System, method and apparatus for integrated bypass channel and diverter for hard disk drives

A hard disk drive, comprising:

• an enclosure having a coordinate system defining x, y and z-directions, a base generally extending in an x-y plane direction, a sidewall extending from the base generally in the z-direction, the sidewall substantially circumscribing the base, and a transverse wall generally extending in the x-y plane direction from the sidewall, the transverse wall defining a partial bypass slot between the transverse wall and the base for communicating airflow to a main bypass channel located downstream from the partial bypass slot;
• a magnetic media disk rotationally mounted to the base and, in operation, generating an airflow through the partial bypass slot, the magnetic media disk having a perimeter edge and a radial center, the perimeter edge having a disk thickness that is shrouded by the base which aligns with the disk thickness in the z-direction;
• an actuator movably mounted to the base and having a transducer for reading data from the magnetic media disk;
• a diverter assembly mounted to the base adjacent to the magnetic media disk, the diverter assembly having a spoiler that extends in the x-y plane direction beyond the perimeter edge of the magnetic media disk toward the radial center of the magnetic media disk;
• the diverter assembly is located completely external relative to the partial bypass slot, such that airflow through the partial bypass slot is inhibited from passing over an x-y surface of the diverter assembly, and an x-z surface of the diverter assembly forms a wall for the partial bypass slot;
• and
• the base has an x-y datum plane and a y-z datum plane, and the transverse wall defines an x-z datum plane, and the diverter assembly has features that abut the datum planes to align and position the diverter assembly with respect to the partial bypass slot and the magnetic media disk.

A hard disk drive, comprising:

• an enclosure having a coordinate system defining x, y and z-directions, a base generally extending in an x-y plane direction, a sidewall extending from the base generally in the z-direction, the sidewall substantially circumscribing the base, and a transverse wall generally extending in the x-y plane direction from the sidewall, the transverse wall defining a partial bypass slot between the transverse wall and the base for communicating airflow to a main bypass channel located downstream from the partial bypass slot;
• a magnetic media disk rotationally mounted to the base and, in operation, generating an airflow through the partial bypass slot, the magnetic media disk having a perimeter edge and a radial center, the perimeter edge having a disk thickness that is shrouded by the base which aligns with the disk thickness in the z-direction;
• an actuator movably mounted to the base and having a transducer for reading data from the magnetic media disk;
• a diverter assembly mounted to the base adjacent to the magnetic media disk, the diverter assembly having a spoiler that extends in the x-y plane direction beyond the perimeter edge of the magnetic media disk toward the radial center of the magnetic media disk;
• the diverter assembly is located completely external relative to the partial bypass slot, such that airflow through the partial bypass slot is inhibited from passing over an x-y surface of the diverter assembly, an x-z surface of the diverter assembly forms a wall for the partial bypass slot, and a portion of the diverter assembly shrouds the perimeter edge of the disk in z-direction;
• the base has an x-y datum plane and a y-z datum plane, and the transverse wall defines an x-z datum plane, and the diverter assembly has features that abut the datum planes to align and position the diverter assembly with respect to the partial bypass slot and the magnetic media disk;
• and
• the transverse wall, partial bypass slot and the diverter assembly are integrally formed as a unitary assembly in the enclosure.