Abstract:
In a recording/reproducing device for use in recording and reproducing data on and from a recording medium while moving read/write head means relative to the recording medium in a moving direction, which comprises a carriage supporting the read/write head means and guided by a guiding member in the moving direction, and a voice coil motor comprising a voice coil and a magnetic circuit device for driving the carriage in the moving direction. The carriage has a coil holding portion by which the voice coil is fixedly held in the condition that the coil axis is arranged in the moving direction. The voice coil is applied with a driving electric current for driving the carriage. The magnetic circuit device is fixedly disposed adjacent to the voice coil to generate a magnetic field intersecting the driving current flowing through the voice coil, the voice coil moving in the moving direction together with the carriage by an interaction of the driving current and the magnetic field.

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
         [0001]    This invention relates to a recording/reproducing device for recording and reproducing data on and from a recording medium through a read/write head and, in particular, to a recording/reproducing mechanism for driving a carriage assembly with the read/write head mounted thereon by a voice coil motor in a predetermined direction relative to the recording medium.  
           [0002]    As a typical one of such a recording/reproducing device, there is well known in the prior art a disk drive for recording and reproducing data on and from a magnetic recording medium by a magnetic head. The magnetic recording medium is a so called flexible disk and is usually housed in a hard case or a cartridge. The cartridge containing the flexible disk is called a floppy disk. In recent years, the flexible disk is more and more increased in storage capacity. Development has been made of those flexible disks having a storage capacity as large as 128 megabytes in contrast with those having a storage capacity on the order between one and two megabytes. The former and the latter flexible disks will hereafter be referred to as large-capacity flexible and normal-capacity flexible disks, respectively. Following such remarkable increase in storage capacity, an improved disk drive has also been developed so as to deal with the large-capacity flexible disks.  
           [0003]    The disk drive for use with the normal-capacity flexible disks is different in mechanism from that intended for use with the large-capacity flexible disks. One such difference lies in the structure of a driving mechanism for driving a carriage-assembly with a magnetic head relative to the flexible disk received in the disk drive. More specifically, the disk drive for the normal-capacity flexible disks uses a stepping motor as the driving mechanism. On the other hand, the disk drive for the large-capacity flexible disks uses a linear motor such as a voice coil motor (VCM).  
           [0004]    The carriage assembly is moved in a carriage moving direction which is a predetermined radial direction of the flexible disk.  
           [0005]    The voice coil motor used as the driving mechanism in the disk drive for the large-capacity flexible disks comprises a pair of voice coils fixedly mounted on both sides of the carriage assembly each having a coil axis arranged in the carriage moving direction, and a pair of magnetic circuit devices fixedly disposed adjacent the voice coils, respectively, each for generating a magnetic field in a direction intersecting an electric current flowing through each of the voice an electric current flowing through each of the voice coils.  
           [0006]    Each of the magnetic circuit devices typically comprises a permanent magnet polarized along its thickness, and a yoke member. The yoke member comprises a center yoke, a back yoke, and a pair of side yokes. The center yoke extends in the carriage moving direction and passes through the corresponding one of the voice coils along the coil axis. The back yoke extends in parallel to the center yoke at a certain distance therefrom and has a principal surface faced to the center yoke. The side yokes connect the center yoke with the back yoke at their one ends and the other ends to establish an endless form. The permanent magnet is fixedly attached to the principal surface of the back yoke. Each of the center yoke, the back yoke, and the side yokes is made of a steel plate having a thickness of at least 3 mm.  
           [0007]    The magnetic circuit device produces the magnetic field across a space between the center yoke and the back yoke. The electric current flows through the voice coil in a direction intersecting the magnetic field. The interaction between the electric current and the magnetic field produces driving force to drive the voice coil in the carriage moving direction along the center yoke. In this manner, the carriage assembly is moved in the carriage moving direction in response to the driving force of the voice coil motor.  
           [0008]    Thus, a combination of the voice coil motor and the carriage assembly serves as a magnetic recording/reproducing mechanism in the disk drive.  
           [0009]    In the above-mentioned magnetic recording/reproducing mechanism, the magnetic circuit device of the voice coil motor comprises the yoke member composed of the center yoke, the back yoke, and the side yokes. Thus, the yoke member includes a relatively large number of components.  
