Source: http://www.google.com/patents/US7643252?dq=5,870,513
Timestamp: 2016-02-13 20:57:08
Document Index: 619468984

Matched Legal Cases: ['art 9', 'art 11', 'art 9', 'art 9', 'art 11', 'art 9', 'art 11', 'art 9', 'art 11', 'art 11', 'art 9', 'art 11', 'art 9']

Patent US7643252 - Head suspension having wiring disposed with conductive layer - Google PatentsSearch Images Maps Play YouTube News Gmail Drive More »Sign inPatentsA head suspension prevents a read element from electrostatic discharge damage without employing a static electricity remover, and at the same time, secures the frequency characteristics of a write signal. The head suspension has a load beam to apply load to a slider that writes and reads data to and...http://www.google.com/patents/US7643252?utm_source=gb-gplus-sharePatent US7643252 - Head suspension having wiring disposed with conductive layerAdvanced Patent SearchPublication numberUS7643252 B2Publication typeGrantApplication numberUS 11/359,317Publication dateJan 5, 2010Filing dateFeb 21, 2006Priority dateFeb 21, 2005Fee statusPaidAlso published asCN1825433A, CN1825433B, US20060187587Publication number11359317, 359317, US 7643252 B2, US 7643252B2, US-B2-7643252, US7643252 B2, US7643252B2InventorsHajime Arai, Ikuo SomeyaOriginal AssigneeNhk Spring Co., Ltd.Export CitationBiBTeX, EndNote, RefManPatent Citations (31), Non-Patent Citations (1), Referenced by (27), Classifications (10), Legal Events (2) External Links: USPTO, USPTO Assignment, EspacenetHead suspension having wiring disposed with conductive layer
US 7643252 B2Abstract
A head suspension prevents a read element from electrostatic discharge damage without employing a static electricity remover, and at the same time, secures the frequency characteristics of a write signal. The head suspension has a load beam to apply load to a slider that writes and reads data to and from a hard disk, a flexture made of a conductive thin plate attached to the load beam, to support the slider, write wires connected to the slider and formed on an insulating base layer that is made of flexible resin and is formed on the flexure, and coating made of conductive flexible resin to discharge static electricity. The coating is formed over the read wires and is extended to the surface of the flexure.
a load beam configured to apply load to a slider that writes and reads data to and from a hard disk;
a flexure made of a conductive thin plate attached to the load beam and configured to support the slider;
an insulating base layer formed of a flexible resin disposed on the flexure
write wires and read wires having first ends connected to the slider and second ends disposed distal to the slider and at the load beam, said write wires and said read wires being disposed on the insulating base layer along a length from the first ends to the second ends;
the insulating base layer defining a hole adjacent to said read wires and exposing a flexure surface of the flexure; and
a conductive coating, made of conductive flexible resin, formed over the read wires at a position between the first ends and the second ends and extended to pass through the hole in the insulating base layer and contact the flexure surface of the flexure exposed by the hole, said conductive coating being composed so as to effect discharge of static electricity to the flexure, and said conductive coating being not disposed over the write wires between the first and second ends.
2. The head suspension of claim 1, further comprising an insulating cover layer covering portions of the write and read wires disposed on the insulating base layer; and
the conductive coating being formed on the insulating cover layer at the position over the read wires such that the insulating cover layer separates the conductive coating from the read wires.
3. The head suspension of claim 1, wherein the conductive coating has a surface resistivity in the range of 104 to 1011 Ω/sq.
4. The head suspension of claim 2, wherein the conductive coating has a surface resistivity in the range of 104 to 1011 Ω/sq.
5. The head suspension of claim 4 wherein the insulating base layer and the insulating cover layer have a surface resistivity of about 1014 Ω/sq.
6. The head suspension of claim 3 wherein the insulating base layer has a surface resistivity of about 1014 Ω/sq.
7. The head suspension of claim 2 wherein the insulating base layer and the insulating cover layer have a surface resistivity of about 1014 Ω/sq.
