Alps Electric Co., Ltd.

Kyoichi Kawase

Hideto Ando

Akihiro Sato

Kazuhiko Matsui

A magnetic head includes core blocks having a medium sliding surface formed on one surface of the core blocks, the medium sliding surface having a slender convex curved shape formed along a sliding direction of a recording medium from the upstream side of the sliding direction to the downstream side, and the medium sliding surface having a magnetic gap formed thereon, wherein the medium sliding surface is shaped along a longitudinal direction thereof like a circular arc with a radius of curvature R while being shaped along a width direction like a circular arc with a radius of curvature r, which is smaller than the radius of curvature R, so that the radius of curvature r is continuously reduced with closer distance to the downstream end of the recording medium sliding direction from a vicinity of the magnetic gap, so that by employing the above magnetic head, a long life magnetic head with small damage due to foreign material adhesion as well as small abrasion can be provided.

Magnetic head with medium sliding surface having varied curvature and recording/reproducing apparatus

In a magnetoresistive head, a marking layer is formed on at least one of the upper side of an upper shielding layer and the lower side of a lower shielding layer so as to be opposed to a magnetoresistive sensor layer. The leading ends of the magnetoresistive sensor layer and the marking layer are exposed at a medium-sliding surface on which a recording medium slides, and the leading end of the marking layer is shaped so that the length thereof in the widthwise direction is equal to the length from the leading end to the rear end of the magnetoresistive sensor layer. The center in the widthwise direction of the marking layer is placed on a straight line which intersects the magnetoresistive sensor layer via the center in the widthwise direction of the magnetoresistive sensor layer.

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Niigata-ken, Japan

Kyoichi Kawase