Nidec Corporation

Satoru Kuramoto

Yusuke Iwai

Hitoshi Takaki

Tomoya Uchimura

Tatsuya Tatara

Ken Horishi

Tetsuya Tatara

Yoko Fukumoto

In a motor including a chucking device for detachably holding a disk, the chucking device has a center case to which a central opening of the disk is inserted. The center case has a cylindrical portion coaxial with the center axis, a cover portion for covering an axial upper side of the cylindrical portion of the center case and a base portion fixed to the shaft-fixed portion of the rotor holder; resilient members received within the center case; and claw members remaining in contact with the respective resilient members, the claw members being movable radially to hold the disk in place. The center case is spaced apart from the rotor holder except for the base portion contacting with the shaft-fixed portion of the rotor holder.

Motor with a chucking device for detachably holding a disk and disk drive apparatus equipped with the same

In a motor including a chucking device for detachably holding a disk, the chucking device has a center case to which a central opening of the disk is inserted; resilient members received within the center case; and claw members for holding the disk in place. Each of the claw members has a tip end portion, a disk holding surface positioned axially below the tip end portion for holding the disk in place, and a recessed sliding portion formed substantially at a circumferential center region of the disk holding surface, the sliding portion serving to guide movement of the claw member. Rest portions are formed in the center case in a facing relationship with the respective sliding portions, the rest portions serving to support the respective sliding portions by contacting therewith. Each of the rest portions has an upwardly convex curved surface with which the corresponding sliding portion makes contact.

In a motor including a chucking device for detachably holding a disk, the chucking device has a center case to which a central opening of the disk is inserted; resilient members received within the center case; and claw members for holding the disk in place. Each of the claw members has a claw portion having a disk holding surface for holding the disk in place and a pair of wing portions extending radially inwardly from the claw portion. Further, each of the wing portions has a spherical contact surface contacting with a underlying part arranged axially below the wing portions.

Motor with a chucking device for detachably holding a disk having a central opening portion and disk drive apparatus equipped with the same

In a brushless motor for use in a disk drive, a rotor is mounted onto a tube portion of a housing. A retaining claw is formed at an upper end of the tube portion. A turntable has a central concave portion which accommodates an upper portion of the tube portion of the housing. A retaining member is provided radially outside the central concave portion, and includes a plurality of retaining pieces extending to the inside of the central concave portion. When the rotor is mounted onto the housing, the retaining pieces come into contact with the retaining claw and then move upward. When the rotor moves upward relative to the housing, the retaining pieces come into contact with the retaining claw, thereby restricting upward movement of the rotor. Upward movement of the retaining pieces is restricted by contact between the retaining member and the turntable.

Brushless motor, and disk drive equipped with the same

A chucking mechanism is operable to detachably set thereon a discoid disk. The chucking mechanism includes a center case, a claw member, an elastic member, and a turn table. The claw member includes, a claw portion, and a movement support portion The center case includes a movement pivot receiving portion. A support point extending continuously from the movement pivot portion is arranged radially inwardly of the movement pivot portion at the movement support portion, and axially upward movement of the tip portion is substantially prevented since the support point makes contact with the movement pivot receiving portion, and a top surface of the movement support portion makes contact with a bottom surface of the top plate portion.

Chucking mechanism, brushless motor having the chucking mechanism, and disk driving apparatus having the brushless motor

A claw member includes at a radially inward surface thereof a protrusion inclined surface in order to minimize deformation occurring in an axial direction to an elastic member which is a coil spring. The protrusion inclined surface is preferably inclined, when a tip portion of the claw member is at an axially lowest point, to be substantially perpendicular to the central axis, or such that the further radially inward a portion thereof is the axially lower the portion is. By virtue of such configuration, the protrusion inclined surface minimizes deformation occurring to the elastic member in the axial direction.

A movement pivot receiving portion which receives a movement pivot portion of a claw member and a movement support receiving portion which receives a movement assist portion of the claw member are arranged radially within a cylindrical portion of a center case. By virtue of such configuration, both receiving portions are designed with a greater degree of freedom within a space between an inner circumferential surface of the cylindrical portion and an outer circumferential surface of a base portion. Therefore, the claw member may be designed to have a preferable thickness while achieving a preferable movement of in an axial direction.

In a motor including a chucking device for detachably holding a disk, the chucking device has a center case to which a central opening of the disk is inserted; resilient members received within the center case; and claw members for holding the disk in place. Each of the claw members has a tip end portion, a disk holding surface positioned axially below the tip end portion for holding the disk in place, and a recessed sliding portion formed substantially at a circumferential center region of the disk holding surface, the sliding portion serving to guide movement of the claw member. Rest portions are formed in the center case to face the respective sliding portions, the rest portions serving to support the respective sliding portions by contacting therewith. The sliding portions are designed to make contact with the respective rest portions when the disk is mounted to the chucking device.

A claw member includes a claw portion and a movement support portion. The movement support portion includes a movement pivot portion which is a pivotal portion of the movement of the claw member, and a movement support portion formed radially inward of the movement pivot portion. The claw member is allowed to maintain an axial height of a tip portion thereof while smoothly maintaining a movement in a radially inward direction thereof since a movement support receiving portion and the movement support portion make contact with one another.

A tip portion of a claw member is, when the same is at a lowest position, axially above a bottom surface of an upper disk base of a multi-layered disk. By virtue of such configuration, the tip portion will not be caught between the upper disk base and a lower disk base of the multi-layered disk.

A motor includes a chucking device for detachably holding a disk-shaped storage medium. The chucking device includes a plurality of radially outwardly biased claw members. Further, the claw members make contact with a top surface of a cover portion of a turntable when the claw members are in contact with the top edge of a central opening of the storage medium. At least one of the claw member's contact sections and the turntable's contact section is made of a material different than a material forming the remaining sections of the claw members and the remaining section of the turntable so that the static friction coefficient between the claw member's contact sections and the turntable's contact section becomes greater than the static friction coefficient between the claw members and the rest portions.

Growing community of inventors

Kyoto, Japan

Satoru Kuramoto