Universal Disk Shipper Cassette Design
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional disk shipping containers face challenges in uniformly engaging disks of varying thicknesses and diameters, leading to potential damage, particulate generation, and increased manufacturing costs due to the need for multiple tooling arrangements and components.
Innovation Solution
A universal disk cassette and top cover design that accommodates different thicknesses and capacities without discrete locators, utilizing a linear or planar top edge engagement portion and vacuum bagging to secure disks in place, reducing tilt and movement during shipping.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If conventional disk shippers use discrete locators configured for specific disk thicknesses, then individual disks can be precisely located and constrained, but the device cannot accommodate disks of varying thicknesses and requires multiple tooling arrangements
Solution Approach 1:
The top cover is designed with a linear or planar top edge engagement portion that can engage disks of various thicknesses uniformly, eliminating the need for discrete locators configured for specific thicknesses. This universal design allows a single top cover to function with disks of different thicknesses, capacities, and diameters, reducing the need for multiple tooling arrangements and components.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention removes discrete locators from the top cover design, extracting the specific thickness-constraint features that limited versatility. By eliminating these discrete engagement features and replacing them with a continuous linear engagement surface, the design achieves universality across different disk specifications.
2Reliability
If conventional top covers are latched at ends causing outward bowing in the middle, then the cover can be securely closed, but disks in the middle receive less downward constraint than disks near ends
Solution Approach 1:
The top cover design provides different engagement characteristics at different locations. The linear or planar top edge engagement portion is specifically designed to provide uniform downward constraint to all disks across the array, compensating for the outward bowing that occurs when the cover is latched at the ends. This localized engagement feature ensures consistent disk constraint throughout the cassette.
3Reliability
If conventional cassettes are configured for single disk thickness, then disks of that specific thickness can be securely held, but thicker or thinner disks cause damage, misalignment, or particulate generation
Solution Approach 1:
The cassette design with a linear or planar top edge engagement portion allows secure holding of disks with varying thicknesses without causing damage or particulate generation. The universal engagement surface adapts to different disk thicknesses, maintaining proper alignment and preventing the harmful effects associated with conventional single-thickness cassettes.
4Measurement precision
If conventional locators are configured for specific disk thickness, then precise positioning is achieved, but tilted disks miss the disk edge receiving region causing damage and difficulty installing top cover
Solution Approach 1:
By removing discrete locators and replacing them with a linear or planar engagement surface, the design eliminates the problem of tilted disks missing specific receiving regions. The continuous engagement surface accommodates slight disk tilts while still providing precise positioning and easy top cover installation.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The solution minimizes disk damage, particulate generation, and manufacturing costs by allowing a single set of components to handle multiple disk sizes and capacities, while ensuring secure and damage-free transport through vacuum bagging.
Implementation Method 1
The container is vacuum bagged under sufficient vacuum such that the cover and sidewalls of the disk shipper are drawn into the disks fixing them in position.
Data Source
AI summary
Systems, methods, and components include an improved universal disk container for use in transporting, storing and processing data storage disks or other disk-shaped articles. A disk shipping system and method for shipping disks allows stocking a minimal number of components while still allowing packaging and shipment of different thickness of disks and different capacities of disks in a container. A universal disk cassette includes slots having a narrowed lower portion configured for handling different disks of the same diameter but different thicknesses while preventing disk to disk contact when the disks are tilted. A universal top cover is configured for cassettes loaded with different thicknesses of disks. The universal top cover can readily accommodate disks that are tilted in the cassette, and with vacuum bagging, more securely fix the disks in place in the container.