Small-size motor

Abstract

A shaft having a diameter A is press-fitted into the central hole of the boss. A tapered portion is formed around one end of the shaft, which is inserted to the center hole, such that a dimension in the extending direction of the shaft is R. The boss includes a cylindrical recess formed concentrically with the center hole on one end face thereof facing a side from which the shaft is inserted such that a dimension in the extending direction of the center hole thereof is larger than R, and such that a diameter thereof is A

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to a small-size motor which is suitable for rotating CD, DVD, MD, or CD-ROM, DVD-ROM, and other various types of information recording discs (referred to simply as “discs”), and applicable to other various uses.

An example of a disc drive motor is shown in FIG. 8 . As shown, a motor 60 is generally composed of a stator section 64 and a rotor section 65 . The stator section 64 includes a base board 64 a , a sintered oil-contained bearing 64 b fastened to the base board 64 a , a stator core 64 c which is fastened to the outer circumferential face of the sintered oil-contained bearing 64 b while being arranged coaxially with the bearing, and a coil winding 64 d wound around protruding poles of the stator core 64 c.

The rotor section 65 includes a rotary shaft 65 b rotatably supported with the aid of the sintered oil-contained bearing 64 b , a cup-shaped rotor case 65 c which is coupled to the rotary shaft 65 b so as to rotate together with the latter, and an annular rotor magnet 65 d fastened to the inner circumferential face of the rotor case 65 c.

A thick, annular boss 67 with a disc-like flange 67 a formed therearound is fitted into the central portion of the rotor case 65 c . The rotary shaft 65 b is press-fitted into a center hole of the annular boss 67 . With this structure, the rotor case 65 c is coupled to the rotary shaft 65 b with the annular boss 67 intervening therebetween, whereby the rotor case and the rotary shaft are rotated together.

A tapered portion 67 b is formed around the lower end of the center hole of the annular boss 67 . The tapered portion 67 b is formed so as to assist the press-fitting of the rotary shaft 65 b into the center hole of the annular boss 67 .

A chucking mechanism 63 is provided around a portion of the rotary shaft 65 b , which is extended above the upper face of the rotor case 65 c .The chucking mechanism 63 is generally formed with a fitting member 68 to be fitted into the center hole of the disc, clamping members 69 provided at a plurality of locations on the outer circumferential face of the fitting member 68 , and a plurality of urging members 70 for radially urging the clamping members 69 respectively.

Some recent technical requirements are to thin the motor and to improve a shock resistance of the motor. This necessitates increase of a coupling force of the rotary shaft 65 b to the annular boss 67 .

A possible approach to increase the coupling force of the rotary shaft 65 b with the annular boss 67 is to increase a length α of the center hole of the annular boss 67 as viewed in the axial direction as shown in FIG. 9 . However, this coupling-force increasing approach is defective in that if the length α of the center hole of the annular boss 67 is increased, it is impossible to thin the motor.

Another possible approach to increase the coupling force is that the inside diameter of the center hole of the annular boss 67 is selected to be smaller than the outside diameter of the rotary shaft 65 b , and an overlap width of press-fitting of the rotary shaft to the boss is increased. However, this approach is defective in that it is difficult to secure the perpendicularity of the rotary shaft to the boss at the time of the press fitting, and it will cause the perpendicularity of the boss to degrade.

A further possible approach is that a groove is formed around the outer circumferential face of the rotary shaft 65 b where it is in contact with the center hole of the annular boss 67 , and is filled with adhesive, whereby the rotary shaft 65 b is bonded to the center hole of the annular boss 67 . However, this approach is defective in that the workability is impaired, and the coupling force of the rotary shaft 65 b to the annular boss 67 varies depending on a variation of the amount of adhesive.

The coupling of the rotary shaft 65 b with the annular boss 67 by welding also suffers from problems of cost increase and limitation of a kind of material that may be used.

