Nhk Spring Co., Ltd.

Nippon Mektron Limited

Nissan Motor Company Limited

Tdk Corporation

Nichirin Rubber Industrial Co., Ltd.

Sudo International Patent Office

Yasuji Takagi

Masao Hanya

Osamu Iriuchijima

Ichiro Takadera

Akira Nojima

Takeshi Kamisaku

Koji Uozumi

Osamu Ohkawara

Masashi Shiraishi

Takeshi Wada

Noriyuki Saito

Takumi Karasawa

Hidenori Ogawa

Norimasa Fujita

Kouji Uozumi

Akira Tadakuma

Hideki Kashima

Hideki Fuchino

Tetsuya Fujiwara

Akihiro Takei

Tsukasa Higashi

Norio Horie

Kazuhiko Otake

Naoki Norimatsu

Mamoru Tanaka

Masayuki Matsuda

Toyoharu Nishimura

Noriyuki Saitoh

Norio Horle

Ryozo Oomoto

Jyun Soga

Kenichi Takigawa

Kenji Endo

Nobuo Araki

Akinobu Ishizaka

A head suspension for a disk drive has support plate means () serving as a carriage arm and a load beam (). The load beam consists of a rigid part () and a resilient part (), to apply load to a slider () of a head. The support plate means () consists of at least layered two plates (). At least one () of the plates () has a thickness (t) appropriate for forming precision holes therethrough by etching. A pivot hole () is formed through the plate (). A loose hole () larger than and substantially concentric with the pivot hole is formed through the plate (). The plates () have improved flatness, and the pivot hole has improved accuracy.

Resin and metal head suspension for disk drive

The method for manufacturing a suspension for disc drive includes a process for manufacturing a semi-finished suspension product integrally including a base plate, a rigid body portion of a load beam, and a pair of connecting portions connecting the base plate and the rigid body portion. The method also includes a process for fixing a spring member, formed independently of the semi-finished suspension product, to the base plate and the rigid body portion of the semi-finished product, and a process for cutting off the connecting portions, projecting individually from the opposite sides of the spring member, from the base plate and the rigid body portion after the spring member is fixed to the semi-finished suspension product.

Method for manufacturing a suspension for disc drive

A head suspension for a disk drive has a base () to be attached to a carriage, a load beam () having a rigid part () and a resilient part () supported by the base, to apply load on a data read/write head () arranged at a front end () of the rigid part, and a flexure () attached to the load beam and supporting the head. The rigid part has a multilayer structure consisting of at least three layers including metal layers () and a resin layer () interposed between the metal layers. The number of layers of the resilient part is smaller than that of the rigid part.

Head suspension for disk drive and method of manufacturing head suspension

To be capable of precisely positioning a head on a track of a high-density disk rotated at high speed in the disk drive, a head suspension has a plate () to be attached to a carriage of the disk drive and turned around a spindle, a load beam () having a rigid part () and a resilient part () and supported by the plate, a front end of the rigid part applying load on a head () that writes and reads information to and from the disk, a flexure () supporting the head, and an extension () having a length (L2) and extending from the plate along the rigid part of the load beam toward the head. The flexure is supported at least by the extension of the plate, and at least supporting the flexure.

Disk drive head suspension with flexure and load beam supported on opposite sides of carriage arm

The invention is directed toward a method of manufacturing a flexure blank whereby an opening portion is provided in a in a connecting portion of a flexure blank, an opening end portion of an insulating base layer is coated with a conductive member without exposing the opening end portion of the insulating base layer in the connecting portion, and a lower surface of the conductive member of the opening portion in the connecting portion of the flexure blank is structured such as to form the same surface as the lower surface of the insulating base layer.

Method of manufacturing a flexure blank

A head suspension for a disk drive has a load beam, a base plate, and a recess. The base plate has a thin flange and is capable of improving the attaching accuracy and strength of the head suspension to a carriage arm of the disk drive. The base plate has the flange and a boss. The flange has a contact face to be attached to a contact face of the carriage arm. The boss is inserted into a hole of the carriage arm and plastically deformed therein to fix the base plate to the carriage arm. The load beam has a rigid part and a resilient part and is supported by the base plate, to apply load on a slider arranged at a front end of the load beam. The recess is formed on the base plate along a corner between the flange and the boss, to secure a gap relative to the contact face of the carriage arm.

