Seagate Technology Incorporated

Steven C Knoche

Klaus Dieter Kloeppel

Robert Michael Pelstring

Anthony Joseph Aiello

John C Dunfield

Alan Lyndon Grantz

Klaus Dieter Koeppel

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

A fluid dynamic bearing including a sleeve and a counterplate captured within a shoulder on the sleeve and including a threaded mounting extension for mounting the assembly from a base or the like. A rotating shaft is incorporated within the sleeve; the shaft includes a thrust plate which rotates in a recess defined between the counterplate and the sleeve. To incorporate this assembly into a disc drive or the like, the threaded mounting extension only needs to be mounted within a base, with a nut screwed over the threaded mounting. The base typically includes a raised portion; the sleeve is cantilevered from this base for further stability and eliminate the possibility of vibration of the shaft and sleeve with rotation of the shaft. The end of the shaft distal from the threaded mounting supports a hub which in turn supports a backiron and magnet. The base supports a stator aligned with the magnet; energization of the stator will cause rotation of the hub and the shaft.

Fluid dynamic bearing motor design for mounting a rotating shaft

A fluid dynamic bearing cartridge including a sleeve and a counterplate captured within a shoulder on the sleeve and including a threaded mounting extension for mounting the assembly from a base or the like. A rotating shaft is incorporated within the sleeve; the shaft includes a thrust plate which rotates in a recess defined between the counterplate and the sleeve. To incorporate this assembly into a disc drive or the like, the threaded mounting extension only needs to be mounted within a base, with a nut screwed over the threaded mounting. The base typically includes a raised portion; the sleeve is cantilevered from this base for further stability and eliminate the possibility of vibration of the shaft and sleeve with rotation of the shaft. The end of the shaft distal from the threaded mounting supports a hub which in turn supports a backiron and magnet. The base supports a stator aligned with the magnet; energization of the stator will cause rotation of the hub and the shaft.

Fluid dynamic bearing cartridge design incorporating a rotating shaft

Bearings in a motor or bearing cartridge are positioned relative to the shaft and an outer sleeve, and a bearing retainer is then pressed against the outer races of one of the bearings in order to hold the bearings in position and preload the bearings in a desired orientation. The bearing retainer is chilled to a temperature significantly different than the sleeve with which it cooperates; shrinking the retainer to a size where it may be slip fit within a sleeve or other means for supporting the bearings in place. The retainer is then pressed against the outer races of the bearings, and held in place while it returns to the temperature of the sleeve within which it is fit. In this way, the preload is defined and maintained for the long term, as the retainer is pressed tightly against the outer race of the bearings; and the retainer is held within the sleeve as it returns to the same temperature being chilled is eliminated. In an alternative approach, the retainer ring may be heated to expand its internal diameter, and after being heated to a temperature which is greater than the sleeve, is slipped over the outside of the sleeve while the bearings are being held with the required preload.

Setting bearing preload utilizing thermal exspansion/contraction

A disc drive includes a disc drive motor for rotating a storage disc. The motor includes a motor base which carries a wiring assembly having a plurality of electrical contacts. A rotor hub is rotatably coupled to the base and rotatably carries a storage disc. The rotor hub includes a permanent magnet. A stator assembly includes a plurality of stator windings adapted for operation with the permanent magnet of the rotor hub. A wire guide coupled to the stator assembly positions wires of the stator windings adjacent the electrical contacts of the wiring assembly. The wires are soldered to the contacts after which the wiring guide can be removed. The stator assembly can be 'potted' in an adhesive to reduce problems associated with resonant frequency of the disc drive motor. The wire guide acts as a retainer for the adhesive preventing the adhesive from interfering with rotation of the rotatable hub.

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Corralitos, CA, United States of America

Steven C Knoche