Invertible and adjustable tray

Abstract

An invertible tray for components on a strip is disclosed. A stack of trays can be manipulated to invert the orientation of its contents with minimum disturbance to the component strips. In addition, the tray includes adjustable rails for accommodating component strips of various dimensions.

1 . An apparatus for handling a strip of components comprising: 
 a first tray having a first side which has protrusions extending perpendicularly therefrom, adapted to retain the strip in a first orientation;    a second tray having a second side which has protrusions extending perpendicularly therefrom, adapted to retain the strip in a second orientation;    the first side of the first tray is adapted to engage the second side of the second tray such that, when the trays are inverted, the strip between the first and second tray transfers from being supported by protrusions on one of the trays to being supported by the protrusions on the other of the trays and the orientation of the strip is reversed.    
   
   
       2 . The apparatus of  claim 1 , wherein the strip has a plurality of openings, a portion of said openings are received by the protrusions on the first side of the first tray in a first orientation, and a portion of said openings are received by the protrusions on the second side of the second tray in another orientation reverse from the first orientation.  
   
   
       3 . The apparatus of  claim 1 , wherein the openings received by the first tray are different than the openings received by the second tray.  
   
   
       4 . The apparatus of  claim 1 , wherein the first tray and the second tray are adapted to nest with each other.  
   
   
       5 . The apparatus of  claim 1 , further comprising a plurality of Locating rails provided on each of the trays.  
   
   
       6 . The apparatus of  claim 5 , wherein the protrusions extend from a locating rail on a first side of the first tray and wherein the second side of the second tray has apertures on a locating rail, the apertures on the second tray receive the protrusions from the first tray when the first and second trays nest together.  
   
   
       7 . The apparatus of  claim 5 , wherein each of the trays has both a first side and a second side located opposite the first side, the first and second sides each having protrusions and apertures on their respective locating rails.  
   
   
       8 . The apparatus of  claim 5 , wherein the locating rail may have a linear, serpentine, or sinusoidal configuration.  
   
   
       9 . The apparatus of  claim 1 , wherein the protrusions are provided with a conical, hemispherical, rectangular, or hexagonal shape.  
   
   
       10 . The apparatus of  claim 1 , further comprising retention rails for capturing strips of varying dimensions between the first and second trays.  
   
   
       11 . The apparatus of  claim 5 , further comprising retention rails for capturing strips of varying dimensions between the first and second trays.  
   
   
       12 . The apparatus of  claim 10 , wherein the retention rails and the locating rails are adjustable.  
   
   
       13 . The apparatus of  claim 12 , wherein the retention rails and the locating rails are adjustable along a plurality of alignment bars, and at least one of the alignment bars has a notched surface.  
   
   
       14 . The apparatus of  claim 1 , wherein said components comprise a partial or complete suspension assembly for a hard disk drive.  
   
   
       15 . The apparatus of  claim 1 , wherein said trays are formed from an insulating, static dissipating or electrically conductive material.  
   
   
       16 . A stack of trays having a top surface and a bottom surface, said surfaces being useable for handling a plurality of suspension assemblies, the stack of trays comprising: 
 a first and a second tray each having alignment bars, a locating rail and a retention rail;    a plurality of suspension assemblies each having an opening along a periphery;    a portion of the openings of the suspension assemblies being received in a first orientation by at least one protrusion extending from the locating rail on a first tray;    wherein the plurality of suspension assemblies are transferred to the second tray to have a second orientation by manipulating the stack so that the openings on the plurality of suspension assemblies rest on at least one protrusion of the second tray.    
   
   
       17 . The stack of trays of  claim 16 , wherein the suspension assemblies are accessible for inspection from either the top or bottom surface of the stack.  
   
   
       18 . A stack of trays of  claim 16 , wherein the plurality of suspension assemblies are captured by the retention rails and locating rails between the two trays.  
   
   
       19 . The stack of trays of  claim 16 , wherein the locating rails and the retention rails are adjustable.  
   
   
       20 . The stack of trays of  claim 16 , wherein the locating rail and the retention rail are adjustable along the alignment bars, and at least one of the alignment bars has a notched surface.