Abstract:
A method and apparatus for destroying data on a hard drive having at least one platter on which data is stored extending from a central hub comprising. The platters are shredded while leaving at least substantially all of said hub unshredded. One or two cutting tools may be used.

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
       [0001]    This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 61/392,752, entitled “Hard Drive Shredding Device”, filed Oct. 13, 2010, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety. 
     
    
     TECHNICAL FIELD 
       [0002]    This application relates generally to a device for destroying the data on a hard drive and more particularly, to a device for shredding the data collecting platters of the hard drive so that the data thereon is completely destroyed. 
       BACKGROUND 
       [0003]    Various types of data are stored on the hard drives of computers. Such data may include personal confidential information concerning individuals. This data may include their social security numbers, financial information, health information and private telephone numbers as examples. The hard drives are also used to store corporate information which may include proprietary information such as developing products, customer lists, and business plans. The government may store confidential information including highly classified information on the hard drives. 
         [0004]    When it is desired to replace the computer, the data must be removed from the hard drive so that it cannot be misused by unscrupulous individuals. Merely erasing the data by using the computer commands is not sufficient as the data can be recaptured. This is true even if the hard drive is removed for upgrade purposes. However, even if the hard drive is removed, something must be done to destroy the data. 
         [0005]    One way of ensuring that the data cannot be used or recovered from an unwanted hard drive is to completely destroy the hard drive. This has been accomplished in the past by completely shredding the entire hard drive. However, as the hard drive is encased in a metal, the complete destruction involves the shredding of a relatively large volume of metal that requires a lot of energy. It is thus desirable to have a process and apparatus for destroying the data on a hard drive that is more energy efficient. 
       SUMMARY 
       [0006]    According to one aspect there is provided a method of destroying data on a hard drive having at least one platter on which data is entered and surrounding a central hub comprising shredding the at least one platter, and leaving at least substantially all of the hub unshredded. 
         [0007]    According to another aspect there is provided an apparatus for destroying data on a hard drive having at least one platter on which data is stored and surrounding a central hub and comprising at least one cutting tool for shredding the platters and means for moving said hard drive or said at least one cutting tool so that the at least one platter is shredded by said cutting tool while at least substantially all of the hub remains unshredded. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0008]      FIG. 1  is an isometric view of a hard drive shredder; 
           [0009]      FIG. 2  is a front side view of the hard drive shredder; 
           [0010]      FIG. 3  is a rear side view of the hard drive shredder; 
           [0011]      FIG. 4  is a top view of the hard drive shredder; 
           [0012]      FIG. 5  is a sectional view taken along the lines A-A of  FIG. 2 ; 
           [0013]      FIG. 6  is a side view of a portion of the shredder showing the spindle head in its position where it has engaged a hard drive (the hard drive is not shown); 
           [0014]      FIG. 7  is a top plan view with a portion of the shredder eliminated to show the drive for the spindle head; 
           [0015]      FIG. 8  is an isometric view with a portion of the shredder eliminated to show the linear actuator used to move the spindle head: 
           [0016]      FIG. 9  is a side view of the shredder showing the mounting of various electronic switches; 
           [0017]      FIG. 10  is a top plan view of the shredder showing the chamber with the stop plate raised; 
           [0018]      FIG. 11  is a side view showing a hard drive being inserted into the chamber between the thrust spindle and the spindle head; 
           [0019]      FIG. 12  is a top view showing the spindle head being moved into engagement with the hard drive to clamp the hard drive; 
           [0020]      FIG. 13  is an isometric side view showing the stop plate in its raised position, but with the gate latch opened; 
           [0021]      FIG. 14  is a view similar to  FIG. 13  showing the gate latch opened and the stop blocks rotated out of the chamber; 
           [0022]      FIG. 15  is a plan view of a hard drive with the cover removed; 
           [0023]      FIG. 16  is a top plan view of a hard drive after the platters have been shredded; 
           [0024]      FIGS. 17 ,  18  and  19  are schematic drawings of various circuitry: 
           [0025]      FIG. 20  is a schematic side view of a cutting chamber showing another aspect of the present disclosure; 
           [0026]      FIG. 21  is a schematic side view of the cutting tool used with the aspect shown in  FIG. 20 ; 
           [0027]      FIG. 22  is a back view of a cutting chamber showing still another aspect of the present disclosure; 
           [0028]      FIG. 23  is a side view of a cutting chamber showing a further aspect of the present disclosure; 
           [0029]      FIG. 24  is a back view showing a still further aspect of the present disclosure; 
           [0030]      FIG. 25  is a schematic side view showing still another aspect of the present disclosure; 
           [0031]      FIG. 26  is a schematic side view showing a yet another aspect of the present invention; and 
           [0032]      FIG. 27  is a schematic top view of the aspect shown in  FIG. 26 . 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
       [0033]    Referring to the drawings, the shredding device comprises a frame  2  having spaced parallel plates  4  and  6  mounted thereon to define a chamber  8  there between to receive the hard drive to be shredded. A thrust spindle  10  extends into the chamber from one of the spaced plates  6  and a spindle head  12  is coaxially mounted with respect to the thrust spindle  10  and extends into the chamber from the other plate  4 . The thrust spindle  10  is rotatably mounted in the plate  6  while the spindle head  12  is rotatably mounted in the plate  4  and is also mounted for axial movement toward and away from the thrust spindle  10 . 
