Abstract:
A disk recording device to manufacture hard disk drives. This disk recording device includes a spindle to detachably hold a disk of a hard disk drive. A spindle motor rotates the spindle. A recording unit records data on a surface of the disk while moving over the surface of the disk held on the spindle. A disk protecting unit covers the surfaces of the disk to protect the disk from an external environment when the disk is rotated. In the disc recording device, the disk protecting unit approaches or moves away from the disk through a reciprocating motion within a predetermined range.

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
   This application claims the benefit of Korean Application No. 2002-37603, filed Sep. 6, 2002, in the Korean Intellectual Property Office, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference. 
   BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
   1. Field of the Invention 
   The present invention relates generally to a disk recording device to manufacture hard disk drives, and more particularly, to a disk recording device to manufacture hard disk drives which is capable of recording data on a disk before it is mounted in a hard disk drive, during a process of manufacturing hard disk drives. 
   2. Description of the Related art 
   As well known to those skilled in the art, a hard disk drive is used as a data storage unit of a computer, and includes a thin disk, a head, and an arm. The disk is rotatably installed in a casing of the computer and stores data. The head writes data onto the disk or reads the data while moving over the surface of the disk. The head is movably supported by the arm. 
   When the manufacture of the hard disk drive is just completed, data cannot be recorded on the surface of the disk, so the hard disk drive is usually formatted so that it may store data. That is, tracks are compactly formed on the disk and the disk is divided into sectors so that the disk may store data. Such a formatting process is usually performed after the assembly of the hard disk drive is finished during a process of manufacturing the hard disk drive. 
   However, the method of manufacturing the conventional hard disk drives has a problem in that a formatting process is performed after the assembly of the hard disk drive is completed, so it forces manufacturers to spend a lot of time to perform the formatting process as the data storage capacity of the hard disk drive becomes larger, thus reducing productivity of hard disk drives and being difficult to meet a market demand. 
   Further, the conventional method of manufacturing the conventional hard disk drives has another problem in that a hard disk drive production line becomes enlarged due to an unexpected large volume of the hard disk drives when arranging the assembled hard disk drives for a formatting process, thus requiring a large working space. 
   SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
   Accordingly, it is an aspect of the present invention to provide a disk recording device to manufacture hard disk drives, which is capable of recording data on a disk before it is mounted in a hard disk drive at a process of manufacturing hard disk drives, thus increasing productivity of the hard disk drives, and thus reducing the working space for a hard disk drive production line. 
   Additional aspects and advantages of the invention will be set forth in part in the description which follows and, in part, will be obvious from the description, or may be learned by practice of the invention. 
   The foregoing and other aspects of the present invention are achieved by providing a disk recording device to manufacture hard disk drives, comprising: a spindle to detachably hold a disk of a hard disk drive; a spindle motor rotating the spindle; a recording unit recording data on a surface of the disk while moving over the surface of the disk held by the spindle, and a disk protecting unit covering the external surface of the disk to protect the disk from the external environment when the disk is rotated, the disk protecting unit approaching or moving away from the disk through a reciprocating motion within a predetermined range. 
   The recording unit comprises: a support shaft mounted at a position spaced apart from the spindle in such a way as to be parallel to an axis of the spindle; an arm rotatably installed at the support shaft and extending toward the spindle to approach the surface of the disk; an arm drive motor driving the arm, and a recording head mounted at a free end of the arm. 
   The spindle comprises: a ring-shaped spacing member mounted to the external surface of the spindle at a position between neighboring disks such that two or more disks are installed on the spindle while being spaced apart from each other; and a fastening member engaging with a threaded part formed on the external surface of the spindle and fastening the disks. A plurality of arms are mounted to the support shaft to record data on the disks. 
   The disk protecting unit comprises a protective cover covering both surfaces of the disk while approaching the disk, a guiding unit to guide a reciprocating motion of the protective cover, and a drive unit to move the protective cover in such a way that the protective cover approaches or moves away from the disk. 
   The protective cover comprises: two side plates spaced apart from each other and having a fan shape to partially cover both surfaces of the disk; a connecting part connecting the two side plates to each other along outer circumferences of the side plates in such a way as to close a gap between the side plates, and an opening formed in the protective cover in a reciprocating direction of the cover such that the cover receives the disk in the opening. 
   The protective cover further comprises at least one partition plate. In this case, the partition plate is interposed between the two side plates to separate two or more disks from each other when the disks are installed on the spindle at the same time. 
