invention to provide a magnetic head support mechanism capable of realizing stable low flying of a slider from the inner circumference side to the outer circumference side of a recording medium. A slider having a magnetic head for reading and writing data from and to a recording medium, and a load beam having a gimbal on which the slider is mounted near a tip portion and biasing the slider toward the recording medium are provided. In the magnetic head supporting mechanism, at least one recess is formed on the surface of the load beam on which the slider is mounted, and a negative pressure is generated in the recess while the recording medium is rotating.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a magnetic head support mechanism for a magnetic disk device. 2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, magnetic disk devices, which are a type of external storage device for computers, have become smaller and thinner, and there is a demand for lower power consumption.
Along with this, there is a demand for a so-called low flying slider in which the gap between the slider and the magnetic disk is smaller.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In a magnetic disk device for a computer,
The contact start / stop (CSS) method is generally adopted for the relationship between the magnetic head and the magnetic disk. In this system, while the magnetic disk is rotating, the head floats above the disk with a minute gap maintained by the balance between the levitation force of the air fluid generated by high-speed rotation and the load beam that presses the head against the disk.

When the rotation of the disk is stopped, the head moves to a contactable area on the disk where the head and the disk come into contact with each other. The head and the disk remain in contact with each other while the disk stops rotating.

Since the outer peripheral portion and the inner peripheral portion of the magnetic disk rotating at a high speed are faster in the outer peripheral portion, when a conventional slider equipped with a magnetic head is used, the outer peripheral portion of the magnetic disk of the slider is used. The flying height is higher than at the inner circumference. If the flying height of the slider changes in this way, the ability of the head cannot be fully obtained, especially when a head using a magnetoresistive effect element is mounted.

Therefore, a negative pressure slider for generating a negative pressure between the slider and the rotating magnetic disk is used in order to stably lower the flying height of the slider from the inner circumference to the outer circumference of the magnetic disk. Has become.

When a negative pressure slider is used, the air flow generated by the rotation of the magnetic disk is an imaginary flow path formed between the surface of the magnetic disk and a groove formed by a pair of rails on the air bearing surface of the negative pressure slider. Be led to.

Since the cross-sectional area of the virtual flow path increases toward the downstream side, the pressure of the air passing through the virtual flow path becomes lower than the surrounding pressure, and the force (negative pressure) that pulls the slider toward the magnetic disk is reduced. ) Occurs.

On the other hand, the pressure on the rail surface of the slider becomes a positive pressure higher than the surrounding pressure, and a force for separating the slider from the magnetic disk is generated. These positive pressure and negative pressure are proportional to the flow velocity of the air flowing between the magnetic disk and the air bearing surface of the slider.

The load beam to which the slider is attached acts so as to press the slider against the magnetic disk. Therefore, in the negative pressure slider, these three forces are balanced to realize stable low flying of the slider.

[0010]

However, since the slider is being improved in impact resistance and abrasion resistance, and is being read / written at a higher speed and in a smaller size, the positive pressure and the negative pressure are appropriately controlled. Therefore, more precise processing is required, and the degree of freedom in design is significantly limited.

Further, if the spring pressure of the load beam is simply increased in order to lower the flying height of the slider, when the slider is brought into contact with the magnetic disk surface and the disk rotation is restarted, the slider and the disk are restarted. The frictional resistance with the surface becomes large, which causes problems such as an increase in starting torque and wear of the slider.

The present invention has been made in view of the above points, and an object thereof is to realize a stable low flying of the slider from the inner peripheral side to the outer peripheral side of the recording medium with a simple structure. A magnetic head supporting mechanism is provided.

[0013]

In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, the present invention comprises a slider having a magnetic head for reading and writing data from and to a recording medium, and a gimbal having the slider mounted near the tip. In the magnetic head supporting mechanism including a load beam for urging the slider toward the recording medium, at least one concave portion is formed on a surface of the load beam on which the slider is mounted, and the concave portion is formed during rotation of the recording medium. There is provided a magnetic head support mechanism characterized in that a negative pressure is generated in the.

Preferably, the concave portion is formed so that its cross-sectional area becomes larger toward the gimbal side, and further, at least one hole is provided in the portion on the gimbal side.

[0015]

When the recording medium rotates, an air flow is generated from the arm mounting portion of the load beam in the gimbal direction. This air flow has a negative pressure at the concave portion provided in the load beam, and pulls the load beam toward the recording medium.

