1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a head slider supporting device, a disk device and a suspension, and, in particular, to a magnetic head slider supporting device, an optical head slider supporting device, a magnetic disk device, an optical disk device and a suspension.
As a result of an increase of the frequency of a signal which an information processing apparatus processes, it is requested that the write current frequency of a magnetic disk device be increased from 70 MHz to 200 through 300 MHz, for example. In order to increase the write current frequency, it is necessary to reduce the inductance and the electrostatic capacity of a signal transmission path from a magnetic head slider to a head IC. For this purpose, it is effective to provide the head IC at a position near to the magnetic disk slider. Further, thinning of the magnetic disk device is also requested. It is necessary that the head IC be loaded in the magnetic disk device in a condition in which the thinning of the magnetic disk device is not disturbed, and, also, that the head IC does not come into contact with a magnetic disk and so forth even when a shock is applied to the magnetic disk device.
2. Description of the Related Art
Magnetic disk devices, in each of which a head IC for amplifying a signal read through a magnetic head slider is installed on an arm, are disclosed in Japanese Laid-Open Patent Application Nos.62-217476, 3-108120, 3-187295, 3-192513 and so forth.
However, in each of the above-mentioned magnetic disk devices, because the distance between the magnetic head slider and the head IC is long, it is difficult to reduce the inductance and the electrostatic capacity of the signal transmission path from the magnetic head slider to the head IC. Further, the head IC is packaged in a synthetic resin, and, thereby, is thick. As a result, in order to prevent the head IC from coming into contact with a magnetic disk and so forth when a shock is applied to the magnetic disk device, it is necessary to elongate the distance between adjacent magnetic disks. As a result, the magnetic disk device is thick. Further, because the head IC is packaged in the synthetic resin, the head IC is heavy. As a result, the magnetic head slider is heavy. Thereby, the flying stability of the magnetic head slider above the magnetic disk is degraded, and also, there is a possibility that, when the magnetic head slider comes into contact with a magnetic disk due to a strong shock applied to the magnetic disk device, the shock applied to the magnetic disk is so strong that the magnetic disk is damaged.
As shown in FIG. 1, in a head slider supporting device 1, on the top surface 2a of a suspension 2 (hereinafter, the position of the suspension shown in FIG. 1 is a reference position thereof, and xe2x80x98the top surfacexe2x80x99 of the suspension means the top surface in this position of the suspension), wiring patterns 3 are formed from the extending end to the fixed end of the suspension 2, and the magnetic head slider 4 is loaded on the top surface 2a of the suspension 2 at the extending end of the suspension 2.
Here, provision of the head IC 5 will be considered. Due to the arrangement of the wiring patterns 3, a surface at which the head IC is loaded is limited to the top surface 2a of the suspension 2. When considering an increase of the write current frequency, it is preferable that the head IC 5 be provided at a position near to the magnetic head slider 4. Therefore, it is assumed that the head IC 5 is loaded on the top surface 2a of the suspension 2 near the magnetic head slider 4.
In order to prevent the head IC 5 from coming into contact with a magnetic disk 6 even when a strong shock is applied to the magnetic disk device, it is necessary that a gap 7 of the distance xe2x80x98axe2x80x99 equal to or longer than 0.15 mm to be provided between the head IC 5 and the magnetic disk 6.
Recently, in order tot thin the magnetic disk device, the magnetic head slider 5 of a small size (a so-called pico-slider, the height xe2x80x98bxe2x80x99 of which is 0.3 mm) has been used. As a result, the distance xe2x80x98cxe2x80x99 between the suspension 2 and the magnetic disk 6 is small.
When considering a bare head IC 5, the bare head IC 5 is cut out from a wafer. Accordingly, the thickness of the bare IC 5 is determined by the thickness of the wafer. At the present time, it is difficult to thin the wafer to less than 0.3 mm. Accordingly, the height (thickness) xe2x80x98dxe2x80x99 of the head IC 5 is approximately 0.3 mm minimum.
Therefore, when the bare head IC 5 is simply loaded on the top surface 2a of the suspension 2, it is difficult to obtain the gap equal to or longer than 0.15 mm between the head IC 5 and the magnetic disk 6. Thus, a special device is needed when the bare head IC 5 is loaded on the top surface 2a of the suspension 2.
An object of the present invention is to provided a head slider supporting device, a disk device and a suspension by which the above-described problem is solved.
A head slider supporting device, according to the present invention, comprises:
a head slider having a head loaded thereon;
a head IC which controls the head;
a substantially flat supporting member having a portion at which the head slider is loaded and a head IC mounting portion at which the head IC is mounted; and
wires electrically connecting the head slider and the IC,
wherein the head IC is mounted at the head IC mounting portion in a condition in which the head IC projects from one surface of the supporting member so that an amount of projecting of the head IC from the one surface of the supporting member is smaller than the thickness of the head IC.
Thus, the length by which the head IC protrudes from the surface of the supporting member is shorter than the thickness of the head IC. As a result, in a case where a so-called pico-slider is used as the head slider, a gap can be provided between the head IC and a disk such that, even when a strong shock is applied to the disk device, the head IC is prevented from coming into contact with the disk.
A head slider supporting device, according to another aspect of the present invention, comprises;
a suspension, a head IC chip mounting portion being provided on a first surface of the suspension;
a head slider loaded on the first surface of the suspension at an extending end thereof, the head slider integrally including a head;
a head IC chip mounted at the head IC chip mounting portion of the suspension; and
wiring patterns extending along the suspension from a portion of the suspension, at which portion the head slider is loaded, via the head IC chip mounting portion,
wherein the head IC chip is mounted at the head IC chip mounting portion in a condition in which the head IC chip is lowered so that an amount of projecting of the head IC chip from the first surface of the suspension is smaller than the thickness of the head IC chip.
Thus, the length by which the head IC chip protrudes from the first surface of the suspension is shorter than the thickness of the head IC chip. As a result, in a case where a so-called pico-slider is used as the head slider, a gap can be provided between the head IC chip and a disk such that, even when a strong shock is applied to the disk device, the head IC chip is prevented from coming into contact with the disk. Thus, the disk device can be provided in which the pico-slider is used as the head slider, and also, the head IC chip is mounted on the first surface of the suspension on which the head slider is loaded. Each of the wiring patterns, electrically connecting the head slider with the head IC chip, can be as short as several millimeters, because the head IC chip is mounted on the first surface on which the head slider is loaded. As a result, the inductances of the wiring patterns are small. Further, the electrostatic capacities between adjacent wiring patterns are small. Therefore, in a case where the disk device is the magnetic disk device, a signal of, for example, 200 MHz, higher than 70 MHz, as in the case of the related art, can be written in and read from the magnetic disk in the magnetic disk device.
The head IC chip mounting portion may extend in the suspension along the longitudinal direction of the suspension, both sides of the head IC chip mounting portion being cut and a middle portion of the head IC chip mounting portion projecting on the side of a second surface of the suspension, which second surface is opposite to the first surface, the head IC chip being mounted on the middle portion of the head IC chip mounting portion.
Thereby, the head IC chip mounting portion can be formed without drawing the suspension. Accordingly, the head IC chip mounting portion can be formed without an excessive stress being applied to the suspension. Further, because both sides of the head IC chip mounting portion are cut along the longitudinal direction of the suspension, the head IC chip mounting portion can be formed with the characteristics of the suspension being affected thereby as little as possible.
The head IC chip may comprise a first half portion and a second half portion, the first half portion having an extending portion, which extends laterally beyond the second half portion of the head IC chip on the side of the first half portion; and
the head IC chip mounting portion includes an opening having a size such that the second half portion of the head IC chip passes through the opening and the extending portion of the first half portion of the head IC chip is supported by a peripheral portion of the opening.
Thereby, the head IC chip mounting portion can be formed with the characteristics of the suspension being affected thereby as little as possible. Further, merely by causing the second half portion of the head IC chip to pass through the opening and causing the extending portion of the first half portion of the head IC chip to be supported by the peripheral portion of the opening, the height by which the head IC chip protrudes from the first surface of the suspension can be precisely determined. Further, by determining the size of the opening such that the second half portion fits into the opening, providing terminals on the bottom surface of the head IC chip and providing terminals of the wiring patterns along the periphery of the opening, it is possible that the terminals of the head IC chip precisely face the terminals of the wiring patterns merely by causing the second half portion of the head IC chip to pass through the opening. Thereby, it is possible to electrically connect the terminals of the head IC chip with the terminals of the wiring patterns with high reliability.
The head IC chip mounting portion may comprise an opening having a size such that a certain portion of the head IC chip passes through the opening.
Thereby, the head IC chip mounting portion can be formed with the characteristics of the suspension being affected thereby as little as possible. In this case, terminals may be provided on side walls of the head IC chip, terminals of the wiring patterns may be provided on a peripheral portion of the opening, and the terminals on the side walls of the head IC chip may be electrically connected with the terminal of the wiring patterns. Further, it is possible to mount the head IC chip at the head IC chip mounting portion in a condition in which a portion of the head IC chip is lowered from the first surface of the suspension.
The suspension may have a rigid portion between the extending end and the other end, the rigid portion having a rib on at least one side thereof so that the rigid portion is prevented from bending; and
the head IC chip mounting portion may be formed in the rigid portion.
Thereby, the head IC chip mounting portion can be formed with the characteristics of the suspension being affected thereby as little as possible.
