Damped protective cover to improve disc drive acoustics
AssigneeSeagate Technologies LLC
InventorFrank William Bernett
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A damped PCBA protective cover for reducing acoustic emissions in a disc drive assembly is disclosed. The disc drive assembly comprises a base, a circuit board mounted to the base and a cover fastened to the base and extending over the circuit board. A constrain layer is affixed to the cover that includes a stiffening member and a damping member disposed between the cover and the stiffening member. The constrain layer can be affixed to either side and dampens/absorbs vibrations generated during operation of the disc drive.
Claims19
A disc drive having a base and a printed circuit board fastened to a bottom surface of the base, the disc drive comprising:
- a protective cover directly fastened to the base and extending over the printed circuit board so that the printed circuit board is positioned between the base and the protective cover attached to the base;
- and
- means for constraining vibration of the protective cover during operation of the disc drive.
A disc drive having a base supporting a drive motor carrying a data disc and an actuator assembly for reading and writing data to and from the data disc, the disc drive further including a top cover engaging a top surface of the base to form an internal sealed environment surrounding the data disc and the actuator assembly, the disc drive comprising:
- a printed circuited board fastened to a bottom surface of the disc drive base, the printed circuit board including a plurality of electrical components mounted thereon for controlling the drive motor and the actuator assembly attached to the base;
- a protective cover attached to the disc drive base so that the printed circuit board is positioned between the disc drive base and the protective cover;
- and
- a constrain layer attached to a surface of the protective cover to reduce vibrational and acoustical energy produced by the protective cover during operation of the disc drive.
A protective cover for a disc drive, wherein the disc drive includes a base and a printed circuited board fastened to a bottom surface of the base, the printed circuit board including a plurality of electrical components mounted thereon for controlling operation of the disc drive, the protective cover comprising:
- a substantially flat metal sheet adapted for attachment to the disc drive base so that the printed circuit board is positioned between the disc drive base and the substantially flat metal sheet;
- and
- a constrain layer attached to a surface of the substantially flat metal sheet to reduce vibrational and acoustical energy produced by the protective cover when the protective cover is attached to the operational disc drive.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.