           [0010]    In the magnetic circuit device, the permanent magnet, the center yoke, the back yoke, and the side yokes are equal in width to one another. As described above, the voice coil motor produces the driving force by the interaction between the electric current flowing through the-voice coil and the magnetic field produced by the magnetic circuit device. The intensity of the driving force depends on the magnitude of the electric current and the number of magnetic fluxes intersecting the voice coil. In order to increase the driving force, it is necessary either to increase the electric current flowing through the voice coil or to increase the number of the magnetic fluxes across the voice coil. However, the electric current to flow through the voice coil is limited in magnitude.  
           [0011]    On the other hand, the magnetic field intersecting the voice coil, i.e., the number of the magnetic fluxes can be increased if the permanent magnet is made of an advanced magnetic material or if the permanent magnet, the center yoke, the back yoke, and the side yokes are increased in width. However, the use of the permanent magnet made of such an advanced magnetic material will increase the cost of the voice coil motor because the advanced magnetic material is expensive. On the other hand, the increase in width of the permanent magnet, the center yoke, the back yoke, and the side yokes inevitably increases the size and the weight of the voice coil motor.  
           [0012]    In the disk drive, it is a general practice that the voice coil is fixed to a side wall of the carriage assembly by the use of an adhesive.  
           [0013]    However, it is difficult to fix the voice coil to the carriage assembly with an accurate position. Furthermore, the voice coil is often disconnected or released from the carriage assembly because of deterioration of the adhesive resulting from various factors, such as generation of heat within the device and the lapse of time.  
         SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
         [0014]    It is therefore an object of this invention to provide a recording/reproducing device with a voice coil motor having a magnetic circuit device with a reduced number of components.  
           [0015]    It is another object of this invention to provide a recording/reproducing device with a cost-effective and small-sized voice coil motor capable of providing a sufficient driving force.  
           [0016]    It is still another object of this invention to provide a recording/reproducing device in which a voice coil is accurately attached to a predetermined position of a carriage assembly.  
           [0017]    It is yet another object of this invention to provide a recording/reproducing device in which a voice coil is securely coupled to a carriage assembly with improved reliability.  
           [0018]    It is a further object of this invention to provide a recording/reproducing device in which a voice coil is attached to a carriage assembly over a wide area to achieve reliable coupling.  
           [0019]    According to this invention, there is provided a recording/reproducing device for use in recording and reproducing data on and from a recording medium while moving read/write head means relative to the recording medium in a moving direction, which comprises a carriage supporting the read/write head means; guide means fixedly disposed and slidably supporting the carriage for guiding the carriage in the moving direction; a voice coil motor for driving the carriage in the moving direction, the voice coil motor comprising a voice coil having a coil axis and a magnetic circuit device generating a magnetic field; the carriage having a coil holding portion projecting therefrom, the voice coil being fixedly held on the coil holding portion in the condition that the coil axis is arranged in the moving direction, the coil being applied with a driving electric current for driving the carriage; and the magnetic circuit device fixedly disposed adjacent to the voice coil to generate a magnetic field intersecting the driving current flowing through the voice coil, the voice coil moving in the moving direction together with the carriage by an interaction of the driving current and the magnetic field. 
       
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING  
       [0020]    [0020]FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a voice coil motor in a known disk drive;  
         [0021]    [0021]FIG. 2 is a plan view illustrating an internal structure of a disk drive to which a magnetic recording/reproducing mechanism according to a first embodiment of this invention is applied;  
         [0022]    [0022]FIG. 3 is a schematic plan view of a carriage assembly in FIG. 2;  
         [0023]    [0023]FIG. 4 is a schematic side view of the carriage assembly in FIG. 3;  
         [0024]    [0024]FIG. 5 is a perspective view of a magnetic circuit device of a voice coil motor in FIG. 2;  
         [0025]    [0025]FIG. 6 is a side view of the magnetic recording/reproducing mechanism in FIG. 2;  
         [0026]    [0026]FIG. 7 is a plan view of the magnetic recording/reproducing mechanism in FIG. 6;  
         [0027]    [0027]FIG. 8 is a sectional view taken along a line VIII-VIII in FIG. 6;  
         [0028]    [0028]FIG. 9 is a sectional view of a magnetic recording/reproducing mechanism according to a second embodiment of this invention;  
         [0029]    [0029]FIG. 10 is a sectional view of a magnetic recording/reproducing mechanism according to a third embodiment of this invention;  
         [0030]    [0030]FIG. 11 is a front view of a magnetic recording/reproducing mechanism according to a fourth embodiment of this invention;  
         [0031]    [0031]FIG. 12 is a plan view of the magnetic recording/reproducing mechanism in FIG. 11;  
         [0032]    [0032]FIG. 13 is a sectional view taken along a line XIII-XIII in FIG. 11;  
         [0033]    [0033]FIG. 14 is a front view of a magnetic recording/reproducing mechanism according to a fifth embodiment of this invention;  
         [0034]    [0034]FIG. 15 is a plan view of a carriage assembly in FIG. 14;  
         [0035]    [0035]FIG. 16 is a side view of the carriage assembly in FIG. 15;  
         [0036]    [0036]FIG. 17 is a rear view of the carriage assembly in FIG. 15; and  
         [0037]    [0037]FIG. 18 is a sectional view of a magnetic recording/reproducing mechanism according to a sixth embodiment of this invention. 
