Abstract:
A disk drive receives a removable storage disk thereinto and has a frame and a disk motor helically mounted thereto for engaging the disk and applying a rotating force thereto. The motor has first threads integral therewith and the frame has second, mating threads integral therewith. The first and second threads interact to achieve helical movement.

Description:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION  
         [0001]    The present invention relates to a helically mounted motor. More particularly, the present invention relates to such a motor mounted in a disk drive for driving a disk within an inserted cartridge.  
         BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
         [0002]    A disk drive for receiving a removable disk cartridge is known. Examples of a disk drive include a conventional 3.5 inch ‘floppy’ disk drive, a “ZIP” disk drive as developed and marketed by IOMEGA Corporation of Roy, Utah, and the like. Such a disk drive is typically coupled to a processor or the like, and facilitates an exchange of information between the processor and a disk contained within the disk cartridge. The disk and the disk drive may be magnetically or optically based, for example.  
           [0003]    The disk cartridge typically includes an outer casing or shell that houses the aforementioned disk therein. The disk is mounted on a hub and can rotate freely within the cartridge. Typically, the disk drive includes a frame or chassis and a disk motor which is mounted thereto, wherein during operation of the drive, the motor engages the hub of the disk and applies a rotating force thereto.  
           [0004]    In one arrangement, the inserted disk resides in an X-Y plane and the motor is moved into contact with the disk (rather than the disk being moved into contact with motor) in a direction generally perpendicular to the X-Y plane of such inserted disk, i.e., along a Z-axis. Moreover, such movement of such motor is actuated as part of receiving and retaining the disk cartridge in the frame. Accordingly, the motor is movable along the Z-axis between a disk-engagement or loaded position and a disk-separation or unloaded position.  
           [0005]    In one arrangement, such a disk motor is helically mounted to the frame, and thus moves in a helical manner about the Z-axis between the disk-engagement position and the disk-separation position and into contact with the disk to rotate such disk. That is to say, rotation of the body of the motor about the Z-axis achieves displacement of such motor along such Z-axis. Typically, the motor is coaxially mounted to a baseplate which is positioned within and coaxially movable within a coaxial aperture defined within the frame.  
           [0006]    In one such prior art disk drive, the motor baseplate is provided with a coaxial inner load ring at a peripheral edge thereof and the aperture is provided with a coaxial outer load ring at a peripheral edge thereof such that the inner load ring resides just within the outer load ring and the rings in combination define a helical mount. That is, one of the load rings includes a plurality of ramps and the other of the load rings included a plurality of guides that ride respective ones of the ramps, whereby the ramps and guides of the load rings in combination impart the helical mounting functionality to the disk motor and disk drive. Such a prior art disk drive is shown and discussed in much greater detail in U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,002,547 and 6,064,548, each of which is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety.  
           [0007]    Importantly, each prior art load ring is a separate part that must be manufactured separately and mounted within the disk drive to either the frame or the motor base plate, as the case may be, in a separate construction step. Also, as a separate part, each load ring introduces tolerance requirements to the disk drive and therefore introduces ways in which the disk drive can be defective, either by being manufactured or mounted incorrectly. As may certainly be appreciated, such separate load rings therefore impart additional costs into the manufacture of the disk drive.  
           [0008]    Accordingly, a need exists for a disk drive that does not require such prior art separate load rings. More particularly, a need exists for a disk drive that incorporates the load rings into the motor base plate and the frame, thereby eliminating the inner and outer load rings and the manufacturing, construction, tolerance, and cost issues associated therewith.  
         SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
         [0009]    The present invention satisfies the aforementioned need by providing a disk drive for receiving a removable storage disk thereinto. The disk drive has a frame and a disk motor helically mounted thereto for engaging the disk and applying a rotating force thereto. The motor has first threads integral therewith and the frame has second, mating threads integral therewith. The first and second threads interact to achieve helical movement. 
       
    
    
       [0010]    BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
         [0011]    The foregoing summary as well as the following detailed description of the present invention will be better understood when read in conjunction with the appended drawings. For the purpose of the illustrating the invention, there are shown in the drawings embodiments which are presently preferred. As should be understood, however, the invention is not limited to the precise arrangements and instrumentalities shown. In the drawings:  
         [0012]    [0012]FIG. 1 is a top perspective view showing a disk motor helically mounted to a frame of a disk drive in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention;  
         [0013]    [0013]FIG. 2 is a bottom perspective view of the disk motor and disk drive of FIG. 1, with the motor in a loaded position;  
         [0014]    [0014]FIG. 3 is a top perspective view of the disk motor and associated motor baseplate of FIGS. 1 and 2;  
         [0015]    [0015]FIG. 4 is a top perspective view of the frame of the disk drive of FIGS. 1 and 2;  
         [0016]    [0016]FIG. 5 is a bottom perspective view of the disk motor and disk drive of FIG. 1, with the motor in an un-loaded position;  
         [0017]    [0017]FIG. 6 is a close-up top perspective view of the disk motor as helically mounted within the disk drive of FIGS. 1 and 2 in an alternate embodiment of the present invention; and  
         [0018]    [0018]FIG. 7 is a top perspective view of the disk motor and associated motor baseplate of FIG. 6. 
