Western Digital Technologies, Inc.

Kia Moh Teo

Yanning Liu

Wing Chun Shum

Tzong-Shii Pan

Yih-Jen Dennis Chen

Hiroyasu Tsuchida

Mukund Vijay

Jifang Tian

Weidong Huang

Qiang Yang

Biao Sun

Jian Yang

Brian P Schott

Kathryn Tao

A head gimbal assembly (HGA), such as for a hard disk drive (HDD), includes a load beam formed with a deck and side rails extending away from each lateral edge of the deck in a direction away from a corresponding flexure, where each side rail portion includes a limiter structure extending from the side rail in a direction toward the flexure, the limiter structure including a hooking portion positioned on a distal side of the flexure for limiting displacement of the flexure in a direction away from the load beam. As an integral part of the load beam, the limiters do not adversely impact the existing gimbal dynamic performance designed to enable high areal density HDDs.

Suspension load beam rail-based gimbal limiter

An assembly configured for a hard disk drive includes a head slider having a suspension face and a recording medium face opposing the suspension face, where the slider houses a read-write transducer at or near a trailing edge (TE) face opposing a LE face, and a suspension assembly comprising a flexure having a standoff structure extending from a main planar body of the flexure, to which the suspension face of the slider is adhered. A first portion of the suspension face of the slider is coated with an anti-reflective coating (ARC) extending at least to a farthest portion, in a direction of the LE face, of the standoff structure of the flexure. An adhesive attaches the head slider to the flexure and is positioned to interface in its entirety with at least a portion of the ARC.

Hard disk drive slider coating for suspension mechanical improvement

An approach to a head gimbal assembly, such as for a hard disk drive, includes an offset swage plate coupling a suspension to one side of an actuator arm and another offset swage plate coupling another suspension to an opposing second side of the actuator arm. Each offset swage plate includes a main body, a swage through-hole through a first lateral or longitudinal side of the main body, a swage boss around the perimeter of the swage through-hole and extending substantially normal to the main body, and a clearance through-hole through an opposing second lateral or longitudinal side of the main body, the clearance through-hole having no swage boss. Each offset swage plate is configured in the assembly in a position opposing the other, such that the corresponding swage bosses are positioned on different lateral/longitudinal sides of the arm tip so that there is no coaxial swage boss buildup.

Offset swage baseplate for stacked assembly

An approach to a head gimbal assembly (HGA), such as for a hard disk drive, includes a swage plate assembly coupling a suspension to one side of an actuator arm, where the swage plate assembly includes a baseplate having a through-hole and a swage boss insert comprising a flange and a swage boss extending from the flange through the baseplate through-hole. The HGA is configured such that the baseplate is positioned between the flange and the actuator arm, such that a distal surface of the flange is the surface closest to a corresponding recording medium, whereby the thickness of the suspension is effectively recessed within the material dimensional buildup of the other parts and a greater clearance is provided between the suspension and the recording medium.

Swage plate assembly with swage boss insert

An approach to a head gimbal assembly (HAG), such as for a hard disk drive, includes a load beam formed with a deck portion and side rail portions extending from each lateral edge of the deck portion, where each side rail portion includes a crash stop structure extending away from and in the thickness direction of the side rail portion. In a configuration in which the side rails extend at an obtuse angle, z-shaped and reverse z-shaped crash stop structures, opposing angled c-shaped notch structures pairs, or opposing half dome shaped dimple pairs, on back-to-back load beams of a heat-assisted magnetic recording (HAMR) head gimbal assembly can elicit mechanical contact between the crash stops in the event of an operational shock event, thereby avoiding mechanical contact between HAMR chip-on-submount assembly (CoSA) laser modules.

Load beam side rail shock contact feature

Disclosed herein is an apparatus that comprises an actuator arm that is pivotably connectable to a pivot post at a proximal end. The actuator arm extends linearly along a first axis from the proximal end to a distal end. The apparatus also comprises a lift tab that comprises an elongate member. The elongate member comprises a proximal end, coupled to the distal end of the actuator arm, and a distal end. The elongate member extends linearly along a second axis from the proximal end to the distal end. The second axis intersects the first axis to define an angle between the first axis and the second axis. The distal end of the elongate member is configured to engage an incline member when the actuator arm is in an unload position to lift the actuator arm.

Angled and elongate lift tab for magnetic storage device

Disclosed here is a ramp for receiving a lift tab of a hard disk drive. The ramp comprises a first side and a second side, where the first side is spaced apart from the second side. The ramp also comprises an inclined surface along which the lift tab slides as it moves in a first direction to remove a read/write head from a disk of the hard disk drive. The inclined surface inclines from a leading edge of the ramp to an intermediate edge of the ramp in the first direction. The inclined surface has a width that is generally perpendicular to the first direction and extends from the first side to the second side. The inclined surface has a width that is generally perpendicular to the first direction and extends from the first side to the second side. The tapered portion defines an oblique angle relative to the first direction.

