Head loading carriage assembly for a floppy disk drive

Claim 1

A head loading carriage assembly for a data storage device for use with a flexible, rotatable magnetic recording medium, said carriage assembly having a base and being movable in a radial direction relative to the recording medium, and said carriage assembly comprising, in combination: (a) a head support arm pivoted with respect to said base and movable in a direction normal to the plane of the recording medium, said support arm carrying at least one magnetic head; (b) an auxiliary load arm pivoted with respect to said base and movable in a direction normal to the plane of the recording medium toward and away from said support arm between a first load position in which the magnetic head contacting the plane of said medium is in an operative relationship with said medium for performing read/write operations and a second load position in which the magnetic head, still in contact with said medium, is idling along a track of said medium in a nonoperative relationship, said auxiliary arm being movable from the first load position into the second load position; (c) first spring means urging the auxiliary load arm into the first load position towards said support arm, as to engage the magnetic head attached to said support arm with said medium; and (d) second spring means arranged between said support arm and said auxiliary load arm and operative in the second load position of the auxiliary load arm to apply a force to said support arm which is less than that of said auxiliary load arm in its first load position, whereby said magnetic head remains in contact with the recording medium when in an operative as well as nonoperative relationship therewith.