Abstract:
The present invention concerns a sealing contacting system for the stator windings of spindle motors, which are provided for installation in the base plate of hard disk drives. The present invention has a peripheral, self-contained sealing surface free from interruptions, which avoids jumps or unevenness in the peripheral sealing region, eliminating previously unavoidable radial capillary gaps, so that hermetic sealing is produced between the region of the hard disks formed from clean space and the external ambient region.

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention concerns a contacting system which seals, without interruption, the stator winding terminal in spindle motors. 
     Spindle motors are mainly used for driving hard disk drives. Due to the demand for higher and higher storage densities for hard disk drives, endeavours are constantly being made to make their geometrical dimensions increasingly smaller and more compact. Further development of hard disk drives therefore also results in lower and lower flight heights of the read and write heads over the rotating storage medium. At the same time the access times must be reduced to obtain a quicker and higher data throughput, and this in turn requires higher speeds for the hard disk drives. To avoid read and write errors due to head crashes, that is, the read and write heads touching or catching on the hard disk, the requirements of the degree of cleanness for the atmosphere enclosed within the drive are getting higher and higher. 
     From the need to protect storage media and read/write heads from contamination and mechanical damage, results the demand for a higher and higher degree of cleanness of the air in the drive. This means that both the number and size of permitted particles per unit of volume as a measurable variable for the degree of cleanness are getting smaller and smaller. 
     The desired lifespan of such storage media is as a rule five years. A necessary prerequisite for meeting this lifespan requirement is that the interior of the drive must be permanently hermetically sealed off from the surrounding atmosphere even at the point of division between motor or shaft flange of the motor and base plate. 
     Otherwise, due to atmospheric pressure fluctuations there can be an air change and hence uncontrolled pollution or particle contamination of the interior of the hard disks. For this reason, in drives with drop-in motors, that is, motors which are installed in the base plate only after equipment with the disk pack, elastically deformable sealing elements are provided in the joint region between fixed shaft and base plate. In this case the motor shaft which is extended axially downwards and externally threaded is provided with a flange which is collar-like above the base plate. Due to the nut screwed onto the thread from the outside, to the sealing element located between collar and base plate is applied a force under whose influence the sealing element is elastically deformed and in the process compressed in an axial direction. 
     The electrical connection for driving the motor is here made by a connector which is located in the outwardly opening shaft end of the motor and which consists of a cylindrical insulating body through which pass contact pins arranged with parallel axes. The electrical connection between the contact pins and the terminal wires of the windings is made by a flexible printed circuit board, referred to as a FPC for short below. This FPC extends from the centre of the shaft radially outwards into the stator region. On the FPC are conductor strips which in the central region above the insulating body are soldered to the inner ends of the contact pins. 
     In the radially outer region, below the windings mounted on the bundle of laminations, the FPC is crescent-shaped or half-ring-shaped. In this region are provided solder pads on which the terminal wires of the windings are soldered. These solder pads in turn are connected by conductor strips on the FPC to the solder pads provided in the central region and designed for connection of the contact pins. 
     A solution described in this way was disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,661,352. 
     A drawback of this solution is that the radially outwardly extending FPC crosses the sealing surface provided on the collar. Hence the sealing surface in the crossing region is lowered by the material thickness of the FPC, step-like junctions being formed on both sides of the FPC. “Hermetic” sealing by the sealing element located between sealing surface and stop face on the base plate is no longer possible owing to the suddenly varying compression rate of the elastic sealing element in the step region, because two radially oriented capillary gaps by which an exchange of atmospheric volume is made possible are formed in this case. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     It is therefore the object of the present invention to produce a seal which on the one hand causes hermetic sealing of the interior of the hard disk from the external atmosphere, especially from the interior of the spindle motor, and on the other hand without extra expenditure allows a conductive connection for the terminals of the spindle motor through the seal. 
     With the present invention, the formation of capillary gaps and the associated drawbacks are eliminated by the fact that the FPC is provided with a self-contained annular region which is preferably arranged roughly concentrically and which by means of a preferably self-adhesive film layer of roughly the same contour is glued onto the supporting surface of the shaft collar. This self-contained annular surface is extended radially inwards, that is, in a direction towards the centre of the annular surface, by at least one tongue-shaped region on which are arranged the conductor strips needed for contacting. These conductor strips are provided with solder pads to which are soldered the contact pins of the centrally arranged connector, which pins pass through the plastic body. From the contour facing away from the centre of the annular region is provided at least one radially outwardly directed, strip-like projection which ends in a half-ring-shaped to ring-shaped, roughly concentrically arranged region which serves to connect the winding wires coming from the motor windings. Here the winding wires are soldered to corresponding solder pads which are electrically connected by conductor strips to the corresponding solder terminals at the centre. 
