MAGNETIC HARD DISK TRANSPORTATION SYSTEM

摘要

The present invention provides a supporting spindle (110, 170) and shipping system (1) for shipping hard magnetic disks (9) from the point of manufacture to the final assembly point where those disks are incorporated into a hard disk drive for computer use. The spindle is designed to be outwardly expanding to capture and hold the hard disks only by the central hole of each disk such that no disk comes into contact with any other disk. The loaded spindle is then inserted into a shipping tube (130) that has end openings and an interior region where the smallest dimension is considerably larger than the diameter of the disks to be housed within the shipping tube. The spindle is supported within the closed shipping tube by the end caps (140, 160) of the shipping tube so that none of the disks on the spindle come into contact with the interior of the shipping tube.