Disc-drive mounting method and apparatus to reduce noise

Abstract

A method and apparatus is described for reducing and isolating actuator noise in disc drives. An isolation mount is provided between the disc-drive case and its external mounting assembly. A disc drive that includes an external mounting member, a disc case, and an actuator assembly mounted within the disc case. In some embodiments, the disc drive also includes at least one damper holding the disc case to the external mounting member that allows rotational movement of the disc case relative to the external mounting member in order to reduce the emission of sound from the disc case. Another aspect of the invention provides a disc drive that includes an external mounting member, a disc case, an actuator assembly mounted within the disc case, and at least one damper holding the disc case to the external mounting member, the damper including a softer part and a stiffer part, wherein the softer part acts primarily for relatively small movements of the disc case and the stiffer part acts primarily for relatively large movements of the disc case.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.