   The guiding unit comprises a guide rail longitudinally installed in a reciprocating direction of the protective cover, a moving member slidably mounted to the guide rail and connected to the protective cover; and at least one detecting unit provided on a moving path of the moving member to detect a position of the moving member. 
   The detecting unit comprises a detected part extending from the moving member by a predetermined length, and a sensor detecting a position of the detected part, while the sensor comprises a photo-coupler having a light emitting part and a light receiving part arranged to be spaced apart from each other, and detecting whether the detected part enters between the light emitting and receiving parts or not. 
   Further, the drive unit comprises a cover moving motor mounted to the protective cover, a pinion gear mounted to a rotating shaft of the cover moving motor, and a rack gear installed along a reciprocating direction of the protective cover and engaging with the pinion gear. 

   
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     These and other aspects and advantages of the invention will become apparent and more readily appreciated from the following description of the embodiments, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings of which: 
       FIG. 1  is a perspective view illustrating a disk recording device to manufacture hard disk drives according to an embodiment of this invention; 
       FIG. 2  is a front view of the disk recording device according to  FIG. 1 ; 
       FIG. 3  is a plan view of the disk recording device according to  FIG. 1 ; and 
       FIG. 4  is a side view of the disk recording device according to FIG.  1 . 
   

   DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
   Reference will now be made in detail to the embodiments of the present invention, examples of which are illustrated in the accompanying drawings, wherein like reference numerals refer to like elements throughout. The embodiments are described below in order to explain the present invention by referring to the figures. 
   Reference should now be made to the drawings, in which the same reference numerals are used throughout the different drawings to designate the same or similar components. 
   A disk recording device to manufacture hard disk drives according to this invention is applied to a production line to manufacture hard disk drives, and performs a disk formatting process beforehand, prior to assembling the hard disk drives. 
   As illustrated in the  FIGS. 1  to  4 , the recording device to manufacture hard disk drives of this invention includes a spindle  11  on which two or more disks  1  are simultaneously installed. A spindle motor  12  rotates the spindle  11 . A data recording unit  20  performs a formatting process, that is, forms tracks and sectors onto each disk  1  installed on the spindle  11 . The disk recording device also has a disk protecting unit  30 . The disk protecting unit  30  protects the disk  1  rotating at a high speed while recording data from the flow of air surrounding the disk  1 , thus minimizing recording errors. 
   The spindle motor  12  is installed at a position which is spaced apart from the upper surface of a base plate  10 , through a motor support member  16  set at the upper surface of the flat base plate  10 . At this time, the spindle  11  is set in such a way as to be parallel to the base plate  10 . Such a construction allows two or more disks  1  to be installed on the external surface of the spindle  11  which extends from the spindle motor  12  to a predetermined position. The spindle  11  is designed to have a larger outer diameter at a portion coming into contact with the spindle motor  12 , to form a step  11   a . The disk  1  is locked to and supported by the step  11   a  when the disk  1  is installed on the spindle  11  from the end of the spindle  11 . An external threaded part  11   b  is formed on the external surface of the end portion of the spindle  11 , and engages with a fastening member  13 , such as a nut, so as to fasten the disk  1  installed on the spindle  11 . When two or more disks  1  are simultaneously installed on the external surface of the spindle  11 , ring-shaped spacing members  14  are installed on the spindle  11  to separate the disks  1  from each other. Such a construction allows two or more disks  1  installed on the spindle  11  to be separated from each other at regular intervals, by the spacing members  14 . The fastening member  13  is tightened to the end portion of the spindle  11 , thus allowing the disks  1  to be fastened to the spindle  11  and rotated along with the spindle  11  at a high speed. 
   The data recording unit  20  records data on the disk  1  installed on the spindle  11 , and is provided at a position which is spaced apart from the spindle  11  by a predetermined interval. Such a data recording unit  20  includes a support shaft  21  which is installed in parallel to the axis of the spindle  11 . An arm  22  is rotatably installed at the support shaft  21  and extends toward the spindle  11  to approach the surface of the disk  1 . The data recording unit  20  also has an arm drive motor  23  rotating the arm  22 . A recording head  24  is mounted at the free end of the arm  22 . 
   In such a case, the support shaft  21  is horizontally installed on a block  15  which is fixed to the base plate  10 . The arm  22  mounted to the support shaft  21 , the recording head  24  mounted at the end of the arm  22 , and the arm drive motor  23  are the same or similar to those of a conventional hard disk drive. But, in the hard disk drive of this invention, the number of arms  22  or the heads  24  is twice the number of the disks  1  which are installed on the spindle  11 . For example, as illustrated in the drawings, when the number of the disks  1  installed on the spindle  11  is six, the number of the arms  22  or the heads  24  is twelve, because two arms  22  and two heads  24  are required for one disk  1 . 
