Abstract: A suspension member has integral electrical conductor leads which extend along its length to a rear tail section. The leads extend beyond the tail section for electrical connection with a reception pad member. The distal ends of the leads have recessed areas in the terminal edge to encourage the flow of liquid solder into the joint. The tail section has a pair of tab members which are received in apertures in the reception pad member in order align the leads correctly.

Abstract: A magnetic head suspension assembly for transducing data from and onto a surface of a rotating magnetic disk includes a load beam for supplying a directed force to a slider, so as to maintain the slider at a desired height above the disk surface. A flexure is secured to the load beam, and is formed of a flexible dielectric layer on which a pattern of conductive traces are formed. These conductive traces are patterned for providing sufficient flexibility in various degrees of movement and stiffness to resist physical deformation, for imparting optimal mechanical and structural support to the slider and to the load beam, and for electrically connecting the slider to read/write electronic circuitry. In the preferred embodiment, the dielectric layer is made of a polymeric resinous material, such as polyimide, and the conductive traces are made of copper.

Abstract: An air bearing slider (140) for use in a disc drive (10) is disclosed. The slider includes leading and trailing edges (44,46) and an air bearing surface (48) having a longitudinally extending center line (40). A first leg (102) protrudes from the leading edge end of the air bearing surface on a first side of the center line. The first leg extends longitudinally along a first axis (103) oriented such that it forms an angle relative to the center line which is substantially equal to the skew angle of the slider when the slider is positioned at the inner diameter (36) of the disc.

Abstract: A load/unload mechanism for magnetic disks is described which allows the magnetic heads of a disk drive to be loaded and unloaded at highest possible speed in a secure manner and without collision with the surface of the disk. The slider is lifted off directly in the vicinity of the flexure without causing abrasion between the suspension of the slider and the load/unload element.

Abstract: A head drum assembly for use in a digital video cassette recorder includes a miniaturized transformer which has a rotor piece provided with a groove and a stator piece provided with an identical groove as that of the rotor piece groove, wherein the groove of the rotor piece is commonly used for a pair of heads.

Abstract: A method and apparatus for creating a position error signal (PES) voltage v. track distance curve for the head of a hard disk drive. The disk has a dedicated track which contains a plurality of servo bits that allow the head to be centered with the centerline of the track. The dedicated track also has a number of calibration bits each embedded at a known location off-set from the track centerline. The PES voltage v. track distance curve is generated by reading each calibration bit and storing the corresponding amplitude of the position error signal in a memory device of the disk drive. Each calibration bit is located from the track centerline a distance that is different from the other calibration bits so that there are provided multiple points on the track curve.

Abstract: An automated cartridge handling system or library (20, 20') for storing cartridges (22) of information storage media comprises a cartridge holder (26); a tape drive (30) movably mounted with respect to the cartridge holder; and, a transport system (40) for transporting the tape drive (30) in a drive transport path (42) between a unloaded position and a cartridge loaded position. The cartridges (22) remain stationary in the library while the tape drive is transported between the unloaded position and the cartridge loaded position. The cartridge holder library has a plurality of apertures (70) which receive cartridge holders or spines (80). To retain the cartridge (22) within the spine, each spine has resilient cartridge retaining fingers (100) formed in its interior cavity (90) for engaging a notch (104) on the cartridge. Each spine is provided with stabilization flanges (112) for stabilizing the cartridge.

Abstract: An actuator assembly for a magnetic disk drive having a structure capable of easily removing the imbalance of the actuator assembly. The actuator assembly includes a shaft fixed to a base of the disk drive, a bearing having an inner race fixed to the shaft, a sleeve fixed to an outer race of the bearing, and an actuator arm unit fixed to the sleeve. The sleeve has a side wall formed with a hole opening in a direction of canceling the imbalance of the actuator assembly.

Abstract: A limit stop for magnetic storage disk drive systems comprising a spring portion and a mount portion. The spring portion is a single piece molded structure that is preloaded against a precision machined surface on the mount portion during assembly. The preloaded spring feature provides good energy absorption characteristics to reduce the limit stop deflection during actuator contact. The precision machined surface on the mount portion accurately determines the limit stop position, thereby reducing tolerance requirements on the spring portion.

Abstract: An integrated lead disk drive suspension including a load beam and one or more conductive leads. The load beam has a mounting region on a proximal end, a head bonding platform on a distal end, and one or more spring regions connecting the head bonding platform to the mounting region. The conductive leads are integrated with and insulated from the load beam by an adhesive dielectric layer, and extend between the head bonding platform and the mounting region. The leads are adapted to reduce mechanical effects of the leads and/or dielectric layer on spring characteristics of the spring regions. One embodiment of the leads includes at least a first compensating portion which extends off the load beam and traverses a nonlinear path around at least a portion of one or more of the spring regions. In another embodiment the portions of the conductive leads extending between the distal end of the load beam and the head bonding platform are substantially free from the dielectric layer.

