# US 2010/0165501 A1 · Transferring Disk Drives Within Disk Drive Testing Systems > Agents: this data is available as JSON from the patentgrep API and MCP server — see https://patentgrep.com/llms.txt - Number: US 2010/0165501 A1 - Document ID: US20100165501A1 - Status: Published application - Kind: A1 - Application number: 12/727,150 - Filed: 2010-03-18 - Published: 2010-07-01 - Earliest claimed: 2008-04-17 - Assignees: Teradyne, Inc., a Massachusetts corporation - Inventors: Evgeny Polyakov; Edward Garcia; Eric L. Truebenbach; Brian S. Merrow; Brian J. Whitaker - Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US20100165501A1 ## CPC - G11B 20/1816: {Testing} - G11B 17/225: {wherein the disks are transferred from a fixed magazine to a fixed playing unit using a moving carriage} - 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)} - G11B 33/128: {of the plurality of recording/reproducing devices, e.g. disk drives, onto a chassis} - G11B 2220/2516: Hard disks - G11B: INFORMATION STORAGE BASED ON RELATIVE MOVEMENT BETWEEN RECORD CARRIER AND TRANSDUCER (recording measured values in a way that does not require playback through a transducer G01D9/00; recording or playback apparatus using mechanically marked tape, e.g. punched paper tape, or using unit records, e.g. punched or magnetically marked cards G06K; transferring data from one type of record carrier to another G06K1/18; circuits for coupling output of reproducer to radio receiver H04B1/20; gramophone pick-ups or like acoustic electromechanical transducers or circuits therefor H04R) ## 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 ### Claim 1 A method of transferring disk drives within a disk drive testing system, the method comprising: actuating an automated transporter to retrieve multiple disk drive transporters; actuating the automated transporter to retrieve multiple disk drives presented for testing by carrying each of the disk drives with respective disk drive transporters; and actuating the automated transporter to deliver each of the disk drive transporters, each carrying one of the disk drives, to a respective test slot of the disk drive testing system and to insert each transporter, carrying a disk drive, in the respective test slots. ### Claim 2 (depends on 1) The method of claim 1, 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. ### Claim 3 (depends on 1) The method of claim 1, wherein the disk drives are present in at least one disk drive tote presented to the disk drive testing system. ### Claim 4 (depends on 3) The method of claim 3, 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. ### Claim 5 (depends on 1) The method of claim 1, wherein the automated transporter comprises a manipulator configured to transport multiple disk drives. ### Claim 6 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. ### Claim 7 (depends on 6) The method of claim 6, 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. ### Claim 8 (depends on 7) The method of claim 7, 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. ### Claim 9 (depends on 7) The method of claim 7, wherein the untested disk drive is present in a disk drive tote presented to the disk drive testing system. ### Claim 10 (depends on 9) The method of claim 9, 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. ### Claim 11 (depends on 6) The method of claim 6, 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. ### Claim 12 (depends on 11) The method of claim 11, 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. ### Claim 13 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. ### Claim 14 (depends on 13) The disk drive testing system of claim 13, wherein the manipulator is configured to releasably attach to multiple disk drive transporters. ### Claim 15 (depends on 13) The disk drive testing system of claim 13, 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.