Device for stabilizing the movement of a floppy disk over a magnetic head

Abstract

In a head-to-disk stabilizing unit of a recording and/or reproducing apparatus, a flat air bearing surface surrounds an elongate opening to a negative pressure cavity. A record and/or playback head is arranged in the cavity with its transducer means (e.g., a magnetic gap) disposed at the opening in substantially coplanar relation with the air bearing surface. If a flexible magnetic disk is rotated at a relatively high speed to move successive radial portions of the disk over the air bearing surface and the opening, the surface will stabilize each portion of the rotated disk by damping out any flutter before a negative pressure formed in the cavity pulls the disk portion substantially into contact with the transducer means, thereby ensuring a constant and intimate transducer-to-disk magnetic coupling. The elongate opening to the cavity is long in proportion to width in a direction tangential to that of rotating the disk and, preferably, has a wasp waist configuration with a narrow waist disposed proximate the transducer means of the magnetic head, to reduce pull down deformation of the disk in the vicinity of the transducer means and to effect the greatest stabilization of the disk (by the air bearing surface) generally at the same location. Such an arrangement serves to extend the useful life of the disk.