CA2081504C - Gimbaled micro-head/flexure/conductor assembly and system - Google Patents
Gimbaled micro-head/flexure/conductor assembly and systemInfo
- Publication number
- CA2081504C CA2081504C CA002081504A CA2081504A CA2081504C CA 2081504 C CA2081504 C CA 2081504C CA 002081504 A CA002081504 A CA 002081504A CA 2081504 A CA2081504 A CA 2081504A CA 2081504 C CA2081504 C CA 2081504C
- Authority
- CA
- Canada
- Prior art keywords
- assembly
- generally planar
- configuration
- pancake
- medium
- Prior art date
- Legal status (The legal status is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the status listed.)
- Expired - Fee Related
Links
Classifications
-
- G—PHYSICS
- G11—INFORMATION STORAGE
- G11B—INFORMATION STORAGE BASED ON RELATIVE MOVEMENT BETWEEN RECORD CARRIER AND TRANSDUCER
- G11B5/00—Recording by magnetisation or demagnetisation of a record carrier; Reproducing by magnetic means; Record carriers therefor
- G11B5/48—Disposition or mounting of heads or head supports relative to record carriers ; arrangements of heads, e.g. for scanning the record carrier to increase the relative speed
- G11B5/4806—Disposition or mounting of heads or head supports relative to record carriers ; arrangements of heads, e.g. for scanning the record carrier to increase the relative speed specially adapted for disk drive assemblies, e.g. assembly prior to operation, hard or flexible disk drives
- G11B5/4853—Constructional details of the electrical connection between head and arm
-
- G—PHYSICS
- G11—INFORMATION STORAGE
- G11B—INFORMATION STORAGE BASED ON RELATIVE MOVEMENT BETWEEN RECORD CARRIER AND TRANSDUCER
- G11B5/00—Recording by magnetisation or demagnetisation of a record carrier; Reproducing by magnetic means; Record carriers therefor
- G11B5/48—Disposition or mounting of heads or head supports relative to record carriers ; arrangements of heads, e.g. for scanning the record carrier to increase the relative speed
- G11B5/4806—Disposition or mounting of heads or head supports relative to record carriers ; arrangements of heads, e.g. for scanning the record carrier to increase the relative speed specially adapted for disk drive assemblies, e.g. assembly prior to operation, hard or flexible disk drives
- G11B5/4813—Mounting or aligning of arm assemblies, e.g. actuator arm supported by bearings, multiple arm assemblies, arm stacks or multiple heads on single arm
-
- G—PHYSICS
- G11—INFORMATION STORAGE
- G11B—INFORMATION STORAGE BASED ON RELATIVE MOVEMENT BETWEEN RECORD CARRIER AND TRANSDUCER
- G11B5/00—Recording by magnetisation or demagnetisation of a record carrier; Reproducing by magnetic means; Record carriers therefor
- G11B5/48—Disposition or mounting of heads or head supports relative to record carriers ; arrangements of heads, e.g. for scanning the record carrier to increase the relative speed
- G11B5/4806—Disposition or mounting of heads or head supports relative to record carriers ; arrangements of heads, e.g. for scanning the record carrier to increase the relative speed specially adapted for disk drive assemblies, e.g. assembly prior to operation, hard or flexible disk drives
- G11B5/4826—Mounting, aligning or attachment of the transducer head relative to the arm assembly, e.g. slider holding members, gimbals, adhesive
Landscapes
- Supporting Of Heads In Record-Carrier Devices (AREA)
- Adjustment Of The Magnetic Head Position Track Following On Tapes (AREA)
Abstract
A low-mass head/flexure/conductor assembly for reading and writing information with respect to a rigid magnetic recording disk. The assembly includes a read/write transducer unit, an elongate flexure, and gimbal structure interconnecting and articulating the transducer unit and the flexure for selected, limited relative roll and pitch, without relative yaw. Conductive ribbons that form part of the gimbal structure also form part of the conductive circuit provided in the assembly. The assembly has an effective mass of no more than about 1.5-milligrams. Plural, hardened, wear-resistant feet are formed on the transducer unit for enabling sliding contact with the recording surface in a disk.
Description
~ $ ~J 3 .
GIMBALED MICRO-HEAD/FLEXUR~/CONDUCTOR
ASSEMBLY AND SYSTEM
Background and Summary of the Invention This invention relates generally to a rigid-disk information-storage system, and more particularly to a miniature, low-mass, gimbaled, head/flexure/conductor assembly for use in and with such a system.
For the purposes of illustration and explanation herein, a preferred embodiment of such an assembly, and of a system employing the same, are disclosed in 10 the setting of an extremely small-format, largely self-contained storage system which employs one or more rotary, rigid, magnetic recording disks. Those skilled in the art, after reading the contents of this specification, will recognize that the invention may be employed in a rigid disk recording system of any size.
The quest for increasing storage density and decreasing costs in rigid medium disk drive data storage systems has focused attention on the need to minimi7e the separation between the head (transducer) and the media -- the so-called "flying height" of the usual air-bearing slider. Improvements in slider and associated manufacture, along with improvements in media surface properties, have enabled the flying height in available rigid disk systems to be reduced to about 0.1-micrometer.
20 Numerous efforts are now devoted to reducing even further the flying height to 0.05-micrometer, or less. These efforts face and present still greater challenges respecting the issue of volllme manllfacture of sliders, sLIspensions, me(lia and their assembly and operation in disk drive systems.
With regard to the issue of flying-head technology~ significant advances over this prior art technology have been made, and by way of background illustration, some of the key advances are disclosed in U.S. Patents Nos. 5,041,'~32 for INTEGRATED MAGNETIC READ/WRITE HEAD/FLEXURE/CONDUCTOl~
STRUCTURE, 5,073~242 for METHOD OF MAKING INTEGRATED MAGNETIC
READ/WRITE HEAD/FLEXURE/CONDUCTOR STRUCTURE, and 5,111,351 for INTEGRATED MAGNETIC REA~/WRITE HEAD/FLEXURE/CONDUCI'OR
STRUCTURE.
In the '932 patent, the patentee describes a very low-mass, integrated head/flexure/conductor structure for continuous sliding-contact operation with rigid media, thereby enabling the minimum possible head/media separation and the m~ximl~m achievable recording performance. By reducing, as can be done, "effective mass" and applied load by two to three orders of magnitude, relative to conventional air-bearing 10 sliders and suspensions, the local pressure exerted on asperities or microscopic contaminants may be kept well below the onset of destructive physical and chemical avalanche processes, which processes lead to catastrophic failure of the head/media interface. Such reduction of the local pressure also helps to reduce the rate of abrasive wear of the head and media and to extend useful operational life.
The validity of the logic behind the development set forth in the '932 patent has been demonstrated in more than two-hundred-thousand hours of wear testing of Flexhead~M intexrated head/suspension structures on numerous test fixtures (Flexhead~M is a trademark owned hy Censtor Corp. or Sall Jose, Califorrlia)~ Likewise, read/write tests of these str~lctllres, employing, for example, probe-type heads with two-20 layer perpendicular recording media, have demonstrated a capability for very highrecording density. Moreover~ the extremely small mass of these structures, and the rigidity of the suspensions, result in high resonant frequencies in tlle lateral and torsional bending modes, and enable therehy significant improvements in actuator and servo-system design and performance.
(~ther advances which have been proposed in the prior art provide, for example, for the employment of a selected wear-resistance material (in the form of a wear-resistant contact pad) in ~he region (in a contact-recording situation) which makes contact with the media. With this khld of all arrangement, appropriate limitations need to be obselved regarding the length and width of such a wear-resistant contact pad, which limitations derive from the need to minimi~e signal modulation resulting from axial run-out of a disk or other mechanical variance in the drive which is provided for the disk.
The present invention addresses this latter concern, and in addition focuses on the desirability of further extending the performance tolerance of integrated head/suspension structures to mechanical variations in the manufacture and assernbly of disk drives.
Accordingly, an important object of the present invention is to provide a novel low-mass, gimbaled micro-head/flexure/conductor assembly which minimizes signal modwlation resulting from nonflatness from a disk surface, from accumulated assembly tolerances, from improper alignment of the disk spindle and actuator support bearing, or from other mechanical imperfections which might give rise to unwanted dynamic separation between the transducer and the recording surface of the media.
A correlative object of the invention, in the setting just expressed, is to increase the permissible tolerance on disk run-out~ spindle alignment, etc., without impairment of the performance of integrated head/sLIspension structures.
Another key objective of the invention is to increase permissible 20 dimensional and alignment tolerances in the assembly of integrated head/suspension structures and media hl disk drives in order to achieve optimal performance with minimal adjustment an(l run-in time.
A further object of this invention is to extend the limits on contact pad dimensions without incurring detrimental signal modulation resulting from disk run-out or other mechanical imperfections.
Still another object is to minimize head and media wear by enabling a larger contact pad area and consequently a lower local pressure at the head/media interface.
Still another object of the present invention is to separate the m~nllf~çtllre of head and flexure/conductor structures, and to facilitate automated assembly of the one to the other into integrated headlflexure/conductor structures.
An object related to that just stated is to increase the number of heads which may be fabricated by deposition processes on a wafer, thereby correspondingly decreasing manufacturing costs.
Another related object of the invention is to facilitate independent optimization of materials, configurations, and processes in the fabrication of both the heads and the flexure/conductor structures.
Proposed àccording to a preferred embodiment of the invention is a micro-head/flexure/conductor assembly, or organization~ (for reading and writing information with respect to the recording surface in a rigid magnetic recording medium) which assembly includes a read/write transducer unit, an elongate carrier unit for supporting the transducer unit, and gimbal structure interconnecting and articulating these two units for selected, limited relative movement~ Significantly, constituent materials and sizing for these assembly components are chosen in sllch a manner that the effective mass of the 20 assembly is no greater than about 1.5-milligrams. The "effective mass" of an assembly of the type referred to is, as this phrase is employed herein, the same as the equivalent free mass that would accelerate at the same rate as the head structure in the assembly when subjected to a given net inertial force in a direction perpendicular to the disk surface.
Included in the assembly which has just heen outlined is the necessary conductor structure which cooperates with the magnetic components in the transducer unit and which is employed for comm~micating with the "outside world". Uniquely, a part of this conductor structure in a preferred emhodiment, in the form of two laterally CA 02081~04 1998-10-27 spaced conductlve rlbbons, also forms a portlon of the lnterconnectlve glmbal structure. In modlfled forms of the lnventlon, glmbal rlbbons formed of dlelectrlc materlal carry conductlve traces. Thls glmbal structure unltes the transducer unlt and the carrler unit ln a generally parallel planar relatlonshlp, and allows llmlted relatlve pltch and roll between these two unlts whlle at the same tlme lnhlbltlng relatlve yaw between the two.
A fulcrum pro~ectlon formed on a surface ln the transducer unlt rocklngly contacts a surface expanse provlded on the carrler unlt - these two components cooperatlng wlth the conductlve rlbbons to form the glmbal structure whlch deflnes the permltted pltchlng and rolllng that can occur between the two unlts.
Feet that pro~ect from an opposlte surface ln the transducer unlt, preferably formed of a hardened wear-reslstant materlal, are provlded for maklng slldlng contact wlth the recordlng surface ln a dlsk medlum.
Accordlng to a flrst broad aspect, the present lnventlon provldes a head/flexure conductor assembly for readlng and wrltlng lnformatlon vla a relatlvely movlng recordlng surface of a rlgld magnetlc recordlng medlum comprlslng; a read/wrlte transducer unlt adapted for slldlng on the recordlng surface durlng communlcatlon wlth the medlum, an elongate carrler unlt for supportlng sald transducer unlt, sald carrler unlt havlng a longltudlnal axls orlented substantlally along a dlrectlon of sald slldlng, and glmbal structure lnterconnectlng and artlculatlng sald unlts for CA 02081~04 1998-10-27 selected, llmlted relatlve movement, sald gimbal structure lncludlng a palr of laterally spaced, elongate rlbbons extendlng between and connectlng sald transducer unlt and sald carrler unlt.
Accordlng to a second broad aspect, the present lnventlon provldes a glmbaled head/flexure/conductor assembly for the readlng and wrltlng of dlgltal lnformatlon durlng contact wlth the recordlng surface of a rlgld magnetlc dlsk, sald assembly comprislng~ a slider contalnlng a read/wrlte head and assoclated head conductor structure, an elongate flexure lncluding a flexure conductor and pivotally attached, dlstal to sald slider, to a mounting structure, and a glmbal structure operatively lnterconnectlng said slider and sald flexure for accommodating limlted relatlve movement between sald sllder and sald flexure, sald glmbal structure lncludlng a gimbal conductor conductively lnterconnectlng sald head conductor structure and sald flexure conductor, sald glmbal structure lncludlng a palr of laterally spaced, elongate rlbbons extendlng between and connectlng sald sllder and sald flexure.
According to a third broad aspect, the present inventlon provldes a head/flexure/conductor assembly for readlng and wrltlng lnformatlon wlth respect to a rlgld magnetlc recordlng medlum comprlslng; a read/wrlte transducer unlt, whereln sald transducer unlt lncludes head structure formed wlth electrlcal coll structure whlch has a multllayer, pancake-llke conflguratlon, an elongate carrler unlt for supportlng sald transducer unlt, and glmbal structure - 5a -CA 02081~04 1998-10-27 lnterconnectlng and artlculatlng said unlts for selected, llmlted relatlve movement, whereln sald glmbal structure lncludes a palr of laterally spaced, elongate rlbbons between the unlts, whereln the assembly is intended for use wlth such a medlum that has a generally planar recordlng surface, and whereln each layer ln sald pancake-llke conflguratlon ls generally planar and occuples a plane substantlally parallellng that of such surface.
Accordlng to a fourth broad aspect, the present lnventlon provldes a head/flexure/conductor assembly for readlng and wrltlng lnformatlon wlth respect to the recordlng surface ln a rlgld magnetlc recordlng medlum comprlslng; a read/wrlte transducer unlt, adapted for slldlng contact wlth the recordlng surface ln such a medlum, the transducer unlt formed wlth pro~ectlng slldlng-contact feet for sald slldlng, a plvotally mounted, elongate carrler unlt for supportlng sald transducer unlt, and glmbal structure lnterconnectlng and articulatlng sald transducer unlt and sald carrler unlt for selected, llmlted relatlve movement.
Accordlng to a flfth broad aspect, the present lnventlon provldes a read/wrlte organlzatlon for use wlth a rlgld magnetlc recordlng medlum that has a generally planar recordlng surface comprlslng; a glmbaled head/flexure/
conductor assembly that lncludes head structure formed wlth electrlcal coll structure whlch has a multllayer, pancake-llke configuration, wherein each layer in said pancake-like configuratlon is generally planar and occupies a plane substantlally parallellng that of such surface.
- 5b -CA 02081~04 1998-10-27 Accordlng to a sixth broad aspect, the present invention provides a rigid disk magnetic recording system comprislng; a rlgld magnetlc recordlng dlsk having a generally planar recording surface, and a glmbaled head/flexure/
conductor assembly operable wlth respect to said recording surface for reading and writing magnetic information with respect thereto, said assembly including head structure formed with electrical coil structure which has a multllayer, pancake-like conflguration, wherein each layer in said pancake-llke conflguratlon ls generally planar and occuples a plane substantially parallellng that of said surface.
According to a seventh broad aspect, the present lnvention provldes a transducer for communication with a rigid magnetic storage disk comprising; an elongate beam extending between a mounting end and a free end, including a plurality of longltudlnal electrlcal conductors, a glmbal dlsposed ad~acent to sald free end and coupled to sald beam, and a sllder connected to sald glmbal havlng an embedded magnetlc pole structure wlth an expose pole tlp for communlcatlon wlth the rlgld magnetlc storage dlsk whlle slldlng on the dlsk ln a directlon orlented substantlally along a longltudlnal axls of sald beam.
Accordlng to an elght broad aspect, the present lnventlon provldes an lnformatlon storage system comprlslng; a rlgld dlsk havlng a surface wlth an assoclated magnetlc storage medlum, an elongated beam extendlng between a plvot and a free end ad~acent to sald surface ln a dlrectlon crossing a radlus of sald disk, and a slider connected by a - 5c -CA 02081~04 1998-10-27 glmbal to sald beam ad~acent to sald free end, sald sllder contalnlng an embedded pole structure wlth an exposed pole tlp and ln dynamlc contact wlth sald surface durlng communlcatlon between sald pole and sald medlum.
These and other lmportant features, ob~ects and advantages whlch are attalned by the present lnventlon wlll become more fully apparent as the descrlptlon that now follows ls read ln con~unctlon with the accompanylng drawlngs.
Descrlption of the Drawlnqs Flg. 1 ls an opened-up plan vlew lllustratlng a small-format, rlgid-magnetic-disk, dlgltal-lnformatlon storage system incorporating a glmbaled mlcro-head/flexure/conductor assembly constructed in accordance with the present lnventlon.
Thls assembly is lllustrated in Fig. 1 ln hlghly schematlc form, and for the sake of slmplicity, given the scale of Flg.
1, wlthout detailing respectlng its preclse conflguratlon and number of component elements.
Fig. 2 is a view on a sllghtly larger scale than that used ln Fig. 1 which lllustrates, ln longltudlnal section, the system of Fig. 1, with thls vlew of Flg. 2 taken as lf looklng generally upwardly from the bottom of Flg. 1.
