Storage Technology Corporation Partners Ii

Harold A Lunka

Gary W Collins

James R Baer

Kenneth L Manes

Howard A Snyder

William J Benker

Allen T Bracken

An air shroud is disclosed for reducing vibration of the disk storage medium and controlling contamination in the environment above the disk in an optical disk data recording system. The shroud is placed over the rotating disk and pressurized air is forced into the center of the air space between the shroud and the disk where it moves from the center to the outside edge in a laminar flow. The shroud includes a circular plate with a slot for allowing the laser read/write beam to shine through the shroud and contact the surface of the disk for reading and writing data on the disk. An air duct is mounted around a center hole of the circular plate to distribute the pressurized air into the air space and a flange is mounted on the outer edge of the circular plate to reduce turbulence in the air flowing across the disk.

Air shroud for data storage disks

An automatic load/unload apparatus is disclosed for handling of workpieces that must be removed from protective cartridges prior to use. In particular, the workpiece to be handled is an optical disk adapted for use in an optical disk information storage device. The load/unload apparatus includes a guide frame, a cartridge pull-in tray, a cartridge insert separator, reciprocating means for moving the pull-in tray and separator, and an elevator assembly. During a load operation, the cartridge is inserted into the information storage device wherein the load/unload apparatus is housed. The cartridge is received in the guide frame and opened, allowing the pull-in tray to be slideably removed. The disk is separated from the pull-in tray and raised by the elevator assembly to a desired position. An unload operation proceeds in a reverse sequence.

Recording disk load and unload apparatus

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Boulder, CO, United States of America

Harold A Lunka