The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document.
The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge covers the following: Patent number, Date patent was issued, Date patent was filed, Title of the patent, Applicant, Inventor, Assignee, Attorney firm, Primary examiner, Assistant examiner, CPCs, and Abstract. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document (in Adobe Acrobat format, aka pdf). To download or print any patent click here.
Patent No.:
Date of Patent:
Sep. 25, 1990
Filed:
Jul. 12, 1988
Nahum Guzik, Mountain View, CA (US);
Vinod Rao, Fremont, CA (US);
Guzik Technical Enterprises, Inc., San Jose, CA (US);
Abstract
A ball-type clamping mechanism for clamping computer hard disks in a disk tester for accurate measuring of the disk's parameters comprises a cup-shaped support (10) which is installed on a rotating part of the tester and serves to support a computer hard disk (20) which rests on the upper surface of the support. The support has a cylindrical opening (12) with a diameter equal to or slightly greater than the diameter of the disk opening. Slidingly inserted into the support (10) is a cylindrical retainer (26) which carries clamping balls (28) uniformly spaced from each other in a circumferential direction and located in recesses (30) formed in the side wall of the retainer. The balls have a diameter larger than the side wall of the retainer (26). A pull rod (40) passes through the central opening in the bottom wall of the support and carries a clamping cone (42) which is made from a resilient material softer than the material of the balls (28). When the rod is pulled down, a conical surface (50) of the clamping cone (42) pushes the balls radially outwardly into contact with the inner periphery of the hard disk, so that the disk is clamped. The number of balls exceeds three, so that a uniform clamping force is provided on each of the balls. Because the cone is made from a resilient material, the balls clamp the disk with a uniform force without the necessity of manufacturing the parts with accurate tolerances.