         [0034]    A milling cutter  14  ( FIG. 4 ), or other appropriate cutting tool, extends into the chamber  8  from the plate  6  and is transversely spaced from the thrust spindle  10 . The milling cutter  14  is mounted for rotation about an axis parallel to the axis of the thrust spindle  10  and spindle head  12  and also for movement in a horizontal plane such that its axis is moveable toward and away from the axis of the thrust spindle  10  and spindle head  12 . A motor  16  is provided for rotating the milling cutter  14  while a linear actuator  18  is provided for imparting the horizontal movement to the milling cutter. 
         [0035]    The spindle head  12  is rotated by means of an electric motor  20  and drive connection  22 . Axial movement is imparted to the spindle head  12  by a linear actuator  24 . 
         [0036]    A stop plate  26  is pivotally mounted on a shaft  28  extending between the two opposed plates  4  and  6  and includes stop blocks  30  extending from the stop plate  26 . The stop plate  26  is pivotal in an upward direction such that the stop blocks  30  extend into the chamber  8 . A gate latch  32  ( FIG. 13 ) is provided which extends between the two plates  6  and  8  when the stop plate  26  is in its raised position with one end  34  being pivotally connected to the outer edge of one of the plates  6  and the other end  36  having a U-shaped cutout  38  which is adapted to hook around a bolt  40  extending into the outer edge of the other plate member  8 . The gate latch  32  serves to hold the stop plate  26  in its raised position with the stop blocks  30  extending into the chamber  8 . 
         [0037]    More specifically, the motor  16  which drives the milling cutter  14  is mounted on a frame plate  42  attached to four legs  44  of the frame  2 . The motor  16  includes an output shaft  46  having a motor pulley  48  thereon. A drive pulley  50  is provided directly below the motor pulley  48  and is drivingly connected to the motor pulley  48  by an appropriate drive belt (not shown). 
         [0038]    The drive pulley  50  is connected through a series of drive shafts, universal joints and gear arrangement to the mill cutter. As shown in  FIG. 3 , a first drive shaft  52  shaft extends from the drive pulley  50  to a second drive shaft  54  and is connected thereto by a first universal joint  56 . The second drive shaft  54  is interconnected by a second universal joint  58  to a third drive shaft  60 . The third drive shaft  60  is connected at one end to the second universal joint  58  and has its other end mounted in a bearing secured in a slide assembly  62 . The slide assembly  62  is mounted on the frame  2  for transverse reciprocal sliding motion with respect thereto in a horizontal direction. A gear  64  is secured to the third drive shaft  60  adjacent the end of the drive shaft  60  that is mounted in the slide assembly  62 . 
         [0039]    As shown particularly in  FIG. 5 , the milling cutter  14  has a rearward extending shaft  66  that extends into an adapter  68  mounted in the slide assembly  62 . A shaft  70  extends from the adapter  68  in a direction away from milling cutter  14 . The shaft  70  has a gear  72  attached thereto which is in engagement with the gear  64  on the third drive shaft  60 . With this arrangement, the milling cutter  14  is rotated by the motor  16  through the drive shafts  52 ,  54   60  interconnected by the universal joints  56  and  58 , meshing gears  64  and  72 , shaft  70  and adapter  68  connected to the shaft  66  of the milling cutter  14 , while being capable of being moved transversely in a horizontal direction by the slide assembly  62 . 