8. The head suspension of claim 1 wherein the insulating base layer has a surface resistivity of about 1014 Ω/sq.
9. The head suspension of claim 1 wherein the conductive coating contacts the read wires at the position between the first and second ends.
10. The head suspension of claim 9, further comprising:
an insulating cover layer covering portions of the write and read wires at another position on the flexure between the first and second ends; and
the conductive coating being formed over the read wires and on the insulating cover layer at the another position such that the insulating cover layer separates the conductive coating from the read wires at the another position.
11. The head suspension of claim 10, wherein the hole is formed at a position adjacent the another position on the flexure, and the insulating cover layer separates the conductive coating from the read wires at areas of the read wires adjacent the hole.
12. The head suspension of claim 11, wherein the conductive coating has a surface resistivity in the range of 104 to 1011 Ω/sq.
an insulating base layer formed of a flexible resin disposed on the flexure;
a conductive coating, made of conductive flexible resin, formed over the read wires between the first ends and the second ends and extended to contact the flexure surface of the flexure, said conductive coating being composed so as to effect discharge of static electricity to the flexure, and said conductive coating being not disposed over the write wires between the first and second ends;
the conductive coating contacting the read wires at a first position between the first and second ends;
an insulating cover layer covering portions of the write and read wires at a second position on the flexure between the first and second ends; and
the conductive coating being formed over the read wires and on the insulating cover layer at the second position such that the insulating cover layer separates the conductive coating from the read wires at the second position.
14. The head suspension of claim 13, wherein the insulating cover layer separates the conductive coating from the read wires at the second position along an area whereat the conductive coating contact the flexure surface.
15. The head suspension of claim 14, wherein the conductive coating has a surface resistivity in the range of 104 to 1011 Ω/sq.
A hard disk drive (HDD) employs a head suspension for suspending a magnetic head to write and read data to and from a magnetic disk. To transfer write and read signals to and from the magnetic head, wires are connected to the magnetic head. The wires are arranged on an insulating base layer that is made of flexible resin and is formed on a flexure, which is a part of the head suspension and is made of a resilient stainless-steel thin plate. The wires are covered with an insulating cover layer made of flexible resin.
When the flexure is assembled into the head suspension, the surface of the insulating cover layer may be rubbed with another part such as a clamp or a tool, to accumulate static electricity. This static electricity is transferred to the wires under the insulating cover layer. If the magnetic head of the head suspension touches a tool or a jig, or if a slider pad and a flexure pad of the head suspension touch each other during a GBB (gold ball bonding) or SBB (stud bump bonding) process, the static electricity accumulated in the wires will move to the magnetic head to deteriorate or destroy a read element of the magnetic head.
Recent hard disk drives employ MR (magnetoresistive) heads and GMR (giant magnetoresistive) heads to improve a read sensitivity. The MR and GMR heads are vulnerable to static electricity and require an electrostatic discharge damage preventive measure.
Unlike the read element, a write element of the magnetic head is resistive to electrostatic discharge because it is generally an inductive magnetic transducer. Instead of the electrostatic discharge damage preventive measure, the write element requires a measure to provide high-frequency signals and sharpen the rises of the signals to improve a write transfer speed.
Simply employing a conductive material to prevent the electrostatic discharge damage will result in lowering the frequency of a write signal and deteriorating write performance.
One measure for preventing the electrostatic discharge damage is to employ an ionizer (static electricity remover). The ionizer needs specific facilities and an additional ion balancing process, to thereby increase costs, as disclosed in Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 9-282624 and in Shoji Natori (Hitachi Computer Equipment) “ESD assessment of GMR head,” Jan. 31, 2003, Technical Committee, ESD Control Subcommitee.
An object of the present invention is to provide a head suspension capable of preventing electrostatic discharge damage of a read element without a static electricity remover and securing the frequency characteristic of a write signal.
In order to accomplish the object, an aspect of the present invention provides a head suspension having read wires coated with conductive flexible resin to discharge static electricity. The coating is extended to the surface of a flexure of the head suspension.
