U.S. patent application number 11/157739 was filed with the patent office on 2006-12-21 for rack-mounted bracket assembly.
Invention is credited to Jeffrey M. Lewis, David C. Moore, Michael P. Rolla.
Application Number | 20060283816 11/157739 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 37572331 |
Filed Date | 2006-12-21 |
United States Patent
Application |
20060283816 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Moore; David C. ; et
al. |
December 21, 2006 |
Rack-mounted bracket assembly
Abstract
A rack-mounted bracket assembly comprises a main member having a
first end, a second end, and a shelf therebetween. A set of long
tabs is disposed on the first end of the main member. A set of
short tabs is disposed on the second end of the main member. A
retention latch is connected to the main member and limits the
movement of the bracket within a rack.
Inventors: |
Moore; David C.; (Ashby,
MA) ; Lewis; Jeffrey M.; (Southboro, MA) ;
Rolla; Michael P.; (Maynard, MA) |
Correspondence
Address: |
HEWLETT PACKARD COMPANY
P O BOX 272400, 3404 E. HARMONY ROAD
INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY ADMINISTRATION
FORT COLLINS
CO
80527-2400
US
|
Family ID: |
37572331 |
Appl. No.: |
11/157739 |
Filed: |
June 21, 2005 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
211/26 |
Current CPC
Class: |
A47B 45/00 20130101;
H05K 7/183 20130101; A47B 96/1441 20130101; A47B 57/48
20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
211/026 |
International
Class: |
A47F 7/00 20060101
A47F007/00 |
Claims
1. A rack-mounted bracket assembly comprising: a main member having
a first end, a second end, and a shelf therebetween; a set of long
tabs disposed on the first end of said main member; a set of short
tabs disposed on the second end of said main member; and a
retention latch disposed on said main member, wherein said
retention latch limits the movement of the bracket within a
rack.
2. The rack-mounted bracket assembly of claim 1 further comprising:
a threaded receptacle disposed on the second end of said main
member; and a retainer extending from the shelf of said main
member.
3. The rack-mounted bracket assembly of claim 1 further comprising:
a first rail comprising a plurality of holes that engage said long
tabs; and a second rail comprising a plurality of holes that engage
said short tabs.
4. The rack-mounted bracket assembly of claim 3 wherein said second
rail further comprises a flange that interfaces with said retention
latch so as to prevent disengagement of said short tabs from said
second rail.
5. The rack-mounted bracket assembly of claim 4 wherein said
retention latch comprises: a shoulder that engages the flange of
said second rail; a spring member that urges said shoulder into
engagement with the flange; and a release tab that is movable to
disengage said shoulder from the flange.
6. The rack-mounted bracket assembly of claim 5 wherein said
retention latch is formed from a single piece of material.
7. The rack-mounted bracket assembly of claim 1 further comprising
a stiffener member disposed on said main member.
8. A rack assembly comprising: a front rail having a plurality of
holes therethrough; a rear rail having a plurality of holes
therethrough; a flange disposed on said front rail a bracket
assembly disposed between said front rail and said rear rail, said
bracket assembly comprising a lower shelf; a plurality of rear tabs
disposed on a rear end of said bracket assembly and engaged with
the holes on said rear rail; a plurality of front tabs disposed on
a front end of said bracket assembly and engaged with the holes on
said front rail; and a retention latch disposed on said bracket
assembly and engaged with said flange so as to restrict relative
movement between said bracket assembly and said front rail.
9. The rack assembly of claim 8 further comprising: a rear retainer
that extends upward from the lower shelf; and a threaded receptacle
disposed on the front end of said bracket assembly.
10. The rack assembly of claim 9 further comprising a computer
system that comprises: a chassis supported by the lower shelf of
said bracket assembly and engaged with said rear retainer; and a
front bezel coupled to the rack assembly by a fastener that is
engaged with said threaded receptacle.
11. The rack assembly of claim 8 wherein said retention latch
comprises: a shoulder that engages the flange of said front rail; a
spring member that urges said shoulder into engagement with the
flange; and a release tab that is movable to disengage said
shoulder from the flange.
12. The rack assembly of claim 8 wherein said retention latch is
formed from a single piece of material.
13. The rack assembly of claim 8 wherein said rear tabs are longer
than said front tabs.
14. The rack assembly of claim 8 wherein said bracket assembly
further comprises a stiffener member.
15. The rack assembly of claim 8 wherein said bracket assembly
comprises a plurality of lower shelves interconnected by a backing
plate.
16. The rack assembly of claim 8 wherein each of the plurality of
lower shelves support an individual computer system.
17. A rack assembly method comprising: inserting a bracket assembly
into a rack such that a set of long tabs engages slots disposed on
a rear rail; rotating the bracket assembly so as to align a set of
short tabs with slots disposed on a front rail; moving the bracket
assembly forward such that the short tabs engage with the slots on
the front rail; and engaging a flange on the front rail with a
retention latch so as to prevent disengagement of the short tabs
from the slots on the front rail.