         [0040]    The motor  16  which drives the milling cutter  14  may be of any suitable type capable of imparting suitable rotation and torque to the mill cutter  14 . By way of example the motor may be Worldwide Electric model CM2-36-56 which is a two horsepower, 3450 RPM 115/240 BAC compression motor. 
         [0041]    The transverse horizontal movement of the milling cutter  14  is provided by a linear actuator  18  mounted on the side of the frame  2 . The linear actuator  18  includes an actuator arm  76  which is reciprocal along its axis and has a distal end connected to the slide assembly  62 . The linear actuator  18  is electrically actuated with the arm  76  reciprocating in an axial direction such that the slide assembly  62  is moved in a direction toward and away from the axis of the thrust spindle. The milling cutter  14  is mounted in the slide assembly  62  so that upon movement of the actuator rod in an axial direction, the milling cutter  14  is moved toward and away from the axis of the thrust spindle  10 . 
         [0042]    The linear actuator  18  for moving the milling cutter  14  in a transverse, horizontal direction may be any suitable actuator having a sufficient stroke and force to properly the move the milling cutter  14 . An example of such an actuator is a 3 7/16 inch stroke 120 VAC linear actuator manufactured by Gentech Inc. and sold by Surplus Center of Lincoln, Nebr. under Item #5-1580. 
         [0043]    As shown in  FIGS. 4 and 5 , the spindle head  12  is rotated by means of the motor  20  that has a drive gear  78  attached to its drive shaft  80 . The gear  78  meshes with a gear  82  mounted at one end of a shaft  84  extending parallel to the drive shaft  80  of the motor  20  and having a bevel gear  86  positioned at the other end of the shaft. The bevel gear  86  meshes with a bevel gear  88  mounted on a shaft  90  connected to and extending from the spindle head  12  such that rotation of the drive gear  78  of the motor, in turn, drives the gear  82  driving the bevel gear  86  which, in turn, drives the bevel gear  88  on the shaft  90  connected to the spindle head  12  causing the rotation thereof. 
         [0044]    The motor  20  for rotating the spindle head  12  may be any suitable motor that provides the proper speed and necessary torque for turning the spindle head  12 . By way of example, such motor may be 1.0 RPM, torque 100, 115V, open motor manufactured by Dayton, model no. 1 LNG2, and sold by W.W. Grainger, Inc. of Lake Forest, Ill. 
         [0045]    The spindle head  12  is moved in an axial direction toward and away from the thrust spindle  10  by means of a linear actuator  24  that is mounted on the frame and has an actuator rod  92  extending coaxially with the axis of the spindle head  12 . As shown in  FIG. 8 , the actuator rod  92  has its distal end  94  attached to an H-shaped clamping member  96  by means of a dowel  98  extending through an elongated slot  100  in the clamping member and through an opening in the distal end  94  of the actuator rod. The shaft  90  of the spindle head  12  extends through a thrust coupler  102  ( FIG. 5 ) that is mounted in the clamping member  96  which allows the spindle head shaft to rotate relative to the clamping member  96  but imparts axial movement to the spindle head shaft  90  when the actuator rod  92  is moved in its axial direction. 
         [0046]    Any suitable linear actuator may be used for imparting the axial movement to the spindle head  12  that is capable of providing the necessary thrust toward the thrust spindle. An example of one such actuator is a 1.65 inch, 115 VAC, linear actuator manufactured by Hepa Company and sold by Surplus Center of Lincoln, Nebr. under item number 5-1463. 
         [0047]    As shown in  FIG. 9 , a control panel  104  may be mounted on the frame  2  and include an emergency stop button  106  as well as a clamping switch  108  and an unclamping switch  110 . Also included are an in feed switch  112  and a rotate switch  114 . A feed safety toggle switch  116  is provided that is moveable between an on and off position. 
