Method and system for disk drive inventory

• US 20090024492A1
• Filed: 07/19/2007
• Published: 01/22/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 07/19/2007
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: HGST Netherlands B.V. (Western Digital Corporation)
• Original Assignee: HGST Netherlands B.V. (Western Digital Corporation)
• Inventors: Burgos, David S.
• Application Number:
  US11/880,279
• Publication Number:
  US 20090024492A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 705/28
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/087 Inventory or stock management, e.g. order filling, procurement or balancing against orders
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 50/04 Manufacturing
• CPC Class Codes: Y02P 90/30 Computing systems specially adapted for manufacturing

Abstract

A post manufacturing inventory system to improve disk drive inventory after manufacturing are disclosed. One embodiment provides a computer system having serial number scanning capabilities to scan manufactured disk drive during a post manufacturing inventory count to reconcile with a drive count during manufacturing. In addition, a count verifier is coupled to the scanning unit to enable the inventory control system to verify real-time information read from the disk drives during inventory with pre-stored information pertaining to each drive.

Claims

1. A method for conducting post manufacturing inventory of hard disk drive, comprising:

generating a database of serial numbers uniquely identifying each disk drive manufactured during a pre-inventory manufacturing cycle; and

affixing labels corresponding to said serial numbers to each of said disk drive;

scanning said labels during an inventory count process to count the number of disk drives during said post manufacturing inventory;

comparing the scanned disk drive count with the database of serial numbers to reconcile the count of serial numbers with the count of the disk drives.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the generating of the database of uniquely identifying serial numbers keeps a count of disk drives manufactured prior to the inventory count process.

3. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

conducting a post inventory verification count if there is a mismatch between the scanned count of the disk drives and the count of serial numbers in the serial number database.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein verifying the inventory count comprises downloading serial numbers present in the serial number database and not found during the inventory count into the scanning tool to perform a post inventory verification process.

5. The method of claim 4, wherein the post inventory verification process comprises rescanning the disk drives scanned during the inventory count process comprising notifying an operator performing the post inventory verification:

6. The method of claim 5, wherein if a disk drive undetected during the inventory count process is discovered during the post inventory verification, a recognizable alert notification from the scanner to an operator conducting the inventory is sent to enable the operator reconcile the inventory count.

7. The method of claim 6, wherein if a missing disk drive is undiscovered during the post inventory verification an inventory incident process is initiated to generate a missing inventory report.

8. The method of claim 7, wherein the post manufacturing inventory count is performed in real-time.

9. A hard disk drive post manufacturing inventory control system, comprising:

a computer system storing a database of pre-inventory serial numbers corresponding to each hard disk drive manufactured during a pre-inventory manufacturing cycle;

a scanning tool for reading unique identification information affixed to each of said hard disk drives manufactured during the pre-inventory manufacturing cycle, said unique identification information corresponding to said serial numbers;

a verification unit for verifying inventory count of the hard disk drives during a post manufacturing inventory count with a count of serial numbers in the database of pre-inventory serial numbers; and

a detection unit for detecting any discrepancies between the pre-inventory count of the disk drives and the post manufacturing inventory count of the disk drives.

10. The hard disk drive post manufacturing inventory control system of claim 9, further comprising an operator notification unit for notifying an operator conducting the post manufacturing inventory count when a missing hard disk drive is found.

11. The hard disk drive post manufacturing inventory control system of claim 10, wherein the notification unit is coupled to the scanning tool.

12. The hard disk drive post manufacturing inventory control system of claim 11, wherein the unique identification information of each of the hard disk drives may be inscribed on a cover of each of the hard disk drives.

13. The hard disk drive post manufacturing inventory control system of claim 12, wherein the scanning unit is a computerized scanning system.

14. The hard disk drive post manufacturing inventory control system of claim 13, wherein the scanning unit is a programmable handheld scanner.

15. The hard disk drive post manufacturing inventory control system of claim 14, wherein an inventory report is generated when the verification unit is unable to find a missing hard disk drive during the post manufacturing inventory count.