18. The rack assembly method of claim 17, further comprising:
supporting a computer chassis on a shelf of the bracket assembly;
sliding the computer chassis relative to the bracket assembly until
the chassis engages a rear retainer that extends upward from the
shelf; and securing the computer chassis to the rack by engaging a
fastener disposed on the chassis with a threaded receptacle
disposed on the rack assembly.
19. The rack assembly method of claim 17, further comprising:
operating the retention latch so as to disengage the flange; moving
the bracket assembly rearward such that the short tabs disengage
the slots on the front rail; and moving the bracket assembly so as
to disengage the long tabs from the slots on the rear rail.
20. The rack assembly method of claim 17 wherein the bracket
assembly comprises a plurality of lower shelves operable to support
a plurality of computer systems.
21. A bracket assembly comprising: means for supporting a computer
system between a first rail and a second rail of a rack; means for
engaging holes in the first rail; means for engaging holes in the
second rail; and means for limiting the movement of the bracket
assembly within the rack.
22. The bracket assembly of claim 21 wherein said means for
limiting the movement of the bracket prevents said means for
engaging holes in the second rail from disengaging.
23. The bracket assembly of claim 21 further comprising a means for
stiffening said means for supporting.
Description
BACKGROUND
[0001] For large-scale computing applications that require numerous
servers, an industry standard EIA (Electronics Industries
Alliance), or other type, rack is often used to contain servers in
a stacked arrangement that uses the available space more
efficiently. Such electronics racks are relatively simple
structures that closely resemble open-frame bookcases. Computer
server/component racks are typically constructed with perforated,
hinged front-doors, rigid sides and a removable rear panel.
Industry standard 19'' EIA electronics racks are designed typically
to house a column of electronics packages that are 173/4'' in width
with varying depths. The height of an electronics package can vary
but is normally an integer multiple of an EIA unit called simply
the "U." An EIA U is 1.75 inches. Electronic equipment generally
has a height in multiples of "Us" e.g., 1 U (1.75''), 2 U (3.50''),
3 U (5.25''), etc.
[0002] Typically, electronic components may be secured within the
rack using a pair of horizontal brackets that are secured to the
rack structure at vertical rails near the corners. As the height of
components decreases the number of components within a particular
rack increases. Therefore, the number of brackets needed for that
rack also increases. Because the number of brackets increases, the
hardware costs increase and the time needed to install the brackets
also increases. The preferred embodiments of the present invention
described below overcome these and other deficiencies of the prior
art while focusing on these needs.
BRIEF SUMMARY
[0003] The problems noted above are solved in large part by a
rack-mounted bracket assembly comprises a main member having a
first end, a second end, and a shelf therebetween. A set of long
tabs is disposed on the first end of the main member. A set of
short tabs is disposed on the second end of the main member. A
retention latch is connected to the main member and limits the
movement of the bracket within a rack.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0004] For a detailed description of exemplary embodiments of the
invention, reference will now be made to the accompanying drawings
in which:
[0005] FIG. 1 shows a rack assembly constructed in accordance with
embodiments of the invention;
[0006] FIG. 2 shows the front rail of the rack assembly of FIG.
1;
[0007] FIG. 3 shows a first step in installing a bracket assembly
into a rack assembly in accordance with embodiments of the
invention;
[0008] FIG. 4 shows a second step in installing a bracket assembly
into a rack assembly in accordance with embodiments of the
invention;
[0009] FIG. 5 shows a third step in installing a bracket assembly
into a rack assembly in accordance with embodiments of the
invention;
[0010] FIG. 6 shows a chassis installed in a bracket assembly in
accordance with embodiments of the invention;
[0011] FIG. 7 shows a reinforced bracket assembly in accordance
with embodiments of the invention; and
[0012] FIG. 8 shows a multi-bracket rack assembly in accordance
with embodiments of the invention.
NOTATION AND NOMENCLATURE
[0013] Certain terms are used throughout the following description
and claims to refer to particular system components. As one skilled
in the art will appreciate, computer companies may refer to a
component by different names. This document does not intend to
distinguish between components that differ in name but not
function. In the following discussion and in the claims, the terms
"including" and "comprising" are used in an open-ended fashion, and
thus should be interpreted to mean "including, but not limited to .
. . . " Also, the term "couple" or "couples" is intended to mean
either an indirect or direct connection. Thus, if a first device
couples to a second device, that connection may be through a direct
connection, or through an indirect connection via other devices and
connections.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
[0014] The following discussion is directed to various embodiments
of the invention. Although one or more of these embodiments may be
preferred, the embodiments disclosed should not be interpreted, or
otherwise used, as limiting the scope of the disclosure, including
the claims. In addition, one skilled in the art will understand
that the following description has broad application, and the
discussion of any embodiment is meant only to be exemplary of that
embodiment, and not intended to intimate that the scope of the
disclosure, including the claims, is limited to that
embodiment.
[0015] The figures presented herein illustrate a right-hand rack
assembly. It is understood that a complimentary left-hand rack
assembly would possess the same features as the right-hand
assembly. Similarly, front and rear as used herein are merely
descriptive terms and are not intended to be limiting recitations
of the absolute position of any component.
