Patent ID: 8248730
Filing Date: 2012-08-21
Classification: G11B

Abstract:
1. A magnetic head slider locking apparatus for detachably mounting a magnetic head slider to a magnetic head suspension including a supporting part that is swung about a swing center directly or indirectly by an actuator, a load bending part that generates a load for pressing a magnetic head slider toward a disk surface, a load beam part that is supported by the supporting part through the load bending part and transmits the load to the magnetic head slider, and a flexure part that is supported by the load beam part, the flexure part having a flexure substrate that integrally includes a load beam part overlap region fixed to the load beam part in a state of being overlapped therewith, paired arm regions extending toward a distal side from both ends of the load beam part overlap region in a suspension width direction, a connection region extending in the suspension width direction so as to connect distal ends of the paired arm regions, and a head mount region which extends from the connection region toward a proximal side in the suspension longitudinal direction so as to be positioned between the paired arm regions and to which the magnetic head slider is mounted, wherein the magnetic head slider locking apparatus integrally comprises a fixed portion, a movable portion and paired right and left spring portions, the fixed portion being directly or indirectly fixed to the flexure substrate and including a distal-side engagement region engaged with a distal end of the magnetic head slider in a state of being directly or indirectly mounted on the head mount region, the movable portion capable of moving relatively with respect to the flexure substrate and including paired right and left proximal-side engagement regions that are away from each other in the suspension width direction and are engaged with a distal end of the magnetic head slider in a state of being directly or indirectly mounted on the head mount region, the paired spring portions pressing the movable portion in such a way that the paired proximal-side engagement regions sandwich the magnetic head slider in cooperation with the distal-side engagement region, wherein the movable portion includes paired right and left arm regions and a connecting region in addition to the paired right and left proximal-side engagement regions, the paired arm regions extending toward the proximal side in the suspension longitudinal direction directly or indirectly from inner ends of the paired proximal-side engagement regions in the suspension width direction, the connecting region connecting the paired arm regions, wherein each of the paired spring portions includes a distal-side extending region, a proximal-side extending region and a biasing region, the distal-side extending region extending toward the distal side in the suspension longitudinal direction from the fixed portion, the proximal-side extending region extending toward the proximal side in the suspension longitudinal direction from an outer end of the corresponding proximal-side engagement region, the biasing region connecting a distal end of the distal-side extending region and a proximal end of the proximal-side extending region and being convex toward an outer side in the suspension width direction, wherein the magnetic head slider locking apparatus takes the initial posture when no external operation force is applied thereto, an elastically deformed posture when an external operation force toward the proximal side in the suspension longitudinal direction is applied to the connecting region of the movable portion, and a sandwiching posture when the external operation force is canceled after the magnetic head slider is mounted directly or indirectly to the head mount region in a state where the magnetic head slider locking apparatus takes the elastically deformed posture, the proximal-side engagement regions being positioned on the distal side in the suspension longitudinal direction farther than the proximal end of the magnetic head slider that is mounted directly or indirectly to the head mount region with its distal end being engaged with the distal-side engagement region when the apparatus takes the initial posture, the biasing regions being expanded in the suspension longitudinal direction so that the proximal-side engagement regions are positioned on the proximal side in the suspension longitudinal direction farther than the proximal end of the magnetic head slider when the apparatus takes the elastically deformed posture, the paired proximal-side engagement regions being positioned at a sandwiching position for sandwiching the magnetic head slider in the suspension longitudinal direction in cooperation with the distal-side engagement region when the apparatus takes the sandwiching posture, and wherein, upon transition from the initial posture to the elastically deformed posture, the movable portion is wholly moved toward the proximal side in the suspension longitudinal direction and, at the same time, the inner end of each of the proximal-side engagement regions in the suspension width direction is moved toward the inner side in the suspension width direction, so that the distal end and the proximal end of each of the proximal-side extending regions are moved toward the inner side and the outer side in the suspension width direction, respectively, while the proximal-side extending regions are wholly moved toward the proximal side in the suspension longitudinal direction.