Debris reducing disk clamp for disk drives

• Main Authors: ERLACH DAVID M, SCHMIDT RYAN J, SUTTON ADAM D, TENCH ROBERT J, PETERSEN FREDERIC C, SMITH PAUL W
• Format: Patent
• Language: English
• Published: 07.06.2016
• Subjects: BEER; BIOCHEMISTRY; CHEMISTRY; COMPOSITIONS THEREOF; CULTURE MEDIA; ENZYMOLOGY; INFORMATION STORAGE; INFORMATION STORAGE BASED ON RELATIVE MOVEMENT BETWEEN RECORDCARRIER AND TRANSDUCER; METALLURGY; MICROBIOLOGY; MICROORGANISMS OR ENZYMES; MUTATION OR GENETIC ENGINEERING; PHYSICS; PROPAGATING, PRESERVING OR MAINTAINING MICROORGANISMS; SPIRITS; VINEGAR; WINE

A disk clamp for clamping a plurality of disks within a disk drive has a single fastening hole located at its symmetrical center sized to pass the shaft of a screw having a head diameter larger than the fastening hole. The screw fastens the disk clamp to a motor hub supporting the plurality of disks. The disk clamp has a moat around the fastening hole, at a maximum diameter that is smaller than the head diameter of the head on the fastening screw. The moat may be circular, have spike trenches angled toward the fastening hole, or be spiral. The diameter of the spiral moat decreases in a clockwise or counterclockwise direction toward the fastening hole. The midsection of the disk which the screw head covers is biased at a negative angle toward the fastening hole forcing particles generated during assembly toward the fastening hole of the disk clamp.