US 12,125,507 B2
Hard disk drive breather filter enabling sorbent replacement
Takeji Sumiya, Fujisawa (JP); Shin Nagahiro, Fujisawa (JP); Hitoshi Tamura, Fujisawa (JP); and Naoki Hirayama, Fujisawa (JP)
Assigned to Western Digital Technologies, Inc., San Jose, CA (US)
Filed by Western Digital Technologies, Inc., San Jose, CA (US)
Filed on Jul. 17, 2023, as Appl. No. 18/222,872.
Claims priority of provisional application 63/419,659, filed on Oct. 26, 2022.
Prior Publication US 2024/0144979 A1, May 2, 2024
Int. Cl. G11B 33/14 (2006.01)
CPC G11B 33/146 (2013.01) 17 Claims
OG exemplary drawing
 
1. A hard disk drive, the hard disk drive comprising:
a plurality of disk media rotatably mounted on a spindle;
a head slider comprising a read-write head configured to write to and to read from a disk medium of the plurality of disk media;
a rotary actuator configured to move the head slider to access portions of the disk medium;
an enclosure comprising a cover coupled with a base and in which the disk medium, the head slider, and the rotary actuator are housed, wherein the cover comprises a breather hole; and
a breather filter positioned within the enclosure and environmentally coupled with an external environment on one side and an internal environment on another opposing side, the breather filter comprising:
a first chamber configured for housing a first sorbent and environmentally coupled with the external environment via at least a first orifice and a second orifice;
a first sorbent in the first chamber;
a second chamber adjacent to the first chamber and configured for housing a second sorbent and environmentally coupled with the internal environment; and
a second sorbent in the second chamber;
wherein:
the first orifice of the breather filter is configured as a through-hole between the external environment and the first chamber such that the first sorbent can be loaded into the first chamber via the breather hole of the cover and the first orifice while the breather filter is installed within the enclosure, and
the second orifice of the breather filter is configured as a grating between the external environment and the first chamber such that the first sorbent cannot move from the first chamber to the external environment via the second orifice while loading the first sorbent into the first chamber while the breather filter is installed within the enclosure.