Fluid-dynamic bearing system

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10424992-B2
Application number	US-201514878385-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Oct 8, 2015
Priority date	Oct 14, 2014
Publication date	Sep 24, 2019
Grant date	Sep 24, 2019

Abstract

The invention relates to a fluid-dynamic bearing system, in particular for the rotary support of a spindle motor, the bearing system comprising: a first conical bearing and a second conical bearing counteracting the first conical bearing, a fixed shaft along which the two conical bearings are arranged, a sleeve, a first and a second conical bearing component, which together with the sleeve form the first and second conical bearings, bearing structures applied to the sleeve and/or the conical bearing components, a bearing gap filled with a bearing fluid extending between the sleeve and the shaft and between the sleeve and the conical bearing components and sealed at each of its ends by a conical capillary seal, and a hub which rotates together with the sleeve about a rotation axis. The invention is characterized in that a pump seal is arranged between the first conical bearing and the adjacent capillary seal.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. A fluid-dynamic bearing system, comprising
a first conical bearing and a second conical bearing counteracting the first conical bearing,
a shaft along which the first and second conical bearings are arranged,
a sleeve,
a first conical bearing component and a second conical bearing component, which together with the sleeve form the first and second conical bearings,
bearing structures applied to the sleeve and/or the first and second conical bearing components,
a bearing gap filled with a bearing fluid extending between the sleeve and the shaft and between the sleeve and the conical bearing components and sealed at its ends by a first capillary seal and a second capillary seal,
a hub which rotates together with the sleeve about a rotation axis,
wherein a pump seal is arranged between the first conical bearing and the adjacent first capillary seal, wherein a separator gap filled with the bearing fluid is arranged between, and forms at least a portion of a fluid path between, the first conical bearing and the second conical bearing, wherein pump structures are arranged between the separator gap and the second conical bearing and lie adjacent to the second conical bearing, and wherein the pump structures convey the bearing fluid in an axial direction toward the first conical bearing during rotation of the hub and the sleeve about the rotation axis.

2. The fluid-dynamic bearing system according to claim 1 , wherein each of the first and second conical bearing components has a collar extending in a radially outer direction perpendicular to the rotation axis.

3. The fluid-dynamic bearing system according to claim 2 , wherein the collar is adjacent to the first conical bearing component or the second conical bearing component, and wherein a radially extending section of the bearing gap adjacent to the collar has a larger gap width than a section of the bearing gap adjacent to the conical bearing component that is adjacent to the collar.

4. The fluid-dynamic bearing system according to claim 1 , wherein the separator gap has a larger gap width than a section of the bearing gap adjacent to the first conical bearing, than a section of the bearing gap adjacent to the second conical bearing, and than a section of the bearing gap adjacent to the pump structures.

5. The fluid-dynamic bearing system according to claim 1 , wherein at least one recirculation channel is arranged between the sleeve and the hub.

6. The fluid-dynamic bearing system according to claim 5 , wherein the at least one recirculation channel connects a section of the bearing gap between the first capillary seal and the first conical bearing to a section of the bearing gap between the second capillary seal and the second conical bearing.

7. The fluid-dynamic bearing system according to claim 6 , wherein a first collar is adjacent to the first conical bearing component and a second collar is adjacent to the second conical bearing component, and wherein the ends of the at least one recirculation channel open out into a wide section of the bearing gap in the area of the collars of the first and second conical bearing components.

8. The fluid-dynamic bearing system according to claim 5 , wherein the at least one recirculation channel is formed as a groove in the sleeve and/or a groove in the hub.

9. The fluid-dynamic bearing system according to claim 1 , wherein the first and second capillary seals are arranged between the first and second conical bearing components and the hub.

10. The fluid-dynamic bearing system according to claim 1 , wherein the pump seal is arranged between the first conical bearing component and the hub.

11. The fluid-dynamic bearing system according to claim 1 , wherein the pump structures are arranged between the shaft and the sleeve.

12. The fluid-dynamic bearing system according to claim 1 , wherein a section of the bearing gap adjacent to the pump seal has a larger gap width than a section of the bearing gap adjacent to the first conical bearing and than a section of the bearing gap adjacent to the second conical bearing.

13. The fluid-dynamic bearing system according to claim 1 , wherein a section of the bearing gap adjacent to the pump structures has a larger gap width than a section of the bearing gap adjacent to the first conical bearing and than a section of the bearing gap adjacent to the second conical bearing.

14. The fluid-dynamic bearing system according to claim 1 , wherein the sleeve and the hub have a one-piece configuration.

15. A spindle motor, comprising an electromagnetic driving system consisting of a stator assembly and a rotor magnet and a fluid-dynamic bearing system according to claim 1 .

16. The spindle motor according to claim 15 , for driving a hard-disk drive.

17. The spindle motor according to claim 15 , for driving a fan.

18. A fluid-dynamic bearing system, comprising:
a first conical bearing and a second conical bearing counteracting the first conical bearing,
a shaft along which the first and second conical bearings are arranged,
a sleeve,
a first conical bearing component and a second conical bearing component, which together with the sleeve form the first and second conical bearings,
bearing structures applied to the sleeve and/or the first and second conical bearing components,
a bearing gap filled with a bearing fluid extending between the sleeve and the shaft and between the sleeve and the first and second conical bearing components and sealed at its ends by a first capillary seal and a second capillary seal,
a hub which rotates together with the sleeve about a rotation axis,
wherein the first conical bearing component has an adjacent first collar extending in a radially outer direction perpendicular to the rotation axis, wherein the second conical bearing component has an adjacent second collar extending in a radially outer direction perpendicular to the rotation axis, wherein a radially extending section of the bearing gap adjacent to a surface of the first collar extending perpendicular to the rotation axis has a larger gap width than a section of the bearing gap adjacent to the first conical bearing component, and wherein a radially extending section of the bearing gap adjacent to a surface of the second collar extending perpendicular to the rotation axis has a larger gap width than an adjoining oblique section of the bearing gap adjacent to the second conical bearing component.

Assignees

• Minebea Co Ltd
• Minebea Mitsumi Inc

Inventors

• Bruckhoff Michael
• Kirchmeier Tobias
• Winterhalter Olaf
• Kull Andreas
• Hoffmann Jorg

Classifications

• F16C33/743

  retained in the sealing gap · CPC title

• F16C2370/12

  Hard disk drives or the like · CPC title

• F16C17/105

  with at least one bearing surface providing angular contact, e.g. conical or spherical bearing surfaces · CPC title

• F16C33/745

  by capillary action · CPC title

• H02K5/1677

  radially supporting the rotor around a fixed spindle; radially supporting the rotor directly · CPC title