A disk device, according to the present invention, comprises:
an actuator;
a disk which is rotated;
an arm which is driven by the actuator; and
a head slider supporting device, which is rotated integrally with the arm, the head slider supporting device comprising:
a head slider having a head loaded thereon;
a head IC which controls the head;
a substantially flat supporting member having a portion at which the head slider is mounted and a head IC mounting portion at which the head IC is mounted; and
wires electrically connecting the head slider and the head IC,
wherein the head IC is mounted at the head IC mounting portion in a condition in which the head IC projects from one surface of the supporting member so that an amount of projecting of the head IC from the one surface of the supporting member is smaller than the thickness of the head IC.
A disk device, according to another aspect of the present invention, comprising:
an actuator;
a disk which is rotated;
an arm which is driven by the actuator; and
a head slider supporting device, which is rotated integrally with the arm, the head slider supporting device comprising:
a suspension, a head IC chip mounting portion being provided on one surface of the suspension;
a head slider loaded on the one surface of the suspension at an extending end thereof, the head slider integrally including a head;
a head IC chip mounted at the head IC chip mounting portion of the suspension; and
wiring patterns extending along the suspension from a portion of the suspension, at which portion the head slider is loaded, via the head IC chip mounting portion,
wherein the head IC chip is mounted at the head IC chip mounting portion in a condition in which the head IC chip is lowered so that an amount of projecting of the head IC chip from the one surface of the suspension is smaller than the thickness of the head IC chip.
Thus, as described above, the length by which the head IC chip protrudes from the one surface of the suspension is shorter than the thickness of the head IC chip. As a result, in a case where a so-called pico-slider is used as the head slider, a gap can be provided between the head IC chip and a disk such that, even when a strong shock is applied to the disk device, the head IC chip is prevented from coming into contact with the disk. Thus, the disk device can bed provided in which the pico-slider is used as the head slider, and, also, the head IC chip is mounted on the one surface of the suspension. Each of the wiring patterns electrically connecting the head slider with the head IC chip, can be short, because the head IC chip is mounted on the one surface on which the head slider is loaded. As a result, the inductances of the first wiring patterns are small. Further, the capacities between adjacent first wiring patterns are small. Therefore, in a case where the disk device is the magnetic disk device, a signal of, for example, 200 MHz, higher than 70 MHz, as in the case of the related art, can be written in and read from the magnetic disk in the magnetic disk device.
A suspension, according to the present invention, has an extending end and the other end, a head IC chip mounting portion being provided between the extending end and the other end thereof, wherein:
a head slider is loaded on the suspension at the extending end thereof, the head slider integrally including a head;
a head IC chip is mounted at the head IC chip mounting portion of the suspension;
first wiring patterns extend along the suspension between a portion of the suspension, at which portion the head slider is loaded, and the head IC chip mounting portion; and
second wiring patterns extend along the suspension from the head IC chip mounting portion,
wherein the head IC chip is mounted at the head IC chip mounting portion in a condition in which the head IC chip projects from one surface of the suspension so that an amount of projecting of the head IC chip from the one surface of the suspension is smaller than the thickness of the head IC chip.
Thus, as described above, the length by which the head IC chip protrudes from the one surface of the suspension is shorter than the thickness of the head IC chip. As a result, in a case where a so-called pico-slider is used as the head slider, a gap can be provided between the head slider and a disk such that, even when a strong shock is applied to the disk device, the head IC chip is prevented from coming into contact with the disk. Thus, the disk device can be provided in which the pico-slider is used as the head slider. The head slider can be loaded on the one surface of the suspension on which the head IC chip is mounted. Each of the first wiring patterns, electrically connecting the head slider with the head IC chip, can be short, because the head IC chip is mounted on the one surface on which the head slider is loaded. As a result, the inductances of the first wiring patterns are small. Further, the electrostatic capacities between adjacent first wiring patterns are small. Therefore, in a case where the disk device is the magnectic disk device, a signal of, for example, 200 MHz, higher than 70 MHz, as in the case of the related art, can be written in and read from the magnetic disk in the magnetic disk device.
The head IC chip mounting portion may extend in the suspension along the longitudinal direction of the suspension, both sides of the head IC chip mounting portion being cut and a middle portion of the head IC chip mounting portion projecting on the side of the other surface of the suspension, the head IC chip being mounted on the middle portion of the head IC chip mounting portion.
Thereby, the head IC chip mounting portion can be formed without drawing the suspension. Accordingly, the head IC chip mounting portion is formed without an excessive stress being applied to the suspension. Further, because both sides of the head IC chip mounting portion are cut along the longitudinal direction of the suspension, the head IC chip mounting portion can be formed with the characteristics of the suspension being affected thereby as little as possible.
The head IC chip mounting portion may comprise an opening having a size such that a certain portion of the head IC chip passes through the opening.
Thereby, the head IC chip mounting portion can be formed with he characteristics of the suspension being affected thereby as little as possible.
The suspension may have a rigid portion having a rib portion on at least one side of the rigid portion so that the rigid portion is prevented from bending; and
the head IC chip mounting portion may be formed in the rigid portion.
Thereby, the head IC chip mounting portion can be formed with the characteristics of the suspension being affected thereby as little as possible.
Both sides of the head IC chip mounting portion may be cut, and, also, a center of the head IC chip mounting portion may be cut in a direction perpendicular to a direction in which both sides of the head IC chip mounting portion are cut so that the head IC chip mounting portion is divided into two parts, middle portions projecting on the side of a second surface of the suspension, which second surface is opposite to the first surface, the head IC chip being mounted on, so as to extend over, the middle portions of the two parts of the head IC chip mounting portion on surfaces thereof on the side of the first surface of the suspension; and
the wiring patterns reach the middle portions via slope portions which are formed at both ends of the head IC chip mounting portion when the middle portions project on the side of the second surface, and pad terminals which terminate the wiring patterns, respectively, are provided on the middle portions.
In this arrangement, the slope portions are merely bent but are not lengthened when a press machine is used for causing the middle portion of the head IC chip mounting portion to project on the side of the second surface. Thereby, cutoff of the wiring patterns formed on the slope portions can be effectively avoided.
Both sides of the head IC chip mounting portion may be cut, and, also, one end of the head IC chip mounting portion may be cut in a direction perpendicular to a direction in which both sides of the head IC chip mounting portion are cut so that an opening is formed but a thin connection portion is left which bridges the opening, a middle portion of the head IC chip mounting portion projecting on the side of a second surface of the suspension, which second surface is opposite to the first surface, the head IC chip being mounted on the middle portion of the head IC chip mounting portion on a surface thereof on the side of the first surface of the suspension; and
the wiring patterns reach the middle portion via a slope portion which is formed at the other end of the head IC chip mounting portion when the middle portion projects from the second surface, and pad terminals which terminate the wiring patterns, respectively, are provided on the middle portion.
In this arrangement, the thin connection portion effectively lengthens while the slope portion is only bent but is not lengthened. Thereby, cutoff of the wiring patterns formed on the slope portion can be effectively avoided.
A head slider supporting device, according to another aspect of the present invention, comprises:
a suspension, having an extending end and the other end, having a fixing portion on the side of the other end, and having a head IC chip mounting portion at the fixing portion;
a head slider loaded on a first surface of the suspension at the extending end thereof, the head slider integrally including a head;
a head IC chip mounted at the head IC chip mounting portion of the suspension;
wiring patterns extending along the suspension from a portion of the suspension, at which portion the head slider is loaded, to the head IC chip mounting portion, and further extending from the head IC chip mounting portion; and
a plate-shaped junction member, on which the fixing portion of the suspension is mounted,
wherein:
both sides of the head IC chip mounting portion are cut, and, also, a center of the head IC chip mounting portion is cut in a direction perpendicular to a direction in which both sides of the head IC chip mounting portion are cut so that the head IC chip mounting portion is divided into two parts, and middle portions of the two parts of the head IC chip mounting portion projecting on the side of a second surface of the suspension, which second surface is opposite to the first surface, the head IC chip being mounted on, so as to extend over, the middle portions of the two parts of the head IC chip mounting portion on surfaces thereof on the side of the first surface of the suspension;
the wiring patterns reach the middle portions via slope portions which are formed at both the ends of the head IC chip mounting portion when the middle portions project from the second surface, and pad terminals which terminate the wiring patterns, respectively, are provided on the middle portions; and
the junction member has an opening in which the head IC chip mounting portion at which the head IC chip is mounted is inserted.
In this arrangement, the slope portions are merely bent but are not lengthened when a press machine is used for causing the middle portion of the head IC chip mounting portion to project on the side of the second surface. Thereby, cutoff of the wiring patterns formed on the slope portions can be effectively avoided.
Further, as a result of the junction member having the opening, the head IC chip mounting portion is provided at the fixing portion located on the side of the other end of the suspension. That is, a place where the head IC chip is located is near to the rotation axis of the head slider supporting device. In comparison to a case where the head IC chip is located near to the extending end of the suspension, the inertia moment when the head slider supporting mechanism operates is small, and, thereby, it is possible to achieve a high-accuracy, high-speed seeking operation.
A head slider supporting device, according to another aspect of the present invention, comprises:
a suspension, having an extending end and the other end, having a fixing portion at the other end, and having a head IC chip mounting portion at the fixing portion;
a head slider loaded on a first surface of the suspension at the extending end thereof, the head slider integrally including a head;
a head IC chip mounted at the head IC chip mounting portion of the suspension;
wiring patterns extending along the suspension from a portion of the suspension, at which portion the head slider is loaded, to the head IC chip mounting portion, and further extending from the head IC chip mounting portion; and
a plate-shaped junction member, on which the fixing portion of the suspension is mounted,
wherein:
both sides of the head IC chip mounting portion are cut, and, also, one end of the head IC chip mounting portion is cut in a direction perpendicular to a direction in which both sides of the head IC chip mounting portion are cut so that an opening is formed but a thin connection portion is left which bridges the opening, a middle portion of the head IC chip mounting portion projecting on the side of a second surface of the suspension, which second surface is opposite to the first surface, the head IC chip being mounted on the middle portion of the head IC chip mounting portion on a surface thereof on the side of the first surface of the suspension;
the wiring patterns reach the middle portion via a slope portion which is formed at the other end of the head IC chip mounting portion when the middle portion projects from the second surface, and pad terminal which terminate the wiring patterns, respectively, are provided on the middle portion; and
the junction member has an opening, in which the head IC chip mounting portion at which the head IC chip is mounted is inserted.
