Method of assembling a disk drive
First Claim
1. A method of assembling a disk drive, the method comprising steps of:
- providing a base component of a housing of the disk drive;
providing a cover component of the housing;
mating the base component and the cover component to form an enclosed housing that encloses disk drive components for operation of the disk drive, wherein an interface between the mated base component and the cover component comprises at least one thermoplastic material;
optionally, evacuating and filling the enclosed housing with a desired gaseous medium;
optionally, testing the disk drive;
optionally, re-working the disk drive; and
sealing the enclosed housing of the disk drive using low thermal energy bonding,wherein a bondline is formed within the enclosed housing by at least fusing the at least one thermoplastic material at the interface between the base component and the cover component of the enclosed housing, andwherein the step of mating the base component and the cover component to enclose the disk drive components results in a portion of the enclosed housing comprising an overlap of the base component and the cover component, wherein an outer of the base component and the cover component in the overlap is infrared-transmissive.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A method of assembling a disk drive according to the invention comprises steps of: providing a base component of a housing of the disk drive; providing a cover component of the housing; mating the base component and the cover component to form an enclosed housing that encloses disk drive components for operation of the disk drive; and sealing the disk drive using low thermal energy bonding. A hermetically sealed disk drive of the invention comprises: a housing comprising a base and a cover; and disk drive components enclosed within the housing for operation of the disk drive, wherein the housing comprises a bondline continuously extending around a periphery of the housing for sealing the same.
155 Citations
27 Claims
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1. A method of assembling a disk drive, the method comprising steps of:
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providing a base component of a housing of the disk drive; providing a cover component of the housing; mating the base component and the cover component to form an enclosed housing that encloses disk drive components for operation of the disk drive, wherein an interface between the mated base component and the cover component comprises at least one thermoplastic material; optionally, evacuating and filling the enclosed housing with a desired gaseous medium; optionally, testing the disk drive; optionally, re-working the disk drive; and sealing the enclosed housing of the disk drive using low thermal energy bonding, wherein a bondline is formed within the enclosed housing by at least fusing the at least one thermoplastic material at the interface between the base component and the cover component of the enclosed housing, and wherein the step of mating the base component and the cover component to enclose the disk drive components results in a portion of the enclosed housing comprising an overlap of the base component and the cover component, wherein an outer of the base component and the cover component in the overlap is infrared-transmissive. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17)
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18. A method of assembling a disk drive, the method comprising steps of:
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providing a base component of a housing of the disk drive; providing a cover component of the housing; mating the base component and the cover component to form an enclosed housing that encloses disk drive components for operation of the disk drive, wherein an interface between the mated base component and the cover component comprises at least one thermoplastic material; optionally, evacuating and filling the enclosed housing with a desired gaseous medium; optionally, testing the disk drive; optionally, re-working the disk drive; and sealing the enclosed housing of the disk drive using low thermal energy bonding, wherein a bondline is formed within the enclosed housing by melting the at least one thermoplastic material at the interface between the base component and the cover component of the enclosed housing, and wherein the step of mating the base component and the cover component to enclose the disk drive components results in a portion of the enclosed housing comprising an overlap of the base component and the cover component, wherein an outer of the base component and the cover component in the overlap is infrared-transmissive. - View Dependent Claims (19)
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20. A method of assembling a disk drive, the method comprising steps of:
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providing a base component of a housing of the disk drive; providing a cover component of the housing; mating the base component and the cover component to form an enclosed housing that encloses disk drive components for operation of the disk drive and wherein at least one of the base component and the cover component at an interface between the mated base component and the cover component comprises at least one thermoplastic material; optionally, evacuating and filling the enclosed housing with a desired gaseous medium; optionally, testing the disk drive; optionally, re-working the disk drive; and sealing the enclosed housing of the disk drive using low thermal energy bonding, wherein a bondline is formed within the enclosed housing by at least fusing the at least one thermoplastic material at the interface between the base component and the cover component of the enclosed housing and without separate thermoplastic material at that interface.
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21. A method of assembling a disk drive, the method comprising steps of:
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providing a base component of a housing of the disk drive; providing a cover component of the housing; mating the base component and the cover component to form an enclosed housing that encloses disk drive components for operation of the disk drive, wherein the base component and the cover component are mechanically coupled via male- and female-type connectors, and wherein an interface between the mated base component and the cover component comprises at least one thermoplastic material; optionally, evacuating and filling the enclosed housing with a desired gaseous medium; optionally, testing the disk drive; optionally, re-working the disk drive; and sealing the enclosed housing of the disk drive using low thermal energy bonding, wherein a bondline is formed within the enclosed housing by at least fusing the at least one thermoplastic material at the interface between the base component and the cover component of the enclosed housing. - View Dependent Claims (22, 23, 24, 25, 26)
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27. A method of assembling a disk drive, the method comprising steps of:
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providing a base component of a housing of the disk drive; providing a cover component of the housing; mating the base component and the cover component to form an enclosed housing that encloses disk drive components for operation of the disk drive, wherein the base component and the cover component are snap-fit together, and wherein an interface between the mated base component and the cover component comprises at least one thermoplastic material; optionally, evacuating and filling the enclosed housing with a desired gaseous medium; optionally, testing the disk drive; optionally, re-working the disk drive; and sealing the enclosed housing of the disk drive using low thermal energy bonding, wherein a bondline is formed within the enclosed housing by at least fusing the at least one thermoplastic material at the interface between the base component and the cover component of the enclosed housing.
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Specification