Self-ventilated recirculating airflow system
AssigneeInternational Business Machines Corporation
InventorsJohn L. Beck, Daniel O. Castrodale, Richard W. Luoma, James M. Rigotti
Life of this patent
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Abstract
Shown and described is a recirculating air system for a disk drive assembly wherein air moves radially over the disk surfaces, over the transducer carriage at an increased velocity, past the actuator mechanism and through a filter before recirculation is induced by the hub assembly on which the disks are mounted and which functions also as an impeller. The hub-disk assembly also forms an integral part of the drive motor rotor assembly. Also, a breather filter and breather opening communicate with the recirculating air path at the low pressure location of the recirculating path to assure that air entering the system passes through the breather filter.
Claims9
An enclosed disk drive, including base and cover elements within which disk media are rotated and accessed by movable transducers mounted on a carriage that is positioned by an actuator mechanism, comprising
- a hub upon which rotatable disk media are mounted for unitary rotation;
- vane elements formed in said hub;
- passage means formed along the surface of said hub intermediate said vane elements;
- outlet openings peripherally arranged about said hub to provide communication between said passage means and the spaces adjacent each of the data surfaces of said disk media, whereby hub rotation causes said vanes to impell air from a location adjacent an axial end of said hub through said outlet openings to induce a radial airflow over each of the major surfaces of said disk media;
- connecting passage means from adjacent the periphery of said disk media to said location adjacent said hub axial end;
- and
- filter means disposed in said connecting passage means;
- said actuator mechanism being disposed in said connecting passage upstream from said filter means.
An enclosed, magnetic disk drive having an enclosure including a base and a cover in which a plurality of disk media are rotated and accessed by movable tranducers mounted on a carriage that is position by an actuator mechanism comprising
- a hub upon which said plurality of disk media are mounted for unitary rotation therewith;
- generally radially extending vanes formed in said hub;
- hub cover means having an axial aperture;
- spacer means adjoining said disk media including radial openings adjacent said disk media surfaces;
- clamping means securing said disk media, hub cover means and spacer means to said hub to define generally radially extending passage means from an axial inlet opening to said radial openings in said spacer means, whereby a radial airflow is induced by hub rotation;
- air passage means extending from the periphery of said disk media to adjacent said hub cover means axial aperture, said actuator mechanism being mounted in said passage means;
- and
- a filter mounted in said passage means downstream from said actuator mechanism.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.