In this arrangement, the thin connection portion effectively lengthens while the slope portion is only bent but is not lengthened. Thereby, cutoff of the wiring patterns formed on the slope portion can be effectively avoided.
Further as a result of the junction member having the opening, the head IC chip mounting portion is provided at the fixing portion located on the side of the other end of the suspension. That is, a place where the head IC chip is located is near to the rotation axis of the head slider supporting device. In comparison to a case where the head IC chip is located near to the extending end of the suspension, the inertia moment when the head slider supporting mechanism operates is small, and, thereby, it is possible to achieve a high-accuracy, high-speed seeking operation.
A head slider supporting device, according to another aspect of the present invention, comprises:
a suspension, having a first surface, and having a head IC chip mounting portion on the second surface;
a head slider loaded on the first surface of the suspension at an extending end thereof, the head slider integrally including a head;
a head IC chip mounted at the head IC chip mounting portion of the suspension; and
wiring patterns extending on the first surface of the suspension from a portion of the suspension, at which portion the head slider is loaded, via the head IC chip mounting portion;
wherein:
the suspension includes a metal plate body and a base layer formed on the metal plate body, the wiring patterns being formed on the base layer;
the head IC chip mounting portion includes an opening formed in the metal plate body and having a size corresponding to the head IC chip, the base layer covering the opening on the side of the first surface, and pad terminals which terminate the wiring patterns, respectively, are exposed on a surface of the base layer on the side of the second surface of the suspension; and
the head IC chip is mounted at the head IC chip mounting portion so that the head IC chip is fitted into the opening of the metal plate body from the side of the second surface.
In this arrangement, as a result of the head IC chip being fitted into the opening from the side of the second surface. Further, the opening is formed in the suspension but the suspension is not bent. As a result, cutoff of the wiring patterns can be effectively avoided.
A head slider supporting device, according to another aspect of the present invention, comprises:
a suspension, having an extending end and the other end, having a first surface and a second surface opposite to the first surface, having a fixing portion on the side of the other end, and having a head IC chip mounting portion at the fixing portion;
a head slider loaded on the first surface of the suspension at the extending end thereof, the head slider integrally including a head;
a head IC chip mounted at the head IC chip mounting portion of the suspension;
wiring patterns extending on the first surface of the suspension from a portion of the suspension, at which portion the head slider is loaded, to the head IC chip mounting portion, and further extending from the head IC chip mounting portion; and
a plate-shaped junction member on which the fixing portion of the suspension is mounted,
wherein:
the suspension includes a metal plate body and a base layer formed on the metal plate body, the wiring patterns being formed on he base layer;
the head IC chip mounting portion includes an opening formed in the metal plate body and having as size corresponding to the head IC chip, the base layer covering the opening on the side of the first surface, and pad terminals which terminate the wiring patterns, respectively, are exposed on a surface of the base layer on the side of the second surface of the suspension;
the head IC chip is mounted at the head IC chip mounting portion so that the head IC chip is fitted into the opening of the metal plate body from the side of the second surface; and
the junction member has an opening, in which the head IC chip mounted at the head IC chip mounting portion is inserted.
In this arrangement, as a result of the head IC chip being fitted into the opening from the side of the second surface, it is possible to shorten the length by which the head IC chip projects from the second surface. Further, the opening is formed in the suspension but the suspension is not bent. As a result, cutoff of the wiring patterns can be effectively avoided.
Further, as a result of the junction member having the opening, the head IC chip mounting portion is provided at the fixing portion located on the side of the other end of the suspension. That is, a place where the head IC chip is located is near to the rotation axis of the head slider supporting device. In comparison to a case where the head IC chip is located near to the extending end of the suspension, the inertia moment when the head slider supporting mechanism operates is small, and, thereby, it is possible to achieve a high-accuracy, high-speed seeking operation.
A disk device, according to another aspect of the present invention, comprises:
an actuator;
a disk which is rotated;
an arm which is driven by the actuator; and
any one of the above-described head slider supporting devices, which is rotated integrally with the arm.
In this arrangement, because any one of the above-described head slider supporting devices is used, the head IC chip is prevented from hitting the magnetic disk even when a strong shock is applied to the magnetic disk device. Further, it is possible to achieve the magnetic disk device which can write and read a signal of, for example, up to 200 MHz, higher than 70 MHz, as in the case of the related art.
A suspension, according to another aspect of the present invention, has an extending end and the other end, has a fixing portion on the side of the other end, which portion is mounted on a junction member, and has a head IC chip mounting portion at the fixing portion,
wherein:
a head slider is loaded on a first surface of the suspension at the extending end thereof, the head slider integrally including a head;
a head IC chip is mounted at the head IC chip mounting portion of the suspension; and
wiring patterns extend along the suspension from a portion of the suspension, at which portion the head slider is loaded, to the head IC chip mounting portion, and further extend from the head IC chip mounting portion,
wherein:
both sides of the head IC chip mounting portion are cut, and, also, a center of the head IC chip mounting portion is cut in a direction perpendicular to a direction in which both sides of the head IC chip mounting portion are cut so that the head IC chip mounting portion is divided into two parts, and middle portions of the two parts of the head IC chip mounting portion projecting on the side of a second surface of the suspension, which second surface is opposite to the first surface, the head IC chip being mounted on surfaces of the middle portions of the two parts of the head IC chip mounting portion on the side of the first surface of the suspension; and
the wiring patterns reach the middle portions via slope portions which are formed at both ends of the head IC chip mounting portion when the middle portions project from the second surface, and pad terminals which terminate the wiring patterns, respectively, are provided on the middle portions.
A suspension, according to another aspect of the present invention, has an extending end and the other end, has fixing portion on the side of the other end, which portion is mounted on a junction member, and has a head IC chip mounting portion at the fixing portion,
wherein:
a head slider is loaded on a first surface of the suspension at the extending end thereof, the head slider integrally including a head;
a head IC chip is mounted at the head IC chip mounting portion of the suspension; and
wiring patterns extend along the suspension from a portion of the suspension, at which portion the head slider is loaded, to the head IC chip mounting portion, and further extend from the head IC chip mounting portion,
wherein:
both sides of the head IC chip mounting portion are cut, and, also, one end of the head IC chip mounting portion is cut in a direction perpendicular to a direction in which both sides of the head IC chip mounting portion are cut so that an opening is formed but a thin connection portion is left which bridges the opening, a middle portion of the head IC chip mounting portion projecting on the side of a second surface of the suspension, which second surface is opposite to the first surface, the head IC chip being mounted on the middle portion of the head IC mounting portion on a surface thereof on the side of the first surface of the suspension; and
the wiring patterns reach the middle portion via a slope portion which is formed at the other end of the head IC chip mounting portion when the middle portion projects from the second surface, and pad terminals which terminate the wiring patterns, respectively, are provided on the middle portion.
A suspension, according to another aspect of the present invention, includes a metal plate body, a base layer formed on the metal plate body, and wiring patterns formed on the base layer, the suspension having an extending end and the other end, having a fixing portion on the side of the other end, which portion is mounted on a junction member, and having a head IC chip mounting portion at the fixing portion,
wherein:
a head slider is loaded on a first surface of the suspension at an extending end thereof, the head slider integrally including a head;
a head IC chip is mounted at the head IC chip mounting portion of the suspension;
wiring patterns extend on the first surface of the suspension from a portion of the suspension, at which portion the head slider is loaded, and further extend from the head IC chip mounting portion; and
the head IC chip mounting portion includes an opening formed in the metal plate body and having a size corresponding to the head IC chip, the base layer covering the opening on the side of the first surface, and pad terminals which terminate the wiring patterns, respectively, are exposed on a surface of the base layer on the side of a second surface of the suspension, which second surface is opposite to the first surface.
In each of these arrangements, because the head IC chip mounting portion is formed at the fixing portion, it is possible to achieve the suspension in which the head IC mounting portion is formed with the characteristics of the suspension being not affected thereby.
A suspension, according to another aspect of the present invention, has a first surface and a second surface opposite to the firs surface, and has a rigid portion which has a rib portion on at least one side thereof so that the rigid portion is prevented from bending, a head IC chip mounting portion being formed in the rigid portion,
wherein:
the head IC chip mounting portion has a head IC chip mounted thereon;
both sides of the head IC chip mounting portion are cut, and, also, a center of the head IC chip mounting portion is cut in a direction perpendicular to a direction in which both sides of the head IC chip mounting portion are cut so that the head IC chip mounting portion is divided into two parts, and middle portions of the two parts of the head IC chip mounting portion project on the side of the second surface of the suspension, the head IC chip being mounted on surfaces of the middle portions of the two parts of the head IC chip mounting portion on the side of the first surface of the suspension; and
the wiring patterns reach the middle portions via slope portions which are formed at both ends of the head IC chip mounting portion when the middle portions project on the side of the second surface, and pad terminals which terminate the wiring patterns, respectively, are provided on the middle portions.