Since this negative pressure is proportional to the flow velocity of the air flow, the negative pressure is small on the inner circumference of the recording medium having a low peripheral speed and is large on the outer circumference of the recording medium. Since the positive pressure generated between the slider and the recording medium is also proportional to the flow velocity of the air passing therethrough, it is small on the inner circumference of the recording medium and large on the outer circumference thereof.

As a result, the positive pressure generated in the slider portion and the negative pressure generated in the concave portion of the load beam cancel each other out, and the gap between the recording medium and the slider is kept constant from the inner peripheral side to the outer peripheral side of the recording medium. A low flying height of the slider can be realized.

[0018]

Embodiments of the present invention will now be described in detail with reference to the drawings. Referring to FIG. 1, there is shown a perspective view of a magnetic disk device adopting the magnetic head supporting mechanism of the present invention.

Reference numeral 2 is a housing (enclosure) composed of a base 4 and a cover 6. A spindle hub 8 which is rotationally driven by an inner hub motor (not shown) is provided on the base 4.

Magnetic disks 10 and spacers (not shown) are alternately inserted into the spindle hub 8, and a plurality of magnetic disks 10 are attached to the spindle hub 8 with a predetermined space therebetween.

Reference numeral 12 indicates a rotary head actuator composed of an actuator arm assembly 14 and a magnetic circuit 16. The actuator arm assembly 14 includes the shaft 1 fixed to the base 4.
It includes an actuator block 18 mounted so as to be rotatable around 5.

The actuator block 18 is integrally formed with a plurality of actuator arms 20. The load beam 2 is attached to the tip of each actuator arm 20.
2 is fixed, and a slider 24 having a magnetic head is mounted on the tip of the load beam 22.

An annular packing 25 is mounted on the base 4. The inside of the magnetic disk device is sealed by screwing the cover 6 to the base 4 with the annular packing 25 interposed therebetween.

Next, the magnetic head support mechanism of the first embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. 2A is a plan view of the first embodiment, FIG. 2B is a side view thereof, and FIG.
FIG. 3 is a sectional view taken along line CC of FIG.

The base end of the load beam 22 is caulked to the tip of the actuator arm 20 with a spacer 26 interposed therebetween. 27 is a hole for caulking. A gimbal 28 having a plurality of slits formed in a predetermined shape by, for example, etching is integrally formed at the tip of the load beam 22.

On the gimbal 28, a negative pressure slider 24 having a magnetic head such as a thin film head formed at its outflow end is fixed by, for example, adhesion or the like. A pair of rails 24a is formed on the air bearing surface of the negative pressure slider 24, and a groove 24b having a wider intermediate portion than the inflow end is defined between the rails 24a.

A recess 30 is formed on the surface of the load beam 22 on which the slider is mounted. The concave portion 30 has an elongated shape in the longitudinal direction of the load beam 22, and is formed so that its width becomes wider and deeper toward the gimbal 28 direction.

Therefore, the cross-sectional area of the recess 30 is the gimbal 28.
It grows larger in the direction. As best shown in FIG. 2C, a hole or opening 32 is formed on the gimbal side of the recess 30.

The state shown in FIG. 2B is the load beam 2
The free state of 2 is exaggerated. Load beam 2
When 2 is inserted between the disks, the slider 24 lands on the surface of the magnetic disk.

When the magnetic disk 10 rotates, however, an air flow is generated on the surface of the magnetic disk, and the slider 24 floats above the surface of the magnetic disk with a slight gap.
Between the magnetic disk 10 and the load beam 22, an air flow is generated from the arm mounting portion of the load beam 22 toward the gimbal 28 direction.

The airflow flowing between the load beam 22 and the magnetic disk 10 from the direction in which the load beam 22 is attached to the arm 20 becomes a negative pressure lower than the ambient pressure in the recess 30 provided in the load beam 22. Become. This is because the cross-sectional area of the flow tube formed by the load beam 22 and the magnetic disk 10 is large in the recess 30, so that the pressure of the air passing through the recess 30 is reduced.

Since this negative pressure is proportional to the velocity of the air flow,
The negative pressure is small on the inner circumference of the magnetic disk 10 having a low peripheral speed.
Similarly, the negative pressure generated in the negative pressure slider 24 is small on the inner peripheral side of the magnetic disk 10.

When this negative pressure is generated, the load beam 22 is attracted toward the magnetic disk 10. However, since the negative pressure is small on the inner peripheral side of the magnetic disk, this attracting force is also small.

Therefore, since the contact start / stop of the head, which is usually performed on the inner peripheral side of the magnetic disk 10, can be performed in a state where the spring pressure of the load beam 12 is small, the slider is worn and the slider and the magnetic disk are attracted to each other. Etc. can be relaxed.

