DISC STORAGE CASSETTES

• US 20190325911A1
• Filed: 06/28/2019
• Published: 10/24/2019
• Est. Priority Date: 02/17/2016
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Original Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Inventors: Altknecht, David J., Bethune, Donald S., Dyer, William M., Erpelding, A. David, Hetzler, Steven R., Lawson, Drew B., Smith, Daniel F.
• Granted Patent: US 10,580,451 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 17/038 Centering or locking of a plurality of discs in a single cartridge
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 17/08 from consecutive-access magazine of disc records
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 17/22 from random access magazine of disc records
• 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 17/28 the magazine having a cylindrical shape with horizontal axis
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 23/0323 for disc-packs
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 23/0325 comprising latching or movable handling devices G11B17/038 takes precedence

Abstract

A disc cassette includes a curved portion configured to hold multiple discs. A platform portion abuts the curved portion. A movable bale is configured to maintain discs securely in the disc cassette except when rotated off the discs.

Claims

1. A disc cassette comprising:

a curved portion including multiple ribs, wherein the ribs define multiple disc slots in the curved portion that are configured to hold multiple discs in place, and the discs are spaced apart by the ribs; and

multiple index features positioned on an inside edge of the curved portion, wherein the index features are configured to allow alignment of a kicker device of a disc retrieval unit (DRU) to a disc of the disc cassette to lift the disc into a disc gripper device without disturbing one or more other discs of the disc cassette that are adjacent to the disc.

2. The disc cassette of claim 1, wherein positions of the index features on the inside edge of the curved position are relative to positions of the disc slots.

3. The disc cassette of claim 2, wherein each edge of each index feature is aligned with a center of a disc slot.

4. The disc cassette of claim 3, wherein each index feature is twice as wide as a disc pitch that the ribs provide to keep the discs from contacting one another.

5. The disc cassette of claim 1, further comprising:

an optical sensor;

wherein the index features enable the alignment utilizing the optical sensor.

6. The disc cassette of claim 1, wherein the index features are configured to allow the alignment of the kicker device to the disc within 0.1 mm.