International Business Machines Corporation

Hitachi Global Storage Technologies Netherlands B.v.

Hitachi Global Storage Technologies

Hitachi Global Storage Technologies B.v.

David W Albrecht

Akihiko Aoyagi

Surya Narayan Pattanaik

Qinghua Zeng

Hitoshi Tsujino

Thomas R Albrecht

Tzong-Shii Pan

Fu-Ying Huang

James William Berberich

Masahiko Katoh

Satya Prakash Arya

Michael Anthony Moser

Ta-Chang Fu

Hiroki Kitahori

Kiyoshi Satoh

John Jeffrey Stephenson

Wayne Leung Cheung

Ju-Hi John Hong

Norman G Ainslie

Kok-Kia Chew

Mats Anders Engwall

Daniel W Chapman

Richard E Mach

Sunao Nemoto

Zack D Reynolds

Hiroshi Matsuda

Barry C Stipe

Oscar Jaime Ruiz

Masaki Kobayashi

A David Erpelding

Timothy Carl Strand

Shingo Tsuda

Kenji Kuroki

Kirk Barrows Price

Mutsuro Ohta

Jun Ishikawa

Yoshio Uematsu

Wing Chun Shum

Darrell Dean Palmer

Suryanarayan G Hegde

Keishi Takahashi

Gregory Michael Frees

Victor Wing Shum

Chen-Hsiung Lee

Satoshi Matsumura

Masakazu Sasaki

Tatsuo Nakamoto

Kohji Serizawa

Tomokazu Ishii

David Harwood McMurtry

Victor Wing Chun Shum

Hiroo Inoue

Taeyong Yoon

Yuhji Kobayashi

Thomas Franklin Roth

A completely circumferential shroud is provided around the motor hub flange of a hard disk drive spindle motor. The shroud is continuous, smooth, and uniform, and formed at the same axial height as the flange to reduce air flow disturbances that are generated by the rotating motor hub flange. Unlike prior art designs that provide openings to accommodate the actuator, the present design has no openings or irregular shapes that can cause air flow disturbance. Air flow disturbance, especially when near the actuator arms or head suspensions, can impact track misregistration. In addition, the probability of circulating contamination particles inside the motor out into the disk drive enclosure is also reduced due to less irregular airflow patterns.

Completely circumferential motor bracket shroud for motor hub flange outside diameter for hard disk drive

A spindle motor for implementation in a low profile hard disk drive is described; that spindle motor having a novel configuration for the torque generating portion. The spindle motor includes a hub coupled with a disk platter; that has a rotational axis about a suitable bearing system. A stator portion of material for conducting magnetic flux from the rotor poles, and having twelve stems and a plurality of windings, is configured to be disposed beneath the disk platter and coupled to the drive base. A rotor portion coupled with the hub having back iron ring with a permanent sixteen pole magnet radially polarized is closely radially disposed to the stator. The number of poles of the rotor portion has a defined proportion relative to the number of stems of the stator portion. The windings provide conductivity for creating an electromagnetic force applicable at the torque radius for rotation of the hub.

Spindle motor winding for miniature hard disk drive

Embodiments of the present invention pertain to a method of manufacturing a disk drive coupling apparatus for rigidly coupling a disk drive to a chassis of a computer. In one embodiment, a disk drive to chassis coupler is formed and a disk drive to chassis coupler engaging mechanism is created. One end of the disk drive to chassis coupler can be coupled to the chassis. The disk drive to chassis coupler engaging mechanism can be used to cause the second end of the disk drive to chassis coupler to apply pressure to the disk drive, thus, the disk drive can be rigidly coupled to the chassis.