Generally, a sintered oil-contained bearing is used for the bearing of the motor. As shown in FIG. 8 , the sintered oil-contained bearing 64 b is impregnated with lubricant oil. The lubricant oil fills a gap between the inner circumferential face of the sintered oil-contained bearing 64 b and the outer circumferential face of the rotary shaft 65 b . With presence of the lubricant oil, the rotary shaft 65 b is smoothly rotatable. The lubricant oil in the gap oozes from the upper end of the sintered oil-contained bearing 64 b . In the thinned motor, the exuded lubricant oil is likely to reach the lower end of the boss 67 . When the oil reaches the lower end of the boss 67 , part of the lubricant oil is radially splashed along the end face of the boss 67 by a centrifugal force generated.

The splashing of the lubricant oil results in reduction of the amount of the lubricant oil in the gap, and hence in reduction of the lifetime of the bearing. Further, the splashed oil soils related parts of the motor. A gap between the upper end of the sintered oil-contained bearing 64 b and the end face of the annular boss 67 may be increased so as to prevent the lubricant oil oozing from the upper end of the sintered oil-contained bearing 64 b from reaching the boss 67 . In this case, a dimension of the motor in the axial direction is increased. This fact makes it impossible to thin the motor.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention is made to solve the problems of the related techniques, and has a first object to provide a small-size motor which is capable of improving the perpendicularity of the boss to a shaft to achieve the thinning of the motor.

The invention has a second object to provide a small-size motor which, to thin the motor, prevents the splashing of the lubricant oil and impregnates again the sintered oil-contained bearing with the oozing lubricant oil.

In order to achieve the above objects, according to the present invention, there is provided a motor comprising:

a boss having a center hole; and

a shaft press-fitted into the center hole, a diameter of which is A,

wherein a tapered portion is formed around one end of the shaft, which is inserted to the center hole, such that a dimension in the extending direction of the shaft is R; and

wherein the boss includes a cylindrical recess formed concentrically with the center hole on one end face thereof facing a side from which the shaft is inserted such that a dimension in the extending direction of the center hole thereof is larger than R, and such that a diameter thereof is A<B≦1.05A.

Preferably, the cylindrical recess includes a first side wall linearly extending from the end face of the boss and a second side wall subsequent to the first side wall, which is tapered inwardly in order to serve as an insertion guide member against which the tapered portion of the shaft is to be abutted when the shaft is inserted into the center hole.

With this structure, the perpendicularity of the shaft to the boss is secured when the shaft is press-fitted into the boss, without increasing the axial length of the center hole of the boss, whereby motor may be thinned.

Preferably, a caulking member is provided on at least one end face of the boss so as to surround the center hole, which is to be compressed onto the shaft inserted into the center hole.

When comparing the motor structure in which the shaft is simply press-fitted into the center hole of the boss, a coupling force of the shaft with the boss may be increased without increasing the axial length of the center hole of the boss. Therefore, thinning of the motor and improvement of the motor shock resistance are both achieved.

According to the present invention, there is also provided a motor comprising:

a boss having a center hole;

a shaft press-fitted into the center hole;

a sintered bearing for supporting the shaft, in which lubricant oil is contained;

a holder for holding the bearing; and

a wall member formed on one end face of the boss so as to face the bearing with a gap having a predetermined width in between for blocking the lubricant oil splashed from the bearing.

Preferably, the blocking wall member extends in a direction of which the center hole extends so as to surround an outer circumferential face of the bearing. The gap between the blocking wall member and the outer circumferential face of the bearing is determined to such an extent that the splashed lubricant oil attached to the blocking wall and depended therefrom can adhere again onto the outer circumferential wall of the bearing.

