Disk chuck with radial force limiter
AssigneeXyratex Technology Limited
InventorTimothy J. Pletschet
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A chuck holds a disk by the inside diameter with a plurality of contact surfaces at the end of fingers. Axial motion of an actuator is translated into outward radial movement of the fingers to place the contact surfaces in contact with the inside diameter of the disk. The force that is applied to the disk is limited to reduce or eliminate warping or curvature of the disk, e.g., a sleeve that surrounds the fingers can be used as a hard stop to physically limit the range of outward radial movement of the fingers.
Claims28
A chuck for holding a disk with an aperture with an inside diameter, the chuck comprising:
- a base;
- a collet coupled to the base, the collet comprising a plurality of fingers annularly arranged around an axis to define a central opening, the plurality of fingers having radially outward facing contact surfaces, the contact surfaces contact the inside diameter of a disk when held by the chuck;
- an expander element fitting at least partially within the central opening of the collet;
- an actuator coupled to the base and the expander element, the actuator moving the expander element with respect to the collet to produce radial movement of the contact surfaces on the plurality of fingers;
- and
- means for limiting the outward radial force applied by the plurality of fingers on the inside diameter of a disk held by the chuck.
A method of securing a disk with an aperture with an inside diameter to a chuck for rotation of the disk about an axis, the method comprising:
- translating axial movement of an actuator to axial movement of an expander element;
- translating axial movement of the expander element to outward radial movement of a plurality of radially outward facing contact surfaces to contact the inside diameter of the disk;
- and
- limiting the outward radial force of the contact surfaces on the inside diameter of the disk that is produced by centrifugal force.
A chuck for holding a disk with an aperture with an inside diameter, the chuck comprising:
- a base;
- a z-surface coupled to the base, the z-surface contacting a bottom surface of a disk when the disk is being mounted to the chuck;
- a collet mounted to the base, the collet comprising a plurality of cantilevered fingers annularly arranged around an axis to define a central opening and a radial ring coupled to each cantilevered finger at approximately the center of mass of each cantilevered finger, the radial ring being the fulcra for each cantilevered finger, the plurality of fingers having radially outward facing contact surfaces, the contact surfaces contact the inside diameter of a disk when held by the chuck;
- an expander element fitting at least partially within the central opening of the collet;
- and
- an actuator coupled to the base and the expander element, the actuator moving the expander element with respect to the collet to produce radial movement of the contact surfaces on the plurality of fingers.
A chuck for holding a disk with an aperture with an inside diameter, the chuck comprising:
- a base;
- a collet coupled to the base, the collet comprising a plurality of cantilevered fingers annularly arranged around an axis to define a central opening and a radial ring coupled to each cantilevered finger at approximately the center of mass of each cantilevered finger, the plurality of cantilevered fingers having radially outward facing contact surfaces, the contact surfaces contact the inside diameter of a disk when held by the chuck;
- an expander element fitting at least partially within the central opening of the collet;
- and
- an actuator coupled to the base and the expander element, the actuator moving the expander element with respect to the collet to produce radial movement of the contact surfaces on the plurality of cantilevered fingers.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.