JP3159256B2 - Disk transport method - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a method of transporting a disk, and more particularly, to mounting a disk, which is a magnetic medium, on a spindle in the hard disk drive or transferring the disk to another device in a hard disk drive assembling process. The present invention relates to a disk transport method used for the above.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Generally, in the process of assembling a hard disk drive, in order to transport a disk which is a magnetic medium,
A disk transport device having a chuck hand for holding a disk is used.

Japanese Patent Laid-Open Publication No. Hei 8-167222 discloses a disk loader for mounting a disk on a turntable, a plurality of roller arms each supported by the disk loader, and a disk mounted on each roller arm. A roller that holds the outer periphery of the disk, a spring that presses the roller toward the center of the disk, and a unit that expands the roller outward from the outer periphery of the disk against the pressing by the spring. A disc reproducing apparatus capable of mounting a disc on a turntable is disclosed. The roller for holding the disk is formed in a drum shape, and has a cylindrical portion in contact with the outer peripheral portion of the disk, and a guide surface that expands in a truncated cone shape on both sides from the cylindrical portion.

[0004]

In a conventional disk transfer device equipped with a chuck hand, if the holding force on the disk is too strong, dust is generated due to friction when the disk is delivered or mounted on a spindle, or when the disk is mounted. It may be damaged. On the other hand, if the holding force on the disk is too weak, the positioning accuracy of the disk will deteriorate.

On the other hand, in the disk reproducing apparatus disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. Hei 8-167222, the outer peripheral portion of the disk is clamped so that the roller is narrowed by the elastic force of a spring. However, there is a problem that a load is applied to the outer peripheral portion of the disk due to the elastic force of the spring, the outer peripheral portion of the disk is damaged, the elastic force of the spring is weakened by long-term use, and the structure becomes complicated.

When the disk held by the rollers is mounted on the turntable, the rollers are spread to release the state of holding the disk, and the disk is mounted on the turntable by its own weight. When the projections of the table come into contact with each other, dust is generated due to friction and the magnetic medium is damaged. For this reason, in the conventional disk reproducing device, the convex portion of the turntable has an inclined surface and is configured to allow displacement or the like, but the spindle used for the hard disk drive is usually formed in a cylindrical shape. Therefore, in this case, it is difficult to apply the conventional disk reproducing device.

The guide surface of the roller in the above-mentioned disc reproducing apparatus has only a role of guiding the outer peripheral portion of the disc when the disc is dropped. The above-mentioned publication does not disclose anything about holding the movable state in a movable state, and there is no description suggesting this.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made to solve the above-mentioned problems, and can prevent the generation of dust and damage to a disk due to friction when the disk is delivered or mounted on a spindle. It is an object of the present invention to provide a disk transport method capable of preventing vibration.

[0009]

According to the present invention, there is provided a method of transporting a disk, comprising a groove having a substantially trapezoidal cross section which holds an outer peripheral portion of the disk and widens inward, and is provided with a plurality of grooves at predetermined intervals. A claw portion, claw portion moving means for opening and closing the claw portion so as to adjust a chuck width between the claw portions,
A disk transport method for transporting a disk using a disk transport device having a step of: holding and transporting a disk in a state in which an outer peripheral portion of the disk is in contact with a bottom surface of the groove; Moving the claw portion outward by means and holding and transporting the disk in a state where the outer peripheral portion of the disk is in contact with the inclined surface of the groove.

Preferably, the disk is formed in a disk shape, and the groove is formed in a substantially arc shape along the outer peripheral portion of the disk when viewed from a plane.

The inclination angle of the inclined surface of the groove is preferably about 25 degrees. The bottom surface of the groove is preferably substantially the same as or slightly longer than the thickness of the disk.

The disk transport method of the present invention is performed for transporting a disk having a center hole for fitting into a cylindrical body, such as a spindle in a hard disk drive.

The claw moving means is, for example, a motor with a positioning function that is driven and controlled to move the claw to an arbitrary position.

[0014]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing the overall configuration of the disk transport device of the present invention.

