Abstract: A precision pneumatic drill spindle and method provides reduced spin axis error and increased rate of forming holes in a microelectronic substrate. The spindle includes a press-fit collar that accepts drill bits and incorporates turbine blades around the collar, which is rotated by directing pressurized air through a number of nozzles distributed around the collar within a housing of the spindle. The collar is supported by air bearings above and below the collar. The turbine blades may be provided by concavities in the collar forming a Pelton wheel type rotation system that concentrates the air flow to improve energy transfer from the pressurized air directed by the nozzles to the collar, increasing the rotation rate of the collar. Exit air may be directed downward toward the tip of the drill bit by inclined channels within the lower air bushing assembly, improving the debris removal rate.

Abstract: A method for propulsion of a marine vessel, a liquid-directing system and a marine propulsion system are presented. Water-directing scoops are moved in a rearward direction while the scoops are dipping into the water. The scoops may be arranged about a hub. Water is scooped using a bottom edge and lower sides of each of the scoops. Each scoop has an open-faced concave interior and directs scooped water towards a centerline and towards a water exit region of the scoop. The water exit region remains above the local or apparent waterline while the water is scooped, directed and ejected. Water is ejected from the water exit region of the scoop in the rearward direction and at a relative exit velocity that is greater than a relative entrance velocity of water being scooped. Rearward ejection of the water expresses a forward thrust of the propulsion system. Other liquids may be used.

Abstract: A hub for holding media during manufacturing processes, such as inspection, includes a flexible cap at an end that has a cylindrical profile for engaging with the central void in the media. The cap is expanded to retain the media, avoiding contact of the clamping mechanism with the face of the media, so that particulation is reduced and contact confined to the edges of the media's central void. An actuator draws end of the cap toward the clamp body to place the cap in a clamping state and moves the end of the cap away from the clamp body to unclamp a disc. Vacuum or pressure may be used to move the actuator to the clamping or released state by providing a piston within the hub and applying vacuum to one side of a diaphragm coupled to the piston or pressure to the other.

Abstract: A disc spindle provides removal of particulates generated by internal parts of mechanisms, including the disc clamping mechanism, air bearing rotor, and other moving parts provides a port that is coupled to a vacuum system to remove particulate from the areas in which they are generated. In other aspects of the invention, vacuum evacuation of rotary and other bearings in a mechanical system employed in a clean room environment are prevented from contaminating the environment by removing particulate at the locations in which it is generated by friction, contact, or other means such as being introduced from the pressure channel in an air bearing feed.

Abstract: A vacuum scavenged spindle and disk clamp assembly decreases particulate contamination during testing and manufacturing of disks such as hard drive platters. A vacuum shroud is sealed to a casing and fitted to a clamp body attached to or integral with the spindle rotor, with the spindle rotor and the clamp body being rotatable. A first scavenging passageway pulls airflow from an interior region of the vacuum shroud, including particulates scavenged from the air bearing between the spindle rotor and the spindle stator. A second scavenging passageway extends from the interior region of the vacuum shroud through the clamp body to a hollow core of the disk clamp. A further scavenging passageway extends through the clamp body to a clamping region. Particulates from the spindle clamp are scavenged by airflow through the further scavenging passageway and the second scavenging passageway. A grounding brush may be attached to the vacuum shroud.

Abstract: A method for propulsion of a marine vessel, a liquid-directing system and a marine propulsion system are presented. Water-directing scoops are moved in a rearward direction while the scoops are dipping into the water. The scoops may be arranged about a hub. Water is scooped using a bottom edge and lower sides of each of the scoops. Each scoop has an open-faced concave interior and directs scooped water towards a centerline and towards a water exit region of the scoop. The water exit region remains above the local or apparent waterline while the water is scooped, directed and ejected. Water is ejected from the water exit region of the scoop in the rearward direction and at a relative exit velocity that is greater than a relative entrance velocity of water being scooped. Rearward ejection of the water expresses a forward thrust of the propulsion system. Other liquids may be used.