System and method for rigidly coupling a disk drive to a chassis of a computer

The invention is a hard-disk-drive (HDD) assembly that includes a flame having the exterior dimensions of a particular form-factor HDD, an HDD with a form-factor smaller than the frame, a pair of mount assemblies that support the HDD entirely within the larger form-factor frame, and an electrical cable located entirely within the frame and having one end connected to the HDD and the other end exposed to the frame exterior at the position determined by the specifications of the larger form-factor. The HDD assembly thus presents a smaller form-factor HDD as a fully plug-compatible alternative to a larger form-factor HDD. The mount assemblies have spring-like cantilever arms in contact with damping material to provide a highly-damped nonlinear spring system that provides mechanical-shock resistance for the HDD in a direction normal to the planes of the disks and high stiffness in a direction parallel to the planes of the disks.

Hard disk drive (HDD) assembly of small form-factor HDD shock-mounted in frame having dimensions of larger form-factor HDD

Embodiments of the present invention pertain to a disk drive coupling apparatus for rigidly coupling a disk drive to a chassis of a computer. In one embodiment, the disk drive coupling apparatus includes a disk drive to chassis coupler and a disk drive to chassis coupler engaging mechanism. One end of the disk drive to chassis coupler can be coupled to the chassis of the computer. The disk drive to chassis coupler engaging mechanism is capable of causing the other end of the disk drive to chassis coupler to apply pressure to the disk drive, thus, the disk drive can be rigidly coupled to the chassis.

Disk drive coupling apparatus for rigidly coupling a disk drive to a chassis of a computer

A hermetic sealing approach involves welding an Aluminum cover onto a low-cost Aluminum housing. According to an example embodiment of the present invention, a metal housing having a base and sidewalls extending upward therefrom is adapted to receive and couple to an HDD arrangement. The metal housing is formed using material and processing (e.g., cold formed or die cast Aluminum) that are relatively inexpensive. A feedthrough arrangement including a plurality of communication pins extends through an opening in the base and is coupled thereto, with the communication pins adapted to pass signals between the inside and the outside of the metal housing. A metal cover is welded to an upper portion of the sidewalls and, with the feedthrough arrangement, hermetically seals the metal housing.

Hermetically sealed electronics arrangement and approach

A mechanical-shock-mount assembly enables attachment of a mechanical-shock-sensitive electronic device to a support structure. Two identical shock-mount structures are attached and located on opposite sides of an electronic device. Each shock-mount structure has a pair of generally planar spring-like cantilever beams that have their free ends for attachment to the support structure. Damping material is located on the surfaces of the cantilever beams between the beams and clamping surfaces. At least one clamping surface is a plate that compresses the damping material between itself and the beam and/or compresses the damping material between the beam and a surface of the support structure when it is attached to the support structure. This shock-mount structure acts as a highly-damped nonlinear spring system that provides mechanical-shock resistance for the device in a direction perpendicular to the cantilevered beams and high stiffness in a direction in the plane of the beams. If desired, the shock-mounts can be first assembled to the support structure before attaching the device. The support structure can optionally have additional features for attaching other components of the device host.

Shock mount assembly for attachment of an electronic device to a support structure

A method of attenuating airflow disturbances in a hard disk drive utilizes a completely circumferential shroud around the motor hub flange of a hard disk drive spindle motor. The shroud is continuous, smooth, and uniform, and formed at the same axial height as the flange to reduce airflow disturbances that are generated by the rotating motor hub flange. Unlike prior art designs that provide openings to accommodate the actuator, the present design has no openings or irregular shapes that can cause airflow disturbance. Airflow disturbance, especially when near the actuator arms or head suspensions, can impact track misregistration. In addition, the probability of circulating contamination particles inside the motor out into the disk drive enclosure is also reduced due to less irregular airflow patterns.

Method of attenuating airflow disturbances in a hard disk drive with a circumferential motor bracket shroud for motor hub flange outside diameter

A spindle design for a hard disk drive assembly constructed in accordance with the present invention includes a significantly large gap between the rotating, ferromagnetic hub with its permanent magnet rotor and the rotating sleeve of the fluid bearing journal member. The large gap may be filled with a medium, such as air, or a non-permeable material. The large gap is preferably on the order of several hundred microns. Because of the large gap, the magnetic flux leakage from the rotating hub members and sleeve into the stationary shaft at the center of the spindle is negligible. Consequently, iron loss in the shaft caused by magnetic flux leakage into the shaft is reduced to acceptable noise levels.