- 5d -Fig. 3 is a greatly enl~rged, fragmentary plan detail, taken generally in the area embraced by the two curved arrows shown at 3-3 in Fig. 1, illustrating details of construction of the micro-head/flexure/conductor assembly incorporated in the system of Figs. I and 2.
Fig. 4 is a fragmentary view, on substantially the same scale as that employed in Fig. 3, taken generally along the line 4-4 in Fig. 3.
Fig. S is an even more greatly enlarged perspective view of a generally planar read/write transducer unit, or slider, which forms part of the micro-head/flexure/conductl)r assembly of the invention, with this unit shown isolated from 10 other structure.
Fig. 6 is a fragmentary plan view, on a scale somewhat smaller than that employed in Fig. 3, illustrating a generally planar carrier unit, or flexure, which forms part of the micro-head/flexure/conductor assembly of the invention, with this carrier unit shown isolated from other structure.
Fig. 7 is a fragmentary elevation taken generally from the top side of Fig.
6.
Figs. 8A, 8B through 14 are fragmentary views illustrating steps employed in the fabrication of the assemhly of the invelItioll~
Figs. lS and 16 are fragmelItary views, similar to those present in Figs. 3 20 and 4, respectively, illustrating a mo(lified form of a gimbaled head/flexure/conductor assembly.
Figs. 17A and 17B are fragmentary plalI and side-elevation views, respectively, of another modified form of transdllcer unit.
Figs. 1XA and IXB are fragmentary plan and si(le-elevation views, respectively, of a modified form of flexure unit usable with the transducer unit of Figs.
17A, 17B.
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Fig. 19 is a fragmentary plan view illustrating the transducer unit and flexure unit of Figs. 17A, 17B and lXA, 18B, respectively, assemblesl.
Fig. 20 is a fragmentary plan view illustrating yet another modification of an assembly constructed in accordance with the invention, wherein a wire-bond electrical interconnection is employed.
Detailed Description of~ and Best Mode for Carrying Out~ the Invention Turning attention now to ~he drawings, and referring first of all to Figs~ 1 10 and 2, indicated generally at 10 is an information storage system in the form of a rigid-disk-drive magnetic recording system for storing digital information, which system is constructed in accordance with the present invention.
Included in system 10 is a two-part housing 12, including a base 12a, and, sealingly joined thereto (as via a concealed gasket made, for example, of silicone rubber), a cover 12b. Housing 12 encloses all of the other components which, together with the housing, make up system 1(). In the preferred embodiment now being described, the inside of the sealed housing is maintained essentially at nominal atmospheric pressure. However, there may he instances, where it is desirable to enhance certain performance behavior, to evacuate tl-e housin~, and to this end a suitable 20 evacuation pressure is about 0.05-atmosphere.
Dispoxed within housing 12 is a low-power~ brushlexs, D.C. spindle motor 14 which includes a coil-carryin~ stator 14a mounted suitably on the outside of a hollow, cylindrical supporting boss 12_ formed in housing base 12_. Motor 14 also includes a permanent-magnet rotor 14b which is suitably joine(i~ with the disposition shown, to a lightweight rotary spindle 16. Spindle 16 is mounted, through a journal bearing 20 which is seated within the hollow interior of boss 12_, for rotation about an axis shown at 18.
t~ ~ ~f ~. ~ Q ~
During drive operation, through appropriate connections (not shown) with conventional control/feedback electronics, motor 14 maintains an accurate, constant spindle rotational speed of about 4~00-rpm.
Supported on the upper side of spindle 16 (for rotation as a unit therewith) through a suitable clamp 22 is a ri~id magnetic recording disk (medium) 24 which is prepared on its opposite axial sides with a magnetic layer surface structure, or surface, for two-sided reading and writing of digitized information. These two sides of disk 24 are shown at 24a, 24b. Information is recorded on this surface structure in concentric, adjacent recording tracks.
Further discussing disk 24, each recording surface takes the form of an underlying soft magnetic flux-return layer with an in-plane, preferably radially oriented, magnetic anisotropy~ and an outer~ or overlying, hard magnetic recording film with an out-of-plane magnetic anisotropy. The recording film is protected by a smooth overcoat of wear-resistant rnaterial (like carbon), and an l~lbricant layer to minimize head and disk wear.
Because of the fact, which will become apparent, that the loads applied to disk 24 herein are far reduced in comparison with loads applied to disks in prior art flying-head drives, the central supportillg s~lbstrclte of the disk call optionally be made thinner than those s~lbstrates which are employed in prior art disks. For example, in the 20 system now being described, the transducers, or transducer units, (still to be described) which are used contact the disk's recorLlin~ sLlrfaces, do so with a load of only about 40-to about 120-milligrams. Such a load is several orders of magnitude lower than comparable load forces that characterize transd-lcer/disk loading in prior art flying-head designs.
Among the end results of all of this are not only that head/disk wear is greatly minimized, I-llt so also are the overall system size and system operating-power requirements.
Cooyerating with disk 24 in system 10 in the embodiment now being described, for reading and writing digital information with respect to recording surfaces 24_, 24_, are two read/write organizations, or micro-head/flexure/conductor assemblies 26, 28, respectively, which are constructed in accordance with the special features of the present invention. Each of assemblies 26, 28, as will be explained more fully below, is gimbaled in construction, and includes a read/write transducer unit (or slider) carried adjacent the distal end of the assembly (ends 26_, 28a), through gimbal structure, on the distal end of an elongate, cantilevered, laterally tapered carrier unit, or flexure. Each of these elongate assemblies is mounted with its fixed end at an angle of about 3-degrees with respect to the associated surface of disk 24, and each has an effective mass, as expressed earlier, of no more than about 1.5-milligrams. The transducer units in these assemblies contact the associated disk surface through hardened wear feet, or pads, with the force mentioned above.
ContinLIing with a general description of other components included in system 10, indicated generally at 60 in Figs. I and 2 is a servo-controlled actuator which operates in conjunction with a voice coil motor 62 to support and move the two head/flexure/conductor assemblies (26, 28) in arcs over the opposing recording surfaces in disk 24, thus to position the trarls(lucers in these assemblies with respect to any selected, concentric read/write track on the disk's surfaces.
The actuator is a relatively lightweight assembly (about 1.5-grams) which pivots on an axis shown at 63, with this assembly including upper and lower, radially extending arms 603, 60_ which carry, in a r~dially extending, cantilevered fashion, previously mentioned micro-head/flex~lre/conductor assemhlies 26, 2X, respectively.
These arms are borne on a central rotary hub 6()_ which is journaled on the inside of a hollow, cylindrical boss 12d formed in housillg base 12_. A suitable journal connection is estahlished through a journal bearing 64 which is like previously mentioned bearing 20.
.,f~
Actuator 60 is a mass-halanced rotary design, with the cantilevered masses of arms 60a, 60_, and of assemblies 26, 2X, counterbalanced by a counterbalance-formation 60d which, in the embodiment now heing described, takes the form of a coil winding that actually forms the "rotor" in previously mentioned voice coil motor 62. A
position limiter pin 66 (see Fig. 1) limits the swing of the transducers in assemblies 26, 28 to an arc of about 30-degrees, which allows these transducers to sweep into operative positions over the full recordable expanses of recording surfaces 24a, 24_. More specifically, pin 66 permits the transclucers to swing inwardly to a distance of about 9-mm from axis 18 and outwardly to a distance of about 23-mm from the same axis. Those 10 skilled in the art will thus recognize that the system of the present invention is capable of reading and writing data radially inwarcJly on a disk (regardless of media form factor) closer to the spin axis than the imlermost raclial locations typically usable by conventional flying-head systems.
Forming the stator in motor 62, which stator cooperates with rotor 60d, are permanent magnets, such as magnet 62a, which are suitahly joined to base 12a beneath the rotor.
The rotary actuator and associated mechanism selected for system 10 herein can be viewecl as taking the form essentially of a pivote(l heam with read/write transducer units located adjacellt one end, ancl with a voice coil motor positioned 20 adjacent the opposite end. Whell energized during system operation, actuator 60 moves the transducer units in arcuate paths approximating radial paths over the recording surfaces in disk 24. In conventional flying-head drives, such arcuate motion with a rotary actuator creates head-skewing effects which cause significant variations in air-bearing stiffness, and consec~uent changes in heacl/llleclia spacing. However, because the system of the present invention does not rely upon air-bearing effects in order to maintain a uniform heacl/disk interface, head skew is lalgely irrelevant, and actuator 60 can be used 1() successfully to transport the transducers radially inwardly to positions very close to spin axis 18.
In system 10, motion in actuator 60 is controlled using conventional closed-loop servo techniques, with appropriate servo-positioning data recorded within data tracks in disk 24 to form a feedback loop that ensures accurate transducer-unit positioning.
Conventional high-transfer-rate data-channel structure (not shown) is employed to provide an electrical interconnection between the head/flexure/conductor assemblies and conventional interface electronics which connect system 10 to external 1 0 devices.
System 10, as descrihed herein, includes but a single recording disk.
However, one should recognize that a like system may be constructed for p]ural disks, and such a system is described in the '586 patent application referred to above.
Addressing attention now to the constructions of assemblies 26, 28, and focusing attention particularly on Figs. 3-7, inclusive, each of these assemblies is essentially the same in construction as the other, and accordingly, the following description will focus just on the construction of assembly 26. This assembly includes a generally planar read/write transducer Ullit, or slider, X4, an(l an elongate, generally planar carrier unit, or flexure, X6, the distal end in which is joined, as will be explained, 20 to the transducer unit through gimbal structure X8 for limited relative articulation between the transducer unit and the flexure. Units X4, X6 are thought of herein as being disposed generally in parallel-planar relationship, with the carrier unit supporting the transducer unit.
Unit X4 includes a solid body forme(l entirely by well known thin-film deposition, patterning and etch-release processes (such as those set forth in the '932 patent) of a suitable dielectric material, such as alumillum oxide, diamond-like carbon (DLC), combinations of the two, or others. This body is shaped with three projecting 3 ~
feet, seen herein at X4a, X4b, 84_, which f~mction as contact pads to define three areas of sliding contact with a media surface d~lring normal operation. Regardless of the material which makes up the bulk of the body in unit 84, preferably, and as disclosed herein, feet 84a, 84b, 84c are formed of a hardened wear-resistant material (Knoop hardness no less than about 1000-kg/mm2), such as DLC, with these feet protruding about 10- to about 15-micrometers beyond the surface of unit 84 which is adapted to face a media recording surface -- i.e., the surface of this unit which faces the viewer in Fig. 3, and which forms the undersurface of unit 84 as seen in Figs. 4 and 5. The projection distance just mentioned has been selected to allow for normal wear of these feet, and also to ensure that the associated "confronting" surface of unit X4 is always sufficiently removed from a media recording surface to avoid ulIdesilable air-bearing effects.
Emhedded and encapsulated in unit 84 is an electromagnetic read/write head, or head structure, including a pole tip which is herein encapsulated in foot 84_, as illustrated schematically at 89 in Figs. 3 and 5. Those skilled in the art will recognize that any one of a variety of electromagnetic read/write heads may be employed in the structure which is now being descrihed, and these, for example, could take the form of an inductive-type head, of a cross-field-type head, or of a snagneto-resistive-type head.
In the preferred embodiment which is now being descrihed the head structLIre employed within the body of Ullit 84 is of the ind~lctive-prohe type, such as that which is illustrated in the above-referred to '932, '242 and '351 U.S. patents.
Extending at the locations shown from the opposite surface of the body in unit 84 are two projecting posts 84~!, 84e which are formed of a highly conductive metal, such as gold. These posts function both as a parl. of cond-lctor structure in assembly 26, and as bonding pads through which joinder occ~lrs, as will be explained, between unit 84 and flexure 86. These two posts connect cond-lctively with conductive stmcture embedded within the body of unit X4 which extends to and forms a coil that operates as a part of the read/write head str-lcture mentioned. Also projecting from the same surface from which the posts project is a somewhat central pivot stud, or fulcrum structure, 84f, formed of aluminum oxide or DLC, which functions as a part of previously mentioned gimbal structure 88.
Posts 84d, 84e project from their associated surface in the body of unit 84 by a distance of about 10- to about 15-micrometers, and the same is true with respect to stud 84f.
Flexure 86 is formed also through thin-film deposition, patterning and etch-release processes to have an elongate, laterally tapered shape such as that partially illustrated in Figs. 3 and 6. Deposited on or encapsulated within the body of flexure 86, which body preferahly takes the form of a dielectric material such as those mentioned earlier, are two elongate conductors~ or conductor struct-lre, 90, 92. These conductors are formed, for example of gold, by thin-film deposition and patterning processes, with conductors 90, 92 having respective, distally extending leaf-spring extensions, or ribbons, 94, 96 of gold or other suitable conducting material, e.g., tantalum, which is insolvent in the etch-release bath. The distal ends of ribbons 90, 92 are bonded conductively to posts 84d, 84e, respectively, in unit 84. These laterally spaced ribbons function both as a part of gimbal struchlre 88, and as a part of the conductor structure in assemhly 26 interconnecting the conductor struct~lre whicll is withill Ul1it X4 with that which is within flexure 86.
As can be seen particularly in Figs. 3 and 6, the distal end 863 in flexure 86 projects in a central blade-like fashion, and the surface expanse of this extension which faces unit 84 rockingly contacts the distal end of stud 84f and functions as the portion of gimbal structure 88 which transmits a vertical force to Ul1it X4.
Suitable gimbal action requires that gimbal struct~lre 88 resist motion of unit 84 relative to flexure 86 in zl!l directions in their respective parallel planes, while allowing limited free relative rolling and pitching of the transducer unit about axes 98, 100, respectively, via rocking interaction between stud 84f and flexure end 86_. The 2 ~
projection distances expressed above for posts X4d, 84_ and for stud ~4f allow a suitable range of such rolling and pitching motion. Ribbons 94, 96 resist yawing motion, for example about an axis such as axis 102 (see Fig. 3) between the transducer unit and the flexure.
Shifting attention now from the invention's strwctural organization, and refocussing a look at fabrication of the assembly of the invention, as has been pointed out hereinabove, most of the fabrication steps, processes, materials, etc. relating to the transducer and carrier units are well understood by those skilled in the art to include well-known material-deposit;on and photolithographic patterning processes. Not 10 specifically discussed or necessarily known well in the prior art, however, are the steps employed in establishing the gimbal-structure interconnection. The remaining, now-to-be-examined drawing figures in this disclosure, ~A, 8B-14, inclusive, relate to that story.
Preferably, multiple rows of side-by-side-adjacent flexures and associated ribbons are prepared simultaneously. Formation of the gimbal ribbons begins with the deposition of aluminum oxide, DLC, or other suitable dielectric material 120 on the polished surface of an etch-release layer 121 (e.g. copper) on a host wafer 122. This is done in the manner previously described (in the referenced materials), and to a thickness of about 30-micrometers (see Figs. XA, XB). Isolation walls 124 of the same etch-release material may be formed prior to the deposition of flexure material, together with 20 planarization to define the lateral boundaries of each flexure, as described in the reference material. Alternatively, these lateral dimensions may be defined in a later operation by a selective etch process. In the case of DLC, selective plasma ashing or oxidation of the carbon provides a very effective means of isolating individual flexures.
Turning to Figs. 9A, ~)B, on the planarized surface thus formed, layer 126 of copper is deposited and patterned, defil1ing a constituent 12X which ultimately will become an end X6a of a flexure. Additional dielectric material is deposited, and the surface is again planarized, resulting in a thickness for copper layer 126 of about 3- to r~ .J.~ J ~
about 5-micrometers. Layer 130 of gold, ahout 3- to about S-micrometers thick (see Figs. 10A, 10B), is then deposited and patterned to form what will become flexure conductors 90, 92 and rihbons 94, 96. Gold bonding studs, such as the two shown at 132 (shown with intentionally distorted proportions in Figs. IIA, 11B), are now deposited on what will be the distal ends of the flexure ribbons and on the ends of the flexure conductors (the ends of the latter not being shown) to facilitate the later bonding of the flexure both to the posts in a transducer unit, and to conductors provided in the external flexure support stmcture furnished by an actuator arm, respectively.
The wafer is, at this point in the procedure, ready for slicing between rows 10 into bars of laterally adjacent flexures in preparation for bonding (gimbal interconnecting) of transducer units and flexures. Optionally, the "conductor" portions of layer 130 may be overcoated with a thill layer 134 of dielectric material, leaving the "ribbon" portions, and the bonding studs On the opposite ends of each flexure, exposed as shown in Figs. 12A, 12B.
Digressing for a moment, fabrication of the transducer units for the assemblies is accomplished in multiple rows of side-by-side-adjacent units, and in much the same manner as that described in the '932 patent respecting the formation of integrated heads, except in reverse order. That is, contact pads formed of wear-resistant material are first deposited on the polished surface of an etch-release layer of copper on 20 top of a host wafer. Since each transducer unit will have a gimbal suspension, three contact pads rather than one are formed. Dielectric material, high-permeability magnetic material, alld electrical conductors are deposited and patterned to create the transducer in the form of a probe type perpendicular head with a helical coil, as described in the cited '932 patent; or, a familiar, multilayer, pancake type coil construction may be created if desired. Alternatively, the transducer units could be fabricated with conventional rhlg-stlalcture heads for use with longitudinally oriented media. The final wafer-level deposition processes leave the surfaces as shown in Figs.
