EP0094240A2
Expired / Lapsed
EP
⏱️ 0.0 years remaining
Automatic floppy disc drive loader
Assignee: MEDIA SYSTEMS Tech Inc
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Filing: 1983-05-10
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Granted: —
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Expires: 2003-05-10
Abstract
Abstract An automatic floppy disk loader allows a stack of floppy computer disks to be fed into a disk drive, one at a time, and fed out of the drive into selector bins. The loader has an improved, self-aligning construction so that the mechanisms used to transport and control the motion of the floppy disk are placed in correct alignment during manufacturing without requiring manual, individualized adjustment. The disk drive is surrounded by a unitary, partially enclosed frame construction which also serves to support rollers, and disk sensors so that precise alignment is achieved. The alignment improvements also ensure that misalignment does not gradually occur as the loader is used. The loader also includes an improved picker mechanism for feeding floppy disks into a disk drive, where the picker follows a slot in a plate in order to properly align the feeding of the disks and includes a hinged, spring-loaded feed inhibit bracket which controls the feeding of the disks. The loader includes a pivoting flap which serves to separate the floppy disks which are ejected from the disk drive into one of two vertically separated bins. Improved loader construction allows the automatic feeding of floppy disks while minimizing the chances of jamming or damaging the disks.
Inventors
- 👤 James A. Norton
Bibliographic Details
Application Number
—
Jurisdiction
EP
Data Source
google_patents
Last Synchronized
2026-11-03 09:38
CPC Classifications
G; G11; G11B; G11B17/00; G11B17/08; G11B17/10
Claims Analysis
Total Claims: 41
Claim 1
Independent Claim
222 words
A transport apparatus for moving a stack of floppy computer disks into and out of a computer disk drive having a spindle for rotating a floppy disk and having a cone mounted on a movable carrier frame for holding the floppy disk on the spindle, said transport apparatus comprising: a picker apparatus for sequentially feeding floppy disks from said stack into said disk drive; an alignment enclosure for maintaining alignment of said disk drive and having two side plates for securely mounting to opposing sides of said disk drive so that the front of said disk drive is open to receive floppy disks; a drive roller assembly securely mounted between -said side plates in front of said disk drive so that said drive roller assembly is held in alignment with said disk drive and so that floppy disks may be repeatedly fed through said roller assembly into and out of said disk drive without jamming or becoming jammed; disk position sensors securely mounted on one of said side plates in alignment with said disk drive, so that said sensors detect the position of floppy disks is in said disk drive; and an electrical motor securely mounted on one of said alignment plates and coupled to said drive roller assembly in order to move floppy disks into and out of said disk drive.
Claim 2
Dependent Claim
222 words
A transport apparatus for moving a stack of floppy computer disks into and out of a computer disk drive having a spindle for rotating a floppy disk and having a cone mounted on a movable carrier frame for holding the floppy disk on the spindle, said transport apparatus comprising: a picker apparatus for sequentially feeding floppy disks from said stack into said disk drive; an alignment enclosure for maintaining alignment of said disk drive and having two side plates for securely mounting to opposing sides of said disk drive so that the front of said disk drive is open to receive floppy disks; a drive roller assembly securely mounted between -said side plates in front of said disk drive so that said drive roller assembly is held in alignment with said disk drive and so that floppy disks may be repeatedly fed through said roller assembly into and out of said disk drive without jamming or becoming jammed; disk position sensors securely mounted on one of said side plates in alignment with said disk drive, so that said sensors detect the position of floppy disks is in said disk drive; and an electrical motor securely mounted on one of said alignment plates and coupled to said drive roller assembly in order to move floppy disks into and out of said disk drive.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim
92 words
The transport apparatus of Claim 1 wherein said drive roller assembly comprises: upper, middle, and lower rollers; a pair of roller end plates having spaced-apart holes therein for rotatably mounting the shafts of said rollers, said plates mounted at opposite ends of said roller shafts so that said rollers are maintained in a parallel spaced-apart relationship; a pair of stabilizing bars attached to and extending between said end plates, and positioned parallel to said rollers in order to hold said rollers in mutual alignment and prevent twisting of said drive roller assembly.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim
130 words
The transport apparatus of Claim 1 wherein said disk position sensors are parts of a disk sensor assembly comprising: an L-shaped sensor bracket securely mounted to one of said side plates so that said sensor bracket extends from said side plate in front of said disk drive and bends to extend into said disk drive, and so that said sensor bracket is held in alignment with said disk drive; a first disk position sensor mounted in said bracket outside of said disk_drive in order to detect the presence of a floppy disk between said disk drive and said drive roller assembly; and a second disk position sensor mounted in said bracket inside of said disk drive in order to detect the presence of a floppy disk in said disk drive.
