DISC drive turbulent wind management

Abstract

The disc drive housing encloses a spindle motor carrying a disc having a data surface. An actuator assembly includes an actuator arm carrying a head. The housing includes a first surface portion adjacent to the data surface of the disc. The housing also includes a plurality of surface portions that define a recess, which allows the actuator arm to move over the data surface of the disc. The plurality of surface portions include a sloped surface portion sloping away from the data surface and preventing wind generated by the disc rotating about an axis from separating from the sloped surface portion. Alternatively, a disc drive includes a housing that defines a recess. The housing encloses a disc mounted on a spindle motor that rotates the disc about an axis and thereby generates wind within the housing. An upstream surface portion and a downstream surface portion of the housing both face toward a data surface of the disc. A discontinuity, such as a step, between the upstream surface portion and the downstream surface portion causes a wind recirculation region within the recess. The disc drive also includes an actuator arm that carries a head, which the recess allows to move over the data surface of the disc. An actuator limiting device prevents the actuator arm from entering the wind recirculation region.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.