The coating on the read wires gradually discharges static electricity from the read wire side to a jig or an apparatus that is grounded, thereby preventing static discharge between the wires and a read element arranged on a slider of the head suspension and protecting the read element from electrostatic discharge damage. Static electricity on write wires has no influence on a write element. The write element is resistive to static electricity, and therefore, needs no electrostatic discharge damage preventive measure. The conductive flexible resin coating on the read wires does not deteriorate the frequency characteristic of a write signal passed through the write wires. Namely, the resin coating does not deteriorate write performance. This aspect of the present invention can eliminate a facility cost for a static electricity remover, omit an ion balancing process, and reduce the total cost of the head suspension.
FIG. 1 is a plan view showing a head suspension according to an embodiment of the present invention;
FIG. 2 is a plan view showing a flexure of the head suspension of FIG. 1;
FIG. 3 is an enlarged plan view showing a part III of FIG. 2;
FIG. 5 is a sectional view taken along a line V-V of FIG. 3; and
FIG. 6 is a sectional view taken along a line VI-VI of FIG. 3.
A head suspension according to an embodiment of the present invention will be explained. This embodiment practices an electrostatic discharge damage preventive measure on a read side, to prevent electrostatic discharge damage of a read element of a magnetic head without employing a static electricity remover, and at the same time, secure the frequency characteristic of a write signal.
General Structure of Head Suspension
FIG. 1 is a plan view showing the head suspension according to the embodiment.
The load beam 3 includes of a rigid part 9 and a resilient part 11, to apply load to a head 21. The rigid part 9 is made of, for example, stainless steel and is relatively thick. The thickness of the rigid part 9 is, for example, about 100 μm.
The resilient part 11 is a separate part from the rigid part 9 and is made of, for example, a resilient thin stainless-steel rolled plate. The spring constant of the resilient part 11 is precise and is lower than that of the rigid part 9. The thickness of the resilient part 11 is, for example, about 40 μm. A front end of the resilient part 11 is fixed to a rear end of the rigid part 9 by, for example, laser welding. A rear end of the resilient part 11 is integral with a reinforcing plate 13.
The base 5 has a base plate 15, which is laid over and fixed to the reinforcing plate 13 by, for example, laser welding. The base plate 15 is strengthened with the reinforcing plate 13, to form the base 5. The base 5 is attached to an arm of a carriage and is turned around a spindle.
The flexure 7 is a conductive thin plate made of, for example, a resilient thin stainless-steel rolled plate (SST) having a thickness of about 30 μm. On the flexure 7, there is an electric insulating layer on which wiring patterns 19 are formed. The flexure 7 is fixed to the rigid part 9 by, for example, laser welding. One ends of the wiring patterns 19 are electrically connected to write terminals 23 and read terminals 25 of the head 21. The other ends of the wiring patterns 19 are extended along the base 5.
The flexure 7 has a cantilever tongue 27 supported with the head 21. The tongue 27 has a write slider and a read slider. The write slider has terminals that correspond to the write terminals 23 and are connected to a write element. The read slider has terminals that correspond to the read terminals 25 and are connected to a read element.
The write element is, for example, a standard inductive magnetic transducer. The read element is a high sensitivity read element such as an MR (magnetoresistive) element, a GMR (giant magnetoresistive) element, or a TuMR (tunneling magnetoresistive) element.
FIG. 2 is a plan view showing the flexure 7 having the wiring patterns 19, FIG. 3 is an enlarged plan view showing a part III of FIG. 2, FIG. 4 is a sectional view taken along a line IV-IV of FIG. 3, FIG. 5 is a sectional view taken along a line V-V of FIG. 3, and FIG. 6 is a sectional view taken along a line VI-VI of FIG. 3.
In FIGS. 2 to 6, the wiring patterns 19 include write wires (Write1, Write2) 29 and read wires (Read1, Read2) 31 and are formed on an insulating base layer 35. The base layer 35 is made of flexible resin and is formed on the flexure 7.
