R/W Arm that prevents catastrophic failure

摘要

In a flexible magnetic disk file having one or more flexible disks mounted for rotation about a centrally located axis, data on a selected disk is transduced by a magnetic head seated on a fail-safe head arm support. The head arm support is a relatively flat elongated member mounted at one end to a carriage assembly. The head arm support has a smooth contour with relatively sharp edges about its periphery and a spherical enclosure seated on its free end. The head arm support is tapered, at a predetermined angle from the rigidly mounted end towards the free end. The angle of taper allows for automatic ejection of the head arm support from the disk file during inadvertent closure of the disk file. The relatively sharp edges allow the head arm support to open a closed disk file.