~ J~ r~ ~ ~,?
13A, 13B, revealing gold honding studs (with intentionally distorted proportions) 136 (which hecome posts, like posts X4d, 84e), and a load pivot stud 138 (which becomes a pivot stud, like stud 84f) formed of dielectric material.
The wafer is now sliced between rows of transducer units into bars of laterally adjacent transducer units, in which the registration of each unit corresponds precisely with that of adjacent flexures on a bar of laterally adjacent flexures. The cut surface of each "transducer" bar, which exp()ses the ends of the magnetic cores of the internal transducer, is lapped and polished in preparation for the deposition of the pole and yoke structures, and of a protective overcoat, as described in the '958 patent 10 application.
The next operation (see Fig. 14) involves the bonding of the flexures on one bar to the transducer units on an()ther har. A transducer-unit bar 140 is placed in a suitable fixture 142 in such a manner that bonding studs 136 protrude slightly above an upper surface 142_ (in Fig. 14) of fixture 142. A flexure-unit bar 144 is placed in fixture 142 such that the bonding studs 132 of the flex~lres rest on top of bonding studs 136 which project above bar 140. Transducer units and flexure units on bars 140, 144, respectively, are now joined by pressure welds (or by other suitable means), thus making mechanical and electrical connections between the confronting bonding studs.
In the final fabricatiol1 step, the two unit-carlying bars, supported by fixture 20 142, thus joined, are immersed in an acid etch solution which simultaneously releases the transducer units and the flexure units from their respective bars, leaving the transducer units attached to the flexure units via the gimbal ribl>ons. In the process, layer 126 of copper dissolves, thereby freeing the gimbal rihbons from support, and allowing the transducer units to rock about the pivot studs.
Turning attention now to Figs. 15 and 16 in the drawings, here there are illustrated modified forms of construction for flexure 86 and for gimbal structure 88. In this modification~ the body of the flexure is formed with its distal end 86_, rather than ,~ r'~ r ~3 ,7 being laterally inset and blade-like (as in the first-described embodiment), having a lateral width which flows smoothly into and with the width of the remaining portion of the flexure body (see Fig. 15), and with this end extending from a step, or shoulder, 86k (see particularly Fig. 16) where it joins with the main portion of the body longitudinally to an extent where it completely overlies and "shelters" the attached/associated slider 84 and the distally extending, intercom1ective gimbal ribbons. Formed on the side of "stepped" end 86_ which faces slider 84 is a central cylindrical projection 86_ which provides the appropriate surface expanse which accommodates rocking contact with stud 84f in slider 84.
Laterally straddling projection 86c, and also forming part of gimbal structure 88 as before, are ribbons 94, 96 which are sul stantially the same in construction as their counterparts which bear the same numbers and which are illustrated in the prior-describecl emboclinlent of the h1vention. Ribbons 94, 96 lie, as can be seen, within a zone that is protected by end 86a.
In the modification now heing descrihed, flexure 86 and slider 84 are disposed, as before, generally in parallel planar relatiol1ship~ Viewed normal to these planes, as in Fig. 15, one can see that the marginal houndaries of end X6a are substantially coextensive with th()se of slicls~r ~4.
Fabrication of the modification now being described differs only slightly 20 from that which has been set forth in the steps mentioned earlier. What, in the embodiment now heing descrihed, forms a void space between end 86_ and ribbons 94, 96, surrounding projection 86_ will, during early fabrication stages, be filled in with deposited copper planarized to be level with what is shown as the undersurface of the main body of flexure 86 in Fig. 16. Ribbons 94, 96, and the conductors (mentioned with regard to the embocliment earlier describeLI) that extend from these ribbons lengthwise in the mah1 body of the flexure, are formed hy the deposition of gold, tantalum, etc., with the ribbons Iying On the surface of the filling-in copper just mentioned.
Slider ~4 is unchanged in construction~
Bars of side-by-side adjacent sliders and flexures are joined as previously described, and a copper etch process is performed to free these stmctures from constraints, and to remove, at the same time, the copper filling which has heretofore occupied the space within a flexure between the extending ribbons, and the now roofing end 863 in the flexure.
This modified form of the invention offers a construction which proYides extra resistance to damage that could he caused during shipping, handling or assembly operations.
Figs. 17A-20, inclusive, illustrate two other modifications of the assembly of the invention, with Figs. 17A-1() illustrating one of these two modifications, and Fig. 20 illustrating the other. The transducer units and carrier units which make up these modifications are formed with dielectric bodies and with conductor stmcture and a read/write transducer, similar to those like-identified components mentioned earlier herein, with all fabrication performed utilizing thin-film deposition and patterning processes, and etch-release procedures, like those discussed earlier. Naturally, the specific patternings which are employed are different, and relate to the specific different outlines and topographies that ch~lracterize these modifications.
In Figs. 17A, 17B, there is ill~lstrated at 15() a transducer unit, or slider, which is shown isolated from other structure. Slider 150 has a body 150.a which is generally planar (see particularly Figs. 17B), from one side of which project three wear feet 150b, 150c, 15(kl, and from the opposite side of which project a fulcrum pin 150e and a post ISof. A read/write transdllcer with an appropriate read/write pole tip is formed in foot 150d, and, internally embedded conductive traces that extend from a coil included in this transducer continue to a pair of conductive bonding pads 152 (proportions distorted).
2 ~ ?
Turning attention to Figs. IXA, 1~B, here there is shown at 154 an elongate, generally planar dielectric flexure, or carrier unit, which is intended for joinder to slider 150. Flexure 154 includes a body 154a from the distal end in which project two laterally spaced ribbons 154b whose distal ends are joined through an interposing structure including a proxirnally extending tongue 154c. Also included in flexure 154, and projecting distally toward tongue 154c, is a lateral]y centered blade 154d whose far surface in Fig. 18A (its undersurface in Fig. 18B) is adapted rockingly to contact fulcrum pin 150_ in slider 150, thus to form part of the gimbal structure. Conductive traces, such as the one shown at 156 in Figs. IXA, 19, extend in the flexure toward conductive 10 bonding pads 158 (proportions distorted) which are adapted for bonding to previously mentioned bonding pads 152.
In Fig. 1(~, slider 150 and flexure 154 are shown joined in generally parallel-planar relationship through suitable joinder of bonding pads 152, 158.
Shifting attention now, in Fig. 20, which is taken from the same point of view as that offered in Fig. 19, there is shown at 160 a gimbaled head/fle~ure/conductor assembly including a substantially planar transducer unit, or slider, 162, and an elongate, generally planar flexure, or carrier unit, 164.
Slider 162 includes a body 162a, thlee wear feet 162b, 162_, 162d, and a projecting fulcrum pin 162e. Foot 162d carries an embe(lded transducer including the 20 necessary coil from which conductive traces, that are suitably formed within body 162a, extend to a pair of conductive bonding pads 166 which face the viewer in Fig. 20.
Flexure 164 includes, adjacent its distal end, a pair of laterally spaced, distally projecting rihhons 164~ which inclu(le outrigger portions 164_~ that turn back, so-to-speak, to extend proximally over slider 162. Extendirlg in the flexure, ànd through the ribbons and outrigger portions, are conductive traces, such as trace 16X, which extend toward conductive bonding pads 17() that also face the viewer in Fig. 20. The far sides of outriggers 164a~ in Fi~. 20 are suitahly mechanically bonded to the side of slider 162 I() ~7,~ 3 which faces the viewer in Fig. 20, and conventional conductive interconnects are established between bonding pads 166, 170 through well-known wire-bonding techniques.
Wire-bond interconnects are shown at 172.
Extending distally from the distal end of the body in flexure 164 is a laterally-centered blade 164b which extends over and rockingly contacts fulcrum pin 162e. Slider 162 and flexure 164 are disposed generally in parallel planar relationship.
The modifications just discussed in Figs. 17A-20, inclusive, offer different kinds of manufacturing capabilities, tolerances, resonance performances, etc. in comparison with the other modifications described herein, and they are designed to offer 10 certain special advantages in certain applications. For example, the modifications illustrated in Figs. 19 and 20 allow for assembly of a transducer unit to a carrier unit after each has been separated as an individual unit as well as in "bar" form as described above. To interconnect these two as individual units requires use of simple automated holding fixtures ]ike those, for example, routinely used to align and bond die in the manufacture of semiconductor devices.
Accordingly, there are disclosed herein several forms of a novel, low-mass, gimbaled head/flexure/conductor assembly, and a system incorporating the same, which offer all of the desirable features, and meet all of the objectives, set forth hereinabove.
The proposed gimbaled structure provides decided advantages in manufacturing by 20 allowing appreciable increàses in dimensional and alignment tolerances in final assembly of integrated head/suspension structures and, in addition, lends itself to high-volume, reliable fabrication utilizing deposition processes on wafers, thus decreasing overall manufacturing costs. The gimbaled assembly of this invention takes advantage of the superior reading and writing performance attainable through contact operation with the recording surface of a rigid disk, while at the same time, by virtue of the presence of gimbal structure, addressing very satisfactorily the issue of disk-surface unflatness and other matters relating to dynamic changes in topography during ~system operation. The 2() ~ ~3 ~, ,a,"~
unique gimhal structllre which is proposed utilizes ribhons that interconnect a transducer unit and a flexure, which ribbons have clual functionality -- serving as a part of the mechanical gimbal suspension, and also as a part (carrier or otherwise) of the conductive circuit which communicates between the magnetic components in a read/write head and the outside world.
Where extra shipping, handling and assembly protection is desired for the relatively fragile gimhal ribbons, one can utilize the modified construction illustrated in Figs. 15 and 16, wherein the distal end of the flexure body "roofs" over the zone containing these ribbons. The modifications shown in Figs. 17A-20 offer other assembly 10 construction possihilities which can allow more readily for the interconnection of individual transducer units to individual or row-mounted carrier units. These modifications also offer the potential for wide variation of dynamic resonance characteristics through the expedient of readily changing the sizes and shapes of the gimbal ribhons. The modification pictured in Figure 20 provides the additional capability to provide a mechanical intercomlect which is independent of an electrical interconnect should such be required for reliability or other reasons.
In all of the invention embo(liments disclosed and described herein, the incorporated read/write head structure can, as was mentiolled earlier with respect to interchangeable vari.ltions in one of the disclosed eml odiments, take the form of an 20 inductive-type struct-lre~ a cross-field-type str-lcture, or of a magneto-resistive-type structure.
Accordingly, while a preferred emhodiment, and several modifications, of a gimbaled head/flexure/c()nductor assemhly, a system employing the same, and specific fabrication steps, have heen illustrated and described herein, we appreciate that variations and modifications may be thought about by those skilled in the art, and may be made without departing from the spirit of the invention.
GIMBALED MICRO-HEAD/FLEXUR~/CONDUCTOR
ASSEMBLY AND SYSTEM
Background and Summary of the Invention This invention relates generally to a rigid-disk information-storage system, and more particularly to a miniature, low-mass, gimbaled, head/flexure/conductor assembly for use in and with such a system.
For the purposes of illustration and explanation herein, a preferred embodiment of such an assembly, and of a system employing the same, are disclosed in 10 the setting of an extremely small-format, largely self-contained storage system which employs one or more rotary, rigid, magnetic recording disks. Those skilled in the art, after reading the contents of this specification, will recognize that the invention may be employed in a rigid disk recording system of any size.
The quest for increasing storage density and decreasing costs in rigid medium disk drive data storage systems has focused attention on the need to minimi7e the separation between the head (transducer) and the media -- the so-called "flying height" of the usual air-bearing slider. Improvements in slider and associated manufacture, along with improvements in media surface properties, have enabled the flying height in available rigid disk systems to be reduced to about 0.1-micrometer.
20 Numerous efforts are now devoted to reducing even further the flying height to 0.05-micrometer, or less. These efforts face and present still greater challenges respecting the issue of volllme manllfacture of sliders, sLIspensions, me(lia and their assembly and operation in disk drive systems.
With regard to the issue of flying-head technology~ significant advances over this prior art technology have been made, and by way of background illustration, some of the key advances are disclosed in U.S. Patents Nos. 5,041,'~32 for INTEGRATED MAGNETIC READ/WRITE HEAD/FLEXURE/CONDUCTOl~
STRUCTURE, 5,073~242 for METHOD OF MAKING INTEGRATED MAGNETIC
READ/WRITE HEAD/FLEXURE/CONDUCTOR STRUCTURE, and 5,111,351 for INTEGRATED MAGNETIC REA~/WRITE HEAD/FLEXURE/CONDUCI'OR
STRUCTURE.
In the '932 patent, the patentee describes a very low-mass, integrated head/flexure/conductor structure for continuous sliding-contact operation with rigid media, thereby enabling the minimum possible head/media separation and the m~ximl~m achievable recording performance. By reducing, as can be done, "effective mass" and applied load by two to three orders of magnitude, relative to conventional air-bearing 10 sliders and suspensions, the local pressure exerted on asperities or microscopic contaminants may be kept well below the onset of destructive physical and chemical avalanche processes, which processes lead to catastrophic failure of the head/media interface. Such reduction of the local pressure also helps to reduce the rate of abrasive wear of the head and media and to extend useful operational life.
The validity of the logic behind the development set forth in the '932 patent has been demonstrated in more than two-hundred-thousand hours of wear testing of Flexhead~M intexrated head/suspension structures on numerous test fixtures (Flexhead~M is a trademark owned hy Censtor Corp. or Sall Jose, Califorrlia)~ Likewise, read/write tests of these str~lctllres, employing, for example, probe-type heads with two-20 layer perpendicular recording media, have demonstrated a capability for very highrecording density. Moreover~ the extremely small mass of these structures, and the rigidity of the suspensions, result in high resonant frequencies in tlle lateral and torsional bending modes, and enable therehy significant improvements in actuator and servo-system design and performance.
(~ther advances which have been proposed in the prior art provide, for example, for the employment of a selected wear-resistance material (in the form of a wear-resistant contact pad) in ~he region (in a contact-recording situation) which makes contact with the media. With this khld of all arrangement, appropriate limitations need to be obselved regarding the length and width of such a wear-resistant contact pad, which limitations derive from the need to minimi~e signal modulation resulting from axial run-out of a disk or other mechanical variance in the drive which is provided for the disk.
The present invention addresses this latter concern, and in addition focuses on the desirability of further extending the performance tolerance of integrated head/suspension structures to mechanical variations in the manufacture and assernbly of disk drives.
Accordingly, an important object of the present invention is to provide a novel low-mass, gimbaled micro-head/flexure/conductor assembly which minimizes signal modwlation resulting from nonflatness from a disk surface, from accumulated assembly tolerances, from improper alignment of the disk spindle and actuator support bearing, or from other mechanical imperfections which might give rise to unwanted dynamic separation between the transducer and the recording surface of the media.
A correlative object of the invention, in the setting just expressed, is to increase the permissible tolerance on disk run-out~ spindle alignment, etc., without impairment of the performance of integrated head/sLIspension structures.
Another key objective of the invention is to increase permissible 20 dimensional and alignment tolerances in the assembly of integrated head/suspension structures and media hl disk drives in order to achieve optimal performance with minimal adjustment an(l run-in time.
A further object of this invention is to extend the limits on contact pad dimensions without incurring detrimental signal modulation resulting from disk run-out or other mechanical imperfections.
Still another object is to minimize head and media wear by enabling a larger contact pad area and consequently a lower local pressure at the head/media interface.
Still another object of the present invention is to separate the m~nllf~çtllre of head and flexure/conductor structures, and to facilitate automated assembly of the one to the other into integrated headlflexure/conductor structures.
An object related to that just stated is to increase the number of heads which may be fabricated by deposition processes on a wafer, thereby correspondingly decreasing manufacturing costs.
Another related object of the invention is to facilitate independent optimization of materials, configurations, and processes in the fabrication of both the heads and the flexure/conductor structures.
Proposed àccording to a preferred embodiment of the invention is a micro-head/flexure/conductor assembly, or organization~ (for reading and writing information with respect to the recording surface in a rigid magnetic recording medium) which assembly includes a read/write transducer unit, an elongate carrier unit for supporting the transducer unit, and gimbal structure interconnecting and articulating these two units for selected, limited relative movement~ Significantly, constituent materials and sizing for these assembly components are chosen in sllch a manner that the effective mass of the 20 assembly is no greater than about 1.5-milligrams. The "effective mass" of an assembly of the type referred to is, as this phrase is employed herein, the same as the equivalent free mass that would accelerate at the same rate as the head structure in the assembly when subjected to a given net inertial force in a direction perpendicular to the disk surface.
Included in the assembly which has just heen outlined is the necessary conductor structure which cooperates with the magnetic components in the transducer unit and which is employed for comm~micating with the "outside world". Uniquely, a part of this conductor structure in a preferred emhodiment, in the form of two laterally CA 02081~04 1998-10-27 spaced conductlve rlbbons, also forms a portlon of the lnterconnectlve glmbal structure. In modlfled forms of the lnventlon, glmbal rlbbons formed of dlelectrlc materlal carry conductlve traces. Thls glmbal structure unltes the transducer unlt and the carrler unit ln a generally parallel planar relatlonshlp, and allows llmlted relatlve pltch and roll between these two unlts whlle at the same tlme lnhlbltlng relatlve yaw between the two.