   The disk protecting unit  30  is provided with a fan-shaped protective cover  31 , and a guiding unit to guide the reciprocation motion of the protective cover  31 . The protecting unit  30  is also provided with a drive unit to be described in more detail later. The drive unit moves the protective cover  31  such that it approaches or moves away from the disk  1  installed on the spindle  11 . 
   As illustrated in the  FIGS. 1 and 2 , the protective cover  31  includes two side plates  31   a  and  31   b , and a connecting part  31   c . The two side plates  31   a  and  31   b  have a fan-shape capable of covering half or more of the surface areas of both surfaces of the disk  1 , and are spaced apart from each other while being positioned in parallel to each other. The connecting part  31   c  connects the two side plates  31   a  and  31   b  to each other while extending along the outer circumferences of the side plates  31   a  and  31   b  in such a way as to dose a gap between the two side plates  31   a  and  31   b . In this case, the two side plates  31   a  and  31   b  cover the surfaces of the first and last disks  1  of several disks  1  installed on the spindle  11 , respectively. An opening is formed by the gap of the protective cover  31  in its reciprocating direction such that the cover  31  receives the disks  1  in the opening. 
   A partition plate  31   d  is interposed in parallel with and between the two side plates  31   a  and  31   b  of the protective cover  31  to separate two or more disks  1  installed on the spindle  11  from each other when the cover  31  covers the disks  1  in the opening. The partition plate  31   d  also has a fan-shape, and is connected to the connecting part  31   c  at its outer circumference. 
   The protective cover  31  protects the disk  1  rotating at a high speed from the flow of air surrounding the disk  1 . That is, the protective cover  31  protects the disk  1  from air surrounding the disk  1 , thus preventing the disk  1  from being shaken due to the flow of air, therefore minimizing the recording error. 
   The guiding unit to guide the reciprocating motion of the protective cover  31  includes a guide rail  41 , a moving member  42 , and a detecting unit (described in detail later). The guide rail  41  longitudinally extends in a reciprocating direction of the protective cover  31 , and is installed on the base plate  10 . The moving member  42  is slidably mounted on the guide rail  41 . The detecting unit is provided on the moving path of the moving member  42  to detect its position. 
   The guide rail  41  extends in such a way as to be perpendicular to the spindle  11 , and is screwed to the base plate  10  by setscrews  45  which are provided at both ends of the guide rail  41 . As illustrated in the  FIG. 4 , the moving member  42  is provided on its lower surface with a longitudinal mortise groove  42   a . The mortise groove  42   a  slidably engages with a longitudinal dovetail tenon rail  41   a  which is formed on the upper surface of the guide rail  41  along the axis of the rail  41 . The lower end of the protective cover  31  is fixed to the upper portion of the moving member  42 . Such a construction allows the protective cover  31  to reciprocate together with the moving member  42  when the moving member  42  is moved along the guide rail  41 . Furthermore, the above construction allows the protective cover  31  to cover the external surfaces of the disks  1  or move away therefrom, through the reciprocating motion of the protective cover  31 . 
   The detecting unit detects a position of the moving member  42 , and includes a detected part  50 , a first sensor  51 , and a second sensor  52 . The detected part  50  is provided on the moving member  42  to be projected from the lower end of the member  42 . The first and second sensors  51  and  52  are installed on the base plate  10  at positions around both ends of the guide rail  41 , respectively, so as to detect the position of the movable detected part  50 . The two sensors  51  and  52  thus detect a position of the moving member  42 , when the protective cover  31  covers the disk  1  or completely moves away from the disk  1 , so as to control the movement of the protective cover  31  in response to the detected information. 
   The two sensors  51  and  52  each comprise a common photo-coupler including a light emitting part and a light receiving part arranged to be spaced apart from each other, and detects whether the detected part  50  moves between the light emitting and receiving parts or not. The light emitting and receiving parts are arranged to be opposite to each other with respect to a detected recess  53  of each sensor  51  or  52 , although they are not shown in the drawings in detail. When the detected part  50  extending from the moving member  42  enters the detected recess  53 , it blocks the light, thus allowing a user to be informed of the position of the moving member  42 . 