Abstract: A head suspension assembly including a load beam having a rigid region, a mounting region on a proximal end of the load beam, and a flexure on a distal end of the load beam. The flexure has a read/write head attachment region for supporting a read/write head on the distal end of the load beam. Deformation of the head suspension assembly displaces the head attachment region. A strain transducer circuit that acts as a strain gauge is mounted on the head suspension assembly. The resistance of the transducer circuit varies with strain in the circuit, which, in turn, varies with displacement of the read/write head. The magnitude of resistance change of the transducer circuit indicates the magnitude of head off-neutral motion.

Abstract: A spin valve magnetoresistive head comprises a first spin valve device having a first magnetization free layer and a first magnetization pinning layer via a first non-magnetic intermediate layer, a second spin valve device having a second magnetization free layer and a second magnetization pinning layer via a second non-magnetic intermediate layer, whereby the first and second magnetization pinning layers are magnetized in anti-parallel to each other and the first and second magnetization free layers are magnetized rotatably based on an external magnetic field.

Abstract: A magnetic head device for reading information from or writing information to a rotating magnetic recording medium includes a magnetic pole for reading information from or writing information to the medium and a slider for supporting the magnetic pole and moving the magnetic pole on the medium. The slider includes a contact portion for supporting the magnetic pole, and keeping the magnetic pole in contact with the medium, a positioned member flying above the medium, the flying member having a first surface where dynamic pressure generated by fluid-flow caused by rotation of the medium, and a connecting member having a mass less than that of the flying member, the connecting member connecting between the contact portion and the flying member.

Abstract: A lower magnetic head is attached to a carriage and a head support member supporting an upper magnetic head is hinged to the carriage. The head support member is provided on its lower surface in a continuous arrangement with a first flat portion, an inclined portion and a second flat portion. A cartridge holder for holding a disk cartridge, and a cross plate are fixed to an open upper end of a main chassis. A driving pin is fixed to the cross plate. When the carriage is moved away from a magnetic disk with an auxiliary chassis held at an upper loading position, the driving pin comes into contact wit the second flat portion of the head support member to separate the upper magnetic head from the magnetic disk. When the carriage moves toward the center of the magnetic disk, the driving pin is disengaged from the head support member, so that the upper magnetic head is pressed through the magnetic disk against the lower magnetic disk.

Abstract: Disclosed is a head drum assembly of the video cassette recorder providing a lower drum, a motor which is mounted at the lower drum, ant upper drum rotating by the motor, a rotary transformer which is installed between the lower drum and the upper drum, and a plurality of head bases having one or more heads for reproducing the video signals from a magnetic tap and being integrally formed with the rotary transformer. The head bases and the rotary transformer are formed as one body by an insert molding. Advantages of the present invention are that assembling of the head assembly is easy, productivity is increased, and the manufacturing cost thereof is reduced.

Abstract: A cartridge for a magnetic disk drive has a rigid shell and a flexible door which covers an opening through which read/write heads engage the recording medium. The flexible door is guided outside of the shell to an open position as the cartridge is inserted into the drive. A projection on a flexible arm in the drive catches a hole in the flexible door to open it as the cartridge is inserted into the drive. The door which opens along the outside of the cartridge conserves space so that the recording medium can be large for a given form factor drive.

Abstract: The magnetocrystalline anisotropic energy Kl is set to not more than 100 J/m.sup.3 and the absolute value of the magnetostriction in the <100> direction, as the magnetic circuit direction, is reduced by appropriately selecting the ferrite material composition. Since the magnetocrystalline anisotropic energy Kl is small, the magnetoelastic energy largely affects the anisotropy of the crystallographic axis. The magnetoelastic energy is made negative and small in magnitude by adjusting the average coefficients of thermal expansion of the ferrite material and glass so as to apply a tensile stress around the magnetic gap of the magnetic head. The <100> direction, i.e., magnetic circuit direction, is thereby allowed to coincide with a hard axis of magnetization. As a result, the permeability of the magnetic head is improved at high-frequency bands.

Abstract: A gimbal for supporting a slider at its leading surface in a disc drive assembly includes a gimbal body, a slider support beam and a slider mounting tab. The slider support beam is carried by the gimbal body and defines a vertical slider alignment feature. The slider mounting tab extends out of plane from the slider support beam and defines a horizontal slider alignment feature. The slider mounting tab is attached to the leading surface of the slider. The design of the slider mounting tab of the present invention is useful for supporting a leading edge microactuator at a leading edge of the slider for micropositioning a transducer over ideal track centers on a disc surface.

Abstract: An actuator device of a hard disk drive for reducing a disturbance affecting an actuator. The actuator device has a guide unit connected or attached to an actuator arm for reducing a disturbance affecting the actuator, caused by an air flow generated from a surface of the disk during disk rotation. The guide unit maintains a laminar flow of air between the disk and the actuator arm as the disk is rotated by a spindle of the hard disk drive.

Abstract: A disk drive suspension assembly in which the spacing of the slider in operative proximity to the disk is determined by the additive height of separate opposed dimples on the flexure and load beam, respectively, engaged in a common locus of engagement, the flexure having in addition a local deflection to offset the outer flexure portion carrying the dimple from the inner flexure portion.