A fulcrum pro~ectlon formed on a surface ln the transducer unlt rocklngly contacts a surface expanse provlded on the carrler unlt - these two components cooperatlng wlth the conductlve rlbbons to form the glmbal structure whlch deflnes the permltted pltchlng and rolllng that can occur between the two unlts.
Feet that pro~ect from an opposlte surface ln the transducer unlt, preferably formed of a hardened wear-reslstant materlal, are provlded for maklng slldlng contact wlth the recordlng surface ln a dlsk medlum.
Accordlng to a flrst broad aspect, the present lnventlon provldes a head/flexure conductor assembly for readlng and wrltlng lnformatlon vla a relatlvely movlng recordlng surface of a rlgld magnetlc recordlng medlum comprlslng; a read/wrlte transducer unlt adapted for slldlng on the recordlng surface durlng communlcatlon wlth the medlum, an elongate carrler unlt for supportlng sald transducer unlt, sald carrler unlt havlng a longltudlnal axls orlented substantlally along a dlrectlon of sald slldlng, and glmbal structure lnterconnectlng and artlculatlng sald unlts for CA 02081~04 1998-10-27 selected, llmlted relatlve movement, sald gimbal structure lncludlng a palr of laterally spaced, elongate rlbbons extendlng between and connectlng sald transducer unlt and sald carrler unlt.
Accordlng to a second broad aspect, the present lnventlon provldes a glmbaled head/flexure/conductor assembly for the readlng and wrltlng of dlgltal lnformatlon durlng contact wlth the recordlng surface of a rlgld magnetlc dlsk, sald assembly comprislng~ a slider contalnlng a read/wrlte head and assoclated head conductor structure, an elongate flexure lncluding a flexure conductor and pivotally attached, dlstal to sald slider, to a mounting structure, and a glmbal structure operatively lnterconnectlng said slider and sald flexure for accommodating limlted relatlve movement between sald sllder and sald flexure, sald glmbal structure lncludlng a gimbal conductor conductively lnterconnectlng sald head conductor structure and sald flexure conductor, sald glmbal structure lncludlng a palr of laterally spaced, elongate rlbbons extendlng between and connectlng sald sllder and sald flexure.
According to a third broad aspect, the present inventlon provldes a head/flexure/conductor assembly for readlng and wrltlng lnformatlon wlth respect to a rlgld magnetlc recordlng medlum comprlslng; a read/wrlte transducer unlt, whereln sald transducer unlt lncludes head structure formed wlth electrlcal coll structure whlch has a multllayer, pancake-llke conflguratlon, an elongate carrler unlt for supportlng sald transducer unlt, and glmbal structure - 5a -CA 02081~04 1998-10-27 lnterconnectlng and artlculatlng said unlts for selected, llmlted relatlve movement, whereln sald glmbal structure lncludes a palr of laterally spaced, elongate rlbbons between the unlts, whereln the assembly is intended for use wlth such a medlum that has a generally planar recordlng surface, and whereln each layer ln sald pancake-llke conflguratlon ls generally planar and occuples a plane substantlally parallellng that of such surface.
Accordlng to a fourth broad aspect, the present lnventlon provldes a head/flexure/conductor assembly for readlng and wrltlng lnformatlon wlth respect to the recordlng surface ln a rlgld magnetlc recordlng medlum comprlslng; a read/wrlte transducer unlt, adapted for slldlng contact wlth the recordlng surface ln such a medlum, the transducer unlt formed wlth pro~ectlng slldlng-contact feet for sald slldlng, a plvotally mounted, elongate carrler unlt for supportlng sald transducer unlt, and glmbal structure lnterconnectlng and articulatlng sald transducer unlt and sald carrler unlt for selected, llmlted relatlve movement.
Accordlng to a flfth broad aspect, the present lnventlon provldes a read/wrlte organlzatlon for use wlth a rlgld magnetlc recordlng medlum that has a generally planar recordlng surface comprlslng; a glmbaled head/flexure/
conductor assembly that lncludes head structure formed wlth electrlcal coll structure whlch has a multllayer, pancake-llke configuration, wherein each layer in said pancake-like configuratlon is generally planar and occupies a plane substantlally parallellng that of such surface.
- 5b -CA 02081~04 1998-10-27 Accordlng to a sixth broad aspect, the present invention provides a rigid disk magnetic recording system comprislng; a rlgld magnetlc recordlng dlsk having a generally planar recording surface, and a glmbaled head/flexure/
conductor assembly operable wlth respect to said recording surface for reading and writing magnetic information with respect thereto, said assembly including head structure formed with electrical coil structure which has a multllayer, pancake-like conflguration, wherein each layer in said pancake-llke conflguratlon ls generally planar and occuples a plane substantially parallellng that of said surface.
According to a seventh broad aspect, the present lnvention provldes a transducer for communication with a rigid magnetic storage disk comprising; an elongate beam extending between a mounting end and a free end, including a plurality of longltudlnal electrlcal conductors, a glmbal dlsposed ad~acent to sald free end and coupled to sald beam, and a sllder connected to sald glmbal havlng an embedded magnetlc pole structure wlth an expose pole tlp for communlcatlon wlth the rlgld magnetlc storage dlsk whlle slldlng on the dlsk ln a directlon orlented substantlally along a longltudlnal axls of sald beam.
Accordlng to an elght broad aspect, the present lnventlon provldes an lnformatlon storage system comprlslng; a rlgld dlsk havlng a surface wlth an assoclated magnetlc storage medlum, an elongated beam extendlng between a plvot and a free end ad~acent to sald surface ln a dlrectlon crossing a radlus of sald disk, and a slider connected by a - 5c -CA 02081~04 1998-10-27 glmbal to sald beam ad~acent to sald free end, sald sllder contalnlng an embedded pole structure wlth an exposed pole tlp and ln dynamlc contact wlth sald surface durlng communlcatlon between sald pole and sald medlum.
These and other lmportant features, ob~ects and advantages whlch are attalned by the present lnventlon wlll become more fully apparent as the descrlptlon that now follows ls read ln con~unctlon with the accompanylng drawlngs.
Descrlption of the Drawlnqs Flg. 1 ls an opened-up plan vlew lllustratlng a small-format, rlgid-magnetic-disk, dlgltal-lnformatlon storage system incorporating a glmbaled mlcro-head/flexure/conductor assembly constructed in accordance with the present lnventlon.
Thls assembly is lllustrated in Fig. 1 ln hlghly schematlc form, and for the sake of slmplicity, given the scale of Flg.
1, wlthout detailing respectlng its preclse conflguratlon and number of component elements.
Fig. 2 is a view on a sllghtly larger scale than that used ln Fig. 1 which lllustrates, ln longltudlnal section, the system of Fig. 1, with thls vlew of Flg. 2 taken as lf looklng generally upwardly from the bottom of Flg. 1.
- 5d -Fig. 3 is a greatly enl~rged, fragmentary plan detail, taken generally in the area embraced by the two curved arrows shown at 3-3 in Fig. 1, illustrating details of construction of the micro-head/flexure/conductor assembly incorporated in the system of Figs. I and 2.
Fig. 4 is a fragmentary view, on substantially the same scale as that employed in Fig. 3, taken generally along the line 4-4 in Fig. 3.
Fig. S is an even more greatly enlarged perspective view of a generally planar read/write transducer unit, or slider, which forms part of the micro-head/flexure/conductl)r assembly of the invention, with this unit shown isolated from 10 other structure.
Fig. 6 is a fragmentary plan view, on a scale somewhat smaller than that employed in Fig. 3, illustrating a generally planar carrier unit, or flexure, which forms part of the micro-head/flexure/conductor assembly of the invention, with this carrier unit shown isolated from other structure.
Fig. 7 is a fragmentary elevation taken generally from the top side of Fig.
6.
Figs. 8A, 8B through 14 are fragmentary views illustrating steps employed in the fabrication of the assemhly of the invelItioll~
Figs. lS and 16 are fragmelItary views, similar to those present in Figs. 3 20 and 4, respectively, illustrating a mo(lified form of a gimbaled head/flexure/conductor assembly.
Figs. 17A and 17B are fragmentary plalI and side-elevation views, respectively, of another modified form of transdllcer unit.
Figs. 1XA and IXB are fragmentary plan and si(le-elevation views, respectively, of a modified form of flexure unit usable with the transducer unit of Figs.
17A, 17B.
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Fig. 19 is a fragmentary plan view illustrating the transducer unit and flexure unit of Figs. 17A, 17B and lXA, 18B, respectively, assemblesl.
Fig. 20 is a fragmentary plan view illustrating yet another modification of an assembly constructed in accordance with the invention, wherein a wire-bond electrical interconnection is employed.
Detailed Description of~ and Best Mode for Carrying Out~ the Invention Turning attention now to ~he drawings, and referring first of all to Figs~ 1 10 and 2, indicated generally at 10 is an information storage system in the form of a rigid-disk-drive magnetic recording system for storing digital information, which system is constructed in accordance with the present invention.
Included in system 10 is a two-part housing 12, including a base 12a, and, sealingly joined thereto (as via a concealed gasket made, for example, of silicone rubber), a cover 12b. Housing 12 encloses all of the other components which, together with the housing, make up system 1(). In the preferred embodiment now being described, the inside of the sealed housing is maintained essentially at nominal atmospheric pressure. However, there may he instances, where it is desirable to enhance certain performance behavior, to evacuate tl-e housin~, and to this end a suitable 20 evacuation pressure is about 0.05-atmosphere.
Dispoxed within housing 12 is a low-power~ brushlexs, D.C. spindle motor 14 which includes a coil-carryin~ stator 14a mounted suitably on the outside of a hollow, cylindrical supporting boss 12_ formed in housing base 12_. Motor 14 also includes a permanent-magnet rotor 14b which is suitably joine(i~ with the disposition shown, to a lightweight rotary spindle 16. Spindle 16 is mounted, through a journal bearing 20 which is seated within the hollow interior of boss 12_, for rotation about an axis shown at 18.
t~ ~ ~f ~. ~ Q ~
During drive operation, through appropriate connections (not shown) with conventional control/feedback electronics, motor 14 maintains an accurate, constant spindle rotational speed of about 4~00-rpm.
Supported on the upper side of spindle 16 (for rotation as a unit therewith) through a suitable clamp 22 is a ri~id magnetic recording disk (medium) 24 which is prepared on its opposite axial sides with a magnetic layer surface structure, or surface, for two-sided reading and writing of digitized information. These two sides of disk 24 are shown at 24a, 24b. Information is recorded on this surface structure in concentric, adjacent recording tracks.
Further discussing disk 24, each recording surface takes the form of an underlying soft magnetic flux-return layer with an in-plane, preferably radially oriented, magnetic anisotropy~ and an outer~ or overlying, hard magnetic recording film with an out-of-plane magnetic anisotropy. The recording film is protected by a smooth overcoat of wear-resistant rnaterial (like carbon), and an l~lbricant layer to minimize head and disk wear.
Because of the fact, which will become apparent, that the loads applied to disk 24 herein are far reduced in comparison with loads applied to disks in prior art flying-head drives, the central supportillg s~lbstrclte of the disk call optionally be made thinner than those s~lbstrates which are employed in prior art disks. For example, in the 20 system now being described, the transducers, or transducer units, (still to be described) which are used contact the disk's recorLlin~ sLlrfaces, do so with a load of only about 40-to about 120-milligrams. Such a load is several orders of magnitude lower than comparable load forces that characterize transd-lcer/disk loading in prior art flying-head designs.
Among the end results of all of this are not only that head/disk wear is greatly minimized, I-llt so also are the overall system size and system operating-power requirements.
Cooyerating with disk 24 in system 10 in the embodiment now being described, for reading and writing digital information with respect to recording surfaces 24_, 24_, are two read/write organizations, or micro-head/flexure/conductor assemblies 26, 28, respectively, which are constructed in accordance with the special features of the present invention. Each of assemblies 26, 28, as will be explained more fully below, is gimbaled in construction, and includes a read/write transducer unit (or slider) carried adjacent the distal end of the assembly (ends 26_, 28a), through gimbal structure, on the distal end of an elongate, cantilevered, laterally tapered carrier unit, or flexure. Each of these elongate assemblies is mounted with its fixed end at an angle of about 3-degrees with respect to the associated surface of disk 24, and each has an effective mass, as expressed earlier, of no more than about 1.5-milligrams. The transducer units in these assemblies contact the associated disk surface through hardened wear feet, or pads, with the force mentioned above.
ContinLIing with a general description of other components included in system 10, indicated generally at 60 in Figs. I and 2 is a servo-controlled actuator which operates in conjunction with a voice coil motor 62 to support and move the two head/flexure/conductor assemblies (26, 28) in arcs over the opposing recording surfaces in disk 24, thus to position the trarls(lucers in these assemblies with respect to any selected, concentric read/write track on the disk's surfaces.
The actuator is a relatively lightweight assembly (about 1.5-grams) which pivots on an axis shown at 63, with this assembly including upper and lower, radially extending arms 603, 60_ which carry, in a r~dially extending, cantilevered fashion, previously mentioned micro-head/flex~lre/conductor assemhlies 26, 2X, respectively.
These arms are borne on a central rotary hub 6()_ which is journaled on the inside of a hollow, cylindrical boss 12d formed in housillg base 12_. A suitable journal connection is estahlished through a journal bearing 64 which is like previously mentioned bearing 20.
.,f~
Actuator 60 is a mass-halanced rotary design, with the cantilevered masses of arms 60a, 60_, and of assemblies 26, 2X, counterbalanced by a counterbalance-formation 60d which, in the embodiment now heing described, takes the form of a coil winding that actually forms the "rotor" in previously mentioned voice coil motor 62. A
position limiter pin 66 (see Fig. 1) limits the swing of the transducers in assemblies 26, 28 to an arc of about 30-degrees, which allows these transducers to sweep into operative positions over the full recordable expanses of recording surfaces 24a, 24_. More specifically, pin 66 permits the transclucers to swing inwardly to a distance of about 9-mm from axis 18 and outwardly to a distance of about 23-mm from the same axis. Those 10 skilled in the art will thus recognize that the system of the present invention is capable of reading and writing data radially inwarcJly on a disk (regardless of media form factor) closer to the spin axis than the imlermost raclial locations typically usable by conventional flying-head systems.
Forming the stator in motor 62, which stator cooperates with rotor 60d, are permanent magnets, such as magnet 62a, which are suitahly joined to base 12a beneath the rotor.
The rotary actuator and associated mechanism selected for system 10 herein can be viewecl as taking the form essentially of a pivote(l heam with read/write transducer units located adjacellt one end, ancl with a voice coil motor positioned 20 adjacent the opposite end. Whell energized during system operation, actuator 60 moves the transducer units in arcuate paths approximating radial paths over the recording surfaces in disk 24. In conventional flying-head drives, such arcuate motion with a rotary actuator creates head-skewing effects which cause significant variations in air-bearing stiffness, and consec~uent changes in heacl/llleclia spacing. However, because the system of the present invention does not rely upon air-bearing effects in order to maintain a uniform heacl/disk interface, head skew is lalgely irrelevant, and actuator 60 can be used 1() successfully to transport the transducers radially inwardly to positions very close to spin axis 18.
In system 10, motion in actuator 60 is controlled using conventional closed-loop servo techniques, with appropriate servo-positioning data recorded within data tracks in disk 24 to form a feedback loop that ensures accurate transducer-unit positioning.
Conventional high-transfer-rate data-channel structure (not shown) is employed to provide an electrical interconnection between the head/flexure/conductor assemblies and conventional interface electronics which connect system 10 to external 1 0 devices.
System 10, as descrihed herein, includes but a single recording disk.
However, one should recognize that a like system may be constructed for p]ural disks, and such a system is described in the '586 patent application referred to above.
Addressing attention now to the constructions of assemblies 26, 28, and focusing attention particularly on Figs. 3-7, inclusive, each of these assemblies is essentially the same in construction as the other, and accordingly, the following description will focus just on the construction of assembly 26. This assembly includes a generally planar read/write transducer Ullit, or slider, X4, an(l an elongate, generally planar carrier unit, or flexure, X6, the distal end in which is joined, as will be explained, 20 to the transducer unit through gimbal structure X8 for limited relative articulation between the transducer unit and the flexure. Units X4, X6 are thought of herein as being disposed generally in parallel-planar relationship, with the carrier unit supporting the transducer unit.
Unit X4 includes a solid body forme(l entirely by well known thin-film deposition, patterning and etch-release processes (such as those set forth in the '932 patent) of a suitable dielectric material, such as alumillum oxide, diamond-like carbon (DLC), combinations of the two, or others. This body is shaped with three projecting 3 ~
feet, seen herein at X4a, X4b, 84_, which f~mction as contact pads to define three areas of sliding contact with a media surface d~lring normal operation. Regardless of the material which makes up the bulk of the body in unit 84, preferably, and as disclosed herein, feet 84a, 84b, 84c are formed of a hardened wear-resistant material (Knoop hardness no less than about 1000-kg/mm2), such as DLC, with these feet protruding about 10- to about 15-micrometers beyond the surface of unit 84 which is adapted to face a media recording surface -- i.e., the surface of this unit which faces the viewer in Fig. 3, and which forms the undersurface of unit 84 as seen in Figs. 4 and 5. The projection distance just mentioned has been selected to allow for normal wear of these feet, and also to ensure that the associated "confronting" surface of unit X4 is always sufficiently removed from a media recording surface to avoid ulIdesilable air-bearing effects.
