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EP0129336A1 Expired / Lapsed EP ⏱️ 0.0 years remaining

Transducer-slider assembly having contoured air-bearing surface

Assignee: 3M Co
•
Filing: 1984-05-17
•
Granted: —
•
Expires: 2004-05-17
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Abstract

Abstract @ Slider (10) for flying a transducer (26) closely above a rotating recording medium is similar to those of the prior art except thatthe surfaces of its air-bearing rails (12,13,14) are contoured to be rounded toward the outer and trailing edges of the rails (12, 13, 14), and preferably also toward the leading-edge taper (18, 19, 20) of each rail (12, 13, 14). The novel slider (10) flies a transducer (26) over a drumhead-like recording medium at close, remarkably uniform distances.

Inventors

  • 👤 James K. c/o Minnesota Mining and Knudsen
  • 👤 Don C. c/o Minnesota Mining and Mann

Bibliographic Details

Application Number —
Jurisdiction EP
Data Source google_patents
Last Synchronized 2026-11-05 09:32
CPC Classifications
G; G11; G11B; G11B5/00; G11B5/48; G11B5/58; G11B5/60; G11B5/6005; G11B21/00; G11B21/16; G11B21/20; G11B21/21

Claims Analysis

Total Claims: 14
Claim 1
Independent Claim 78 words
A slider (10) for flying a transducer (26) over a drumhead-like recording medium comprising at least two spaced-apart rails (12-14), of which each outer rail (12,14) has a broad air-bearing surface including a leading-edge taper (18,20) and a relatively-flat, broad, central portion (22,24), and characterized in that said central portion has a generally-oval perimeter (22A,24A) beyond which the air-bearing surface has compound curvatures of decreasing radii toward the outer (32A) and trailing edges (33A) of the rail (12A,14A).
Claim 2
Dependent Claim 78 words
A slider (10) for flying a transducer (26) over a drumhead-like recording medium comprising at least two spaced-apart rails (12-14), of which each outer rail (12,14) has a broad air-bearing surface including a leading-edge taper (18,20) and a relatively-flat, broad, central portion (22,24), and characterized in that said central portion has a generally-oval perimeter (22A,24A) beyond which the air-bearing surface has compound curvatures of decreasing radii toward the outer (32A) and trailing edges (33A) of the rail (12A,14A).
Claim 3
Dependent Claim 24 words
A slider (10) as defined in claim 1 further characterized in that the central portion of each of the outer rails (12A,14A) is flat.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim 39 words
A slider (10) as defined in claim 1 further characterized in that the central portion of each of the outer rails (12A,14A) is generally spherical or cylindrical, with a radius of at least 0.2 meter in the transverse direction.
Claim 5
Dependent Claim 56 words
A slider (10) as defined in claim 1 further characterized in that the air-bearing surface of each of the outer rails (12A, 14A) beyond the central portion also has compound curvatures of decreasing radii (30B) toward the inner edge (31B) of the rail (14B) so that the perimeter (24B) of the central portion is completely oval.
Claim 6
Dependent Claim 40 words
A slider (10) as defined in claim 1 further characterized in that the inward portion of said perimeter (22A,24A) substantially coincides with the inward edge of the rail (12A,14A) so that the perimeter (35A) is essentially half of an oval.
Claim 7
Dependent Claim 49 words
A slider (10) as defined in claim 5 further characterized by a relatively narrow center rail (13A) which is spaced apart from each of said outer rails (12A,14A) and has an air-bearing surface which is aligned both longitudinally and transversely with the surfaces of said two outer rails (12A,14A).
Claim 8
Dependent Claim 39 words
A slider (10) as defined in claim 1 further characterized in that the air-bearing surface beyond the generally-oval perimeter (35A) of each of the outer rails (12A,14A) has compound curvatures of decreasing radii (30A) toward the leading-edge taper (20A).
Claim 9
Dependent Claim 32 words
A slider (10) as defined in claim 7 further characterized in that the radii (30A) continue to decrease to the front margin (34A) of the leading-edge taper (20A) of each rail (12A,14A).
Claim 10
Dependent Claim 24 words
A transducer-slider assembly (10C) as defined in claim 6 further characterized by a transducer (26A) near the trailing edge of the center rail (13A).
Claim 11
Dependent Claim 20 words
A transducer-slider assembly (10C) as defined in claim 9 further characterized in that the transducer (26A) is a magnetic head.
Claim 12
Dependent Claim 19 words
A slider (10) as defined in claim 1 further characterized in that said two outer rails (12A,14A) are adjacent.
Claim 13
Dependent Claim 27 words
A transducer-slider assembly (10C) as defined in claim 11 further characterized by a transducer (26C) near the trailing edge (37C) of one of said two rails (12C,14C).
Claim 14
Dependent Claim 20 words
A transducer-slider assembly (10C) as defined. in claim 12 further characterized in that the transducer (26C) is a magnetic head.

References Cited (Backward Citations)

US3823416A Cited
US4163267A Cited
EP0007548A1 Cited
US4285019A Cited
EP0072389A2 Cited

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