Recording medium drive capable of avoiding damages of recording medium
View Patent ↗A protrusion is opposed to a head actuator positioned at the inoperative position in a recording medium drive such as a hard disk drive. When a larger impact is applied to the head actuator, the head actuator deforms by a predetermined amount, so that the protrusion receives the head actuator. The deformation of the head actuator is thus restricted. A collision can be avoided between the head actuator and the recording medium. The predetermined amount can be determined based on the space or distance between the head actuator and the recording medium. It is possibly easy to assemble and position the protrusion relative to the head actuator at a higher accuracy, as compared with the case where the overall planar surface must be positioned relative to the head actuator at a higher accuracy in the conventional manner. This leads to the production of the protrusion or displacement suppression member at a lower cost.
1. A recording medium drive comprising:
a recording medium;
a head actuator having a medium-opposed surface facing the recording medium at a distance and designed to swing about a support shaft from an inoperative position;
a plate member having a surface opposed to the medium-opposed surface of the head actuator when the head actuator is positioned at the inoperative position; and
a protrusion protruding from the surface of the plate member so that the protrusion is opposed to the medium-opposed surface of the head actuator when the head actuator is positioned at the inoperative position, and
wherein a gap exists between the protrusion and the medium-opposed surface of the head actuator.
2. The recording medium drive according to claim 1 , wherein the head actuator at the inoperative position is designed to position a tip end of the head actuator at a position outside an outer periphery of the recording medium.
3. The recording medium drive according to claim 2 , wherein the protrusion is shaped into a dome.
4. The recording medium drive according to claim 3 , wherein said drive is a hard disk drive including a magnetic disk as the recording medium.
5. The recording medium drive according to claim 2 , further comprising a plate member designed to support the protrusion and defining a shroud surface at an end surface of the plate member, the shroud surface opposed to an outer peripheral surface of the recording medium.
6. The recording medium drive according to claim 5 , wherein the protrusion is shaped into a dome.
7. The recording medium drive according to claim 6 , wherein said drive is a hard disk drive including a magnetic disk as the recording medium.
8. The recording medium drive according to claim 1 , wherein the plate member is rigid enough to keep an attitude when the protrusion receives the head actuator which is moving toward the plate member.
9. A recording medium drive comprising:
a recording medium;
a head actuator having a medium-opposed surface facing the recording medium at a distance and designed to swing about a support shaft from an inoperative position;
a plate member having a surface opposed to the medium-opposed surface of the head actuator when the head actuator is positioned at the inoperative position; and
a protrusion protruding from the surface of the plate member so that the protrusion is opposed to the medium-opposed surface of the head actuator when the head actuator is positioned at the inoperative position, said protrusion being located closer to the recording medium than a plane including a central axis of the support shaft and a center of gravity of the head actuator positioned at the inoperative position.
10. The recording medium drive according to claim 9 , wherein the protrusion is shaped into a dome.
11. The recording medium drive according to claim 10 , wherein said drive is a hard disk drive including a magnetic disk as the recording medium.