Emhedded and encapsulated in unit 84 is an electromagnetic read/write head, or head structure, including a pole tip which is herein encapsulated in foot 84_, as illustrated schematically at 89 in Figs. 3 and 5. Those skilled in the art will recognize that any one of a variety of electromagnetic read/write heads may be employed in the structure which is now being descrihed, and these, for example, could take the form of an inductive-type head, of a cross-field-type head, or of a snagneto-resistive-type head.
In the preferred embodiment which is now being descrihed the head structLIre employed within the body of Ullit 84 is of the ind~lctive-prohe type, such as that which is illustrated in the above-referred to '932, '242 and '351 U.S. patents.
Extending at the locations shown from the opposite surface of the body in unit 84 are two projecting posts 84~!, 84e which are formed of a highly conductive metal, such as gold. These posts function both as a parl. of cond-lctor structure in assembly 26, and as bonding pads through which joinder occ~lrs, as will be explained, between unit 84 and flexure 86. These two posts connect cond-lctively with conductive stmcture embedded within the body of unit X4 which extends to and forms a coil that operates as a part of the read/write head str-lcture mentioned. Also projecting from the same surface from which the posts project is a somewhat central pivot stud, or fulcrum structure, 84f, formed of aluminum oxide or DLC, which functions as a part of previously mentioned gimbal structure 88.
Posts 84d, 84e project from their associated surface in the body of unit 84 by a distance of about 10- to about 15-micrometers, and the same is true with respect to stud 84f.
Flexure 86 is formed also through thin-film deposition, patterning and etch-release processes to have an elongate, laterally tapered shape such as that partially illustrated in Figs. 3 and 6. Deposited on or encapsulated within the body of flexure 86, which body preferahly takes the form of a dielectric material such as those mentioned earlier, are two elongate conductors~ or conductor struct-lre, 90, 92. These conductors are formed, for example of gold, by thin-film deposition and patterning processes, with conductors 90, 92 having respective, distally extending leaf-spring extensions, or ribbons, 94, 96 of gold or other suitable conducting material, e.g., tantalum, which is insolvent in the etch-release bath. The distal ends of ribbons 90, 92 are bonded conductively to posts 84d, 84e, respectively, in unit 84. These laterally spaced ribbons function both as a part of gimbal struchlre 88, and as a part of the conductor structure in assemhly 26 interconnecting the conductor struct~lre whicll is withill Ul1it X4 with that which is within flexure 86.
As can be seen particularly in Figs. 3 and 6, the distal end 863 in flexure 86 projects in a central blade-like fashion, and the surface expanse of this extension which faces unit 84 rockingly contacts the distal end of stud 84f and functions as the portion of gimbal structure 88 which transmits a vertical force to Ul1it X4.
Suitable gimbal action requires that gimbal struct~lre 88 resist motion of unit 84 relative to flexure 86 in zl!l directions in their respective parallel planes, while allowing limited free relative rolling and pitching of the transducer unit about axes 98, 100, respectively, via rocking interaction between stud 84f and flexure end 86_. The 2 ~
projection distances expressed above for posts X4d, 84_ and for stud ~4f allow a suitable range of such rolling and pitching motion. Ribbons 94, 96 resist yawing motion, for example about an axis such as axis 102 (see Fig. 3) between the transducer unit and the flexure.
Shifting attention now from the invention's strwctural organization, and refocussing a look at fabrication of the assembly of the invention, as has been pointed out hereinabove, most of the fabrication steps, processes, materials, etc. relating to the transducer and carrier units are well understood by those skilled in the art to include well-known material-deposit;on and photolithographic patterning processes. Not 10 specifically discussed or necessarily known well in the prior art, however, are the steps employed in establishing the gimbal-structure interconnection. The remaining, now-to-be-examined drawing figures in this disclosure, ~A, 8B-14, inclusive, relate to that story.
Preferably, multiple rows of side-by-side-adjacent flexures and associated ribbons are prepared simultaneously. Formation of the gimbal ribbons begins with the deposition of aluminum oxide, DLC, or other suitable dielectric material 120 on the polished surface of an etch-release layer 121 (e.g. copper) on a host wafer 122. This is done in the manner previously described (in the referenced materials), and to a thickness of about 30-micrometers (see Figs. XA, XB). Isolation walls 124 of the same etch-release material may be formed prior to the deposition of flexure material, together with 20 planarization to define the lateral boundaries of each flexure, as described in the reference material. Alternatively, these lateral dimensions may be defined in a later operation by a selective etch process. In the case of DLC, selective plasma ashing or oxidation of the carbon provides a very effective means of isolating individual flexures.
Turning to Figs. 9A, ~)B, on the planarized surface thus formed, layer 126 of copper is deposited and patterned, defil1ing a constituent 12X which ultimately will become an end X6a of a flexure. Additional dielectric material is deposited, and the surface is again planarized, resulting in a thickness for copper layer 126 of about 3- to r~ .J.~ J ~
about 5-micrometers. Layer 130 of gold, ahout 3- to about S-micrometers thick (see Figs. 10A, 10B), is then deposited and patterned to form what will become flexure conductors 90, 92 and rihbons 94, 96. Gold bonding studs, such as the two shown at 132 (shown with intentionally distorted proportions in Figs. IIA, 11B), are now deposited on what will be the distal ends of the flexure ribbons and on the ends of the flexure conductors (the ends of the latter not being shown) to facilitate the later bonding of the flexure both to the posts in a transducer unit, and to conductors provided in the external flexure support stmcture furnished by an actuator arm, respectively.
The wafer is, at this point in the procedure, ready for slicing between rows 10 into bars of laterally adjacent flexures in preparation for bonding (gimbal interconnecting) of transducer units and flexures. Optionally, the "conductor" portions of layer 130 may be overcoated with a thill layer 134 of dielectric material, leaving the "ribbon" portions, and the bonding studs On the opposite ends of each flexure, exposed as shown in Figs. 12A, 12B.
Digressing for a moment, fabrication of the transducer units for the assemblies is accomplished in multiple rows of side-by-side-adjacent units, and in much the same manner as that described in the '932 patent respecting the formation of integrated heads, except in reverse order. That is, contact pads formed of wear-resistant material are first deposited on the polished surface of an etch-release layer of copper on 20 top of a host wafer. Since each transducer unit will have a gimbal suspension, three contact pads rather than one are formed. Dielectric material, high-permeability magnetic material, alld electrical conductors are deposited and patterned to create the transducer in the form of a probe type perpendicular head with a helical coil, as described in the cited '932 patent; or, a familiar, multilayer, pancake type coil construction may be created if desired. Alternatively, the transducer units could be fabricated with conventional rhlg-stlalcture heads for use with longitudinally oriented media. The final wafer-level deposition processes leave the surfaces as shown in Figs.
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13A, 13B, revealing gold honding studs (with intentionally distorted proportions) 136 (which hecome posts, like posts X4d, 84e), and a load pivot stud 138 (which becomes a pivot stud, like stud 84f) formed of dielectric material.
The wafer is now sliced between rows of transducer units into bars of laterally adjacent transducer units, in which the registration of each unit corresponds precisely with that of adjacent flexures on a bar of laterally adjacent flexures. The cut surface of each "transducer" bar, which exp()ses the ends of the magnetic cores of the internal transducer, is lapped and polished in preparation for the deposition of the pole and yoke structures, and of a protective overcoat, as described in the '958 patent 10 application.
The next operation (see Fig. 14) involves the bonding of the flexures on one bar to the transducer units on an()ther har. A transducer-unit bar 140 is placed in a suitable fixture 142 in such a manner that bonding studs 136 protrude slightly above an upper surface 142_ (in Fig. 14) of fixture 142. A flexure-unit bar 144 is placed in fixture 142 such that the bonding studs 132 of the flex~lres rest on top of bonding studs 136 which project above bar 140. Transducer units and flexure units on bars 140, 144, respectively, are now joined by pressure welds (or by other suitable means), thus making mechanical and electrical connections between the confronting bonding studs.
In the final fabricatiol1 step, the two unit-carlying bars, supported by fixture 20 142, thus joined, are immersed in an acid etch solution which simultaneously releases the transducer units and the flexure units from their respective bars, leaving the transducer units attached to the flexure units via the gimbal ribl>ons. In the process, layer 126 of copper dissolves, thereby freeing the gimbal rihbons from support, and allowing the transducer units to rock about the pivot studs.
Turning attention now to Figs. 15 and 16 in the drawings, here there are illustrated modified forms of construction for flexure 86 and for gimbal structure 88. In this modification~ the body of the flexure is formed with its distal end 86_, rather than ,~ r'~ r ~3 ,7 being laterally inset and blade-like (as in the first-described embodiment), having a lateral width which flows smoothly into and with the width of the remaining portion of the flexure body (see Fig. 15), and with this end extending from a step, or shoulder, 86k (see particularly Fig. 16) where it joins with the main portion of the body longitudinally to an extent where it completely overlies and "shelters" the attached/associated slider 84 and the distally extending, intercom1ective gimbal ribbons. Formed on the side of "stepped" end 86_ which faces slider 84 is a central cylindrical projection 86_ which provides the appropriate surface expanse which accommodates rocking contact with stud 84f in slider 84.
Laterally straddling projection 86c, and also forming part of gimbal structure 88 as before, are ribbons 94, 96 which are sul stantially the same in construction as their counterparts which bear the same numbers and which are illustrated in the prior-describecl emboclinlent of the h1vention. Ribbons 94, 96 lie, as can be seen, within a zone that is protected by end 86a.
In the modification now heing descrihed, flexure 86 and slider 84 are disposed, as before, generally in parallel planar relatiol1ship~ Viewed normal to these planes, as in Fig. 15, one can see that the marginal houndaries of end X6a are substantially coextensive with th()se of slicls~r ~4.
Fabrication of the modification now being described differs only slightly 20 from that which has been set forth in the steps mentioned earlier. What, in the embodiment now heing descrihed, forms a void space between end 86_ and ribbons 94, 96, surrounding projection 86_ will, during early fabrication stages, be filled in with deposited copper planarized to be level with what is shown as the undersurface of the main body of flexure 86 in Fig. 16. Ribbons 94, 96, and the conductors (mentioned with regard to the embocliment earlier describeLI) that extend from these ribbons lengthwise in the mah1 body of the flexure, are formed hy the deposition of gold, tantalum, etc., with the ribbons Iying On the surface of the filling-in copper just mentioned.
Slider ~4 is unchanged in construction~
Bars of side-by-side adjacent sliders and flexures are joined as previously described, and a copper etch process is performed to free these stmctures from constraints, and to remove, at the same time, the copper filling which has heretofore occupied the space within a flexure between the extending ribbons, and the now roofing end 863 in the flexure.
This modified form of the invention offers a construction which proYides extra resistance to damage that could he caused during shipping, handling or assembly operations.
Figs. 17A-20, inclusive, illustrate two other modifications of the assembly of the invention, with Figs. 17A-1() illustrating one of these two modifications, and Fig. 20 illustrating the other. The transducer units and carrier units which make up these modifications are formed with dielectric bodies and with conductor stmcture and a read/write transducer, similar to those like-identified components mentioned earlier herein, with all fabrication performed utilizing thin-film deposition and patterning processes, and etch-release procedures, like those discussed earlier. Naturally, the specific patternings which are employed are different, and relate to the specific different outlines and topographies that ch~lracterize these modifications.
In Figs. 17A, 17B, there is ill~lstrated at 15() a transducer unit, or slider, which is shown isolated from other structure. Slider 150 has a body 150.a which is generally planar (see particularly Figs. 17B), from one side of which project three wear feet 150b, 150c, 15(kl, and from the opposite side of which project a fulcrum pin 150e and a post ISof. A read/write transdllcer with an appropriate read/write pole tip is formed in foot 150d, and, internally embedded conductive traces that extend from a coil included in this transducer continue to a pair of conductive bonding pads 152 (proportions distorted).
2 ~ ?
Turning attention to Figs. IXA, 1~B, here there is shown at 154 an elongate, generally planar dielectric flexure, or carrier unit, which is intended for joinder to slider 150. Flexure 154 includes a body 154a from the distal end in which project two laterally spaced ribbons 154b whose distal ends are joined through an interposing structure including a proxirnally extending tongue 154c. Also included in flexure 154, and projecting distally toward tongue 154c, is a lateral]y centered blade 154d whose far surface in Fig. 18A (its undersurface in Fig. 18B) is adapted rockingly to contact fulcrum pin 150_ in slider 150, thus to form part of the gimbal structure. Conductive traces, such as the one shown at 156 in Figs. IXA, 19, extend in the flexure toward conductive 10 bonding pads 158 (proportions distorted) which are adapted for bonding to previously mentioned bonding pads 152.
In Fig. 1(~, slider 150 and flexure 154 are shown joined in generally parallel-planar relationship through suitable joinder of bonding pads 152, 158.
Shifting attention now, in Fig. 20, which is taken from the same point of view as that offered in Fig. 19, there is shown at 160 a gimbaled head/fle~ure/conductor assembly including a substantially planar transducer unit, or slider, 162, and an elongate, generally planar flexure, or carrier unit, 164.
Slider 162 includes a body 162a, thlee wear feet 162b, 162_, 162d, and a projecting fulcrum pin 162e. Foot 162d carries an embe(lded transducer including the 20 necessary coil from which conductive traces, that are suitably formed within body 162a, extend to a pair of conductive bonding pads 166 which face the viewer in Fig. 20.
Flexure 164 includes, adjacent its distal end, a pair of laterally spaced, distally projecting rihhons 164~ which inclu(le outrigger portions 164_~ that turn back, so-to-speak, to extend proximally over slider 162. Extendirlg in the flexure, ànd through the ribbons and outrigger portions, are conductive traces, such as trace 16X, which extend toward conductive bonding pads 17() that also face the viewer in Fig. 20. The far sides of outriggers 164a~ in Fi~. 20 are suitahly mechanically bonded to the side of slider 162 I() ~7,~ 3 which faces the viewer in Fig. 20, and conventional conductive interconnects are established between bonding pads 166, 170 through well-known wire-bonding techniques.
Wire-bond interconnects are shown at 172.
Extending distally from the distal end of the body in flexure 164 is a laterally-centered blade 164b which extends over and rockingly contacts fulcrum pin 162e. Slider 162 and flexure 164 are disposed generally in parallel planar relationship.
The modifications just discussed in Figs. 17A-20, inclusive, offer different kinds of manufacturing capabilities, tolerances, resonance performances, etc. in comparison with the other modifications described herein, and they are designed to offer 10 certain special advantages in certain applications. For example, the modifications illustrated in Figs. 19 and 20 allow for assembly of a transducer unit to a carrier unit after each has been separated as an individual unit as well as in "bar" form as described above. To interconnect these two as individual units requires use of simple automated holding fixtures ]ike those, for example, routinely used to align and bond die in the manufacture of semiconductor devices.
Accordingly, there are disclosed herein several forms of a novel, low-mass, gimbaled head/flexure/conductor assembly, and a system incorporating the same, which offer all of the desirable features, and meet all of the objectives, set forth hereinabove.
The proposed gimbaled structure provides decided advantages in manufacturing by 20 allowing appreciable increàses in dimensional and alignment tolerances in final assembly of integrated head/suspension structures and, in addition, lends itself to high-volume, reliable fabrication utilizing deposition processes on wafers, thus decreasing overall manufacturing costs. The gimbaled assembly of this invention takes advantage of the superior reading and writing performance attainable through contact operation with the recording surface of a rigid disk, while at the same time, by virtue of the presence of gimbal structure, addressing very satisfactorily the issue of disk-surface unflatness and other matters relating to dynamic changes in topography during ~system operation. The 2() ~ ~3 ~, ,a,"~
unique gimhal structllre which is proposed utilizes ribhons that interconnect a transducer unit and a flexure, which ribbons have clual functionality -- serving as a part of the mechanical gimbal suspension, and also as a part (carrier or otherwise) of the conductive circuit which communicates between the magnetic components in a read/write head and the outside world.
Where extra shipping, handling and assembly protection is desired for the relatively fragile gimhal ribbons, one can utilize the modified construction illustrated in Figs. 15 and 16, wherein the distal end of the flexure body "roofs" over the zone containing these ribbons. The modifications shown in Figs. 17A-20 offer other assembly 10 construction possihilities which can allow more readily for the interconnection of individual transducer units to individual or row-mounted carrier units. These modifications also offer the potential for wide variation of dynamic resonance characteristics through the expedient of readily changing the sizes and shapes of the gimbal ribhons. The modification pictured in Figure 20 provides the additional capability to provide a mechanical intercomlect which is independent of an electrical interconnect should such be required for reliability or other reasons.
In all of the invention embo(liments disclosed and described herein, the incorporated read/write head structure can, as was mentiolled earlier with respect to interchangeable vari.ltions in one of the disclosed eml odiments, take the form of an 20 inductive-type struct-lre~ a cross-field-type str-lcture, or of a magneto-resistive-type structure.
