Claims
- 1. A slider capable of moving over and relative to a storage medium, the slider comprising:
a fluid bearing surface capable of supporting the slider as it moves over the storage medium; and curvature means bounding at least one portion of the fluid bearing surface for reducing damage to the storage medium when the slider impacts the storage medium.
- 2. A slider for a storage device having a moving storage medium, the slider carrying a transducer and comprising:
a leading end; a trailing end; a top area extending from the leading end to the trailing end and designed to face substantially away from the storage medium; and a bottom area extending from the leading end to the trailing end and designed to substantially face toward the storage medium, the bottom area joined to the trailing end by a curved surface having a substantially consistent radius of curvature from the trailing end to a point at least 0.025 millimeters from the trailing end.
- 3. The slider of claim 2 wherein the slider is formed of an optically transparent material.
- 4. The slider of claim 3 wherein the slider supports at least one optical lens.
- 5. The slider of claim 3 wherein the bottom area comprises at least one optical element.
- 6. The slider of claim 5 wherein the curved surface does not intersect the optical element.
- 7. A method of manufacturing sliders for storage devices, the method comprising:
forming a plurality of sliders connected together at slider boundaries and extending in rows and columns in a single structural piece; cutting the single structural piece along at least one slider boundary using a cutting tool having a curved surface such that a curved edge is formed along at least one slider; and cutting the single structural piece along additional slider boundaries as needed to separate the sliders from each other.
- 8. The method of claim 7 wherein the curved edge is formed along a trailing edge of a slider.
- 9. The method of claim 7 wherein the curved edge is formed along a side edge of a slider.
- 10. The method of claim 7 wherein the cutting tool has two curved surfaces facing in opposite directions such that a curved edge is formed on two different sliders as the cutting tool cuts along a slider boundary between the two sliders.
- 11. The method of claim 7 wherein a first cutting tool is used to cut along slider boundaries extending in the direction of the rows of sliders, and a second cutting tool is used to cut along slider boundaries extending in the direction of the columns of sliders.
- 12. The method of claim 11 wherein the first cutting tool has one curved surface opposite a flat surface such that a curved edge is formed on sliders on one side of the first cutting tool and a planar edge is formed on sliders on the opposite side of the cutting tool.
- 13. The method of claim 12 wherein the second cutting tool has two curved surfaces facing in opposite directions such that a curved edge is formed on two different sliders as the cutting tool cuts along a slider boundary between the two sliders.
REFERENCE OF COPENDING APPLICATION
[0001] This application claims priority benefits from U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 60/069,478 entitled “ROUNDED RECORDING HEADS FOR IMPROVED TRIBOLOGY AND LOAD/UNLOAD PERFORMANCE” filed on Dec. 15, 1997.
Provisional Applications (1)
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Number |
Date |
Country |
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60069478 |
Dec 1997 |
US |