Abstract: A system and method for an improved magnetic head arm assembly (HAA) is disclosed. The HAA includes three principal components, a head gimbal assembly (HGA), a flexible printed circuit (FPC) assembly, and an actuator coil assembly. The design allows for HAA rigidity, yet each of the components is designable and manufacturable independent of one another, in addition to other advantages over current methods.

Abstract: A disk drive apparatus according to the present invention includes a horizontal guide mechanism and a vertical guide mechanism, which are disposed between a frame (10) and a slider (60) for slidably guiding the slider (60). The horizontal guide mechanism includes an engaging piece (69b) disposed in at least one of the frame (10) and the slider (60) and an engaging hole (24a), which is disposed in the other and is engaged with the engaging piece (69b). One of the frame (10) and the slider (60), in which the engaging piece (69b) is formed, is made of a metallic sheet material while the engaging piece (69b) is formed by bending part of the metallic sheet material. Forming the engaging piece (69b) by bending part of the metallic sheet material in such a manner simplifies the structure of the disk drive apparatus according to the present invention so that the fabrication is facilitated, enabling fabricating cost to be reduced.

Abstract: Provided is a thin film single pole head for perpendicular magnetic recording, which has a structure offering a high formatted volume, easy servo, difficulty of influencing a recording pattern on a medium, and capability of shortening processing time. This thin film single pole head for perpendicular magnetic recording is formed on a reproducing head composed of a pair of shield layers formed on a substrate, and a reproducing element formed therebetween. A structure is provided, where an auxiliary pole is not disposed between the reproducing element of the reproducing head and the main pole of a recording head when seen from a surface facing to recording media.

Abstract: A precise positioning actuator for precisely positioning at least one head element is provided with a base and a pair of movable arms capable of displacing in response to a drive signal applied to the actuator. The pair of movable arms extend from the base for catching a head slider with at least one head element in a space between the pair of movable arms. Each of the pair of movable arms includes an arm member made of an elastic sintered ceramic and having substantially the same cross sectional shape from a root thereof to a top end thereof, a piezoelectric element formed on a side surface of the arm member and a protrusion additionally formed on an inside surface of the arm member near its top end section. The protrusion has tapered surfaces. Side surfaces of the head slider are adhered to the inside surfaces of the arm members at the protrusions and within regions between the protrusions and top ends of the arm members.

Abstract: To provide a car disk drive unit operating in a stable condition which is hardly affected by temperature changes in a vehicle, a car disk drive unit 1 of the present invention comprises: a casing 3 for accommodating a disk drive 2; a Peltier element 4 used as means for controlling the temperature being close to the upper surface of the casing 3 through an intermediate plate 18; a heat sink 5 being close to a base slice 50 on the lower surface of the Peltier element 4; an electric fan 6 for ventilating air to the heat sink 5; and a housing 11 for accommodating the casing 3 in the upper part as well as securing the heat sink 5 and the electric fan 6 to the lower part.

Abstract: An actuator locking apparatus of a hard disk drive locking an actuator using a magnetic force of a magnet attached to a first surface of a first yoke, with a metal piece installed at an end portion of an arm of the actuator, a contact portion protruding from a side surface of a second yoke, and bent such that an interval between a first contact surface of the contact portion facing the actuator and the actuator is greater than an interval between a second surface of the second yoke facing the actuator and the actuator, and a bending portion protruding from an edge of the first yoke and bent toward and extending to the contact portion, so that a second contact surface of an end portion of the bending portion contacts the first contact surface, and having a slot of predetermined width corresponding to the metal piece.

Abstract: A thin-film magnetic head comprises a bottom pole layer, a top pole layer, a recording gap layer, and a thin-film coil. The thin-film magnetic head further comprises a coupling portion which is located away from an air bearing surface and establishes coupling between the bottom pole layer and the top pole layer. The coupling portion has an end face facing toward the air bearing surface. The end face includes a curved surface convex toward the medium facing surface. A part of the thin-film coil, which is disposed between the end face and the air bearing surface, has a minimum width of the thin-film coil in a position on a virtual line connecting the end face and the air bearing surface in the shortest distance, and increases in width with distance from the virtual line.

Abstract: The electroplated components of a magnetic head of the present invention are fabricated utilizing a seed layer that is susceptible to reactive ion etch removal techniques. A preferred seed layer is comprised of tungsten or titanium. Following the electroplating of the components utilizing a fluorine species reactive ion etch process the seed layer is removed, and significantly, the fluorine RIE process creates a gaseous tungsten or titanium fluoride compound removal product. The problem of seed layer redeposition along the sides of the electroplated components is overcome because the gaseous fluoride compound is not redeposited. The present invention also includes an enhanced two part seed layer, where the lower part is tungsten, titanium or tantalum and the upper part is composed of the material that constitutes the component to be electroplated.

Abstract: A magnetic disk device having a magnetic disk for recording information, a spindle motor for driving the magnetic disk for rotation, a magnetic head for reading information from the magnetic disk, a carriage arm for supporting the magnetic disk, a voice coil motor for moving the carriage arm, a loading/unloading mechanism for retracting the carriage arm from a position on the magnetic disk, and a shroud for forming a peripheral wall. The magnetic device includes an air passage positioned between the loading/unloading mechanism and the shroud.

