Title of Invention

''SUSPENSION ASSEMBLY''

Abstract

Abstract A head support assembly for a disk drive is a head suspension assembly connected to an actuator arm at one end and supporting a head at the other end, wherein a projection is formed on a flexure closely fixed on a thin-plate load beam, said projection projecting toward a disk surface and having a smooth surface The projection is formed at a region somewhat close to the head supporting end from the hinge portion of the load beam. When shock is applied to the disk drive, bending occurs around the hinge portion of the load beam. During such bending, the projection having a smooth round surface is caused to contact the disk, whereby the disk surface is prevented from being damaged.

Full Text

relates to a suspension system. Accordingly the present invention provides a suspension system comprising: a load beam having longitudinal, lateral and vertical axes the load beam having rear, hinge, and forward sections, all being located substantially along a line parallel to the longitudinal axis, the rear section for attachment to a support member, and the hinge section located between the rear and forward sections, the hinge section having a central aperture surrounded by two legs; and a flexure member attached to the forward section of the load beam, the flexure member extending to an edge of the hinge section, the flexure having a flexible section having a head receiving section for receiving a transducer head on a first side of the head receiving section, the flexure member having at least two rounded projections located along a line substantially parallel to the lateral axis and located proximate to the hinge section, such that the rounded projections are located closer to the hinge section than to the head receiving section, the rounded projections projecting substantially along a line parallel to the vertical axis, the projections extending from the same side of the flexure as the first side of the head receiving section, wherein the projection is an integral plastic deformation of the flexure, the projections having a coating of elastic material. Brief Description of the Accompanying Drawings: Figure 1 is a schematic view showing the arrangement of a typical head suspension assembly; Figure 2 is an exploded view of the typical head suspension assembly; Figure 3 is a view showing deformation of the typical load beam; Figure 4 is a view showing deformation of the-typical head suspension assembly; Figure 5 is a schematic view showing the arrangement of a head suspension assembly according to the present invention; Figure 6 is a sectional view of the load beam of the present invention at a region where projections are formed; and Figure 7 is an enlarged sectional view of the load beam at a region where the projection is formed. Description of symbols 10 ...Mount plate 12 ...Load beam 14 ...Flexure 16 ...Signal line 45 ...Hinge portion 47 ...Projection Recent magnetic disk drives are being reduced in size, more particularly, in thickness, so that various measures are being taken to accommodate such circumstances. They include, for example, the structure of a load beam, which is a support structure for the magnetic head, for mounting it on an actuator, and the mounting structure for the magnetic head. A typical structure for supporting the magnetic head comprises, as shown in Figure 1, a mount plate 10 connected to an actuator arm, a load beam 12 coupled to the mount plate 10, and a flexure 14 coupled to the load beam 12, wherein the magnetic head is supported on the flexure 14 with a gimbal structure. A signal line 17 from the head is fixed on the side of the load beam 12. Figure 2 shows an exploded view of the mount plate 10, the load beam 12, and the flexure 14. Each component is worked into the predetermined shape, and then coupled and fixed to each other. The load beam 12 or the flexure 14 is manufactured under precise control on its material and thickness so as to provide predetermined mechanical characteristics such as natural frequency and stiffness. The load beam and the flexure are typically made of stainless steel. The mount plate 10 is coupled to the load beam 12 with welding at a plurality of welding points 18 shown in Figure 1. The load beam 12 and the flexure 14 are also coupled by welding at a plurality of welding points 19. As the disk drive is made smaller and smaller, the clearance between disks is narrowed down. Accordingly, the possibility is increased wherein a head assembly disposed between the disks collides with the surface of a disk due to some external impact or vibration. If the load beam or the flexure on the head mount contacts a disk surface, the disk surface may be damaged, leading to damage or loss of data. It is believed that, since the load beam cr flexure is generally made of stainless steel as described above, and a sharp edge is formed on such stainless steel member, when the edge hits the disk surface, it tends to be easily scratched. Figures 3 and 4 schematically show a variation of the load beam. The load beam is in the form of a thin plate, and is deformed as shown in Figure 3 or 4 under an external impact. Consequently, the edge of the load beam (31 in Figure 3, and 41 in Figure 4) collides the disk surface, so that the disk surface may be damaged, leading to damage or loss of data. The present invention is intended to provide a head support structure which can prevent damage on the disk surface which may be caused by contact between the disk surface and the head assembly. Furthermore, the present invention is intended to provide a disk drive with excellent impact resistance without impairing its low profile. Summary of the invention To attain the above objects, a head support assembly for a disk drive according to the present invention is a head suspension assembly connected to an actuator arm at one end and supporting a head at the other end, wherein a projection is formed on a flexure closely fixed on a thin-plate load beam, said projection projecting toward a disk surface and having a smooth surface. According to one aspect of the present invention, the projection is formed at the vicinity of a hinge portion of the load beam, but at a position offset therefrom. Preferred embodiment The suspension assembly according to the present invention is usually used for a storage disk drive known as a hard disk drive. The storage disk drive comprises a storage disk, a motor for rotating the storage disk, and a head stack assembly or actuator for reading or writing information from or to the storage disk. The head stack assembly comprises