Head-gimbal assembly with reduced vertical spacing envelope and alignment structures

An assembly for magnetic recording on a magnetic surface comprising:

• a flexure for supporting a slider for magnetic recording against a fluid bearing generated by relative motion between said slider and a moving magnetic surface, said flexure being formed from a single, contiguous piece of resilient material and comprising:
• means for attaching said flexure to a mounting plate or head positioning support arm;
• at least one compliant beam means attached at a first end to the attachment means and formed out of plane to exert a load force to oppose a hydrodynamic lifting force generated by the fluid bearing;
• a rigid beam section attached at a second end of the compliant beam means to provide the load force of said compliant beam means to said slider;
• and
• a gimbal section, said gimbal section attached to said rigid beam section opposite the compliant beam means, said gimbal section including:
• a load point tab proximal and extending from said rigid beam section;
• a pair of compliant gimbal beams laterally displaced from said load point tab and having first ends attached near the base of said load point tab, said gimbal beams being partially etched;
• a cross member connecting second ends of said gimbal beams;
• a slider mounting tab attached to the cross member and extending toward said load point tab, having the free end of said slider mounting tab being longitudinally displaced from the free end of said load point tab, said slider mounting tab having, over at least a part of its length, a width approximately one-third of the width of the slider whereby approximately one-third of the width of the slider on either side of said slider mounting tab is unobstructed by said slider mounting tab in a top plan view;
• at least one lateral alignment tab means attached to at least one lateral side of said slider mounting tab, said lateral alignment tab means extending laterally toward and displaced laterally from at least one of said gimbal beams, thereby providing lateral alignment of the slider to said gimbal section when in contact with a first surface of the slider, a component of the normal of said first surface being in an opposite direction as an extension of said lateral alignment tab means;
• and
• at least one longitudinal alignment tab means attached to said cross member, said longitudinal alignment tab means being laterally disposed between said slider mounting tab and at least one of said gimbal beams, said longitudinal alignment tab means extending longitudinally toward and displaced longitudinally from said load point tab, thereby providing longitudinal alignment of the slider to said gimbal section when in contact with a second surface of the slider, a component of the normal of said second surface being in an opposite direction as an extension of said longitudinal alignment tab means;
• said slider mounted on said slider mounting tab where said slider is located substantially centrally with respect to said gimbal section, said slider including:
• a bottom surface that generates the fluid bearing by relative motion between said slider and a moving magnetic surface;
• a transducer mounted to the trailing surface and proximate the bottom surface of said slider as a means for reading stored data from and writing data for storage to a magnetic surface;
• a recess substantially centered laterally on the top surface and extending from the leading surface to the trailing surface of said slider;
• wherein said load point tab and said slider mounting tab are located within said recess such that the top surface of said flexure is displaced vertically below the top surface of said slider;
• said compliant gimbal beams are laterally displaced such that there is lateral clearance between the side edges of said slider and said compliant gimbal beams;
• a load bearing protrusion on said load point tab contacts directly on said slider on the bottom surface of said recess;
• at least one of said lateral alignment tab means contacts directly on an interior wall of said recess as a means of alignment reference in the lateral direction;
• and
• said longitudinal alignment tab means contact directly on the trailing surface of said slider as a means of alignment reference in the longitudinal direction.

An assembly for magnetic recording on a magnetic surface comprising:

• a flexure for supporting a slider for magnetic recording against a fluid bearing generated by relative motion between said slider and a moving magnetic surface, said flexure being formed from a single, contiguous piece of resilient material and comprising:
• means for attaching said flexure to a mounting plate or head positioning support arm;
• at least one compliant beam means attached at a first end to the attachment means and formed out of plane to exert a load force to oppose a hydrodynamic lifting force generated by the fluid bearing;
• a rigid beam section attached at a second end of the compliant beam means to provide the load force of said compliant beam means to said slider;
• and
• a gimbal section, said gimbal section attached to said rigid beam section opposite the compliant beam means, said gimbal section including:
• a load point tab proximal and extending from said rigid beam section;
• a pair of compliant gimbal beams laterally displaced from said load point tab and having first ends attached near the base of said load point tab, said gimbal beams being partially etched;
• a cross member connecting second ends of said gimbal beams;
• a slider mounting tab attached to the cross member and extending toward said load point tab, having the free end of said slider mounting tab being longitudinally displaced from the free end of said load point tab, said slider mounting tab having, over at least a part of its length, a width approximately one-third of the width of the slider whereby approximately one-third of the width of the slider on either side of said slider mounting tab is unobstructed by said slider mounting tab in a top plan view;
• at least one lateral alignment tab means attached to at least one lateral side of said slider mounting tab, said lateral alignment tab means extending laterally toward and displaced laterally from at least one of said gimbal beams, thereby providing lateral alignment of the slider to said gimbal section when in contact with a first surface of the slider, a component of the normal of said first surface being in an opposite direction as an extension of said lateral alignment tab means;
• and
• at least one longitudinal alignment tab means attached to said cross member, said longitudinal alignment tab means being laterally disposed between said slider mounting tab and at least one of said gimbal beams, said longitudinal alignment tab means extending longitudinally toward and displaced longitudinally from said load point tab, thereby providing longitudinal alignment of the slider to said gimbal section when in contact with a second surface of the slider, a component of the normal of said second surface being in an opposite direction as an extension of said longitudinal alignment tab means;
• said slider for magnetic recording comprising:
• a bottom surface that generates the fluid bearing by relative motion between said slider and a moving magnetic surface;
• a recess on the top surface for which at least one gimbal member of the gimbal section is located and where said slider is attached to the gimbal section of the flexure, thereby providing a means of accurately positioning said slider with respect to a magnetic surface;
• and
• a load bearing protrusion that rises out of the bottom surface of said recess;
• wherein said slider is mounted on said slider mounting tab and said slider is located substantially centrally with respect to said gimbal section, said slider further including a transducer mounted to the trailing surface and proximate the bottom surface of said slider as a means for reading stored data from and writing data for storage to a magnetic surface, wherein:
• said load point tab and said slider mounting tab are located within said recess such that the top surface of said flexure is displaced vertically below the top surface of said slider;
• said compliant gimbal beams are laterally displaced such that there is lateral clearance between the side edges of said slider and said compliant gimbal beams;
• said load bearing protrusion contacts directly on the out of plane region proximate the distal end of said load point tab;
• at least one of said lateral alignment tab means contacts directly on an interior wall of said recess as a means of alignment reference in the lateral direction;
• and
• said longitudinal alignment tab means contact directly on the trailing surface of said slider as a means of alignment reference in the longitudinal direction.

A flexure for supporting a slider for magnetic recording against a fluid bearing generated by relative motion between said slider and a moving magnetic surface, said flexure comprising:

• means for attaching said flexure to a mounting plate or head positioning support arm;
• at least one compliant beam means attached at a first end to the attachment means and formed out of plane to exert a load force to oppose a hydrodynamic lifting force generated by the fluid bearing;
• a rigid load beam section attached at a second end of the compliant beam means to said slider;
• a gimbal section, said gimbal section attached to said rigid load beam section opposite the compliant beam means, said gimbal section including:
• a pair of compliant gimbal beams laterally displaced from a longitudinal center of said load beam section and having first ends attached near the base of attachment with said load beam section;
• a cross member connecting second ends of said gimbal beams, said cross member having a portion of its length in a plane that is offset from the plane defined by said gimbal beams;
• a gimbal bond tongue attached to the cross member and extending from said offset portion of said cross member and toward said load beam section, said gimbal bond tongue having a free end, said gimbal bond tongue having a width approximately one-third of the width of the slider, whereby approximately one-third of the width of the slider on either side of said gimbal bond tongue is unobstructed by said gimbal bond tongue in a top plan view;
• at least one lateral alignment tab means attached to at least one lateral side of said gimbal bond tongue, said lateral alignment tab means extending laterally toward and displaced laterally from at least one of said gimbal beams, thereby providing lateral alignment of the slider to said gimbal section when in contact with a first surface of the slider, a component of the normal of said first surface being in an opposite direction as an extension of said lateral alignment tab means;
• at least one longitudinal alignment tab means attached to the offset portion of said cross member, said longitudinal alignment tab means being laterally disposed between said gimbal bond tongue and at least one of said gimbal beams, said longitudinal alignment tab means extending longitudinally toward said load beam section, thereby providing longitudinal alignment of the slider to said gimbal section when in contact with a second surface of the slider, a component of the normal of said second surface being in an opposite direction as an extension of said longitudinal alignment tab means;
• and
• a load bearing protrusion rising out of said gimbal bond tongue and positioned between said load beam section and said gimbal bond tongue, wherein said gimbal bond tongue is offset a distance from said gimbal beams such that the height of said load bearing protrusion is substantially equal to the amount of the offset and the point of contact between said load bearing protrusion and said load beam section lies substantially in the same plane as that defined by said gimbal beams.