         [0048]    In general, as shown in  FIG. 15 , the hard drive  118  includes generally a central rotatable hub or spindle  120 , a cover  122  (shown removed), and an end  124  with connector pins. At least one data receiving platter  126  having a surface upon which data is written is attached to and surrounds the central hub  120 . The shredding device serves to shred the data receiving platters  126  and reduce it to shards so nothing remains in a physical condition from which any data can be retrieved. The hub  120  is not shredded. 
         [0049]    To shred the hard drive  118 , the feed safety toggle switch  116  on the control panel  104  is flipped to the on position and the emergency stop button  106  is pulled out. The stop plate  26  is positioned in its up position as shown in  FIGS. 10 and 13 , held in place by the gate latch  32 , with the stop blocks  30  extending into the chamber  8 . The hard drive  118  is positioned in the chamber  8  such that the cover  122  faces toward the thrust spindle  10  and the end  124  with the connector pins faces upwardly. The hard drive  118  is slid into engagement with the stop blocks  30  to center the hard drive  118  horizontally. The hard drive  118  is inserted so that its hub  120  is centered on the axis of the thrust spindle  10  and spindle head  12  as shown in  FIG. 11 . 
         [0050]    At this point, the clamp switch  108  located on the control panel  104  is depressed and held to cause the spindle head  12  to move toward the thrust spindle  10  clamping the hard drive between the thrust spindle  10  and the spindle head  12  as shown in  FIG. 12 . The spindle head  12  and thrust spindle  14  are provided with pins  130  for engaging the hard drive  118 . 
         [0051]    The feed safety toggle switch  116  is toggled to the off position which will permit the milling cutter  14  to be moved. The in feed button  114  is depressed and released which will commence the shredding cycle. This causes the linear actuator  18  to move the rotating milling cutter  14  in a transverse direction toward the axis of the thrust spindle  10 . The transverse movement of the milling cutter  14  is completed when the milling cutter  14  has cut into the hard drive  118  to a point adjacent the hub  120  of the hard drive  118  at which time the horizontal movement of the milling cutter  14  is discontinued. A limit switch (not shown) may be provided to limit the transverse movement of the milling cutter  14 . 
         [0052]    At this point, the gate latch  32  is opened and the stop plate  26  is rotated into its down position withdrawing the stop blocks  30  from the chamber  8  permitting the hard drive  8  to be rotated about the axis of the thrust spindle  10 . The rotate button  114  on the control panel  104  is pushed and released to initiate the rotation of the spindle head  12  which in turn rotates the hard drive  118  around the axis of its hub  120  so that the milling cutter  14  cuts a circular path around the hub axis. 
         [0053]    After the hard drive  118  is rotated 360 degrees, completely shredding the hard drive platters  126 , the milling cutter  14  returns to the start position. The main drive motor shuts off and the feed safety toggle switch  116  is switched to the on position. The unclamp button  110 , located on the control panel  104 , is pressed and held until the spindle head  12  is fully retracted back to its initial position. 
         [0054]    To provide for different size hard drives, the thrust spindle  10  and spindle head  12  are replaceable with spindles of different sizes. Additionally, the stop plate  26  is replaceable with one having stop blocks  30  of the correct size. The limit switch (not shown), setting the limit of the in feed horizontal movement of the milling cutter, can also be moved to accommodate hard drives of different dimensions. 
         [0055]      FIG. 17  is a schematic circuit diagram for the controller. This circuit accepts input from the operator which is directed to the controller to initiate the hard drive shredding process. The circuit also directs input from limit switches to the controller to monitor the rotational position of the hard drive indexing unit, the position of the hard drive in-feed unit, and the hard drive positioning gate. These input states are used by the controllers to control the feed actuator and the rotation motor. The feed actuator translates the cutter into the hard drive in order to effect shredding. The rotation motor rotates the hard drive while engaged with the cutter in order to assure complete hard drive platter destruction. 
         [0056]      FIG. 18  is a schematic diagram of the electronic circuitry for the motor for controlling the spindle. This circuit accepts input from the motor limit switch and motor override switches which is directed to controller one, which governs the operation of the spindle motor. 