     
    
     DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS  
       [0038]    In order to facilitate an understanding of this invention, a voice coil motor in a known disk drive will at first be described with reference to FIG. 1. The voice coil motor comprises a magnetic circuit device and a voice coil  3  which is fixed to a side wall of a carriage assembly (not shown) by an adhesive agent. The magnetic circuit device comprises a permanent magnet  1  magnetized in a direction of its thickness, and a yoke member  2 . The yoke member  2  comprises a center yoke  2   a , a back yoke  2   b , and a pair of side yokes  2   c . The center yoke  2   a  extends in an extending direction coincident with a moving direction of the carriage assembly and passes through the voice coil  3 . The back yoke  2   b  extends in parallel to the center yoke  2   a  at a certain distance therefrom and has a principal surface faced to the center yoke  2   a . The side yokes  2   c  are connected to the center yoke  2   a  and the back yoke  2   b  at their one ends and the other ends to establish magnetic connection therebetween. The permanent magnet  1  is fixedly attached to the principal surface of the back yoke  2   b . Each of the center yoke  2   a , the back yoke  2   b , and the side yokes  2   c  is made of a steel plate having a thickness of at least 3 mm.  
         [0039]    The magnetic circuit device produces a magnetic field across a space between the center yoke  2   a  and the back yoke  2   b . An electric current flows through the voice coil  3  in a direction intersecting the magnetic field. The interaction between the electric current and the magnetic field produces driving force to drive the voice coil  3  in the extending direction of the center yoke  2   a , that is, the moving direction of the carriage assembly. In this manner, the carriage assembly is moved in the moving direction in response to the driving force of the voice coil motor.  
         [0040]    Thus, a combination of the voice coil motor and the carriage assembly serves as the magnetic recording/reproducing mechanism in the disk drive.  
         [0041]    However, the known disk drive has problems as described in the preamble.  
         [0042]    Now referring to FIG. 2, description will be made as regards a magnetic recording/reproducing device according to a first embodiment of this invention. The magnetic recording/reproducing device is a disk drive for recording and reproducing data on and from a normal-capacity or a large-capacity flexible disk (not shown). The flexible disk is inserted into the disk drive from a direction indicated by an arrow A in FIG. 2 and is held by a disk table assembly  120  which is rotatably supported on a main frame  11 . The disk table assembly  120  is rotated by a disk drive motor (not shown) disposed on a back surface of the main frame  11 . The flexible disk is rotated in response to the rotation of the disk table assembly  120 . The main frame  11  is also provided on the back surface thereof with a printed wiring board (not shown) on which a number of electronic parts are mounted.  
         [0043]    The disk drive comprises a pair of upper and lower magnetic heads (not shown) for recording and reproducing data on and from opposite surfaces of the flexible disk. The magnetic heads are supported by a carriage assembly  22  through a pair of upper and lower gimbal plates collectively depicted at  13  in FIG. 2. The carriage assembly  22  is positioned above the main frame  11  at a distance from the main frame  11 . The carriage assembly  22  holds the magnetic heads so that the magnetic heads are moved in a predetermined direction (depicted by an arrow B in FIG. 2) with respect to the flexible disk. The predetermined direction is a radial direction of the flexible disk. As will later be described, the carriage assembly  22  is supported and guided at both lateral sides thereof by a pair of guide bars  14  extending in the predetermined direction B.  
         [0044]    The carriage assembly  22  is driven in the predetermined direction B by a voice coil motor  20 . The voice coil motor  20  is positioned at a rear portion of the disk drive. The voice coil motor  20  comprises a voice coil  21 , and a pair of magnetic circuit devices  50  each of which is for generating a magnetic field in a direction intersecting an electric current flowing through the voice coil  21 .  