A suspension, according to another aspect of the present invention, has a first surface and a second surface opposite tot he first surface, and has a rigid portion which has a rib portion on at least one side thereof so that the rigid portion is prevented from bending, a head IC chip mounting portion being formed in the rigid portion,
wherein:
the head IC chip mounting portion has a head IC chip mounted thereon;
both sides of the head IC chip mounting portion are cut, and, also, one end of the head IC chip mounting portion is cut in a direction perpendicular to a direction in which both sides of the head IC chip mounting portion are cut so that an opening is formed but a thin connection portion is left which bridges the opening, a middle portion of the head IC chip mounting portion projecting on the side of the second surface of the suspension, the head IC chip being mounted on the middle portion of the head IC mounting portion on a surface thereof on the side of the first surface of the suspension; and
the wiring patterns reaches the middle portion via a slope portion which is formed at the other end of the head IC chip mounting portion when the middle portion projects on the side of the second surface, and pad terminals which terminate the wiring patterns, respectively, are provided on the middle portions.
A suspension, according to another aspect of the present invention, has a rigid portion which has a rib portion on at least one side thereof so that the rigid portion is prevented from bending, a head IC chip mounting portion being formed in the rigid portion,
wherein:
the head IC chip mounting portion has a head IC chip mounted thereon;
the head IC chip mounting portion includes an opening formed in a metal plate body and having a size corresponding to the head IC chip, a base layer covering the opening on the side of the first surface of the suspension, pad terminals which terminate the wiring patterns, respectively, being exposed on a surface of the base layer on the side of a second surface of the suspension, which second surface is opposite to the first surface.
In each of these arrangements, because the head IC chip mounting portion is formed in the rigid portion which is prevented from bending, it is possible to achieve the suspension in which the head IC mounting portion is formed with the characteristics of the suspension being not affected thereby.
Other objects and further features of the present invention will become more apparent from the following detailed description when read in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.


With rapid development of communication technology, particularly radio technology, a train running control system based on communication technology is researched increasingly deeply, and a Communication Based Train Control System (CBTC system) emerges accordingly. The CBTC system is a control system for realizing safety protection of the train based on the bidirectional train-to-ground wireless communication technology and the moving block control principle. The CBTC system is used for replacing the track circuit as a medium to realize running control of the train. The CBTC system is increasingly widely applied to train running safety protection of urban rail transit.
Only if the CBTC system recognizes the marshalling length of a train entering into a CBTC control area and determines that no vehicle (e.g., a track engineering maintenance vehicle) exists in a safety range in front of/in the rear of the train, the CBTC system provides movement authorization for the train. That is, the CBTC system transmits a safe running direction, a safe running distance and other information calculated accurately to the train. In the existing CBTC system, a transfer track is generally provided at the boundary (such as a connecting line between a departure line and other lines) of the CBTC control area, and a trackside CBTC device is provided beside the transfer track. The trackside CBTC device receives information reported by an on-board CBTC device of the train entering into the CBTC control area, and parses the received information to obtain the marshalling length of the train. The trackside CBTC device transmits movement authorization to the on-board CBTC device only in a case of determining the marshalling length of the train and determining that no vehicle exists in the safety range in front of/in the rear of the train.
Since different trains usually have multiple different marshalling lengths such as six compartments or eight compartments, hybrid running of trains with different marshalling lengths is to be realized in a running line of the train. The existing CBTC system has to quickly determine whether a vehicle exists in a safety range in front of/in the rear of the train, in order to timely provide the movement authorization for the train. Therefore, only one type of train with the fixed marshalling length can run in the same running line generally, which limits the hybrid running of trains with different marshalling lengths.


There is a well-recognized need to clean-up contaminants that exist in ground water, i.e., aquifers and surrounding soil formations. Such aquifers and surrounding soil formations may be contaminated with various constituents including organic compounds such as, volatile hydrocarbons, including chlorinated hydrocarbons such as trichloroethene (TCE), and tetrachloroethene (PCE). Other contaminates that can be present include vinyl chloride, 1,1,1 trichloroethane (TCA), and very soluble gasoline additives such as methyltertiarybutylether (MTBE). Other contaminants may also be encountered.
Ozone sparging is now widely recognized as being one of the more effective oxidation techniques for destroying contaminants that exist in groundwater.
Other types of contaminants are more recalcitrant. For instance, pharmaceuticals are particularly resistant to decomposition from known techniques including ozone sparging. Pharmaceuticals enter the groundwater from various sources. One source is pharmaceutical laboratories and manufacturing plants located in area with septic systems for waste disposal. Other sources are hospitals and nursing homes.
Pharmaceutical residuals are increasingly found in sewage discharges. Stronger selective oxidation techniques are necessary to the discharge of antibiotic-resistant bacteria and pharmaceutical residuals into groundwater and surface waters. Zwiener and Frimmel “Oxidative Treatment Of Pharmaceuticals In Water” Water Research 34(6) 1881-1885 (2000); Andreozzi et al. “Paracetanol Oxidation From Aqueous Solutions By Means Of Ozonation and H2O2 UV System” Water Research 37 993-1004 (2003), and Huber et al. “Oxidation Of Pharmaceuticals During Ozonation And Advanced Oxidation Processes” Environmental Science and Technology (2003) have proposed that oxidation systems need to be improved to address the variety of compounds involved. Korhonen et al. Oxidation of Selected Pharmaceuticals in Drinking Water Treatment, Presented at the ninth International Conference on Advanced Oxidation Technologies for Water and Air Remediation Canada (2003) felt that ozone or a combination of ozone and peroxide may offer effective treatment. The identified pharmaceutical residuals include the lipid regulator bezafibrate, antiepileplic carbamazepine, analgesic/inflammatory diclofenac and ibuprofen, and the antibiotic sulfamethoxazole. Even though Korhonen et al. (2003) obtained 90% removal of bezafibrate with ozone alone, H2O2 (peroxide) additional was necessary to obtain over 90% removal of carbamazepine, ibuprofen, and bezafibrate in clean water samples. However, with sewage, the presence of natural organic material (NOM) inhibits effective reaction.
Another need improved oxidation systems comes from treatment of alkanes and alkenes, common to petroleum products and spills. The bulk of petroleum products are aliphatic long-chain compounds, which are often 75% of the product. In heavier refined products, the carbon chain notation for molecular size, C5 to C30 denotes the dominant molecular fractions from 5-carbon to 30-carbon atoms strung together in a single chain. The higher fractions, particularly when branched, are resistant to bacterial action. Fogel (2001) has found that well-aerated samples of petroleum from a diesel source, even when supplied optimal nutrients, will leave about 25% undigested.


The present invention relates to an ink-jet print method and apparatus for printing lines by discharging an ink from an ink-jet head onto a recording member, a color filter, a display device, an apparatus having the display device, an ink-jet head unit adjusting device, and an ink-jet head unit.
With recent advances in personal computers, especially portable personal computers, the demand tends to arise for liquid crystal displays, especially color liquid crystal displays. However, in order to further popularize the use of liquid crystal displays, a reduction in cost must be achieved. Especially, it is required to reduce the cost of a color filter which occupies a large proportion of the total cost. Various methods have been tried to satisfy the required characteristics of color filters while meeting the above requirements. However, any method capable of satisfying all the requirements has not been established. The respective methods will be described below.
The first method is a pigment dispersion method. In this method, a pigment-dispersed photosensitive resin layer is formed on a substrate and patterned into a single-color pattern. This process is repeated three times to obtain R, G, and B color filter layers.
The second method is a dyeing method. In the dyeing method, a water-soluble polymer material as a dyeable material is applied onto a glass substrate, and the coating is patterned into a desired shape by a photolithographic process. The obtained pattern is dipped in a dye bath to obtain a colored pattern. This process is repeated three times to form R, G, and B color filter layers.
The third method is an electrodeposition method. In this method, a transparent electrode is patterned on a substrate, and the resultant structure is dipped in an electrodeposition coating fluid containing a pigment, a resin, an electrolyte, and the like to be colored in the first color by electrodeposition. This process is repeated three times to form R, G, and B color filter layers. Finally, these layers are calcined.
The fourth method is a print method. In this method, a pigment is dispersed in a thermosetting resin, a print operation is performed three times to form R, G, and B coatings separately, and the resins are thermoset, thereby forming colored layers. In either of the above methods, a protective layer is generally formed on the colored layers.
The point common to these methods is that the same process must be repeated three times to obtain layers colored in three colors, i.e., R, G, and B. This causes an increase in cost. In addition, as the number of processes increases, the yield decreases. In the electrodeposition method, limitations are imposed on pattern shapes which can be formed. For this reason, with the existing techniques, it is difficult to apply this method to TFTs. In the print method, a pattern with a fine pitch is difficult to form because of poor resolution and poor evenness.
In order to eliminate these drawbacks, methods of manufacturing color filters by an ink-jet system are disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open Nos. 59-75205, 63-235901, and 1-217320. In these methods, inks containing coloring agents of three colors, i.e., R (red), G (green), and B (blue), are sprayed on a transparent substrate by an ink-jet system, and the respective inks are dried to form colored image portions. In such an ink-jet system, R, G, and B pixels can be formed at once, allowing great simplification of the manufacturing process and a great reduction in cost.
When a color filter is to be manufactured by such an ink-jet system, an ink is discharged onto each pixel while an elongated ink-jet head having a plurality of ink discharging nozzles is scanned over a color filter substrate. This scanning is performed a plurality of number of times to color the respective pixel portions. In this case, the amounts of ink discharged from the respective ink discharging nozzles slightly differ from each other. If, therefore, each pixel array is colored with the same nozzle, the pixel arrays colored with the nozzles from which the ink is discharged in large amounts become dense in color, but the pixel arrays colored with the nozzles from which the ink is discharged in small amounts become light in color. Consequently, the resultant color filter has color irregularity.
