Vibration damping laminate with vibration isolating cut therein

Details Vibration damping laminate with vibration isolating cut therein Vibration damping laminate with vibration isolating cut therein

2000-07-13

2003-09-16

Evans, Jefferson (Department: 2652)

Dynamic magnetic information storage or retrieval

Record transport with head stationary during transducing

Disk record

C428S075000, C428S137000

Reexamination Certificate

active

06621658

ABSTRACT:

BACKGROUND
The present invention relates to the reduction of vibration and noise by damping constructions, and particularly such damping constructions utilizing a layer of viscoelastic damping material. The invention has application to damping vibrations in vibrating or vibration generating systems, such as computer disk drive assemblies, automotive body panels, electronic cabinetry, or motor shrouds.
Vibrational energy or force is often transmitted from its source to another structure through a bolt, a screw or other connecting means which connects the vibrational source to the structure. In many applications this transmission of vibrational energy or force has a deleterious effect, often creating noise or excessive wear in critical components. Consequently, the ability to stop or reduce the transmission of vibrational energy or force is of great importance in certain applications.
For example, disk drive assemblies often require a relatively vibration-free environment to function optimally. The rotating parts of disk drive assemblies can inherently generate vibration and noise which, at certain levels, can degrade the performance of the drive assembly. Referring to
FIG. 1
, there is illustrated a portion of a prior art disk drive assembly
10
which has a spindle
11
having a fixed inner portion
12
and a rotating outer portion
13
. The disk drive assembly housing has a cover
14
which is fastened to the inner portion
12
of the spindle
11
, as by a screw
15
. This construction permits vibrations to be mechanically coupled to the cover
14
through the spindle portion
12
and the screw
15
.
To reduce the vibrations of the disk drive assembly, the arrangement of
FIG. 2
was introduced. In this arrangement the head of the screw
15
passes through a hole
16
in the cover
14
. The screw shank also passes through and engages a washer
17
, known as a “whirl” washer, and an overlying viscoelastic layer
18
, which are interposed between the spindle portion
12
and the cover
14
. The washer
17
may be formed of stainless steel, having a thickness in the range of from about 10 mils to about 20 mils, and the viscoelastic layer
18
may have a thickness of about 1-10 mils and could, if desired, be formed by a viscoelastic tape. The layer
18
serves to adhesively secure the cover
14
to the washer
17
which is, in turn, fixed to the spindle portion
12
by the screw
15
. Thus, mechanical transmission of vibration from the spindle to the cover
14
is inhibited. The washer
17
and viscoelastic layer
18
serve to isolate the cover
14
from the spindle
11
at high frequencies and introduce damping into the system of the disk drive and cover assembly at lower frequencies.
Another approach is to damp any vibrations which do get transmitted into the cover
14
, by applying to its outer surface a damping construction, which may be a constrained-layer arrangement including a metal skin having a viscoelastic polymer adhesive on one side thereof which is secured to the outer surface of the cover
14
.
While these prior arrangements, particularly in combination, are effective in damping vibrations, they are relatively expensive to manufacture, involving assembly of a number of parts.
SUMMARY
It is a general object of the invention to provide an improved vibration damping arrangement which avoids the disadvantages of prior arrangements, while affording additional structural and operating advantages.
An important feature of the invention is the provision of a damping arrangement of the type set forth, which is of relatively simple and economical construction.
Another feature of the invention is the provision of a damping arrangement which is adaptable for use in the covers of disk drive assemblies to introduce high damping and to isolate the cover from the mechanical transmission of vibration thereto from the drive assembly.


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