This invention relates to hard disk drives, in particular, to apparatus and methods for head gimbal assemblies supporting amplification in the slider of the read signal. The head gimbal assembly includes a slider and a micro-actuator assembly sharing power for the micro-actuator assembly to aid in positioning the slider and for an amplifier included in the slider to generate an amplified read signal when the slider read accesses data on a rotating disk surface included in a hard disk drive. The invention uses a slider including a read-write head providing a read-differential signal pair to an amplifier to generate an amplified read signal, when the slider is used to read access data on a rotating disk surface in a hard disk drive. The slider reports the amplified read signal as a result of the read access of the data.
The invention includes the head gimbal assembly 60 containing the flexure finger 20 coupled with the slider 90 and further containing the read trace path rtp electrically coupled to the amplified read signal ar0, as shown in
The slider 90 may further include a first slider power terminal SP1 and a second slider power terminal SP2, both electrically coupled to the amplifier 96 to collectively provide power to generate the amplified read signal ar0. The flexure finger 20 may further include a first power path SP1P electrically coupled to said first slider power terminal and/or a second power path SP2P electrically coupled to the second slider power terminal SP2, which are collectively used to provide electrical power to generate the amplified read signal.
The head gimbal assembly 60 may further include a micro-actuator assembly 80 mechanically coupling to the slider 90 to aid in positioning the slider to access the data 122 on the rotating disk surface 120-1. The micro-actuator assembly may further include a first micro-actuator power terminal 82P1 and a second micro-actuator power terminal 82P2. The head gimbal assembly may further include the first micro-actuator power terminal electrically coupled to the first power path SP1P and/or the second micro-actuator power terminal electrically coupled to the second power path SP2P. Operating the head gimbal assembly may further preferably include operating the micro-actuator assembly to aid in positioning the slider to read access the data on the rotating disk surface, which includes providing electrical power shared by the micro-actuator assembly and by the amplifier 96 to collectively position the slider and support the amplifier generating the amplified read signal ar0.
The flexure finger 20 may be coupled to the load beam 74 as shown in
In further detail, the head gimbal assembly 60 includes a base plate 72 coupled through a hinge 70 to a load beam 74. Often the flexure finger 20 is coupled to the load beam and the micro-actuator assembly 80 and slider 90 are coupled through the flexure finger to the head gimbal assembly.
Manufacturing the invention's head gimbal assembly 60 includes coupling the flexure finger 20 to the invention's slider 90, which further includes electrically coupling the read trace path rtp with the amplified read signal ar0. The invention includes the manufacturing process and the head gimbal assembly as a product of the process. Manufacturing the head gimbal assembly may further include coupling the micro-actuator assembly 80 to the slider. Coupling the micro-actuator assembly to the slider may include electrically coupling the first micro-actuator power terminal 82P1 to the first slider power terminal SP1P and/or electrically coupling the second micro-actuator power terminal 82P2 to the second slider power terminal SP2P.
In greater detail, the slider 90 includes the read-write head 94 that includes the read-write head 94 providing the read-differential signal pair r0 to the amplifier 96 to generate the amplified read signal ar0, as shown in
The read head 94-R of
Alternatively, the read head 94-R may use a tunnel valve to drive the read differential signal pair as shown in
Both longitudinally recorded signal as shown in
To further discuss the tunnel valve and its use in embodiments of the invention, consider
However, in most but not all of the invention's sliders, the amplifier 96 is preferably opposite the air bearing surface.
The amplified read signal ar0 may be implemented as an amplified read signal pair ar0+—as shown in
The invention's slider 90 may further include a first slider power terminal SP1 and a second slider power terminal SP2 collectively used to power the amplifier 96 in generating the amplified read signal ar0, as shown in
The slider 90 may also include a vertical micro-actuator 98 for urging the outermost portions of the read-write head 94 closer or farther away from the rotating disk surface 120 as shown in
Manufacturing the slider 90 includes coupling the read-write head 94 to the amplifier 96, which further includes electrically coupling the read differential signal pair to the amplifier. The invention includes the manufacturing process of the slider and the slider as a product of that manufacturing process. The manufacturing further includes providing an air bearing surface 92 near the read head 94-R.
