International Business Machines Corporation

Tyco Electronics Corporation

Luke A Cossette

Zine-Eddine Boutaghou

Charles Allan Brown

John Beck

Herman Russell Wendt

Daniel C Stucky

Christopher Guild Keller

Michael Scott Good

James M Rigotti

Jeffrey Fred Boigenzahn

Richard Edward Lagergren

Brian Lee Rappel

Richard W Luoma

Dale E Goodman

Lyle R Tufty

Darrell Eugene Bratvold

Gregory Allen Lyons

Brian Edwin Schultz

Dale C Goeke

Craig A Delagardelle

An electrical connector assembly is provided including a connector having a mating end. The connector has contacts extending from the mating end. A connector shroud is positioned around the mating end of connector. The connector shroud has an asymmetrical configuration and positioning tabs to orient the shroud on the panel. A mating connector having a mating end is configured to engage the mating end of the connector. The mating connector has mating contacts configured to engage the contacts of the connector. The mating end of the mating connector has an asymmetrical configuration that mirrors the asymmetrical configuration of the connector shroud. The asymmetrical configurations of the mating end of the mating connector and the connector shroud align the mating connector with the connector in a single orientation.

Electrical connector assembly having connector shroud

A contact retention assembly includes a body, an outward angled tine and an inward angled tine. The body extends between a front end and a back end. The outward angled tine extends from the body to a housing engagement surface and is configured to engage a portion of a housing. The inward angled tine extends from the body to a contact engagement surface and is configured to engage a contact in order to retain the contact within the assembly. The inward angled tine extends from the body in a different direction than the outward angled tine.

Contact retention assembly

A data storage disk drive is provided with a spindle which supports a plurality of disks having at least one magnetic disk surface to form a spindle assembly for rotation of the disk surfaces about a common axis and a rotary actuator which supports magnetic transducers for movement in unison about respective disk surfaces. The disk drive includes a disk drive enclosure having die-cast generated predetermined zero draft geometries for mounting the spindle motor shaft and the actuator bearing shaft. The enclosure includes a base casting and a cover casting, each casting including structure for locating and retaining electrical connectors used for connecting to a planar electronics card located outside the drive enclosure. The disk drive includes an effective and easily manufacturable electrical path from a flex circuit to an actuator comb. The disk drive includes a tubular chemical breather filter arranged with integral housing and diffusion channels formed in the cover casting.

Structure and enclosure assembly for a disk drive

A magnetic fluid seal is provided by mounting an annular, axially polarized magnet mounted on the device base member and an annular ring pole piece with an inner diameter that cooperates with an outer diameter surface of the hub assembly to form a fluid gap that is radially outward and within the axial extent of the spindle bearings. The secondary gap of the seal assembly is within the bearing assembly sealed volume while the principal sealing gap is within the hub assembly to confine any debris or aerosols resulting from high rotational velocity or shock to be contained in proximity to the flux fields that can recapture any magnetic material. The assembly also inherently presents an effective conductive path to provide enhanced grounding of the rotating assembly through the magnetic fluid in the second gap which is not subject to impairment caused by bonding materials. The seal assembly design also provides for self loading of the magnetic fluid without permitting escape of smeared liquid beyond the region of the seal assembly.

Magnetic fluid seal and ground path for low profile disk drives

A data storage disk drive is provided with a spindle which supports a plurality of disks having at least one magnetic disk surface to form a spindle assembly for rotation of the disk surfaces about a common axis and a rotary actuator which supports magnetic transducers for movement in unison about respective disk surfaces. The disk drive includes a voltage reference tab provided for quick assembly and removal from an actuator comb. The voltage reference tab maintains the magneto-resistive transducers and the magnetic disks at the same reference voltage potential thus minimizing electrical discharge from the transducer to the disk. The voltage reference tab is a copper tab having symmetrical slots about a fastening hole to facilitate the bending operation and to reduce the rate at which heat is conducted during the soldering process. The tab maintains the voltage reference potential between the head and disk through an extension of the flex cable attached to the actuator.

The hub includes a cup attached to the hub or rotating portion of the disk drive. The cup has a top. Both the cup and top have openings therein which accommodate the fixed shaft. The cup is filled with ferrofluid. The portion of the shaft passing through the cup and top is magnetized so magnetic seals are formed at the openings. Electrical charge is transmitted to the shaft via the cup and the ferrofluid. A similar arrangement is shown for a disk drive having a rotating shaft in which the cup is incorporated into the hub and a magnetized pin attached to the housing is inserted into the cup.

Spindle grounding device using magnetic fluid

A magnetic seal for a disk drive data storage unit is described where the magnet assembly comprising an annular magnet and two annular pole pieces are adhesively attached with the magnet intermediate the pole pieces and the assembly thereof then forcibly inserted, creating a force fit, into a shield which is formed as an annulus with an interior cylindrical surface engaging the exterior cylindrical surfaces of the magnet assembly. The force fit insures electrical continuity between the shield and the pole pieces. The shield extends into close proximity with the shaft being sealed and is provided with a relieved region immediately adjacent the interior cylindrical surface of the pole pieces to form a reservoir for receiving, trapping and retaining any ferromagnetic fluid which may escape from the gap between the pole pieces and the shaft. A mating shield is then assembled onto the previously assembled components after the introduction of the ferromagnetic fluid into the seal gaps. All elements of the seal assembly are adhesively sealed to adjacent elements to prevent the formation of gaps or capillaries which may act to attract and transport ferromagnetic fluid away from the seal gap between the pole pieces and the shaft. At least one of the shields is in reliable electrical contact with the hub into which the entire assembly is inserted.

Magnetic fluid seal containment shield

Disclosed is a disk drive having an enclosure for housing one or more disks, an actuator arm and sliders attached to the actuator arm. The sliders include magnetic transducers for reading information related to data off the disk and for writing representations of data to the disk. In a disk drive with an in-hub, fixed spindle shaft motor, the disk or disks are attached to the hub which is rotatably mounted to the spindle shaft. The hub includes one or more fingers attached to the hub which touch the spindle shaft when the hub is stationary and when the hub is rotating. The spindle shaft may also be provided with a wear resistant layer and/or ring of conductive material to enhance the electrical pathway between the hub and the spindle shaft and provide for lower wear and a longer life.

Growing community of inventors

Rochester, MN, United States of America

Luke A Cossette