Method of manufacturing a hermetically sealed disk drive

• US 5,454,157 A
• Filed: 01/10/1994
• Issued: 10/03/1995
• Est. Priority Date: 10/14/1992
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Maxtor Corporation (Seagate Technology Holdings Plc)
• Original Assignee: Maxtor Corporation (Seagate Technology Holdings Plc)
• Inventors: Morris, Frank I., Fick, Adolf L., Ananth, Raju S.
• Primary Examiner(s): Hall, Carl E.
• Application Number:
  US08/179,518
• Time in Patent Office: 631 Days
• Field of Search: 360/97.01, 360/97.02, 360/97.03, 360/98.01, 360/105, 360/106, 29/603, 29/467, 29/469
• US Class Current: 29/603.03
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 33/121 the apparatus comprising a single recording/reproducing device
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 33/122 Arrangements for providing electrical connections, e.g. connectors, cables, switches
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 33/148 Reducing friction, adhesion, drag
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 33/1486 Control/regulation of the pressure, e.g. the pressure inside the housing of a drive
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 29/49025 Making disc drive
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 29/49901 Sequentially associating parts on stationary aligning means
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 29/49904 Assembling a subassembly, then assembling with a second subassembly

Abstract

A disk drive having a hermetically sealed disk chamber capable of being filled with gas at pressures above ambient pressure with a specially designed connector assembly for use with the sealed chamber. Helium or nitrogen is injected into the sealed disk chamber. To decrease power consumption at high platter spin rates, the present invention advantageously utilizes a sealed disk chamber filled with helium to reduce tribological resistance forces associated with the surfaces of the spinning platters. Nitrogen is used to reduce oxidation of the disk platters. Special fixtures maintaining high position tolerance and connectors are designed to coupled the PC board controller of the disk drive unit to the components of the disk drive within the sealed disk chamber to eliminate connecting flexcircuits from the junction of the hermetically sealed chamber.

Claims

1. A method of producing a hard disk drive having disk drive mechanisms, said disk drive mechanisms including:

a plurality of storage platters;

an actuator arm for positioning a plurality of read/write heads across surfaces of said plurality of platters; and

a platter spindle, said method comprising the steps of;

attaching connector means onto a PC board by using a solder fixture means to align said connector means located at predetermined positions of said solder fixture means with predetermined positions on said PC board and then affixing said connector means to said PC board at said predetermined positions on said PC board;

attaching header means onto a base by using an assembly fixture means to align said header means relative to predetermined slots in a base and then affixing said header means within said predetermined slots in said base while so aligned;

coupling a cover onto said base to create a hermetically sealed chamber and a seal junction between edges of said cover and said base for housing said disk drive mechanisms; and

coupling said connector means of said PC board with said header means of said base so that there are no connecting means located within said seal junction of said hermetically sealed chamber.

2. A method of producing a hard disk drive as described in claim 1 where the affixing of connector means to said PC board is by soldering said connector means to said predetermined positions on said PC board.

3. A method of producing a hard drive as described in claim 1 wherein:

said header means comprises a read/write header and a spindle header; and

said read/write header is affixed within said first slot of said predetermined slots by screws and said spindle header is affixed within said second slot of said predetermined slots by epoxy.

4. A method of producing a hard drive as described in claim 3 further comprising the step of inserting a header gasket into said first slot before said read/write header is affixed to said first slot to hermetically seal said first slot and said read/write header,

5. A method of producing a hard drive as described in claim 1 wherein said step of coupling said cover onto said base comprises the steps of:

inserting said disk drive mechanisms into predetermined positions of said base;

coupling said header means to said disk drive mechanisms;

inserting an O-ring cover gasket into a receiving groove located in said seal junction; and

aligning said cover to said base and securing said cover to said base with removable securing means.

6. A method of producing a hard drive as described in claim 5 further comprising the step of coating surfaces of said base and said cover with E-coating to reduce porosity of said surfaces.

7. A method of producing a hard drive as described in claim 5 wherein said removable securing means comprises screw means and wherein said receiving groove is located on said edge of said base.

8. A method of producing a hard drive as described in claim 1 wherein said step of coupling said connector means of said PC board with said header means of said base comprises the steps of:

aligning said PC board to said base by aligning pairs of alignment holes located within said PC board and within said base;

inserting said connector means into said header means;

securing said PC board to said base with screw means thorough said pairs of alignment holes located within said PC board and said base.

9. A method of producing a hard drive as described in claim 8 wherein said connector means and said header means are spatially aligned to within ±

0.002 inches when said PC board is aligned with said base.

10. A method of producing a hard drive as described in claim 1 wherein said connector means located on predetermined positions of said solder fixture means is aligned with said predetermined positions on said PC board using post means located on said solder fixture means which are adapted to fit into alignment holes located on said PC board.