         [0045]    Referring to FIGS. 3 and 4 in addition, the carriage assembly  22  comprises a carriage body  24  of a resin material, an upper carriage  222   a , and a lower carriage  222   b . The upper and the lower gimbal plates depicted at  13   a  and  13   b  are formed at free ends of the upper and the lower carriages  222   a  and  222   b , respectively. The voice coil  21  is integrally coupled to the carriage body  24  on the both lateral sides thereof. The upper and the lower gimbal plates  13   a  and  13   b  hold the upper and the lower magnetic heads depicted at  17   a  and  17   b  in FIG. 4, respectively. A first projecting member  220   a  projects from the lower carriage  222   b  on both lateral sides thereof. Likewise, a second projecting member  220   b  projects from the carriage body  24  on the both lateral sides thereof at its lower portion. The guide bars  14  extend in parallel to each other in the predetermined direction B and pass through the first and the second projecting members  220   a  and  220   b . The upper carriage  222   a  is pivotable around a fixed end connected to the carriage body  24 .  
         [0046]    Referring to FIGS. 2 and 5 through  8 , the magnetic recording/reproducing mechanism according to the first embodiment of this invention will be described in detail. The magnetic recording/reproducing mechanism illustrated in FIG. 2 comprises the voice coil motor  20  and the carriage assembly  22  coupled thereto. The voice coil motor  20  comprises a voice coil  21  and a pair of the magnetic circuit devices  50 .  
         [0047]    Each of the magnetic circuit devices  50  comprises a permanent magnet  200  magnetized in a direction of its thickness, and a yoke member. The yoke member comprises a center yoke  202  and a back yoke  203 . The center yoke  202  is fixedly disposed to extend in the predetermined direction B or a moving direction of the carriage assembly  22  and passes through the voice coil  21 . The back yoke  203  extends in parallel to the center yoke  202  at a certain distance therefrom and has a principal surface  203   a  faced to the center yoke  202 . The back yoke  203  has end portions  203   b  each of which is bent downward by means of press working to form a generally right angle. The end portions  203   b  are physically and magnetically connected to corresponding ends of the center yoke  202  to form an endless-shape member. A permanent magnet  200  is fixedly attached to the principal surface  203   a  of the back yoke  203 . Each of the center yoke  202  and the back yoke  203  is made of a steel plate having a thickness of at least 3 mm.  
         [0048]    The center yoke  202 , the back yoke  203 , the permanent magnet  200  have a center yoke width Wc, a back yoke width Wb, and a magnet width Wm (Wm is not indicated in FIG. 5), respectively. Each of the magnet width Wm and the back yoke width Wb are greater than the center yoke width Wc. In this embodiment, the magnet width Wm is equal to the back yoke width Wb. With this structure, the magnetic field effectively acts on the voice coil  21  with a greater number of magnetic fluxes. Therefore, sufficient driving force is assured with a less number of components without the side yokes in the conventional mechanism.  
         [0049]    The magnetic recording/reproducing mechanism comprising a combination of the voice coil motor  20  and the carriage assembly  22  will be described in detail with reference to FIGS. 6 through 8.  
         [0050]    The carriage body  24  is connected through a pair of carriage spring portions  221  to the upper and the lower carriages  222   a  and  222   b , respectively. The lower carriage  222   b  is not illustrated in FIGS. 7 and 8.  
         [0051]    The first and the second projecting members  220   a  and  220   b  are slidably coupled to the guide bars  14  extending in the predetermined direction B. Thus, the carriage assembly  22  is movable in the predetermined direction B.  
         [0052]    The carriage spring portions  221  having elasticity are fixed at their one ends to upper and lower surfaces of the carriage body  24 , respectively, through plate members  223  and bolts  224 . The other ends of the carriage spring portions  221  are fixedly connected to one ends of the upper and the lower carriages  222   a  and  222   b , respectively. Thus, the upper and the lower carriages  222   a  and  222   b  are elastically supported by the carriage spring portions  221 . As illustrated in FIG. 4, the upper and the lower magnetic heads  17   a  and  17   b  are attached to inner surfaces of the upper and the lower gimbal plates  13   a  and  13   b  which are connected to the free ends of the upper and the lower carriages  222   a  and  222   b , respectively.  
         [0053]    As shown in FIGS. 6 and 7, the voice coil  21  is wound on a bobbin  23 . The bobbin  23  is a flat cylindrical shape comprising two confronting flat portions and two arc-shaped portions connecting the flat portions at both ends. The bobbin has a pair of flange portions  230  slightly protruding from the arc-shaped portions, respectively. The bobbin  23  surrounds collectively both of the center york.  
