U.S. patent application number 10/923147 was filed with the patent office on 2006-04-06 for invertible and adjustable tray.
Invention is credited to Scott C. Bradley, James D. Pylant.
Application Number | 20060070894 10/923147 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 36124471 |
Filed Date | 2006-04-06 |
United States Patent
Application |
20060070894 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Bradley; Scott C. ; et
al. |
April 6, 2006 |
Invertible and adjustable tray
Abstract
An invertible tray for components on a strip is disclosed. A
stack of trays can be manipulated to invert the orientation of its
contents with minimum disturbance to the component strips. In
addition, the tray includes adjustable rails for accommodating
component strips of various dimensions.
Inventors: |
Bradley; Scott C.;
(Carlsbad, CA) ; Pylant; James D.; (Temecula,
CA) |
Correspondence
Address: |
Isabelle McAndrews
Peak International
38507 Cherry Street , Unit - G
Newark
CA
94560-4743
US
|
Family ID: |
36124471 |
Appl. No.: |
10/923147 |
Filed: |
August 19, 2004 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
206/216 |
Current CPC
Class: |
H05K 13/0084
20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
206/216 |
International
Class: |
B65D 77/00 20060101
B65D077/00 |
Claims
1. An apparatus for handling a strip of components comprising: a
first tray having a first side which has protrusions extending
perpendicularly therefrom, adapted to retain the strip in a first
orientation; a second tray having a second side which has
protrusions extending perpendicularly therefrom, adapted to retain
the strip in a second orientation; the first side of the first tray
is adapted to engage the second side of the second tray such that,
when the trays are inverted, the strip between the first and second
tray transfers from being supported by protrusions on one of the
trays to being supported by the protrusions on the other of the
trays and the orientation of the strip is reversed.
2. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the strip has a plurality of
openings, a portion of said openings are received by the
protrusions on the first side of the first tray in a first
orientation, and a portion of said openings are received by the
protrusions on the second side of the second tray in another
orientation reverse from the first orientation.
3. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the openings received by the
first tray are different than the openings received by the second
tray.
4. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the first tray and the second
tray are adapted to nest with each other.
5. The apparatus of claim 1, further comprising a plurality of
Locating rails provided on each of the trays.
6. The apparatus of claim 5, wherein the protrusions extend from a
locating rail on a first side of the first tray and wherein the
second side of the second tray has apertures on a locating rail,
the apertures on the second tray receive the protrusions from the
first tray when the first and second trays nest together.
7. The apparatus of claim 5, wherein each of the trays has both a
first side and a second side located opposite the first side, the
first and second sides each having protrusions and apertures on
their respective locating rails.
8. The apparatus of claim 5, wherein the locating rail may have a
linear, serpentine, or sinusoidal configuration.
9. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the protrusions are provided
with a conical, hemispherical, rectangular, or hexagonal shape.
10. The apparatus of claim 1, further comprising retention rails
for capturing strips of varying dimensions between the first and
second trays.
11. The apparatus of claim 5, further comprising retention rails
for capturing strips of varying dimensions between the first and
second trays.
12. The apparatus of claim 10, wherein the retention rails and the
locating rails are adjustable.
13. The apparatus of claim 12, wherein the retention rails and the
locating rails are adjustable along a plurality of alignment bars,
and at least one of the alignment bars has a notched surface.
14. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein said components comprise a
partial or complete suspension assembly for a hard disk drive.
15. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein said trays are formed from an
insulating, static dissipating or electrically conductive
material.
16. A stack of trays having a top surface and a bottom surface,
said surfaces being useable for handling a plurality of suspension
assemblies, the stack of trays comprising: a first and a second
tray each having alignment bars, a locating rail and a retention
rail; a plurality of suspension assemblies each having an opening
along a periphery; a portion of the openings of the suspension
assemblies being received in a first orientation by at least one
protrusion extending from the locating rail on a first tray;
wherein the plurality of suspension assemblies are transferred to
the second tray to have a second orientation by manipulating the
stack so that the openings on the plurality of suspension
assemblies rest on at least one protrusion of the second tray.
17. The stack of trays of claim 16, wherein the suspension
assemblies are accessible for inspection from either the top or
bottom surface of the stack.
18. A stack of trays of claim 16, wherein the plurality of
suspension assemblies are captured by the retention rails and
locating rails between the two trays.
19. The stack of trays of claim 16, wherein the locating rails and
the retention rails are adjustable.
20. The stack of trays of claim 16, wherein the locating rail and
the retention rail are adjustable along the alignment bars, and at
least one of the alignment bars has a notched surface.
