Seagate Technology Incorporated

Ernst W Ridinger

Wantjinarjo Suwito

Robert J Miles

Ronald F Fasano

Disk stators or air deflectors are provided for controlling undesirable air flow characteristics in a disk drive. In a four-disk pack arrangement, the stators are arranged in a group of three stacked stators wherein a middle or interior stator is planar, and the upper and lower stators each have complementary shapes with offset mounting brackets thereby providing gaps between the stators. Openings formed in the stators are aligned with one another when assembled enabling a locating pin protruding from the base of the disk drive to be received within the openings. The disk stators can also be incorporated in other disk pack arrangements such as two and three disk packs. The stators are preferably formed in a stamping manufacturing process thereby reducing manufacturing costs.

Stamped stators for disk drives

A shim mechanism interposed between the hub of a spindle motor, used to mount and rotate discs in a disc drive data storage device, and the disc clamp used to secure the discs to the hub, the shim serving to evenly distribute the clamping force applied to the disc clamp by a plurality of screws equally spaced about the periphery of the disc clamp. The shim includes alignment means for centering the shim relative to the disc clamp and spindle motor hub, and a plurality of radially extending arms, equal in number to the number of screws fastening the disc clamp to the spindle motor hub. The radially extending arms are centered between adjacent screws, and have a width selected to divide the angular displacement between adjacent screws into thirds. The thickness of the shim is selected to evenly distribute the clamping force of the screws about the circumference of the disc clamp.

Growing community of inventors

Longmont, CO, United States of America

Ernst W Ridinger