Therefore, if the lubricant oil reaches the end face of the boss, the blocking wall member prevents the lubricant oil from splashing to the related portions of the motor. If the blocking wall member is formed on the boss so as to confront with the upper end face of the bearing. The dimension between the upper end of the bearing and the end face of the boss is reduced, and hence the thinning of the motor is achieved.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

In the accompanying drawings:

FIG. 1 is a side view showing an embodiment of a small-size motor according to the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a side view showing a shaft guide portion which is applicable to the embodiment;

FIG. 3 is a side view showing another shaft guide portion;

FIG. 4 is side view showing another embodiment of a small-size motor according to the present invention;

FIG. 5 is a partial, transverse cross section view showing an oil-splashing blocking wall applied to the embodiment;

FIG. 6 is a partial, transverse cross section view showing the blocking wall;

FIG. 7 is a partial, transverse cross section view showing another blocking wall applied to another embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 8 is a side view showing a related small-size motor; and

FIG. 9 is a section view showing a shaft press-fitted into a boss in the related mall-size motor.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

The preferred embodiments of a small-size motor according to the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings. As shown in FIG. 1 , a motor 1 is generally composed of a stator section 4 and a rotor section 5 . The stator section 64 is constructed with includes a base board 4 a on which the motor is mounted, a sintered oil-contained bearing 4 b fastened to the base board 4 a , a stator core 4 c which is fastened to the outer circumferential face of the sintered oil-contained bearing 4 b while being arranged coaxially with the bearing, and a coil winding 4 d wound around protruding poles of the stator core 4 c.

The rotor section 5 includes a rotary shaft 5 b rotatably supported with the aid of the sintered oil-contained bearing 4 b , a cup-shaped rotor case 5 c which is coupled to the rotary shaft 5 b so as to rotate together with the latter, and an annular rotor magnet 5 d which is fastened to the inner circumferential face of the rotor case 5 c while being arranged facing the protruding poles of the stator core 4 c . A Hall element 5 f as a magnetic pole sensor, which is for detecting an angular position or a rotation speed of the motor, is provided facing the lower end face of the rotor magnet 5 d . A motor control signal is formed in accordance with an output signal of the Hall element 5 f.

A thick, annular boss 7 with a disc-like flange 7 a formed therearound is fitted into the central portion of the rotor case 5 c . The rotary shaft 5 b is press-fitted into a center hole of the annular boss 7 . With this structure, the rotor case 5 c is coupled to the rotary shaft 5 b with the annular boss 7 intervening therebetween, whereby the rotor case and the rotary shaft are rotated together.

A chucking mechanism 3 is provided around a portion of the rotary shaft 5 b , which is extended above the upper face of the rotor case 5 c . The chucking mechanism 3 is generally formed with a fitting member 8 to be fitted into the center hole of the disc, clamping members 9 provided at a plurality of locations on the outer circumferential face of the fitting member 8 , and a plurality of urging members 10 for radially urging the clamping members 9 respectively.

The fitting member 8 to be fitted to the center hole of the disc is a disc-like member having a hole 8 a formed in the central portion. The boss 7 is fitted into the hole 8 a of the fitting member, whereby the rotary shaft 5 b and the cup-shaped rotor case 5 c are rotated together. The clamping members 9 , while radially outwardly extending, are equidistantly disposed on the outer. circumferential face of the fitting member 8 .

One end of each clamping member 9 is a bullet-shaped or round end portion 9 a , while the other end is a cylindrical portion 9 b of which the diameter is small. A coiled spring 10 as the urging member is fitted to the cylindrical portion 9 b of each clamping member 9 . The clamping member 9 is urged in the radial and outward direction of the fitting member 8 by the urging force of the coiled spring 10 .

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 , an end (the upper end 5 bb in the illustrated embodiment) of the rotary shaft 5 b , which is first inserted when the rotary shaft 5 b is press-fitted into a center hole 7 d of the boss 7 , is tapered around its edge such that the resultant tapered portion 5 ba is shaped to have an arcuate curve defined by the radius R in cross section. In this embodiment, when the rotary shaft 5 b is press-fitted into the center hole 7 d of the boss 7 , the rotary shaft 5 b is inserted into the center hole 7 d in the direction from the bottom end of the center hole to the upper end in FIG. 1 . If required, the end edge of the rotary shaft 5 b may be tapered to have a linear slanting line in cross section instead.

