EP0307136A2
Expired / Lapsed
EP
⏱️ 0.0 years remaining
Disk file including disk stack subassembly and method of assembly thereof
Assignee: International Business Machines Corp
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Filing: 1988-09-01
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Granted: —
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Expires: 2008-09-01
Abstract
Abstract A compact housing 10 and disk stack subassembly for use in a data recording disk file permit the disk stack subassembly to be located entirely within and axially secured to the parallel interior walls 12, 14 of the housing 10. The disk stack subassembly includes an in-hub motor having a stator assembly 60 which is secured to a lower bearing support 42. The lower bearing support 42 is axially movable with respect to the outer race 33 of the lower bearing assembly 24. The inner race 27 of lower bearing assembly 24 is attached to the rotatable shaft 20 of the disk stack subassembly. The lower bearing support 42 and the attached stator assembly 60 are biased axially by means of disk spring 52 in the direction of the cavity 35 where the in-hub motor is located. Thus, the overall axial length of the disk stack subassembly is less than the axial distance between the parallel interior walls 12, 14 of the single piece half shell housing 10. This permits easy insertion of the completed disk stack subassembly into the housing 10 and connection thereto by means of axially aligned bolts 59, 61 which are threaded into upper bearing support 40 and lower bearing support 42. When bolts 59, 61 secure the disk stack subassembly to the walls 12, 14 of housing 10, disk spring 52 is compressed to thereby apply an axial preload to lower bearing assembly 24, which prevents axial movement of the disk stack during operation of the disk file.
Inventors
- 👤 Richard Emil Mach
- 👤 Patrick Foster Merrell
Bibliographic Details
Application Number
—
Jurisdiction
EP
Data Source
google_patents
Last Synchronized
2026-11-06 01:32
CPC Classifications
G; G11; G11B; G11B19/00; G11B19/20; G11B19/2009; G11B17/00; G11B17/02; G11B17/038; G11B25/00; G11B25/04; G11B25/043
Claims Analysis
Total Claims: 8
Claim 1
Independent Claim
243 words
A disk stack subassembly for a data recording disk file comprising: a rotatable shaft (20); a pair of bearing assemblies (22, 24) having inner and outer races, the inner race of each bearing assembly being secured to a respective end of the shaft; a hub (26) for supporting a plurality of data recording disks (34), the hub being secured to the rotatable shaft and extending radially outwardly from the shaft so as to define a cavity (35); a disk drive motor rotor assembly (62) secured to an inner wall of the hub; a bearing support (42) for one of said bearing assemblies (24), the bearing support having an inner cylindrical face (44) of inner dimensions slightly greater than the outer dimensions of the outer race (33) of said one bearing assembly so as to permit said bearing support to be axially movable with respect to the outer race of said one bearing assembly; means (46, 47, 48) for radially loading the outer race of said one bearing assembly against the inner cylindrical face (44) of said bearing support so as to substantially prevent radial movement of the outer race of said one bearing assembly relative to said bearing support; means (52) located between the outer race of said one bearing assembly and said bearing support for axially biasing said bearing support (42) toward said cavity; and a disk drive motor stator assembly (60) located within said cavity and secured to said bearing support.
Claim 2
Dependent Claim
243 words
A disk stack subassembly for a data recording disk file comprising: a rotatable shaft (20); a pair of bearing assemblies (22, 24) having inner and outer races, the inner race of each bearing assembly being secured to a respective end of the shaft; a hub (26) for supporting a plurality of data recording disks (34), the hub being secured to the rotatable shaft and extending radially outwardly from the shaft so as to define a cavity (35); a disk drive motor rotor assembly (62) secured to an inner wall of the hub; a bearing support (42) for one of said bearing assemblies (24), the bearing support having an inner cylindrical face (44) of inner dimensions slightly greater than the outer dimensions of the outer race (33) of said one bearing assembly so as to permit said bearing support to be axially movable with respect to the outer race of said one bearing assembly; means (46, 47, 48) for radially loading the outer race of said one bearing assembly against the inner cylindrical face (44) of said bearing support so as to substantially prevent radial movement of the outer race of said one bearing assembly relative to said bearing support; means (52) located between the outer race of said one bearing assembly and said bearing support for axially biasing said bearing support (42) toward said cavity; and a disk drive motor stator assembly (60) located within said cavity and secured to said bearing support.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim
68 words
A disk file subassembly according to claim 1 further comprising: a plurality of data recording disks (34) supported on the hub (26); and a second bearing support (40) rigidly secured to the outer race (31) of the other of said bearing assemblies, the rotatable shaft (20) with attached bearing assemblies and supports, the disk drive motor and the hub with attached disks together forming a disk stack subassembly.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim
87 words
A disk file subassembly according to claim 1 or claim 2 wherein the bearing support (42) for said one bearing assembly has a rim (50) providing an annular face oriented generally perpendicular to the axis of rotation of the shaft and extending from substantially close to the outer diameter of said shaft to the outer race (33) of said one bearing assembly, and wherein said biasing means includes a disk spring (51, 53) in contact with said rim and the outer race of said one bearing assembly.
Claim 5
Dependent Claim
127 words
A disk file comprising a subassembly as claimed in claim 2 or in claim 3 as dependent on claim 2, further comprising: a disk file housing (10) having two parallel interior walls (12, 14) spaced apart a distance slightly greater than the axial length of the disk stack subassembly so as to permit the disk stack subassembly to be inserted between the parallel walls when the bearing support (42) attached to said one bearing assembly is biased toward said cavity (35); and means (59, 61) for securing the bearing supports (40, 42) to respective said parallel interior walls of the disk file housing, said securing means compressing said biasing means (50), whereby axial movement of the disk stack subassembly within the disk file housing is substantially prevented.
Claim 6
Dependent Claim
54 words
A disk file according to claim 4 wherein each of the bearing supports (40, 42) has axially directed threaded bores and wherein the securing means includes a plurality of bolts (59, 61) inserted through openings in the interior walls of the disk file housing (10) and into the threaded bores of said bearing supports.
Claim 7
Dependent Claim
32 words
A disk file as claimed in either one of claims 4 and 5 in which said two parallel interior walls (12, 14) form part of a single piece of said housing (10).
Claim 8
Dependent Claim
121 words
A method of assembling a disk file comprising the steps of: inserting a disk stack subassembly as claimed in claim 2 between two fixed parallel walls (12, 14) of a disk file housing (10), the axial bias applied to said bearing support (42) compressing the axial height of said subassembly to a distance less than that between opposed portions of said parallel walls so as to permit said insertion; and bolting both said bearing supports to said respective parallel walls (12, 14) of said housing, whereby said first mentioned bearing support (42) is drawn against its respective parallel wall (14) causing said axial biasing means (50) to apply an axial load to the outer race (33) of said one bearing assembly.
References Cited (Backward Citations)
No citation records indexed.
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