Abstract: A method of manufacturing a thin-film magnetic head structure comprises the steps of preparing an insulating layer 10; forming a first resist layer 51 provided with a first slit pattern 51a corresponding to a very narrow groove part and a second slit pattern 51b corresponding to a temporary groove part integrally extending from the very narrow groove part along outer edges of a main depression onto the insulating layer 10; etching the insulating layer 10 while using the first resist layer 51 as a mask; eliminating the first resist layer 51; forming a second resist layer having an opening pattern corresponding to the main depression onto the insulating layer 10; and etching the insulating layer 10 while using the second resist layer as a mask.

Abstract: A chucking apparatus in which a plurality of pawl bodies are provided in a radial direction of a hub body of a turntable such that said pawl bodies can move, a center hole of a disk is pressed by said pawl bodies to hold said disks wherein said chucking apparatus comprises a resilient member for biasing said pawl bodies outward of said hub body, each of said pawl bodies includes a pawl portion which comes into contact with said disk, and a pawl-side stopper for limiting outward movement of the pawl bodies caused by said resilient member, said hub body includes a pawl opening through which said pawl portion can project outward, and a hub-side stopper which abuts against said pawl-side stopper, and a coil spring is used as said resilient member, and an outer end of said coil spring is provided at a location lower than an inner end of said coil spring.

Abstract: A tape drive, including: a housing including a single character display that displays a single character at a time; and an activator configured such that, when the single character display displays a single character representative of a status of the tape drive, activation of the activator causes the tape drive to further represent the status represented by the single character as information including a plurality of words detailing the status, the information provided by repeatedly spelling out a message, including the plurality of words describing the status of the tape drive, one letter at a time on the single character display, and an audible message provider that provides an audible message, including the plurality of words describing the status of the tape drive.

Abstract: Disk loading apparatus and method are provided. The disk loading apparatus includes a main chassis to which a transferring roller for transferring a disk is installed, a transmission unit installed to the main chassis for transferring a power to the transferring roller, a slider installed to the main chassis and moved in a direction of loading and unloading the disk, a first interlocking unit installed to the main chassis for guiding the disk into a chucking position, a second interlocking unit installed to the main chassis and operating in cooperation with the first interlocking unit and the slider, and a locking lever installed to the main chassis for selectively locking the first interlocking unit. It can reduce the number of components, and decrease a power loss generated at the transmission.

Abstract: An optical-pickup feeding apparatus includes a pickup base on which an optical pickup is mounted, which includes a sliding bearing with a lubricant agent; and a lead screw that is slidably fitted into the sliding bearing. A peripheral surface of a screw thread of the lead screw is formed in a shape of a circular arc.

Abstract: Embodiments of the invention provide a magnetic head which prevents data on a recording medium from being erased even when a stray field is applied. In one embodiment, a magnetic head includes a perpendicular write head having a main pole and an auxiliary pole; and a read head having a lower shield, an upper shield and a magneto-resistive element formed between the lower shield and the upper shield. At least one of the auxiliary pole, lower shield and upper shield has a recessed portion, whose height in an element height direction is lower than the height of edges thereof in a track width direction, on a surface opposite to the air bearing surface.

Abstract: A shock absorbing device for an enclosure. The shock absorbing device including a shock absorbing frame. The shock absorbing frame includes an inner surface coupled adjacent to the enclosure and an outer surface. The shock absorbing device also includes a plurality flexible shock bumpers spaced apart from each other and formed on the outer surface of the shock absorbing frame. Each flexible shock feature includes a mount feature.

Abstract: An optical recording medium capable of suppressing warps arising during a long time use and a method of producing the same, which has the configuration of comprising a substrate 13, an optical recording layer 14 formed on the substrate 13 and a light transmitting protective film 17 formed on the optical recording layer 14, wherein the protective film 17 includes a polymer film 16 having a thermal shrinkage coefficient of 0.02% or less and an adhesive layer 15 for adhering the polymer film 16 to the optical recording layer 14. As the polymer film 16, those produced by a melt cast method, subjected to annealing processing in advance or having a residual solvent of 0.3% by weight or less in the film may be preferably used.

