Method for manufacturing a shock absorber that allows a disk drive to move with respect to the chassis of a computer system
View Patent ↗Embodiments of the present invention pertain to method for manufacturing a shock absorber that allows a disk drive to move with respect to the chassis of a computer system. In one embodiment, a flexure is formed that is capable of being coupled to an assembly joint. An assembly joint is formed so that the assembly joint is capable of being coupled to the flexure and the chassis of a computer system. A shock absorber is created by coupling the flexure to the assembly joint. The shock absorber has a form that can be used to flexibly couple the disk drive's enclosure with the computer system's chassis without requiring an increase in size of the chassis.
1. A method of manufacturing disk drive shock absorber that allows a disk drive to move with respect to a chassis of a computer system, the method comprising:
forming a flexure that is capable of being coupled to an assembly joint, wherein the flexure is more flexible along a z-axis that is perpendicular to an actuator associated with the disk drive than along an x-axis and a y-axis that are perpendicular to the z-axis;
forming the assembly joint so that the assembly joint is capable of being coupled to the flexure and the chassis of the computer system; and
creating the shock absorber by coupling the flexure to the assembly joint, wherein the shock absorber has a form that can be used to flexibly couple an enclosure of the disk drive with the chassis of the computer system without requiring an increase in size of the chassis, wherein the form allows the shock absorber to fit inside a receptacle without requiring an increase in dimensions of the enclosure and wherein the receptacle is associated with the enclosure of the disk drive for receiving the shock absorber.
2. The method as recited in claim 1 , further comprising:
creating the receptacle that is associated with the enclosure of the disk drive for receiving the shock absorber.
3. The method as recited in claim 2 , wherein the creating the receptacle further comprises:
creating the receptacle that is large enough to provide clearance between inner walls of the receptacle and outer walls of the assembly joint.
4. The method as recited in claim 3 , wherein the clearance is substantially small.
5. The method as recited in claim 4 , wherein the clearance is approximately 0.2 millimeters (mm).
6. The method as recited in claim 1 , farther comprising:
creating a hole that is associated with the assembly joint; and
using the hole to couple the chassis to the shock absorber.
7. The method as recited in claim 1 , farther comprising:
protecting the flexure from being overstrained by restricting the movement of the flexure with a limiter.
8. The method as recited in claim 7 , farther comprising:
forming the limiter from the edges of the enclosure that are above and below the flexure.
9. The method as recited in claim 7 , farther comprising:
forming the limiter from an extension of the enclosure.
10. The method as recited in claim 1 , wherein the forming the assembly joint further comprises:
forming the assembly joint to have a shape that approximates a cube.
11. The method as recited in claim 1 , wherein the forming the assembly joint further comprises:
making the assembly joint from a material that is selected from a group consisting of original equipment manufacturer (OEM) pad and molded thermoplastic.
12. The method as recited in claim 1 , wherein the forming the flexure further comprises:
forming the flexure to have a shape that approximates a blade.
13. The method as recited in claim 1 , wherein the forming the flexure further comprises:
forming the flexure out of a material selected from a group consisting of steel, molded thermoplastic, and wire.