Disk apparatus having a latch mechanism for holding the actuator arm during non-operation

A disk apparatus comprising:

• a rotatable actuator allowing, at its one end, a head to be loaded to record or reproduce information to or from a disk medium and, at its other end, a coil;
• a permanent magnet arranged opposed to said coil;
• and
• a latch magnet mounted to said actuator and located on a circumference passing through a magnetic field of said permanent magnet with a rotating shaft of said actuator defined as a center, said latch magnet creating a magnetic field having a substantially nonactive attraction force with said magnetic field of said permanent magnet when said head is in a first position of the disk surface, said latch magnet magnetic field and said permanent magnet magnetic field placing a rotational force so as to move the head toward the inner direction of the disk surface on said actuator when said head is in a second position of the disk surface defined in the inner area from said first position.

A disk apparatus comprising:

• a disk medium having a data zone and a stop zone placed on an inner position from said data zone;
• a rotatable actuator having a center of rotation between a first end and a second end;
• said first end having a head over the disk medium for recording or reproducing information to or from the disk medium;
• said second end having a coil,
• a permanent magnet which cooperates with the coil to rotate the actuator to move the head between the data zone and the stop zone, and
• a latch magnet for stopping said actuator when said head is in the stop zone,
• said latch magnet and said permanent magnet are configured such that a magnetic field generated by said permanent magnet neglects a magnetic field generated by said latch magnet so that the movement of the actuator is unaffected when the head is in the data zone, said permanent magnet and said latch magnet creates a magnetic field interaction that forces the actuator into a locked position when the head is in the stop zone.