In addition, to manufacture a color filter, such elongated ink-jet heads must be prepared for three colors, i.e., R (red), G (green), and B (blue). It takes a lot of time and labor to adjust the relative positions of these three heads.


1. Technical Field
Methods and example implementations described herein are directed to interconnect architecture, and more specifically, automatically generating a Network on Chip (NoC) with pipelining solutions for the interconnects.
2. Related Art
The number of components on a chip is rapidly growing due to increasing levels of integration, system complexity and shrinking transistor geometry. Complex System-on-Chips (SoCs) may involve a variety of components e.g., processor cores, DSPs, hardware accelerators, memory and I/O, while Chip Multi-Processors (CMPs) may involve a large number of homogenous processor cores, memory and I/O subsystems. In both SoC and CMP systems, the on-chip interconnect plays a role in providing high-performance communication between the various components. Due to scalability limitations of traditional buses and crossbar based interconnects, Network-on-Chip (NoC) has emerged as a paradigm to interconnect a large number of components on the chip. NoC is a global shared communication infrastructure made up of several routing nodes interconnected with each other using point-to-point physical links.
Messages are injected by the source and are routed from the source node to the destination over multiple intermediate nodes and physical links. The destination node then ejects the message and provides the message to the destination. For the remainder of this application, the terms ‘components’, ‘blocks’, ‘hosts’ or ‘cores’ will be used interchangeably to refer to the various system components which are interconnected using a NoC. Terms ‘routers’ and ‘nodes’ will also be used interchangeably. Without loss of generalization, the system with multiple interconnected components will itself be referred to as a ‘multi-core system’.
There are several topologies in which the routers can connect to one another to create the system network. Bi-directional rings (as shown in FIG. 1(a)), 2-D (two dimensional) mesh (as shown in FIG. 1(b)) and 2-D Torus (as shown in FIG. 1(c)) are examples of topologies in the related art. Mesh and Torus can also be extended to 2.5-D (two and half dimensional) or 3-D (three dimensional) organizations. FIG. 1(d) shows a 3D mesh NoC, where there are three layers of 3×3 2D mesh NoC shown over each other. The NoC routers have up to two additional ports, one connecting to a router in the higher layer, and another connecting to a router in the lower layer. Router 111 in the middle layer of the example has both ports used, one connecting to the router at the top layer and another connecting to the router at the bottom layer. Routers 110 and 112 are at the bottom and top mesh layers respectively, therefore they have only the upper facing port 113 and the lower facing port 114 respectively connected.
Packets are message transport units for intercommunication between various components. Routing involves identifying a path composed of a set of routers and physical links of the network over which packets are sent from a source to a destination. Components are connected to one or multiple ports of one or multiple routers; with each such port having a unique ID. Packets carry the destination's router and port ID for use by the intermediate routers to route the packet to the destination component.
Examples of routing techniques include deterministic routing, which involves choosing the same path from A to B for every packet. This form of routing is independent from the state of the network and does not load balance across path diversities, which might exist in the underlying network. However, such deterministic routing may implemented in hardware, maintains packet ordering and may be rendered free of network level deadlocks. Shortest path routing may minimize the latency as such routing reduces the number of hops from the source to the destination. For this reason, the shortest path may also be the lowest power path for communication between the two components. Dimension-order routing is a form of deterministic shortest path routing in 2-D, 2.5-D, and 3-D mesh networks. In this routing scheme, messages are routed along each coordinates in a particular sequence until the message reaches the final destination. For example in a 3-D mesh network, one may first route along the X dimension until it reaches a router whose X-coordinate is equal to the X-coordinate of the destination router. Next, the message takes a turn and is routed in along Y dimension and finally takes another turn and moves along the Z dimension until the message reaches the final destination router. Dimension ordered routing may be minimal turn and shortest path routing.
FIG. 2(a) pictorially illustrates an example of XY routing in a two dimensional mesh. More specifically, FIG. 2(a) illustrates XY routing from node ‘34’ to node ‘00’. In the example of FIG. 2(a), each component is connected to only one port of one router. A packet is first routed over the x-axis till the packet reaches node ‘04’ where the x-coordinate of the node is the same as the x-coordinate of the destination node. The packet is next routed over the y-axis until the packet reaches the destination node.
In heterogeneous mesh topology in which one or more routers or one or more links are absent, dimension order routing may not be feasible between certain source and destination nodes, and alternative paths may have to be taken. The alternative paths may not be shortest or minimum turn.
Source routing and routing using tables are other routing options used in NoC. Adaptive routing can dynamically change the path taken between two points on the network based on the state of the network. This form of routing may be complex to analyze and implement.
A NoC interconnect may contain multiple physical networks. Over each physical network, there may exist multiple virtual networks, wherein different message types are transmitted over different virtual networks. In this case, at each physical link or channel, there are multiple virtual channels; each virtual channel may have dedicated buffers at both end points. In any given clock cycle, only one virtual channel can transmit data on the physical channel.
NoC interconnects may employ wormhole routing, wherein, a large message or packet is broken into small pieces known as flits (also referred to as flow control digits). The first flit is the header flit, which holds information about this packet's route and key message level info along with payload data and sets up the routing behavior for all subsequent flits associated with the message. Optionally, one or more body flits follows the head flit, containing the remaining payload of data. The final flit is the tail flit, which in addition to containing the last payload also performs some bookkeeping to close the connection for the message. In wormhole flow control, virtual channels are often implemented.
The physical channels are time sliced into a number of independent logical channels called virtual channels (VCs). VCs provide multiple independent paths to route packets, however they are time-multiplexed on the physical channels. A virtual channel holds the state needed to coordinate the handling of the flits of a packet over a channel. At a minimum, this state identifies the output channel of the current node for the next hop of the route and the state of the virtual channel (idle, waiting for resources, or active). The virtual channel may also include pointers to the flits of the packet that are buffered on the current node and the number of flit buffers available on the next node.
The term “wormhole” plays on the way messages are transmitted over the channels: the output port at the next router can be so short that received data can be translated in the head flit before the full message arrives. This allows the router to quickly set up the route upon arrival of the head flit and then opt out from the rest of the conversation. Since a message is transmitted flit by flit, the message may occupy several flit buffers along its path at different routers, creating a worm-like image.
Based upon the traffic between various end points, and the routes and physical networks that are used for various messages, different physical channels of the NoC interconnect may experience different levels of load and congestion. The capacity of various physical channels of a NoC interconnect is determined by the width of the channel (number of physical wires) and the clock frequency at which it is operating. Various channels of the NoC may operate at different clock frequencies, and various channels may have different widths based on the bandwidth requirement at the channel. The bandwidth requirement at a channel is determined by the flows that traverse over the channel and their bandwidth values. Flows traversing over various NoC channels are affected by the routes taken by various flows. In a mesh or Torus NoC, there may exist multiple route paths of equal length or number of hops between any pair of source and destination nodes. For example, in FIG. 2(b), in addition to the standard XY route between nodes 34 and 00, there are additional routes available, such as YX route 203 or a multi-turn route 202 that makes more than one turn from source to destination.
In a NoC with statically allocated routes for various traffic slows, the load at various channels may be controlled by intelligently selecting the routes for various flows. When a large number of traffic flows and substantial path diversity is present, routes can be chosen such that the load on all NoC channels is balanced nearly uniformly, thus avoiding a single point of bottleneck. Once routed, the NoC channel widths can be determined based on the bandwidth demands of flows on the channels. Unfortunately, channel widths cannot be arbitrarily large due to physical hardware design restrictions, such as timing or wiring congestion. There may be a limit on the maximum channel width, thereby putting a limit on the maximum bandwidth of any single NoC channel.
Additionally, wider physical channels may not help in achieving higher bandwidth if messages are short. For example, if a packet is a single flit packet with a 64-bit width, then no matter how wide a channel is, the channel will only be able to carry 64 bits per cycle of data if all packets over the channel are similar. Thus, a channel width is also limited by the message size in the NoC. Due to these limitations on the maximum NoC channel width, a channel may not have enough bandwidth in spite of balancing the routes.
To address the above bandwidth concern, multiple parallel physical NoCs may be used. Each NoC may be called a layer, thus creating a multi-layer NoC architecture. Hosts inject a message on a NoC layer; the message is then routed to the destination on the NoC layer, where it is delivered from the NoC layer to the host. Thus, each layer operates more or less independently from each other, and interactions between layers may only occur during the injection and ejection times. FIG. 3(a) illustrates a two layer NoC. Here the two NoC layers are shown adjacent to each other on the left and right, with the hosts connected to the NoC replicated in both left and right diagrams. A host is connected to two routers in this example—a router in the first layer shown as R1, and a router is the second layer shown as R2. In this example, the multi-layer NoC is different from the 3D NoC, i.e. multiple layers are on a single silicon die and are used to meet the high bandwidth demands of the communication between hosts on the same silicon die. Messages do not go from one layer to another. For purposes of clarity, the present application will utilize such a horizontal left and right illustration for multi-layer NoC to differentiate from the 3D NoCs, which are illustrated by drawing the NoCs vertically over each other.
In FIG. 3(b), a host connected to a router from each layer, R1 and R2 respectively, is illustrated. Each router is connected to other routers in its layer using directional ports 301, and is connected to the host using injection and ejection ports 302. A bridge-logic 303 may sit between the host and the two NoC layers to determine the NoC layer for an outgoing message and sends the message from host to the NoC layer, and also perform the arbitration and multiplexing between incoming messages from the two NoC layers and delivers them to the host.