11. A method of producing a hard drive as described in claim 10 wherein said step of attaching said connector means onto said PC board further comprises the step of removing said solder fixture means from said connector means once said connector means is affixed to said PC board.

12. A method of producing a hard drive as described in claim 1 wherein said assembly fixture means comprises duplicate connector means located on predetermined positions on said assembly fixture means which align said header means into said predetermined slots on said base;

and

wherein said header means is aligned with said predetermined slots of said base by aligning pairs of alignment holes located on said assembly fixture and said base and inserting screw means into said pairs of alignment holes.

13. A method of producing a hard drive as described in claim 12 wherein said step of attaching said header means onto said base further comprises the step of removing said assembly fixture from said base after said header means are affixed to said predetermined slots of said base.

14. A method of producing a hard drive as described in claim 1 further comprising the step of injecting an inert gas into said hermetically sealed chamber.

15. A method of producing a hard drive as described in claim 14 wherein said inert gas is helium and is injected into said hermetically sealed chamber to reduce tribological forces upon said disk drive mechanisms.

16. A method of producing a hard drive as described in claim 14 wherein said inert gas is nitrogen and is injected into said hermetically sealed chamber to reduce oxidation upon said disk drive mechanisms.

17. A method of producing a hard drive as described in claim 15 wherein said inert gas is injected into said hermetically sealed chamber at ambient pressure.

18. A method of producing a hard drive as described in claim 1 wherein said hermetically sealed chamber can withstand a 5 psi differential in pressure with respect to the pressure outside said hermetically sealed chamber.

19. A method of producing a hard drive as described in claim 1 wherein said predetermined positions on said assembly fixture means which align said header means into said predetermined slots on said base are positioned on said assembly fixture means by said predetermined positions on said solder fixture means.

20. A method of producing a hard disk drive having disk drive mechanisms, said disk drive mechanisms including:

a plurality of storage planers;

a plurality of read/write heads, an actuator arm for positioning said plurality of read/write heads across surfaces of said plurality of platters; and

a platter spindle, said method comprising the steps of;

providing connector means comprising a spindle connector and a read/write connector;

attaching said connector means to a PC board by using a solder fixture means to align said connector means located at predetermined positions of said solder fixture means with predetermined positions on said PC board and then soldering said connector means onto said PC board at said predetermined positions on said PC board;

providing header means comprising a spindle header and a read/write header;

attaching said header means to a base by using an assembly fixture means to align said header means relative to slot means located in said base and, while so aligned, then affixing by epoxy, said spindle header within a first slot of said slot means and then affixing, by screws, said read/write header within a second slot of said slot means;

coupling a cover on to said base creating a hermetically sealed chamber for housing said disk drive mechanisms and also creating a seal junction between the edges of said cover and said base; and

coupling said spindle connector with said spindle header and coupling said read/write connector with said read/write header so that there are no connector means, which couple said drive mechanisms and said PC board, located within said seal junction of said hermetically sealed chamber.

21. A method of producing a hard disk drive as described in claim 20 further comprising the step of injecting an inert gas into said hermetically sealed chamber.

22. A method of producing a hard disk drive as described in claim 21 wherein said inert gas is helium and is injected into said hermetically sealed chamber at ambient pressure to reduce tribological forces upon said drive mechanisms.

23. A method of producing a hard disk drive as described in claim 21 wherein said inert gas is nitrogen and is injected into said hermetically sealed chamber at ambient pressure to reduce oxidation of said drive mechanisms.

24. A method of producing a hard disk drive as described in claim 21 further including a header gasket coupled between said read/write header and said second slot of said slot means, said header gasket for maintaining said hermetically sealed chamber.

25. A method of producing a hard disk drive as described in claim 21 further including a cover gasket coupled between said base and said cover, said cover gasket for maintaining said hermetically sealed chamber.

26. A method of producing a hard disk drive as described in claim 20 wherein said solder fixture means comprises alignment pins and said PC board comprises alignment holes and wherein said connector means of said solder fixture means is aligned to said predetermined positions on said PC board by aligning said alignment pins on said solder fixture means to said alignment holes on said PC board.

27. A method of producing a hard disk drive as described in claim 20 further comprising the step of aligning and coupling said PC board to said base and wherein said step of coupling said spindle connector with said spindle header and coupling said read/write connector with said read/write header occurs during said step of coupling said PC board to said base.

28. A method of producing a hard disk drive as described in claim 27 wherein said connector means and said header means are aligned to within ±

0.002 inches when said PC board is aligned to said base.

29. A method of producing a hard disk as described in claim 20 wherein said step of coupling said cover on to said base is accomplished with removable screw means and not accomplished with a permanent sealing means.