a head suspension assembly, and a carriage for supporting the head suspension assembly. The head suspension assembly comprises a head having a transducer, a suspension having a thin-plate load beam, and a flexure fixed on the load beam. Figures 5 and 7 show an embodiment of the present invention. Referring to Figure 5, there is shown a plan view of the head suspension assembly according to the present invention. It consists of a mount plate 10 to be coupled to the actuator arm, a load beam 12 coupled to the mount plate 10, and a flexure 14 coupled to the load beam 12. The magnetic head is supported on the flexure 14 with a gimbal support structure. A signal line 17 from the head is fixed on the side of the load beam 12. The mount plate 10 is coupled to the load beam 12 with welding at a plurality of welding points 18. The load beam 12 and the flexure 14 are also coupled by welding at a plurality of welding points 19. The following is materials and thickness of respective components of the head suspension assembly according to the present invention. Mount plate: Stainless steel (SUS 304), 0.25 mm thick Load beam: Stainless steel (SUS 304), 0.062 mm thick Flexure: Stainless steel (SUS 304), 0.030 mm thick Figure 6 is a sectional view taken along line A-A' in Figure 5. It is an enlarged sectional view of the projection formed on the load beam. Referring to Figure 5, the load beam 12 is coupled to the mount plate 10 at one end, and supports the head at the other end. The hinge portion 45 is located substantially at the center of these ends. When shock is exerted on the disk drive, bending as described with reference to Figure 3 or 4 occurs at the hinge portion 45 as the bending point. The flexure of the present invention is formed with two projections 47 at regions somewhat close to the head supporting end from the hinge portion 45. It is Figure 6 that shows section A-A' where the projections are formed. As shown in Figure 6, the projection 47 has a smooth round sul-face. 'By making a portion of the load beam to contact the disk surface when the load beam is deformed by external shock the region where this projection is formed, the edge of the load beam can be prevented from colliding with the disk surface. Figure 6 shows an enlarged sectional view of the projection 47. In this embodiment, the projection 47 is formed to have a radius 1.35 mm, and a height 0.06 mm from the load beam. Such shape and size of the projection is determined by taking into account the spacing between disks, stiffness of the load beam, and the location where the projection is formed. The projections 47 formed on the flexure 14 is arranged to become the region contacting the disk due to deformation of the load beam when the disk drive is subjected to external shock or the like. Since the projection 47 has a gradual round surface, it does not scratch the disk surface even if it contacts the disk surface. In addition, contacting of the projection can prevent the edge of the load beam from contacting the disk surface. While damage on the disk surface can be avoided because the projection has a round surface, it may be possible to form a coating consisting of elastic material such as resin or plastics on the surface of the projection to reduce shock on the disk. In addition, as can be seen from the comparison between Figure 5 showing the embodiment of the present invention and Figure 1 showing a prior art, in the embodiment of the present invention provided with the projection 47, a welding point for the load beam 12 and the flexure 14 is not formed on the region where the projection 47 is formed. Accordingly, the flexure 14 is in a free state from the load beam 12 to the region where thie projection 47 is provided. With such free arrangement, the projection 47 is designed to be more easily close to the disk surface than the edge of the load beam when the load beam is deformed, whereby the edge is prevented from collision. Advantages of the invention In the head suspension assembly according to the present invention, even if the load beam collides the disk surface when it is deformed by external shock, the projection with smooth round surface formed on the flexure contacts the disk surface, whereby it can prevent the edge of the load beam from colliding the disk, and effectively prevent data recorded on the disk surface from being lost. We claim: 1. A suspension system comprising: a load beam having longitudinal lateral and vertical axes, the load beam having rear, hinge, and forward sections, all being located substantially along a line parallel to the longitudinal axis, the rear section for attachment to a support member, and the hinge section located between the rear and forward sections, the hinge section having a central aperture surrounded by two legs; and a flexure member attached to the forward section of the load beam, the flexure member extending to an edge of the hinge section, the flexure having a flexible section having a head receiving section for receiving a transducer head on a first side of the head receiving section, the flexure member having at least two rounded projections located along a line substantially parallel to the lateral axis and located proximate to the hinge section, such that the rounded projections are located closer to the hinge section than to the head receiving section, the rounded projections projecting substantially along a line parallel to the vertical axis, the projections extending from the same side of the flexure as the first side of the head receiving section, wherein the projection is an integral plastic deformation of the flexure, the projections having a coating of elastic material. 2. The system of claim 1, wherein the radius of the projections is greater than the vertical distance, which the projections extend from the surrounding flexure surface. 3. The system of claim 1, wherein said transducer head is attached to the head receiving section of the flexure. 4. A suspension system, substantially as hereinabove described and illustrated with reference to figures 5 to 7 of the accompanying drawings.

Documents:

1613-mas-1997 abstract duplicate.pdf

1613-mas-1997 abstract.pdf

1613-mas-1997 claims duplicate.pdf

1613-mas-1997 claims.pdf

1613-mas-1997 correspondence others.pdf

1613-mas-1997 correspondence po.pdf

1613-mas-1997 description (complete) duplicate.pdf

1613-mas-1997 description (complete).pdf

1613-mas-1997 drawings.pdf

1613-mas-1997 form-19.pdf

1613-mas-1997 form-2.pdf

1613-mas-1997 form-26.pdf

1613-mas-1997 form-4.pdf

1613-mas-1997 form-6.pdf

1613-mas-1997 others.pdf

1613-mas-1997 petition.pdf