Spindle motor assembly for disc drives
AssigneeSeagate Technology LLC
InventorDonald J. MacLeod
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A novel spindle motor assembly is disclosed that utilizes a fixed shaft and places the motor rotor components on the outside wall of the spindle hub directly below its disc stack supporting flange. The structure disclosed provides a compact yet powerful motor having a relatively low profile.
Claims33
A spindle motor assembly comprising:
- a drive housing with a base;
- a fixed shaft;
- a spindle hub journaled coaxially for rotation about the fixed shaft, the spindle hub having inner and outer surfaces, a spindle flange having an enlarged thickness flange portion with a support surface for supporting a disc stack, and a reduced thickness rotor carrying portion located adjacent at least one of a pair of spaced apart bearings, the bearings rotatably coupling the spindle hub to the fixed shaft and having an inner race secured to the fixed shaft and an outer race secured to the inner surface of the spindle hub;
- magnet means carried by an outer surface of the rotor carrying portion of the spindle hub, the magnet means having a plurality of poles, and forming the rotor portion of the spindle motor;
- stator means having a plurality of fixed windings for cooperating with the magnet means to rotate the spindle hub with respect to the shaft;
- said stator means and said magnet means being horizontally oriented with respect to each other;
- an extended portion of said spindle flange extending beyond said enlarged thickness flange portion and down towards the base of said disc drive, and a ring portion of said base extending up from said base towards said flange, said ring and said extended flange overlapping to form a seal to isolate the spindle motor from the disc drive housing;
- and
- said magnet means are inside an area defined by an outer wall of said enlarged thickness flange portion and said stator means are partially within said area and both said stator means and said magnet means are below said disc stack.
A spindle motor assembly for rotating a disc within a disc drive housing comprising:
- a drive housing with a base;
- a fixed shaft having a base end fixedly coupled to the drive housing;
- a pair of spaced apart bearings for rotatably coupling a spindle hub to the fixed shaft, each said bearing having an inner race secured to the fixed shaft and an outer race secured to an inner bore of the spindle hub;
- said spindle hub being journaled coaxially about the fixed shaft, said spindle hub having a spindle flange with an enlarged thickness flange portion having an outer surface for supporting the disc, and said spindle hub having a magnet carrying portion located adjacent at least one of said bearings;
- magnet means carried by an outer surface of the magnet carrying portion, the magnet means having a plurality of poles and forming a rotor portion of the spindle motor;
- stator means having a plurality of fixed windings for cooperating with the magnet means to rotate the spindle hub with respect to the shaft, said stator means being located near said base end of said shaft outside of said bearings, said inner bore of said spindle hub, and said magnet means;
- an extended portion of said spindle flange extending beyond said enlarged thickness flange portion and down towards the base of said disc drive, and a ring portion of said base extending up from said base towards said flange, said ring and said extended flange overlapping to form a seal to isolate the spindle motor from the disc drive housing;
- and
- said magnet means are inside an area defined by an outer wall of said enlarged thickness flange portion and said stator means are partially within said area and both said stator means and said magnet means are below said disc.
A compact spindle motor assembly for rotating a disc within a disc drive comprising:
- a housing for said disc having upper and lower casings;
- a fixed shaft for said motor having upper and lower ends, the lower end of said shaft being fixed to the lower surface of said housing;
- a plurality of bearings;
- a spindle hub journaled coaxially about said fixed shaft and supported for rotation thereabout,
- said spindle hub having an inner bore rotating on said bearings, said bearings located between said fixed shaft and said inner bore, and magnet means located horizontally adjacent said bearings and supported on an external surface of a lower portion of said inner bore,
- said spindle hub also supporting said disc on a flange extending out from said inner bore above said magnet means and over a region where stator coils of said motor are located,
- said stator coils being supported from said lower casing of said motor adjacent said magnet means,
- said magnet means are inside an area defined by an outer wall of said flange portion and said stator means are partially within said area and both said stator means and said magnet means are below said disc.
A spindle motor for a disc drive, comprising a fixed shaft (52), a drive housing with a base, a spindle hub (606) journaled co-axially for rotation about the fixed shaft, the spindle hub having a spindle flange with an enlarged thickness flange portion (72) for supporting at least one disc, a pair of spaced apart bearings (62) for rotatably coupling the spindle hub to the fixed shaft, each said bearing having an inner race secured to the fixed shaft and an outer race secured to an inner surface of the spindle hub, magnet means (82) carried by the spindle hub, the magnet means having a plurality of poles and forming a rotor portion of the spindle motor, and stator means (92, 94) having a plurality of fixed windings for cooperating with the magnet means to rotate the spindle hub with respect to the shaft, characterized in that the magnet means are carried by an outer surface of the spindle hub and are located adjacent at least one of the pair of spaced apart bearings, said magnet means and said stator means being horizontally oriented with respect to each other, and an extended portion of said spindle flange extending beyond said enlarged thickness flange portion and down towards the base of said disc drive, and a ring portion of said base extending up from said base towards said flange, said ring and said extended flange overlapping to form a seal to isolate the spindle motor from the disc drive housing, and said magnet means are inside an area defined by an outer wall of said enlarged thickness flange portion and said stator means are partially within said area and both said stator means and said magnet means are below said disc.
A disc drive comprising a housing (5) for at least one disc, and a spindle motor assembly for rotating at least one said disc, the spindle motor assembly comprising a shaft (52) fixed to the disc drive housing, a spindle hub (60) journaled coaxially about the fixed shaft on a plurality of bearings and supported for rotation thereabout, the spindle hub supporting at least one said disc on a flange, magnet means (82) supported on the spindle hub and disposed horizontally adjacent said bearings, and stator coils (92, 94) supported adjacent the magnet means, characterized in that the magnet means are located on an external surface of a lower portion of the spindle hub, the stator coils are supported by a lower casing of the disc drive housing, and a portion of the spindle hub supporting at least one said disc extends over the stator coils, and said magnet means are inside an area defined by an outer wall of said flange portion and said stator means are partially within said area and both said stator means and said magnet means are below said disc.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.