Claims
- 1. An end stop assembly for limiting the travel of an actuator in a disc drive, the actuator pivotally supported by an enclosure for movement of a read/write head in data reading and writing relationship to a data disc, the end stop comprising:
a base plate, adapted to be fixedly positioned within the enclosure; a post extending upward from the base plate; and a cantilevered arm extending outward from the post, the arm comprising a proximal end connecting the arm to the post and a distal end for providing contacting engagement with the actuator, the cantilevered arm being displaceable in a rotational direction substantially about the post and deformable in a direction substantially along a longitudinal axis of the cantilevered arm.
- 2. The end stop assembly of claim 1 wherein the cantilevered arm comprises:
a compressible curved beam longitudinally deformable under a compression force acting on the distal end of the beam and rotationally displaceable about the post under a displacement force acting upon the distal end of the arm thereby allowing the actuator full rotation without contacting engagement with the end stop.
- 3. The end stop assembly of claim 2 wherein the cantilevered arm has a non-uniform thickness tapering from a maximum thickness at the proximal end to a minimum thickness at the distal end.
- 4. The end stop assembly of claim 2 wherein the compressible curved beam is constructed of polyetherimide.
- 5. The end stop assembly of claim 4 wherein the compressible curved beam is constructed of polyphenylsulfone.
- 6. The end stop of claim 2 further comprising:
an arcuate shaped contact plate disposed at the distal end of the cantilevered arm.
- 7. The end stop of claim 6 wherein the contact plate further comprises:
a tab portion for receiving the displacement force so as to rotationally displacing the arm about the post thereby allowing the actuator to fully rotate without contact engagement with the end stop.
- 8. A disc drive comprising:
an enclosure supporting a rotating disc; an actuator pivotal supported within the enclosure in pivotal read/write data relationship to the data disc; and the actuator supported by a voice coil motor to position a read/write head support by the actuator to selected positions between a desired inner extend and an outer extent of travel corresponding to a band of data storage locations on the data disc, the extent of travel of the actuator determined by an end stop comprising:
a base plate fixedly positioned within the enclosure; a post extending upward from the base plate; and a cantilevered arm extending outward from the post, the arm comprising a proximal end connecting the arm to the post and a distal end for providing contacting engagement with the actuator, the cantilevered arm being displaceable in a rotational direction substantially about the post and deformable in a direction substantially along a longitudinal axis of the cantilevered arm.
- 9. The disc drive of claim 8 wherein the cantilevered arm is a compressible curved beam longitudinally deformable under a compression force acting on the distal end of the beam and rotationally displaceable about the post under a displacement force acting upon the distal end of the arm thereby allowing the actuator full rotation without contacting engagement with the end stop.
- 10. The disc drive of claim 9 wherein the cantilevered arm has a non-uniform thickness tapering from a maximum thickness at the proximal end to a minimum thickness at the distal end.
- 11. The disc drive of claim 9 wherein the compressible curved beam is constructed of polyetherimide.
- 12. The disc drive of claim 9 wherein the compressible curved beam is constructed of polyphenylsulfone.
- 13. The disc drive of claim 8 further comprising an arcuate shaped contact plate disposed at the distal end of the cantilevered arm.
- 14. The disc drive of claim 8 wherein the contact plate has a tab portion for receiving the displacement force, rotationally displacing the arm about the post thereby allowing the actuator to fully rotate without contact engagement with the end stop.
- 15. A disc drive comprising:
an actuator having an axis of rotation; and means for limiting the rotation of the actuator past an outer extent.
- 16. The disc drive of claim 15 wherein the means for limiting comprises a cantilevered arm extending outward from a post disposed at a proximal end of the arm and a distal end for providing contacting engagement with the actuator.
- 17. The disc drive of claim 16 wherein the cantilevered arm has a non-uniform thickness tapering from a maximum thickness at the proximal end to a minimum thickness at the distal end.
RELATED APPLICATIONS
[0001] This application claims the benefit of United States Provisional Application No. 60/263,037 entitled MOVEABLE OUTER STOP, filed Jan. 18, 2001.
Provisional Applications (1)
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Number |
Date |
Country |
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60263037 |
Jan 2001 |
US |