Slotted flex circuit for a disk drive actuator
US5748410A · kind A · utility
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | Nov 15, 1996 |
| Grant date | May 5, 1998 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Nov 15, 2016 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC H)Electricity
- CPC primaryH02K1/17
- WIPO fieldAudio-visual technology
- WIPO sectorElectrical engineering
Abstract
A voice coil actuator return path and a slotted flex circuit member for a linear actuator of a disk drive, which together accurately and precisely position the center guide track, and align the mass and forces of the electrical circuit on the carriage are disclosed. The outer return path is precisely formed from laminations of low carbon steel. The outer return path supports and accurately positions a central guide track, on which a carriage assembly slides. Moreover, the outer return path is oriented in a rectangle that is coupled to a disk drive platform, and includes an aperture through which a portion of the carriage assembly passes. A flex circuit member, which electrically communicates with the read/write heads, includes a slot that enables the central guide track to pass though. The slot enables the flex circuit member to be connected to the carriage assembly near a center axis of the carriage. The flex circuit member has a center of mass and center of force approximately equally distributed on each side of a vertical plane passing through a centerline of the central guide track.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.