An assembly for magnetic recording on a magnetic surface comprising:

• a flexure for supporting a slider for magnetic recording against a fluid bearing generated by relative motion between said slider and a moving magnetic surface, said flexure comprising:
• means for attaching said flexure to a mounting plate or head positioning support arm;
• at least one compliant beam means attached at a first end to the attachment means and formed out of plane to exert a load force to oppose a hydrodynamic lifting force generated by the fluid bearing;
• a rigid load beam section attached at a second end of the compliant beam means to said slider;
• a gimbal section, said gimbal section attached to said rigid load beam section opposite the compliant beam means, said gimbal section including:
• a pair of compliant gimbal beams laterally displaced from a longitudinal center of said load beam section and having first ends attached near the base of attachment with said load beam section;
• a cross member connecting second ends of said gimbal beams, said cross member having a portion of its length in a plane that is offset from the plane defined by said gimbal beams;
• a gimbal bond tongue attached to the cross member and extending from said offset portion of said cross member and toward said load beam section, said gimbal bond tongue having a free end, said gimbal bond tongue having a width approximately one-third of the width of the slider, whereby approximately one-third of the width of the slider on either side of said gimbal bond tongue is unobstructed by said gimbal bond tongue in a top plan view;
• at least one lateral alignment tab means attached to at least one lateral side of said gimbal bond tongue, said lateral alignment tab means extending laterally toward and displaced laterally from at least one of said gimbal beams, thereby providing lateral alignment of the slider to said gimbal section when in contact with a first surface of the slider, a component of the normal of said first surface being in an opposite direction as an extension of said lateral alignment tab means;
• at least one longitudinal alignment tab means attached to the offset portion of said cross member, said longitudinal alignment tab means being laterally disposed between said gimbal bond tongue and at least one of said gimbal beams, said longitudinal alignment tab means extending longitudinally toward said load beam section, thereby providing longitudinal alignment of the slider to said gimbal section when in contact with a second surface of the slider, a component of the normal of said second surface being in an opposite direction as an extension of said longitudinal alignment tab means;
• and
• a load bearing protrusion rising out of said gimbal bond tongue and positioned between said load beam section and said gimbal bond tongue, wherein said gimbal bond tongue is offset a distance from said gimbal beams such that the height of said load bearing protrusion is substantially equal to the amount of the offset and the point of contact between said load bearing protrusion and said load beam section lies substantially in the same plane as that defined by said gimbal beams;
• said slider mounted on said gimbal bond tongue where said slider is located substantially centrally with respect to said gimbal section, said slider including:
• a bottom surface that generates the fluid bearing by relative motion between said slider and a moving magnetic surface;
• a transducer mounted to the trailing surface and proximate the bottom surface of said slider as a means for reading stored data from and writing data for storage to a magnetic surface;
• and
• a recess substantially centered laterally on the top surface, wherein:
• said gimbal bond tongue is located within said recess such that the top surface of said flexure is displaced vertically below the top surface of said slider;
• said compliant gimbal beams are laterally displaced such that there is lateral clearance between the side edges of said slider and said compliant gimbal beams;
• at least one of said lateral alignment tab means contacts directly on an interior wall of said recess as a means of alignment reference in the lateral direction;
• and
• said longitudinal alignment tab means contact directly on the trailing surface of said slider as a means of alignment reference in the longitudinal direction.