Membrane locking device for selectively immobilizing disk drive spindle

A disk drive, comprising:

• an enclosure having a flexible element;
• a motor mounted to the enclosure;
• a spindle mounted to the motor and having an axis of rotation;
• a disk mounted to the spindle for rotation therewith;
• an actuator movably mounted to the enclosure for reading data from and writing data to the disk;
• deflection means for selectively immobilizing the disk, the deflection means having a locked position wherein the flexible element is moved to engage one of the spindle and the disk, and an unlocked position wherein the flexible element is released from contact with said one of the spindle and the disk;
• wherein
• the deflection means is a clamp.

A disk drive, comprising;

• a base;
• a cover mounted to the base to seal the base, the cover having an aperture;
• an elastic membrane secured to the cover and sealed over the aperture;
• a motor mounted to the base;
• a spindle mounted to the motor and having an axis of rotation,
• a disk mounted to the spindle for rotation therewith;
• an actuator movably mounted to the base for reading data from and writing data to the disk;
• and
• deflection means for selectively immobilizing the disk from an exterior of the cover, the deflection means having a locked position wherein the elastic membrane is moved to engage one of the spindle and the disk, and an unlocked position wherein the elastic membrane is released from contact with said one of the spindle and the disk.

A laptop computer, comprising:

• a base;
• a cover pivotally mounted to the base for movement between an open position and a closed position;
• a sealed disk drive located within the base and having a housing with a flexible element, a spindle with an axis of rotation, and a disk mounted to the spindle for rotation therewith;
• and
• deflection means mounted to the cover wherein, when the cover is in the closed position, the deflection means automatically displaces the flexible element into engagement with one of the spindle and the disk to prevent the disk from rotating in the disk drive, and when the cover is in the open position, the flexible element is free of contact with said one of the spindle and the disk to allow the disk to freely rotate.

A method of selectively immobilizing a disk in a disk drive, comprising the steps of:

• (a) providing a sealed enclosure with a motor, a spindle mounted to the motor, a disk mounted to the spindle for rotation therewith, an actuator for reading data from and writing data to the disk and a flexible element;
• (b) deflecting the flexible element into engagement with one of the spindle and the disk from an exterior of the enclosure to prevent the disk from rotating;
• and then to allow the disk to rotate;
• (c) releasing the flexible element from contact with said one of the spindle and the disk;
• wherein steps (b) and (c) comprise
• attaching a clamp to and removing the clamp from the enclosure such that a protrusion on the clamp displaces and releases the flexible element, respectively.

A method of selectively immobilizing a disk in a disk drive, comprising the steps of:

• (a) providing a sealed enclosure with a motor, a spindle mounted to the motor, a disk mounted to the spindle for rotation therewith, an actuator for reading data from and writing data to the disk, and a flexible element;
• (b) deflecting the flexible element into engagement with one of the spindle and the disk from an exterior of the enclosure to prevent the disk from rotating;
• and then to allow the disk to rotate;
• (c) releasing the flexible element from contact with said one of the spindle and the disk;
• wherein steps (b) and (c) comprise
• rotating a screw to displace and release to flexible element, respectively.