Slider with extended three-dimensional air-bearing surface

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-2017200461-A1
Application number	US-201615164811-A
Country	US
Kind code	A1
Filing date	May 25, 2016
Priority date	Jan 7, 2016
Publication date	Jul 13, 2017
Grant date	—

Abstract

Disclosed herein is a hard disk drive slider having an extended three-dimensional air-bearing surface (ABS). The slider has an ABS and a back surface opposite the ABS, where at least a portion of the back surface defines a plane (i.e., if the back surface is substantially flat, the back surface itself defines the plane). Defined herein is an ABS function, which describes the characteristics of a portion of the ABS in a two-dimensional plane made by taking a cross-section of the slider perpendicular to the plane defined by the at least a portion of the back surface. The cross-section of the slider taken perpendicular to the plane has an ABS function that is a multi-valued function, which is defined herein as a relation for which, for at least one possible input value along the selected axis in the plane, the relation evaluates to two or more distinct nonzero values.

First claim

I claim:

1 . A slider, comprising:
an air-bearing surface (ABS); and a back surface opposite the ABS, at least a portion of the back surface defining a plane, wherein an ABS function of a cross-section of the slider taken perpendicular to the plane is a multi-valued function, and wherein no portion of the ABS function intersects the back surface.

2 . The slider recited in claim 1 , wherein the back surface is substantially flat and is continuous, and wherein the plane coincides with the back surface.

3 . The slider recited in claim 2 , wherein at least a portion of the ABS is substantially parallel to the plane.

4 . The slider recited in claim 1 , further comprising:
a leading-edge surface, wherein at least a portion of the leading-edge surface is substantially perpendicular to the plane, and wherein the cross-section is substantially perpendicular to the at least a portion of the leading-edge surface.

5 . The slider recited in claim 1 , further comprising:
a leading-edge surface, wherein at least a portion of the leading-edge surface is substantially perpendicular to the plane, and wherein the cross-section is substantially parallel to the at least a portion of the leading-edge surface.

6 . The slider recited in claim 1 , further comprising:
a trailing-edge surface, wherein at least a portion of the trailing-edge surface is substantially perpendicular to the plane, and wherein the cross-section is substantially perpendicular to the at least a portion of the trailing-edge surface.

7 . The slider recited in claim 1 , further comprising:
a trailing-edge surface, wherein at least a portion of the trailing-edge surface is substantially perpendicular to the plane, and wherein the cross-section is substantially parallel to the at least a portion of the trailing-edge surface.

8 . The slider recited in claim 1 , further comprising:
an inner-radius surface, wherein at least a portion of the inner-radius surface is substantially perpendicular to the plane, and wherein the cross-section is substantially perpendicular to the at least a portion of the inner-radius surface.

9 . The slider recited in claim 1 , further comprising:
an inner-radius surface, wherein at least a portion of the inner-radius surface is substantially perpendicular to the plane, and wherein the cross-section is substantially parallel to the at least a portion of the inner-radius surface.

10 . The slider recited in claim 1 , further comprising:
an outer-radius surface, wherein at least a portion of the outer-radius surface is substantially perpendicular to the plane, and wherein the cross-section is substantially perpendicular to the at least a portion of the outer-radius surface.

11 . The slider recited in claim 1 , further comprising:
an outer-radius surface, wherein at least a portion of the outer-radius surface is substantially perpendicular to the plane, and wherein the cross-section is substantially parallel to the at least a portion of the outer-radius surface.

12 . The slider recited in claim 1 , wherein the cross-section is oriented along an axis in the plane, and wherein the multi-valued function has at least two distinct values for at least one input value along the axis.

13 . The slider recited in claim 1 , wherein the cross-section is oriented along an axis in the plane, and wherein the multi-valued function has exactly two distinct values for at least one input value along the axis.

14 . The slider recited in claim 1 , wherein the cross-section is oriented along an axis in the plane, and wherein the multi-valued function has exactly three distinct values for at least one input value along the axis.

15 . The slider recited in claim 1 , wherein the cross-section is oriented along an axis in the plane, and wherein the multi-valued function has exactly five distinct values for at least one input value along the axis.

16 . The slider recited in claim 1 , wherein the cross-section intersects a feature comprising a protrusion from an inner-radius surface or an outer-radius surface of the slider.

17 . The slider recited in claim 16 , wherein the protrusion has a wing shape.

18 . A magnetic storage system comprising the slider recited in claim 1 .

19 . The slider recited in claim 1 , further comprising a head for reading from and writing to a disk.

20 . A magnetic storage system comprising the slider recited in claim 19 .

Assignees

• HGST Netherlands BV

Inventors

• Huang Weidong

Classifications

• G11B5/6005 Primary

  Specially adapted for spacing from a rotating disc using a fluid cushion · CPC title

• G11B5/3169

  Working or finishing the interfacing surface of heads, e.g. lapping of heads · CPC title

• B29C64/118

  using filamentary material being melted, e.g. fused deposition modelling [FDM] · CPC title

• B33Y10/00

  Processes of additive manufacturing · CPC title

• B24B37/048

  of sliders and magnetic heads of hard disc drives or the like · CPC title