Flextronics AP Assigned Patent

Flextronics AP, LLC, Broomfield, CO, has been assigned a patent (9,558,781) developed by Fordham, Mark, Chapel Hill, NC, and Hancock, Stephen, Wake Forest, NC, for a “method for selecting individual discs from tightly spaced array of optical discs.“

The abstract of the patent published by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office states: “A cylindrical array of tightly spaced optical discs are each positioned vertically on edge to form a horizontal stack. Lifting a subset of optical discs enables that subset of optical discs to be grasped by their perimeters with much more room for robotic grippers between adjacent optical discs. An optical disc storage container includes a molded tray for vertically aligning a plurality of optical discs into the cylindrical array. The molded tray includes a bottom surface and side surfaces to support the optical discs and one or more openings formed in the bottom surface. A lifting mechanism is positioned along the one or more openings and is configured to lift the subset of optical discs a short distance relative to the remaining optical discs in the array, thereby enabling robotic grippers to grab the portion of the lifted optical disc protruding from the non-lifted optical disc array.“

The patent application was filed on October 16, 2015 (14/885,879).