Abstract:
An HGA protecting method and member and method of implementing the protecting method and member in a hard disk drive. The HGA includes an actuator, at least one pair of suspensions coupled to the actuator, a flexure having a stationary end fixed to each of the suspensions and a free end, and a slider attached between the stationary end and the free end of the flexure. The HGA protecting member may include a finger restricting excessive movement of the suspension. The finger may further have a flexure supporting portion supporting the free end of the flexure. The HGA protecting member may also be a removable assembly that may be removed after the HGA after assembly of the hard disk drive is complete.

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
   This application claims the priority of Korean Patent Application No. 2004-63101, filed on Aug. 11, 2004, in the Korean Intellectual Property Office, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein in its entirety by reference. 
   BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
   1. Field of the Invention 
   Embodiments of the present invention relate to a recording and/or reproducing apparatus and method, e.g., a hard disk drive, and more particularly, to a head gimbal assembly (HGA) protecting member and method preventing damage to an HGA and a method of implementing the HGA protecting member in the hard disk drive. 
   2. Description of the Related Art 
   A hard disk drive (HDD) is a data storage device for a computer, for example, to read data from a hard disk and/or write data on/to the hard disk by using a magnetic head. The hard disk drive can include a base provided with a head gimbal assembly (HGA). The magnetic head can be movably supported on the disk by the HGA. Typically, an HGA protecting member is mounted to the HGA to prevent the HGA and/or components related to the HGA from being damaged in the course of transporting the HGA or while installing the HGA to the base. 
     FIGS. 1 and 2  respectively illustrate a perspective view and a rear view of the HGA with a conventional HGA protecting member mounted thereto. 
   Referring to  FIGS. 1 and 2 , the HGA  10  can include an actuator  16  rotatable a desired angle around a pivot  12 , on a base (not shown) of a hard disk drive, two pairs of suspensions  20 ,  25 ,  30  and  35  fixed to one end of the actuator  16 , and a motor coil  14  on the other end of the actuator  16 , with the pivot  12  interposed between the motor coil  14  end and the suspensions end of the actuator  16 . The base of the hard disk drive can be provided with a magnet (not shown), to rotate the HGA  10  in a direction according to the Fleming&#39;s left-hand rule by interaction between a current input to the motor coil  14  and a magnetic field generated by the magnet. 
   The suspensions  20 ,  25 ,  30  and  35  can be provided with corresponding end-taps  21 ,  26 ,  31  and  36 , which are supported by a ramp (not shown) when the HGA  10  is parked. Flexures  22 ,  27 ,  32  and  37  can be attached to opposite ends of the paired suspensions  20 ,  25 ,  30  and  35 , and sliders  23 ,  28 ,  33  and  38  can be attached to the corresponding flexures  22 ,  27 ,  32  and  37 , such that paired sliders oppose each other. Magnetic heads (not shown) can be mounted to each of the sliders  23 ,  28 ,  33  and  38  to write and/or read data to/on the disk. 
   During operation of the hard disk drive, the sliders  23 ,  28 ,  33  and  38  can be maintained in a floating state at a desired height above the rotating disk. The floating state can be maintained by the balance of power acting on the sliders. In order to keep the balance of force, the paired suspensions  20  and  25  (as well as paired suspensions  30  and  35 ) are bent to approach the paired of sliders  23  and  28  (and corresponding paired sliders  33  and  38 ), with the paired sliders facing to each other. 
   Therefore, while transporting the HGA  10  or while installing the HGA in the base, the facing sliders  23  and  28  and facing sliders  33  and  38  may collide with each other, even after weak impacts. Accordingly, an HGA protecting member  40  may be mounted to the HGA  10  in order to prevent such collision during such transport or installation. 
   The HGA protecting member  40  typically includes a pair of fingers  43  and  44  along an end thereof. The lower finger  43  is inserted between the pair of lower suspensions  20  and  25 , while the upper finger  44  is inserted between the pair of upper suspensions  30  and  35 . Although the conventional HGA protecting member  40  is installed on the HGA  10 , paired flexures  22  and  27  and paired flexures  32  and  37 , as well as paired sliders  23  and  28  and paired sliders  33  and  38 , attached thereto, are not supported by the fingers  43  and  44 . Therefore, the HGA may still be in danger of being damaged by impact. Also, since the end-taps  21 ,  26 ,  31  and  36  of the respective suspensions  20 ,  25 ,  30  and  35  are not near the support points of the fingers  43  and  44 , collision of the end-taps is still possible. 
   SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
   Embodiments of the present invention provide an HGA protecting member and method preventing damage of a flexure, suspension, and end-tap of an HGA. 
   Embodiments of the present invention also provide a member and method for installing an HGA in a hard disk drive by use of an HGA protecting member. 
   To achieve the above and/or other aspects and advantages, embodiments of the present invention include a head gimbal assembly (HGA) protecting member to be mounted to an HGA including an actuator, at least one pair of suspensions coupled to the actuator, a flexure having a stationary end fixed to each of the suspensions and a free end, with a slider attached between the stationary end and the free end of the flexure, the HGA protecting member including a finger to restrict movement of the suspension, the finger including a flexure supporting portion to support the free end of the flexure. 
   The suspension may include an end-tap, and the finger includes an end-tap supporting portion to support the end-tap. In addition, the finger may further include a stepped portion formed between the flexure supporting portion and the end-tap supporting portion. 
   The finger may have a tapered shape so that the finger is insertable between adjacent suspensions without damaging the adjacent suspensions. Further, the HGA protecting member may also include a mounting boss inserted into a through-hole formed at the actuator of the HGA. 
   To achieve the above and/or other aspects and advantages, embodiments of the present invention include a head gimbal assembly (HGA) protection method for an HGA including an actuator, at least one pair of suspensions coupled to the actuator, a flexure having a stationary end fixed to each of the suspensions and a free end, with a slider attached between the stationary end and the free end of the flexure, the HGA protection method including restricting movement of the suspension with a flexure supporting portion supporting the free end of the flexure. 
   The restricting of movement may be performed by a finger inserting between adjacent suspensions without damaging the adjacent suspensions. 
   The restricting of movement further may also support an end-tap at an end of the suspension. 
   To achieve the above and/or other aspects and advantages, embodiments of the present invention include a method of implementing an HGA for a hard disk drive, the HGA including an actuator, at least one pair of suspensions coupled to the actuator, a flexure having a stationary end fixed to each of the suspensions and a free end, with a slider attached between the stationary end and the free end of the flexure, the method including instituting a first HGA protection restricting movement of the suspension, the restricting being implemented by a first finger including a flexure supporting portion supporting the free end of the flexure, wherein the first finger is inserted between adjacent suspensions so that the flexure supporting portion firmly supports the free end of the flexure, installing the HGA including the first HGA protection in a base of the hard disk drive, and ceasing the first HGA protection of the HGA. 
   The ceasing of the first HGA protection may include removing the first finger from between the adjacent suspensions. 
   Further, the suspension may include an end-tap and the first finger includes an end-tap supporting portion supporting the end-tap, wherein the first finger is inserted between the adjacent suspensions so that the end-tap supporting portion supports the end-tap. The first finger may include a stepped portion formed between the flexure supporting portion and the end-tap supporting portion. 
   The first finger may have a tapered shape so that the first finger is insertable between the adjacent suspensions without damaging the adjacent suspensions. 
   In addition, the HGA protection may further include having a mounting boss inserted into a through-hole of the actuator of the HGA, wherein when the first HGA protection is implemented, the mounting boss is in the through-hole, and when the first HGA protection is ceased, the mounting boss is not in the through-hole. 
   The method may further include instituting a second HGA protection supporting a portion of the suspension between parts attached to the actuator and the flexure using a second finger inserted between the adjacent suspensions, wherein the second finger is inserted between the adjacent suspensions, prior to the HGA being installed in the base of the hard disk drive, to support the portion of the suspension between the parts attached to the actuator and the flexure, and ceasing the second HGA protection by removing the second finger between the adjacent suspensions. 
   The method of implementing the HGA for the hard disk drive may be a method of installing the HGA into the hard disk drive using an HGA protecting member to institute the HGA protection, wherein upon installation of the HGA into the hard disk drive the hard disk drive can be operable upon removal of the HGA protecting member from the HGA. 
   Additional aspects and/or advantages of the invention will be set forth in part in the description which follows and, in part, will be obvious from the description, or may be learned by practice of the invention. 

   
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     These and/or other aspects and advantages of the invention will become apparent and more readily appreciated from the following description of the embodiments, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings of which: 
       FIGS. 1 and 2  illustrate respective perspective and rear views of an HGA with a conventional HGA protecting member; 
       FIG. 3  illustrates a perspective view of an HGA protecting member, according to an embodiment of the present invention; 
       FIGS. 4 and 5  illustrate respective top and front views of an HGA with the HGA protecting member, according to an embodiment of the present invention; 
       FIGS. 6 and 7  illustrate respective top and rear views of an HGA with an HGA protecting member, according to another embodiment of the present invention; and 
       FIG. 8  illustrates a top view of an HGA with an HGA protecting member, according to still another embodiment of the present invention. 