An annular shaft guide portion 7 b of which the inside diameter is somewhat larger than the diameter of the center hole 7 d is formed around the lower end of the center hole 7 d of the boss 7 , viz. , the end to which the leading end of the rotary shaft 5 b is applied when it is press-fitted (FIG. 2 ). The annular shaft guide portion 7 b includes a straight portion 7 bb and a tapered portion 7 ba which is located in the inner part and continuous to the straight portion 7 bb . When the leading end 5 bb of the rotary shaft 5 b is fitted into the center hole 7 d of the boss 7 , the tapered portion 5 ba of the upper end 5 bb of the rotary shaft 5 b is placed within a space defined by the straight portion 7 bb of the annular shaft guide portion of the boss. Then, the rotary shaft 5 b is further inserted, the upper end 5 bb is guided, along the tapered portion 7 ba , into the annular shaft guide portion 7 b . Thus, the straight portion 7 bb and the tapered portion 7 ba serve as a guide member used when the rotary shaft 5 b is press-fitted into the center hole 7 d . Therefore, the rotary shaft 5 b may be press-fitted into the center hole 7 d of the boss 7 while retaining a good perpendicularity of the rotary shaft 5 b to the boss 7 .

The inside diameter B of the annular shaft guide portion 7 b and the outside diameter A of the rotary shaft 5 b are selected so as to satisfy the following relation.

A<B≦1.05A  (1)

The inside diameter of the center hole 7 d of the boss 7 is somewhat smaller the diameter A of the rotary shaft 5 b since the overlap width of press-fitting is provided as usually.

A length of the annular shaft guide portion 7 b as viewed in the axial direction is longer than a length R of the tapered portion 5 ba formed around the edge of the end of the rotary shaft 5 b . In the case of FIG. 2 , the tapered portion 5 ba is formed to have an arcuate curve of the radius R in cross section. Therefore, the axial length of the annular shaft guide portion 7 b is longer than the radius R of the tapered portion. If so designed, when the upper end 5 bb of the rotary shaft 5 b is inserted into the annular shaft guide portion 7 b and fitted into the center hole 7 d , the tapered portion 5 ba is entirely placed within the annular shaft guide portion 7 b.

As shown in FIG. 1 , a caulking portion 7 c as a narrow annular elevation, while surrounding the rotary shaft 5 b , is formed in the end face (the upper end in the illustrated embodiment) of the boss 7 as viewed in the axial direction. The caulking portion 7 c further firmly clamps, by caulking, the rotary shaft 5 b that is press-fitted into the center hole 7 d of the boss 7 . An annular groove 11 is formed along and in the outer circumferential face of the rotary shaft 5 b where it is in contact with the center hole 7 d of the boss 7 , at a position near the caulking portion 7 c.

How to press-fit the rotary shaft 5 b into the center hole 7 d of the boss 7 will now be described. To start with, the upper end 5 bb of the rotary shaft 5 b which is tapered arcuately at the radius R is inserted into the annular shaft guide portion 7 b of the boss 7 , and the rotary shaft 5 b is temporarily fixed to the boss 7 . The inside diameter of the annular shaft guide portion 7 b of the boss 7 is somewhat larger than the outside diameter of the rotary shaft 5 b . That is, the diameter B of the annular shaft guide portion 7 b and the diameter A of the rotary shaft 5 b are selected so as to satisfy the relation (1). The axial length of the annular shaft guide portion 7 b is longer than the axial length of the tapered portion 5 ba that is formed around the end edge of the rotary shaft 5 b . Accordingly, when the upper end 5 bb of the rotary shaft 5 b is inserted into the annular shaft guide portion 7 b and fitted into the center hole 7 d of the boss 7 , and in this state the rotary shaft is temporarily fixed to the boss, the tapered portion 5 ba is entirely placed within the annular shaft guide portion 7 b , and a part of the rotary shaft 5 b is also located within the annular shaft guide portion 7 b in a state that a small gap is present therebetween. Therefore, in this temporarily fixing state, the perpendicularity of the rotary shaft 5 b to the boss 7 . can be adjusted easily and highly accurately. In the subsequent press-fitting, the tapered portion 5 ba of the rotary shaft 5 b , while retaining its good perpendicularity, is guided into the center hole 7 d of the boss along the tapered portion 7 ba of the annular shaft guide portion 7 b . Therefore, the perpendicularity of the boss 7 can be secured highly accurately.

