US 11,955,139 B2
Hard disk drive multiple contact disk spindle motor hub flange
Robert McNab, San Jose, CA (US); Rasool Koosha, Austin, TX (US); Mukesh Patel, San Jose, CA (US); and Antony Nguyen, San Jose, CA (US)
Assigned to Western Digital Technologies, Inc., San Jose, CA (US)
Filed by Western Digital Technologies, Inc., San Jose, CA (US)
Filed on Apr. 14, 2023, as Appl. No. 18/135,084.
Claims priority of provisional application 63/335,668, filed on Apr. 27, 2022.
Prior Publication US 2023/0352047 A1, Nov. 2, 2023
Int. Cl. G11B 17/038 (2006.01); G11B 25/04 (2006.01)
CPC G11B 17/038 (2013.01) [G11B 25/043 (2013.01)] 12 Claims
OG exemplary drawing
 
1. A hard disk drive (HDD) comprising:
a plurality of disk media rotatably mounted on a spindle hub;
a plurality of disk spacers each interposed between adjacent disk media of the plurality of disk media;
a spindle motor assembly comprising the spindle hub and a hub flange extending radially from the spindle hub and applying a clamping force to the disk media and the disk spacers to secure the disk media to the spindle hub, the hub flange comprising:
a disk-facing side and a base-facing side, and
multiple protrusions extending from a surface of the disk-facing side and in contact with a bottom disk medium of the plurality of disk media, thereby applying the clamping force at multiple respective contact locations on the bottom disk medium;
wherein:
each of the multiple protrusions comprises an annular protrusion circumscribing the hub, and
the multiple protrusions comprise an inner annular protrusion having a first center height and an outer annular protrusion having a second center height greater than the first center height;
a plurality of head sliders each housing a read-write transducer configured to read from and to write to a respective disk medium; and
an actuator configured for moving the head sliders to access portions of the disk media.