Claims
- 1. A method of sealing a disk drive housing comprising:
providing a base component of the disk drive housing; providing a cover component of the disk drive housing; and laser-welding the base component to the cover component to seal the disk drive housing.
- 2. The method of claim 1, wherein the base and cover components are made of aluminum.
- 3. The method of claim 1 wherein the base and cover components are made of steel.
- 4. The method of claim 1 further comprising the steps of:
providing a spindle assembly inside the disk drive housing wherein the spindle assembly includes a data storage disk and an axially-extending spindle shaft for supporting the data storage disk; providing a data transducing head inside the disk drive housing proximate to the data storage disk; providing an electrical circuit means for controlling the rotation of the data storage disk; and providing an actuator means inside the disk drive housing for positioning the transducing head relative to the data storage disk.
- 5. The method of claim 1 further including the step of filling the housing with an inert gas.
- 6. The method of claim 5 wherein the inert gas is helium.
- 7. A disk drive housing produced by the method of claim 1.
- 8. The disk drive housing of claim 7 further comprising a means for adding gas to the housing once the housing has been sealed.
- 9. A disk drive comprising:
a disk drive housing incorporating a base component and cover component defining an enclosed space, wherein the base component and cover component are laser-welded to one another; and a disk drive assembly disposed within the enclosed space.
- 10. The disk drive of claim 9 further comprising means for adding gas to the housing once the housing has been sealed.
- 11. The disk drive of claim 9 wherein the base component and cover component are made of aluminum.
- 12. The disk drive of claim 8 wherein the base component and cover component are made of steel.
- 13. The disk drive of claim 9 wherein the enclosed space is filled with an inert gas.
- 14. The disk drive of claim 13 wherein the inert gas is helium.
- 15. A method of sealing a disk drive housing comprising:
providing an inert gas environment; providing a base component of the disk drive housing; providing a cover component of the disk drive housing; and laser-welding the base component to the cover component in the inert gas environment to seal the disk drive housing.
- 16. The method of claim 15 wherein the base component and cover component are made of aluminum.
- 17. The method of claim 15 wherein the base component and cover component are made of steel.
- 18. The method of claim 15 wherein the inert gas is helium.
- 19. The method of claim 15 further comprising the steps of:
providing a spindle assembly inside the disk drive housing wherein the spindle assembly includes a data storage disk and an axially-extending spindle shaft for supporting the data storage disk; providing a data transducing head inside the disk drive housing proximate to the data storage disk; providing an electrical circuit means for controlling the rotation of the data storage disk; and providing an actuator means inside the disk drive housing for positioning the transducing head relative to the data storage disk.
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
[0001] This application claims priority to U.S. Provisional Application Serial No. 60/385,522, filed Jun. 3, 2002; entitled, “Laser-based Metal Sealing Of Disk Drives”. The foregoing patent application, which is assigned to the assignee of the present application, is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.
Provisional Applications (1)
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Number |
Date |
Country |
|
60385522 |
Jun 2002 |
US |