Disk drive architecture

Claim 2

A hard disk drive assembly, comprising: an end plate; a base plate mounted on said end plate so that said end plate and said base plate are orthogonally related; a casing attached to said end plate and encompassing said base plate in a controlled environment established by said end plate and said casing; a spin motor mounted on said base plate; a disk mounted on said spin motor; transducer means for interacting with said disk; and actuator means, mounted on said base plate, for positioning said transducer means with respect to said disk.

Claim 3

A disk drive assembly according to claim 1, wherein: said end plate and said casing are sealably attached so that the controlled environment is isolated from ambient pressure; said casing includes an attachment point; and said base plate has first and second ends, said first end of said base plate being mounted on said end plate and said second end of said base plate being mounted on said attachment point of said casing.

Claim 4

A disk drive assembly according to claim 1, wherein said base plate is pivotally attached to said end plate so that said base plate pivots with respect to said end plate in the plane of said base plate.

Claim 5

A disk drive assembly according to claim 1, further comprising a top plate mounted on and parallel to said base plate; wherein said top and base plates support said actuator means.

Claim 6

A disk drive assembly according to claim 4, wherein said top and base plates support said spin motor.

Claim 7

A disk drive assembly according to claim 4, wherein said actuator means comprises: an actuator arm supporting said transducer means; and a voice coil assembly, including: means for providing a magnetic field; means, including said base plate and said top plate, for providing a return for the magnetic field, and coil means attached to said actuator arm for passing an electric current in the magnetic field, thereby creating a force which moves the actuator arm.

Claim 8

A disk drive assembly according to claim 6, wherein said actuator arm is pivotably mounted on said base plate and the interaction of the electric current and the magnetic field pivots said actuator arm.

Claim 9

A disk drive assembly according to claim 1, further comprising connector means, provided in said end plate, for providing an electrical interface with the controlled environment within the casing.

Claim 10

A disk drive assembly according to claim 8, further comprising: control means, electrically interconnected with said connector means, for generating control signals; and a bus for transmitting said control signals from said connector means to said actuator means.

Claim 11

A disk drive assembly according to claim 9, wherein: said bus includes a ground plane, a portion for carrying power to said actuator means, and a portion for carrying data signals to said transducer means; and said portion of said bus for carrying power to said actuator means and said portion of said bus for carrying data signals to said transducer means are separated by said ground plane.

Claim 12

A hard disk drive, comprising: an end plate; a planar base plate; first means for semi-rigidly mounting said base plate on said end plate so that said base and end plates are substantially perpendicular; a casing; second means for mounting said casing on said end plate and providing a seal between said end plate and said casing so that said base plate resides in a controlled environment isolated from ambient pressure; third means for attaching said base plate to said casing; a spin motor mounted on said base plate; a data storage disk mounted on said spin motor; and fourth means for interacting with said disk to record data on and read data from said disk.

Claim 13

A hard disk drive, comprising: an end plate; a planar base plate; first means for semi-rigidly mounting said base plate on said end plate so that said base and end plates are substantially perpendicular; a casing; second means for mounting said casing on said end plate and providing a seal between said end plate and said casing so that said base plate resides in a controlled environment isolated from ambient pressure; third means for attaching said base plate to said casing; a spin motor mounted on said base plate; a data storage disk mounted on said spin motor; and fourth means for interacting with said disk to record data on and read data from said disk.

Claim 14

A disk drive according to claim 11, further comprising control means for controlling said spin motor and said fourth means.

Claim 15

A disk drive according to claim 12, further comprising a sixth means for electrically interconnecting said control means, said spin motor and said fourth means.

Claim 16

A disk drive according to claim 13, further comprising a sixth means for transferring said bus from said control means to the controlled environment.

Claim 17

A disk drive according to claim 14, wherein: said fifth means includes a first ground plane portion, a second portion for carrying power to said fourth means, and a third portion for carrying data signals to said fourth means; and said second portion of said fifth means and said third portion of said fifth means are separated by said first ground plane portion of said fifth means.