As shown in FIG. 1, a disk transport device A of the present invention mounts a disk-shaped disk 1 as a magnetic medium on a spindle 3 in a hard disk drive 2 in a process of assembling the hard disk drive, for example. , For transferring the disk 1 to another device.

The disk transport device A of the present invention has a housing-like chuck hand portion 4 and a pair of claw portions 5 which are provided so as to protrude from an opening 4a of the chuck hand portion 4 and hold the outer peripheral portion of the disk 1. And a motor 6 with a positioning function, which is provided on the chuck hand portion 4 and moves the claw portion 5 so as to adjust the chuck width between the claw portions 5.

The claw 5 is opened and closed in the horizontal direction (in the direction of the arrow) by a motor 6 having a positioning function. The motor 6 with a positioning function is driven and controlled so as to move the claw portion 5 to an arbitrary position.

FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram for explaining the dimensions of the groove formed in the claw portion and the inclination angle of the inclined surface. As shown in FIG. 2, a groove 7 for holding the disk 1 is formed in the claw 5 of the chuck hand. Since the groove 7 is formed to have a substantially trapezoidal cross section that becomes wider inward, when the disk 1 is held by the claw 5, the inclined surface 8 of the groove 7 becomes the surface (memory surface) of the disk 1. Therefore, damage to the front and back surfaces of the disk 1 can be prevented.

The inclination angle θ of the inclined surface 8 of the groove 7 is preferably about 25 degrees in order to increase the positioning accuracy of the disk 1 and reduce the frictional force with the disk 1. The length a of the bottom surface 9 of the groove 7 is preferably substantially the same as the thickness of the disk 1 or slightly longer than the thickness of the disk 1. This is because if the length a is shorter than the thickness of the disc 1, galling may occur between the disc 1 and the groove 7, and if the length a is longer than the thickness of the disc 1, the disc 1 is stabilized. Because it cannot be held. Also,
The height b of the groove 7 is determined by the moving distance (opening / closing stroke) of the claw 5 and the position of the inclined surface 8 holding the disk 1. When the disk 1 is held on the inclined surface 8 of the groove 7, it is preferable to hold it at the position of b / 2 from the viewpoint of stability.

Since the disk 1 is formed in a disk shape, the groove 7 of the claw portion 5 is preferably formed in a substantially arc shape along the outer peripheral portion of the disk 1 when viewed from a plane.

FIG. 3 is a sectional view for explaining the operation of the disk transport device A of the present invention. When transporting the disk 1, the motor 6 with the positioning function is driven,
The claw portion 5 is moved to a position where the outer peripheral portion of the disk 1 is held in contact with the bottom surface 9 of the groove portion 7 (see FIG. 3A). As a result, the disk 1 is held in a stable state between the claws 5, and the disk 1 can be prevented from dropping and vibrating.

When the disk 1 is mounted on the spindle 3 of the hard disk drive 2, the motor 6 with a positioning function is driven to move the disk 1 to a position where the disk 1 is held movably on the inclined surface 8 of the groove 7. The part 5 is spread outward and moved (see FIG. 3B). As a result, the clearance between the disk 1 and the claw portion 5 is increased, so that even if the outer peripheral portion of the spindle 3 and the inner peripheral portion of the center hole 10 of the disk 1 come into contact, the disk 1 is kept between the claw portions 5. Since it can move while following the outer peripheral portion of the spindle 3, it is possible to prevent the generation of dust and the damage of the disk 1 due to friction. Also, since the disk 1 is held on the inclined surface 8,
A certain holding force is secured, and the positioning accuracy does not deteriorate.

After the disk 1 is mounted on the spindle 3 of the hard disk drive 2, the claw 5 is further extended outward to release the holding state of the disk 1 (see FIG. 3C).

It should be noted that the disk transport device A of the present invention can be used for delivery to and from another transport device and for reworking defective disks. At the time of transportation, the claw portion 5 is moved to a position where the outer peripheral portion of the disk 1 is held in contact with the bottom surface 9 of the groove portion 7 (see FIG. 3A), and the disk 1 is held in a stable state. Thus, the disc 1 is prevented from dropping and vibrating. At the time of delivery of the disk or rework of the defective disk, the motor 6 with the positioning function is driven to move the claw 5 to a position where the disk 1 is held movably on the inclined surface 8 of the groove 7 (FIG. 3). (B)), so that no excessive force is applied to the disk 1.