Tangential and longitudinal glide ramp for magnetic storage device

A head suspension assembly for a disk drive includes a load beam and a laminated flexure that comprises a stainless steel layer, a copper trace layer, and a dielectric layer between the stainless steel layer and the copper trace layer. The laminated flexure includes a flexure tail that extends away from the load beam to a flexure tail terminal region. The copper trace layer includes a plurality of flexure bond pads in the flexure tail terminal region. The stainless steel layer includes a plurality of backing islands in the flexure tail terminal region. Each of the plurality of backing islands is aligned with a corresponding one of the plurality of flexure bond pads. A noble metal layer is disposed on the plurality of backing islands.

Disk drive head suspension tail with a noble metal layer disposed on a plurality of structural backing islands

A head gimbal assembly for a disk drive includes a flexure tail terminal region having flexure bond pads in electrical communication with the head. Each of the flexure bond pads is aligned with one of a plurality of flexible printed circuit (FPC) bond pads. An anisotropic conductive film is disposed between the FPC and the flexure tail terminal region. The flexure tail terminal region overlaps the anisotropic conductive film in a bonding area. Each of the flexure bond pads is bonded to one of the plurality of FPC bond pads by the anisotropic conductive film in a bonding area. A conductive layer of the flexure tail terminal region includes an exposed conductive ground pad that is disposed outside of the bonding area, and/or disposed outside of an application area of a thermode tool that is pressed against the flexure tail terminal region during the bonding process.

Disk drive head suspension tail with ground pad outside of bonding region

A head suspension assembly for a disk drive includes a load beam extending from a load beam supported end to a load beam distal end, and a laminated flexure supported by the load beam. The laminated flexure includes a structural layer having a head mounting tongue, a conductive layer having a plurality of patterned traces, and a dielectric layer between the structural layer and the conductive layer. The structural layer of the laminated flexure includes a distal limiter that has a first limiter arm and a second limiter arm adjoining at a distal apex. The distal apex is disposed closer to the load beam distal end than is the head mounting tongue. Each of the first and second limiter arms splits into a plurality of branches.

Disk drive head suspension distal non-op shock limiter with branched arms

A head suspension assembly for a disk drive includes a mounting plate that may include an annular swage boss. A load beam is attached to and extends from the mounting plate in a longitudinal direction. A first piezoelectric element is disposed within a first piezoelectric element receiving window in the mounting plate. The load beam includes a first etched region that is elongated in a transverse direction that is transverse to the longitudinal direction. The first etched region neighbors the first piezoelectric element and is disposed closer to the annular swage boss than is the first piezoelectric element.

Disk drive head suspension assembly with piezo element stress relief features

A suspension assembly used in magnetic disk drives includes a load beam and a gimbal assembly coupled to an end of the load beam. The gimbal assembly includes a support having a left outrigger and a right outrigger, first tethers or connectors disposed along the left outrigger, second tethers or connectors disposed along the right outrigger, and a flexible circuit assembly that includes a left electrical trace and a right electrical trace. The flexible circuit assembly is coupled to the support through the first tethers or connectors that couple the left electrical trace to the left outrigger and the second tethers or connectors that couple the right electrical trace to the right outrigger. The first and second tethers or connectors are made of stainless steel with a polyimide coating and there are three first tethers or connectors and three second tethers or connectors.

Tethered gimbal on suspension for improved flyability

A head suspension assembly for a disk drive includes a load beam, and first and second piezoelectric elements that are disposed within first and second piezoelectric element receiving windows in a mounting plate, respectively. The load beam includes a plurality of rails that includes first and second outer rails and first and second inner rails, each of the plurality of rails being oriented in the longitudinal direction and being formed or bent out of the load beam plane. The first and second inner rails are disposed between the first and second piezoelectric elements, and the first and second outer rails are disposed not between the first and second piezoelectric elements. The first piezoelectric element is disposed between the first outer rail and the first inner rail, and the second piezoelectric element is disposed between the second inner rail and the second outer rail.

Disk drive head suspension assembly with load beam inner rails between piezo actuator elements

A head gimbal assembly for a disk drive includes a read head and a suspension assembly. The suspension assembly includes a load beam and a laminate flexure. The laminate flexure includes a structural layer, a dielectric layer, and a conductive layer that includes a plurality of electrical traces. The laminate flexure includes a tongue portion that connects to the read head and a flexure tail that extends away from the tongue portion. The flexure tail includes a plurality of flexure bond pads. Each of the plurality of flexure bond pads includes a widened region of a corresponding one of the plurality of electrical traces in the conductive layer, and a corresponding one of a plurality of segments or discontinuous islands in the structural layer.

Growing community of inventors

San Jose, CA, United States of America

Kia Moh Teo