     Due to this construction of the FPC according to the invention, in particular due to the roughly annular self-contained region which is glued to the supporting surface of the shaft collar preferably over the whole area, a step-free peripheral sealing surface without sudden changes of level is formed, so that a sealing element installed when the motor is assembled undergoes the same compression at every point all round. Since on the other hand the rear side of the FPC in said region is glued to the supporting surface of the shaft collar over the whole area by the film-like adhesive layer provided according to the invention, hermetically sealing assembly of the motor in the base plate is ensured. 
     The present invention therefore solves the problem of the exchange of volume at least at the junction between motor and base plate, which is triggered by atmospheric pressure fluctuations and caused by inadequate sealing of the clean-space region of the disk drive, in which are arranged the storage media with the associated read/write heads. Thus later contamination of the clean-space region by particles from the polluted ambient atmosphere in this junction region is prevented. 
     The annular construction of the FPC in the central area, and gluing of this area over the whole surface on the rear side to the supporting surface formed on the shaft flange, produce a plane, self-contained, step-free sealing surface which allows uniform compression of the elastic sealing element, for example an O-ring, and prevents in particular radially oriented capillary gaps from forming, so that the interior of the hard disk drive is permanently hermetically sealed off from the contaminated environment. 
     The construction according to the invention and gluing of the annular area of the FPC over the whole surface on the rear side therefore now ensure that pressure fluctuations of the atmosphere do not cause an exchange of volume and therefore can no longer contaminate the clean-space region of the drive even later. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     The present invention will now be described below with the aid of several particulars describing the invention in more detail, with reference to the attached graphic drawings. They show: 
     FIG. 1 a sectional view of a spindle motor; 
     FIG. 2 a sectional view of a stator of a spindle motor; 
     FIG. 3 an insulating body with contact pins and the flexible printed circuit (FPC) constructed as a film, in a sectional view; 
     FIG. 4 the top view of the flexible printed circuit constructed as a film with conductor strips and solder pads and with the annular, sealing surface free from interruptions which is essential to the invention; 
     FIG. 5 the bottom view of the drawing according to FIG.  2 . 
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
     FIG. 1 shows a spindle motor  1  which according to the invention has a sealing contacting means free from interruptions in the form of a sealing contact film (FPC)  8  for the stator windings  5  of the spindle motor  1  which is provided for installation in a base plate. The rotor  7  of the spindle motor  1  is aligned and mounted rotationally relative to the stator  2  by means of the bearings  4  arranged on the shaft  3 . On the shaft flange  6  of the stator is mounted the bundle of laminations  17 , with the associated windings  5 . When a current is passed through these windings accordingly, magnetic fields are generated, which exert; on the multi-pole permanent magnets located in the rotor, forces under whose influence the torque required for the rotational movement is produced. 
     The FPC  8  essential to the invention, which combines two functions, namely sealing and contacting, is shown running horizontally towards the centre, beginning in broken lines below the right stator winding  5 , this view showing that this FPC  8  extends into the centre of the vertical shaft  3  and the contact pins  11  pass approximately perpendicularly through the FPC  8 . The connection between the contact pins  11  and the FPC  8  is made by solder connections  12 . The result is a sealing and conducting, multi-pole connection starting from the centre of the shaft  3  into the interior of the spindle motor  1 . 
     Below this FPC  8 , in a central recess of the shaft  3  into which the FPC extends, is located the insulating body  10  in which the contact pins  11  are spaced apart from each other and insulated. This insulating body  10  fits in a central axial recess which also forms part of the shaft flange  6 . Its radially outer side is adjoined radially by the O-ring  9 . With its axially inwardly directed side the O-ring abuts against the FPC  8 , and forms with the latter a peripheral sealing surface all round, formed without unevenness. 
     It is therefore important that the FPC  8  has a roughly annular, peripheral section all round which rests in plane fashion on the plane lower side of the shaft flange. For improved sealing, an adhesive layer  18  is located between the annular sealing surface  13  of the FPC  8  and the plane surface of the base flange which is preferably arranged on the rear side of the annular surface  13 . Optionally, in addition an adhesive layer can also be applied to the front side against which the O-ring  9  abuts. 
