The present invention relates generally to an environmental chamber for testing hard drives. More specifically, the present invention relates to a fixture for securing and testing a hard drive while in an environmental chamber.
Computer hard drives are generally subjected to a “burn-in” testing procedure conducted in an environmentally controlled test chamber. These chambers are designed to isolate the drive from vibrations, from temperature changes, and from humidity changes so that the drive manufacturer can obtain accurate performance test results.
Computer hard drives are also usually subjected to thermal testing or environmental conditioning testing during the design and prototyping phases of the manufacturing process. This testing, also known as “final verification” testing, is also typically conducted in large environmental test chambers. During these tests, it is desirable to have controlled and stabilized air temperature and airflow rate around the devices under test. The test temperature and airflow rate are selected by the manufacturer to simulate the thermal stress range of conditions that the device under test is realistically expected to experience in its useful life. Alternatively, the test temperature and airflow may be selected to include some multiple of the worst expected conditions. These tests can provide a valuable tool to verify product quality and reliability and to assure that the hard drives meet industry standards.
Typical hard drive test fixtures in the prior art are precision machined to close tolerance, making them relatively expensive to fabricate. Furthermore, prior art test fixtures are typically built to handle only one type of hard drive. Consequently, there is a need in the art for a low-cost hard drive test fixture, and for a fixture which is adaptable to accommodate disk drives of varying sizes.
Accordingly, the present invention is a test fixture for supporting a hard drive during testing. The test fixture can be used to store hard drives undergoing testing, and can be adapted for insertion into an environmental testing chamber. The test fixture includes a pan, a test card coupled to the pan, and a bearing surface for guiding a hard drive to the test card.
In one embodiment, rails are attached to the base of the pan for providing structural support to the pan and to provide a bearing surface for positioning of the hard drive. A connection card is located in place between the rails and is adapted for connection to the hard drive. The test fixture also includes an ejection rod for facilitating removal of the hard drive from the test fixture.
In an alternate embodiment, the test fixture includes a pan, a test card coupled to the pan, a first bearing surface coupled to the pan, and a second bearing surfaced coupled to the pan. The first and second bearing are each adapted to guide a hard drive of a particular size to the test card. In this configuration, the test fixture is easily adapted to test hard drives of varying sizes.
While multiple embodiments are disclosed, still other embodiments of the present invention will become apparent to those skilled in the art from the following detailed description, wherein is shown and described only the embodiments of the invention, by way of illustration, of the best modes contemplated for carrying out the invention. As will be realized, the invention is capable of modifications in various obvious aspects, all without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention. Accordingly, the drawings and detailed description are to be regarded as illustrative in nature and not restrictive.
a shows an elevated rear view of an array of hard drive test assemblies.
b is an overhead planar view of a hard drive test assembly engaged to a shelf of an environmental test chamber.
a shows a sectional view of a hard drive test assembly according to a second embodiment of the present invention.
b shows a sectional view of a rail according to a second embodiment of the present invention.
c shows a sectional view of a hard drive test assembly according to a second embodiment of the present invention.
d shows an overhead planar view of an ejection plate.
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Connected to the pan 12 is a bearing surface which serves to guide a hard drive 16 during insertion into the fixture 10, and to locate the hard drive 16 during testing.
Screws 10 are positioned to fix the locations of the rails 18 on the pan 12. In the preferred embodiment, the rails 18 are positioned by two screws and two dowel pins, with the dowel pins determining the position on the pan 12. The rails 18 are fabricated preferably from a dissipative plastic material, for example (RTP 387 TFE 10) carbon fiber filler PTFE (polytetrafluoroethylene) lubricated polycarbonate, available from RTP Imagineering of Winona, Minn.
Preferably, each rail 18 is identical, thereby reducing manufacturing costs. In one embodiment, the rails are generally T-shaped and are positioned so that a testing sight is defined between two rails. The rails define generally orthogonal first 24 and second 26 surfaces which support and guide a hard disk drive 16 as it is inserted within the fixture 10. Each rail 18 also includes a slot 20 for locating and supporting a test card 22. The rail 18 also has a plurality of recesses 28 wherein a roller is disposed.
The rollers cooperate with the rail 18 to guide and locate a hard drive 16. In one embodiment, two types of rollers, idler rollers 30 and pressure rollers 32, are used.
The idler roller 30 includes a brass core 34. The sleeve 36 of the idler rollers 30 is pressed on or glued to the core and is fabricated from a hard plastic such as POMOLUX or stainless steel. The idler rollers 30 protrude slightly from the rail 18. In one embodiment, the idler rollers 30 protrude approximately 0.030 inch from the right (as shown in
In one embodiment, as shown in
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a shows an array of the hard drive test fixture 10, according to one embodiment of the present invention. As shown in
In one embodiment, each of the pans 12 is extended to accommodate five hard disk drives 16 and secured to the proper location on the side panels 46 by screws. The rear panel 48 is secured to the rear frame 44 by the same screws that hold the side panel 46. The rear panel 48 is fabricated to carry the appropriate interconnections to the outside, fans, devices for heating or cooling, and whatever equipment a test box or an environmental chamber requires to execute its desired functions. The basic building blocks for testing sixty drives can easily be stacked together to build testers of 120, 180, 240, 360, or greater, drive capacity by simply constructing a mounting framework 44.
a and 6b, shows one embodiment of the subject invention where the subject fixture 50 is configurable to accommodate disk drives of varying sizes. As shown in
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While the present invention has been described with reference to several embodiments thereof, those skilled in the art will recognize various changes that may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the claimed invention. Accordingly, this invention is not limited to what is shown in the drawings and described in the specification but only as indicated in the appended claims. Any numbering or ordering of elements in the following claims is merely for convenience and is not intended to suggest that the ordering of the elements of the claims has any particular significance other than that otherwise expressed by the language of the claim.
This application claims priority from provisional No. 60/286,732, dated Apr. 25, 2001.
Number | Date | Country | |
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60286732 | Apr 2001 | US |
Number | Date | Country | |
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Parent | 10125653 | Apr 2002 | US |
Child | 10968830 | Oct 2004 | US |