The flexible resin of the insulating base layer 35 is polyimide and has a layer thickness of about 10 μm and a surface resistivity of about 1014 Ω/sq. With this high resistivity, the base layer 35 provides an appropriate insulating capability. The base layer 35 has holes 37 and 39 at proper locations, to partly expose the flexure 7.
The read wires 31 on the insulating base layer 35 are substantially covered with an insulating cover layer 41 having a layer thickness of about 20 μm in a rising direction from the insulating base layer 35. The cover layer 41 covers the surfaces of the read wires 31, to insulate and protect the read wires 31. Like the base layer 35, the cover layer 41 has a surface resistivity of about 1014 Ω/sq. With this high resistivity, the cover layer 41 achieves an appropriate insulating capability.
Over the read wires 31, there are formed coats or coating 43 and 45 with the use of masks. The coats 43 and 45 are made of conductive flexible resin and are extended to the surface of the flexure 7, to discharge static electricity. The coats 43 and 45 have a layer thickness of about several micrometers and a surface resistivity of 104 to 1011 Ω/sq. that is intermediate between conductance and non-conductance. Namely, the coats 43 and 45 are sufficiently insulative in terms of circuit operation and are adequately conductive with respect to static electricity.
The coat 43 covers the surface 49 of the insulating cover layer 41 and is extended to the holes 37 and 39. In the holes 37 and 39, the coat 43 covers the surface 47 of the flexure 7 and is grounded thereto.
The coat 45 covers the surfaces 51 of the read wires 31 and is extended to the hole 39. In the hole 39, the coat 45 covers the surface 47 of the flexure 7 and is grounded thereto.
The insulating base layer 35 insulates the write wires 29 and read wires 31 from the flexure 7. The read wires 31 are insulated and protected with the cover layer 41.
During an assembling work of the flexure 7, the coat 43 may be rubbed with another part such as a clamp or a tool, to accumulate static electricity. The static electricity in the coat 43 moves through the coat 43 to the surface 47 of the flexure 7 in the holes 37 and 39. From there, the static electricity is discharged to a jig, a tool, or the like that is in contact with the flexure 7.
If the read wires 31 accumulate static electricity through the insulating cover layer 41, the static electricity moves through the coat 45 to the surface 47 of the flexure 7 in the hole 39. From there, the static electricity is discharged to the jig, tool, or the like that is in contact with the flexure 7.
Even if a slider pad touches the read terminals 25 during the assembling work, no static electricity is transferred between the read wires 31 and the slider. Namely, the read element will not be deteriorated or damaged with static electricity. As a result, it is possible to employ, as the read element, an MR element, a GMR element, or a TuMR that is highly sensitive in reading data.
According to the embodiment, the head suspension 1 itself serves as a static electricity remover to eliminate static electricity without using an ionizer. The embodiment, therefore, can reduce a facility cost and the number of manufacturing processes, thereby lowering the total cost of the head suspension.
The conductive coats 43 and 45 are not on the write wires 29, and therefore, do not harm the frequency characteristic of a write signal. Accordingly, the embodiment can secure write performance.
