Patent ID: 7676928

Claim:
A method for use in the manufacturing of a fluid dynamic pressure bearing, the bearing comprising a shaft having a bearing surface and a sleeve having a bearing surface, wherein the shaft is received within the sleeve, and wherein the bearing surfaces of the shaft and sleeve confront and are spaced from one another, whereby a gap is defined between the bearing surface of the shaft and the bearing surface of the sleeve, said method comprising: storing oil, which will serve as a lubricating fluid of the fluid dynamic pressure bearing, in a first vacuum chamber, and evacuating the first chamber to establish a pressure in the first vacuum chamber which is lower than atmospheric pressure; placing the shaft and sleeve of the fluid dynamic pressure bearing in a second vacuum chamber, and evacuating the second vacuum chamber to establish a pressure in the second vacuum chamber which is lower than atmospheric pressure; terminating the evacuation of the first and second vacuum chambers at such a time that the pressure in the first vacuum chamber is equal to or less than the pressure in the second vacuum chamber; and while the pressure in each of the first and second vacuum chambers is lower than atmospheric pressure, and the pressure in the first vacuum chamber is equal to or less than the pressure in the second vacuum chamber, feeding the oil from the first vacuum chamber into the second vacuum chamber via piping that places the first and second vacuum chambers in communication with one another and terminates adjacent the gap defined between the bearing surfaces of the shaft and sleeve, thereby supplying the oil to the fluid dynamic pressure bearing.