Dynamic magnetic information storage or retrieval – Head mounting – Disk record
Reexamination Certificate
1999-11-01
2002-04-02
Renner, Craig A. (Department: 2652)
Dynamic magnetic information storage or retrieval
Head mounting
Disk record
C360S245300
Reexamination Certificate
active
06366431
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a head supporting arm and a method for fabricating it. More particularly, the present invention relates to a structure of a head supporting arm for preventing a read/write head from being damaged during a heating process for bonding a slider to a flexure and relates to a method for fabricating the head supporting arm while preventing the read/write head from being damaged during the heating process.
2. Description of the Prior Art
In an assembly or a fabrication of a head supporting arm used in a magnetic data recording device, such as a hard disk drive device, a very small slider, a read/write head is attached, or bonded to a flexure by an adhesive, such as a thermosetting resin.
FIG. 1
shows a prior head supporting arm
1
which includes an actuator arm
2
which has a pivot point
3
mounted on a frame of the hard disk drive device, a load beam
4
, a mount plate
5
connecting the load beam
4
with the actuator arm
2
, a flexure
6
attached to the load beam
4
, and a slider
7
mounted on the flexure
6
. The mount plate
5
and the actuator arm
2
are coupled by a swaging connection
8
. The slider
7
, the flexure
6
, the load beam
4
and the mount plate
5
are called as a head gimbal assembly (HGA).
A flexible tube
9
containing four connecting wires
10
connected to a read/write head
13
, such as a MR head, shown in
FIG. 2
, on the slider
7
is mounted on one of the side edges of the head supporting arm. The tube
9
is fixed to the side edge at plural positions by fixing elements
11
. This type of head supporting arm is used in a contact start stop (CSS) scheme in which the slider
7
is landed on an outer landing zone of the surface of a data recording disk, such as a hard disk, when the rotation of the hard disk is stopped during a standby condition. When the rotation of the hard disk is started to read the data from the hard disk or to write the data onto the hard disk, the slider
7
takes off from the landing zone and flies above the hard disk.
The
FIG. 2
shows a positional relationship of a front end of the load beam
4
, the flexure
6
and the slider
7
. A dimple
12
formed on the back surface of the load beam
4
contacts an upper surface of the flexure
6
to realize a gimbal action of the slider
7
. In the assembling process, the flexure
6
is fixed on a back surface of the load beam
4
, and the slider
7
is attached on a back surface of the flexure
6
by the thermosetting resin
15
. The cure of the entire thermosetting resin is performed in an oven. Before the heating in the oven, a laser beam is applied in a small area
16
of the exposed area
14
of the flexure
6
to cure the thermosetting resin in the area
16
for tacking the slider
7
onto the flexure
6
. This tack is called as a laser tack. Such laser tack becomes possible in the head supporting arm
1
used in the CSS scheme since the portion
16
is exposed in the such arm
1
.
A load/unload scheme has been recently developed in which a member called as a ramp element is fixed at a position outside the hard disk. When the read/write operation is not performed, a front tab of the head supporting arm rides on the ramp element, and when the read/write operation is started, the head supporting arm is moved toward a center of the hard disk, whereby the front tab disengages from the ramp element and the slider flies on the hard disk.
FIGS. 3 and 4
show a prior head supporting arm
21
used in the load/unload scheme. The head supporting arm
21
includes an actuator arm
22
which has a pivot point
23
mounted on a frame of the hard disk drive device, a load beam
24
, a mount plate
25
connecting the load beam
24
with the actuator arm
22
, a flexure
26
attached to the load beam
24
at coupling points
17
, and a slider
27
bonded on the flexure
26
. The mount plate
25
and the actuator arm
22
are coupled by a swaging connection
28
. A flexible tube
29
containing the four connecting wires
30
connected to the MR head
33
on a thin film
34
is mounted on one of side edges of the head supporting arm
21
by fixing elements
31
. The load beam
24
is bent at a bending potion
18
. A dimple
32
formed on the back surface of the load beam
24
contacts an upper surface of the flexure
24
to realize the gimbal action of the slider
27
.
It is required in the head supporting arm used in the load/unload scheme to provide a front tab
19
on the load beam
24
, which rides on the ramp element, not shown, at the standby condition, and to provide an aperture
20
in the load beam
24
through which the connecting wires
30
connected to terminals, not shown, on the thin film
34
pass. As a result, an area
35
exposed through the aperture
20
becomes small, as shown in the
FIG. 4
, and hence the laser tack technology used in the head supporting arm
1
shown in the
FIGS. 1 and 2
can not be used. For this reasons, to bond the slider
27
onto a bonding portion
26
A, called as a tongue, of the flexure
26
, (1) an instant adhesive, such as a cyanoacrylate adhesive, is used, or (2), in the case of that the thermosetting adhesive is used, the bonding region
26
A and the slider
27
fixed on a positioning jig are heated in the heating oven to cure the thermosetting adhesive. Such bonding scheme, however, causes new problems in that the productivity is degraded in the case (2), and a flying height of the read/write head varies depending upon the operating temperature in the housing of the hard disk drive device in the case (1). Such latter problem is caused by the following reasons. A glass transition temperature of the cyanoacrylate adhesive is relatively high, such as eighty degrees centigrade. Accordingly, the cyanoacrylate adhesive keeps its glassy state and indicates a relatively high Young's modulus in a temperature range below the glass transition temperature. When the temperature reaches the glass transition temperature, the state of the cyanoacrylate adhesive is changed to a rubber like elastic state and indicates a relatively low Young's modulus. That is, in the temperature range below the glass transition temperature, the slider
27
and the bonding portion
26
A of the flexure
26
is firmly or integrally bonded through the glass like cyanoacrylate adhesive. Since a coefficient of expansion of the slider differs from that of the bonding portion
26
A, a bimetal effect of the slider
27
and the bonding portion
26
a
occurs in the temperature range below the glass transition temperature, and such bimetal effect does not occur in the temperature range equal or higher than the glass transition temperature since the rubber like adhesive absorbs the change of expansion, so that the flying height of the read/write head varies in depending upon the operation temperature of the hard disk drive device. In the case that the hard disk drive device is operated in a severe operating atmosphere of a broader temperature range than the temperature range of a normal use, it is necessary to use a structure or material for decreasing the above bimetal effect.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
One object of the present invention is to provide an improved head supporting arm for the data recording device operated in the load/unload scheme.
Another object of the present invention is to provide the data recording device including the improved head supporting arm operated in the load/unload scheme.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a method for fabricating or assembling the improved head supporting arm for the data recording device operated in the load/unload scheme.
A head supporting arm in accordance with the present invention comprises:
a load beam;
a flexure including a portion coupled to the load beam and a bonding portion;
a slider bonded on the bonding portion by an adhesive;
wherein the bonding portion of the flexure includes an edge placed on a surface of the slider; and
wherein an exposing aperture, which exposes both a portion of a surface region, includin
Fujii Naoki
Tsuchiya Tatsumi
Yokome Hiroyoshi
Yoshida Tatsushi
Altman, III Franklin D.
International Business Machines - Corporation
Millett Douglas R.
Renner Craig A.
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