If the annular shaft guide portion 7 b is not formed and only the tapered portion is formed as in the related case, when the upper end 5 bb of the rotary shaft 5 b is fitted into the center hole 7 d of the boss 7 and temporarily fixed, the boss 7 is easy to tilt and hence it is impossible to secure the perpendicularity of the rotary shaft 5 b highly accurately. If the diameter B of the annular shaft guide portion 7 b exceeds 1.05A, the annular shaft guide portion 7 b acts as the tapered portion, the boss 7 and the rotary shaft 5 b are unstable, and hence the temporarily fixing is unstable. If the axial depth of the annular shaft guide portion 7 b is shorter than the radius R of the tapered portion formed around the end edge of the rotary shaft 5 b , the diameter of the rotary shaft 5 b and the lower end of the annular shaft guide portion 7 b exceeds 1.05A at the temporarily fixing position. The boss 7 and the rotary shaft 5 b are unstable and the temporarily fixing is unstable as in the above case. If the diameter B of the annular shaft guide portion 7 b and the diameter A of the rotary shaft 5 b are selected so as to satisfy the relation ( 1), the axial depth of the annular shaft guide portion 7 b is longer than the radius R of the tapered portion formed around the end edge of the rotary shaft 5 b , viz., it is longer than the axial length of the tapered portion 5 ba , the boss 7 and the rotary shaft 5 b are temporarily fixed sufficiently stably, so that the perpendicularity of the rotary shaft 5 b to the boss 7 is highly accurately retained.

After the boss 7 and the rotary shaft 5 b are temporarily fixed, the rotary shaft 5 b is press-fitted into the center hole 7 d of the boss 7 . The rotary shaft 5 b shown in FIG. 1 is inserted into the center hole 7 d of the boss 7 such that the upper end 5 bb of the rotary shaft 5 b reaches the upper end of the caulking portion 7 c.

In the embodiment shown in FIG. 1 , the rotary shaft 5 b and the boss 7 are fixed together by driving radially and inwardly the caulking portion 7 c with a punch, for example. As described above, the annular groove 11 is formed along and in the outer circumferential face of the rotary shaft 5 b where it is in contact with the center hole 7 d of the boss 7 , at a position near the caulking portion 7 c . Accordingly, when the rotary shaft 5 b and the boss 7 are fixed together by caulking the caulking portion 7 c radially and inwardly, part of the caulking portion 7 c is secured to the annular groove 11 . As a result, those are firmly fixed together, the coupling force of the rotary shaft 5 b and the boss 7 is increased, and a shock resistance of the resultant is improved. Further, it is noted that the coupling force of those members can be increased without bonding, welding, or the like. This feature leads to cost reduction and working efficiency improvement.

The motor 1 shown in FIG. 1 is a shaft-rotating type motor. Accordingly, the boss 7 is fitted into the cup-shaped rotor case 5 c and serves as a part of the rotor. It is readily understood that the invention may be applied to a small-size motor of the type in which the frame of the stator section of the shaft-fixed type motor is formed in the form of a boss, and this boss is fixed.