Claim 5
Dependent Claim
77 words
The transport apparatus of Claim 3 wherein said sensor bracket has a slot extending therethrough, along the length thereof so that floppy disks may pass through said slot into said disk drive; and said first and second disk position sensors each comprise an optical transmitter and an optical receiver which are mounted on opposite sides of said slot so that the presence of a floppy disk will interrupt the passage of light between the transmitter and receiver.
Claim 6
Dependent Claim
33 words
The transport apparatus of Claim 1 wherein said disk position sensors comprise infrared optical detection devices which respond to the presence of floppy disks but which are substantially non-responsive to ambient room lighting.
Claim 7
Dependent Claim
65 words
. Tne transport apparatus of Claim 1 further comprising' a rotary disk eject solenoid mounted to one of said alignment plates and having a disk ejecting lever mounted thereon to project inside said disk drive; so that when said disk eject solenoid is actuated, said disk ejecting lever pivots to push a floppy disk out from said disk drive and through said drive roller assembly.
Claim 8
Dependent Claim
84 words
The transport apparatus of Claim 1 wherein said carrier frame is mounted on spring hinges and wherein said transport apparatus further comprises a centrally located frame solenoid positioned above said carrier frame adjacent said cone so that operation of said solenoid will cause a floppy disk to be clamped tightly between said cone and said spindle, and so that operation of said solenoid will not place twisting forces on said spring hinges, thus. allowing said spring hinges to bend uniformly and avoid metal fatigue.
Claim 9
Dependent Claim
55 words
The transport apparatus of Claim 1 wherein said electrical motor is a low-inertia direct current motor connected to actuate said drive roller assembly, so that the motor is not operating to produce undesired electrical noise, and so that the motor will quickly stop in order to avoid damaging a floppy disk which has become jammed.
Claim 10
Dependent Claim
165 words
A floppy disk picker apparatus for feeding a stack of floppy computer disks, one by one, into a computer disk drive, said picker apparatus comprising: a supply hopper assembly for holding a stack of floppy disks, having a sloping bed made of low friction material supporting said disks so that said disks slide easily over said bed, and having a discharge slot through which floppy disks may be moved; a picker block assembly mounted on said sloping bed with a wedge gripper above the bed connected to a sliding block below the bed through a slot in the bed, and wherein said sliding block fits into and is guided by a recess groove in the underside of the bed so that low friction sliding may occur between the sliding block and the bed, and so that the gripper wedge moves smoothly in a straight line as the sliding block moves in order to push floppy disks out of said supply hopper, through said discharge slot.
Claim 11
Dependent Claim
165 words
A floppy disk picker apparatus for feeding a stack of floppy computer disks, one by one, into a computer disk drive, said picker apparatus comprising: a supply hopper assembly for holding a stack of floppy disks, having a sloping bed made of low friction material supporting said disks so that said disks slide easily over said bed, and having a discharge slot through which floppy disks may be moved; a picker block assembly mounted on said sloping bed with a wedge gripper above the bed connected to a sliding block below the bed through a slot in the bed, and wherein said sliding block fits into and is guided by a recess groove in the underside of the bed so that low friction sliding may occur between the sliding block and the bed, and so that the gripper wedge moves smoothly in a straight line as the sliding block moves in order to push floppy disks out of said supply hopper, through said discharge slot.
Claim 12
Dependent Claim
123 words
The floppy disk picker apparatus of Claim 9 further comprising a hinged feed-inhibit bracket mounted on the underside of said sloping bed and having a lip positioned to cover said discharge slot, wherein said feed-inhibit bracket is hinged to avoid fatigue and is spring loaded to position said lip in front of said discharge slot in order to prevent floppy disks from accidentally coming out of said supply hopper, and wherein said sliding block is equipped with a rounded nose in order to automatically move said feed-inhibit bracket and remove said lip from said discharge slot as said gripper wedge moves a floppy disk towards said discharge slot, so that the floppy disk may leave said supply hopper and enter said disk drive.
Claim 13
Dependent Claim
81 words
The floppy disk drive picker apparatus of Claim 9 further comprising: a pair of retraction springs mounted between said sliding block and said sloping bed in order to automatically retract said gripper wedge away from said discharge slot; and an electrically operated picker solenoid mounted between said retraction springs so that when said picker solenoid is actuated, said gripper wedge and said sliding block move towards said discharge slot in order to move a floppy disk out of said supply hopper.
Claim 14
Dependent Claim
47 words
The floppy disk drive picker of Claim 9 wherein said sloping bed is adjustably mounted in said supply hopper assembly in order to allow adjustment of the width of said discharge slot so that floppy disks are allowed to exit from the hopper one at a time.
