Dynamic magnetic information storage or retrieval – Head mounting – Disk record
Reexamination Certificate
1999-08-20
2001-06-05
Ometz, David L. (Department: 2652)
Dynamic magnetic information storage or retrieval
Head mounting
Disk record
C360S254100, C360S266200
Reexamination Certificate
active
06243237
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a disk drive apparatus suitable for recording and playing back a disk-shaped recording medium such as, for example, a floppy disk, and in particular to soft landing of a head on said disk-shaped recording medium.
2. Description of Related Art
Conventionally, in a small capacity floppy disk drive FDD of recording capacity 1-2 MB, a low capacity floppy disk cartridge FDC of the type shown in
FIGS. 76-80
is used as shown in FIG.
81
. When the low capacity floppy disk cartridge FDC is loaded, the center core of a floppy disk
1
is chucked on a disk table
23
inserted in a center core hole
6
of a cartridge
5
, and the floppy disk
1
is rotated at a low speed of 200-250 rpm by a spindle
21
. A pair of upper and lower magnetic heads
28
,
29
are inserted in a pair of head insertion holes
7
in the disk cartridge which are released during loading so that they are in contact with the upper and lower surfaces of the floppy disk
1
, and data is recorded and/or played back on the floppy disk
1
while seek and tracking are performed in directions shown by the arrows a, b along scanning centers, which are radial lines extending from the center of the floppy disk
1
, by the pair of magnetic heads
28
,
29
due to a head transport device.
The Applicant has already developed a high capacity floppy disk cartridge HFDC of the type shown in
FIGS. 73-75
wherein the recording capacity is increased to 100 MB or more. In this high capacity floppy disk cartridge HFDC, a pair of magnetic heads, which are flying heads, are floated at distances of the order of microns from the upper and lower surfaces of the floppy disk
1
on an air film (i.e., the heads are “flying”) while the floppy disk
1
is rotated at a high speed of 3600 rpm or more, and data is recorded and/or played back at high density.
Regarding the floppy disk
1
used in this high capacity floppy disk cartridge HFDC, the data trackwidth can be reduced by high rotation speeds and high density recording, but it is necessary to improve head surface roughness and make the magnetic layer on the floppy disk
1
thinner to improve contact with the head. For this reason, the size of the magnetic powder must be of the order of 0.1 &mgr;m and the coating layer must be of the order of 0.2 &mgr;m.
In a prior art low capacity floppy disk drive FDD, the low capacity floppy disk cartridge FDC was inserted in a cartridge holder, and when a lock on the cartridge holder was released by a trigger lever, the low capacity floppy disk cartridge FDC was loaded at high speed by the cartridge holder from an unloading position which is a raised position to a loading position which is a lowered position, the floppy disk
1
was chucked on a disk table
23
, and an upper and lower pair of magnetic heads
28
,
29
were landed with a shock on the upper and lower surfaces of the floppy disk
1
. As the coating thickness of the magnetic layer on the floppy disk
1
of the low capacity floppy disk cartridge FDC is very large, there was no need for concern that the magnetic layer would suffer serious damage even if the pair of upper and lower magnetic heads
28
,
29
landed on the upper and lower surfaces of the floppy disk
1
with a shock, and no particular problem with regard to safety.
However, the floppy disk
1
used with the high capacity floppy disk cartridge HFDC having a storage capacity of 100 MB or more has a very thin magnetic coating layer, and if a shock occurs when the pair of upper and lower magnetic heads
27
,
28
lands on the upper and lower surfaces of the floppy disk
1
during loading, the magnetic layer which is coated thinly on the disk will suffer serious damage leading to problems of quality and durability.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The disk drive apparatus according to the present invention comprising a head raising and lowering mechanism for raising and lowering a head supported via a suspension in a carriage between a head loading position in which data recording and playback on a disk-shaped recording medium are possible, and a head unloading position in which data recording and playback are not possible, comprises: a head raising and lowering arm disposed essentially at right angles to the length direction of the suspension; a slide plate to which one end of the head raising and lowering arm is attached free to rotate via a pivot axis; and a fixed guide shaft disposed essentially parallel to the length direction of the suspension, with which a cam groove formed at the other end of the head raising and lowering arm is engaged, wherein the head raising and lowering arm is inserted into the suspension from a direction intersecting with the length direction of the suspension and ejected from same by sliding the cam groove relative to the guide shaft by a sliding action of the slide plate, and the head is raised and lowered between the head loading position and head unloading position by the head raising and lowering arm, by rotating the head raising and lowering arm around the pivot axis as center by the cam groove.
A disk drive apparatus comprising head raising and lowering mechanisms for raising and lowering first and second heads supported via first and second suspensions in carriages between a head loading position in which data recording and playback on a disk-shaped recording medium are possible, and a head unloading position in which data recording and playback are not possible, comprises carrying means for carrying the carriages in the radius direction of the disk; first and second head raising and lowering arms disposed essentially at right angles to the length direction of the first and second suspensions; slide plates to which one ends of the first and second head raising and lowering arms is attached free to rotate via a pivot axis; and fixed guide shafts disposed essentially parallel to the length direction of the suspensions, with which first and second cam grooves formed at the other ends of the first and second head raising and lowering arms are engaged, wherein the head raising and lowering arms are inserted into between the suspensions from a direction intersecting with the length direction of the suspensions and ejected from same by sliding the first and second cam grooves relative to the guide shafts by sliding actions of the slide plates, and the first and second heads are raised and lowered between the head loading position and head unloading position by the first and second head raising and lowering arms, by rotating the first and second head raising and lowering arms around the pivot axis as center by the first and second cam grooves.
A disk drive apparatus comprising head raising and lowering mechanisms for raising and lowering first and second heads supported via first and second suspensions in carriages between a head loading position in which data recording and playback on a disk-shaped recording medium are possible, and a head unloading position in which data recording and playback are not possible, comprises: first and second head raising and lowering arms disposed in between the first and second suspensions essentially at right angles to the length direction of the first and second suspensions; a pivot axis for which the first and second head raising and lowering arms are installed rotatably; and axis members disposed essentially parallel to the length direction of the suspensions, with which first and second cam grooves formed respectively at the other ends of the first and second head raising and lowering arms are engaged, wherein the first and second head raising and lowering arms and the axis members move relatively toward a direction essentially intersecting with the length direction of the suspensions, thereby the axis members displace the first and second cam grooves to rotate the first and second head raising and lowering arms around the pivot axis and thus to raise and lower the first and second heads between the head loading position and the head unloading position.
The disk drive apparatus of this inventi
Kumagai Hideaki
Shimizu Hirohiko
Altman, III Franklin D.
Maioli Jay H.
Ometz David L.
Sony Corporation
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