The boss 7 shown in FIG. 1 is formed such that the annular shaft guide portion 7 b is formed at the lower end of the center hole 7 d , and the caulking portion 7 c is formed at the upper end face. Alternatively, the caulking portion 7 c may be formed around the annular shaft guide portion 7 b of the lower end of the center hole 7 d . More specifically, as shown in FIG. 3 , an annular shaft guide portion 7 b having an increased inside diameter is formed at the lower end of the center hole 7 d . An annular groove 20 is formed in the lower end of the boss 7 , while being located radially outwardly of the annular shaft guide portion 7 b . A caulking portion 7 c as a narrow annular elevation is formed between the annular groove 20 and the annular shaft guide portion 7 b . The upper end 5 bb of the rotary shaft 5 b , which is first inserted when the rotary shaft is press-fitted into the center hole 7 d , is tapered around its edge such that the resultant tapered portion 5 ba is shaped to have an arcuate curve defined by the radius R in cross section.

As in the previous case, the boss 7 and the rotary shaft 5 b are temporarily fixed, and then the rotary shaft 5 b is press-fitted into the center hole 7 d of the boss 7 . The caulking portion 7 c is compressed radially and inwardly with, for example, a punch to fix the rotary shaft 5 b and the boss 7 together. By the caulking, the rotary shaft 5 b is firmly fixed to the boss 7 . When the caulking portion 7 c is compressed radially and inwardly, the annular shaft guide portion 7 b located in the inner part when radially viewed are crushed. However, no problem arises if it is crushed. The reason for this follows. The annular shaft guide portion 7 b is used before the rotary shaft 5 b is press-fitted into the center hole 7 d of the boss 7 . If the rotary shaft 5 b is press-fitted into the center hole 7 d of the boss 7 and then the caulking portion 7 c is compressed radially and inwardly and crushed, no problem arises.

An embodiment of a small-size motor which succeeds in achieving the second object of the invention will be described. A motor 1 shown in FIG. 4 is generally composed of a stator section 4 and a rotor section 5 . A basic construction of the motor 1 is substantially the same as of the embodiment of FIG. 1 . Hence, like or equivalent portions are designated by like reference numerals in FIG. 1 .

The rotor section 5 includes a cylindrical, sintered oil-contained bearing 5 a , which is firmly held with the inner circumferential face of a bearing holder 4 e . The rotary shaft 5 b is rotatably supported with the aid of the sintered oil-contained bearing 5 a . The sintered oil-contained bearing 5 a is impregnated with lubricant oil, and the oil is present between the inner circumferential face of the sintered oil-contained bearing 5 a and the outer circumferential face of the rotary shaft 5 b , whereby the rotary shaft 5 b is smoothly rotatable.

An annular blocking wall 21 is formed at the lower end of the boss 7 , which is confronted with the upper end face of the sintered oil-contained bearing 5 a . More specifically, an annular groove 7 e , while being centered, is formed in the lower end face of the boss 7 . The circumferential outer wall of the annular groove 7 e forms the blocking wall 21 . As shown, the blocking wall 21 is extended upward in the axial direction to have a certain length (height), and is confronted with the upper part of the outer circumferential face of the sintered oil-contained bearing 5 a in a state that a fixed gap γ (see FIG. 5 ) is present therebetween. As will be described later, the gap γ is selected so as to allow lubricant oil suspending from the upper end face of the bearing holder 4 e to attach to the outer circumferential face of the sintered oil-contained bearing 5 a.

When the rotary shaft 5 b rotates, lubricant oil 80 in the gap oozes out of the upper end of the sintered oil-contained bearing 5 a . The oozing lubricant oil moves along the rotary shaft 5 b and reaches the annular groove 7 e . By a centrifugal force generated by the rotation of the motor, the lubricant oil is splashed in the radially outward direction β or moved along the face of the annular shaft guide portion 7 b . However, the splashed or moved lubricant oil is blocked by and attaches to the inner circumferential face of the blocking wall 21 located ahead in the direction β. Thus, the blocking wall 21 blocks the splashing of the lubricant oil 80 toward related portions of the motor.