Abstract: A chucking apparatus in which a plurality of pawl bodies are provided in a radial direction of a hub body of a turntable such that the pawl bodies can move, and a center hole of a disk is pressed by the pawl bodies to hold the disk, wherein the chucking apparatus comprises a resilient member for biasing the pawl bodies outward of the hub body, each of the pawl bodies includes a pawl portion which comes into contact with the disk, and a pawl-side stopper for limiting outward movement of the pawl bodies caused by the resilient member, the hub body includes a pawl opening through which the pawl portion can project outward, and a hub-side stopper which abuts against the pawl-side stopper, a downward guide surface is provided at a location lower than a tip end of the pawl portion, the hub body is provided with an upper receiving surface at a position opposed to the downward guide surface, and the pawl portion is pressed from above by the disk, the first inclined surface abuts against the upper receiving surface wh

Abstract: A magnetic recording and reproducing device includes: a magnetic recording medium in which a magnetic recording layer is formed in a concavo-convex pattern so that tracks are formed by convex portions of a predetermined track width and arranged in parallel in the track width direction; a heating head for heating the magnetic recording medium to partially reduce coercivity of the tracks; a recording head for applying a recording magnetic field to a heated portion of the magnetic recording medium to record magnetic data on the tracks; and a reproducing head for detecting a reproducing magnetic field of the tracks. In this configuration, an effective recording area has an effective recording width that is equal to or more than the track width, and equal to or less than a sum of the track width and a doubled value of width of concave portions between the tracks.

Abstract: A disk spacer interposed between a plurality of disks that are rotatably installed on a spindle motor and has a ring shape to maintain an interval between the disks. The center of an inner circle defined by an inner circumferential surface of the disk spacer is not congruous with the center of an outer circle defined by an outer circumferential surface thereof to produce mass eccentricity.

Abstract: A transmitting mechanism of an information recording/reproducing apparatus, includes a pickup carriage, two guide rods, a feeding screw, a feeding motor and an engaging member. The pickup carriage is movably supported by the guide rods. The feeding motor rotates the feeding screw. The engaging member includes a fixed portion and an engaging portion. The fixed portion is fastened on the pickup carriage, and the engaging portion engages with the feeding screw on a downside of the feeding screw (the downside thereof being determined relative to the operating position of the information recording/reproducing apparatus).

Abstract: A hard disk drive includes a housing including a base member and a cover member; a spindle motor installed on the base member; at least one disk for data storage mounted on the spindle motor; an actuator rotatably installed on the base member, the actuator having a read/write head for recording data on the disk or reproducing the recorded data; and an air guide placed on the bottom of the cover member, protruding toward the disk near the head, and dispersing an air flow caused by the rotation of the disk and directed toward the head. The air guide has a triangular shape with an apex directed against the air flow to split and direct the air flow toward the spindle motor and the disk such that the air guide alleviates the impact of the air flow on the head and reduces reducing the head's vibration.

Abstract: Exchange coupling energy between an anti-ferromagnetic layer and a first ferromagnetic layer, and an anti-ferromagnetic coupling energy between the first ferromagnetic layer and a second ferromagnetic layer by way of an Ru anti-ferromagnetic coupling layer of a spin valve device are increased thereby increasing the magnetoresistance ratio and decreasing the coercivity of the free layer of the spin valve film. In an MnPt anti-ferromagnetic bottom type synthetic ferri-type spin valve film in which an underlayer, an anti-ferromagnetic layer comprising MnPt, a first ferromagnetic layer comprising CoFe, an anti-ferromagnetic coupling layer comprising Ru, a second ferromagnetic layer comprising CoFe, an intermediate non-magnetic layer comprising Cu, a free layer comprising synthetic films of CoFe and NiFe and a protective layer are stacked over a substrate, the Fe composition X in CoFeX of the first ferromagnetic layer is set as about: 20<x?50 at %.

