Seagate Technology Incorporated

Other

Robert Michael Pelstring

Klaus Dieter Kloeppel

John C Dunfield

Clifford T Jue

Donald J MacLeod

Gunter Karl Heine

Alan Lyndon Grantz

Frederick Frank Kazmierczak

Michael John Raffetto

Steven C Knoche

Hans L Leuthold

Norbert Steven Parsoneault

Robert Alan Nottingham

Jeffry Arnold LeBlanc

Michael Kenneth Andrews

Alexander Parkhomovsky

Marten Fredrick Byl

Anthony Joseph Aiello

Troy Michael Herndon

Raquib Uddin Khan

David John Jennings

John W Elsing

Alan Lydon Grantz

Roger Allen Addy

Daniel Dennis Dittmer

Donald James Macleod

Lev Mikhailovich Dvoskin

Alain M Cassat

Tan Hung Pham

Michael James Whittome

Anthony J Aiella

Greg Zariphopoulos

Lynn Bich-Ouy Le

Klaus Dieter Koeppel

Jeffery A LeBlanc

Martin F Byl

Robert Alan Notingham

A fluid dynamic bearing having a hub, a sleeve, and a sealing arrangement comprising a first capillary seal substantially retaining a first fluid and a second capillary seal comprising a second fluid. The second capillary seal is located between the first capillary seal and an opening between the hub and the sleeve.

Dual seal for optimized performance

An electrode containing a dielectric layer on a surface of the electrode and an active zone containing a metal embedded below the surface of the electrode, wherein the electrode is configured to form a groove pattern on a workpiece by an electrochemical machining process is disclosed. The electrode is capable of manufacturing a workpiece such as a counter plate, a sleeve journal or a conical bearing containing a groove pattern for fluid dynamics bearing, the groove pattern having a pitch of less than 80 microns. The electrode could be made by a method including depositing a dielectric layer on a surface of a metal, depositing a photoresist layer on the dielectric layer, printing a groove pattern on the photoresist layer, etching or physico-chemically removing portions of the dielectric photoresist layers to form grooves in the dielectric layer; removing the photoresist layer; and filling the grooves with a metal to produce the electrode.

Electrode for electrochemical machining

A disk drive motor having a capillary bearing seal is provided. In one embodiment, a disk drive motor includes a stationary assembly and a rotating assembly having a fluid dynamic journal bearing disposed therebetween. A capillary seal is defined proximate an upper end of the journal bearing and coupled to at least one re-circulation path. The capillary seal is configured to advantageously retain lubricating fluids within the motor when the motor is subjected to lateral shock.

Capillary seal with flow restrictors

An apparatus and method are provided for sealing an outer surfaceof a shaftto an inner surfaceof a hubThe seal includes a magnetwith top and bottom pole piecesand a ferrofluidmagnetically held in a gapbetween the pole piecesand the hubor the shaftThe top pole piecehas a cross-section that is L-shaped, with a horizontal portionparallel to the magnetand a shorter vertical portionfacing the shaftIn one version, the vertical portionor the portion of the shaftfacing it is contoured to provide a flux gradient that axially concentrates the ferrofluidin the gapIn another aspect, a catcheris provided to reduce loss of ferrofluidwhen the ferrofluidic sealused to form an outside seal. In yet another aspect, a stationary ferrofluidic sealis provided for sealing a stationary shaftto a rotating hub

Apparatus and method for forming a rotatable ferrofluidic seal between a shaft and a hub

A circular magnetizer is disclosed comprising circular insulating inset holding pans of axially disposed wires, each pair carrying a current oppositely directed from the adjacent pair, the insert being disposed within and facing a back iron across a circular gap of sufficient width to allow a circular magnet to be disposed therein and spaced by a gap from the insert and/or back iron. The pan's of wires are arranged to create flux lines which will establish alternating magnetic poles separated by null zones in the magnet.