Description
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
[0001] The present invention relates to an adjustable tray for
handling a plurality of hard disk drive heads in two different
orientations. The invention is designed for handling partial or
complete HDD heads, hereinafter referred to as suspension
assemblies.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0002] An HDD suspension assembly is a fragile part that comprises
a triangular-shaped portion, a base, a suspension arm and at least
one magnetic read/write head. A flexible circuit is attached to the
forward portion of the assembly. HDD suspensions are generally
fabricated in groups of five or ten suspensions per strip, and then
singulated before shipping. During the fabrication process it is
necessary to access the suspensions on the top and bottom side of
each tray. Currently, HDD suspensions must be manually removed from
the tray for inspection, inverted and then placed back into the
tray during processing. Suspensions that are manually inverted are
susceptible to damage. Merely inverting a tray can introduce
substantial contaminants into a stack of trays if the tray contents
are dropped down into a receiving tray of a stack. Therefore, a
need exists for an invertible tray that does not introduce
contaminants due to vertical movement of the contents when the tray
is manipulated.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0003] The present invention concerns an apparatus for handling a
strip having components thereon (herein component strip or simply
strip). The apparatus includes a first tray having a first side
with protrusions adapted to retain a component strip in a first
orientation. In addition, the apparatus includes a second tray
having a second side which has protrusions adapted to retain a
component strip in a second orientation. The first side of the
first tray is adapted to engage the second side of the second tray
such that, when the trays are inverted, the strip is transferred
from the first tray to the second tray and becomes supported in a
new orientation by protrusions on the second tray.
[0004] In another embodiment the invention is directed to a stack
of trays having a top surface and a bottom surface, each surface
being useable for handling a plurality of suspension assemblies.
Each tray in the stack has alignment bars, a locating rail and a
retention rail. The suspension assemblies are held in a first
orientation by at least one protrusion extending from the locating
rail on one of the trays. The suspension assemblies are inverted by
manipulating the stack so that the openings on the plurality of
suspension assemblies rest on at least one protrusion extending
from a second tray. The suspension assemblies are captured by the
retention rails and the protrusions between the two trays. As a
result, the suspension assemblies are accessible for inspection
from either the top or bottom surface of the stack. In yet another
embodiment, the invention is directed to a tray that is both
invertible and adjustable.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0005] FIG. 1 illustrates a suspension assembly on a strip.
[0006] FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the invertible tray of the
present invention.
[0007] FIG. 3 is a partial side view of a stack of trays in
accordance with the present invention.
[0008] FIG. 4A is a top isometric view of the present
invention.
[0009] FIG. 4B is a partial view of a stack of trays in accordance
with the present invention.
[0010] FIG. 4C is a bottom isometric view of the tray shown in FIG.
4A.
[0011] FIG. 5 is an enlarged isometric view of a suspension
assembly captured between two trays.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
[0012] The present invention is designed to facilitate the handling
of components that are on a strip. Specifically, the tray can
handle strips during different processing stages. The invention
will be described in reference to HDD suspensions attached to a
strip. However, the invention can apply to any other type of
articles that are progressively built on a strip of material, with
additional elements being added to the strip in each successive
manufacturing stage.
[0013] FIG. 1 illustrates the general features of a suspension
strip 100. The HDD suspension strip has five suspension assemblies,
each having a triangular-shaped portion 10, a base, a suspension
arm 15 and at least one magnetic read/write head 18. Along an outer
edge 150 of the suspension strip are a series of openings 55. FIG.
1 illustrates a flexible circuit 125 that is attached to the
periphery of each HDD assembly 60 on strip 100. It is understood
that a partially-completed HDD suspension assembly might omit
certain elements that are present in FIG. 1. The trays of the
present invention are suitable for handling partial HDD suspension
assemblies, as well as complete HDD suspension assemblies.
[0014] In reference to FIGS. 2 and 3, a tray for handling a
plurality of suspension assemblies is shown. Tray 20 has a top
profile 30 and a bottom profile 40. The top profile 30 is
configured to hold a plurality of suspension assemblies in one
orientation. The bottom profile 40 is configured to handle a
component strip in an orientation reverse from the top profile.