In a multi-layer NoC, the number of layers needed may depend upon a number of factors such as the aggregate bandwidth requirement of all traffic flows in the system, the routes that are used by various flows, message size distribution, maximum channel width, etc. Once the number of NoC layers in NoC interconnect is determined in a design, different messages and traffic flows may be routed over different NoC layers. Additionally, one may design NoC interconnects such that different layers have different topologies in number of routers, channels and connectivity. The channels in different layers may have different widths based on the flows that traverse over the channel and their bandwidth requirements.
In a NoC interconnect, if the traffic profile is not uniform and there is certain amount of heterogeneity (e.g., certain hosts talk to each other more frequently than the others), the interconnect performance may depend a lot on the NoC topology and where various hosts are placed in the topology with respect to each other and to what routers they are connected to. For example, if two hosts talk to each other frequently and need higher bandwidth, they should be placed next to each other. This will reduce the latency for this communication, and thereby reduce the global average latency, as well as reduce the number of router nodes and links over which the high bandwidth of this communication must be provisioned. Moving two hosts closer to one another may make certain other hosts far apart since all hosts must fit into the 2D planar NoC topology without overlapping with each other. Thus, tradeoffs must be made and the hosts must be placed after examining the pair-wise bandwidth and latency requirements between all hosts so that certain global cost and performance metrics is optimized. The cost and performance metrics can include the average structural latency between all communicating hosts in number of router hops, or the sum of the bandwidth between all pair of hosts and the distance between them in number of hops, or some combination thereof. This optimization problem is known to be non-deterministic polynomial-time hard (NP-hard) and heuristic based approaches are often used. The hosts in a system may vary is shape and sizes with respect to each other which puts additional complexity in placing them in a 2D planar NoC topology, packing them optimally leaving little whitespaces, and avoiding overlapping hosts.
One aspect of optimization of traffic profiles includes placement of pipeline stages as illustrated in FIG. 4. In a point to point example illustrated in FIG. 4, there are two routers R1 402 and R2 404 with input and output channels such as 406-1 and 406-2 between them. Each channel 406 can be configured to transmit data through 412-1 (from Router 1 to Router 2 using 406-1) and through 412-2 (from Router 2 to Router 1 using 406-2), which in turn is accompanied by a credit signal that flows in the opposition direction to the transmitted data (or control). Such credit signal is shown as 414-1 for channel 406-1 and 414-2 for channel 406-2. Each router 402/404 contains a clock, one or more buffers, and an internal flip flop for data management. Data transmitting router can further include a registering stage shown as 416-1 when data is transmitted from Router 1 to Router 2, and 416-2 when data is transmitted from Router 2 to Router 1. Furthermore, receiving router can include a FIFO shown as 418-1 when data is received by Router 2 from Router 1, and 418-2 when data is received by Router 1 from Router 2. To control timing or meet performance requirements, channels 406 between the routers 402/404 may employ one or more pipeline stages such as 408-1 and 408-2, collectively referred to as pipeline stages 408 hereinafter, within the channels 406. Pipeline stages 408 can include hardware elements such as flip-flops (e.g., JK, data/delay, etc.) to control the traffic flow. One or more pipeline stages 408 can be used as output registers such as 410-1 and 410-2, collectively referred to as output registers 410 hereinafter, which are employed at output channel of each router 402/404 to control traffic flow. A given router 402/404 may employ a single buffer for handling all traffic through the router, or can also employ a buffer for each input/output pair of channels managed by the router. Further, as the traffic flows through each of the pipeline stages 406, the traffic can be controlled to meet timing and or performance requirements based on flip-flop implemented at the pipeline stage. Pipeline stages 406 can further be configured to manage routing computation (RC), virtual channel allocation (VA), switch allocation (SA), switch traversal (ST) before it is delivered to the appropriate output port.
In the related art, there is no automated solution for placement of pipeline stages, and system designers may utilize the pipeline stages in a suboptimal manner when building a NoC. Further, as complexity of NoC increases, difficulty of determining placement and utilization of pipeline stages also increases.


1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to photometric analysis of hydrogen sulfide in alkanol amines and, in particular, to a method and apparatus adapted to measure and to compensate for background photometric absorption caused, for example, by impurities in the amine stream so that an accurate measurement of the concentration of hydrogen sulfide may be obtained.
2. Description of the Prior Art
The amine absorption process by which hydrogen sulfide is removed from refinery "sour" gas is well-known. The mechanism by which hydrogen sulfide is eliminated is understood and relates to the bonding of hydrogen sulfide with an alkanol amine. Typically, a "lean" amine, that is, an amine having an available site at which to bond with hydrogen sulfide, is introduced near the top of a countercurrent absorption tower, or absorber, while a sour gas stream is introduced near the bottom of the absorber. A chemical reaction within the absorber occurs wherein the hydrogen sulfide is bonded to the alkanol amine. The resultant bonded amine, or so-called "rich" amine, is then pumped to the inlet of a stripping column wherein the high temperature associated with high pressure steam is used to strip the hydrogen sulfide from the bonded amines. The stripped amines are conveyed, after cooling, to the absorption tower and the cycle is completed.
The amine-absorption desulfurization process is described in a paper written by R. S. Saltzman entitled "Continuous Photometric Analysis for Measurement and Control in Sulfur Recovery Operations" presented at the Texas A&M University Instrumentation Symposium for Process Industries, January 1977.
For various economic reasons the amount and cost of energy utilized to produce high pressure steam used in the stripping column has become the focus of conservation activity. When energy costs and availability were less important considerations it was the typical practice to use steam to lower the concentration of hydrogen sulfide to a level below that necessary for efficient absorption in the absorber. However, as the cost of energy has increased, this practice is no longer economical. It is, accordingly, important to provide some indication as to the level of hydrogen sulfide remaining in the effluent from the stripping column so that the efficiency of the stripping column may be optimized from an energy consumption standpoint.
To this end it is known that photometric analyzers have been utilized to provide an indication of the amount of hydrogen sulfide remaining in the effluent of the stripping column. One such apparatus is described in the above-mentioned article and is sold by E. I. du Pont de Nemours and Company as the 400 Photometric Analyzer. Such apparatus relies upon the strong ultraviolet radiation absorption characteristic of the alkanol amine-hydrogen sulfide bond to measure the hydrogen sulfide concentration in the stripping column effluent. In general, two problems have been observed with regard to obtaining accurate measurements of the hydrogen sulfide concentration.
The first problem relates to the acute temperature sensitivity of the absorption characteristic of the amine-hydrogen sulfide bond. At higher temperatures, more ultraviolet radiation absorption occurs. Accordingly, it has been necessary to provide a stabilizing heat exchanger in the monitoring path upstream of the photometric analyzer to insure that the sample of the effluent from the stripping column introduced into the sample cell of the analyzer is maintained at a predetermined constant temperature. By this expedient it has been found that the effect of temperature on the ultraviolet radiation absorption characteristic of the amine-hydrogen sulfide bond is minimized.
A further problem relates to the effects of recycled impurities in the amine loop. As the amines become recycled repeatedly it is possible that dirt, corrosion inhibitors, or other contaminants produced by chemical breakdown may occur to form such impurities. Such impurities behave as absorbers of ultraviolet radiation at the same wavelengths as are absorbed by an amine-hydrogen sulfide bond. Accordingly, incorrect measurements of the concentration of hydrogen sulfide in the effluent from the stripping column can occur. This could result in the unnecessary increase in steam use with a concomitant increase in energy consumption. Increased energy consumption under these circumstances would not be economically justified and would, therefore, be disadvantageous. It should be noted that the application of the device mentioned in the referenced article was on specially controlled processes where impurities in the stream were maintained at low levels and the sample temperature was closely regulated.
To obtain a measurement of the hydrogen sulfide concentration in a stream it is known also to introduce a sample of the stream that contains bonded hydrogen sulfide-amine into a vessel and to thereafter introduce a predetermined amount of hydrogen chloride into the vessel. The hydrogen chloride replaces the hydrogen sulfide and the hydrogen sulfide is measured to provide an indication of the concentration of hydrogen sulfide in the sample.


It is known in the art that the presence of biogenic amines in human body fluids may reveal or suggest pathological conditions and dysfunctions. For example, elevated levels of certain biogenic amines in urine may indicate the presence or the likelihood of the presence of a cancer (there are many papers dealing with this—see, for instance, Suh, J W, Lee, S H, Chung, B C, Park, J, Urinary Polyamine Evaluation for Effective Diagnosis of Various Cancers, Journal of Chromatography B, 1997, Vol. 688, Iss 2, pp. 179–186). Several of the types of vaginal diseases may be expressed in elevated levels of biogenic amines in vaginal discharge and fluids (see, for instance, C. S. Chen, R. Amsel, D. A. Eschenbach and K. K. Holmes, Biochemical diagnosis of vaginitis: determination of diamines in vaginal fluid, J. Infectious Disease 145 (1982), pp. 337–345).
Body fluids may include e.g. urine, blood, serum, saliva, vaginal discharge and fluids, etc. Further, samples in which the presence of biogenic amines may be determined may not be fluids, but, e.g., skin and tissues, swipe samples, etc. Even direct sniffing of skin or breath exhaled by a subject may provide information in this respect. This should be understood whenever body fluids are mentioned in this application.