On the other hand, since the flow velocity of the air flow generated at the outer circumference of the magnetic disk 10 is high, the recess 3 of the load beam 22 is
The negative pressure generated at 0 becomes sufficiently large, and the positive pressure generated between the slider 24 and the magnetic disk 10 causes the slider 2 to move.
4 can be prevented from rising. In this embodiment, since the slider 24 is a negative pressure slider, the lifting of the slider on the outer peripheral portion of the magnetic disk is further suppressed.

The positive pressure generated between the slider 24 and the magnetic disk 10 is also proportional to the flow velocity of the air passing through the gap between the slider 24 and the magnetic disk 10, and therefore is small at the inner peripheral portion of the magnetic disk 10 and large at the outer peripheral portion thereof.

As a result, the positive pressure generated in the slider portion and the negative pressure generated in the concave portion 30 of the load beam 22 cancel each other out, and the gap between the magnetic disk and the slider is kept constant from the inner circumference to the outer circumference of the magnetic disk 10. It is possible to realize low flying of the slider.

In this embodiment, the gimbal 28 of the recess 30 is
Since the hole 32 is formed at the side end portion, the air flow that has flowed into the recess 30 is diffused in the recess and can escape to the back surface side of the load beam 22 through the hole 32. Can be effectively generated.

However, even if the hole 32 is not formed in the recess 30, the sectional area of the flow tube formed by the load beam 22 and the magnetic disk 10 is large in the recess 30, so that
A negative pressure can be generated in the recess 30.

Referring to FIG. 3, a second embodiment of the present invention is shown. The recess 30 'of this embodiment is the load beam 2
2 has a substantially rectangular shape that is long in the longitudinal direction, and its depth is also substantially constant. A hole 32 'is formed at the end of the recess 30' on the gimbal side.

Even when the concave portion 30 'having such a shape is formed in the load beam 22, the sectional area of the flow tube formed by the load beam 22 and the magnetic disk 10 becomes large in the concave portion 30', so that the concave portion 30 'is formed. It is possible to generate a negative pressure with.

FIG. 4 shows a magnetic head support mechanism according to the third embodiment of the present invention. Although the recess 30 ″ of this embodiment has a substantially rectangular shape that is long in the longitudinal direction of the load beam 22,
The difference from the second embodiment shown in FIG. 3 is that the depth becomes deeper toward the gimbal 28 direction.

A hole 32 '' is formed at the end of the recess 30 '' on the gimbal 28 side. Since the cross-sectional area of the recess 30 ″ having this shape increases toward the downstream side of the air flow, it is considered that the negative pressure generation effect is superior to that of the second embodiment shown in FIG.

Also in the second and third embodiments described above,
Holes 32 ', 3 are formed at the gimbal side ends of the recesses 30', 30 ".
It is desirable to provide 2 ″, but even if these holes are not provided, the negative pressure is generated in the recesses 30 ′ and 30 ″.

Further, in each of the above-mentioned embodiments, the negative pressure slider 24 is mounted on the tip of the load beam 22. However, the present invention is not limited to this.
Even when a normal slider is mounted, the same effect can be obtained.

[0046]

Since the present invention is configured as described above in detail, a stable low flying height of the slider can be achieved by keeping the gap between the recording medium and the slider substantially constant from the inner peripheral side to the outer peripheral side of the recording medium. There is an effect that can be realized.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a magnetic disk device adopting a magnetic head support mechanism of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a third embodiment of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

 20 Actuator Arm 22 Load Beam 24 Slider 28 Gimbal 30, 30 ', 30 "Recess 32, 32', 32" Hole

Claims (5)

[Claims] 1. A slider having a magnetic head for reading and writing data from and on a recording medium, and a load beam having a gimbal on which the slider is mounted near a tip portion thereof and biasing the slider toward the recording medium. In the magnetic head support mechanism provided, at least 1 is provided on a surface of the load beam on which the slider is mounted.
A magnetic head supporting mechanism, wherein two concave portions are formed and a negative pressure is generated in the concave portions while the recording medium is rotating. 2. The magnetic head support mechanism according to claim 1, wherein the shape of the recess is elongated in the longitudinal direction of the load beam. 3. The magnetic head support mechanism according to claim 1, wherein the width of the concave portion widens toward the gimbal. 4. The magnetic head support mechanism according to claim 1, wherein the depth of the recess becomes deeper toward the gimbal. 5. The gimbal-side portion of the recess has at least one hole formed therein.
5. The magnetic head support mechanism according to any one of 4 to 4.