Counter balanced rotary airlock actuator latch assembly for disk drive
AssigneeQuantum Corporation
InventorThomas R. Stone
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
An airlock latch assembly for restraining a disk drive actuator when the disk is not spinning and the disk drive is subjected to a rotational shock force includes a latch member meshably engaged with a counter inertia member by gear teeth provided on each member. The latch member and the counter inertia member are each characterized by a moment of inertia, the ratio of which is determined by the gear ratio of the respective gear teeth. The latch assembly also restrains the actuator in its proper position when the disk drive is subject to linear shock forces.
Claims15
An airlock actuator latch assembly for restraining a transducer actuator assembly in a disk drive having at least one rotatable disk, the latch assembly comprising:
- a latch member having a first inertia and a plurality of gear teeth and being pivotably mounted about a base in the disk drive, the latch member for engaging the transducer actuator assembly when the disk is not rotating, the latch member tending to release engagement with the actuator assembly when a rotational shock force is applied to the disk drive;
- and
- a counter inertia member having a plurality of gear teeth being pivotably mounted about the base and being meshably engaged with the plurality of gear teeth of the latch member, thereby being rotatably coupled to the latch member, the counter inertia member having a second inertia which inertially counteracts the first inertia of the latch member when the rotational shock force is applied to the disk drive thereby negating the tendency of the latch member to release engagement with the actuator assembly.
A method of manufacturing a disk drive to maintain a transducer actuator assembly at a landing zone on a surface of a data storage disk when the data storage disk is not rotating and the disk drive is subjected to a rotational shock force, the method comprising the steps of:
- mounting a rotatable latch member to a base of the disk drive at a first predetermined distance from an edge of the data storage disk, the latch member having a first inertia and engaging the transducer actuator assembly;
- disposing two or more gear teeth at a first predetermined pitch diameter about the latch member;
- coupling the latch member with a counter inertia member rotatably mounted to the base at a second predetermined distance from the latch member, the counter inertia member having a second inertia which inertially counteracts the first inertia of the latch member when the disk drive is subjected to the rotational shock force such that the latch member remains engaged with the transducer actuator assembly and restrains the actuator assembly within the landing zone;
- and
- disposing two or more gear teeth at a second predetermined pitch diameter about the counter inertia member, for meshably engaging the latch member gear teeth, such that a ratio of the first predetermined pitch diameter to the second predetermined pitch diameter is approximately equivalent to a ratio of the first inertia to the second inertia.
A method for resisting rotational shock forces within a hard disk drive, having a rotating disk journalled to a base, a voice coil head transducer actuator structure mounted to the base, and a rotary airlock journalled to the base and mass balanced about an axis of rotation for locking the voice coil actuator structure at a fixed position relative to the disk in absence of airflow generated by rotation of the disk, the method comprising the steps of:
- providing a counterinertia body journalled about a second axis of rotation to the base and mass balanced about the second axis of rotation;
- operatively coupling the counterinertia body to the rotary airlock such that a response from a rotary shock force in the rotary airlock will be counteracted by a response from the rotary shock force in the counterinertia body thereby maintaining the rotary airlock in locked engagement with the voice coil actuator structure.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.