Accordingly, while a preferred emhodiment, and several modifications, of a gimbaled head/flexure/c()nductor assemhly, a system employing the same, and specific fabrication steps, have heen illustrated and described herein, we appreciate that variations and modifications may be thought about by those skilled in the art, and may be made without departing from the spirit of the invention.
Claims (251)
1. A head/flexure/conductor assembly for reading and writing information via a relatively moving recording surface of a rigid magnetic recording medium comprising a read/write transducer unit adapted for sliding on the recording surface during communication with the medium, an elongate carrier unit for supporting said transducer unit, said carrier unit having a longitudinal axis oriented substantially along a direction of said sliding, and gimbal structure interconnecting and articulating said units for selected, limited relative movement, said gimbal structure including a pair of laterally spaced, elongate ribbons extending between and connecting said transducer unit and said carrier unit.
2. A gimbaled head/flexure/conductor assembly for the reading and writing of digital information during contact with the recording surface of a rigid magnetic disk, said assembly comprising a slider containing a read/write head and associated head conductor structure, an elongate flexure including a flexure conductor and pivotally attached, distal to said slider, to a mounting structure, and a gimbal structure operatively interconnecting said slider and said flexure for accommodating limited relative movement between said slider and said flexure, said gimbal structure including a gimbal conductor conductively interconnecting said head conductor structure and said flexure conductor, said gimbal structure including a pair of laterally spaced, elongate ribbons extending between and connecting said slider and said flexure.
3. A head/flexure/conductor assembly for reading and writing information with respect to a rigid magnetic recording medium comprising;
a read/write transducer unit, wherein said transducer unit includes head structure formed with electrical coil structure which has a multilayer, pancake-like configuration, an elongate carrier unit for supporting said transducer unit, and gimbal structure interconnecting and articulating said units for selected, limited relative movement, wherein said gimbal structure includes a pair of laterally spaced, elongate ribbons between the units, wherein the assembly is intended for use with such a medium that has a generally planar recording surface, and wherein each layer in said pancake-like configuration is generally planar and occupies a plane substantially paralleling that of such surface.
a read/write transducer unit, wherein said transducer unit includes head structure formed with electrical coil structure which has a multilayer, pancake-like configuration, an elongate carrier unit for supporting said transducer unit, and gimbal structure interconnecting and articulating said units for selected, limited relative movement, wherein said gimbal structure includes a pair of laterally spaced, elongate ribbons between the units, wherein the assembly is intended for use with such a medium that has a generally planar recording surface, and wherein each layer in said pancake-like configuration is generally planar and occupies a plane substantially paralleling that of such surface.
4. A head/flexure/conductor assembly for reading and writing information with respect to the recording surface in a rigid magnetic recording medium comprising;
a read/write transducer unit, adapted for sliding contact with the recording surface in such a medium, the transducer unit formed with projecting sliding-contact feet for said sliding, a pivotally mounted, elongate carrier unit for supporting said transducer unit, and gimbal structure interconnecting and articulating said transducer unit and said carrier unit for selected, limited relative movement.
a read/write transducer unit, adapted for sliding contact with the recording surface in such a medium, the transducer unit formed with projecting sliding-contact feet for said sliding, a pivotally mounted, elongate carrier unit for supporting said transducer unit, and gimbal structure interconnecting and articulating said transducer unit and said carrier unit for selected, limited relative movement.
5. A read/write organization for use with a rigid magnetic recording medium that has a generally planar recording surface comprising a gimbaled head/flexure/conductor assembly that includes head structure formed with electrical coil structure which has a multilayer, pancake-like configuration, wherein each layer in said pancake-like configuration is generally planar and occupies a plane substantially paralleling that of such surface.
6. A rigid disk magnetic recording system comprising a rigid magnetic recording disk having a generally planar recording surface, and a gimbaled head/flexure/conductor assembly operable with respect to said recording surface for reading and writing magnetic information with respect thereto, said assembly including head structure formed with electrical coil structure which has a multilayer, pancake-like configuration, wherein each layer in said pancake-like configuration is generally planar and occupies a plane substantially paralleling that of said surface.
7. A transducer for communication with a rigid magnetic storage disk comprising an elongate beam extending between a mounting end and a free end, including a plurality of longitudinal electrical conductors, a gimbal disposed adjacent to said free end and coupled to said beam, and a slider connected to said gimbal having an embedded magnetic pole structure with an exposed pole tip for communication with the rigid magnetic storage disk while sliding on the disk in a direction oriented substantially along a longitudinal axis of said beam.
8. An information storage system comprising a rigid disk having a surface with an associated magnetic storage medium, an elongated beam extending between a pivot and a free end adjacent to said surface in a direction crossing a radius of said disk, and a slider connected by a gimbal to said beam adjacent to said free end, said slider containing an embedded pole structure with an exposed pole tip and in dynamic contact with said surface during communication between said pole and said medium.
9. The assembly of claim 1 which further includes conductor structure, and wherein at least a portion of said gimbal structure forms part of said conductor structure.
10. The assembly of claim 1, wherein said carrier unit has a distal end, and said ribbons join with said carrier unit adjacent said end with the ribbons including portions extending proximally toward said transducer unit, relative to their regions of joinder with the carrier unit.
11. The assembly of claim 1, wherein said units are generally planar and disposed generally in parallel planar relationship with respect to one another, and said gimbal structure is constructed to allow limited relative pitch and roll between said units, while inhibiting relative yaw between the two.
12. The assembly of claim 10 which further includes conductor structure, and wherein said ribbons are part of said conductor structure.
13. The assembly of claim 1, wherein said carrier unit includes a portion extending adjacent and overlying a zone containing said ribbons.
14. The assembly of claim 1, wherein said gimbal structure includes a laterally centered, proximally extending tongue interposed said ribbons and said transducer unit.
15. The assembly of claim 1 which further includes conductor structure, and wherein said ribbons form part of said conductor structure.
16. The assembly of claim 1, wherein said units are generally planar and disposed generally in parallel planar relationship with respect to one another, and said gimbal structure is constructed to allow limited relative pitch and roll between said units, while inhibiting relative yaw between the units.
17. The assembly of claim 1, wherein said transducer unit includes a vertical-load-transmitting fulcrum structure, and said carrier unit includes a surface expanse disposed in rocking contact with said fulcrum structure, said fulcrum structure and said surface expanse forming part of said gimbal structure.
18. The assembly of claim 11, wherein said transducer unit includes a vertical-load-transmitting fulcrum structure, and said carrier unit includes a surface expanse disposed in rocking contact with said fulcrum structure, said fulcrum structure and said surface expanse forming part of said gimbal structure.
19. The assembly of claim 1, wherein said transducer unit is adapted for sliding contact with the recording surface in such a medium, and the transducer unit is formed with projecting sliding-contact feet.
20. The assembly of claims 19 or 4, wherein at least one of said feet is formed of a hardened wear material.
21. The assembly of claims 19 or 4, wherein said feet are formed of a hardened wear material.
22. The assembly of claim 20, wherein said wear material has a Knoop hardness not less than about 1000-kg/mm.
23. The assembly of claims 19 or 4, wherein said feet are three in number.
24. The assembly of claim 21, wherein said feet are three in number.
25. The assembly of claim 16, wherein said transducer unit is adapted for sliding contact with the recording surface in such a medium, and the transducer unit is formed with projecting sliding-contact feet.
26. The assembly of claim 17, wherein said transducer unit is adapted for sliding contact with the recording surface in such a medium, and the transducer unit is formed with projecting sliding-contact feet.
27. The assembly of claim 18, wherein said transducer unit is adapted for sliding contact with the recording surface in such a medium, and the transducer unit is formed with projecting sliding-contact feet.
28. The assembly of claim 2, wherein said ribbons form the gimbal conductor.
29. The assembly of claim 2, wherein said slider and flexure are generally planar and disposed generally in parallel planar relationship with respect to one another, and said gimbal structure is constructed to allow limited relative pitch and roll between the slider and flexure, while inhibiting relative yaw between the two.
30. The assembly of claim 2, wherein said slider includes a vertical-load-transmitting fulcrum structure, and said flexure includes a surface expanse disposed in rocking contact with said fulcrum structure, said fulcrum structure and said surface expanse forming part of said gimbal structure.
31. The assembly of claim 2, wherein said slider is adapted for sliding contact with such a recording surface, and the slider is formed with projecting sliding-contact feet.
32. The assembly of claim 31, wherein said feet are formed of a hardened wear material.
33. The assembly of claim 31, wherein said feet are three in number.
34. The assembly of claim 32, wherein said feet are three in number.
35. The assembly of claims 1, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14 or 15, wherein said transducer unit includes head structure formed with electrical coil structure which has an elongate, helical configuration distributed lengthwise relative to said carrier unit.
36. The assembly of claim 16, wherein said transducer unit includes head structure formed with electrical coil structure which has an elongate, helical configuration distributed lengthwise relative to said carrier unit.
37. The assembly of claim 17, wherein said transducer unit includes head structure formed with electrical coil structure which has an elongate, helical configuration distributed lengthwise relative to said carrier unit.
38. The assembly of claim 18, wherein said transducer unit includes head structure formed with electrical coil structure which has an elongate, helical configuration distributed lengthwise relative to said carrier unit.
39. The assembly of claims 19 or 4, wherein said transducer unit includes head structure formed with electrical coil structure which has an elongate, helical configuration distributed lengthwise relative to said carrier unit.
- 31a -
- 31a -
40. The assembly of claim 20, wherein said transducer unit includes head structure formed with electrical coil structure which has an elongate, helical configuration distributed lengthwise relative to said carrier unit.
41. The assembly of claim 21, wherein said transducer unit includes head structure formed with electrical coil structure which has an elongate, helical configuration distributed lengthwise relative to said carrier unit.
42. The assembly of claim 22, wherein said transducer unit includes head structure formed with electrical coil structure which has an elongate, helical configuration distributed lengthwise relative to said carrier unit.
43. The assembly of claim 23, wherein said transducer unit includes head structure formed with electrical coil structure which has an elongate, helical configuration distributed lengthwise relative to said carrier unit.
44. The assembly of claim 24, wherein said transducer unit includes head structure formed with electrical coil structure which has an elongate, helical configuration distributed lengthwise relative to said carrier unit.
45. The assembly of claim 25, wherein said transducer unit includes head structure formed with electrical coil structure which has an elongate, helical configuration distributed lengthwise relative to said carrier unit.
46. The assembly of claim 26, wherein said transducer unit includes head structure formed with electrical coil structure which has an elongate, helical configuration distributed lengthwise relative to said carrier unit.
47. The assembly of claim 27, wherein said transducer unit includes head structure formed with electrical coil structure which has an elongate, helical configuration distributed lengthwise relative to said carrier unit.
48. The assembly of claims 2 or 28, wherein said read/write head includes electrical coil structure which has an elongate, helical configuration distributed lengthwise relative to said flexure.
49. The assembly of claim 29, wherein said read/write head includes electrical coil structure which has an elongate, helical configuration distributed lengthwise relative to said flexure.
50. The assembly of claim 30, wherein said read/write head includes electrical coil structure which has an elongate, helical configuration distributed lengthwise relative to said flexure.
51. The assembly of claim 31, wherein said read/write head includes electrical coil structure which has an elongate, helical configuration distributed lengthwise relative to said flexure.
52. The assembly of claim 32, wherein said read/write head includes electrical coil structure which has an elongate, helical configuration distributed lengthwise relative to said flexure.
53. The assembly of claim 33, wherein said read/write head includes electrical coil structure which has an elongate, helical configuration distributed lengthwise relative to said flexure.
54. The assembly of claim 24, wherein said transducer unit includes electrical coil structure which has an elongate, helical configuration distributed lengthwise relative to said flexure.
55. The assembly of claims 1, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14 or 15, wherein said transducer unit includes head structure formed with electrical coil structure which has a multilayer, pancake-like configuration.
56. The assembly of claim 16, wherein said transducer unit includes head structure formed with electrical golf structure which has a multilayer, pancake-like configuration.
57. The assembly of claim 17, wherein said transducer unit includes head structure formed with electrical coil structure which has a multilayer, pancake-like configuration.
58. The assembly of claim 18, wherein said transducer unit includes head structure formed with electrical coil structure which has a multilayer, pancake-like configuration.
59. The assembly of claims 19 or 4, wherein said transducer unit includes head structure formed with electrical coil structure which has a multilayer, pancake-like configuration.
60. The assembly of claim 20, wherein said transducer unit includes head structure formed with electrical coil structure which has a multilayer, pancake-like configuration.
61. The assembly of claim 21, wherein said transducer unit includes head structure formed with electrical coil structure which has a multilayer, pancake-like configuration.
62. The assembly of claim 22, wherein said transducer unit includes head structure formed with electrical coil structure which has a multilayer, pancake-like configuration.
63. The assembly of claim 23, wherein said transducer unit includes head structure formed with electrical coil structure which has a multilayer, pancake-like configuration.
64. The assembly of claim 24, wherein said transducer unit includes head structure formed with electrical coil structure which has a multilayer, pancake-like configuration.
65. The assembly of claim 25, wherein said transducer unit includes head structure formed with electrical coil structure which has a multilayer, pancake-like configuration.
66. The assembly of claim 26, wherein said transducer unit includes head structure formed with electrical coil structure which has a multilayer, pancake-like configuration.
67. The assembly of claim 27, wherein said transducer unit includes head structure formed with electrical coil structure which has a multilayer, pancake-like configuration.
68. The assembly of claims 2 or 28, wherein said read/write head includes electrical coil structure which has a multilayer, pancake-like configuration.
69. The assembly of claim 29, wherein said read/write head includes electrical coil structure which has a multilayer, pancake-like configuration.
70. The assembly of claim 38, wherein said read/write head includes electrical coil structure which has a multilayer, pancake-like configuration.
71. The assembly of claim 31, wherein said read/write head includes electrical coil structure which has a multilayer, pancake-like configuration.
72. The assembly of claim 32, wherein said read/write head includes electrical coil structure which has a multilayer, pancake-like configuration.
73. The assembly of claim 33, wherein said read/write head includes electrical coil structure which has a multilayer, pancake-like configuration.
74. The assembly of claim 34, wherein said read/write head includes electrical coil structure which has a multilayer, pancake-like configuration.
75. The assembly of claim 56 which is intended for use with such a medium that has a generally planar recording surface, and wherein each layer in said pancake-like configuration is generally planar and occupies a plane substantially paralleling that of said surface.
76. The assembly of claim 57 which is intended for use with such a medium that has a generally planar recording surface, and wherein each layer in said pancake-like configuration is generally planar and occupies a plane substantially paralleling that of said surface.
77. The assembly of claim 58 which is intended for use with such a medium that has a generally planar recording surface, and wherein each layer in said pancake-like configuration is generally planar and occupies a plane substantially paralleling that of said surface.
78. The assembly of claim 59 which is intended for use with such a medium that has a generally planar recording surface, and wherein each layer in said pancake-like configuration is generally planar and occupies a plane substantially paralleling that of said surface.
79. The assembly of claim 60 which is intended for use with such a medium that has a generally planar recording surface, and wherein each layer in said pancake-like configuration is generally planar and occupies a plane substantially paralleling that of said surface.
80. The assembly of claim 61 which is intended for use with such a medium that has a generally planar recording surface, and wherein each layer in said pancake-like configuration is generally planar and occupies a plane substantially paralleling that of said surface.
81. The assembly of claim 62 which is intended for use with such a medium that has a generally planar recording surface, and wherein each layer in said pancake-like configuration is generally planar and occupies a plane substantially paralleling that of said surface.
82. The assembly of claim 63 which is intended for use with such a medium that has a generally planar recording surface, and wherein each layer in said pancake-like configuration is generally planar and occupies a plane substantially paralleling that of said surface.
83. The assembly of claim 64 which is intended for use with such a medium that has a generally planar recording surface, and wherein each layer in said pancake-like configuration is generally planar and occupies a plane substantially paralleling that of said surface.
84. The assembly of claim 65 which is intended for use with such a medium that has a generally planar recording surface, and wherein each layer in said pancake-like configuration is generally planar and occupies a plane substantially paralleling that of said surface.
85. The assembly of claim 66 which is intended for use with such a medium that has a generally planar recording surface, and wherein each layer in said pancake-like configuration is generally planar and occupies a plane substantially paralleling that of said surface.
86. The assembly of claim 67 which is intended for use with such a medium that has a generally planar recording surface, and wherein each layer in said pancake-like configuration is generally planar and occupies a plane substantially paralleling that of said surface.
87. The assembly of claim 68 which is intended for use with such a medium that has a generally planar recording surface, and wherein each layer in said pancake-like configuration is generally planar and occupies a plane substantially paralleling that of said surface.
88. The assembly of claim 69 which is intended for use with such a medium that has a generally planar recording surface, and wherein each layer in said pancake-like configuration is generally planar and occupies a plane substantially paralleling that of said surface.
89. The assembly of claim 70 which is intended for use with such a medium that has a generally planar recording surface, and wherein each layer in said pancake-like configuration is generally planar and occupies a plane substantially paralleling that of said surface.