Patent CitationsCited PatentFiling datePublication dateApplicantTitleUS5612840 *May 24, 1994Mar 18, 1997Fujitsu LimitedMagnetic spring arm assembly including structure for preventing damage to a conductive layer resulting from bendingUS5644454 *Mar 11, 1996Jul 1, 1997International Business Machines CorporationElectrostatic discharge protection system for MR headsUS5657186 *Aug 24, 1995Aug 12, 1997Tdk CorporationDevice for supporting a magnetic head slider and magnetic head apparatus provided with the device including grounding electrical connectionUS5710682 *Feb 13, 1997Jan 20, 1998International Business Machines CorporationElectrostatic discharge protection system for MR headsUS5805382 *Jun 21, 1996Sep 8, 1998International Business Machines CorporationIntegrated conductor magnetic recording head and suspension having cross-over integrated circuits for noise reductionUS6459043 *Mar 29, 2001Oct 1, 20023M Innovative Properties CompanyFlexible circuit with electrostatic damage limiting feature and method of manufactureUS6487048Jul 18, 2000Nov 26, 2002International Business Machines CorporationConductive coating of flexible circuits for ils transmission linesUS6700748 *Apr 28, 2000Mar 2, 2004International Business Machines CorporationMethods for creating ground paths for ILSUS6775101 *Mar 15, 2002Aug 10, 2004Alps Electric Co., Ltd.Magnetic head including slider electrically connected to flexure with conductive resin filmUS6801402Oct 31, 2002Oct 5, 2004Western Digital Technologies, Inc.ESD-protected head gimbal assembly for use in a disk driveUS6942824 *May 22, 2002Sep 13, 2005Western Digital (Fremont), Inc.UV curable and electrically conductive adhesive for bonding magnetic disk drive componentsUS6947258 *Jun 19, 2002Sep 20, 2005Western Digital (Fremont), Inc.UV curable and electrically conductive adhesive for bonding magnetic disk drive componentsUS7031114 *Mar 24, 2003Apr 18, 2006Sae Magnetics (H.K.) Ltd.Conductive adhesive for magnetic head assemblyUS7095590Oct 8, 2003Aug 22, 2006Alps Electric Co., Ltd.Head gimbal assembly and method for manufacturing the sameUS7193818 *Sep 2, 2004Mar 20, 2007Alps Electric Co., Ltd.Magnetic head device and method for making the sameUS20020154454Apr 2, 2002Oct 24, 2002Kupinski Paul E.Bleed resistor for minimizing ESD damageUS20030002220Apr 24, 2002Jan 2, 2003Nhk Spring Co., Ltd.Head suspension for disk driveUS20030062194Sep 26, 2002Apr 3, 2003Dodsworth Robert S.Flexible circuit with electrostatic damage limiting featureUS20030151902Dec 27, 2002Aug 14, 2003Achilles CorporationFlexible printed circuit boardUS20050117257 *Jun 8, 2004Jun 2, 2005Kr Precision Public Company LimitedMethod to form electrostatic discharge protection on flexible circuitsUS20060187587Feb 21, 2006Aug 24, 2006Hajime AraiHead suspensionUS20060190673 *Feb 21, 2006Aug 24, 2006Nhk Spring Co., Ltd.Head suspensionCN1497536AOct 16, 2003May 19, 2004阿尔卑斯电气株式会社Magnetic head universal rack assembly and its making methodCN2122683UMay 27, 1992Nov 25, 1992沈阳电站辅机厂Conical-disk cutting fine crusherJP2001291215A Title not availableJP2003006828A Title not availableJP2003124581A Title not availableJP2003203436A Title not availableJP2004192672A Title not availableJPH09282624A Title not availableJPH10198935A Title not available* Cited by examinerNon-Patent CitationsReference1Jan. 31, 2003 ESD assessment of GMR head Shoji Natori IDEMA Japan News 54.Referenced byCiting PatentFiling datePublication dateApplicantTitleUS7986494 *May 4, 2007Jul 26, 2011Hutchinson Technology IncorporatedIntegrated lead head suspension with tapered trace spacingUS8014107 *Sep 12, 2007Sep 6, 2011Nhk Spring Co., Ltd.Suspension deviceUS8169746Apr 8, 2008May 1, 2012Hutchinson Technology IncorporatedIntegrated lead suspension with multiple trace configurationsUS8218267 *May 21, 2008Jul 10, 2012Nhk Spring Co., Ltd.Head suspension flexure with conductive polymer layerUS8310789 *Dec 22, 2009Nov 13, 2012Hitachi Global Storage Technologies Netherlands B.V.Conductor suspension structure and electrical connection assembly for transmitting complementary signals in a hard disk driveUS8595917 *May 24, 2012Dec 3, 2013Nhk Spring Co., Ltd.Method for improving a flexure's electrical characteristicsUS8675314Aug 21, 2013Mar 18, 2014Hutchinson Technology IncorporatedCo-located gimbal-based dual stage actuation disk drive suspensions with offset motorsUS8681456Sep 13, 2013Mar 25, 2014Hutchinson Technology IncorporatedCo-located gimbal-based dual stage actuation disk drive suspensionsUS8717712Dec 27, 2013May 6, 2014Hutchinson Technology IncorporatedDisk drive suspension assembly having a partially flangeless load point dimpleUS8792214Dec 12, 2013Jul 29, 2014Hutchinson Technology IncorporatedElectrical contacts to motors in dual stage actuated suspensionsUS8861141Jul 31, 2013Oct 14, 2014Hutchinson Technology IncorporatedDamped dual stage actuation disk drive suspensionsUS8891206Oct 2, 2013Nov 18, 2014Hutchinson Technology IncorporatedCo-located gimbal-based dual stage actuation disk drive suspensions with motor stiffenerUS8896968Oct 10, 2013Nov 25, 2014Hutchinson Technology IncorporatedCo-located gimbal-based dual stage actuation disk drive suspensions with dampersUS8896969Oct 17, 2013Nov 25, 2014Hutchinson Technology IncorporatedTwo-motor co-located gimbal-based dual stage actuation disk drive suspensions with motor stiffenersUS8896970Dec 31, 2013Nov 25, 2014Hutchinson Technology IncorporatedBalanced co-located gimbal-based dual stage actuation disk drive suspensionsUS8941951Nov 27, 2013Jan 27, 2015Hutchinson Technology IncorporatedHead suspension flexure with integrated strain sensor and sputtered tracesUS9001469Mar 14, 2013Apr 7, 2015Hutchinson Technology IncorporatedMid-loadbeam dual stage actuated (DSA) disk drive head suspensionUS9001471Mar 17, 2014Apr 7, 2015Hutchinson Technology IncorporatedCo-located gimbal-based dual stage actuation disk drive suspensionsUS9007726May 5, 2014Apr 14, 2015Hutchinson Technology IncorporatedDisk drive suspension assembly having a partially flangeless load point dimpleUS9147413Nov 24, 2014Sep 29, 2015Hutchinson Technology IncorporatedBalanced co-located gimbal-based dual stage actuation disk drive suspensionsUS9240203Aug 25, 2014Jan 19, 2016Hutchinson Technology IncorporatedCo-located gimbal-based dual stage actuation disk drive suspensions with dampersUS9245555Nov 3, 2014Jan 26, 2016Hutchinson Technology IncorporatedLow resistance ground joints for dual stage actuation disk drive suspensionsUS20080062567 *Sep 12, 2007Mar 13, 2008Nhk Spring Co., Ltd.Suspension deviceUS20080273266 *May 4, 2007Nov 6, 2008Hutchinson Technology IncorporatedIntegrated lead head suspension with tapered trace spacingUS20080291575 *May 21, 2008Nov 27, 2008Nhk Spring Co., Ltd.Flexure, method of manufacturing flexure, and head suspension with flexureUS20110149442 *Jun 23, 2011Contreras John TConductor suspension structure for hard disk drivesUS20120231156 *May 24, 2012Sep 13, 2012Nhk Spring Co., Ltd.Flexure, method of manufacturing flexure, and head suspension with flexure* Cited by examinerClassifications U.S. Classification360/245.9International ClassificationG11B5/48Cooperative ClassificationG11B5/4833, H05K1/056, H05K1/167, H05K3/28, H05K1/0259, G11B5/40European ClassificationH05K1/02C6C1, G11B5/48A3Legal EventsDateCodeEventDescriptionApr 3, 2006ASAssignmentOwner name: NHK SPRING CO., LTD., JAPANFree format text: ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNORS INTEREST;ASSIGNORS:ARAI, HAJIME;SOMEYA, IKUO;REEL/FRAME:017747/0076;SIGNINGDATES FROM 20060124 TO 20060126Jun 5, 2013FPAYFee paymentYear of fee payment: 4RotateOriginal ImageGoogle Home - Sitemap - USPTO Bulk Downloads - Privacy Policy - Terms of Service - About Google Patents - Send FeedbackData provided by IFI CLAIMS Patent Services