Chemical changes in the living system or degradation processes of cells after death are accompanied with formation of molecular byproducts. These processes include the breaking down of peptides and DNA strands to smaller components, and changes in the building blocks, amino acids, leading to the formation of amines. Not only amino compounds are produced, but other, smaller molecules, such as aldehydes and alcohols are also formed. One of the processes of particular interest is the breakdown of amino acids and the production of diamines and polyamines. For example, decarboxylation of histidine, ornithine, lysine, produces histamine, putrescine and cadaverine respectively.
Several analytical methods have been proposed for the analysis of biogenic amines. Most of these are laboratory methods that require expensive equipment, extensive sample preparation and the skills of a trained analytical chemist or technician. Among these are high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC), or gas chromatography after derivatization of the samples. Biosensors may also be used, as well as various spectrometric techniques. Solid state sensors have also been proposed, but generally lack specificity.
Ion Mobility Spectrometry (also, briefly, IMS) is a known analytical method and its application for the determination of aliphatic and aromatic amines has been suggested: see, for instance, Z. Karpas, Ion Mobility Spectrometry of Aliphatic and Aromatic Amines, Anal. Chem. 61 (1989), 684. An apparatus for carrying out this method—the Ion Mobility Spectrometer (IMS)—is used primarily for detection, identification and monitoring of trace amounts of gases and vapors. It is particularly suitable for detection of compounds that have high proton affinity and form stable positive ions, or for compounds that have a high electronegativity and readily form stable negative ions. IMS is fully discussed in J. I. Baumbach and G. A. Eiceman, Appl. Spectrosc. 1999, vol.53, pp.338A–355A. However, any device that may be used for determining or measuring the mobility of ions may be used for carrying out the invention, and therefore any reference to IMS in this description and claims should not be construed as a limitation, but should be construed any including instrument for determining or measuring the mobility of ions.
The knowledge of the prior art as to the importance of biogenic amines for the possible detection of pathological conditions and as to the analysis of biogenic amines, including the use of IMS, has failed so far to provide a simple and reliable method for the diagnosis of vaginal disorders, particularly, though not exclusively, bacterial vaginosis that affects a large number of women. The provision of such a diagnostic method would constitute a valuable contribution to the medical art. However, such a method is not available: the detection of biogenic amines in vaginal fluids is known to suggest the presence of a pathological condition, but it does not provide specific and reliable information and merely suggests to the specialized physician the desirability of carrying out whatever tests and examinations may finally lead to a diagnosis.
Further, the present knowledge does not provide the practicing physician with an apparatus for the quick diagnosis of bacterial vaginosis and other pathological conditions, by a simple and direct way and without the application of knowledge and technology that are typical of different branches of science and are not found together in any physician, no matter how competent and dedicated. It would be extremely valuable to provide an instrument and method whereby the average physician could obtain from bodily fluids, quickly and in a reliable way, a diagnostic indication of specific diseases and/or pathological conditions, even though such a diagnostic indication may not be final and conclusive and may require, whether positive or negative, verification and integration.
It is therefore a purpose of this invention to provide method for the diagnosis of vaginal disorders, particularly, though not exclusively, bacterial vaginosis.
It is another purpose to provide a method for carrying out such diagnosis automatically and in real time.
It is a further purpose to provide, automatically and in real time, information of fundamental value in the diagnosis of a variety of pathological conditions.
It is a still further purpose to provide an apparatus for the quick diagnosis of bacterial vaginosis and other pathological conditions.
It is a still further purpose to provide a portable instrument that is capable of carrying out the spectrometry of bodily fluids and automatically derive from said spectrometry significant diagnostic indications.
It is a still further purpose to provide such an instrument that can be directed to provide diagnostic indications for specific diseases and/or pathological conditions.
It is a still further purpose to provide such an instrument that consists of the combination of components known in the art and readily available.
It is a still further purpose to provide such an instrument that can be widely used by physicians and medical institutions and is not excessively expensive.
It is a still further purpose to provide such an instrument which can be used, with the due precautions and warnings, by persons other than physicians and even by the patients themselves.
It is a still further purpose to provide such an instrument which can be used for purposes that are not diagnostic purposes, but are relevant to the public health, for instance, the control of the condition of food, such as, but not exclusively, the freshness of meat, fish and their products, as well as and seafood.
It is a still further purpose to provide such an instrument that permits instant examination of tissues removed during an operation as an indication for malignant tissues.


Many types of electronic devices are battery operated and thus preferably consume as little power as possible. An example is a cellular telephone. Further, it may be desirable to implement various types of multimedia functionality in an electronic device such as a cell phone. Examples of multimedia functionality may include, without limitation, games, audio decoders, digital cameras, etc. It is thus desirable to implement such functionality in an electronic device in a way that, all else being equal, is fast, consumes as little power as possible and is as efficient as possible. Improvements in this area are desirable.


High voltage equipment is commonly sealed within a welded enclosure. The seal is required because the enclosure contains either a gaseous (e.g., SF.sub.6) or liquid (e.g., oil) dielectric atmosphere within which the equipment operates. To enable connection between the enclosed equipment and external power lines, a bushing is used to provide a conductor through the wall of the enclosure while simultaneously insulating the conductor from the enclosure and maintaining the seal.
Bushings typically consist of a unitary metal conductor encapsulated in epoxy insulation. The inside end of the bushing (i.e., the proximal end of the conductor) is usually connected rigidly (e.g., by a metallic clamp and hardware) to the enclosed high voltage equipment, while the outside end of the bushing is designed to matingly receive a connector device, such as an elbow connector. The outside end of the bushing (i.e., the insulator body and/or the bushing-to-elbow interface) is subject to damage during both transportation and use which quite often renders the bushing unusable. In this event, the bushing must be replaced, which for a unitary bushing requires opening of the sealed enclosure and disconnection of the bushing from the high voltage equipment. Such replacement procedures are costly, time-consuming and often quite difficult to perform, especially when the equipment is located in the close quarters of an underground vault.


The present invention relates to heating systems, and more specifically to a heat recovery system for boiler and domestic water.
Conventionally, the cold water supply line is fed to a boiler tankless coil where the cold domestic water is heated by the boiler water and released to be used in hot water fixtures of a house. The boiler water, on the other hand, when returned from the house heating units or house radiating system, returns to the boiler through a water circulator. After being reheated, the boiler water is forced back into the house heating units.
A major disadvantage of the conventional arrangement is that feeding cold water to the boiler tankless coil reduces the efficiency of the boiler since the boiler must heat the cold water from approximately 40.degree.-50.degree. F. to approximately 120.degree.-180.degree. F. Although requiring a great input of heat for this purpose, a great deal of the boiler heat escapes through the stack with the flue gases without the heat being retrieved.
In addition to reducing the efficiency of the boiler for heating the boiler water, prior art systems which only utilized an internal boiler tankless coil were also deficient in providing sufficient quantities of domestic water for bathing, using major appliance, etc. It frequently occurs that the capacity of the boiler tankless coil is insufficient for producing sufficient quantities of domestic hot water or heating such water sufficiently rapidly to provide the desired quantities.
In U.S. Pat. No. 2,189,749, which discloses a water heater, suggests the use of a supplemental heating unit using flue gases passing through an envelope filled with boiler water through which a coil for domestic water passes. However, the arrangement described requires that the flue gases be forced from the heating boiler down into and through the supplemental heating unit. Such an arrangement is not recommended for many reasons. Firstly, it causes back pressure on the system as heated gases rise to be vented. Also, the excess pressure can cause relief-type devices to blow off which can soot up an entire dwelling. Further, with the arrangement in the patent, using a tube and baffle design, soot will collect if the oil burner is not running to peak performance. Additionally, the disclosed device utilizes a damper operated by an actuating rod, and the damper could carbonize and that sends heat causing the butterfly to malfunction. This could also cause back pressure which may result in a release of soot in the premises.
U.S. Pat. No. 2,554,338 is for a water heater and uses an auxiliary water heating tank inside the furnace with a pipe coaxial with the flue leading to a tank surrounding the flue. However, the two auxiliary hot water tanks which are disclosed are disposed directly in coal which is transferring heat to the domestic water. Using oil as a fuel and placing the auxiliary hot water tanks in the flames of a oil fired boiler would cause many problems, form soot, smoke and in most cases, could not fit into conventional boilers used today. Furthermore, to install domestic water lines through the smoke pipe and have gases pass through a domestic water tank is not practical as it gravitates to the tank and must be heated to move the water. For these reasons, the water heater disclosed in this patent could not be applied to today's conventional oil heating units.
A furnace system for heating air and water is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 2,827,893. This system provides a water heater in the exhaust flue in conjunction with a circulation system and a forced air heating system. A summer and winter changeover is used to eliminate the use of the separate water heater in winter and using cold water in the coils in the summer to aid cooling of a building. However, the use of a coil to extract heat from a hot air unit or heat exchanger is very inefficient since the heat is being taken from the home heating air. The use of a separate circulator disclosed in this patent to move water is an additional problem for those who service the unit. Further, the coil is restrictive both to the flow of hot air which is rising and the return air. The patent also discloses the use of a storage tank and expansion tank. However, the use of these is not practical since there are too many parts to be installed. The use of a unit of this type, which is complex, along with a hot water heater is not at all practical as it offers no saving utilizing such a system. The disclosed system merely retards heat flow in the unit and takes heat from it as well.
An energy recovery and storage system is also disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,037,786. This patent teaches an arrangement which provides a heat recovery and storage system utilizing heat transfer pipes and circulating water from a storage tank or heat sink in response to sensors responding to water temperature and flue gas temperature. However, the use of transfer heating rods to heat domestic water is inefficient as the heat only strikes the surface area of those rods. Additionally, the use of a hot water heater and storage tank is costly for the operation of the hot water heater and the extra boost given to it by the energy recovery and storage system is grossly inefficient. The use of a storage tank along with the hot water heater is not practical for the space needed to install such a unit.