Abstract: A head support mechanism includes a slider equipped with a magnetic head to read/write information from/to a magnetic disk, a load beam to provide the slider with an appropriate load, the load beam being flexible in a direction substantially perpendicular to the disk, and a microactuator mounting portion equipped with a microactuator. A first actuator fixing portion, which connects the microactuator mounting portion to a carriage, and a second actuator fixing portion on the magnetic head side of the microactuator mounting portion, which connects the microactuator mounting portion to the load beam, are coupled by two arm portions of the microactuator mounting portion. The microactuator is mounted on the microactuator mounting portion so that the microactuator does not come into contact with the microactuator mounting portion between the first actuator fixing portion and the second actuator fixing portion.

Abstract: Improved head gimbal assemblies reducing TMR (Track Mis-Registration) in a hard disk drive are provided. These head gimbal assemblies are as mechanically simple as contemporary head gimbal assemblies, support parallel flying sliders over flat disk surfaces, and reduce TMR' induced by disk vibration. They are easier to build, more reliable, and cost less to make, than other known approaches at comparable track densities and rotational rates. The improved head gimbal assemblies include three sets of mechanisms moving the slider parallel the disk surface, when the disk surface is flat, and radially moving the slider toward the track, when the disk surface is bent. The first and third mechanisms as well as the second and third mechanisms can be used together in a head gimbal assembly. An improved and distinctive servo-controller scheme resulting in an overall improvement in PES performance, particularly when applied to hard disk drives employing the invention's TMR reduction mechanisms.

Abstract: A head suspension assembly includes an arm and a suspension extending from the arm. The arm has an opening portion penetrating the arm. A trace is located on the arm and the suspension and extends opposite the opening portion. A radiator plate is attached to an outer surface of the trace and extends at least opposite the opening portion. A head IC is located in the opening portion and connected electrically to a wiring pattern of the trace.

Abstract: A main frame has a size where only high precision parts are mounted thereon and has structure where a front portion of a frame is deleted. A lower cover, which covers a lower surface of the main frame, has a function as a sub-frame mounting low precision parts corresponding to the front portion of the deleted frame, thereby playing a role as one frame by a combination of the main frame and the sub-frame of the lower cover.

Abstract: Disclosed is an improved composite substrate for use in a magnetic recording-and-reproducing device. It comprises an “L”-shaped main plate and a separate sub-plate. The “L”-shaped main plate has a major section of relatively large area and a minor section of relatively small area, integrally connected to one side of the major section. The sub-plate has a square or rectangular piece cut and separated from the minor section of the main plate. When being inversely arranged and jointed together two composite substrates can define a square or rectangular shape.

Abstract: A magnetic head having a sliding surface (120) on which a magnetic recording medium is slid, a magnetic gap g formed in the sliding surface for exchanging information signals with the magnetic recording medium, a track width controlling portion for prescribing a track width Tw of the magnetic gap g, with the track width controlling portion being formed by abutting a pair of magnetic core halves (110a, 110b) together, there being track width controlling grooves (111a to 111d) formed in each of the magnetic core halves, metal magnetic films (112a to 112f) provided in association with the magnetic gap g and with the track width controlling portion, and a groove (130) formed in at least one end of the magnetic gap g for extending substantially parallel to the sliding direction of the magnetic recording medium.

Abstract: A magnetic head having at least a main pole having a profile on a magnetic head air bearing surface composed of a first portion having a length in a cross-track direction which continuously increases from a leading edge to a trailing edge, and a second portion located on the side of the trailing edge of the first portion. A length of the second portion in the cross-track direction at the trailing edge is substantially equal to a length in the cross-track direction at the point of contact between the first and second portions. A rate of change in the length of the second portion in the cross-track direction from the leading edge to the trailing edge is different from a rate of increase in the length of the first portion in the cross-track direction.

Abstract: A method and apparatus including gluing vias in the closure surface and/or the recording module surface to increase bonding strength of the closure to the recording module. The surface of the recording module has a nonplanar topography along a gap side surface which creates localized air space in the gap. When adhesive is introduced between the closure and the recording module, the adhesive flows into these air spaces to bond the surfaces. The invention utilizes gluing vias in the surfaces of the closure and/or the recording module to increase flow of the adhesive and improve bonding strength.

Abstract: A cassette loading apparatus includes a holder arranged to hold a cassette, and a link mechanism arranged to support the holder with a plurality of levers in such a way as to allow the holder to ascend and descend between an ascended position and a descended position with respect to a chassis. The link mechanism includes a pair of levers which are disposed respectively on two opposite sides of the holder, and the pair of levers are formed integrally with each other through a connection part arranged above an upper part of the cassette.

Abstract: A magnetic element has a shape in which the outside portions of a lower shield layer and an upper shield layer, which protrude from both side ends of a trailing-side ABS to both side ends of a slider, retreat from a magnetic functional portion G so as not to be exposed at a protecting layer. Therefore, it is possible to decrease a flying amount between the magnetic functional portion and a disk, and impart design freedom to the slider, thereby permitting the manufacture of a magnetic head having excellent corrosion resistance and adaptable to a higher recording density.

Abstract: A hard disk drive unit constituted in the following manner can prevent leaks of gas caused by a deformed gasket assembly, can enhance operational performances of the hard disk drive unit in accordance with using purposes and can be assembled more easily. A monolithically constituted gasket assembly with a cover for fitting to a case of the hard disk drive unit comprises: a cover plate constituting the cover made of aluminum, plastics and the like having piercing holes at predetermined positions; a gasket fitted to the cover plate via the piercing holes; and a ring constituting the cover arranged around an outer periphery of the gasket. A gap formed between the cover plate and the ring, and a gap formed between the cover plate and the case for the hard disk drive unit are sealed by the gasket.