Disk drive actuator arm assembly having a portion of the arm at a greater distance from a disk recording surface than the arm tip portion
View Patent ↗An actuator arm assembly for a disk having a recording surface, the actuator arm assembly includes an actuator body including a bore defining a longitudinal pivot axis and an actuator arm cantilevered from the actuator body. The actuator arm includes an arm major portion cantilevered from the actuator body, an arm tip portion, and an arm tip supporting portion integrally formed with the arm major portion and the arm tip portion, wherein the arm major portion is longitudinally spaced-apart at a greater distance from the recording surface than the arm tip portion.
1. A disk drive comprising:
a disk having a recording surface;
an actuator arm assembly including
a bore defining a pivot axis; and
an actuator arm positioned over the recording surface,
the actuator arm having a total length in a direction radial to the bore,
the actuator arm having a total width in a direction orthogonal to the length and orthogonal to the pivot axis,
the actuator arm including a proximate region and a distal region, the proximate region spanning the total width of the actuator arm and being closer to the pivot axis than the distal region, the proximate region extending radially over the recording surface for a greater radial distance than does the distal region;
the actuator arm being separated from the recording surface in a direction parallel to the pivot axis in the proximate region by at least a first clearance spanning the total width of the actuator arm, and by a second clearance in the distal region, the first clearance being greater than the second clearance.
2. The disk drive of claim 1 , wherein the first clearance is at least twice the second clearance.
3. The disk drive of claim 1 , wherein the actuator arm includes an inclined surface that is sloped relative to the recording surface such that the inclined surface is neither normal to nor parallel to the recording surface, and such that a separation between the inclined surface and the recording surface in a direction parallel to the pivot axis decreases with increasing radial distance from the bore but is approximately constant along the total width at a fixed radial distance from the bore.
4. The disk drive of claim 1 , wherein the proximate region and the distal region are portions of the same unitary structure.
5. The disk drive of claim 1 , wherein the actuator arm is separated from the recording surface in a direction parallel to the pivot axis in the proximate region by a clearance that is approximately constant over the total width of the actuator arm.