90. The assembly of claim 71 which is intended for use with such a medium that has a generally planar recording surface, and wherein each layer in said pancake-like configuration is generally planar and occupies a plane substantially paralleling that of said surface.
91. The assembly of claim 72 which is intended for use with such a medium that has a generally planar recording surface, and wherein each layer in said pancake-like configuration is generally planar and occupies a plane substantially paralleling that of said surface.
92. The assembly of claim 73 which is intended for use with such a medium that has a generally planar recording surface, and wherein each layer in said pancake-like configuration is generally planar and occupies a plane substantially paralleling that of said surface.
93. The assembly of claim 74 which is intended for use with such a medium that has a generally planar recording surface, and wherein each layer in said pancake-like configuration is generally planar and occupies a plane substantially paralleling that of said surface.
94. The assembly of claim 55 which is intended for use with such a medium that has a generally planar recording surface, and wherein each layer in said pancake-like configuration is generally planar and occupies a plane which is substantially normal to the long axis of said carrier unit.
95. The assembly of claim 56 which is intended for use with such a medium that has a generally planar recording surface, and wherein each layer in said pancake-like configuration is generally planar and occupies a plane which is substantially - 41a -normal to the long axis of said carrier unit.
96. The assembly of claim 57 which is intended for use with such a medium that has a generally planar recording surface, and wherein each layer in said pancake-like configuration is generally planar and occupies a plane which is substantially normal to the long axis of said carrier unit.
97. The assembly of claim 58 which is intended for use with such a medium that has a generally planar recording surface, and wherein each layer in said pancake-like configuration is generally planar and occupies a plane which is substantially normal to the long axis of said carrier unit.
98. The assembly of claim 59 which is intended for use with such a medium that has a generally planar recording surface, and wherein each layer in said pancake-like configuration is generally planar and occupies a plane which is substantially normal to the long axis of said carrier unit.
99. The assembly of claim 60 which is intended for use with such a medium that has a generally planar recording surface, and wherein each layer in said pancake-like configuration is generally planar and occupies a plane which is substantially normal to the long axis of said carrier unit.
100. The assembly of claim 61 which is intended for use with such a medium that has a generally planar recording surface, and wherein each layer in said pancake-like configuration is generally planar and occupies a plane which is substantially normal to the long axis of said carrier unit.
101. The assembly of claim 62 which is intended for use with such a medium that has a generally planar recording surface, and wherein each layer in said pancake-like configuration is generally planar and occupies a plane which is substantially normal to the long axis of said carrier unit.
102. The assembly of claim 63 which is intended for use with such a medium that has a generally planar recording surface, and wherein each layer in said pancake-like configuration is generally planar and occupies a plane which is substantially normal to the long axis of said carrier unit.
103. The assembly of claim 64 which is intended for use with such a medium that has a generally planar recording surface, and wherein each layer in said pancake-like configuration is generally planar and occupies a plane which is substantially normal to the long axis of said carrier unit.
104. The assembly of claim 65 which is intended for use with such a medium that has a generally planar recording surface, and wherein each layer in said pancake-like configuration is generally planar and occupies a plane which is substantially normal to the long axis of said carrier unit.
105. The assembly of claim 66 which is intended for use with such a medium that has a generally planar recording surface, and wherein each layer in said pancake-like configuration is generally planar and occupies a plane which is substantially normal to the long axis of said carrier unit.
106. The assembly of claim 67 which is intended for use with such a medium that has a generally planar recording surface, and wherein each layer in said pancake-like configuration is generally planar and occupies a plane which is substantially normal to the long axis of said carrier unit.
107. The assembly of claim 68 which is intended for use with such a medium that has a generally planar recording surface, and wherein each layer in said pancake-like configuration is generally planar and occupies a plane which is substantially normal to the long axis of said flexure.
108. The assembly of claim 69 which is intended for use with such a medium that has a generally planar recording surface, and wherein each layer in said pancake-like configuration is generally planar and occupies a plane which is substantially normal to the long axis of said flexure.
109. The assembly of claim 70 which is intended for use with such a medium that has generally planar recording surface, and wherein each layer in said pancake-like configuration is generally planar and occupies a plane which is substantially normal to the long axis of said flexure.
110. The assembly of claim 71 which is intended for use with such a medium that has a generally planar recording surface, and wherein each layer in said pancake-like configuration is generally planar and occupies a plane which is substantially normal to the long axis of said flexure.
111. The assembly of claim 72 which is intended for use with such a medium that has a generally planar recording surface, and wherein each layer in said pancake-like configuration is generally planar and occupies a plane which is substantially normal to the long axis of said flexure.
112. The assembly of claim 73 which is intended for use with such a medium that has a generally planar recording surface, and wherein each layer in said pancake-like configuration is generally planar and occupies a plane which is substantially normal to the long axis of said flexure.
113. The assembly of claim 74 which is intended for use with such a medium that has a generally planar recording surface, and wherein each layer in said pancake-like configuration is generally planar and occupies a plane which is substantially normal to the long axis of said flexure.
114. The assembly of claim 21, wherein said wear material has a Knoop hardness not less than about 1000-kg/mm2.
115. The assembly of claim 18, wherein said transducer unit is adapted for sliding contact with the recording surface in such a medium, and the transducer unit is formed with projecting sliding-contact feet.
116. The assembly of claim 114, wherein said transducer unit includes head structure formed with electrical coil structure which has an elongate, helical configuration distributed lengthwise relative to said carrier unit.
117. The assembly of claim 115, wherein said transducer unit includes head structure formed with electrical coil structure which has an elongate, helical configuration distributed lengthwise to said carrier unit.
118. The transducer of claim 7, wherein a longitudinal axis of said beam is oriented substantially along a direction of said sliding.
119. The transducer of claim 7, wherein said pole tip is disposed on a disk-facing surface of said slider.
120. The transducer of claim 7, wherein said pole tip is disposed on a disk-facing portion of said slider.
121. The transducer of claim 7, wherein said slider has at least one leg and said pole tip is disposed at a disk-facing portion of said leg.
122. The transducer of claim 7, wherein said slider has three legs and said pole tip is disposed at a disk-facing portion of one of said legs.
123. The system of claim 8, wherein said pole tip is disposed on a surface of said slider adjacent to said disk surface.
124. The system of claim 8, wherein said disk rotates about a disk axis and said beam pivots about a pivot axis, said pivot axis being oriented substantially parallel to said disk axis.
125. The system of claim 8, wherein said slider has at least one leg and said pole tip is disposed at a disk-facing portion of said leg.
126. The system of claim 8, wherein said slider has three legs and said pole tip is disposed at a disk-facing portion of one of said legs.
127. A head/flexure/conductor assembly for reading and writing information with respect to a rigid magnetic recording medium comprising;
a read/wrlte transducer unit having an upper side opposite from a medium-facing side, and first and second laterally spaced bonding areas on the upper side of the - 47a -transducer unit, an elongate carrier unit for supporting said transducer unit, said carrier unit having a length spanning from a proximal end to a distal end, and gimbal structure interconnecting and articulating said units for selected, limited relative movement, including first and second laterally spaced, elongate conductor members, joined to the carrier unit along substantially the entire length of the carrier unit, each of the conductor members having a distal end bonded to one of the bonding areas on the upper side of the transducer unit, so that each of the conductor members forms a cantilever support structure for the transducer unit.
a read/wrlte transducer unit having an upper side opposite from a medium-facing side, and first and second laterally spaced bonding areas on the upper side of the - 47a -transducer unit, an elongate carrier unit for supporting said transducer unit, said carrier unit having a length spanning from a proximal end to a distal end, and gimbal structure interconnecting and articulating said units for selected, limited relative movement, including first and second laterally spaced, elongate conductor members, joined to the carrier unit along substantially the entire length of the carrier unit, each of the conductor members having a distal end bonded to one of the bonding areas on the upper side of the transducer unit, so that each of the conductor members forms a cantilever support structure for the transducer unit.
128. A head/flexure/conductor assembly for reading and writing information with respect to a rigid magnetic recording medium comprising a read/write transducer unit having an upper side opposite from a medium-facing side, and first and second laterally spaced bonding areas on the upper side of the transducer unit, an elongate carrier unit supporting said transducer unit, and gimbal structure interconnecting and articulating said units for selected, limited relative movement, wherein said gimbal structure includes a pair of laterally spaced, elongate ribbons interposed said units, each ribbon having a distal end bonded to one of the bonding areas on the upper side of the transducer unit.
129. The assembly of claim 128, wherein said carrier unit has a distal end, and said ribbons join with said carrier unit adjacent said end, with the ribbons extending distally relative to their regions of joinder with the carrier unit.
130. The assembly of claim 128, wherein said carrier unit has a distal end, and said ribbons join with said carrier unit adjacent said end with the ribbons including portions extending proximally toward said transducer unit, relative to their regions of joinder with the carrier unit.
131. The assembly of claim 127, wherein said gimbal structure includes a laterally centered, proximally extending tongue interposed said ribbons and said transducer unit.
132. The assembly of claim 131 which further includes conductor structure, and wherein said ribbons are formed with conductors which are part of said conductor structure.
133. The assembly of claim 128, wherein said carrier unit includes a portion extending adjacent and overlying said ribbons.
134. The assembly of claim 133, wherein said transducer unit and said carrier unit are disposed generally in parallel planar relationship, and said portion has marginal boundaries which are substantially co-extensive with those of said transducer unit as the assembly is viewed in a direction normal to the planes of said units.
135. The assembly of claim 127 which further includes conductor structure, and wherein at least a portion of said gimbal structure forms part of said conductor structure.
136. The assembly of claim 129 which further includes a conductor structure, and wherein said ribbons form part of said conductor structure.
137. The assembly of claims 127 or 128, wherein said units are generally planar and disposed generally in parallel planar relationship with respect to one another, and said gimbal structure is constructed to allow limited relative pitch and roll between said units, while inhibiting relative yaw between said units.
138. The assembly of claims 127 or 128, wherein said transducer unit includes a vertical-load-transmitting fulcrum structure, and said carrier unit includes a surface expanse disposed in rocking contact with said fulcrum structure, said fulcrum structure and said surface expanse forming part of said gimbal structure.
139. The assembly of claim 135, wherein said transducer unit includes a vertical-load-transmitting fulcrum structure, and said carrier unit includes a surface expanse disposed in rocking contact with said fulcrum structure, said fulcrum structure and said surface expanse forming part of said gimbal structure.
140. The assembly of claim 137, wherein said transducer unit includes a vertical-load-transmitting fulcrum structure, and said carrier unit includes a surface expanse disposed in rocking contact with said fulcrum structure, said fulcrum structure and said surface expanse forming part of said gimbal structure.
141. The assembly of claims 127 or 128, wherein said transducer unit is adapted for sliding contact with a recording surface in the medium, and the transducer unit is formed with projecting sliding-contact feet for this purpose.
142. The assembly of claim 141, wherein at least one of said feet is formed of a hardened wear material.
143. The assembly of claim 141, wherein said feet are formed of a hardened wear material.
144. The assembly of claim 142, wherein said wear material has a Knoop hardness not less than about 1000-kg/mm2.
145. The assembly of claim 143, wherein said wear material has a Knoop hardness not less than about 1000-kg/mm2.
146. The assembly of claim 141, wherein said feet are three in number.
147. The assembly of claim 143, wherein said feet are three in number.
148. The assembly of claim 137, wherein said transducer unit is adapted for sliding contact with a recording surface in the medium, and the transducer unit is formed with projecting sliding-contact fee for this purpose.
149. The assembly of claim 138, wherein said transducer unit is adapted for sliding contact with a recording surface in the medium, and the transducer unit is formed with projecting sliding-contact feet for this purpose.
150. The assembly of claim 139, wherein said transducer unit is adapted for sliding contact with a recording surface in the medium, and the transducer unit is formed with projecting sliding-contact feet for this purpose.
151. The assembly of claim 140, wherein said transducer unit is adapted for sliding contact with a recording surface in the medium, and the transducer unit is formed with projecting sliding-contact feet for this purpose.
152. A gimbaled head/flexure/conductor assembly for the reading and writing of digital information with respect to a recording surface in a rigid magnetic recording medium, said assembly comprising a slider containing a read/write head and associated conductor structure, an elongate flexure containing conductor structure connectable with the conductor structure associated with said head, and gimbal structure operatively interconnecting said slider and said flexure for accommodating limited relative movement between the slider and the flexure, with the flexure thus carrying the slider, said gimbal structure including a pair of cantilever ribbons conductively interconnecting the conductor structures of the slider and the flexure.
153. The assembly of claim 152, wherein said gimbal structure includes a pair of laterally spaced, elongate ribbons interposed said slider and said flexure.
154. The assembly of claim 153, wherein said ribbons form the conductor structure included within said gimbal structure.
155. The assembly of claims 152 or 153, wherein said slider and flexure are generally planar and disposed generally in parallel planar relationship with respect to one another, and said gimbal structure is constructed to allow limited relative pitch and roll between the slider and flexure, while inhibiting relative yaw between the two.
156. The assembly of claims 152 or 153, wherein said slider includes a vertical-load-transmitting fulcrum structure, and said flexure includes a surface expanse disposed in rocking contact with said fulcrum structure, said fulcrum structure and said surface expanse forming part of said gimbal structure.
157. The assembly of claims 152 or 153, wherein said slider is adapted for sliding contact with such a recording surface, and the slider is formed with projecting sliding-contact feet for this purpose.
158. The assembly of claim 157, wherein said feet are formed of a hardened wear material.
159. The assembly of claim 157, wherein said feet are three in number.
160. The assembly of claim 158, wherein said feet are three in number.
161. The assembly of claims 127, 128, 129, 130, 131, 132, 133, 134, 135, 136 or 139, wherein said transducer unit includes head structure formed with electrical coil structure which has an elongate, helical configuration distributed lengthwise relative to said carrier unit.
162. The assembly of claim 137, wherein said transducer unit includes head structure formed with electrical coil structure which has an elongate, helical configuration distributed lengthwise relative to said carrier unit.
163. The assembly of claim 138, wherein said transducer unit includes head structure formed with electrical coil structure which has an elongate, helical configuration distributed lengthwise relative to said carrier unit.
164. The assembly of claim 140, wherein said transducer unit includes head structure formed with electrical coil structure which has an elongate, helical configuration distributed lengthwise relative to said carrier unit.
165. The assembly of claim 141, wherein said transducer unit includes head structure formed with electrical coil structure which has an elongate, helical configuration distributed lengthwise relative to said carrier unit.
166. The assembly of claim 142, wherein said transducer unit includes head structure formed with electrical coil structure which has an elongate, helical configuration distributed lengthwise relative to said carrier unit.
167. The assembly of claim 143, wherein said transducer unit includes head structure formed with electrical coil structure which has an elongate, helical configuration distributed lengthwise relative to said carrier unit.
168. The assembly of claim 144, wherein said transducer unit includes head structure formed with electrical coil structure which has an elongate, helical configuration distributed lengthwise relative to said carrier unit.
169. The assembly of claim 146, wherein said transducer unit includes head structure formed with electrical coil structure which has an elongate, helical configuration distributed lengthwise relative to said carrier unit.
170. The assembly of claim 147, wherein said transducer unit includes head structure formed with electrical coil structure which has an elongate, helical configuration distributed lengthwise relative to said carrier unit.
171. The assembly of claim 148, wherein said transducer unit includes head structure formed with electrical coil structure which has an elongate, helical configuration distributed lengthwise relative to said carrier unit.
172. The assembly of claim 149, wherein said transducer unit includes head structure formed with electrical coil structure which has an elongate, helical configuration distributed lengthwise relative to said carrier unit.
173. The assembly of claim 150, wherein said transducer unit includes head structure formed with electrical coil structure which has an elongate, helical configuration distributed lengthwise relative to said carrier unit.
174. The assembly of claims 152, 153 or 154, wherein said read/write head includes electrical coil structure which has an elongate, helical configuration distributed lengthwise relative to said flexure.
175. The assembly of claim 155, wherein said read/write head includes electrical coil structure which has an elongate, helical configuration distributed lengthwise relative to said flexure.
176. The assembly of claim 156, wherein said read/write head includes electrical coil structure which has an elongate, helical configuration distributed lengthwise relative to said flexure.
177. The assembly of claim 157, wherein said read/write head includes electrical coil structure which has an elongate, helical configuration distributed lengthwise relative to said flexure.
178. The assembly of claim 158, wherein said read/write head includes electrical coil structure which has an elongate, helical configuration distributed lengthwise relative to said flexure.
179. The assembly of claim 159, wherein said read/write head includes electrical coil structure which has an elongate, helical configuration distributed lengthwise relative to said flexure.
180. The assembly of claim 160, wherein said read/write head includes electrical coil structure which has an elongate, helical configuration distributed lengthwise relative to said flexure.
181. The assembly of claims 127, 128, 129, 130, 131, 132, 133, 134, 135, 136 or 139, wherein said transducer unit includes head structure formed with electrical coil structure which has a multilayer, pancake-like configuration.
182. The assembly of claim 137, wherein said transducer unit includes head structure formed with electrical coil structure which has a multilayer, pancake-like configuration.
183. The assembly of claim 138, wherein said transducer unit includes head structure formed with electrical coil structure which has a multilayer, pancake-like configuration.