In U.S. Pat. No. 3,896,992 there is disclosed a heat recovery system for space heating and for potable water heating. This system provides a heat recovery coil and a flue that may alternately provide additional heat to the heating system or provide preheating of the domestic hot water system. However, the coil inside the flue pipe will restrict flue gas and reduce draft causing soot conditions. Also, dismantling the flue pipe for cleaning can create a substantial problem. Further, the water pre-heater tank along with the disclosed pressure gauge and pressure relief valve all require additional space. The disclosed system is extremely elaborate, too costly and impractical.


This invention relates to a method of evaluating data pertaining to respiration and heart beat and an apparatus for evaluating them, especially for forecasting sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS) by investigating the correlation between respiration and heart beat in a normal state and respiratory standstill in sleep.
Generally, the data from organisms includes EEG, cardiac electricity, respiration, ocular movement, and EMG. Signal forms of this data are relatively more useful than from EEG etc. It is therefore easier to analyze an R--R interval as a change of peak interval of an ECG wave, chronologically.
Considering that respiratory arrhythmia depends upon an efferent impulse from an extension receptor, standstill of the efferent impulse from an extension receptor in respiratory arrest in sleep will have an effect on heart beat. It has been already reported that in Cheyne Stokes respiration during hyperrespiration the increase of heart beat and decrease of blood pressure are observed; during its apnea the decrease of heart beat and increase of blood pressure occur.
Here, sleep-apnea syndrome is defined as three following cases:
(1) At least 30 episodes of apnea appear in the night sleep of 7 hours.
(2) An apnea episode appears in REM-sleep as well as in non-REM-sleep.
(3) An episode of apnea has a tendency to appear continuously.
The classification of sleep apnea syndrome according to Gastant is divided into the three following types
(1) Central type: A respiratory standstill at the nostrils and mouth appears along with the disappearance of thoracid and abdominal movements. This indicates the stoppage of activity of the respiratory center.
(2) Obstructive or upper tracheal type: In spite of respiratory efforts by thracic and abdominal movements, respiration stops, suggesting an obstruction in the upper tracheal tract.
(3) Mixed type: An intermediate type between central and obstructive ones. Although at the first phase of apnea the thracic and abdominal movements cease, its symptom becomes more severe gradually.
In the central type, the apnea episode often appears repeatedly in an almost constant period, frequently observed in non-REM-sleep, but in the obstructive type an apnea episode appears at various intervals and its duration is also not constant. Also, in the central type, during hyperventilation in Cheyne Stokes respiration an increase of heart beat is observed. During the apnea phase its decrease and a periodical change are noticed.
The mechanism of the central type of sleep-apnea can be explained by neurogenous or respiratory disturbance theory. The neurogeneous theory is based on the assumption that there is an oscillation center in the brainstem, and an inhibitory mechanism for controlling oscillation in the forebrain. The respiratory disturbance theory rests on the basis that a respiratory disturbance delays a feed-back loop between the respiratory center and chemical receptor, and an oscillation phenomenon appears.
It has not been determined which effect really works, or whether both effects work simultaneously.


1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a head suspension, a method of manufacturing a base plate of the head suspension, and a method of manufacturing the head suspension, the head suspension being a device to support a read/write head to write and read data to and from a magnetic disk or a hard disk in a disk drive of for example, a personal computer.
2. Description of Related Art
A base plate for a head suspension is manufactured as illustrated in FIG. 12, for example. FIG. 12 illustrates a method of manufacturing a head suspension according to a related art (Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2012-14812). In FIG. 12, a base plate chain 101 is processed into a head suspension chain 103, and from the head suspension chain 103, individual head suspensions 105 are cut off.
The base plate chain 101 includes base plates 107 each of which is fabricated into the head suspension 105. The head suspension 105 is of a dual actuator system that uses, in addition to a voice coil motor to turn the head suspension 105 as a whole in a sway direction or a width direction, a piezoelectric element to minutely turn a head of the head suspension 105 in the sway direction. The base plate 107 includes a boss 111 and an actuator base 113. In the base plate chain 101, a plurality of the base plates 107 are joined to a frame 112.
The actuator base 113 has a rear end 115 and a front end 117. The rear and front ends 115 and 117 are spaced from each other in a direction of a rotation radius of the head suspension 105 and are connected to each other through a link 119 that is present at a widthwise center of the base plate 107. On each side of the link 119, there are a pair of actuator attaching areas 121a and 121b that are openings in each of which the piezoelectric element is attached.
In this specification, a “longitudinal direction” corresponds to the direction of the turning radius of the head suspension and a “width direction” to a direction orthogonal to the longitudinal direction.
Along each side of the rear end 115, there are side segments 123b and 125b, and along each side of the front end 117, there are side segments 123a and 125a. The side segments 123a (125a) and 123b (125b) extend in the longitudinal direction, are spaced from each other, and face each other, so that the front end 117 is movable relative to the rear end 115.
The base plate chain 101 is deburred by, for example, chemical polishing, electrolytic polishing, or barrel polishing, and load beams 125 are connected to the respective base plates 107 in the base plate chain 101. Thereafter, piezoelectric elements 127a and 127b each made of, for example, PZT (lead zirconate titanate) are attached in the respective actuator attaching areas 121a and 121b of each base plate 107 with a nonconductive adhesive. Thereafter, a flexure having a head and wiring is attached to each head suspension 105, thereby forming the head suspension chain 103. The head suspension chain 103 is cut into individual head suspensions 105.
In the base plate chain 101 to be subjected to the above-mentioned processes, each base plate 107 has the actuator attaching areas 121a and 121b and separated side segments 123a, 123b, 125a, and 125b. These parts may entangle among a plurality of base plate chains 101 during the transportation of the base plate chains 101 between processes and may be deformed by receiving external force. The deformation causes material and product losses and increase costs. To avoid the entanglement and deformation, the base plate chains 101 may be aligned before deburring or heat treatment. This, however, deteriorates productivity.
If the base plates 107 are thinner to reduce their weight, the above-mentioned problem will become more serious.
FIG. 13A is a plan view illustrating a base plate 107A with outer frames according to the related art and FIG. 13B is a plan view illustrating a base plate 107B without outer frames according to the related art. These base plates 107A and 107B are individually manufactured. Namely, they are not chained.
In FIG. 13A, the base plate 107A has a single actuator attaching area 121 being an opening and outer frames 129a and 129b that outwardly protrude with respect to the actuator attaching area 121 in the width direction. The actuator attaching area 121 receives a single piezoelectric element.
In FIG. 13B, the base plate 107B is similar to the base plate 107 of FIG. 12, and therefore, is illustrated with the same reference numerals as those of FIG. 12.
When a plurality of the base plates 107A (107B) are simultaneously processed through deburring, heat treatment, and head suspension assembling, the actuator attaching areas 121 (121a, 121b) may entangle among the base plates 107A (107B), to deform front ends 117A (117) and the like.
The barrel polishing, in particular, is speedier for the deburring of the base plates 107A (107B). It, however, frequently causes the entanglement and deformation of the base plates 107A (107).
Compared with the base plate 107A of FIG. 13A, the base plate 107B of FIG. 13B has no outer frames, and therefore, has low rigidity and easily entangles with others to increase material and product losses and decrease productivity.
To solve the problem, the base plate 107B without frames may be provided with a scrap section in a half-finished stage.
FIG. 14 is a view illustrating Step S101 to form a half-finished base plate 107BA and Step S102 to form the base plate 107B.
Step S101 of FIG. 14 forms the half-finished base plate 107BA by pressing a stainless steel thin plate of 100 to 250 micrometers thick. The half-finished base plate 107BA has scrap sections 131a and 131b which are black-colored in FIG. 14 for the sake of explanation. In practice, the scrap sections 131a and 131b are made of the same material as the half-finished base plate 107BA and are integral therewith with no boundaries.
A plurality of the half-finished base plates 107BA are collectively deburred by, for example, barrel polishing, are heat-treated, and are subjected to Step S102. The deburring and heat treatment are carried out to the half-finished base plates 107BA each having the scrap sections 131a and 131b that increase the rigidity of the actuator attaching areas 121a and 121b. Even if many half-finished base plates 107BA are simultaneously processed by, for example, barrel polishing, the actuator attaching areas 121a and 121b of each half-finished base plate 107BA will not entangle with others.
Step S102 of FIG. 14 cuts off the scrap sections 131a and 131b by pressing from the half-finished base plate 107BA, to form the base plate 107B that integrally has the actuator attaching areas 121a and 121b and the boss 111.
The related art of FIG. 14 is capable of suppressing the deformation of the half-finished base plate 107BA during the deburring, heat treatment and the like and realizing easy handling of the half-finished base plate 107BA for the deburring, heat treatment and the like.
The related art, however, has a problem that Step S102 carried out after the deburring process of Step S101 leaves burrs or cut burrs on cutting surfaces at which the scrap sections 131a and 131b are cut off from the half-finished base plate 107BA. These cut burrs may drop off in a completed hard disk drive into which a head suspension having the base plate 107B is installed.
If many half-finished base plates 107BA are processed with a metal mold for cutting off the scrap sections 131a and 131b, blades of the metal mold will become dull to enlarge the cut burrs. The large cut burrs are likely to drop off in hard disk drives.
To minimize the cut burrs, the blades of the metal mold must frequently be maintained. This, however, deteriorates productivity due to intermittence of the manufacturing process.