Patent ID: 8582233

Claim:
A spindle motor which is for use in a disk drive apparatus which includes a housing including a base member and a cover member, the spindle motor comprising: a stationary portion; and a rotating portion which is rotatably supported with respect to the stationary portion; wherein the stationary portion includes: a stationary shaft arranged along a central axis extending in a vertical direction; and a base member which directly or indirectly fixes the stationary shaft; the rotating portion includes a sleeve portion including an inner circumferential surface which defines a bearing hole penetrating in an axial direction; the stationary shaft is disposed in the bearing hole; a gap is defined between an outer circumferential surface of the stationary shaft and an inner circumferential surface of the sleeve portion; the gap is filled with lubricating oil; a dynamic pressure generating groove array is provided in at least one of the outer circumferential surface of the stationary shaft and the inner circumferential surface of the sleeve portion to define the gap; the stationary shaft includes: an annular surface arranged to come into direct or indirect contact with the cover member, the annular surface being located higher than the sleeve portion and extending in a circumferential direction; and an upper protrusion arranged to be fixed to a cover inner circumferential surface defining a cover penetrating hole of the cover member, the upper protrusion protruding upward from the radial inner side of the annular surface; and the base member includes a fixing portion arranged to directly or indirectly fix the cover member.