Magnetic head device used with a rigid magnetic disk providing a constant distance between the magnetic disk and a magnetic gap of the magnetic head device

Claim 1

A magnetic head device used with a rotatable disk of a rigid type, which has a magnetic recording surface on at least one side surface thereof and which rotates in one direction, comprising: a slider having a flat surface which faces the magnetic recording surface of the rotatable disk and which extends in a tangential direction with respect to said disk when said slider is located adjacent the periphery of the rotatable disk, and having a trailing end face extending perpendicular with respect to the recording surface of the rotatable disk, and further having a support surface opposite the flat surface; support/drive means for elastically supporting the slider such that the slider is movable at least in a direction perpendicular to the rotatable disk, and for moving the slider in the radial direction of the disk; floating means for applying a floating force to the slider to float the same above the magnetic recording surface of the rotatable disk when the disk is rotating, said floating means including at least one air bearing surface formed on the flat surface of said slider, and at least one tapered surface defined at a leading portion of the air bearing surface with respect to the rotational direction of the rotatable disk, said tapered surface being slanted in a direction away from the magnetic surface; urging means for rotatively urging said slider so as to bring a trailing portion of the air bearing surface of the floating means, toward and in contact with the magnetic recording surface of the disk when said disk is rotating such that said slider receives the floating force produced by said floating means; and a magnetic head provided on the trailing end face of the slider, and having a magnetic gap to perform data read and write operations on the magnetic recording surface of the rotatable disk, the magnetic gap being spaced apart from the trailing portion of the air bearing surface by a predetermined distance in a direction, perpendicular to the recording surface of the disk.

Claim 7

A device according to claim, wherein a pair of grooves which are parallel to each other are formed on said air bearing surface and said tapered surface from the trailing end face to an end face opposite thereto, thereby dividing into three sections, both said air bearing surface and said tapered surface.