Head Suspension Flexure Attachment for Gram Load Stability
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Solution Overview
Problem
The flexure in a head suspension for a hard disk drive has a significant contribution rate to the gram load acting on the head, which is influenced by temperature and humidity variations, making it challenging to determine a stable gram load and affecting the design of the suspension.
Innovation Solution
A head suspension design where the flexure is fixed to a stepped flexure attaching face on the base side, separate from the disk-side surface of the joint part of the load beam, allowing the resilient part to act as a simple support beam, reducing the flexure's contribution to the gram load by adjusting the joint configuration.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If the flexure is fixed to the joint part of the load beam close to the disk side, then the flexure can be securely attached, but the flexure's contribution to the gram load increases and becomes sensitive to temperature and humidity variations
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces a stepped flexure attaching face that extends in the thickness direction of the base plate, creating a multi-level attachment structure. By fixing the flexure to this stepped face rather than a single plane, the attachment point is positioned farther from the disk side while maintaining secure fixation. This dimensional change in the attachment geometry reduces the flexure's contribution to gram load and minimizes sensitivity to environmental variations.
2Manufacturing precision
If the flexure attaching face is positioned far from the disk side, then the flexure's contribution to gram load is reduced, but the attachment structure becomes more complex
Solution Approach 1:
The flexure attaching face is segmented into multiple steps at different heights in the thickness direction of the base plate. This segmentation allows the flexure to be fixed at an optimal position that is farther from the disk side, reducing its contribution to gram load. The stepped structure achieves the positioning goal without requiring a completely separate attachment mechanism, thus limiting the increase in overall structural complexity.
3Device complexity
If the flexure is fixed close to the joint part, then the structure is simpler, but the gram load becomes highly sensitive to temperature and humidity changes
Solution Approach 1:
The stepped flexure attaching face acts as an intermediary structure between the base plate and the flexure. By providing this intermediate attachment surface that extends in the thickness direction, the patent enables the flexure to be positioned at an optimal distance from the disk side. This intermediary structure reduces the direct coupling between environmental variations and gram load, thereby improving gram load stability without significantly increasing overall structural complexity.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
This configuration reduces the flexure's contribution rate to the gram load, stabilizing the head suspension and improving resilience, especially in miniaturized hard disk drives where precise gram load calculation is critical.
Implementation Method 1
The resilient part 22 is bent by a predetermined amount toward the disk 2, to apply a gram load onto the head 11
Implementation Method 2
the flexure 103 is laser-welded at several spots to a surface of the load beam 102 that faces the disk 2
Data Source
AI summary
A head suspension for a hard disk drive is thin from an arm to a head and involves a minimum step between the arm and a load beam. The head suspension includes a load beam that includes a rigid part and a resilient part. The load beam applies load onto a head that is arranged at a front end of the load beam to write and read data to and from a disk arranged in the hard disk drive. The head is connected to read/write wiring patterns of a flexure. The flexure supports the head and is attached to a disk-facing surface of the rigid part. An arm is attached to a carriage of the hard disk drive and is turned around a spindle. The arm supports the resilient part that is attached to a base end of the rigid part. A disk-facing surface of the arm is arranged within the total of thicknesses of the rigid part and head.