Patent ID: 7800864

Claim:
An actuator latch apparatus to lock and unlock an actuator in a disk drive, to maintain a read/write head in a parking zone when the disk drive is stopped, the disk drive having the actuator including a swing arm rotatably mounted on a base member, a VCM coil coupled to one end portion of the swing arm, and a magnet arranged to face the VCM coil, the actuator latch apparatus comprising: a notch positioned at one end portion of the swing arm; a latch lever rotatably installed in the base member, the latch lever including a latch pivot, a latch arm that is provided at a first side of the latch pivot and has a hook to be caught by the notch when the actuator is locked, and a counterbalance provided at a second side of the latch pivot; a first core provided at a first end portion of the swing arm to apply a torque to the swing arm in a first direction by a magnetic force of the magnet; and a second core provided at the counterbalance of the latch lever to apply a torque to the latch lever in the first direction by a magnetic force of the magnet, wherein the latch arm of the latch lever is elastically deformed when contacted by the swing arm during parking of the head, the swing arm rotating in the first direction when the head is parked, such that an impact due to a contact with the swing arm is reduced, wherein the latch arm includes a first protrusion protruding toward the swing arm to contact with a first side surface of the swing arm and the counterbalance includes a second protrusion protruding toward the swing arm to contact with a second side surface of the swing arm, and wherein the second protrusion is made of a visco-elastic material, a portion of the second protrusion being insertedly coupled to the counterbalance.