Head supporting assembly, head driving assembly, and disk drive apparatus

• US 7,068,469 B2
• Filed: 08/04/2003
• Issued: 06/27/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 08/07/2002
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Panasonic Corporation (Panasonic Holdings Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Matsushita Electric Industrial Company Limited (Panasonic Holdings Corporation)
• Inventors: Deng, Zhisheng, Kuwajima, Hideki
• Primary Examiner(s): Klimawicz, William
• Assistant Examiner(s): BLOUIN, MARK S
• Application Number:
  US10/632,860
• Publication Number:
  US 20040090711A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,058 Days
• Field of Search: 360/244.5, 360/244.8, 360/245.2, 360/244.6, 360/294.3, 360/98.07
• US Class Current: 360/244.5
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 5/4826 Mounting, aligning or attachment of the transducer head relative to the arm assembly, e.g. slider holding members, gimbals, adhesive G11B5/484 takes precedence; details of head housings or structures G11B5/10, G11B5/127; adjustment relative to the record carrier G11B5/56
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 5/4833 Structure of the arm assembly, e.g. load beams, flexures, parts of the arm adapted for controlling vertical force on the head G11B5/484 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 5/6005 Specially adapted for spacing from a rotating disc using a fluid cushion

Abstract

A head supporting assembly has high flexibility, while applying a necessary and sufficient pressing force to a head, is excellent in shock resistance, and provides a stabilized pressing force not affected by manufacturing variations, and a head driving assembly and a disk drive apparatus use such head supporting assembly. The head supporting assembly is configured to have a base arm provided with a rotation-supporting portion for supporting a head supporting member for rotation in a direction toward and away from a disk surface and a resilient member having one end thereof connected to an end of a supporting arm and the other end connected to the base arm. The rotation-supporting portion of the base arm is provided at such a position that a head mount is allowed to be displaced relative thereto by pressing of the rotation-supporting portion in the pressing direction.

Claims

1. A head supporting assembly comprising:

a head for performing at least one of recording and reproduction on a disk provided in a disk plane;

a head supporting member made up of said head, a head mount with said head mounted thereon, and a supporting arm with said head mount attached to a first end thereof;

a base arm having a rotation-supporting portion for supporting said head supporting member for rotation in a direction toward and away from the disk plane; and

a resilient member having a first end thereof connected with a second end of said supporting arm at a connected portion, and a second end thereof fixed to said base arm at a fixed portion for urging said head supporting assembly toward said disk;

wherein said rotation-supporting portion comprises a plurality of pivots provided at a first end of said base arm;

wherein said supporting arm and said base arm are separate members;

wherein said second end of said resilient member is fixed to said first end of said base arm;

wherein said rotation-supporting portion of said base arm is provided at such a position that said head mount is allowed to be displaced relative thereto by pressing of said rotation-supporting portion in a pressing direction;

wherein said resilient member is a plate spring; and

wherein said resilient member has length L1 from said connected portion to said fixed portion, the length L1 satisfying a relationship L2/L1≧

10.5, where L2 is a length from said rotation-supporting portion to said connected portion.

2. The head supporting assembly according to claim 1, wherein

said supporting arm undergoes substantially parallel displacement by pressing of said rotation-supporting portion of said base arm.

3. The head supporting assembly according to claim 2, wherein

a center of gravity of said head supporting member is positioned on a rotation axis of said rotation-supporting portion provided on said base arm.

4. The head supporting assembly according to claim 1, wherein

said resilient member is a plate spring member disposed between said base arm and said supporting arm so as to be bilaterally symmetric.

5. The head supporting assembly according to claim 4, wherein

a center of gravity of said head supporting member is positioned on a rotation axis of said rotation-supporting portion provided on said base arm.

6. The head supporting assembly according to claim 1, wherein

a center of gravity of said head supporting member is positioned on a rotation axis of said rotation-supporting portion provided on said base arm.

7. A head driving assembly comprising:

a head supporting assembly;

a bearing portion for supporting said head supporting assembly for rotation in a direction parallel to the disk plane; and

driving means for rotating said head supporting assembly in the direction parallel to the disk plane;

wherein said head supporting assembly is the head supporting assembly set forth in claim 1.

8. The head driving assembly according to claim 7, wherein

said base arm is arranged at a predetermined angle with said disk surface.

9. A disk drive apparatus comprising:

a disk;

rotative driving means for driving said disk; and

head driving assembly for performing writing information into a predetermined track position of said disk or reading information out of a predetermined track position, wherein

said head driving assembly is the head driving assembly set forth in claim 7.

10. The head supporting assembly according to claim 1, wherein

said pivot portions are provided on a surface of said base arm facing said supporting arm;

and

said pivot portions bear against said supporting arm.

11. The head supporting assembly according to claim 1, wherein

said fixed portion is located between said connected portion and said head.

12. A head supporting assembly comprising:

a head for performing at least one of recording and reproduction on a disk provided in a disk plane;

a head supporting member made up of said head, a head mount with said head mounted thereon, and a supporting arm with said head mount attached to a first end thereof;

a base arm having a rotation-supporting portion for supporting said head supporting member for rotation in a direction toward and away from the disk plane; and

a resilient member having a first end thereof connected with a second end of said supporting arm at a connected portion, and a second end thereof fixed to said base arm at a fixed portion for urging said head supporting assembly toward said disk;

wherein said supporting arm is interconnected with said base arm only by said resilient member; and

wherein said rotation-supporting portion of said base arm is provided at such a position that said head mount is allowed to be displaced relative thereto by pressing of said rotation-supporting portion in a pressing direction

wherein said resilient member has length L1 from said connected portion to said fixed portion, the length L1 satisfying a relationship L2/L1>

0.5, where L2 is a length from said rotation-supporting portion to said connected portion.

13. The head supporting assembly according to claim 12, wherein

said rotation-supporting portion comprises at least one pivot portion provided on a surface of said base arm facing said supporting arm;

and

said at least one pivot portion bears against said supporting arm to serve as a fulcrum.

14. The head supporting assembly according to claim 12, wherein

said fixed portion is located between said connected portion and said head.

15. The head supporting assembly according to claim 12, wherein

said supporting arm undergoes substantially parallel displacement by pressing of said rotation-supporting portion of said base arm.

16. The head supporting assembly according to claim 12, wherein said resilient member is a plate spring.

17. The head supporting assembly according to claim 12, wherein

a center of gravity of said head supporting member is positioned on a rotation axis of said rotation-supporting portion provided on said base arm.

18. A head driving assembly comprising:

a head supporting assembly;

a bearing portion for supporting said head supporting assembly for rotation in a direction parallel to the disk plane; and

driving means for rotating said head supporting assembly in the direction parallel to the disk plane;

wherein said head supporting assembly is the head supporting assembly set forth in claim 12.

19. A disk drive apparatus comprising:

a disk;

rotative driving means for driving said disk; and

head driving assembly for performing writing information into a predetermined track position of said disk or reading information out of a predetermined track position, wherein

said head driving assembly is the head driving assembly set forth in claim 18.