Abstract: A head suspension for use in a rigid disk drive is provided having a diminished spring constant for minimizing the negative effects of load loss on head suspension performance without a diminished sway mode resonant frequency. The head suspension includes a load beam having an actuator mounting region, a rigid region, a flexure, and a spring region between the actuator mounting region and the rigid region. The spring region contains at least one torsion arm a component of which extends in a direction transverse to the length of the load beam. A displacement normal to the plane of the load beam of the head slider causes a twisting action in the torsion arm. This twisting action generates a force which opposes the normal displacement of the head slider.

Abstract: A belt-driven tape cartridge has a rectangular housing with a front wall shorter than its side walls. The front wall has an access opening for a tape read/write head and a drive opening. A pair of tape spools are rotatably mounted in the housing so as to lie on an axis oriented at an angle to the front wall, and a plurality of tape guides define a tape path between the spools and across the access opening. An endless drive belt extends around a drive roller at the drive opening and at least three belt guide rollers in a belt path arranged to contact tape on each spool. The tape path has extended portions extending between the tape contacting portions on each side of the spools. At least one belt guide roller is located in the same extended portion of the belt path as the drive roller, and at least two belt guide rollers are located in the other extended portion of the belt path.

Abstract: A magnetic head device comprising:a magnetic circuit which includes a head core unit, a back core and a coil;the head core unit including a first core made from a magnetic material and a second core made from a magnetic material, and forming a magnetic gap between the first core and the second core;the back core made from a magnetic material and jointed to the first core and the second core so as to form back gaps;the coil arranged on the first core;a first holder which is bonded to the first core and the second core at two locations of the side of the magnetic gap and the side of the back gaps so as to hold the magnetic circuit; anda second holder which is bonded to the first core and the second core at the magnetic gap side so as to hold the magnetic circuit, and which is substantially of a square pillar.

Abstract: A disk-based drive (45) with a reduced weight actuator (50) is disclosed. The actuator (50) includes an E-block (30) having multiple actuator arms (32) extending therefrom, to which associated read/write heads (14) are attached. The E-block 30 is formed of top and bottom plates (30u, 30d) having openings (31u, 31d) therethrough for receiving a pivot pin (36). A roller bearing (34) having inner and outer races (38i, 38u) and ball bearings (39) therewithin is disposed about the pivot pin (36), between the top and bottom plates (30u, 30d) as installed. In a first embodiment, the inner race (38i) of the bearing (34) is fixably attached to the pivot pin (36) and the pivot pin (36) is fixably attached to the E-block (30). Supports (44) are attached to the outer race (38o) of the bearing (34). A voice coil (37) is mounted to the rear of the E-block (30) to rotate the E-block (30) and position the heads (14) over the desired track of the disks (8).

Abstract: A disk storage has one or more disks provided with center holes. An electric motor extends coaxially through these holes and has an external rotor to the outer circumference of which the disks are secured so that they rotate with the rotor. A seal is provided for at least reducing the escape of contaminants from the motor.

Abstract: An automatic disc-changing apparatus for selectively transporting cartridge holders from a standby position to a recording and reproducing position, or from a recording and reproducing position to a standby position. The cartridge holders are capable of accommodating a plurality of cartridges containing discs to record information thereon and thereby transport any single cartridge. The automatic disc-changing apparatus comprises a plurality of cartridge holders for holding the cartridges; a standby-holding mechanism for holding the cartridge holder in the standby position; a transport-holding mechanism for selectively engaging with the cartridge holder for transport; a transfer mechanism for moving the transport-holding mechanism horizontally to the front and rear of the apparatus; and an elevator mechanism for raising and lowering the transport-holding mechanism. This apparatus is compact, simple in configuration and convenient to use.

Abstract: An object of the present invention is to provide a hard disc which prevents alien bodies and rust from falling onto hard discs and securely holds the hard discs in parallel alignment. In a first basic structure of the hard disc spacer, the hard disc spacer is made of a metal and coated with a hard metal coating layer.In a second basic structure thereof, the hard disc spacer is made of a metal and coated with a ceramic coating layer. In a third basic structure thereof, the hard disc spacer is made of glass. In a first basic structure of the hard disc clamp, the hard disc clamp is made of a metal and coated with a hard metal coating layer. And in a second basic structure thereof, the hard disc clamp is made of a metal and coated with a ceramic coating layer.

Abstract: A method and apparatus for increasing recording density in zone bit recording on a magnetic recording disk without increasing track density by maximizing the data density the at disk's outer track. A magnetic recording head is attached to a parallelogram shaped slider such that the head's gap-to-radius skew and the slider rail skew changes continuously as the slider moves in an arcuate path from the disk's inner track to the disk's outer track. The parallelogram slider is designed to reduce the loss of data density at the outer track by minimizing the head's gap-to-radius skew while maximizing the rail skew angle at the outer track to maintain an essentially constant low fly height across the disk.

Abstract: A head assembly for use in a video cassette recorder includes a head, the head having a magnetic gap, and a head base, the head base being divided into a first portion fixed on bottom surface of the rotary drum and a second portion having a front and a back sides, wherein the front side of the second portion of the head base is formed so as to have a predetermined angle of inclination, corresponding to the azimuth angle, with respect to the back side thereof.