Abstract: A spindle clamp for supporting a disk includes a radial control member that is in contact with an opening through a jaw and that has a contour such that radial expansion of the jaw is induced during initial movement of the jaw toward a registration surface for seating the disk. However, the contour is such that further movement of the jaw toward the registration surface is an axial motion, rather than a combination of axial and radial motion. In one preferred embodiment, the jaw is unitary, but is configured to enable the radial expansion while having sufficient rigidity to reliably clamp a data disk seating on the registration surface. The jaw may include a lip which is configured to contact the major surface of the disk opposite to its contact with the registration surface.

Abstract: A marine propulsion system comprises a propulsion wheel that is rotary driven and that includes an arrangement of water-channeling members located to extend only partially below the water level. As a member is partially submerged, water is collected, compressed, accelerated, and ejected as a water jet. An ejection end of each member may be specifically designed to achieve desired thrust characteristics. The water-channeling members may be non-complex, such as being cup-shaped or spoon-shaped, but may include complex curvatures in order to achieve desired thrust characteristics. A hull may be used to precondition the water level presented to the water-channeling members.

Abstract: A spindle clamp for supporting a disk includes a radial control member that is in contact with an opening through a jaw and that has a contour such that radial expansion of the jaw is induced during initial movement of the jaw toward a registration surface for seating the disk. However, the contour is such that further movement of the jaw toward the registration surface is an axial motion, rather than a combination of axial and radial motion. In one preferred embodiment, the jaw is unitary, but is configured to enable the radial expansion while having sufficient rigidity to reliably clamp a data disk seating on the registration surface. The jaw may include a lip which is configured to contact the major surface of the disk opposite to its contact with the registration surface.

Abstract: An optically efficient and thermally stable solar heating apparatus and method provide efficient heating by using a solar collector having a transparent tube containing a porous absorbent material or structure that permits liquid or aerosol to percolate through the transparent tube. Thermal protection against overheating is provided when the system is drained by a transparent top with a bottom surface that, when in contact with another liquid medium filling the collector, permits incident light to enter and be collected, but when the liquid medium that normally contacts the bottom surface of the top is absent when the system is drained, incident light is reflected. The collector, top and transparent tubes may be extruded and made from the same recyclable plastic material, making the assembly lightweight for installation and ease of structural integration, while facilitating recyclability of the entire collector.

Abstract: A support structure utilizes a combination of positive pressure openings and negative pressure openings to precisely position a workpiece, such as a sheet of float glass. The positive pressure openings are supply openings that direct a flow of fluid, such as air, onto the surface of the workpiece. The negative pressure openings are exhaust openings that are used to regulate the leakage of fluid from between the workpiece and the support structure. In the preferred embodiment, the surface of the support structure includes raised regions that surround the exhaust openings and that function as self-regulating pinch valves. This arrangement enables an equilibrium condition to be quickly established and maintained upon placement of the workpiece on the support structure.

Abstract: A vibration-reduction device for a disk drive includes providing air dams that regulate air intake and air expulsion relative to gaps between adjacent data disks of a disk stack. In the preferred embodiment, the dams are formed by a number of arrays of fingers, with each gap between adjacent data disks receiving a finger from each of the arrays. The fingers within a gap are spaced apart to partition the gap into air flow cells. The fingers cleave circulating air from the gap before the air has sufficient rotational velocity to expel itself as a result of centrifugal force. Thus, the air is expelled in a controlled manner that retards aerodynamic forces having sufficient energy to induce vibration of the disks. In another embodiment, each finger of an array has a configuration that defines nonuniform clearances between the finger and each data disk on the opposite sides of the finger.

Abstract: A disk drive assembly and method include an aerodynamic thrust bearing that utilizes a surface of a data storage disk to define the plane of rotation for the disk surface. The data disk is positioned to contact at least one air pad when the disk is in a rest position, but is supported by an air bearing when the disk is rotated. In one embodiment, there are three air pads formed on a thrust bearing ring. This drive assembly also includes a hydrodynamic journal bearing in which a journal fluid is retained between a rotating shaft and a stationary sleeve. Surface features of the shaft create dynamic pressures along the interface between the shaft and the sleeve, dissipate hydrodynamic kinetic energy at the peripheries of the active journal region, accommodate resupply of the journal fluid to the central portion of the active region, and define capillary seals to inhibit migration of the journal fluid.

