Assembly station with rotatable turret which forms and unloads a completed stack of articles

• US 20030044267A1
• Filed: 03/26/2002
• Published: 03/06/2003
• Est. Priority Date: 08/30/2001
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Seagate Technology LLC (Seagate Technology Holdings Plc)
• Original Assignee: Seagate Technology LLC (Seagate Technology Holdings Plc)
• Inventors: Johnson, Eric D., Pfeiffer, Michael W.
• Granted Patent: US 7,371,041 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 414/788.1
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 17/038 Centering or locking of a plurality of discs in a single cartridge
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 25/043 using rotating discs

Abstract

Method and apparatus for forming and unloading a completed stack of articles. An assembly station includes a rotatable turret from which at least one stacker arm projects. The turret rotates to each of a number of article loading positions to sequentially load articles onto the arm in a desired order. The turret is then advanced to allow the articles to be concurrently unloaded from the stacker arm at an unloading position. In an automated disc drive manufacturing environment, the articles comprise respective numbers of magnetic recording discs and intervening disc spacers which are arranged into a disc/spacer stack as the stacker arm is advanced to a number of disc feeder and spacer feeder stations. The completed disc/spacer stack is then unloaded onto a spindle motor hub. Additional arms preferably project from the turret so that, as the turret rotates, multiple stacks are simultaneously formed and sequentially unloaded.

Claims

1. An apparatus for forming and unloading a stack of articles, comprising:

a first article feeder station which sequentially provides a plurality of first articles at a first loading position;

a second article feeder station which sequentially provides a plurality of second articles at a second loading position;

a turret assembly; and

a stacker arm which projects from the turret assembly, wherein the turret assembly rotates the stacker arm to the first loading position to load a selected first article onto the stacker arm, advances the stacker arm to the second loading position to load a selected second article onto the stacker arm, and then rotates the stacker arm to an unloading position to concurrently unload the first and second selected articles from the stacker arm.

2. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the turret assembly rotates in a common rotational direction to each of the first loading position, the second loading position and the unloading position.

3. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the turret assembly rotates in a first rotational direction from the first loading position to the second loading position, and then rotates in a second rotational direction opposite the first rotational direction from the second loading position to the unloading position.

4. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the stacker arm is characterized as a first stacker arm, and wherein the apparatus further comprises a second stacker arm which projects from the turret assembly a selected distance from the first stacker arm, wherein the first and second stacker arms are arranged such that as the first stacker arm is rotated to a selected one of the first loading position, the second loading position and the unloading position, the second stacker arm is rotated to a remaining one of the first loading position, the second loading position and the unloading position so that the first and second stacker arms concurrently form stacks of the first and second articles and sequentially unload said stacks.

5. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the first article feeder station comprises a first disc feeder station which sequentially provides magnetic recording discs at the first loading position, wherein the second article feeder station comprises a spacer feeder station which sequentially provides disc spacers at the second loading position, wherein the stacker arm forms a disc/spacer stack comprising a first disc and a first spacer, and wherein the disc/spacer stack is subsequently unloaded at the unloading position onto a spindle motor hub.

6. The apparatus of claim 5, further comprising a conveyor system adjacent the turret assembly, wherein the spindle motor hub is transported by the conveyor system to the unloading position to receive the disc and the disc spacer.

7. The apparatus of claim 5, further comprising a second disc feeder station which sequentially provides magnetic recording discs at a third loading position.

8. The apparatus of claim 7, wherein the turret assembly advances the stacker arm to the third loading position so that the disc/spacer stack comprises two discs and one disc spacer disposed between the two discs.

9. A disc drive data storage device having a disc stack assembly comprising at least one magnetic recording disc and at least one disc spacer stacked about a spindle motor hub, said disc stack assembly formed by the apparatus of claim 1.

10. A method for forming and unloading a stack of articles, comprising:

providing a disc feeder station to sequentially provide magnetic recording discs at a disc loading position, a spacer feeder station adjacent the disc feeder station which sequentially provides disc spacers at a spacer loading position, and a rotatable turret assembly which supports a cantilevered stacker arm having an end effector at a distal end of the stacker arm;

rotating the turret assembly to align the stacker arm with the disc feeder station and to load a first disc onto the end effector;

advancing the turret assembly to align the stacker arm with the spacer feeder station and to load a first spacer onto the end effector adjacent the first disc; and

moving the turret assembly to align the stacker arm with an unloading position and to concurrently transfer the first disc and first disc spacer from the end effector onto a spindle motor hub.

11. The method of claim 10, wherein the turret assembly is respectively rotated in a common rotational direction to successively align the stacker arm with the disc feeder station, the spacer feeder station and the spindle motor hub, respectively.

12. The method of claim 10, wherein the disc feeder station is characterized as a first disc feeder station, wherein the providing step further comprises providing a second disc feeder station to sequentially provide magnetic recording discs at a second disc loading position, wherein the method further comprises advancing the turret assembly to align the stacker arm with the second disc feeder station to load a second disc onto the end effector so that the first spacer is between the first and second discs, and wherein the moving step comprises the concurrent transfer of the first disc, the first spacer and the second disc onto the spindle motor hub.

13. The method of claim 10, wherein the stacker arm is characterized as a first stacker arm, and wherein the providing step further comprises providing the rotatable turret assembly with a second cantilevered stacker arm having a second end effector at a distal end of the second stacker arm so that as the as the first stacker arm is positioned adjacent each of the disc feeder station, the spacer feeder station and the unloading position, the turret assembly positions the second stacker arm adjacent a remaining one of the disc loading position, the disc spacer location and the unloading position to respectively load a second disc onto the second end effector, load a second spacer onto the second end effector or concurrently transfer the second disc and the second spacer onto a second spindle motor hub.

14. The method of claim 10, further comprising advancing the spindle motor hub along a conveyor to the unloading position to receive the first disc and the first spacer, wherein the disc/spacer stack is formed before the spindle motor hub reaches the unloading position.

15. The method of claim 10, wherein the providing step comprises providing M disc feeder stations, N disc spacer feeder stations, and P=M+N+1 cantilevered stacker arms extending from the rotatable turret assembly, and wherein the method further comprises advancing the turret assembly so that each of the P cantilevered stacker arms respectively and concurrently loads a disc, loads a spacer, or unloads a number of previously loaded discs and spacers onto a respective spindle motor hub.

16. A disc drive data storage device having a disc stack assembly formed using the method of claim 10.