   

   DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
   Reference will now be made in detail to embodiments of the present invention, examples of which are illustrated in the accompanying drawings, wherein like reference numerals refer to the like elements throughout. The embodiments are described below to explain the present invention by referring to the figures. 
     FIG. 3  illustrates a perspective view of an HGA protecting member  100 , according to an embodiment of the present invention, with  FIGS. 4 and 5  illustrating respective top and front views of an HGA with the HGA protecting member  100 . 
   Referring to  FIGS. 3 through 5 , the HGA protecting member  100  can be made of a plastic resin by molding, for example, and can include a mounting boss  105  for insertion into a first through-hole  17  of an actuator  16 , and fingers  110  and  140  for insertion between paired adjacent suspensions  20  and  25  and paired adjacent suspensions  30  and  35 . Also, the HGA protecting member  100  can be provided with a handle  102 . The first through-hole  17  of the actuator  16  can be used so that the suspensions  20 ,  25 ,  30 , and  35  can attach to the actuator  16  by swaging. 
   As the shape and function of each of the fingers  110  and  140  may be similar to each other, only the insertion of finger  140  between the suspensions  30  and  35  will now be described in detail. Thus, the following description of the finger  140  can be applied to insertion of the finger  110  between the suspensions  20  and  25 . The finger  140  can be formed with a wedge shape with inclined surfaces  142  and  152  to be easily inserted between the pair of adjacent suspensions  30  and  35 . The finger can also include lower and upper flexure supporting portions  143  (shown in  FIG. 5) and 144  extending from the inclined surface  142 , and lower and upper end-tap supporting portions  153  (shown in  FIG. 5) and 154  extending from the inclined surface  152 . A stepped portion is formed between the lower flexure supporting portion  143  and the lower end-tap supporting portion  153 , with the lower end-tap supporting portion  153  being located lower than the lower flexure supporting portion  143 . Another stepped portion is formed between the upper flexure supporting portion  144  and the upper end-tap supporting portion  154 , with the upper end-tap supporting portion  154  being located higher than the upper flexure supporting portion  144 . The stepped portions formed between the respective upper and lower flexure supporting portions  143  and  144  and the respective upper and lower end-tap supporting portions  153  and  154  can be designed to correspond to the thickness of the flexures  32  and  37  supported to the respective flexure supporting portions  143  and  144 . 
   The HGA protecting member  100  can be mounted to the HGA  10  to protect the HGA  10  while the HGA  10  is being made and while the HGA  10  is being installed in a base (not shown) of the hard disk drive, for example. The HGA protecting member  100  can be mounted to the HGA by inserting the mounting boss  105  into the first through-hole  17  of the actuator  16  and inserting the finger  110  between the suspensions  20  and  25  and the finger  140  between the suspensions  30  and  35 . 
   Flexures  32  and  37  can be attached to the suspensions  30  and  35  located under/over the finger  140 , respectively, so that the flexures face each other. The flexures  32  and  37  include stationary ends  32   a  and  37   a , fixed to the suspensions  30  and  35 , and free ends  32   b  and  37   b . The free ends  32   b  and  37   b  are extended to front ends of the suspensions  30  and  35 , but may not be extended to end-taps  31  and  36 , provided at the front ends of the suspensions  30  and  35 , respectively. Sliders  33  and  38  are mounted between the stationary ends  32   a  and  37   a  and the free ends  32   b  and  37   b  of the flexures  32  and  37 , respectively, so that the sliders face each other. 
   When the finger  140  is inserted between the suspensions  30  and  35 , the free ends  32   b  and  37   b  of the flexures  32  and  37  are spaced apart each other by way of the inclined surface  142 . The end-taps  31  and  36  are similarly spaced apart by way of the inclined surface  152 . The flexure supporting portions  143  and  144  can support the free ends  32   b  and  37   b  of the flexures  32  and  37 , respectively, thereby preventing the free ends  32   b  and  37   b  from excessively wobbling up and down. Similarly, the end-tap supporting portions  153  and  154  support the end-taps  31  and  36 , respectively, thereby preventing the end-taps  31  and  36  from excessively wobbling up and down. 