         [0054]    The carriage body  24  has a pair of clamping portions  220   d  by which the bobbin  23  is clamped and supported. Therefore, the bobbin  23  serves as a coil holding portion of the carriage assembly, and the voice coil  23  can be reliably fixed to the carriage assembly through the bobbin. The voice coil  21  is preliminarily wound around the bobbin  23  before it is fixed to the carriage assembly  22 . The bobbin  23  with the voice coil  21  wound therearound is fixed to the carriage assembly  22  and then fitted to the center yokes  202  to surround the center yokes  202  so that the bobbin  23  is movable in the longitudinal direction of the center yokes  202 , namely, the predetermined direction B.  
         [0055]    The main frame  11  has a pair of seating portions  110  for separating the magnetic circuit devices  50  from a principal surface  11   a  of the main frame  11 . Each seating portion  110  has a pair of protrusions  110   a  upwardly protruding therefrom. Each protrusion  110   a  has a height smaller than the thickness of the center yoke  202 . As illustrated in FIG. 5, each center yoke  202  has notches  202   a  formed at both ends thereof for fitting the protrusions  110   a.    
         [0056]    Thus, the protrusions  110   a  of the seating portion  110  serve to fixedly position the center yoke  202 . Each of the back yokes  203  has a pair of protrusions  203   c  formed at both longitudinal ends thereof to be fitted in the notches  202   a . Each protrusion  203  has a height substantially equal to a difference between the thickness of each center yoke  202  and the height of each protrusion  110   a  of each seating portion  110 . Thus, the notches  202   a  of the center yoke  202  serve to position the back yoke  203 .  
         [0057]    In the voice coil motor  20  of the above-mentioned structure, the magnetic field is generated in each of spaces between the center yokes  202  and the back yokes  203 . The electric current flows through the voice coil  21  in a direction intersecting the magnetic field to produce driving force in the longitudinal direction of the center yoke  202  as a result of interaction between the electric current and the magnetic field. The driving force moves the carriage assembly  22  in the predetermined direction B coincident with the longitudinal direction of the center yoke  202 . The movement of the carriage assembly  22  moves the upper and the lower magnetic heads  17   a  and  17   b  (FIG. 4) relative to the flexible disk (not shown).  
         [0058]    In the first embodiment, a pair of the magnetic circuit devices  50  are provided. However, use may also be made of a single magnetic circuit device  50  or three or more magnetic circuit devices  50 . Although the center yokes  202  are collectively surrounded by a single bobbin  23  in the first embodiment, two bobbins  23  may be used to be slidably fitted on the center yokes  202 , respectively.  
         [0059]    It is a modification that the bobbin  23  is omitted and the voice coil  21  is hard to maintain a flat cylindrical shape similar to the bobbin. In that case, the voice coil is clamped and supported by the clamping portions  220   d . The clamping potions serve as the coil holding portion of the carriage assembly.  
         [0060]    Referring to FIG. 9, a magnetic recording/reproducing mechanism according to a second embodiment of this invention is substantially similar to that of the first embodiment except that the bobbin  23  and the clamping portion of the carriage body  24  are integrally formed into a single body of plastic resin by a molding process. Similar parts are designated by like reference numerals and will not be described any longer.  
         [0061]    In the first and the second embodiments, the voice coil  21  is fixed to the clamping portion  220   d  of the carriage assembly  22  by the use of an adhesive. Specifically, the adhesive is applied onto a predetermined portion of the voice coil  21 . The voice coil  21  is then inserted in the clamping portions  220   d . At this time, the voice coil  21  is accurately positioned by the clamping portions  220   d  with respect to the carriage assembly  22 . Thereafter, the adhesive is solidified.  
         [0062]    Thus, positioning and attachment of the voice coil  21  can be easily carried out in the first and the second embodiments by means of the clamping portions  220   d.    
         [0063]    Referring to FIG. 10, a magnetic recording/reproducing mechanism according to a third embodiment of this invention is similar to the second embodiment except that the bobbin  23  and the carriage portion  24  are integrally formed into a single body by molding and that the bobbin  23  has flange portions  230  formed at both ends thereof to project outward. Similar parts are designated by like reference numerals and will not be described any longer.  
         [0064]    In the third embodiment, positioning and attachment of the voice coil  21  can be easily carried out by means of the flange portions  230 .  
         [0065]    Referring to FIGS. 11 through 13, a magnetic recording/reproducing mechanism according to a fourth embodiment of the present invention is basically similar to the first embodiment. Similar parts are designated by like reference numerals and will not be described any longer.  