When the motor stops in rotation, the lubricant oil 80 having attached to the inner circumferential face of the blocking wall 21 , as shown in FIG. 6 , suspends from the end face of the blocking wall 21 and will fall onto the upper end face of the bearing holder 4 e . As recalled, the gap γ is selected so as to allow lubricant oil 80 attaching to the inner circumferential face of the blocking wall 21 to attach to the outer circumferential face of the sintered oil-contained bearing 5 a . In other words, the gap is selected so as to allow the lubricant oil 80 having dropped onto the upper end face of the bearing holder 4 e to return to the outer circumferential face of the sintered oil-contained bearing 5 a . Therefore, the lubricant oil 80 suspending from the upper end face of the bearing holder 4 e attaches to the outer circumferential face of the sintered oil-contained bearing 5 a , and penetrates into the sintered oil-contained bearing 5 a again. Or when the lubricant oil 80 attaching to the outer circumferential face of the sintered oil-contained bearing 5 a drops, it attaches to the outer circumferential face of the sintered oil-contained bearing 5 a and penetrates into the sintered oil-contained bearing 5 a . It is noted that the lubricant oil 80 penetrates into the sintered oil-contained bearing 5 a not only when the rotary shaft 5 b is not rotated but also when it is rotated.

As described above, in the embodiment, the blocking wall 21 is formed on the lower end face of the boss 7 , which is disposed facing the end face of the sintered oil-contained bearing 5 a . The fitting member 8 oozing out of the upper end of the sintered oil-contained bearing 5 a is made to attach to the outer circumferential face of the blocking wall 21 . Therefore, it is prevented that the lubricant oil 80 is splashed toward the related portions of the motor. If the lubricant oil 80 oozing from the upper end of the sintered oil-contained bearing 5 a reaches the lower end face of the boss 7 , the blocking wall 21 can prevent the lubricant oil 80 from splashing to the related portions of the motor. Therefore, a gap between the upper end of the sintered oil-contained bearing 5 a and the lower end face of the boss 7 , viz., an axial length of the motor structure, may be reduced, leading to the thinning of the motor. Further, the lubricant oil 80 attaching to the inner circumferential face of the blocking wall 21 may be made to penetrate into the sintered oil-contained bearing 5 a . Therefore, the lifetime of the bearing may be increased.

The inner edge of the upper end of the bearing holder 4 e onto which the lubricant oil 80 will fall may be tapered to form a tapered face inclined radially and inwardly as indicated by a broken line 47 in FIG. 6 . In this case, the lubricant oil 80 that has dropped from the inner circumferential face of the blocking wall 21 will be guided into the sintered oil-contained bearing 5 a along the tapered face. Accordingly, the lubricant oil will be smoothly circulated into the sintered oil-contained bearing 5 a . In FIG. 5 or 7 , the lubricant oil 80 circulates into the sintered oil-contained bearing 5 a by way of the face of the annular groove 7 e or the inner circumferential face of the blocking wall 21 . A more smooth circulation of the lubricant oil into the sintered oil-contained bearing 5 a may be secured if oil repellant finishing, such as fluorine coating, is applied onto or the inner circumferential face of the blocking wall 21 .

The upper end face of the bearing holder 4 e is higher than the upper end face of the sintered oil-contained bearing 5 a as viewed in the axial direction, as shown in FIG. 7 . In this case, the annular groove 7 e may be formed by selecting the inside diameter of the blocking wall 21 to be smaller than the inside diameter of the bearing holder 4 e . Where the annular groove is formed, the lubricant oil 80 oozes out of the upper end of the sintered oil-contained bearing 5 a and reaches the lower end face of the boss 7 . At this time, the lubricant oil is splashed radially and outwardly or moved along the face of the caulking portion 7 c of the boss 7 by a centrifugal force generated by the rotation of the motor, and runs against and attaches to the inner circumferential face of the blocking wall 21 . The lubricant oil 80 attaching to the inner circumferential face of the blocking wall 21 drops onto the upper end face of the sintered oil-contained bearing 5 a , and returns to the sintered oil-contained bearing 5 a.