         [0057]      FIG. 19  is an electrical diagram of the circuitry for the linear actuator for moving the spindle head. This figure presents a detail of a portion of  FIG. 17 . This detail presents the momentary switches which control the clamping/un-clamping of the hard drive during shredding. The clamps described here hold the hard drive securely during engagement with the cutter. 
         [0058]      FIGS. 20 and 21  show one method of providing cooling to reduce the temperature of the hard drive during processing. The mill cutter  14  or other appropriate cutting tool which is adapted to shred the hard drive in the cutting chamber  8  is provided with holes  132  in the periphery of its cutting edge  134 . These holes  132  communicated with a passageway  136  in the cutter  14  that is connected to a source of cold air. During the cutting operation, cold air is forced out of the holes  132  to cool the hard drive. 
         [0059]      FIG. 22  shows an arrangement in which cold air is force directly into the cutting chamber  8 . Cold air ducts  138  are provided which have an outlet  140  opening directly into the chamber  8 . The cold air ducts  138  are connected to a source of pressurized cold air (not shown) whereby cold air is forced through the ducts  138  into the cutting chamber  8 . 
         [0060]      FIG. 23  shows a cooling fan  142  used for cooling the chamber  8 . The fan  142  is mounted to the side of the chamber  8  which has passages  144  therein providing air flow from the chamber  8  through the fan  142  into the atmosphere. Running of the fan draws hot air from the chamber during the shredding operation. 
         [0061]      FIG. 24  shows the provision of vacuum ducts  146  which are provided at the bottom and side of the cutting chamber  8  in communication therewith. The ducts  146  are connected to a vacuum source so that during the shredding operation, the vacuum can draw the hot air out of the chamber  8 . The vacuum ducts  146  may also serve to remove the metal shavings from the chamber and draw them into a collection chamber (not shown). 
         [0062]    While  FIGS. 21-24  shown different arrangements to cool the hard drive during processing, it is to be understood that any one or combination of them can be used. 
         [0063]      FIG. 25  shows schematically another method of operating the shredder. A single cutting tool  150  is mounted in a suitable mechanism that is guided in a track to move the cutting tool  150  toward the hub  120  of the hard drive  118 . Once the rotating cutting blade pierces the outer portion of the hard drive  118  and reaches the platter hub  120 , moving along the path indicated by the arrows (1), the cutting tool  150  follows a clockwise 360-degree cutting track around the platter hub  120 , indicated by arrows (2), shredding the hard drive  118  platters  126  so that the only thing that remains of the hard drive platters  126  are small metal shavings. Once the cutting tool  150  has completed the 360-degree cutting path around the hub  120 , the cutting tool  150  returns to the start position along the path indicated by arrows (3), and the shredder automatically shuts off. 
         [0064]      FIGS. 26 and 27  show schematically yet another method of operating the shredder utilizing two cutting tools  152  and  154 . As shown, the cutting tools  152  and  154  are mounted one to either side of the hard drive  118 . The cutting tools  152  and  154  are mounted on suitable mechanisms that can be moved in tracks to move each cutting tools  152  and  154  toward the hub  120  of the hard drive  118 . Once the rotating cutting blades  152  and  154  pierce the outer portions of the hard drive  118  and reach the platter hub  120 , the mechanisms move the cutting tools  152  around an axis extending through the center of the hub  120  as shown. The cutting tool  152  is moved clockwise from nine to three o&#39;clock and the other cutting tool  154  is moved clockwise from three to nine o&#39;clock around the platter hub  120  as indicated by the arrows (2) leaving only shavings. 
         [0065]    Once the cutting tools  152  and  154  complete the 180-degree cutting path around the platter hub  120 , the movement of the cutting tools  152  and  154  is reversed and the cutting tools  152  and  154  are returned to their original position and the shredder automatically shuts off. 
         [0066]    A slight modification to the embodiment of  FIGS. 26 and 27  is for the cutting tools  152  and  154  to be mounted in a mechanism above the hard drive. In this case, the cutting tools  152  and  154  bore into the hard drive  118  from the top rather than enter from the sides of the hard drive  118  before starting their move around the hub  120 . 
         [0067]    While the disclosure includes a number of embodiments, those skilled in the art, having benefit of this disclosure, will appreciate that other embodiments may be devised which do not depart from the scope of the present disclosure. Accordingly, the scope should be limited only by the attached claims.