Dynamic magnetic information storage or retrieval – Fluid bearing head support – Disk record
Reexamination Certificate
1998-07-16
2001-10-09
Heinz, A. J. (Department: 2165)
Dynamic magnetic information storage or retrieval
Fluid bearing head support
Disk record
Reexamination Certificate
active
06301079
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a flying head employed in a recording disk apparatus such as a hard disk drive (HDD), in particularly, to a flying head slider comprising a slider body supported with respect to the surface of a recording disk and a head element supported on an end surface of the slider body downstream of the air stream running along the slider body during rotation of the recording disk.
2. Description of the Prior Art
A flying magnetic head is employed in for example an HDD so as to change and detect the direction of magnetic field in the surface of a magnetic disk without contacting the magnetic disk. When the magnetic disk rotates in such HDD, air stream running along the surface of the magnetic disk serves to make a head slider of the magnetic head fly over the surface of the magnetic disk. As the flying height of the head slider gets smaller, the head element on the magnetic head approaches more to the surface of the magnetic disk, so that high density recording can be realized.
The magnetic head element in the flying magnetic head is covered with a protection layer as shown in for example Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. 9-293223. Accordingly, when the attitude of the head slider changes, the protection layer happens to approach the surface of the recording disk than the magnetic head element. In order to avoid collision of the protection layer against the surface of the disk when the attitude of the head slider changes, an extra margin needs to be incorporated in the flying height of the head slider because excessive approach of the head slider toward the surface of the disk should be taken into account. As a result, the magnetic head element tends to recede from the surface of the disk even when the head slider takes the proper attitude.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
It is accordingly an object of the present invention to provide a flying head slider capable of making a head element thereon approach the surface of a recording disk as much as possible even when the head slider is expected to change its attitude.
According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a flying head slider comprising: a slider body changeable in attitude and supported with respect to a surface of a recording disk; a head element supported on an end surface of the slider body downstream of an air stream running along the slider body during rotation of the recording disk; a protection layer formed on the end surface of the slider body for covering over the head element; and a splay formed on an air bearing surface of the protection layer downstream of a boundary between the slider body and the protection layer.
The flying head slider may further comprise a pair of rails formed on the slider body at a flying surface opposed to the surface of the recording disk. In this case, the splay is formed at one of the rails which supports the head element at an end surface of the rail within the end surface of the slider body.
With either of the flying head sliders, the protection layer can be eliminated by the splay at a portion nearest to the disk so that less protection layer below the head element can approach the surface of the disk even when the slider body changes its attitude. Accordingly, the head element can approach the surface of the disk as much as possible even when the change in attitude of the slider body is taken into account. In addition, since the splay is terminated at the boundary between the slider body and the protection layer, the slider body is not eliminated so that a lift acting on the air bearing surface cannot vary.
The splay preferably increases its depth from an end surface of the protection layer intersecting the air bearing surface as the splay extends to recede from the head element. The space between the protection layer and the surface of the disk is mostly kept constant even when the slider body rolls about an axis along the air stream.
The slider body may comprise a pad formed on the air bearing surface for preventing the slider body from clinging to the surface of the recording disk. The disposition of the pad requires a slant and/or a roll of the head slider in order to avoid the pad from colliding with the surface of the disk. Accordingly, the splay of the invention comes to most effective when the pad is formed on the air bearing surface of the slider body.
According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided a flying head slider comprising: a slider body changeable in attitude and supported with respect to a surface of a recording disk; at least a pair of rails arranged on a flying surface opposed to the surface of the recording disk; a head element supported on at least one of end surfaces of the rails downstream of an air stream running along the slider body during rotation of the recording disk; a protection layer formed on an end surface of the slider body for covering over the head element, said end surface including the end surfaces of the rails; and a pair of splays formed on an air bearing surface of the protection layer at the respective rails downstream of a boundary between the slider body and the protection layer.
The head slider of the above arrangement serves to restrain the variation in the flying height due to a factor such as a warp or an inverse warp of the slider body. For example, when the slider body suffers from a warp so that the flying height of the outer edges in the lateral direction of the slider body gets larger, the splays may extend over inner surfaces of the rails which inner surfaces intersects the air bearing surface. The splays serve to eliminate the protection layer nearest to the surface of the disk below the head element under the influence of the warp, so that the head element can approach the surface of the disk as much as possible even when a warp of the slider body is taken into account. Moreover, since the splays are terminated at the boundary between the slider body and the protection layer, the slider body is not eliminated so that a lift acting on the air bearing surface cannot vary. The splays preferably increase their depth from an and surface of the protection layer intersecting the air bearing surface as the splays extend inward of the slider body.
On the other hand, when the slider body suffers from an inverse warp so that the flying height of the outer edges in the lateral direction of the slider body gets smaller, the splays may extend over inner surfaces of the rails which inner surfaces intersects the air bearing surface. The splays serve to eliminate the protection layer nearest to the surface of the disk below the head element under the influence of the inverse warp, so that the head element can approach the surface of the disk as much as possible even when an inverse warp of the slider body is taken into account. Moreover, since the splays are terminated at the boundary between the slider body and the protection layer, the slider body is not eliminated so that a lift acting on the air bearing surface cannot vary. The splays preferably increase their depth from an and surface of the protection layer intersecting the air bearing surface as the splays extend inward of the slider body.
The head element may comprise a flexible coil pattern bent toward a center of a coil at a portion corresponding to the splay. The flexible coil pattern serves to easily avoid the interference between the coil pattern and the splay, so that the splay can be enlarged to the utmost without damage to the coil. Larger splay may contribute to further reduction in the flying height of the flying head slider above the surface of the disk.
Any of the above-described flying head slider may be applied to a recording disk apparatus comprising a rotating disk and a carriage for supporting the head slider changeable in attitude with respect to the surface of the disk. For example, the swinging movement of the carriage enables the slider body t o track on a recording cylinder or track on the surface of the disk. The recording disk
Hanamoto Kazuhisa
Kameyama Masaki
Sugimoto Masaharu
Fujitsu Limited
Greer Burns & Crain Ltd.
Heinz A. J.
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