     
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS  
       [0019]    Certain terminology may be used in the following description for convenience only and is not considered to be limiting. For example, the words “left”, “right”, “upper”, and “lower” designate directions in the drawings to which reference is made. Likewise, the words “inwardly” and “outwardly” are directions toward and away from, respectively, the geometric center of the referenced object. The terminology includes the words above specifically mentioned, derivatives thereof, and words of similar import.  
         [0020]    Referring now to FIGS.  1 - 6 , there is shown a disk drive  10  in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention. As was discussed above, the disk drive  10  is for receiving a removable disk (not shown) such as a conventional 3.5 inch ‘floppy’ disk or a “ZIP” disk as developed and marketed by IOMEGA Corporation of Roy, Utah, and the like. The disk may be mounted on a generally coaxial hub or may define a generally coaxial aperture at the center thereof. Of course, the disk drive  10  may be for receiving any type of disk, magnetic, optical, or otherwise, with or without a hub, and with or without a cartridge (not shown), without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention.  
         [0021]    The disk drive  10  includes a frame or chassis  12  and a disk motor  14  which is helically mounted thereto, wherein during operation of the drive  10 , the motor  14  engages the disk at the hub or aperture thereof and applies a rotating force thereto. The disk is inserted into the drive  10  so as to resides within an X-Y plane that is generally parallel to and within the general extent of the frame  12  of the drive  10 , and the motor  14  is helically moved into a loaded position and into contact with the disk  10  along a Z-axis generally perpendicular to the X-Y plane. Upon ejection of the disk, the motor  14  is helically moved back out to an unloaded position and out of contact with the disk  10  along the Z-axis. Such helical movement of the motor  14  to either position may be concurrent with or separate from the corresponding disk movement. Further features of the disk drive  10  not discussed herein may be found in the aforementioned U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,002,547 and 6,064,548, each of which is again hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety.  
         [0022]    As seen, the motor  14  is generally coaxially mounted to a baseplate  16  which is positioned within and generally coaxially movable within a generally coaxial aperture  18  defined within the frame  12 . As may be appreciated, the baseplate  16  may be dispensed with if appropriate, in which case features discussed below as residing on such baseplate  16  are instead resident on such motor  14 .  
         [0023]    In one embodiment of the present invention, and as seen, the prior art motor load rings discussed above are eliminated and the helical mount functionality thereof is collectively incorporated into and integral to the motor baseplate  16  (or motor  14  directly) and the frame  12 . In particular, and as seen, the motor baseplate  16  has threads  20  integral therewith (FIGS. 1 and 3), and the frame  12  has mating threads  22  integral therewith (FIGS. 1 and 4), and the threads  20 ,  22  interact to achieve helical movement. In particular, and as may be appreciated, the threads  20 ,  22  convert rotary motion of the motor  14  on the baseplate  16  into Z-axis movement, whereby the motor may be moved into and out of engagement with an inserted disk.  
         [0024]    The threads  20 ,  22  may be any appropriate threads, such as for example ramps (threads  22 ) and guides (threads  20 ) that ride respective ones of the ramps. As shown, the ramps are integral to the frame  12  and the guides are integral to the baseplate  16 . As best seen in FIG. 3, the baseplate  16  at a peripheral edge thereof defines for each guide a rider  20   a  that is in contact with the upper side of the corresponding ramp, an adjacent slot  20 b through which the ramp passes, and a stop  20 c adjacent the slot  20 b on a side thereof opposite the rider  20   a  which limits upward movement of the baseplate  16  away from the aperture  18 . Of course, the ramps may instead be integral to the baseplate  16  while the guides are integral to frame  12 .  
         [0025]    In one embodiment of the present invention, and as best seen in FIGS. 4 and 5, each ramp shown as the threads  22  includes a transition surface  22   a  which creates movement along the Z-axis, and a load surface  22   b  contacted by a corresponding thread  20  on the baseplate  16  when the motor  14  and baseplate  16  are in the loaded position of FIG. 1. Moreover, each load surface  22   b  rests on a half shear  22   c  having a defined height with regard to the Z-direction. In the embodiment shown in FIGS.  1 - 6 , each half shear  22   c  is on the underside of the frame  12 . As may be appreciated, then, the half shears  22   c  collectively act as registrations that accurately locate the motor  14  and baseplate  16  at the proper Z-height in the loaded position. Alternately, the half shears  22   c  may be appropriately positioned on the baseplate  16  adjacent the peripheral edge thereof to contact the frame  12  (not shown). In either case, when the motor  14  and baseplate  16  are in the loaded position, the half shears  22   c  are in contact with an opposing surface to accurately register and locate the motor  14  and baseplate  16  with respect to an inserted disk (not shown).  