         [0066]    In the fourth embodiment, a pair of the voice coils  21  are used and slidably fitted on the two center yokes  202 , respectively. A pair of clamping portions  220   e  are formed on both side walls of the carriage body  24  of the carriage assembly  22  and clamp and support the voice coils  21 , respectively. Each of the clamping portions  220   e  is an L-shaped member formed or mounted on the side wall with an end of the a foot portion of the L being fixed to the side wall and the leg portion of the L extends in parallel with the side wall to form a gap therebetween. The voice coil  21  passes through the gap and is held by the side wall and the clamping portion  220   e , that is, the leg of the L-shaped member. The clamping portions serves as the coil holding portions.  
         [0067]    In a modification, two coil bobbins are clamped and supported by the side walls and the clamping portions  220   e , and the voice coils  21  are wound on the bobbins, respectively. In the case, the bobbins serve as the coil holding portions. The clamping portions  220   e  are similar in function and effect to that of the clamping portions  220   d  in the first embodiment.  
         [0068]    Referring to FIGS. 14 through 17, a magnetic recording/reproducing mechanism according to a fifth embodiment is basically similar to the fourth embodiment in that the coil holding portions are formed on both side walls of the carriage body. The carriage assembly  22  is similar in structure to that illustrated in FIGS. 3 and 4. Similar parts are designated by like reference numerals and will not be described any longer.  
         [0069]    In the fifth embodiment, the second projecting member  220   b  integral with the carriage body  24  has a pair of holding portions  226   d  of a thin plate shape facing and supporting the lower surfaces of the voice coils  21 . The holding portions  226   d  extend from the second projecting member  220   b  towards but under the central yokes  202 , respectively. The voice coils  21  are mounted on and adhered to the holding portions  226   d , respectively.  
         [0070]    As illustrated in FIG. 15, each voice coil  21  is assumed to have a longitudinal size L in a transversal direction perpendicular to the predetermined direction. In this event, each holding portion  226   d  has a size slightly greater than L/2 in the transversal direction.  
         [0071]    The voice coils  21  and the carriage body  24  are directly adhered by the adhesive. In addition, the holding portions  226   d  and the voice coils  21  are adhered by the adhesive. With this structure, the voice coils  21  are stably mounted and fixed to the holding portions  226   d.    
         [0072]    In FIG. 15, a wiring member  125  such as a flexible printed circuit (FPC) has one end connected to the carriage assembly  22  and the other end connected to a power supply terminal of an electronic apparatus (not shown).  
         [0073]    In this embodiment, the voice coils  21  can be reliably fixed to the carriage assembly  22  with a correct position insured by means of the holding portions  226   d.    
         [0074]    In a modification of this embodiment, a coil bobbin is fixed to each of the holding portions  226   d  and the voice coil  21  can be wound and held on the bobbin. The bobbin can be formed into an integral form with the holding potion by a plastic molding process.  
         [0075]    Referring to FIG. 18, a magnetic recording/reproducing mechanism according to a sixth embodiment is substantially similar to the fifth embodiment. Similar parts are designated by like reference numerals and will not be described any longer.  
         [0076]    In the sixth embodiment, the carriage body  24  has a pair of the holding portions  226   d  and a pair of fitting portions  241   a . Each of the holding portions  226   d  serves to hold a part of a lower peripheral surface of the voice coil  21 . Each of the fitting portions  241   a  serves to hold one of arc-shaped side surfaces of the voice coil  21 .  
         [0077]    In a plastic molding process of the carriage body  24  with the holding portions  226   d , the voice coils  21  are molded in and is fixedly held by the carriage body. That is, the one arc-shaped side surface of the voice coil  21  and the fitting portion  241   a  are integrally formed upon resin molding. Each of the holding portions  226   d  and each of the voice coils  21  are directly bonded together upon resin molding. With this structure, the voice coils  21  are stably supported and fixed by the fitting portions  241   a . The fitting portion  241   a  is formed at least in a region corresponding to the arc-shaped side surface of the voice coil  21 . The fitting portion  241   a  may be extended to the lower peripheral surface, the upper peripheral surface, and the inside of the arc-shaped side surface of the voice coil  21 .  
         [0078]    Although this invention has thus far been described in conjunction with the several preferred embodiments thereof, it will be understood that this invention is not restricted to the foregoing embodiments and can be modified in various manners within a scope of this invention. For example, this invention is applicable not only to the disk drive but also various-type recording/reproducing apparatuses such as an optical disk recording/reproducing device.