Coupling the read-write head 94 to the amplifier 96 may further include bonding the amplifier to the read head 94-R and/or building the amplifier to the read head. Bonding the amplifier may include gluing, and/or welding, and/or soldering the amplifier to the read head. Building the amplifier may include depositing an insulator to create a signal conditioning base, and/or using a slider substrate as a signal conditioning base, and/or depositing a first semiconductor layer on the signal conditioning base. The building may further include define at least one pattern, at least one etch of the pattern to create at least one layer, for at least one semiconducting material and at least one layer of metal to form at least one transistor circuit embodying the amplifier. The transistors preferably in use at the time of the invention include, but are not limited to, bipolar transistors, Field Effect Transistors (FETs), and amorphous transistors.
The micro-actuator assembly 80 may employ a piezoelectric effect and/or an electrostatic effect to aid in positioning the slider 90. First, examples of micro-actuator assemblies employing the piezoelectric effect will be discussed followed by electrostatic effect examples. In several embodiments of the invention the micro-actuator assembly may preferably couple with the head gimbal assembly 60 through the flexure finger 20, as shown in
Examples of micro-actuator assemblies employing the piezoelectric effect are shown in
Examples of the invention using micro-actuator assemblies employing the electrostatic effect are shown in
The first micro-actuator 220 includes the following. A first pivot spring pair 402 and 408 coupling to a first stator 230. A second pivot spring pair 400 and 406 coupling to a second stator 250. A first flexure spring pair 410 and 416, and a second flexure spring pair 412 and 418, coupling to a central movable section 300. A pitch spring pair 420-422 coupling to the central movable section 300. The central movable section 300 includes signal pair paths coupling to the amplified read signal ar0 and the write differential signal pair W0 of the read-write head 94 of the slider 90.
The bonding block 210 preferably electrically couples the read-write head 90 to the amplified read signal ar0 and write differential signal pair W0, and mechanically couples the central movable section 300 to the slider 90 with read-write head 94 embedded on or near the air bearing surface 92 included in the slider.
The first micro-actuator 220 aids in laterally positioning LP the slider 90, which can be finely controlled to position the read-write head 94 over a small number of tracks 122 on the rotating disk surface 120-1. This lateral motion is a first mechanical degree of freedom, which results from the first stator 230 and the second stator 250 electrostatically interacting with the central movable section 300. The first micro-actuator 220 may act as a lateral comb drive or a transverse comb drive, as is discussed in detail in the incorporated United States Patent Application.
The electrostatic micro-actuator assembly 2000 may further include a second micro-actuator 520 including a third stator 510 and a fourth stator 550. Both the third and the fourth stator electrostatically interact with the central movable section 300. These interactions urge the slider 90 to move in a second mechanical degree of freedom, aiding in the vertically positioning VP to provide flying height control. The second micro-actuator may act as a vertical comb drive or a torsional drive, as is discussed in detail in the incorporated United States Patent Application. The second micro-actuator may also provide motion sensing, which may indicate collision with the rotating disk surface 120-1 being accessed.
The central movable section 300 not only positions the read-write head 10, but is the conduit for the amplified read signal ar0, the write differential signal pair W0 and in certain embodiments, the first slider power signal SP1 and the second slider power signal SP2. The electrical stimulus of the first micro-actuator 220 is provided through some of its springs.
The central movable section 300 may preferably to be at ground potential, and so does not need wires. The read differential signal pair r0, write differential signal pair w0 and slider power signals SP1 and SP2 traces may preferably be routed with flexible traces all the way to the load beam 74 as shown in
The invention includes a flexure finger 20 for the slider 90, providing a read trace path rtp for the amplified read signal ar0, as shown in
The invention also includes a head stack assembly 50 containing at least one head gimbal assembly 60 coupled to a head stack 54, as shown in
The head stack assembly may include more than one head gimbal assembly coupled to the head stack. By way of example,
The head stack assembly 50 may include a main flex circuit 200 coupled with the flexure finger 20, which may further include a preamplifier 24 electrically coupled to the read trace path rtp in the read-write signal bundle rw to create the read signal 25-R based upon the amplified read signal ar0 as a result of the read access to the track 122 on the rotating disk surface 120-1.
