Patent ID: 7821739
Filing Date: 2010-10-26
Classification: G11B

Abstract:
1. A slider arrangement for supporting a recording element in operative relation to a flexible moving recording medium comprising: a first slider having a first face positioned toward a first side of the recording medium, said first face having a leading edge, a trailing edge and two side edges relative to the motion of said recording medium, and a longitudinal axis disposed along its length, said longitudinal axis being at a non-zero skew angle with respect to the direction of motion of said recording medium, said first face comprising a plurality of air bearing surfaces at least some of which whose shape and depth are formed by etching; wherein one of the plurality of air bearing surfaces of the first face defines an air bearing surface A that is located in the vicinity of the trailing edge of the first face and a recording element is mounted in surface A; and wherein the plurality of air bearing surfaces of the first face includes two air bearing surfaces that do not extend to the vicinity of the trailing edge of the first face and wherein these two air bearing surfaces each have a depth that is unetched and are positioned within the same plane to define an unetched reference plane one, and wherein the recording element is located substantially in unetched reference plane one; a second slider having a second face positioned toward a second side of the recording medium, said second face having a leading edge, a trailing edge and two side edges relative to the motion of said recording medium, and a longitudinal axis disposed along its length, said longitudinal axis being at a non-zero skew angle with respect to the direction of motion of said recording medium, said second face comprising a plurality of air bearing surfaces at least some of which whose shape and depth are formed by etching; wherein one of the plurality of air bearing surfaces of the second face defines an air bearing surface B, wherein at least a portion of surface B is carried in the vicinity of the trailing edge of the second face; and wherein the plurality of air bearing surfaces of the second face includes two air bearing surfaces that do not extend to the vicinity of the trailing edge of the second face, and wherein these two air bearing surfaces each have a depth that is unetched and are positioned within the same plane to define an unetched reference plane two; a first mounting device to mount the first slider relative to the first side of the recording medium substantially opposite the second slider in a biased manner toward the recording medium; and a second mounting device to mount the second slider relative to the second side of the recording medium substantially opposite the first slider in a biased manner toward the recording medium, and wherein surface A is located in such a way that the recording element is directly opposite a portion of surface B; and wherein the flexible recording medium comprises a metallic substrate and at least one layer of magnetic material such that the thickness of the flexible recording medium is less than about 0.005 inch, and wherein in the vicinity of the recording element, surface B has an etch depth B relative to the unetched reference plane two, so that during operation the flying height at the recording element is less than the thickness of the directly opposing air film of surface B.