Western Digital Technologies, Inc.

Michael G Choy

John R Gustafson

Lin Yang

Jin Hui Ou-Yang

Chiao-Ping (Roger) Ku

Jen-Tai Lin

Gary C Griffin

Keith R Berding

Joseph A Methe

Peter G Robinson

Gary C Griffen

There is provided a disk drive including a disk drive base, a disk rotatably coupled to the disk drive base, and a spindle motor attached to the disk drive base and configured to support the disk for rotating the disk with respect to the disk drive base. The disk drive further includes a filter component. The filter component includes a filter housing coupled to the disk drive base, and a filter element disposed within the filter housing for filtering disk rotation induced airflow. The filter element includes a coarse section and a fine section. The coarse section has a porosity greater than a porosity of the fine section.

Disk drive including a filter component with coarse and fine sections

A method to at least temporarily replace air with an alternative gas in a first disk drive having a breather filter port is disclosed. A first disk drive is placed in a chamber, which is then evacuated to establish a sub-ambient chamber air pressure. Air bleeds out of the first disk drive through its breather filter port during a first period, until an internal pressure within the first disk drive reaches a reduced internal air pressure that is less than one third the first disk drive's initial internal air pressure. The chamber is then filled with the alternative gas. The alternative gas bleeds into the first disk drive through the breather filter port during a second period, until the internal pressure within the first disk drive reaches a restored internal gas pressure that is in the range 0.5 to 1.25 times the initial internal air pressure.

Method to replace gas in a disk drive

There is provided a disk drive including a disk drive base, a disk rotatably coupled to the disk drive base, and a spindle motor attached to the disk drive base and configured to support the disk for rotating the disk with respect to the disk drive base. The disk drive further includes a filter component. The filter component includes a filter housing coupled to the disk drive base, and a pair of filter elements disposed within the filter housing for filtering disk rotation induced airflow. Each filter element includes a coarse section and a fine section, wherein the coarse section is positioned upstream of the fine section relative to a direction of the induced airflow.

A disk drive includes a disk drive housing having a breather hole and a separate leak testing hole, both the breather hole and the leak testing hole being formed through the disk drive housing, and a drive sub-component attached to a surface of the disk drive housing so as to form an interface between the sub-component and the surface of the housing. The interface defines an interface outer perimeter and a sealed airflow testing channel in fluid communication only with the leak testing hole to enable a non-destructive detection of leaks at the interface. The airflow testing channel may be disposed within the interface outer perimeter.

Disk drive configured to enable non destructive leak detection at the interface between a drive sub-component and the disk drive housing

A disk drive includes a disk drive base. The disk drive further includes a spindle motor hub rotatably coupled to the disk drive base. The disk drive further includes a disk disposed about the hub and having a disk surface. The disk drive further includes a disk clamp attached to the hub in mechanical communication with the disk surface for applying a clamping force to the disk. The disk drive further includes a disk clamp damping member disposed adjacent and in mechanical communication with the disk clamp and the disk surface for damping movement of the disk relative to the hub.

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Mountain View, CA, United States of America

Michael G Choy