The present invention is not limited to the above embodiment, and various changes can be made within the scope of the technical matters described in the claims. For example, the claw portion 5 is used to hold the disc 1 in a more stable state.
Three or more may be provided.

[0026]

According to the disk transport method of the present invention, when the disk is transported, the claw is moved so that the outer peripheral portion of the disk is held in contact with the bottom surface of the groove. The disc is held in a stable state between the claws, and the disc can be prevented from dropping and vibrating.

When the disk is mounted on a spindle of a hard disk drive or transferred to another device, the claw portion is held so that the outer peripheral portion of the disk is movably held on the inclined surface of the groove. By moving the disk, the clearance between the disk and the claw portion can be increased, thereby preventing generation of dust and damage to the disk due to friction. Further, since the disk is held on the inclined surface, a certain holding force is secured, and the positioning accuracy does not deteriorate.

Further, since the groove formed in the claw for holding the disk has a substantially trapezoidal cross section which becomes wider inward, when the disk is held by the claw, the inclined surface of the claw becomes disc-shaped. Therefore, damage to the front and back surfaces of the disc can be prevented without contacting the front and back surfaces of the disc.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing the overall configuration of a disk transport device according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram for explaining dimensions of a groove formed in a claw portion and an inclination angle of an inclined surface.

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view for explaining the operation of the disk transport device of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

 A: Disk transport device 1: Disk 2: Hard disk drive 3: Spindle 4: Chuck hand part 5: Claw part 6: Motor with positioning function 7: Groove part 8: Inclined surface 9: Bottom surface 10: Center hole

Claims (7)

(57) [Claims] 1. A plurality of claws provided at a predetermined interval and holding a peripheral portion of a disk and having a substantially trapezoidal cross-section groove which widens inward, and a chuck width between the claws. And a claw moving means for opening and closing the claw to adjust the claw portion. The disc conveying method for conveying a disc using a disc conveying device, wherein the outer peripheral portion of the disc abuts against the bottom surface of the groove portion. Holding and transporting the disk in a state in which the disk is moved, and moving the claw outward by the claw moving means, and holding the disk in a state where the outer peripheral portion of the disk is in contact with the inclined surface of the groove. And transporting the disk. 2. The disk transport method according to claim 1, further comprising transporting a disk having a center hole formed to fit into the cylindrical body. 3. A disk having a substantially trapezoidal groove in section which holds an outer peripheral portion of a disk having a center hole formed therein for fitting into a cylindrical body and widens inward, and is provided with a plurality of grooves at predetermined intervals. Claw part, a claw moving means for opening and closing the claw part so as to adjust the chuck width between the claw parts, a disk transport method for transporting a disk using a disk transport device, comprising: Holding and transporting the disk in a state in which the outer peripheral portion of the disk is in contact with the bottom surface of the groove; and moving the claw outward by the claw moving means, thereby moving the outer peripheral portion of the disk into the groove. Holding and transporting the disk in a state of contact with the inclined surface of the disk, fitting the center hole of the disk into the cylindrical body, and further moving the claw portion outward by the claw moving means, Release hold state Disc transfer method characterized by comprising the that step. 4. A disk transport method according to claim 2, wherein said column is a spindle in a hard disk drive. 5. The disk according to claim 1, wherein the disk is formed in a disk shape, and the groove is formed in a substantially arc shape along an outer peripheral portion of the disk as viewed from a plane. The disk transport method according to any one of the above items. 6. The disk transport method according to claim 1, wherein the bottom surface of the groove is substantially the same as or slightly longer than the thickness of the disk. 7. The motor according to claim 1, wherein the claw moving means is a motor with a positioning function that is driven and controlled to move the claw to an arbitrary position.
Disc transport method described in the two sections.