[0016] Referring now to FIG. 1 a rack assembly 100 comprises
bracket assembly 10 supported by front rail 12 and rear rail 14.
Bracket assembly 10 comprises main member 16 and retention latch
18. Main member 16 has rear end 20 with a set of long tabs 22 and a
front end 24 with a set of short tabs 26 and threaded receptacle
28. Between front end 24 and rear end 20, main member 16 has a
substantially U-shaped cross-section including lower shelf 30 and
upper shelf 32. Retainer 34 extends upward from lower shelf 30
towards rear end 20. Retention latch 18 comprises shoulder 36,
spring body 38, and release tab 40. Front rail 12 comprises holes,
or slots, 42 and flange 44. Rear rail 14 comprises holes, or slots,
46.
[0017] Main member 16 may be formed from a single piece of
material, such as sheet metal. Retention latch 18 may also be
formed from a single piece of material, such as a spring steel, and
affixed to main member 16 by rivets 56, or some other attachment
mechanism.
[0018] Long tabs 22 engage slots 46 on rear rail 14 to support
bracket assembly 10 at its rear end 20. Short tabs 26 engage slots
42 on front rail 12 to support bracket assembly 10 at its front end
24. As can be seen in FIG. 2, shoulder 36 of retention latch 18
engages flange 44 of front rail 12 and prevents rearward movement,
and thus disengagement of short tabs 26 from slots 42. Therefore,
referring back to FIG. 1, bracket assembly 10 is securely connected
to front rail 12 and rear rail 14.
[0019] Referring now to FIGS. 3-5, the installation of bracket
assembly 10 onto rails 12 and 14 is shown. In a first step as shown
in FIG. 3, bracket assembly 10 is disposed at an angle to the side
of the rack assembly so that long tabs 22 can be inserted into
slots 46 on rear rail 14. Once long tabs 22 are engaged with slots
46, bracket assembly 10 is rotated so that short tabs 26 are
aligned with slots 42 on front rail 12 as shown in FIG. 4. In the
aligned position of FIG. 4, retention latch 18 is deflected inward
by flange 44. Bracket assembly 10 can then be moved forward so that
short tabs 26 engage slots 42 and spring body 38 urges retention
latch 18 into engagement with flange 44. Once in the locked
position of FIG. 5, rearward movement of bracket assembly 10 is
prevented by the engagement of retention latch 18 and flange 44.
Forward movement of bracket assembly 10 is restricted by front end
24 so that long tabs 22 can not disengage from slots 46. Bracket
assembly 10 can be removed by deflecting retention latch 18 inward,
such as by using release tab 40, and reversing the installation
steps described above.
[0020] Referring now to FIG. 6, an computer assembly 200 is shown
disposed in rack assembly 100. Computer assembly 200 comprises
chassis 48, front bezel 50, mounting ear 52, and fastener 54.
Computer assembly 200 is shown as a 1 U-high server but could be
any rack-mounted computer or accessory. Chassis 48 rests on and is
supported by lower shelf 30. Retainer 34 engages the rear of
chassis 48 to secure the rear of assembly 200 to rack assembly 100.
Fastener 54 engages threaded receptacle 28, as shown in FIG. 1, to
secure the front of assembly 200 to rack assembly 100.
[0021] In certain embodiments, the weight of a computer assembly,
or other factors, may require reinforcement of the bracket assembly
described above. Referring now to FIG. 7, in one embodiment,
bracket assembly 10 is reinforced by stiffener 56 that is fitted to
main member 16. Stiffener 56 may be constructed from sheet metal
formed to a U-shaped cross-section that fits between lower shelf 30
and upper shelf 32. Stiffener 56 may have a plurality of apertures
58 that reduce its weight, provide for airflow/cooling, and/or
provide access to main member 16 or retention latch 18 (see FIG.
1). Stiffener 56 may simply closely fit within main member 16 or
may be attached to the main member by rivets, screws, or some other
attachment mechanism.
[0022] Referring now to FIG. 8, a plurality of main members may be
interconnected to form multi-bracket assembly 110 that can be
supported by the front rail and rear rail as described above.
Multi-bracket assembly 110 comprises a plurality of main members 16
connected to a backing plate 60. Backing plate 60 may be
constructed from sheet metal and serves to interconnect the
plurality of main members so that they can be installed as a unit.
One or more retention latches 18 are affixed to selected main
members 16 and engage front rail 12. Each lower shelf 30 can
support an individual computer system. Thus, multi-bracket assembly
110 provides support for multiple computer systems with a minimum
number and complexity of components.
[0023] The above discussion is meant to be illustrative of the
principles and various embodiments of the present invention.
Numerous variations and modifications will become apparent to those
skilled in the art once the above disclosure is fully appreciated.
For example, the bracket assembly can be constructed in any desired
dimensions so as to support an intended computer system and is not
limited to the 1 U embodiment described herein. It is intended that
the following claims be interpreted to embrace all such variations
and modifications.
* * * * *