Precise positioning actuator for head element, head gimbal...

Details Precise positioning actuator for head element, head gimbal... Precise positioning actuator for head element, head gimbal...

2002-03-29

2003-12-30

Cao, Allen (Department: 2652)

Dynamic magnetic information storage or retrieval

Head mounting

For adjusting head position

Reexamination Certificate

active

06671131

ABSTRACT:

FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a precise positioning actuator for a head element such as a thin-film magnetic head element or an optical head element, to a head gimbal assembly (HGA) with the actuator and to a manufacturing method of an HGA.
DESCRIPTION OF THE RELATED ART
In a magnetic disk drive apparatus, thin-film magnetic head elements for writing magnetic information into and/or reading magnetic information from magnetic disks are in general formed on magnetic head sliders flying in operation above the rotating magnetic disks. The sliders are supported at top end sections of suspensions of HGAs, respectively.
Recently, recording and reproducing density along the radial direction or along the track width direction in the magnetic disk (track density) rapidly increase to satisfy the requirement for ever increasing data storage capacities and densities in today's magnetic disk drive apparatus. For advancing the track density, the position control of the magnetic head element with respect to the track in the magnetic disk by a voice coil motor (VCM) only has never presented enough accuracy.
In order to solve this problem, an additional actuator mechanism is mounted at a position nearer to the magnetic head slider than the VCM so as to perform fine precise positioning that cannot be realized by the VCM only. The techniques for realizing precise positioning of the magnetic head are described in for example U.S. Pat. No. 5,745,319 and Japanese patent publication No. 08180623 A.
As for a precise positioning actuator, there are various structures of actuator such as for example a load-beam structure actuator and a piggyback structure actuator.
The load-beam structure actuator has two piezoelectric elements of PZT attached on a load beam of a suspension. These PZT elements are driven in a manner to support with each other to displace the load beam so as to perform fine precise positioning of magnetic head slider mounted on the load beam.
The piggyback structure actuator is formed by piezoelectric material of PZT in an I-character shape with one end section to be fixed to a suspension, the other end section to be fixed to a magnetic head slider and a pillar shaped movable arm connected between these end sections. The PZT is driven to perform fine precise positioning of the magnetic head slider directly attached to this actuator. On the suspension, stepwise stacked are the actuator and the magnetic head slider, namely, the actuator is caught between the suspension and the slider to form a stacked cantilever structure.
However, the aforementioned conventional precise positioning actuators had following various problems:
(1) Mechanical resonance was occurred at a relatively low frequency;
(2) Since the actuator as a whole consists of piezoelectric material such as PZT of a brittle material, shock resistance is very poor. Particularly, since in case of a piggy-back structure actuator, the actuator and the magnetic head slider are stacked to form a cantilever structure, a shock easily occurs with a moment and also shock resistance is extremely poor;
(3) Depending upon the size of the magnetic head slider, a travel of the magnetic head element during the precise positioning operation varies. Thus, it is difficult to obtain enough stroke;
(4) Handling at the time of an assembly of the HGA is very difficult;
(5) Particularly, in case of a piggy-back structure actuator, because of the stepwise stacked structure, a total thickness of the HGA around the magnetic head slider increases by the thickness of the actuator;
(6) In case of a piggy-back structure actuator, because of three-dimensional and complicated attachment structure, the handling at the time of an assembly of the HGA is extremely difficult and it is impossible to use a conventional HGA assembly equipment causing productivity to be very worse; and
(7) In order not to interfere with the movement of the piggy-back structure actuator, it is necessary to assemble with keeping a gap between the actuator and the magnetic head slider and also between the actuator and the suspension. However, forming of such gaps will more decrease the shock resistance and it is difficult to precisely keep the gaps constant. Particularly, since it is difficult to keep the suspension, the actuator and the magnetic head slider in parallel precisely, the head characteristics deteriorates.
To solve the aforementioned various problems, the inventors of this application had proposed an actuator provided with a pair of metal plate movable arms for fixing and catching a magnetic head slider in a space between the movable arms (U.S. patent Ser. No. 09/972,939 now pending).
However, this actuator has the structure for catching side surfaces of the magnetic head slider in the movable arms and thus has the following problems:
(A) It is difficult to fix the magnetic head slider with a sufficient strength;
(B) A resistance against a shock toward its up-and-down directions that intersect the magnetic disk surface is extremely poor; and
(c) It is impossible to commonly adopt magnetic head sliders with different width, namely different distances between the side faces, from that of the standard magnetic head slider.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a precise positioning actuator for a head element, an HGA with the actuator and a manufacturing method of an HGA, whereby fixing between the actuator and a head slider can be achieved with a sufficient strength.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a precise positioning actuator for a head element, an HGA with the actuator and a manufacturing method of an HGA, whereby a shock resistance toward up-and-down directions can be greatly improved.
Further object of the present invention is to provide a precise positioning actuator for a head element, an HGA with the actuator and a manufacturing method of an HGA, hereby a head slider with a different size from a standard head slider can be easily mounted to the actuator.
According to the present invention, a precise positioning actuator to be fixed to a head slider provided with at least one head element and to a support, for precisely positioning the at least one head element includes a pair of movable arms and a coupling section. Each movable arm is formed by a metal plate to be substantially in parallel with a side surface of the head slider. Top end sections of the pair of movable arms are capable of displacing in response to a drive signal applied to the actuator along a direction crossing planes of the metal plate. The coupling section is connected between the top end sections of the pair of movable arms and formed by a metal plate to be substantially in parallel with a first surface of the head slider. This first surface is opposite to an air bearing surface (ABS) of the head slider. The first surface of the head slider is to be fixed to the coupling section.
Since the actuator is provided with a coupling section connected between the top end sections of the pair of movable aims and the head slider is to be fixed to this coupling section, fixing of the slider can be achieved with sufficient strength and a shock resistance against up-and-down movements can be greatly improved. Also, head sliders with different widths can be easily mounted to the actuator.
Further, the movable arms and the coupling section are mainly made from a metal plate, the weight of the whole actuator can be reduced and thus a mechanical resonance frequency of the actuator can be increased. Also, as a basic member of the arms is formed by the metal plate that is strong and light-weighted, a shock resistance of the movable arms that are particularly weaken for the shock can be greatly improved. Due to the usage of the metal plate provided with a high mechanical strength, treatment of the actuator during assembling of the HGA becomes very easy. By using the metal plate to form the main portion of the actuator, the flexibility on a design of the actuator will improve with the shape and/or size. Thus, it is enabl

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