Head suspension for disk drive having a recess between a flange contact face and a boss

A head suspension for a disk drive includes a plate that is easily and correctly be attached to a carriage of the disk drive and improves the attaching accuracy and strength of the head suspension to the carriage. The head suspension includes the plate and a load beam. The plate has a boss that is formed separately from the plate. The boss has a base fixed to the plate and a protrusion fitted into a hole of a carriage arm of the carriage. The plate has a through hole. The base of the boss is fitted into the through hole and is fixed to the plate. Under this state, the protrusion of the boss protrudes from a first face of the plate, and the base of the boss protrudes from a second face of the plate. An end face of the base of the boss serves as a contact face for jig.

Head suspension for disk drive having a contact face to receive jig

A suspension for disc drive comprises a base plate, a load beam attached to the base plate, and a flexure attached to the load beam. The load beam includes a rigid body portion, formed of a thick plate independent of the base plate, and a spring portion, formed of a spring member in the form of a thin sheet independent of the rigid body portion. The spring member connects the rigid body portion and the base plate. The spring member is thinner than the rigid body portion and has a lower spring constant. The spring portion is more flexible than the rigid body portion.

Suspension for disc drive and manufacturing method therefor

A head suspension for a disk drive has support plate means ( ) serving as a carriage arm and a load beam ( ). The load beam consists of a rigid part ( ) and a resilient part ( ), to apply load to a slider ( ) of a head. The support plate means ( ) consists of at least layered two plates ( ). At least one ( ) of the plates ( ) has a thickness (t2) appropriate for forming precision holes therethrough by etching. A pivot hole ( ) is formed through the plate ( ). A loose hole ( ) larger than and substantially concentric with the pivot hole is formed through the plate ( ). The plates ( ) have improved flatness, and the pivot hole has improved accuracy.

Head suspension for disk drive

In a suspension comprising a base portion, beam portion, and a hinge member connecting the base portion and the beam portion to each other, a hole for lowering the stiffness of a region of the beam portion near the hinge member is formed in that region. A cover portion closes the opening of the hole.

Suspension with cover portion comprising part of flexure for disc drive

A suspension for disc drive comprises a base portion, a beam portion formed of the same material as the base portion and made thinner than the base portion by partial etching, and a hinge member connecting the base portion and the beam portion to each other. In manufacturing this suspension, a platelike semi-finished suspension, which integrally includes a base portion, a beam portion, and a connecting portion connecting the base portion and the beam portion to each other, is first manufactured. The thickness of the beam portion of the semi-finished suspension is reduced by partial etching. Thereafter, the base portion and the beam portion are connected by means of the hinge member, and moreover, the connecting portion is separated from the base portion and the beam portion.

Suspension with separate hinge member for disc drive

In a suspension for disc drive that comprises a beam portion having an edge portion and a wired flexure attached to the beam portion so as to be superposed thereon and having an extending portion extending across the edge portion of the beam portion, the edge portion of the beam portion crossed by the extending portion of the flexure is formed having a chamfered portion for preventing fretting.

Suspension with chamfered edge for disc drive

A method manufactures a head suspension for a disk drive. The method includes a first step of forming a semi-finished suspension ( ) having a base plate ( ), a rigid part ( ) solidly joined with the base plate through a bridge ( ), and a positioning hole ( ) formed through the bridge. This positioning hole is aligned with a positioning hole ( ) formed through part of a flexure ( ). A second step of the method fixes a resilient material ( ) to the base plate and rigid part of the semi-finished suspension so that the base plate may resiliently support the rigid part through the resilient material. A third step of the method aligns the positioning hole of the flexure with the positioning hole of the bridge and fixes the flexure to the rigid part. A fourth step of the method cuts off the positioning-hole-formed part of the flexure and the bridge including the positioning hole. This suspension is compact and the load beam and flexure thereof are correctly positioned to secure balance.

Method of manufacturing head suspension for disk drive, and semi-finished suspension

A base plate of a suspension for a disk drive includes a shear surface formed on one end of the base plate and a notch formed along the shear surface so as to contain the shear surface. The notch is formed on each of the obverse and reverse sides of the base plate. The notches are designed so that (&agr;&plus;&bgr;)/t ranges from 0.3 to 0.5 it the respective depths of the two notches and the thickness of the base plate are &agr;, &bgr; and t, respectively.

Base plate for a suspension of a disk drive fixed to a load beam having a notch for reducing the size of a burr

An opening portion is provided in a connecting portion of a flexure blank, an opening end portion of an insulating base layer is coated with a conductive member without exposing the opening end portion of the insulating base layer in the connecting portion, and a lower surface of the conductive member of the opening portion in the connecting portion of the flexure blank is structured such as to form the same surface as the lower surface of the insulating base layer.

Growing community of inventors

Yokohama, Japan

Yasuji Takagi