In the motor shown in FIG. 4 , the sintered oil-contained bearing 5 a is held with the inner circumferential face of the stator core 4 c . As readily understood, the present invention may be applied to the motor structure shown in FIG. 1 where the bearing holder which holds the stator core 4 c is made of sintered metal, and doubles as the sintered oil-contained bearing which rotatably supports the rotary shaft 5 b . In this case, the structure of FIG. 1 is designed to have a blocking wall 21 , which is confronted with the outer circumferential face of the upper part of the sintered oil-contained bearing 4 b with a fixed gap γ being located therebetween (see FIG. 5 ), as in the FIG. 4 embodiment. The gap γ is selected so as to allow the lubricant oil attaching to the inner circumferential face of the blocking wall 21 to attach to the outer circumferential face of the sintered oil-contained bearing 4 b.

While the motor discussed in the above-mentioned embodiments is used for driving the disc to rotate, it is evident that the motor of the invention may be applied to general motors.

Although the present invention has been shown and described with reference to specific preferred embodiments, various changes and modifications will be apparent to those skilled in the art from the teachings herein. Such changes and modifications as are obvious are deemed to come within the spirit, scope and contemplation of the invention as defined in the appended claims.

Claims

1. A motor comprising:a boss having a center hole; and a shaft having a diameter A press-fitted into the center hole, wherein one end of the shaft has a tapered portion defined by a radius R, and the shaft is inserted into the center hole; and wherein the boss includes an annular guide shaft portion having a cylindrical recess with a diameter B formed concentrically with the center hole on one end face of the boss facing a side from which the shaft is inserted such that A≦B<1.05A; and wherein a length of the shaft guide portion in an axial direction of the shaft is greater than R.

2. The motor as set forth in claim 1, wherein the cylindrical recess includes a first side wall linearly extending from the end face of the boss and a second side wall subsequent to the first side wall, which is tapered inwardly in order to serve as an insertion guide member against which the tapered portion of the shaft is to be abutted when the shaft is inserted into the center hole.

3. The motor as set forth in claim 2, further comprising a rotor case integrally provided with the boss,wherein the shaft serves as a rotary shaft of the motor.

4. The motor as set forth in claim 3, wherein the rotor case includes a supporting face on which a disk rotated is to be disposed.

5. A motor comprising:a boss having a center hole; and a shaft having a diameter A press-fitted into the center hole, wherein one end of the shaft has a tapered portion defined by a radius R, and the shaft is inserted into the center hole; wherein the boss includes an annular guide shaft portion having a cylindrical recess with a diameter B formed concentrically with the center hole on one end face of the boss facing a side from which the shaft is inserted such that A<B≦1.05A; wherein a length of the shaft guide portion in an axial direction of the shaft is greater than R; and wherein the cylindrical recess includes a first side wall linearly extending from the end face of the boss and a second side wall subsequent to the first side wall, which is tapered inwardly in order to serve as an insertion guide member against which the tapered portion of the shaft is to be abutted when the shaft is inserted into the center hole; the motor further comprising a rotor case integrally provided with the boss; and wherein the shaft serves as a rotary shaft of the motor; and wherein a caulking member is provided on at least one end face of the boss so as to surround the center hole, which is to be compressed onto the shaft inserted into the center hole.

6. The motor according to claim 1, wherein the shaft guide portion includes a tapered portion at an end of cylindrical recess opposite the one end face of the boss facing the side from which the shaft is inserted, and wherein the length of the shaft guide portion in an axial direction of the shaft that is greater than R includes the tapered portion.