184. The assembly of claim 140, wherein said transducer unit includes head structure formed with electrical coil structure which has a multilayer, pancake-like configuration.
185. The assembly of claim 141, wherein said transducer unit includes head structure formed with electrical coil structure which has a multilayer, pancake-like configuration.
186. The assembly of claim 142, wherein said transducer unit includes head structure formed with electrical coil structure which has a multilayer, pancake-like configuration.
187. The assembly of claim 143, wherein said transducer unit includes head structure formed with electrical coil structure which has a multilayer, pancake-like configuration.
188. The assembly of claim 144, wherein said transducer unit includes head structure formed with electrical coil structure which has a multilayer, pancake-like configuration.
189. The assembly of claim 146, wherein said transducer unit includes head structure formed with electrical coil structure which has a multilayer, pancake-like configuration.
190. The assembly of claim 147, wherein said transducer unit includes head structure formed with electrical coil structure which has a multilayer, pancake-like configuration.
191. The assembly of claim 148, wherein said transducer unit includes head structure formed with electrical coil structure which has a multilayer, pancake-like configuration.
192. The assembly of claim 149, wherein said transducer unit includes head structure formed with electrical coil structure which has a multilayer, pancake-like configuration.
193. The assembly of claim 150, wherein said transducer unit includes head structure formed with electrical coil structure which has a multilayer, pancake-like configuration.
194. The assembly of claims 152, 153 or 154, wherein said read/write head includes electrical coil structure which has a multilayer, pancake-like configuration.
195. The assembly of claim 155, wherein said read/write head includes electrical coil structure which has a multilayer, pancake-like configuration.
196. The assembly of claim 156, wherein said read/write head includes electrical coil structure which has a multilayer, pancake-like configuration.
197. The assembly of claim 157, wherein said read/write head includes electrical coil structure which has a multilayer, pancake-like configuration.
198. The assembly of claim 158, wherein said read/write head includes electrical coil structure which has a multilayer, pancake-like configuration.
199. The assembly of claim 159, wherein said read/write head includes electrical coil structure which has a multilayer, pancake-like configuration.
200. The assembly of claim 160, wherein said read/write head includes electrical coil structure which has a multilayer, pancake-like configuration.
201. The assembly of claim 181 which is intended for use with such a medium that has a generally planar recording surface, and wherein each layer in said pancake-like configuration is generally planar and occupies a plane substantially paralleling that of such surface.
202. The assembly of claim 182 which is intended for use with such a medium that has a generally planar recording surface, and wherein each layer in said pancake-like configuration is generally planar and occupies a plane substantially paralleling that of such surface.
203. The assembly of claim 183 which is intended for use with such a medium that has a generally planar recording surface, and wherein each layer in said pancake-like configuration is generally planar and occupies a plane substantially paralleling that of such surface.
204. The assembly of claim 184 which is intended for use with such a medium that has a generally planar recording surface, and wherein each layer in said pancake-like configuration is generally planar and occupies a plane substantially paralleling that of such surface.
205. The assembly of claim 185 which is intended for use with such a medium that has a generally planar recording surface, and wherein each layer in said pancake-like configuration is generally planar and occupies a plane substantially paralleling that of such surface.
206. The assembly of claim 186 which is intended for use with such a medium that has a generally planar recording surface, and wherein each layer in said pancake-like configuration is generally planar and occupies a plane substantially paralleling that of such surface.
207. The assembly of claim 187 which is intended for use with such a medium that has a generally planar recording surface, and wherein each layer in said pancake-like configuration is generally planar and occupies a plane substantially paralleling that of such surface.
208. The assembly of claim 188 which is intended for use with such a medium that has a generally planar recording surface, and wherein each layer in said pancake-like configuration is generally planar and occupies a plane substantially paralleling that of such surface.
209. The assembly of claim 189 which is intended for use with such a medium that has a generally planar recording surface, and wherein each layer in said pancake-like configuration is generally planar and occupies a plane substantially paralleling that of such surface.
210. The assembly of claim 190 which is intended for use with such a medium that has a generally planar recording surface, and wherein each layer in said pancake-like configuration is generally planar and occupies a plane substantially paralleling that of such surface.
211. The assembly of claim 191 which is intended for use with such a medium that has a generally planar recording surface, and wherein each layer in said pancake-like configuration is generally planar and occupies a plane substantially paralleling that of such surface.
212. The assembly of claim 192 which is intended for use with such a medium that has a generally planar recording surface, and wherein each layer in said pancake-like configuration is generally planar and occupies a plane substantially paralleling that of such surface.
213. The assembly of claim 193 which is intended for use with such a medium that has a generally planar recording surface, and wherein each layer in said pancake-like configuration is generally planar and occupies a plane substantially paralleling that of such surface.
214. The assembly of claim 194 which is intended for use with such a medium that has a generally planar recording surface, and wherein each layer in said pancake-like configuration is generally planar and occupies a plane substantially paralleling that of such surface.
215. The assembly of claim 195 which is intended for use with such a medium that has a generally planar recording surface, and wherein each layer in said pancake-like configuration is generally planar and occupies a plane substantially paralleling that of such surface.
216. The assembly of claim 196 which is intended for use with such a medium that has a generally planar recording surface, and wherein each layer in said pancake-like configuration is generally planar and occupies a plane substantially paralleling that of such surface.
217. The assembly of claim 197 which is intended for use with such a medium that has a generally planar recording surface, and wherein each layer in said pancake-like configuration is generally planar and occupies a plane substantially paralleling that of such surface.
218. The assembly of claim 198 which is intended for use with such a medium that has a generally planar recording surface, and wherein each layer in said pancake-like configuration is generally planar and occupies a plane substantially paralleling that of such surface.
219. The assembly of claim 199 which is intended for use with such a medium that has a generally planar recording surface, and wherein each layer in said pancake-like configuration is generally planar and occupies a plane substantially paralleling that of such surface.
220. The assembly of claim 200 which is intended for use with such a medium that has a generally planar recording surface, and wherein each layer in said pancake-like configuration is generally planar and occupies a plane substantially paralleling that of such surface.
221. A read/write organization for use with a rigid magnetic recording medium comprising a gimbaled head/flexure/conductor assembly including head structure formed with electrical coil structure which has a multilayer, pancake-like configuration, wherein the assembly is intended for use with such a medium that has a generally planar recording surface, and wherein each layer in said pancake-like configuration is generally planar and occupies a plane substantially paralleling that of such surface.
222. A rigid disk magnetic recording system comprising a rigid magnetic recording disk having a recording surface, and a gimbaled head/flexure/conductor assembly operable with respect to said recording surface for reading and writing magnetic information with respect thereto, wherein said assembly includes head structure formed with electrical coil structure which has a multilayer, pancake-like configuration, and wherein said recording surface is generally planar, and each layer in said pancake-like configuration is generally planar and occupies a plane substantially paralleling that of said surface.
223. The assembly of claim 181 which is intended for use with such a medium that has a generally planar recording surface, and wherein each layer in said pancake-like configuration is generally planar and occupies a plane which is substantially normal to the long axis of said carrier unit.
224. The assembly of claim 182 which is intended for use with such a medium that has a generally planar recording surface, and wherein each layer in said pancake-like configuration is generally planar and occupies a plane which is substantially normal to the long axis of said carrier unit.
225. The assembly of claim 183 which is intended for use with such a medium that has a generally planar recording surface, and wherein each layer in said pancake-like configuration is generally planar and occupies a plane which is substantially normal to the long axis of said carrier unit.
226. The assembly of claim 184 which is intended for use with such a medium that has a generally planar recording surface, and wherein each layer in said pancake-like configuration is generally planar and occupies a plane which is substantially normal to the long axis of said carrier unit.
227. The assembly of claim 185 which is intended for use with such a medium that has a generally planar recording surface, and wherein each layer in said pancake-like configuration is generally planar and occupies a plane which is substantially normal to the long axis of said carrier unit.
228. The assembly of claim 186 which is intended for use with such a medium that has a generally planar recording surface, and wherein each layer in said pancake-like configuration is generally planar and occupies a plane which is substantially normal to the long axis of said carrier unit.
229. The assembly of claim 187 which is intended for use with such a medium that has a generally planar recording surface, and wherein each layer in said pancake-like configuration is generally planar and occupies a plane which is substantially normal to the long axis of said carrier unit.
230. The assembly of claim 188 which is intended for use with such a medium that has a generally planar recording surface, and wherein each layer in said pancake-like configuration is generally planar and occupies a plane which is substantially normal to the long axis of said carrier unit.
231. The assembly of claim 189 which is intended for use with such a medium that has a generally planar recording surface, and wherein each layer in said pancake-like configuration is generally planar and occupies a plane which is substantially normal to the long axis of said carrier unit.
232. The assembly of claim 190 which is intended for use with such a medium that has a generally planar recording surface, and wherein each layer in said pancake-like configuration is generally planar and occupies a plane which is substantially normal to the long axis of said carrier unit.
233. The assembly of claim 191 which is intended for use with such a medium that has a generally planar recording surface, and wherein each layer in said pancake-like configuration is generally planar and occupies a plane which is substantially normal to the long axis of said carrier unit.
234. The assembly of claim 192 which is intended for use with such a medium that has a generally planar recording surface, and wherein each layer in said pancake-like configuration is generally planar and occupies a plane which is substantially normal to the long axis of said carrier unit.
235. The assembly of claim 193 which is intended for use with such a medium that has a generally planar recording surface, and wherein each layer in said pancake-like configuration is generally planar and occupies a plane which is substantially normal to the long axis of said carrier unit.
236. The assembly of claim 194 which is intended for use with such a medium that has a generally planar recording surface, and wherein each layer in said pancake-like configuration is generally planar and occupies a plane which is substantially normal to the long axis of said carrier unit.
237. The assembly of claim 195 which is intended for use with such a medium that has a generally planar recording surface, and wherein each layer in said pancake-like configuration is generally planar and occupies a plane which is substantially normal to the long axis of said carrier unit.
238. The assembly of claim 196 which is intended for use with such a medium that has a generally planar recording surface, and wherein each layer in said pancake-like configuration is generally planar and occupies a plane which is substantially normal to the long axis of said carrier unit.
239. The assembly of claim 197 which is intended for use with such a medium that has a generally planar recording surface, and wherein each layer in said pancake-like configuration is generally planar and occupies a plane which is substantially normal to the long axis of said carrier unit.
240. The assembly of claim 198 which is intended for use with such a medium that has a generally planar recording surface, and wherein each layer in said pancake-like configuration is generally planar and occupies a plane which is substantially normal to the long axis of said carrier unit.
241. The assembly of claim 199 which is intended for use with such a medium that has a generally planar recording surface, and wherein each layer in said pancake-like configuration is generally planar and occupies a plane which is substantially normal to the long axis of said carrier unit.
242. The assembly of claim 200 which is intended for use with such a medium that has a generally planar recording surface, and wherein each layer in said pancake-like configuration is generally planar and occupies a plane which is substantially normal to the long axis of said carrier unit.
243. The assembly of claim 127, wherein said carrier unit is formed of a ceramic material.
244. The assembly of claim 243, wherein said carrier unit is formed of aluminum oxide.
245. The assembly of claim 127, wherein said carrier unit is formed of a nonceramic material.
246. The assembly of claim 245, wherein said nonceramic material is selected from the group consisting of a metal, an amorphous glass-like material, a refractory material, a composite material, and combinations thereof.
247. The assembly of claims 127, 243 or 245, wherein said carrier unit bears applied damping material.
248. The assembly of claim 247, wherein said damping material takes the form of a viscoelastic damping material.
249. A head/flexure/conductor assembly for reading and writing information with respect to a rigid magnetic recording medium comprising a read/write transducer unit which is capable of contacting the medium, while reading and writing, without causing appreciable wear or incidents of head crash events, an elongate carrier unit for supporting said transducer unit, and gimbal structure interconnecting and articulating said units for selected, limited relative movement, wherein said gimbal structure includes a pair of laterally spaced, elongate cantilever ribbons located between said units.
250. A read/write organization for use with a rigid magnetic recording medium comprising a gimbaled head/flexure/conductor assembly including head structure formed with electrical coil structure which has a pancake-like configuration, wherein the assembly is intended for use with such a medium that has a generally planar recording surface, and wherein the coil structure is generally planar and occupies a plane substantially paralleling that of such surface.
251. The organization of claim 250, wherein said pancake-like coil structure includes, selectively, one or more layer(s).
Applications Claiming Priority (2)
| Application Number | Priority Date | Filing Date | Title |
|---|---|---|---|
| US07/783,619 | 1991-10-28 | ||
| US07/783,619 US5490027A (en) | 1991-10-28 | 1991-10-28 | Gimbaled micro-head/flexure/conductor assembly and system |
Publications (2)
| Publication Number | Publication Date |
|---|---|
| CA2081504A1 CA2081504A1 (en) | 1993-04-29 |
| CA2081504C true CA2081504C (en) | 1999-03-09 |
Family
ID=25129877
Family Applications (1)
| Application Number | Title | Priority Date | Filing Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| CA002081504A Expired - Fee Related CA2081504C (en) | 1991-10-28 | 1992-10-27 | Gimbaled micro-head/flexure/conductor assembly and system |
Country Status (5)
| Country | Link |
|---|---|
| US (2) | US5490027A (en) |
| EP (1) | EP0540283B1 (en) |
| AT (1) | ATE161997T1 (en) |
| CA (1) | CA2081504C (en) |
| DE (1) | DE69223922D1 (en) |
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| EP0218811B1 (en) * | 1985-07-19 | 1991-05-29 | Kabushiki Kaisha Toshiba | Magnetic head slider assembly |
| US4829395A (en) * | 1985-09-06 | 1989-05-09 | Warren Coon | Load beam/assembly |
| JPH0719424B2 (en) * | 1986-05-28 | 1995-03-06 | 帝人株式会社 | Magnetic disk unit |
| DE3789391T2 (en) * | 1986-06-04 | 1994-06-23 | Fujitsu Ltd | Magnet disc device. |
| JPS6363121A (en) * | 1986-09-03 | 1988-03-19 | Seiko Epson Corp | Magnetic head feeding device |
| JPH07111513B2 (en) * | 1987-01-30 | 1995-11-29 | キヤノン株式会社 | Collimate optical system |
| US4819091A (en) * | 1987-04-30 | 1989-04-04 | International Business Machines Corporation | High speed magnetic disk contact recording system |
| JPH02122410A (en) * | 1988-10-31 | 1990-05-10 | Yamaha Corp | Thin film magnetic head |
| US5008768A (en) * | 1989-03-27 | 1991-04-16 | Computer & Communications Technology Corp. | Disk head assembly flexure with sloped ramp support structure |
| US5001583A (en) * | 1989-04-19 | 1991-03-19 | Tdk Corporation | Flexible polymeric resinous magnetic head supporting device |
| US5006946A (en) * | 1989-04-19 | 1991-04-09 | Tdk Corporation | Flexible polymeric resinous magnetic head supporting device |
| JP2758436B2 (en) * | 1989-05-03 | 1998-05-28 | ティーディーケイ株式会社 | Head support device |
| DE68919683T2 (en) * | 1989-05-13 | 1995-05-24 | Ibm Deutschland | Small profile magnetic head suspension. |
| US5041932A (en) * | 1989-11-27 | 1991-08-20 | Censtor Corp. | Integrated magnetic read/write head/flexure/conductor structure |
| US5115363A (en) * | 1990-02-16 | 1992-05-19 | Digital Equipment Corporation | Head/gimbal assembly having low stiffness cross band flexure |
| JPH03245312A (en) * | 1990-02-22 | 1991-10-31 | Tdk Corp | Thin-film magnetic head |
| US5218496A (en) * | 1990-12-06 | 1993-06-08 | Kalok Corporation | Magnetic disk drive with reduced disk-to-disk spacing and improved actuator design |
| US5187625A (en) * | 1991-01-22 | 1993-02-16 | Hutchinson Technology Incorporated | Laminated load beam |
| US5164869A (en) * | 1991-02-27 | 1992-11-17 | International Business Machines Corporation | Magnetic recording head with integrated magnetoresistive element and open yoke |
-
1991
- 1991-10-28 US US07/783,619 patent/US5490027A/en not_active Expired - Lifetime
-
1992
- 1992-10-27 AT AT92309811T patent/ATE161997T1/en active
- 1992-10-27 DE DE69223922T patent/DE69223922D1/en not_active Expired - Lifetime
- 1992-10-27 EP EP92309811A patent/EP0540283B1/en not_active Expired - Lifetime
- 1992-10-27 CA CA002081504A patent/CA2081504C/en not_active Expired - Fee Related
-
1993
- 1993-02-01 US US08/011,890 patent/US5557488A/en not_active Expired - Lifetime
Also Published As
| Publication number | Publication date |
|---|---|
| EP0540283A2 (en) | 1993-05-05 |
| ATE161997T1 (en) | 1998-01-15 |
| EP0540283A3 (en) | 1993-08-11 |
| EP0540283B1 (en) | 1998-01-07 |
| US5490027A (en) | 1996-02-06 |
| US5557488A (en) | 1996-09-17 |
| DE69223922D1 (en) | 1998-02-12 |
| CA2081504A1 (en) | 1993-04-29 |
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Legal Events
| Date | Code | Title | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| EEER | Examination request | ||
| MKLA | Lapsed |