Claims
- 1. A disc drive spindle hub assembly comprising:
a spindle hub having a cylindrical sidewall; an information storage disc having an inner edge defining a central aperture, the spindle hub passing through the aperture so that the inner edge is spaced away from the spindle hub sidewall; and a substantially serpentine shaped clamping ring sandwiched between the spindle hub sidewall and the inner edge of the information storage disc for applying a distributed radial load to the information storage disc.
- 2. The disc drive spindle hub assembly of claim 1 wherein the clamping ring is a strip of resilient sheet material passing alternatingly between the sidewall of the spindle hub and the inner edge of the information storage disc.
- 3. The disc drive spindle hub assembly of claim 1 further comprising a disc clamp attached to a top surface of the spindle hub wherein the disc clamp exerts a downward vertical clamping load on the information storage disc.
- 4. The disc drive spindle hub assembly of claim 3 further comprising a second information storage disc having an inner edge that defines a central aperture and a disc spacer having an inner surface positioned between the aforesaid first information storage disc and the second information storage disc, the inner edge of the first and second information storage discs and the inner surface of the disc spacer forming an axially aligned inner disc stack surface and wherein the clamping ring has a height that corresponds to the inner disc stack surface and applies a radial load against the inner disc stack surface.
- 5. The disc drive spindle hub assembly of claim 1 wherein the clamping ring has a first edge and a second edge, the first edge having a series of three or more outwardly extending radial tabs and the second edge having a series of three or more outwardly extending radial tabs, wherein the tabs on the first edge and second edge exert a vertical clamping force on the information storage disc.
- 6. The disc drive spindle hub assembly of claim 5 wherein the first edge and second edge each have from three to eight radially extending tabs.
- 7. The disc drive spindle hub assembly of claim 5 wherein the first edge and second edge each have an equal number of radially extending tabs, each tab on the first edge being axially aligned with a tab on the second edge of the clamping ring, forming a tab pair.
- 8. The disc drive spindle hub assembly of claim 7 wherein each tab pair is equally spaced from another tab pair.
- 9. The disc drive spindle hub assembly of claim 1 wherein the clamping ring is formed from sheet metal.
- 10. The disc drive spindle hub assembly of claim 9 wherein the sheet metal is stainless spring steel.
- 11. A clamping ring for mounting an information storage disc to a spindle hub sidewall, the clamping ring comprising:
a strip of resilient sheet material having a series of serpentine shaped curves, wherein the clamping ring is adapted to be sandwiched between the spindle hub sidewall and an inner edge of the information storage disc, and wherein the serpentine curves apply a radial load to the inner edge of an information storage disc while mounting the information storage disc to the spindle hub.
- 12. The clamping ring of claim 11 wherein the strip of material has a series of radially extending tabs from both a first edge and a second edge of the strip, and wherein the radially extending tabs contact the information storage disc and apply a vertical load on the information storage disc.
- 13. The clamping ring of claim 12 wherein an equal number of tabs extend from the first edge of the strip as extend from the second edge of the strip and wherein each tab on the first edge is axially aligned with a tab on the second edge.
- 14. The clamping ring of claim 11 wherein the strip of resilient sheet material is formed from sheet metal.
- 15. The clamping ring of claim 14 wherein the sheet metal is stainless spring steel.
- 16. A method of securing an information storage disc within a disc drive, the method comprising steps of:
(a). forming a clamping ring having a predetermined number of serpentine shaped curves; (b). curling the clamping ring to a diameter smaller than a diameter of an inner edge of the information storage disc; (c). positioning the curled clamping ring inside the inner edge of the information storage disc; (d). unfurling the clamping ring against the inner edge of the information storage disc; and (e). positioning the clamping ring engaged information storage disc on the sidewall of the spindle hub.
- 17. A disc drive spindle hub assembly comprising:
an information storage disc mounted on a cylindrical sidewall of a spindle hub; and means for providing a radial load to an inner edge of the mounted information storage disc.
RELATED APPLICATIONS
[0001] This application claims the benefit of priority of U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 60/198,169 entitled “DISC CLAMP WITH RADIAL LOAD,” filed Apr. 17, 2000.
Provisional Applications (1)
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Number |
Date |
Country |
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60198169 |
Apr 2000 |
US |