Abstract: A low fringe-field and narrow write-track magnetic read-write head. The low fringe-field and narrow write-track magnetic read-write head includes a first pole layer formed adjoining an insulator layer over a substrate. The first pole layer has a first air bearing surface which has a first edge adjoining and parallel with a first surface of the insulator layer. The low fringe-field and narrow write-track magnetic read-write head also includes a second pole layer separated from the first pole layer by the insulator layer. The second pole layer has a width no greater than about 20 microns and a width no greater than about 100 percent of the width of the first pole layer where the width of the second pole layer is contained within the width of the first pole layer. The second pole layer also has a second air bearing surface coplanar with the first air bearing surface.

Abstract: A chassis has rotatably mounted thereon a magazine in the form of a hollow cylinder for accommodating a plurality of disks as positioned upright. A playback portion and an insertion-discharge portion are arranged respectively inside and outside the magazine radially thereof. Roller units for holding and transporting the disk are provided respectively between the Insertion-discharge portion and the magazine and between the magazine and the playback portion. The two roller units are coupled by a gear train and rotatable in directions opposite to each other.

Abstract: A bistable latch assembly is disclosed which includes a latch lever supported on a pivot pin adjacent the rotating discs and the actuator arm, and rotatable between two stable positions defined at the opposite end of the lever from the pivot pin by a pair of stop pins. The latch lever includes a magnet movable between these two stop pins, the attraction of the magnet to the pins defining the two stable positions for the lever. An edge of the lever facing the disc includes a notch which captures a pin extending from the actuator arm. When the latch lever engages the actuator arm pin in the notch, then the magnet of the latch lever is held by magnetic attraction against one of the stop pins. When the actuator arm is to be put to use in the disc drive, the voice coil motor is actuated, and has sufficient power to cause the stop pin on the actuator arm to disengage from the notch.

Abstract: An improved, shielded magnetic core structure is disclosed that is particularly well suited for use in magnetic read and write heads adapted for narrow track, short wavelength magnetic recording systems, and for transformers of high performance, wide band application. The improved magnetic cores use novel field confinement structures to reduce or eliminate leakage magnetic paths which normally do not link the head gap or do not link the transformer windings. This shielding arrangement substantially improves the performance of such devices, as compared to conventional, unshielded heads and transformers. Embodiments involving toroidal cores, thin film heads, and MR heads are disclosed, along with high performance, wide band transformer structures.

Abstract: An integrated transmission line array of multiple interleaved trace conductors symmetrically formed in a single plane for electrically interconnecting a read element or a write element of a dual element read/write head to a preamplifier circuit in a disk drive.

Abstract: A magnetoresistive (MR) sensor having end regions separated from each other by a central region. Hard bias layers disposed in the end regions longitudinally bias an MR layer which is formed in the central region. A soft adjacent layer (SAL) is utilized to transversely bias the MR layer. The MR layer and the hard bias layers are electrically insulated from the SAL by an insulator. The SAL magnetization is fixed through exchange coupling with an antiferromagnetic layer. Separating the MR layer and the hard bias layers from the SAL by an insulator prevents the sense current from flowing in the SAL thus improving the MR effect.

Abstract: The invention permits outwards engagement of a magnetic tape from a conventional audio cassette for processing the tape in a manner to reduce prior art tape-to-head alignment problems. When the cassette is inserted into the apparatus, concurrently a tape engager is inserted into a lateral access opening associated with a cassette well (i.e. a capstan opening or cavity) and is positioned adjacent an inside face of the tape. The tape engager contacts a length of tape, and a head block assembly member is inserted into the well to cooperate with the tape and the tape engager to ensure separation between an outside face of the tape and the cassette, and to reduce contact between an inside face of the tape and a portion of the cassette. In one embodiment, the tape engager is rotatable to displace the tape outwardly with respect to the well.

Abstract: A tape cassette includes a cassette housing having formed therethrough a hub drive shaft insertion aperture, a slider slidably mounted on the lower surface of the casette housing so as to open and/or close the hub drive shaft insertion aperture or the like and a slider locking piece for locking the slider at a predetermined position in which the slider locking piece is molded together with the main body of the cassette housing by dichromatic molding.

Abstract: Electrical contact surfaces, especially when connected to a chip, are designed to be purely functional. However, according to the present disclosure, the contact surfaces are designed so that their external shape is that of a visible letter or symbol with a meaningful content. These contact surfaces may, e.g., be placed on cassette casings for recognition. In a stripe or bar code unit consisting of several code components, i.e., bars, individual bars are electrically conductive to facilitate additional coding. The electrically conductive bars or the contact surfaces are preferably connected to the terminals of an integrated circuit.

Abstract: A magnetic head, in the form of a MIG head, having a magnetic metal film formed in the vicinity of the magnetic gap, is provided, in which the thickness of the magnetic metal film in a direction perpendicular to the magnetic gap is not less than 1.0 .mu.m and not more than 4.4 .mu.m and the gap length of the magnetic gap is 0.23 .mu.m to 0.32 .mu.m. The magnetic head is improved in recording characteristics in a specified short wavelength range and hence in the playback output so that it may be advantageously employed for a high digital recording format.

Abstract: Salient embodiments comprise magnetic recording sliders whose record-confronting face is characterized by two or three rails wherein stiction forces are counter-acted by provision of "boss means" on one or several rails, or therebetween; and also characterized by provision of "back-bar means" and associated purge channel means; and methods for rendering such are also described.