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:
Nov. 21, 2006
Filed:
Feb. 17, 2006
Daniel D. Dittmer, Santa Cruz, CA (US);
Alexander Parkhomovsky, Santa Jose, CA (US);
Daniel D. Dittmer, Santa Cruz, CA (US);
Alexander Parkhomovsky, Santa Jose, CA (US);
Seagate Technology LLC, Scotts Valley, CA (US);
Abstract
An improved rotational motor, such as a spindle motor for a disc drive, is provided. The motor first comprises a hub having a shaft portion and a horizontal body portion. The motor also comprises a sleeve surrounding the shaft portion of the hub. A fine vertical gap is retained between the shaft and the inner diameter of the surrounding sleeve. In addition, a fine horizontal gap is provided between the upper hub portion and the top of the sleeve. The vertical gap is filled with a lubricating liquid, such as a clean oil. A capillary seal is provided in the vertical fluid gap at one end. Preferably, the capillary seal is disposed at an upper end of the shaft proximal to the horizontal gap. Novel air pumping grooves are machined along the horizontal fluid gap. When the hub is rotated, the air pumping grooves create a high pressure region in the vicinity of the capillary seal. This forms a high pressure barrier that reduces the number of oil molecules diffusing out of the capillary seal and, therefore, inhibits oil loss from the system.