         [0026]    The motor  14  with the baseplate  16  mounted thereto is mounted to the frame  12 , then, by aligning the threads  20 ,  22  and rotating the motor  14 , for example to the loaded position such as that seen in FIGS. 1 and 2. In one embodiment of the present invention, the baseplate  16  also includes a motor yoke  24  (FIGS. 2 and 3) incorporated thereinto and integral thereto. As seen, the yoke  24  engages a motor actuating member such as a drag link  26  (FIG. 2) upon installation. As may be appreciated, the drag link  26  controls and actuates the motor  14  on the baseplate  16  in the course of helical movement between the loaded and unloaded positions as defined by the threads  20 ,  22 . That is, when the motor actuating member/drag link  26  is stroked, the motor  14  rotates between the motor loaded position of FIGS. 1 and 2 and the motor unloaded position of FIG. 5.  
         [0027]    In one embodiment of the present invention, the frame  12  also includes a bend tab  28  (FIGS. 2 and 5) incorporated thereinto and integral thereto and adjacent the defined aperture  18 . Thus, with the motor  14  and baseplate  16  helically mounted to the frame  12  by way of the threads  20 ,  22 , the bend tab  28  on the frame  12  is bent into a slot  30  defined on a peripheral edge of the motor baseplate  16  and appropriately positioned with respect thereto. Alternately, a bend tab  28  incorporated into and integral to the baseplate  16  is bent into a slot  30  defined on the frame  12  (not shown). In either case, the bend tab  28  in the slot  30  limits the motor baseplate  16  stroke (i.e., circumferential movement) and retains the motor baseplate  16  and motor  14  within the frame  12 . The bend tab  28  also ensures that the motor does not fall out of the threads  20 ,  22  during shock loading.  
         [0028]    In one embodiment of the present invention, the frame  12  also includes a plurality of X-Y centering tabs  32  (FIGS. 2 and 5) incorporated thereinto and integral thereto and spaced about the defined aperture  18  adjacent thereto. As may be appreciated, such tabs  32  contact and interact with the peripheral edge of the baseplate  16 . Thus, the motor  14  and baseplate  16  may be accurately centered in the aperture  18  defined by the frame  12  by appropriate location and adjustment of such X-Y centering tabs  32 , at least with regard to the aforementioned X-Y plane that is generally parallel to and within the general extent of the frame  12  of the drive  10 . Alternately, the X-Y centering tabs  32  are incorporated into and integral to the baseplate  16  and spaced about the peripheral edge thereof (FIGS. 6 and 7) to contact and interact with the edge of the frame  12  that defines the aperture  18 . In either case, the tabs  32  center the motor baseplate  16  to align the axis of the motor  14  thereon with the axis of the aperture  18 .  
         [0029]    Typically, both the frame  12  and motor baseplate  16  are formed from a metal. Accordingly, in the present invention, the frame  12  and motor baseplate  16  contact one another and move past each other in a direct metal-to-metal manner. Thus, it is preferable that such elements are fitted to each other and with reference to the X-Y centering tabs  32  in a relatively loose and non-interfering manner. Nevertheless, such tabs  32  should achieve the centering function described above. Such tabs  32 , then, may for example define a clearance of about 0.2 mm or so when the elements are fitted to each other.  
         [0030]    It is to be appreciated, though, that with the aforementioned loose, non-interfering fit, loading of the motor  14  by way of the yoke  24  and drag link  26  results in a bias on the motor  14  and baseplate  16  toward one side of the aperture  18  defined by the frame. As may be appreciated, such a bias results in the axis of the motor  14  being shifted out of alignment with the axis of the aperture  18 . Accordingly, in one embodiment of the present invention, the X-Y centering tabs  32  are positioned to take the bias into account. Thus, the motor  14  axis is offset from the aperture  18  axis by an amount equal to the bias distance.  
         [0031]    The frame  12  and motor baseplate  16  of the present invention may be respectively formed from any appropriate material, such as a metal or elastomer, without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention. Likewise the methods of forming the frame  12  and motor baseplate  16  of the present invention may be any appropriate method, such as stamping, machining, molding, and a combination thereof, without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention.  
         [0032]    In the foregoing description, it can be seen that the present invention comprises a new and useful disk drive that does not require separate load rings, but instead incorporates the load rings into the motor base plate and the frame. It should be appreciated that changes could be made to the embodiments described above without departing from the inventive concepts thereof. It should be understood, therefore, that this invention is not limited to the particular embodiments disclosed, but it is intended to cover modifications within the spirit and scope of the present invention as defined by the appended claims.