     Due to the solution described in this way, it is now possible to achieve a seal which, without radial gaps which form as capillary gaps or cracks, provides a peripheral, step-free sealing surface located on the same level, which ensures uniform sealing all round without any interruption. Thus even in case of greater pressure differences, reliable sealing between the clean space and the ambient atmosphere outside the clean space can be achieved without there being an exchange of volume between the clean space and the external atmosphere through any capillary gaps. 
     The solder connections  12  cause an electrically conductive connection between the contact pins  11  and the solder pads  16  on the FPC  8 , which are arranged within the central circular region of the FPC  8 . In the present view there are four contact pins, of which however only two can be seen owing to the sectional view. These contact pins  11  are, as mentioned, soldered by the solder connections  12  to the associated solder pads  16  on the FPC  8  and electroconductively connected by conductor strips to the solder connections  15  which form the junctions between the solder pad  19  on the stator winding side of the sealing contact film and the terminal wire of the stator winding  5 . 
     In the present view according to FIG. 1 is shown only one solder connection  15  which owing to the sectional view is arranged in this plane and shown in section. The other solder connections  15  on the stator winding side cannot be seen in the view according to FIG.  1 . The conductive connection between solder connection  12  and solder connection  15  is designed as a conductor strip in the FPC  8 . 
     The annular peripheral region of the FPC  8 , which forms the sealing function as a sealing surface  13 , is on its side facing towards the shaft flange  6  preferably provided with an adhesive layer with which the FPC  8  is attached to the shaft flange and sealed. This adhesive layer  18  therefore serves both for fixing and for sealing between the FPC  8  and the corresponding surface of the shaft flange  6 . This ensures that no leaking point can occur between these two components, either radially or axially. 
     In FIG. 2 is shown the stator  2  of the spindle motor  1  in which is shown in turn according to the invention the FPC  8  arranged on its lower side. The essential components here are the vertical shaft  3 , the insulating body  10 , the FPC  8  and the electroconductive connections between contact pins  11  via the solder connections  12  and the conductor strips  14  which are formed in the FPC  8 , towards the solder connections  15  on the stator winding side and the stator windings  5  electrically connected thereto. 
     In the view according to FIG. 2 the FPC  8  is shown without the O-ring  9 , which is arranged in a groove of the shaft flange. 
     In the view according to FIG. 3 is shown an enlarged sectional view showing the insulating body  10  in which the contact pins  11  are arranged. The solder connections  12  here form the connection to the respective solder pads on the FPC  8 , which are formed at the shaft end of the conductor strips  14 . Also shown in this view are the two sectional surfaces of the adhesive layer  18 . 
     In FIG. 4 is shown the top view of the layout according to FIG.  3 . Here the portion of the FPC  8  which comes to lie on the insulating body  10  during assembly is formed centrally as a round portion. In the middle of this round region are shown four solder pads  16  through which extend the contact pins  11  which by means of the solder connections  12  make the connection to the conductor strips  14 . Radially outside this inner round surface is provided a punched-out region in the FPC  8 , ending at the sealing surface  13  which performs the function of sealing that is essential to the invention. Outside this region the FPC forms a crescent-shaped surface in which are located the solder pads  16  on the stator winding side, which via the solder connections  15  connect the stator windings  5  to the conductor strips  14 . 
     In FIG. 5 is shown a bottom view of FIG. 2 in which the FPC described in FIG. 4 makes the connection between the contact pins  11  and the stator windings  5 , the FPC  8  additionally showing the seal with its sealing surface  13  that is essential to the invention. At the outer circumference of this view is shown on the bundles of laminations  17  the layout of the stator windings  5 . In the central region can be seen the insulating body  10  with the contact pins  11  arranged therein. 
     In a further embodiment of the present invention it is provided that the sealing element is sprayed onto the sealing surface  13  as an elastomeric sealing bead. 
     Legend to Drawings 
       1 . spindle motor 
       2 . stator 
       3 . shaft 
       4 . bearing 
       5 . stator winding 
       6 . shaft flange 
       7 . rotor 
       8 . FPC 
       9 . O-ring 
       10 . insulating body 
       11 . contact pin 
       12 . solder connection 
       13 . sealing surface 
       14 . conductor strip 
       15 . solder connection 
       16 . solder pad (inner) 
       17 . bundle of laminations 
       18 . adhesive layer 
       19 . solder pad (outer) 
       20 . punched-out region