Abstract: In a disc changer provided with a driving force transmission mechanism using a crank arm, the size of the crank arm is reduced as much as possible and the smooth movement of the tray is realized. The crank arm (7) is rotated by a driving force of a drive motor (5). The crank arm (7) has a distal end (71a) connected to a guide groove (100) formed at the tray (1). When the crank arm (7) rotates, the distal end (71a) moves along the guide groove (100). When the distal end moves through a left end curve (120) or a right end curve (130) at opposite ends of the guide groove (100), the rotational force of the crank arm (7) is transmitted to the tray (1), whereby the tray (1) performs open/close movement. The guide groove (100) has a bow shape made up of an arcuate intermediate curve (110), and the left end curve (120) and the right end curve (130) which are curved opposite to the intermediate curve (110), so that the force to be transmitted to the tray (1) changes continuously.

Abstract: A micro-actuator for a head gimbal assembly includes a support frame including a bottom support adapted to be connected to a suspension of the head gimbal assembly, a top support adapted to support a slider of the head gimbal assembly, and a leading beam that couples the bottom support and the top support. The leading beam includes weak points or notches that allow the top support to rotate about a rotational axis in use. A first PZT element is mounted between first sides of the top and bottom supports, and a second PZT element is mounted between second sides of the top and bottom supports. The first and second PZT elements are excitable to cause selective rotational movement of the top support about the rotational axis in use.

Abstract: A disk apparatus moves a traverse unit vertically, a spindle motor is allowed to approach a base body or a lid, a disk is pressed by the spindle motor and the lid, thereby mounting the disk on the spindle motor. When the spindle motor is moved upward, a tip end surface of a convex portion of the lid is inclined, the tip end surface of the convex portion of the lid and the spindle motor are substantially in parallel to each other, and the disk can stably be mounted.

Abstract: A micro-actuator for a head gimbal assembly includes a U-shaped frame and a metal support frame. The U-shaped frame includes a bottom support, a pair of side arms extending from the bottom support, and a PZT element mounted to each of the side arms. Each PZT element is excitable to cause selective movement of the side arms. The metal support frame includes a top support adapted to support a slider, a bottom support adapted to be connected to a suspension, and a pair of side arms that interconnect the bottom support and the top support. The metal support frame is mounted to the U-shaped frame such that the side arms of the metal support frame are mounted to respective side arms of the U-shaped frame and the bottom support of the metal support frame is mounted to the bottom support of the U-shaped frame.

Abstract: A rebounding phenomenon of an actuator assembly is to be prevented and device assembling work and maintenance work are to be carried out separately from stopper removing work. In one embodiment, a magnetic disk device includes a stopper 50 for restricting a turning range of an actuator assembly 8 having a coil support 22 in a magnetic disk device. In the stopper 50, rubber 51 is cantilevered by a support rod 261 so as to undergo a moment of force and fulfill a shock absorbing function in order to restrict an excessive movement of the actuator assembly 8 to an inner or an outer side when the rubber 51 is abutted against a first arm 22a or a second arm 22b of a bifurcated shape of the coil support 22, the support rod 261 is disposed outside a turning track of turning ends of the first and second arms 22a, 22b of the coil support 22, and a permanent magnet 52 is embedded in the rubber 51 to attract the first and second arms 22a, 22b.

Abstract: A disc accessing apparatus and its panel are provided. The disc accessing apparatus includes a housing, a panel with an opening for a disc to pass, a surface slanted towards the opening and an engagement portion. When a disc cannot be ejected from the disc accessing apparatus normally, the surface leads the disc out. In case the disc cracks into pieces during high-speed rotation, the pieces strike the surface to generate a force that makes the engagement portion and the housing engage more tightly.