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US 6,788,498 B1Granted
Low stiffness gimbal for disk drive head suspensions
AssigneeHutchinson Technology Incorporated
InventorsJacob D. Bjorstrom, Reid C. Danielson, Catherine A. Morley
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Abstract
A gimbal and load beam apparatus for a head suspension for a disk drive having lateral arms with dielectric and conductor layers without metal backing to provide for low pitch and roll stiffness while also having a structural layer attached to the gimbal at proximal and distal locations for high lateral stiffness. The structural layer may be formed of stainless steel and can serve as the load beam and spring region for the head suspension.
Claims8
A gimbal and load beam assembly for a disk drive head suspension comprising:
- a. a dielectric layer forming a gimbal with a pair of lateral arms;
- b. a connector layer having a plurality of electrically conductive traces formed on the dielectric layer;
- and
- c. a structural layer having areas formed on the dielectric layer and having areas omitted en substantially completely from the lateral arms of the gimbal;
- and
- d. means for stiffening the gimbal in a lateral dimension, including
- i. a first portion secured to the dielectric layer at a region proximal of the gimbal, and
- iii. a second portion secured to the dielectric layer at a region distal of the gimbal.
5 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.