Claim 18

A disk drive according to claim 15, wherein said first means allows movement of said base plate with respect to said end plate when said third means attaches said base plate to said casing.

Claim 19

A disk drive according to claim 16, wherein said first means comprises means for mounting said base plate to said end plate so that said base plate pivots with respect to said end plate in the plane of said base plate.

Claim 20

A disk drive according to claim 11, wherein said second means comprises a gasket.

Claim 21

A disk drive according to claim 11, wherein said first means comprises means for mounting said base plate to said end plate so that said base plate pivots with respect to said end plate in the plane of said base plate.

Claim 22

A hard disk drive assembly, comprising: an end plate; a casing attached to said end plate; gasket provided between said casing and said end plate to form a seal and to provide a sealed environment isolated from ambient conditions within said casing; a planar base plate, said base plate having a first end semi-rigidly mounted to said end plate and a second end attached to said casing, said base plate residing in the sealed environment; a planar top plate mounted on said base plate; a disk assembly mounted on said base plate, said disk assembly including a disk and means for rotating said disk; and read and record means supported by said top and base plates for reading information from said disk and recording information on said disk.

Claim 23

A hard disk drive assembly, comprising: an end plate; a casing attached to said end plate; gasket provided between said casing and said end plate to form a seal and to provide a sealed environment isolated from ambient conditions within said casing; a planar base plate, said base plate having a first end semi-rigidly mounted to said end plate and a second end attached to said casing, said base plate residing in the sealed environment; a planar top plate mounted on said base plate; a disk assembly mounted on said base plate, said disk assembly including a disk and means for rotating said disk; and read and record means supported by said top and base plates for reading information from said disk and recording information on said disk.

Claim 24

A disk drive assembly according to claim 20, wherein said base plate is semi-rigidly mounted to said end plate so that said base plate pivots with respect to said end plate in the plane of the base plate.

Claim 25

A disk drive assembly according to claim 20, wherein said disk assembly comprises a plurality of disks and means for rotating said disks.

Claim 26

A disk drive, comprising: a shock frame having mounting points; control means for generating control signals; and a hard disk drive assembly, mounted on said shock frame at said mounting points, comprising: an end plate having a peripheral edge, a gasket providing on said peripheral edge of said end plate, a casing having an opening, said casing being attached to said end plate so that said opening of said casing engages said gasket to provide a sealed environment within said casing, a planar base plate having a first end mounted to said end plate so that said base plate is substantially perpendicular to said end plate and a second end mounted to said casing, said base plate residing in said sealed environment, a top plate mounted on said base plate, means, rotatably supported by said base plate, for storing information, rotating means, responsive to said control signals, for rotating said disk means, read and record means, responsive to said control signals, for reading information from said means for storing and recording information on said means for storing, means for transferring said control signals from the control means to the environment within said casing, and flexible circuit means for electrically interconnecting said means for transferring with said read and record means and said rotating means.

Claim 27

A disk drive, comprising: a shock frame having mounting points; control means for generating control signals; and a hard disk drive assembly, mounted on said shock frame at said mounting points, comprising: an end plate having a peripheral edge, a gasket providing on said peripheral edge of said end plate, a casing having an opening, said casing being attached to said end plate so that said opening of said casing engages said gasket to provide a sealed environment within said casing, a planar base plate having a first end mounted to said end plate so that said base plate is substantially perpendicular to said end plate and a second end mounted to said casing, said base plate residing in said sealed environment, a top plate mounted on said base plate, means, rotatably supported by said base plate, for storing information, rotating means, responsive to said control signals, for rotating said disk means, read and record means, responsive to said control signals, for reading information from said means for storing and recording information on said means for storing, means for transferring said control signals from the control means to the environment within said casing, and flexible circuit means for electrically interconnecting said means for transferring with said read and record means and said rotating means.

Claim 28

A disk drive according to claim 23, wherein: said read and record means comprises: transducer means for interacting with said disk means to read and record information, and positioning means for positioning said transducer means with respect to said disk means; said means for transferring is provided in said end plate; and said flexible circuit means electrically interconnects said header with said transducer means and said positioning means.