Storage apparatus for shuffling removable storage media
US11475922B2 · kind B2 · utility
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | Feb 8, 2022 |
| Grant date | Oct 18, 2022 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Feb 8, 2042 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC G)Physics
- CPC primaryG11B15/6885
- WIPO fieldAudio-visual technology
- WIPO sectorElectrical engineering
Abstract
The technology disclosed herein enables a gripper to shuffle items of removable storage media within a storage apparatus for those items. In a particular embodiment, an apparatus includes a housing for items of removable storage media. A top channel and a bottom channel are shaped to accept and store the items in respective single-file rows via an opening at one end of the rows. The apparatus also includes a shuffler for moving a first subset of the items, including ones of the items located in the bottom channel, towards the opening. When in a resting position, the shuffler includes a catch located at the opening and is connected to a rake at a closed side of the housing at an opposite end from the opening. The rake moves the first subset towards the opening when a gripper grips the catch and pulls outward from the opening. The shuffler returns to the resting position when the gripper releases the catch.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.