Seagate Technology Incorporated

Magnetic Peripherals Inc.

Other

Control Data Corporation

John W Elsing

David John Jennings

William J Kostecka

William C Bright

Steven D Knopp

Michael D Schroeder

Robert Michael Pelstring

Kent J Forbord

David Douglas Koester

Leon J Valley

Blaine Thomas Peterson

Gene F Gorham

Charles H Smith

Jeffery A LeBlanc

Martin F Byl

William Clifford Bright

Ram V Pazhayannur

In a spindle hub configured for rotation about an axis, through holes extend from a first end of the spindle hub to a second end of the spindle hub. The through holes are generally parallel to the axis. A method of achieving two-plane balance of a disc pack assembly by positioning one or more weights in one or more of the through holes and retaining the weight in the position, such that it is possible to access each weight from the top of the spindle hub.

Two-plane balance for spindle motors

A hydrodynamic spindle motor including an internally disposed heating element in a stationary spindle portion having a spindle hub rotatably coupled thereto. The hydrodynamic spindle motor has particular application for supporting discs for co-rotation for a disc drive. The heating element is activated to control viscosity of a hydrodynamic fluid of a hydrodynamic bearing rotationally supporting the spindle hub relative to the stationary spindle. Operation of the heating element reduces viscosity of the hydrodynamic fluid to reduce motor power requirements and improve &ldquo;up-to-speed&rdquo; time.

Hydrodynamic spindle motor with an internally disposed heating element

Low power high speed disc drive spindle seal

This invention deals with compensating for thermal changes such that the spindle motor bearing preload remains as constant as possible throughout the disc drive operational temperature range. This is achieved by selecting a combination of materials with a composite thermal expansion that offsets the differential expansion of the steel bearing supports and the ceramic balls. The change in materials and configuration can be either that of the shaft, the hub, the support members, or any combination thereof.

Thermal compensation spindle for ceramic ball bearings

A disc drive system includes a base or deck, a disc stack rotatably attached to the base, and an actuator assembly movably attached to the base. The disc stack includes a spindle, a hub attached to the spindle and discs attached to the hub. The spindle is attached to the base or deck using a fastener that passes into a threaded opening in the spindle. The spindle also includes several electrical contact pads. The base or deck has openings positioned near the electrical contact pads as well as an opening through which the fastener passes to mount the spindle to the base or deck. A printed circuit board is connected to the bottom of the base or deck. A connector is used to attach the electrical contact pads on the spindle to the electronics on the printed circuit board. The connector includes several contact elements. The contact elements extending through openings in the deck and contact a corresponding electrical contact pad on the spindle. The connector includes a ring of material that attaches to the printed circuit board to provide a strain relieved connection. The connector also supports the electrical contacts and is made of an insulative material. The electrical contacts have a spring end which is cantilevered off the ring. The spring end extends from the ring providing a preloaded contact through openings in the base or deck and to the electrical contact pads on the printed circuit. The other end is soldered directly to the printed circuit board.

Spring-contact spindle connector

According to the present invention spindle bearings are assembled with at least one annular gimbal to compensate for undesired components of bearing compression force. Specific devices and methods are directed to compensating for either (a) operational force variations such as those caused by temperature variation or (b) assembly-related force variations such as those caused by misalignment.

Annular gimbal assembly suitable for disc drive spindle bearings and method of making same

A method and apparatus are used for testing a spindle which is used to support a disc pack for rotation in a disc drive. The test apparatus is removably coupled to the spindle. The current apparatus defines a test surface and has an outer periphery greater than an outer periphery of the spindle. A measurement device is placed proximate the test surface at a location radially displaced from the spindle. A distance between the test surface and the measuring device is measured with a measuring device during rotation of the spindle and the test apparatus.

Method and apparatus for testing a spindle in a disc drive

In a magnetic disk drive, a stationary spindle shaft and a rotary actuator shaft are mounted to opposed walls of the drive housing in precise radial and axial alignment with one of the walls, despite relatively relaxed tolerances in the mounting components. At each shaft end, an axially directed fastener is surrounded by an alignment ring with two frusto-conical guide surfaces, one engaged with an enlarged head of the fastener and the other engaged with the associated shaft end. An axially inward tightening of the fastener brings the enlarged head and shaft end into engagement with their respective guide surfaces of the alignment ring. The fastener is tightened further to elastically elongate the fastener and create a tensile force which, through wedging action, urges the alignment ring radially outward into a firm frictional engagement with a rim of the selected wall, thus to radially align and integrally mount the shaft end with respect to the wall. One of the alignment rings for each shaft has an inclined radially outward edge which, in combination with a seal member that provides a reference surface, axially aligns the shaft relative to the selected wall. The opposite alignment ring has an axial radially outward wall, to accommodate a variance in the axial distance between the opposed housing walls.

Split ring mounting for disk drive spindle and actuator shafts

A spindle motor for a disc drive data storage device in which the stator is isolated from the stationary portion of the motor used to attach the spindle motor to the disc drive housing by use of resilient members interposed between the stator and the stationary portion of the motor. In a preferred embodiment, the resilient members comprise a plurality of toroidal rings, or O-rings, and, in a first aspect of the invention, these rings are interposed radially between the stator and the stationary portion of the spindle motor and are axially constrained in relationship to the motor by a corresponding number of annular grooves formed in the stationary portion of the motor. In a second aspect of the invention, metal-to-metal contact between the stator and the stationary portion of the motor in the axial direction is eliminated through the use of a non-metallic washer at one end of the stator and an axial O-ring at the other end of the stator. Circumferential movement of the stator relative to the stationary portion of the motor is prevented by the use of a stator lock ring.

Audible noise reduction in a disc drive

A disk drive assembly includes a disk pack with an axially retractable spindle assembly, along with a rotary actuator, mounted within a unitary deck and precision aligned by bores through spaced apart upper and lower support walls of the deck. Bushings, mounted to opposite ends of a spindle shaft through bearings, are aligned with the bores by inserting the retracted spindle assembly into the deck, with a spring biasing the spindle assembly into the retracted position. Fasteners through the opposed support walls draw the bushing sleeves axially outward against the spring force to preload the bearings as the shaft is aligned and secured, without employing a jig or any other alignment tooling. Upwardly converging flutes in the hub, in combination with openings through annular spacers that separate adjacent disks in the disk pack, provide a purging and cooling air flow, while interacting pairs of annular flanges and annular grooves, in the hub and bushings, control radial passage of air from the center of the spindle assembly into the region of the disks.

Growing community of inventors

Edina, MN, United States of America

John W Elsing