Manufacturing the invention's head stack assembly 50 includes coupling said at least one of the invention's head gimbal assembly 60 to the head stack 50 to at least partly create said head stack assembly. The manufacturing process may further include coupling more than one head gimbal assemblies to the head stack. The manufacturing may further, preferably include coupling the main flex circuit 200 to the flexure finger 20, which further includes electrically coupled the preamplifier 24 to the read trace path rtp to provide the read signal 25-R as a result of the read access of the data 122 on the rotating disk surface 120-1. The invention includes the manufacturing process for the head stack assembly and the head stack assembly as a product of the manufacturing process. The step coupling the head gimbal assembly 60 to the head stack 50 may further, preferably include swaging the base plate 72 to the actuator arm 52.
The invention includes a hard disk drive 10, shown in
As stated before, the slider 90 reporting the amplified read signal may further include the read head 94-R driving the read differential signal pair r0 in reading the data 122 on the rotating disk surface 120-1 and the amplifier 96 receiving the read differential signal pair to generate the amplified read signal ar0.
In more detail, the hard disk drive 10 may include the servo controller 600, and possibly the embedded circuit 500, coupled to the voice coil motor 18, to provide the micro-actuator stimulus signal 650 driving the micro-actuator assembly 80, and the read signal 25-R based upon the amplified read signal ar0 contained in the read-write signal bundle rw from the read-write head 94 to generate the Position Error Signal 260.
The embedded circuit 500 may preferably include the servo controller 600, as shown in
The voice coil driver 30 preferably stimulates the voice coil motor 18 through the voice coil 32 to provide coarse position of the slider 90, in particular, the read head 94-R near the track 122 on the rotating disk surface 120-1.
A computer as used herein may include at least one instruction processor and at least one data processor, where each of the data processors is directed by at least one of the instruction processors.
Manufacturing the hard disk drive 10 includes electrically coupling the invention's head stack assembly 50 to the embedded circuit 500 to provide the read signal 25-R as the result of the read access of the data 122 on the rotating disk surface 120-1. The invention includes this manufacturing process and the hard disk drive as a product of that process.
Making the hard disk drive 10 may further include coupling the servo controller 600 and/or the embedded circuit 500 to the voice coil motor 18 and providing the micro-actuator stimulus signal 650 to drive the micro-actuator assembly 80.
Making the servo controller 600 and/or the embedded circuit 500 may include programming the memory 620 with the program system 1000 to create the servo controller and/or the embedded circuit, preferably programming a non-volatile memory component of the memory.
Making the embedded circuit 500, and in some embodiments, the servo controller 600, may include installing the servo computer 610 and the memory 620 into the servo controller and programming the memory with the program system 1000 to create the servo controller and/or the embedded circuit.
Looking at some of the details of
The read-write head 94 interfaces through a preamplifier 24 on a main flex circuit 200 using a read-write signal bundle rw typically provided by the flexure finger 20, to a channel interface 26 often located within the servo controller 600. The channel interface often provides the Position Error Signal 260 (PES) within the servo controller. It may be preferred that the micro-actuator stimulus signal 650 be shared when the hard disk drive includes more than one micro-actuator assembly. It may be further preferred that the lateral control signal 82 be shared. Typically, each read-write head interfaces with the preamplifier using separate read and write signals, typically provided by a separate flexure finger. For example, the second read-write head 94-2 interfaces with the preamplifier via a second flexure finger 20-2, the third read-write head 94-3 via the a third flexure finger 20-3, and the fourth read-write head 94-4 via a fourth flexure finger 20-4.
During normal disk access operations, the embedded circuit 500 and/or the servo controller 600 direct the spindle motor 270 to rotate the spindle shaft 40. This rotating is very stable, providing a nearly constant rotational rate through the spindle shaft to at least one disk 12 and sometimes more than one disk. The rotation of the disk creates the rotating disk surface 120-1, used to access the track 122 while accessing the track. These accesses normally provide for reading the track and/or writing the track.
The preceding embodiments provide examples of the invention and are not meant to constrain the scope of the following claims.
The application is a continuation-in-part of application Ser. No. 11/434,607, filed May 15, 2006, and is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety.
Number | Date | Country | |
---|---|---|---|
Parent | 11434607 | May 2006 | US |
Child | 11482640 | US |