Flux leakage barrier in fluid bearing for disk drive

A motor having reduced deformation due to a temperature change. The motor is an outer ring type motor having a bearing cartridge, which integrates the shaft, ball bearings and sleeve. The outer periphery of the sleeve is attached to the inner periphery of the hub at a bonding region positioned axially between the ball bearing holding portions. The bonding portion includes a stress reducing region. The diameter of the hub within the stress reducing region is not uniform in order to reduce the stress generated between the outer periphery of the sleeve and the inner periphery of the hub due to thermal expansion.

Spindle motor-having improved bonding between its bearing cartridge and hub

A spindle motor employed for a hard disk unit, including a hub having an outer peripheral wall portion provided with a rotor magnet on its outer peripheral surface and formed so as to be able to support the inner peripheral portion of a hard disk and a stator coil fixed so as to be positioned outwards in the radial direction of the disk and face the rotor magnet. This spindle motor is assembled in the disk unit, in which each stator coil is disposed so that the tracing of the magnetic head in movement is positioned between adjacent cores, thereby the magnetic head is affected less by the leak magnetic flux from the stator coil. In addition, the scanning head is moved to its unloading position with use of an energy accumulated in the capacitor when the power of the disk unit is turned off.

Spindle motor and disk unit

A head stack assembly for a data recording disk drive has a carriage on which a coil is mounted. The carriage has a first surface and a second surface. A first head gimbal assembly is mounted on the first surface, and a second head gimbal assembly is mounted on the second surface. A datum member is formed on each of the surfaces of the carriage. The datum member is used to position each of the head gimbal assemblies on their respective surfaces. The datum member has two pins that engage apertures in the head gimbal assemblies. A pivot member is located in a separate aperture between the pins such that the head stack assembly is balanced at the center of the pivot member.

System for improved assembly and manufacture of miniature data recording devices and head stack assemblies

A method for making a suspension system comprising a multiple layer flexure, a load beam and an arm. The load beam extends from the tip of the suspension all the way back to the rear of the arm. Datum holes are located in the load beam such that during assembly all reference points are made from the single load beam piece.

Method of manufacturing a transducer suspension system

A multi-track density direct access storage device is disclosed. In accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention, a direct access storage device for data storage within a data processing system comprises a housing, a rotatable spindle, at least one disk, and several heads. The disk is fixedly mounted to the rotatable spindle, and the rotatable spindle is rotated by a motor within the housing. A first disk surface of the disk has a first track density and a second disk surface of the disk has a second track density; wherein the second track density is preferably greater than the first track density. Each of the several heads contains a transducer to read and write information from and to the disk during the disk rotation. Under this configuration, the lower storage density it first disk surface is utilized to store data that are frequently accessed while the higher storage density second disk surface is for storage capacity supplementation such that the total data storage capacity of the direct access storage device can be increased without degrading the data-accessing performance.

Multi-track density direct access storage device

An attachment structure and method for a disk drive apparatus for making the coupling resonance frequency of a hard disk drive the same whether one disk is loaded or a plurality of disks are loaded based upon parameters obtained from a simulation model. The modeling of a coupling vibration for one disk and for two disks is performed using a coupling vibration model of a linear two degree-of-freedom system. The component parts of a spindle motor providing a spring constant K,are adjusted so that the resonance frequency determined by coupling that of a spindle motor with that of the disk(s) is made much the same whether one disk or two disks are loaded. This adjustment enables stable track following to be secured without the need for adding dummy disks and other parts.

Disk drive apparatus, attachment structure, and attachment method

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San Jose, CA, United States of America

David W Albrecht