   As illustrated in the  FIGS. 3 and 4 , the drive unit moving the protective cover  31  includes a cover moving motor  60 , a pinion gear  62 , and a rack gear  63 . The cover moving motor  60  is mounted to a surface of the moving member  42 . The pinion gear  62  is mounted to a rotating shaft  61  of the cover moving motor  60 . The rack gear  63  is installed along the guide rail  41  and engages with the pinion gear  62 . In this case, the length of the rack gear  63  is almost equal to that of the guide rail  41 . The rack gear  63  is mounted to the base plate  10  while being arranged in parallel to the guide rail  41 . 
   According to this embodiment, the moving member  42  and the protective cover  31  are separately produced and are assembled with each other before the cover moving motor  60  is mounted to the moving member  42 . But, the moving member  42  may be integrated with the protective cover  31  to form a single structure. Furthermore, the cover moving motor  60  may be mounted to a surface of the protective cover  31 , in place of the surface of the moving member  42 . 
   The operation and use of the recording device to manufacture hard disk drives according to this invention will be described hereinafter. 
   In order to perform a formatting process which forms tracks and sectors on the produced disk  1 , one or more disks  1  are first installed on the spindle  11 . At this time, the disks  1  are separated from each other by a predetermined interval by the spacing members  14  installed on the external surface of the spindle  11 . Next, the fastening member  13  is tightened to the end portion of the spindle  11  so as to fasten the disks  1  to the spindle  11  without preventing an undesired movement of the disks  1  on the spindle  11 . 
   After finishing the installation of the disks  1  on the spindle  11 , the cover moving motor  60  is operated so that the protective cover  31  moves toward the disks  1  to cover the external surfaces of the disks  1 . That is, when the cover moving motor  60  is driven, the pinion gear  62  engaging with the rack gear  63  is rotated, so the protective cover  31  moves toward the disks  1  to cover the external surfaces of the disks  1 . When the protective cover  31  covers the external surfaces of the disks  1 , the position of the detected part  50  extending from the moving member  42  is detected by the first sensor  51 . When the value of the detected position of the member  42  reaches a preset value, the cover moving motor  60  stops operating. 
   At the above-mentioned position of the moving member  42 , the protective cover  31  covers the external surfaces of the disks  1 , with the two side plates  31   a  and  31   b  of the protective cover  31  spaced apart from the disks  1  at a predetermined interval. The partition plates  31   d  are interposed between the side plates  31   a  and  31   b , and are put between the neighboring disks  1  to separate the disks  1  from each other. 
   After the protective cover  31  covers the disks  1 , the spindle  11  is rotated at a high speed by the spindle motor  12 , so the disks  1  are also rotated at the same speed. At the same time, the recording heads  24  are moved over the surfaces of the disks  1  through the reciprocating motion of the arms  22  which are included in the recording unit  20 , and record data on the disks  1 . That is, the formatting process is performed. 
   In this case, the disks  1  are rotated at a high speed as they are covered by the protective cover  31 , thus protecting the disks  1  from the flow of air surrounding the disks  1  due to their high-speed rotation, therefore allowing the disks  1  to be stably rotated, in addition to ensuring the accurate recording of data. That is, the disks  1  are covered with the protective cover  31 , so air resistance to the disks  1  is minimized, thus preventing the disks  1  from being shaken, therefore minimizing the recording errors. 
   When the formatting of the disks  1  is completed, the spindle motor  12  stops operating and simultaneously the recording of data using the heads  24  is stopped. At this time, the cover moving motor  60  is rotated in a reverse direction, so the protective cover  31  is also moved in a reverse direction to move away from the disks  1 . When the protective cover  31  completely moves away from the disks  1 , the position of the detected part  50  of the moving member  42  is detected by the second sensor  52 , so the cover moving motor  60  stops operating. Thereafter, a user loosens the fastening member  13  from the spindle  11  and separates the disks  1  from the disk recording device. 
   As described above, the present invention provides a disk recording device to manufacture hard disk drives, which is capable of simultaneously recording data on two or more disks prior to assembling a hard disk drive, thus rapidly producing the hard disk drives. 
   In addition, according to this invention, data recording operations are performed prior to assembling a hard disk drive, so an additional disk formatting process is not required after finishing the assembling of the hard disk drive, thus reducing the amount of equipment required to manufacture the hard disk drives. 
   Further, a protective cover provided in this invention protects a disk, rotating at a high speed while recording data, from air surrounding the disk, thus preventing the disk from being shaken, therefore minimizing the error in recording data. 
   Although a few embodiments of the present invention have been shown and described, it would be appreciated by those skilled in the art that changes may be made in this embodiment without departing from the principles and spirit of the invention, the scope of which is defined in the claims and their equivalents.