Abstract: In one embodiment, a disk drive has a solenoid and spring for turning a ramp mechanism about a rotating shaft. When the drive operates, since the ramp mechanism moves out from the magnetic disk by the force of the solenoid, the outer peripheral edge of a magnetic head that has formerly been unusable can be used as a data read/write region, without the magnetic head interfering with the fins of the ramp mechanism. During a non-operating state of the drive and in case of a power interruption, the force of the spring returns the ramp mechanism to a position at which the magnetic head can be unloaded. This construction allows the storage capacity of the drive to be easily increased without sacrificing the shock resistance of the ramp mechanism.

Abstract: The positioning accuracy of a magnetic head decreases due to vibrations in the in-plane rotation mode of an HDD, which are caused by couple or disturbance occurring in seek operation, due to vibrations in the thrust mode, and the conical mode, of the spindle, which are caused by disturbance, and due to vibrations in the case thrust mode, the spindle fall mode, and the like. In one embodiment, an elastic support member includes a pillar-shaped part. The elastic support member is provided with a recess on a surface opposite to a corner of a base, and longitudinal fin projections on the upper and lower sides with respect to the recess. The base is provided at its corner with a horizontal fin that is parallel to a disk surface. The horizontal fin is inserted into the recess of the elastic support member. The longitudinal fin projections come into contact with the base, and control basic vibrational characteristics on both the upper and lower sides with respect to the horizontal fin.

Abstract: The conventional ramp mechanism constituting a load/unload mechanism for a magnetic disk is disadvantageous for increasing a storage capacity since an outer peripheral edge of the disk is not used as a data area. In one embodiment of the invention, a disk drive has a solenoid and spring for turning a ramp mechanism about a rotating shaft. When the drive operates, since the ramp mechanism moves out from the magnetic disk by the tensile force of the solenoid, the outer peripheral edge of a magnetic head that has formerly been unusable can be used as a data read/write region, without the magnetic head interfering with the fins of the ramp mechanism. During a non-operating state of the drive and in case of a power interruption, the tensile force of the spring returns the ramp mechanism to a position at which the magnetic head can be unloaded. This construction allows the storage capacity of the drive to be easily increased without sacrificing the shock resistance of the ramp mechanism.

Abstract: The positioning accuracy of a magnetic head decreases due to vibrations in the in-plane rotation mode of an HDD, which are caused by couple or disturbance occurring in seek operation, due to vibrations in the thrust mode, and the conical mode, of the spindle, which are caused by disturbance, and due to vibrations in the case thrust mode, the spindle fall mode, and the like. In one embodiment, an elastic support member includes a pillar-shaped part. The elastic support member is provided with a recess on a surface opposite to a corner of a base, and longitudinal fin projections on the upper and lower sides with respect to the recess. The base is provided at its corner with a horizontal fin that is parallel to a disk surface. The horizontal fin is inserted into the recess of the elastic support member. The longitudinal fin projections come into contact with the base, and control basic vibrational characteristics on both the upper and lower sides with respect to the horizontal fin.