Nidec Corporation

Tsuchitsugu Watanabe

Takehito Tamaoka

Yoichi Sekii

Takashi Yamamoto

Masahiro Shiraishi

Takashi Shimizu

Sho Fukuhara

Hirofumi Takayama

Tomohiro Yokosawa

Hiroyuki Abe

Mitsuhiro Takemoto

A stationary portion of a spindle motor includes a stator portion and an outside surface. The stator portion includes a stator core and coils. The outside surface extends in an axial direction parallel or substantially parallel to a central axis, and is centered on the central axis. The spindle motor includes a fixing portion at which an inside surface of the stator core and the outside surface are fixed to each other. The fixing portion includes a first press fit portion, a second press fit portion, and a gap arranged therein. The gap is located between the first press fit portion and the second press fit portion. The second press fit portion is located above the first press fit portion. At least a portion of the second press fit portion is located above a middle of the stator core in the axial direction.

Spindle motor and disk drive apparatus

A spindle motor is configured to rotate a disk in a case defined by a base plate and a top cover arranged to cover an upper side of the base plate. The spindle motor includes a fluid dynamic bearing including a lubricant oil. A rotating portion body of the spindle motor includes an air hole. An upper opening of the air hole is in communication with an annular space between the top cover and the rotating portion body. A lower opening of the air hole is in communication with a gap between a stator and a magnet. Accordingly, even if a gas including the lubricant oil vaporized through a liquid surface of the lubricant oil leaks into the annular space, at least a portion of the gas including the lubricant oil flows into the air hole.

A first capillary seal portion is positioned on a radially outer side of a bearing portion. A second capillary seal portion is positioned higher in an axial direction than the bearing portion and further on radially inner side than the first capillary seal portion. A seal cap covers a portion of an opening of the first capillary seal portion and a portion of an opening of the second capillary seal portion. The maximum width of a first gap between the outer circumferential surface of the shaft and an inner circumferential surface of the seal cap in a radial direction and the maximum width of a second gap between an upper surface of the sleeve portion and a lower surface of the seal cap in an axial direction is smaller than the maximum width of the opening of the first capillary seal portion.

In a spindle motor, a shaft portion includes a columnar portion, an annular portion, and a recessed portion. A cap portion includes a flat plate portion and a projecting portion. The recessed portion includes a first side surface and a second side surface arranged radially outside the first side surface. A lower end portion of the projecting portion is arranged inside the recessed portion. The first side surface is arranged opposite to an inner circumferential surface of the projecting portion with a first region intervening therebetween. The second side surface is arranged opposite to an outer circumferential surface of the projecting portion with a second region intervening therebetween. A bottom portion of the recessed portion is arranged opposite to the lower end portion of the projecting portion with a third region intervening therebetween.

In a spindle motor, a cup portion of a base member includes a cylindrical portion and a bottom plate portion. The cylindrical portion is concentric or substantially concentric with a central axis extending in a vertical direction. The bottom plate portion closes a bottom portion of the cylindrical portion. The bearing mechanism is accommodated in the cup portion. An adhesive is arranged between an outer circumferential surface of the bearing mechanism and an inner circumferential surface of the cylindrical portion. At least one of the outer circumferential surface of the bearing mechanism and the inner circumferential surface of the cylindrical portion includes an axially extending vertical groove. A communicating hole which is not filled with the adhesive is arranged in at least a portion of an inside of the vertical groove. The communicating hole extends continuously from an upper to a lower end portion of the vertical groove.

A base unit includes a base member and a connector. The base member includes a bottom plate portion, a window portion, and a first groove. The first groove is defined in an upper surface of the bottom plate portion around the window portion. The connector includes a board portion and an electrode terminal. The board portion is arranged on the upper surface of the bottom plate portion to cover the window portion and the first groove. The electrode terminal is arranged to overlap with the window portion in the axial direction. An adhesive is arranged between the upper surface of the bottom plate portion and the lower surface of the board portion. The adhesive is arranged to extend continuously in an annular or substantially annular shape around the window portion while being arranged in at least a portion of the first groove.

Base unit, spindle motor, and disk drive apparatus

A spindle motor includes a stationary portion and a rotating portion including a seal defining portion. The stationary portion includes a shaft portion, an annular member fixed to an upper portion of the shaft portion in, for example, a tight-fitting condition, and a cap member. A radially inner end portion of the cap member is fixed to each of the shaft portion and the annular member preferably through, for example, an adhesive. An upper seal portion, in which a surface of a lubricating oil is arranged, is defined in an upper seal gap defined between an outer circumferential surface of the annular member and an inner circumferential surface of the seal defining portion. The cap member is arranged to cover an upper side of the upper seal portion.

Disk drive spindle motor with adhesive fixing seal cap to shaft and upper thrust plate

A method of manufacturing a motor including a rotating portion and a stationary portion including a stator, a base portion, and a circuit board preferably includes the steps of: a) arranging the stator at a predetermined position on the base portion, and arranging a lead wire of a coil of the stator at a position on a far side of an imaginary cylindrical surface centered on a central axis and which touches top surfaces of teeth of a stator core with respect to the top surfaces; b) arranging a shield between a land portion of the circuit board and the top surfaces; c) soldering the lead wire to the land portion, the lead wire extending along an upper surface of the circuit board through a gap between the shield and the circuit board; d) removing the shield; and e) attaching the rotating portion to the stationary portion.

Method of manufacturing motor, motor, and disk drive apparatus

A spindle motor includes a shaft arranged in an upward/downward direction along a central axis; a base member including a substantially cylindrical holder portion arranged around the central axis; a bearing unit arranged radially inward of the holder portion; and a rotating portion arranged above the base member to rotate about the central axis. The rotating portion preferably includes a mounting surface on which a disk is to be mounted. An adhesive containing an electrically conductive material and an adhesive containing an externally stimulated curing material and/or an anaerobic curing material are arranged in a clearance space defined between an inner circumferential surface of the holder portion and an outer circumferential surface of the bearing unit. The adhesive containing the electrically conductive material is arranged above the adhesive containing the externally stimulated curing material and/or the anaerobic curing material.

Spindle motor including an electrically conductive adhesive and a non-conductive adhesive arranged between a base and a bearing unit

A spindle motor includes an electroconductive sheet member. The electroconductive sheet member is attached so as to be abutted against a sleeve housing and a metal exposed portion of a base plate. With the configuration, the conductivity between the base plate and the sleeve housing is preferably achieved.

Growing community of inventors

Kyoto, Japan

Tsuchitsugu Watanabe