Christopher R Briggs

US Patent:

54900247, Feb 6, 1996

Filed:

Nov 8, 1993

Appl. No.:

8/148385

Inventors:

Christopher Briggs - Colorado Springs CO

Assignee:

Conner Peripherals, Inc. - San Jose CA

International Classification:

G11B 2504

US Classification:

360 9912

Abstract:

A disk drive having a read/write head flying at extremely low flying heights, the drive including a disk clamp for clamping one or more disks within the disk drive, with the clamp exerting a substantially uniform pressure at the circular line of contact between the clamp and the disk. The disk clamp includes a raised circular wall around an outer radius of the clamp, which wall is formed as part of and integrally with the rest of the clamp. The wall serves to increase the structural rigidity of the clamp in a single axial section of the clamp, thereby providing a "stress barrier" to the transmission of localized stresses from the screw points. Thus, the pressure exerted by the clamp on the disk is evenly distributed around the entire clamp, and the distortion normally occurring at the inner diameter of the disk with conventional disk clamps is greatly reduced.