Hewlett-packard Company

Hewlett-packard Development Company, L.p.

Matthias A Lester

Joseph M White

Kelly John Reasoner

Gregg S Schmidtke

Robert Wesley Luffel

Richard Lynn Gardner, Jr

Richard Alan Irwin

Wayne E Foslien

Ronald K Arp

David A Eckhardt

An improved lens focusing and referencing arrangement for an imaging system of the type which may include a photosensor array. The imaging system housing may include reference surfaces configured such that they contact the lens only near the ends thereof in order to minimize the effect of any irregularities in the reference surfaces.

Imaging apparatus having discontinuous lens reference surfaces and method of assembling the imaging apparatus

A data storage system comprising: a plurality of vertically stacked modular housing units, each modular housing unit comprising a plurality of data storage media receiving devices; a data storage media handling device adapted to laterally displace media between the media receiving devices; a vertical lift mechanism attached to the data storage media handling device and adapted to vertically displace the handling device along a vertical displacement path extending adjacent to the vertically stacked modular housing units and comprising a drive assembly fixedly positioned with respect to the modular housing units and a linkage mechanism connected between the drive assembly and the handling device.

Modular data storage system with expandible vertical lift mechanism

Modular data storage system with expandable vertical lift mechanism

A magazine assembly containing numerous media units is disposed adjacent to a picker assembly. One of the two assemblies is normally stationary, while the other assembly is a traveling assembly. In either case, the two assemblies cooperate with one another to selectively provide the picker assembly with access to the media units that are stored in the magazine assembly. A motion reversal assembly is coupled to the normally stationary assembly and is engageable by the traveling assembly when it enters an end portion of its excursion path. When the motion reversal assembly is so engaged, it moves the normally stationary assembly in the direction opposite to that of the traveling assembly's movement. The effect is an apparent increase in the traveling assembly's available excursion length, which makes it possible for the picker assembly to access media slots that would otherwise be disposed in the dead spaces located on either end of the traveling assembly's excursion path.

Technique for eliminating end-of-travel dead space in media autochangers

A system to guide a media handler used by an automated media exchanger is disclosed. The automated media exchanger is of the type that uses an imaging apparatus to identify media located in the automated media exchanger. The imaging apparatus images a guidance target that is affixed to a predetermined location relative to media within the automated media exchanger. The guidance target comprises a first edge and a second edge, wherein the first edge and the second edge define boundaries of reflective difference. A first axis intersects the first edge at a first point and the second edge at a second point. The distance between the first point and the second point corresponds to a location on a second axis. The system measures the distance between the two points to correlate the location, relative to the second axis, where the target was imaged. The location of the imaging apparatus and, thus, the media handler, may, be readily determined relative to the media.

Guidance system and method for an automated media exchanger

A solution to the problem of I/O card faults caused by spurious RF energy induced by ESD related currents in the vicinity of an aperture in a chassis is to reduce the efficiency of the radiating antenna created by the aperture and decouple any remaining spurious RF energy from any would-be receiving antenna in the I/O card. A conductive boot covers the I/O cable as it emerges from the chassis. The boot is physically attached and AC coupled (as well as probably ohmically connected) to the chassis at one end and tapers down to a small aperture at a distal end to permit egress of the I/O cable. The aperture at the distal end is considerable smaller than the aperture at the chassis, which is no longer visible to ESD induced currents anyway, since its edge has been replaced by the surface of the boot. The smaller aperture is a less efficient antenna at the frequencies of interest and it is now further removed from components that might act as receiving antennae. The intervening length of the conductive boot also acts as a filter to obstruct passage of the reduced amount of spurious RF energy that still does radiate from the small aperture toward the I/O card. The boot may be of metal, or of plastic that has been coated with a suitable conductive paint on its inner surface.

Growing community of inventors

Fort Collins, CO, United States of America

Matthias A Lester