Handling apparatus for magnetic recording disks

A test station for a testing apparatus for testing flexible disks, each of said disks contained in a standard disk jacket and having a central aperture, said test station comprising:

• a drive motor mounted in fixed position and having a rotatable spindle;
• a spindle cup on the end of said rotatable spindle;
• a retractable cone-nosed idler collet positioned in alignment with said spindle cup and movable to extend through said aperture and into said spindle cup to center and seat a disk against said rotatable spindle;
• means for clamping said disk jacket;
• means to release said flexible disk after testing;
• stop means for initially holding a disk dropped into the said test station, wherein said stop means comprises a frame member having channel shaped sides into which said disk can drop and bottom means comprising movable disk stop levers;
• solenoids for controllably operating said disk stop levers;
• and
• a read/write head assembly, and wherein said head assembly comprises a first fixed test head for testing a first side of said disk and a second spring loaded test head for testing a second side of said disk.

A sorting mechanism for use with a testing apparatus for testing flexible disks, said flexible disks tested at a test station and then released from said test station, wherein signals resulting from said disk testing are stored, said sorting mechanism comprising:

• a shuttle platten for receiving said disk released from said test station;
• guide means for carrying said shuttle platten;
• drive means for moving said shuttle platten on said guide means, said drive means responsive to said stored resulting signals;
• a plurality of output bins for receiving disks from said shuttle platten;
• and
• means for releasing said disks into a container in an output bin determined by said resulting signals and means for removing said container from an output bin when said container is filled.

A sorting mechanism for use with a testing apparatus for testing flexible disks, said flexible disks tested at a test station, wherein signals resulting from said disk testing are stored and said flexible disks are released from said testing station, said sorting mechanism comprising:

• a shuttle platten for receiving the disk released from the test station;
• guide means for carrying said shuttle platten;
• drive means for moving said shuttle platten on said guide means, said drive means responsive to said stored resulting signals, said drive means including a reversible shuttle motor, a lead screw coupled to said shuttle platten, and a drive chain from the shaft of said shuttle motor to said lead screw;
• a plurality of output bins for receiving disks from said shuttle platten;
• and
• means for releasing said disks into an output bin determined by said resulting signals.

Output bin mechanism for test apparatus for testing flexible disks, said disks categorized by said testing apparatus, said mechanism comprising:

• a plurality of bins, each of said bins corresponding to a preselected test category;
• a removable box in each of said bins, each of said boxes having a size to hold a plurality of disks;
• means for removing a box from said bin when said box is full;
• and
• a plurality of reservoirs, each of said reservoirs corresponding to one of said plurality of bins, said reservoirs capable of holding a plurality of said boxes for replacing a box removed from a bin.

A method of handling flexible disks in an automated testing apparatus which comprises the steps of:

• loading a plurality of said disks, in standard disk jackets, into a gravity feed input hopper;
• sequentially contacting each of said disks with a vacuum disk plate and vacuum pulling one of said disks from said hopper;
• dropping said disk from said vacuum disk plate into a test station;
• positioning and clamping said disk against a rotating hub;
• rotating said hub and said disk at a predetermined test rotation speed;
• contacting said disk during said rotation by a disk test head;
• exchanging signals between said test head and said disk;
• storing information responsive to said exchanging signals in a test station memory, disengaging said disk from said test station and dropping said disk into a sort shuttle frame;
• transporting said disk in said frame to a location over a preselected output bin, said bin selected in response to said information stored in said test station memory;
• and
• releasing said disk into said output bin, and wherein during said step of transporting, another of said plurality of said disks is undergoing said steps of contacting and dropping.

A test station for a testing apparatus for testing a flexible disk, each of said disks contained in a standard disk jacket and having a central aperture, said test station comprising:

• a frame mechanism for receiving and containing a released flexible disk;
• a drive motor mounted in fixed position and having a rotatable spindle;
• a spindle cup on the end of said rotatable spindle;
• a retractable collet positioned in alignment with said spindle cup and removable to extend through said aperture and into said spindle cup to seat said disk against said rotatable spindle;
• and
• a read/write head assembly positioned to test said disk, wherein said frame mechanism includes a movable bottom member capable of moving to allow said flexible disk to drop from said test station when said collet is retracted and said read/write head is removed from said test position, and wherein said head assembly comprises a first fixed test head and a second spring loaded test head, said first and second test heads positioned to clamp said disk therebetween.

A sorting mechanism for a testing apparatus for testing a flexible disk, said flexible disk tested at a test station and then released from said test station, said sorting mechanism comprising:

• a shuttle platten for receiving said released disk;
• guide means for carrying said shuttle platten;
• a shuttle motor and lead screw for moving said shuttle platten on said guide means;
• means to monitor the position of said shuttle platten on said guide means;
• feedback means from said means to monitor to said shuttle motor;
• means associated with said shuttle platten for releasing said disk from said shuttle platten;
• output bins for receiving said disk from said shuttle platten, said bins including removable boxes;
• and
• means for removing said boxes from said sorting mechanism when said boxes are filled.

A sorting mechanism for use with a testing apparatus for testing flexible disks, said flexible disks tested at a test station and then released from said test station, wherein signals resulting from said disk testing are stored, said sorting mechanism comprising:

• a shuttle platten for receiving said disk released from said test station;
• guide means for carrying said shuttle platten;
• drive means for moving said shuttle platten on said guide means, said drive means responsive to said stored resulting signals;
• a plurality of output bins for receiving disks from said shuttle platten, each of said output bins including a removable box, said removable box being removable from said output bin in response to a signal;
• a projection coupled to said shuttle platten for transporting said removable boxes to an exit location of said testing apparatus;
• and
• means for releasing said disks from said shuttle platten into an output bin determined by said resulting signals.