Claim 15
Dependent Claim
58 words
-25-13. The floppy disk drive picker of Claim 9 wherein said picker discharge slot is to be mounted in front of a motorized drive roller assembly of a floppy disk transport apparatus, and wherein the sliding movement of said gripper wedge causes a floppy disk to exit from said discharge slot and push through said drive roller assembly.
Claim 16
Dependent Claim
121 words
A floppy disk sorter apparatus for sorting floppy disks, one by one, as the floppy disk exits from a computer disk drive, said sorter apparatus comprising: a lower bin for receiving floppy disks from said disk drive; an upper bin mounted vertically above said lower bin for receiving floppy disks from said disk drive; and a pivoting flap for mounting between said disk drive and said upper and lower bins, so that when said flap is pivoted downwards, then a floppy disk exiting said disk drive slides over said flap and enters said upper bin; and so that when said flap is pivoted upwards, then a floppy disk exiting said disk drive slides under said flap and enters said lower bin.
Claim 17
Dependent Claim
121 words
A floppy disk sorter apparatus for sorting floppy disks, one by one, as the floppy disk exits from a computer disk drive, said sorter apparatus comprising: a lower bin for receiving floppy disks from said disk drive; an upper bin mounted vertically above said lower bin for receiving floppy disks from said disk drive; and a pivoting flap for mounting between said disk drive and said upper and lower bins, so that when said flap is pivoted downwards, then a floppy disk exiting said disk drive slides over said flap and enters said upper bin; and so that when said flap is pivoted upwards, then a floppy disk exiting said disk drive slides under said flap and enters said lower bin.
Claim 18
Dependent Claim
60 words
A floppy disk handling apparatus for transporting floppy diskettes into and out of a computer disk drive, said apparatus comprising: means for rolling floppy disks into said disk drive; means f r holding said means for rolling and said disk drive in a unitary assembly so that said means for rolling is held in rigid alignment with said disk drive.
Claim 19
Dependent Claim
60 words
A floppy disk handling apparatus for transporting floppy diskettes into and out of a computer disk drive, said apparatus comprising: means for rolling floppy disks into said disk drive; means f r holding said means for rolling and said disk drive in a unitary assembly so that said means for rolling is held in rigid alignment with said disk drive.
Claim 20
Dependent Claim
53 words
The apparatus of Claim 15 wherein said means for rolling comprises: a plurality of rollers for gripping floppy disks and rolling said disks into said disk drive; a roller alignment frame for supporting said rollers in fixed relative spatial positions so that the rollers rotate smoothly but do not become twisted or misaligned.
Claim 21
Dependent Claim
36 words
The apparatus of Claim 15 wherein said means for holding comprise alignment side plates rigidly attached to opposite sides of said disk drive and rigidly mounting said means for rolling in front of said disk drive.
Claim 22
Dependent Claim
58 words
The floppy disk handling apparatus of Claim 15 further comprising disk ejector means for ejecting floppy disks from said disk drive by pushing disks into and through said means for rolling, wherein said means for ejecting is rigidly mounted on said means for holding so that alignment between said means for ejecting and said disk drive is maintained.
Claim 23
Dependent Claim
59 words
The floppy disk handling apparatus of Claim 18 wherein said means for ejecting comprises: a rotary ejector solenoid rigidly mounted on said means for holding; and an ejector lever arm attached to said ejector solenoid and projecting into said disk drive so that actuation of said ejector solenoid will push a diskette into and through said means for rolling..
Claim 24
Dependent Claim
50 words
The floppy disk handling apparatus of Claim 15 further comprising means for disk drive closing mounted on said means for holding so that said disk drive is automatically closed by said means for closing through the application of a closing force substantially close to the spindle of said disk drive.
Claim 25
Dependent Claim
51 words
The floppy disk handling apparatus of Claim 20 wherein said means for closing comprises a linear frame solenoid positioned above the carrier frame of said disk - drive near the spindle of said disk drive such that actuation of said frame solenoid will push said carrier frame downwards onto said spindle.
Claim 26
Dependent Claim
60 words
The floppy disk handling apparatus of Claim 20 wherein said means for holding comprise alignment side plates rigidly attached to opposite sides of said disk drive and said means for closing comprises a linear frame solenoid securely mounted to a transverse bracket extending between said side plates so that alignment between said frame solenoid and said disk drive is maintained.
Claim 27
Dependent Claim
54 words
The floppy disk handling apparatus of Claim 20 further comprising means for sensing closure rigidly mounted on said means for holding so that alignment between said means for sensing closure and said disk drive is maintained, and wherein said means for sensing closure detects the position of the carrier frame of said disk drive.
