Integral forming technology for disc drive bearing
AssigneeSeagate Technology LLC
InventorZine-Eddine Boutaghou
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A disc drive includes a base including an axle shaft, a disc stack rotationally mounted to the base, a head assembly coupled to the disc stack, a voice coil and a bearing. The bearing has an inner hub rotationally mounted on the axle shaft, and an outer hub that mounts the voice coil and the head assembly. The outer hub is rotationally mounted to the inner hub through a plurality of flexible spokes that are integrally formed with the inner and outer hubs. The flexible spokes allow the outer hub to rotate when the inner hub is stopped by stiction. Integral forming provides a predictable response desired for a disc drive.
Claims18
A disc drive, comprising:
- a disc stack rotationally mounted to an axle shaft on a base;
- a head assembly coupled to the disc stack;
- a voice coil;
- and
- a seamless bearing having an inner hub rotationally mounted on the axle shaft, and an outer hub having the voice coil and the head assembly mounted thereon, the outer hub being rotationally mounted to the inner hub through a plurality of flexible spokes having inner spoke ends extending from the inner hub and outer spoke ends extending from the outer hub.
A microelectromechanical system (MEMS), comprising:
- a voice coil;
- a seamless bearing having an inner hub adapted for rotational mounting on an axle shaft, and having an outer hub having the voice coil integrally mounted thereon, the outer hub being rotationally mounted to the inner hub through a plurality of flexible spokes having inner spoke ends extending from the inner hub and outer spoke ends extending from the outer hub;
- and
- a mounting tab extending seamlessly from the outer hub, the mounting tab having a tip adapted for engaging a head assembly of a data storage device.
A disc drive, comprising:
- a disk stack rotationally mounted on a first axis of rotation;
- a head assembly pivotable about a second axis of rotation spaced apart from the first axis of rotation, the head assembly including a read/write head;
- a voice coil pivoting the head assembly;
- a seamless bearing supporting the head assembly and the voice coil, the bearing including an inner hub rotationally mounted around the second axis, and an outer hub having the voice coil and the head assembly mounted thereon;
- and
- means for flexing formed between the outer hub and the inner hub, the means for flexing allowing the outer hub to rotate relative to the inner hub, and the means for flexing having inner ends extending seamlessly from the inner hub and outer ends extending seamlessly from the outer hub.
A MEMS bearing, comprising:
- an inner hub adapted for rotational mounting on an axle shaft;
- an outer hub rotationally mounted to the inner hub through a plurality of flexible spokes having inner spoke ends extending seamlessly from the inner hub and outer spoke ends extending seamlessly from the outer hub;
- and
- a plate seamlessly extending from the outer hub, the plate having a surface adapted to receive a voice coil.
A disc drive, comprising:
- a disc stack rotationally mounted to a base;
- a head assembly coupled to the disc stack, the head assembly including a support plate with a cylindrical protrusion;
- a voice coil;
- and
- a seamless bearing having a rotationally mounted inner hub, and an outer hub having the voice coil mounted thereon, the outer hub being rotationally mounted to the inner hub through a plurality of flexible spokes having inner spoke ends extending from the inner hub and outer spoke ends extending from the outer hub, the bearing further including a flexible tip seamlessly extending from the outer hub, the flexible tip having a bore engaging the cylindrical protrusion.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.