Abstract: An actuator having a rotary arm having a read/write head on one side of an axis of rotation and a drive mechanism for defining the axis of rotation, with the drive mechanism being on the side of the axis opposite to the read/write head. The rotary arm has a supported portion and a cantilevered portion. Along the supported portion is an arcuate bearing surface that determines the location of the axis of rotation. The axis is beyond the extent of the supported portion and is spaced apart from any pivot-defining structure. A stepper motor is coupled to the arcuate bearing surface in a manner to frictionally drive the supported portion of the rotary arm. In addition to rotational movement, the arm is mounted for linear movement.

Abstract: A nozzle system for dispensing fluidic materials including powder and/or liquid including an elastic tube having at least one transverse slit. The tube can include a tube formed from a tight coil of wire or a tube formed from an elastomeric material and the slits are formed as openings between loops in the coil or cuts in the elastomeric tube. The size of the opening of the slits is determined by tension applied to the tube or by bending the tube. One means of control includes two clamp members, one on each side of the tube wherein the clamp members are hinged together. A ram between clamp members provides means for adjusting the bend in the tube in the area of the slit. The ram can be controlled by one of a number of means including pneumatic or a screw.

Abstract: A spindle clamp for removably supporting a data disk wherein the clamp has a spindle adapted for rotation about a vertical axis. The top of the spindle is stepped, having an inner raised surface, an intermediate gap-forming surface and an outer disk-seating surface. A segmented annular jaw assembly rests atop the raised surface and forms an annulus having an outer diameter less than the inside diameter of the data disk. The radially inward portion of the jaw assembly has an inverted and truncated conical bearing surface in frictional contact with a conforming wedge surface of a cam member. Downward displacement of the cam member causes the wedge surface to move the individual segments of the jaw assembly in a radially outward direction. The cam member is moved pneumatically from a disk-releasing position to a lower disk-clamping position that positions the edges of the individual segments of the jaw assembly above the data disk.

Abstract: A spindle clamp for suppporting a data disk, wherein the spindle clamp includes a hub mounted for rotation about a central axis. The upper portion of the hub has a frustroconically-shaped bearing surface and has a disk-seating surface at the base of the bearing surface. A lock member has a downwardly-depending portion which is axially mounted such that the lower extremity of the lock member contacts the frustroconically-shaped bearing surface. The lock member is a unitary, cup-shaped member made of an elastically flexible material and preferably includes a plurality of axially-arranged fingers. Pneumatic or mechanical actuation of a piston within the hub is translated to the lock member to cause movement from a disk-releasing position to a disk-clamping position.

Abstract: A method and apparatus for starting mechanisms such as memory disk and head arrays driven by driving mechanisms such as motors that are initially immobilized by constraints such as stiction in disk drives wherein the system is perturbed by a succession of mechanical shocks while a moderate driving force is applied thereby degrading the strength of the restraint to a value where a moderate driving force can drive the mechanism indicating that the restraint has been overcome then increasing the driving force to a full operating value. In one embodiment, the shock is provided by a loaded spring; in another embodiment, the shock is provided by a solenoid; in another embodiment, the shock is provided by a voice coil.

Abstract: A flexible mounting for an abrasive planar pad onto a carrier rotated about a first axis of rotation. The carrier has a face side perpendicular to the axis of rotation and a resilient, frustroconical sleeve affixed to the face for rotation therewith. The tapering walls of the sleeve define opposed intersecting axes forming a virtual gimbal with the gimbal center or pivot point in close proximity to the planar surface of the pad. The forward position of the gimbal center and its proximity to the planar surface allows rocking of the pad to follow any misalignment of a planar article to be abraded, yet neutralizes those forces which urge pivoting of the abrasive pad relative to the planar article.

Abstract: A rotary actuator for testing of magnetic disks having a rotary arm pivotally attached to an actuator housing at a first end and having at least one transducer at an opposite end. The rotary arm is mounted to the hub of a motion transfer wheel segment having an arcuate outer edge. A bearingless motor-powered drive roller is in frictional contact with the arcuate outer edge to impart rotational motion to the wheel segment. A pair of pressure wheels contact the drive roller to form a triangle of rollers and to positionally capture the drive roller against the arcuate outer edge. Rotation of the drive roller is translated to the rotary arm via the wheel segment, and causes the transducer to move along an arcuate path across a magnetic disk to be tested.