Claim 28
Dependent Claim
62 words
The floppy disk handling apparatus of Claim 23 wherein said means for sensing closure comprises a sensor block mounted to said means for holding, and having an "L" shaped body with a slot through the length thereof and with light interruption detectors mounted across said slot in order to detect motion of said carrier frame which interrupts light passing through said slot.
Claim 29
Dependent Claim
31 words
The floppy disk handling apparatus of Claim 23 or 24 wherein said means for sensing closure comprise infrared light sources and detectors which are substantially immune to interference from ambient lighting.
Claim 30
Dependent Claim
51 words
The floppy disk handling apparatus of Claim 15 further comprising means for sensing floppy disks passing through said disk drive, wherein said means for detecting floppy disks is rigidly mounted on said means for holding so that alignment between said means for sensing floppy disks and said disk drive is maintained.
Claim 31
Dependent Claim
60 words
The floppy disk handling apparatus of Claim 26 wherein said means for sensing floppy disks comprises a sensor block mounted to said means for holding, and having a slot through the length thereof and with light interruption detectors mounted across said slot in order to detect motion of floppy disks through said slot which interrupts light passing through said slot.
Claim 32
Dependent Claim
31 words
The floppy disk handling apparatus of Claim 25 or 26 wherein said means for sensing floppy disks comprise infrared light sources'and detectors which are substantially immune to interference from ambient lighting.
Claim 33
Dependent Claim
57 words
A floppy disk picker apparatus for sequentially feeding floppy disks into a computer disk drive, said apparatus comprising: means for sliding a disk from said stack towards said disk drive; and means for supporting said means for sliding in a recessed groove so that said means for sliding moves in a straight line path along said groove.
Claim 34
Dependent Claim
57 words
A floppy disk picker apparatus for sequentially feeding floppy disks into a computer disk drive, said apparatus comprising: means for sliding a disk from said stack towards said disk drive; and means for supporting said means for sliding in a recessed groove so that said means for sliding moves in a straight line path along said groove.
Claim 35
Dependent Claim
81 words
The floppy disk picker apparatus of Claim 29 wherein said means for supporting comprises a picker base plate having a recessed groove on the underside thereof; and wherein said means for sliding comprises a wedge projecting through a slot in said base plate and attached to a picker block on the opposite side of said base plate, so that as said picker block slides along said recessed groove, said wedge slides along the topside of said base plate, through said slot.
Claim 36
Dependent Claim
83 words
A floppy disk picker apparatus for sequentially feeding floppy disks into a computer disk drive, said apparatus comprising: means for inhibiting feeding of floppy disks by blocking a disk discharge slot leading to said disk drive, wherein said means for inhibiting is hinged to move between open and closed positions; and means for sliding a disk from said stack towards said disk drive, wherein said means for sliding automatically opens said means for inhibiting as said disk is moved towards said disk drive.
Claim 37
Dependent Claim
83 words
A floppy disk picker apparatus for sequentially feeding floppy disks into a computer disk drive, said apparatus comprising: means for inhibiting feeding of floppy disks by blocking a disk discharge slot leading to said disk drive, wherein said means for inhibiting is hinged to move between open and closed positions; and means for sliding a disk from said stack towards said disk drive, wherein said means for sliding automatically opens said means for inhibiting as said disk is moved towards said disk drive.
Claim 38
Dependent Claim
62 words
The floppy disk picker apparatus of Claim 31 wherein said means for inhibiting comprises a pivotally mounted feed inhibit bracket which is spring biased in said closed position; and wherein said means for sliding comprises a picker block having a tapered nose which slides under said feed inhibit bracket to open said bracket as a disk is moved towards said disk drive.
Claim 39
Dependent Claim
56 words
A floppy disk sorter apparatus for automatically sorting floppy diskettes ejected from a computer disk drive, said sorter comprising: means for receiving floppy diskettes in a plurality of vertically separated stacks; and means for deflecting floppy diskettes ejected from said disk drive, so that said diskettes may be selectably deflected into any one of said stacks.
Claim 40
Dependent Claim
56 words
A floppy disk sorter apparatus for automatically sorting floppy diskettes ejected from a computer disk drive, said sorter comprising: means for receiving floppy diskettes in a plurality of vertically separated stacks; and means for deflecting floppy diskettes ejected from said disk drive, so that said diskettes may be selectably deflected into any one of said stacks.
Claim 41
Dependent Claim
27 words
The floppy disk sorter apparatus of Claim 33 wherein said means for receiving comprises vertically separated bins; and wherein said means for deflecting comprises a pivotable flap.
References Cited (Backward Citations)
No citation records indexed.
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