Patent ID: 7637713

Claim:
A disc stacking apparatus for holding a vertical stack of discs and being configured to facilitate the separation and retrieval of a topmost disc, said apparatus comprising: a base; and a spindle shaft coupled to the base, said spindle shaft having an air channel within said spindle shaft, and one or more air ports configured to facilitate the separation of the topmost disc, wherein said air channel has first and second ends, and said first end is closer to said base, wherein said one or more air ports are located towards said second end of the air channel, wherein air from an air source is supplied through said first end of said air channel, and said supplied air exits said spindle shaft through said air ports in a radially outward direction, wherein the discs, including the topmost disc, are optical recording discs having pits and lands, wherein said spindle shaft has an outer diameter that is slightly smaller than an inner diameter of a center hole of each of said discs in said vertical stack of discs, and wherein said spindle shaft penetrates said center holes to hold said vertical stack of discs.