Magnetizing apparatus

Motor with stationary shaft and high speed capillary seal

A spindle motor incorporates a hollow shaft and a prewound stator having an interconnect ring attached to one end of the stator assembly. The interconnect ring is preferably a printed circuit or flexible printed circuit; it is bonded to the stator stack before the coils are wound, and the start and finish of each phase winding is terminated to the interconnect ring. Once the stator is assembled onto the shaft, connector wires can be fed up through the shaft and terminated at the interconnect ring. Traces on the interconnect ring join the wires to the proper phases and to the commons to control motor operation.

Stator interconnect ring

A connector assembly comprising a base portion which plugs into the base of the motor shaft and a connector body having electrical interface rods along an axial face thereof. A flexible printed circuit having one end connected to the stator has dedicated connector pads on a surface thereof which line up with and are intended to be pressed against the molded body connector rods. To maintain the pads and rods in tight electrical contact, a connector snap spring assembly is snapped in place over the connector body. The snap spring assembly is assembled in two parts comprising a first U-shaped connector snap having a base and two arms, the arms being sized and adapted to snap over shoulders of the molded body; and a connector spring which is pressed in place over the body of the connector snap and includes a plurality of flexible fingers which are aligned with the flexible printed circuit pads and the molded body connector rods so that when the arms of the snap spring assembly are snapped over the shoulders of the body, the springlike fingers tightly press the pads and connector rods together. A hole is formed in the printed circuit axially displaced from the connector pads; a finger extending radially from the connector body passes through this hole to maintain the axial alignment of the flexible printed circuit with the remainder of the press fit connector.

Snap on flexible printed circuit connector

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 high pressure boundary seal adjacent at least one of the bearings of the spindle motor. The motor itself includes a shaft, typically a fixed shaft and a rotor supported by bearings and rotating outside the shaft. The high-pressure boundary seal comprises a ring which surrounds the shaft across a small gap and is supported from and rotates with the rotor or hub. In a first embodiment, a herringbone pattern is defined on the inner surface of the ring or the outer surface of the shaft. The upper and lower sections of the herringbone pattern are substantially equal so that a zone of high pressure is established at about the center of the pattern. This high pressure boundary zone prevents the flow of any contaminants from the interior of the motor or the bearing between the shaft and the sealing ring out into the interior section of the disc drive housing where they could potentially contaminate the disc.

High pressure boundary seal

A disc drive spindle motor includes a central axis, a stationary member, a rotatable member which is rotatable with respect to the stationary member and a bearing interconnecting the rotatable member with the stationary member. A data storage disc is attached to the rotatable member. A stator is supported by the stationary member at an interface for rotating the rotatable member about the central axis with a driving force frequency. The stator has a resonant vibrational frequency. The interface has a plurality of recesses which are spaced axially from one another with respect to the central axis. An adhesive is applied within a selected set of the plurality of recesses and forms a bond between the stator and the stationary member. The set of recesses is selected such that the resonant vibrational frequency is different than the driving force frequency.

Disc drive spindle motor having tuned stator with adhesive grooves

A spindle motor in a disc drive has a rotor assembly rotatably mounted to a base. A stator is mounted to the base and a magnet is mounted to the rotor assembly. The magnet or the stator is allowed to move in an axial direction relative to the other under the influence of magnetic interaction between the magnet and the stator. The magnet and stator are then rigidly fixed relative to one another in the axial direction.

Spindle motor having a magnet which is field centered relative to the

A motor is disclosed which includes a shaft and a hub rotating relative to one another and defining a bore therebetween. Also disclosed is a magnetic fluid seal which includes pole pieces supported from the hub, the pole pieces extend toward the shaft. The pole pieces sandwich a non-conducting magnet in a space between the pole pieces. In addition, a contacting process is supported from one of the pole pieces for making electrical contact with the other pole piece to enhance electrical conductivity between the hub and shaft.

Grounding and conductivity improvement for ferrofluid seals

Growing community of inventors

Santa Cruz, CA, United States of America

Robert Michael Pelstring