[0015] As shown in FIG. 2, each primary surface of tray 20 has
protrusions 22 and retention rails 35 for holding component strip
100 (not shown) in place. Protrusions 22 are located on opposing
surfaces of locating rail 25 at periodic intervals. Although the
protrusions 22 are shown as having a conical shape, they can
instead have contours that are hemispherical, rectangular,
hexagonal, or any other type of shape. Locating rail 25 may have
various configurations including a linear, serpentine, sinusoidal
or other configuration. Locating rail 25 also contains apertures 24
that interlock with protrusions 22 on a locating rail from an
abutting tray. The apertures 24 are contoured to match the shape of
the protrusions 22.
[0016] Tray 20 can handle component strip of various dimensions by
adjusting locating rail 25 and retention rails 35 along alignment
bars 32, 34 and alignment bars 42, 44. In order to properly capture
components between abutting trays, it is preferable that each
locating rail and retention rail in a first tray have a similar
position as in a second tray that abuts the first tray. Retention
rails 35 and protrusions 22 support the component strip in a
desired position in the tray stack.
[0017] FIG. 3 illustrates a partial side view of a stack composed
of two trays. Only trays carrying suspensions of the same
dimensions will properly nest together. In particular, protrusions
22 from one side of a first tray 270 interlock with apertures 24 on
a second tray 280 when their respective locating rails 25 are in
similar positions. Conversely, protrusions 22 from the second tray
interlock with apertures 24 on the first tray when locating rails
25 are spaced a similar distance from the side wall 230 of each
tray.
[0018] Each tray may optionally include two or more feet 26
extending from the bottom surface. Feet 26 prevent the trays from
accumulating contaminants and protect the fragility of the
protrusions 22 as well. When present, feet 26 have dimensions that
do not interfere with any of the tray features on the top and
bottom profiles of the present invention.
[0019] The manner in which the contents of a tray are inverted will
now be discussed. FIG. 4A shows a suspension strip 100 retained by
protrusions 22 on a top side of a first tray 200. A second tray 300
is stacked on the first tray 200 to capture strip 100 between
protrusions 22 and retention rails 35. When tray stack 400 in FIG.
4B is turned over, strip 100 undergoes minimal movement because of
the proximity of the protrusions of adjacent trays 200, 300. The
minimal amount of movement is beneficial in reducing contaminant
buildup in strip 100. After turning over stack 400, strip 100 has
an orientation reverse from the orientation illustrated in FIG. 4A.
FIG. 4B illustrates the first orientation prior to inversion in
which strip 100 is retained by protrusions 22 on tray 200.
Specifically, protrusions 22 receive a portion of the openings on
suspension strip 100. In the second and reverse orientation shown
in FIG. 4C, protrusions 22 on tray 300 receive a different portion
of openings of suspension strip 100.
[0020] A partial exploded view of a suspension strip 100 between
two trays is shown in FIG. 5. In this embodiment, a flexible
circuit 125 is part of the suspension strip 100. The flexible
circuit 125 constitutes a narrow base having an electrical circuit
attached thereon. Flexible circuit 125 is supported between two
retention rails 35. Specifically, a narrow space or clearance 75
between retention rails 35 ensures minimal rubbing between the
flexible circuit and retention rails 35. Because retention rails 35
are slender and easily bendable, they are provided with
indentations 52 near gap 85. Indentations 52 enable retention rails
35 to mate with notches 47 on alignment bars 44. Alignment bars
thereby stabilize retention rails 35 by preventing the retention
rails 35 from bending unnecessarily. Notches 47 also secure
locating rails 35 in a desired position. Therefore, retention rails
35 and locating rails 25 substantially restrict vertical movement
of suspension strip 100.
[0021] The miniscule clearance 75 between retention rails 35 of
each tray allows suspension strip 100 to be reoriented with minimal
movement when a stack of trays is inverted. As a result of
inverting the tray stack, the suspension strip is transferred with
minimal movement to an abutting tray and reoriented to an
orientation reverse from the orientation before inversion.
[0022] The present invention is fabricated from traditional methods
of injection molding. The present invention can be fabricated from
conductive, thermoplastic, non-conductive, and insulated plastic.
In addition, the trays of this invention can be fabricated from
material that has electrostatic dissipating properties.
[0023] The examples described herein are solely representative of
the present invention. It is understood that various modifications
and substitutions may be made to the foregoing examples without
departing from either the spirit or scope of the invention. In some
instances certain features of the invention wit[ be employed
without other features depending on the particular situation
encountered by the ordinary person skilled in the art. Moreover the
trays are not restricted to handling solely strips having five
suspension assemblies, but can hold more or fewer assemblies on a
strip, as well as a plurality of strips within the same tray. It is
therefore the intent that the invention not be limited to the
particular examples disclosed herein.
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