Hard drive destruction device and method
View Patent ↗A hard drive destruction device includes a kiosk having: a user interface, a hard drive portal, a camera, and a crushing unit; and a software for managing the hard drive destruction device. The software includes: an artificial intelligence and/or machine learning software component that detects and analyzes a hard drive inserted into the hard drive portal using the camera; and a back-end software component comprising a memory that stores a captured image of the hard drive, a verification information, and a chain-of-custody documentation.
1 . A hard drive destruction device comprising a kiosk including a hard drive portal for receiving a hard drive, a camera for capturing images of the hard drive, and a crushing unit,
wherein the crushing unit comprises:
a crushing platform having a first crusher floor and a second crusher floor, wherein a gap between the first crusher floor and the second crusher floor is adjustable based on dimensions of the hard drive; and
a crushing ram head positioned to fold the hard drive at least 90 degrees during a crushing process,
wherein the crushing unit is configured to center the hard drive within the crushing unit such that the crushing ram head intersects critical components of the hard drive and renders the hard drive unusable by the crushing process.
2 . The hard drive destruction device of claim 1 , wherein the crushing unit further comprises a gap adjustment mechanism configured to vary the gap between the first crusher floor and the second crusher floor based on dimensional information of the hard drive.
3 . The hard drive destruction device of claim 2 , wherein the dimensional information of the hard drive is determined by at least one sensor selected from a drive clamp sensor, a camera, and a spring-actuated position sensor.
4 . The hard drive destruction device of claim 3 , wherein the gap adjustment mechanism is configured to reposition at least one of the first crusher floor and the second crusher floor prior to activation of the crushing ram head.
5 . The hard drive destruction device of claim 1 , wherein the crushing ram head is positioned relative to the hard drive based on data from a feedback control system comprising at least one of an encoder, a distance sensor, and a bottom sensor.
6 . The hard drive destruction device of claim 5 , wherein the encoder is configured to track a vertical travel distance of the crushing ram head and transmit position data to processing software for controlling the crushing operation.
7 . The hard drive destruction device of claim 6 , wherein the bottom sensor is a failsafe sensor for the encoder.
8 . The hard drive destruction device of claim 5 , wherein the distance sensor is configured to measure a distance between the crushing ram head and the hard drive and provide data for adjusting a crushing depth.
9 . The hard drive destruction device of claim 1 , further comprising a drive receiver configured to convey the hard drive from the hard drive portal to the crushing unit.