Transferring Disk Drives Within Disk Drive Testing Systems

• US 20090262444A1
• Filed: 04/17/2008
• Published: 10/22/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 04/17/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Teradyne Incorporated
• Original Assignee: Teradyne Incorporated
• Inventors: Whitiker, Brian J., Merrow, Brian S., Polyakov, Evgeny, Garcia, Edward, Truebenbach, Eric L.
• Granted Patent: US 8,095,234 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 360/31
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 17/225 wherein the disks are transferred from a fixed magazine to a fixed playing unit using a moving carriage
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 20/1816 Testing
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 2220/2516 Hard disks
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 27/36 Monitoring, i.e. supervising the progress of recording or reproducing for digital recording G11B20/00 and s.gr.; for monitoring, testing or measuring of TV recorders of the type covered by H04N5/76 and subgroups, see H04N17/06
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 33/128 of the plurality of recording/reproducing devices, e.g. disk drives, onto a chassis

Abstract

A method of transferring disk drives within a disk drive testing system includes actuating an automated transporter to retrieve multiple disk drives presented for testing, and actuating the automated transporter to deliver each retrieved disk drive to a respective test slot of the disk drive testing system and insert each disk drive in the respective test slot.

Claims

1. A method of transferring disk drives within a disk drive testing system, the method comprising:

actuating an automated transporter to retrieve multiple disk drives presented for testing; and

actuating the automated transporter to deliver each retrieved disk drive to a respective test slot of the disk drive testing system and to insert each disk drive in the respective test slot.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

actuating the automated transporter to retrieve multiple disk drive transporters;

actuating the automated transporter to retrieve the disk drives presented for testing by carrying each of the disk drives with respective disk drive transporters; and

actuating the automated transporter to deliver the disk drive transporters, each carrying one of the disk drives, to the respective test slots.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein each of the disk drive transporters is inserted into a respective test slot, engaging the carried disk drive with a respective connector of the disk drive testing system, the inserted disk drive transporters providing closure of their respective test slots.

4. The method of claim 2, wherein the disk drives are present in at least one disk drive tote presented to the disk drive testing system.

5. The method of claim 4, wherein the automated transporter retrieves each of the disk drives from the at least one disk drive tote with the corresponding disk drive transporter by positioning the disk drive transporter below the disk drive, lifting the disk drive off a disk drive support of the disk drive tote, and carrying the disk drive in the disk drive transporter away from the disk drive tote.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the automated transporter comprises a manipulator configured to transport multiple disk drives.

7. The method of claim 6, wherein the manipulator comprises:

a manipulator body;

first and second connectors disposed on the manipulator body and arranged in a substantially V-shaped configuration with respect to each other, each connector being configured to releasably attach to a disk drive transporter.

8. A method of transferring disk drives within a disk drive testing system, the method comprising:

actuating an automated transporter having a manipulator to retrieve an untested disk drive presented for testing, the manipulator being configured to transport multiple disk drives; and

actuating the automated transporter to deliver the retrieved untested disk drive to a respective test slot of the disk drive testing system and insert the untested disk drive in its respective test slot for testing.

9. The method of claim 8, wherein the manipulator comprises:

a manipulator body;

first and second connectors disposed on the manipulator body and arranged in a substantially V-shaped configuration with respect to each other, each connector being configured to releasably attach to a disk drive transporter.

10. The method of claim 8, further comprising:

actuating the automated transporter to retrieve a disk drive transporter;

actuating the automated transporter to retrieve the untested disk drive presented for testing by carrying the untested disk drive with the disk drive transporter; and

actuating the automated transporter to deliver the disk drive transporter to the respective test slot.

11. The method of claim 10, wherein the disk drive transporter is inserted into the test slots, engaging the carried untested disk drive with a respective connector of the disk drive testing system, the inserted disk drive transporter providing closure of its respective test slot.

12. The method of claim 10, wherein the untested disk drive is present in a disk drive tote presented to the disk drive testing system.

13. The method of claim 12, wherein the automated transporter retrieves the untested disk drive from the disk drive tote with the corresponding disk drive transporter by positioning the disk drive transporter below the untested disk drive, lifting the untested disk drive off a disk drive support of the disk drive tote, and carrying the untested disk drive in the disk drive transporter away from the disk drive tote.

14. The method of claim 8, further comprising actuating the automated transporter and the manipulator to retrieve a tested disk drive from its respective test slot and carrying the tested disk drive to a destination location.

15. The method of claim 14, further comprising actuating the automated transporter to retrieve the tested disk drive from its respective test slot by actuating the manipulator to engage a respective disk drive transporter of the tested disk drive and carrying the tested disk drive with its respective disk drive transporter to the destination location.

16. The method of claim 15, further comprising actuating the automated transporter to deliver the disk drive carried by its respective disk drive transporter to a receptacle of a destination disk drive tote.

17. A method of transferring disk drives within a disk drive testing system, the method comprising:

actuating an automated transporter having a manipulator to retrieve a first disk drive housed in a first test slot of the disk drive testing system, the manipulator being configured to transport multiple disk drives;

actuating the automated transporter to deliver the retrieved first disk drive to a second test slot;

actuating the automated transporter to retrieve a second disk drive from the second test slot while carrying the first disk drive; and

actuating the automated transporter to insert the first disk drive into the second test slot while carrying the second disk drive.

18. The method of claim 17, further comprising:

actuating the automated transporter to deliver the retrieved second disk drive to the first test slot; and

actuating the automated transporter to insert the second disk drive into the first test slot.

19. The method of claim 17, wherein the manipulator comprises:

a manipulator body;

first and second connectors disposed on the manipulator body and arranged in a substantially V-shaped configuration with respect to each other, each connector being configured to releasably attach to a disk drive transporter;

wherein the manipulator transports the first and second disk drives in corresponding releasably attached disk drive transporters.

20. The method of claim 17, wherein the disk drives are each carried in a corresponding disk drive transporter, and wherein inserting each disk drive into one of the test slots comprises inserting the corresponding disk drive transporter into the respective test slot, engaging the carried disk drive with a respective connector of the disk drive testing system, the inserted disk drive transporter providing closure of its respective test slot.

21. A disk drive testing system comprising:

an automated transporter;

at least one rack arranged about the automated transporter for access by the automated transporter;

multiple test slots housed by each rack, each test slot being configured to receive a disk drive for testing;

a transfer station arranged for access by the automated transporter, the transfer station presenting multiple disk drives for testing; and

a manipulator attached to the automated transporter, the manipulator being configured to carry multiple disk drives.

22. The disk drive testing system of claim 21, wherein the manipulator is configured to releasably attach to multiple disk drive transporters.

23. The disk drive testing system of claim 21, wherein the manipulator comprises:

a manipulator body;

first and second connectors disposed on the manipulator body and arranged in a substantially V-shaped configuration with respect to each other, each connector being configured to releasably attach to a disk drive transporter.

24. The disk drive testing system of claim 21, wherein the transfer station comprises a transfer station housing configured to receive and support multiple disk drive totes in a presentation position for servicing by the automated transporter, wherein each disk drive tote comprises a tote body defining multiple disk drive receptacles configured to each house a disk drive.