Patent ID: 7365947

Claim:
A head support mechanism comprising: a rigid support arm; a suspension for supporting, at its leading end section, a head slider with at least one head element, said suspension having a balance structure that can be pivoted in a direction crossing a surface of a recording medium using as a fulcrum a load support point established between said suspension and said support arm; a load generation means for generating a load applied to said load support point for pressing said head slider toward the surface of said recording medium; a horizontal rotation bearing means for pivotally bearing said support arm and said suspension so that said support arm and said suspension are capable of rotatively moving in a direction parallel to the surface of said recording medium; and a weight member coupled to a trailing end section of said suspension, said weight member having a mass for placing the center of gravity of said suspension including said head slider at a position coincident with said load support point, said weight member being formed to surround said horizontal rotation bearing means around at least a part of the periphery of said horizontal rotation bearing means.