   The HGA  10 , with the HGA protecting member  100  mounted thereto, can be installed in the base (not shown) of the hard disk drive, and is rotatable around a pivot  12 . The finger  110  can be removed from the suspensions  20  and  25  and the finger  140  can be removed from suspensions  30  and  35 . The mounting boss  105  can also be removed from the first through-hole  17  to detach the HGA protecting member  100  from the HGA  10 . 
   The HGA protecting member  100 , according to an embodiment of the present invention, may be installed on the HGA  10  together with a conventional HGA protecting member  40 , previously described with reference to  FIGS. 1 and 2 , so as to more safely protect the HGA from being damaged. 
     FIGS. 6 and 7  respectively illustrate top and rear views showing an HGA with an HGA protecting member  200 , according to other embodiments of the present invention. A structure of the HGA can be similar to that of a conventional HGA, so the detailed description thereof will not be further discussed herein. 
   Referring to  FIGS. 6 and 7 , the HGA protecting member  200  can be made of a plastic resin by molding, for example, and may include a mounting boss (not shown) insertable into a second through-hole  18  of an actuator  16 , and a pair of fingers  210  and  240  insertable between paired adjacent suspensions  20  and  25  and paired adjacent suspensions  30  and  35 . A hole for mounting the conventional HGA protecting member  40  (see  FIGS. 1 and 2 ) to the HGA  10  may also be used as the second through-hole  18 , according to an embodiment of the present invention. 
   The shape and function of the pair of fingers  210  and  240  are similar to those of the fingers  110  and  140 , according to an above embodiment, so the detailed description thereof will be further omitted herein. 
   The HGA protecting member  200  can be mounted on the HGA  10  to protect the HGA  10 , e.g., until the HGA  10  is completed and installed in a base (not shown) of the hard disk drive. 
   When the finger  240  is inserted between the suspensions  30  and  35 , the free ends  32   b  and  37   b  of the flexures  32  and  37  are spaced apart from each other by way of the inclined surface  242 , and the end-taps  31  and  36  are spaced from each other by way of the inclined surface  252 . Also the flexure supporting portions  243  and  244  can support the free ends  32   b  and  37   b  of the flexures  32  and  37 , respectively, thereby preventing the free ends  32   b  and  37   b  from wobbling up and down. Similarly, end-tap supporting portions  253  and  254  can support the end-taps  31  and  36 , respectively, thereby preventing the end-taps  31  and  36  from wobbling up and down. This description of the finger  240  may be similarly applied to another finger  210 . 
   The HGA  10 , with the HGA protecting member  200  mounted thereto, can be installed in the base (not shown) of the hard disk drive, and may be rotated around the pivot  12 . The finger  210  may be removed from the suspensions  20  and  25  and finger  24  may be removed from suspensions  30  and  35 . The mounting boss (not shown) can be removed from the second through-hole  18 , detaching the HGA protecting member  200  from the HGA  10 . 
     FIG. 8  illustrates a top view of an HGA with an HGA protecting member  300 , according to another embodiment of the present invention. 
   Referring to  FIG. 8 , the HGA protecting member  300  may include a first finger  340  for supporting the flexure  37  and the end-top  36 , and a second finger  380  for supporting the portion of the suspension  35  between parts attached to the actuator  16  and the flexure  37 . The first finger  340  may be similar to the finger  140  (see  FIG. 3 ) of an above embodiment, and the second finger  380  may be similar to the finger  44  (see  FIG. 2 ) of a conventional HGA protection member, for example. Accordingly, the detailed description of the corresponding first and second fingers will be omitted further herein. 
   With the above description, when the HGA protecting member embodiments of the present invention are mounted on an HGA, a finger of the HGA protecting member can support a flexure of the HGA and an end-tap of a suspension, thereby preventing the suspension, the end-tap, and the flexure from wobbling during transport or during installation of the HGA, thereby preventing damage of the flexure and the slider, as well as the magnetic head mounted onto the slider. 
   Further, an installation of the HGA in the hard disk drive using the HGA protecting member may prevent damage of the HGA in the course of installing the HGA in the base of the hard disk drive. Additional embodiments are also available, e.g., an HGA protecting member may include only one pair of suspensions and may be provided with only one finger. 
   Thus, although a few embodiments of the present invention have been shown and described, it would be appreciated by those skilled in the art that changes may be made in these embodiments without departing from the principles and spirit of the invention, the scope of which is defined in the claims and their equivalents.