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

• US 7,371,041 B2
• Filed: 03/26/2002
• Issued: 05/13/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 08/30/2001
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• 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.
• Primary Examiner(s): Rodriguez; Saul
• Assistant Examiner(s): Adams; Gregory W
• Application Number:
  US10/106,755
• Publication Number:
  US 20030044267A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,240 Days
• Field of Search: 297/59, 296/030.3, 297/29, 292/815, 297/37, 297/83, 294/96, 294/93, 294/94, 414/27, 414/794.9, 414/795.2, 414/908, 414/789.7, 414/790.6, 414/935, 414/941, 414/790.9, 414/789.9, 414/798.5, 414/791, 414/223.01, 414/796.9, 270/52.3, 700/218, 700/121, 198/346.2
• US Class Current: 414/795.2
• 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 stacks of articles, comprising:

a first article feeder station presenting a plurality of first articles at a first loading position;

a second article feeder station presenting a plurality of second articles of a characteristic different size than the first articles at a second loading position; and

a bidirectionally rotatable turret assembly comprising;

a first stacker arm supported by the turret assembly and selectively movable in either a clockwise direction or a counterclockwise direction to a selected one of the first and second loading positions; and

a second stacker arm supported by the turret assembly and responsively movable, by the selected movement of the first stacker arm, to another loading position; and

end effectors independently operable on each of the stacker arms, each end effector having a mandrel sized to simultaneously support a plurality of the first and second articles from the respective feeder stations to form alternating stacks of the first and second articles on both stacker arms.

2. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the turret assembly rotates in one direction in relation to stacking said first article from the first loading position on the first stacker arm, stacking said second article from the second loading position on the first stacker arm, and unloading the stacked first and second articles from the first stacker arm at an unloading position.

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

4. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the first article feeder station comprises a first disc feeder station which provides magnetic recording discs at the first loading position, wherein the second article feeder station comprises a spacer feeder station which provides disc spacers at the second loading position, wherein the stacker arms form disc/spacer stacks.

5. The apparatus of claim 4, 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 stacks.

6. The apparatus of claim 4, further comprising a second disc feeder station which provides magnetic recording discs at a third loading position.

7. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein each stacker arm comprises an end effector disposed at a distal end of the arm, the end effector capable of loading the first and second articles in a stacked orientation.