U.S. patent application number 11/534995 was filed with the patent office on 2008-03-27 for card retention mechanism.
Invention is credited to Ronald E. Deluga, Paul J. Doczy, Steven S. Homer.
Application Number | 20080076288 11/534995 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 39225525 |
Filed Date | 2008-03-27 |
United States Patent
Application |
20080076288 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Deluga; Ronald E. ; et
al. |
March 27, 2008 |
CARD RETENTION MECHANISM
Abstract
A card retention mechanism comprises a first and second
brackets. The first and second brackets are mountable to a circuit
board. Further, the first and second brackets are adapted to retain
a circuit card therebetween. The second bracket comprises an
exposed region that exposes an electrical contact of the card to be
exposed to enable electrical connection of a conductor thereto.
Inventors: |
Deluga; Ronald E.; (Houston,
TX) ; Homer; Steven S.; (Houston, TX) ; Doczy;
Paul J.; (Houston, TX) |
Correspondence
Address: |
HEWLETT PACKARD COMPANY
P O BOX 272400, 3404 E. HARMONY ROAD, INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY ADMINISTRATION
FORT COLLINS
CO
80527-2400
US
|
Family ID: |
39225525 |
Appl. No.: |
11/534995 |
Filed: |
September 25, 2006 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
439/327 |
Current CPC
Class: |
G06F 1/185 20130101;
H05K 7/1417 20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
439/327 |
International
Class: |
H01R 13/62 20060101
H01R013/62 |
Claims
1. A card retention mechanism, comprising: a first bracket
mountable to a circuit board; a second bracket mountable to said
circuit board; wherein said first and second brackets are adapted
to retain a circuit card therebetween; and wherein said second
bracket comprises opposing, stair-shaped members that define an
exposed region between said members, said exposed region exposes an
electrical contact of said circuit card to enable electrical
connection of a conductor thereto, each of said members comprises a
bore that receives a fastener therethrough for connection to said
circuit board.
2. The card retention mechanism of claim 1 wherein first and second
brackets comprise receiving portions for multiple circuit cards
thereby permitting multiple circuit cards to be retained between
said first and second brackets.
3. The card retention mechanism of claim 2 wherein said multiple
circuit cards are retained between the first and second brackets in
a stacked arrangement.
4. The card retention mechanism of claim 2 wherein said multiple
circuit cards are retained between the first and second brackets in
a staggered arrangement.
5. The card retention mechanism of claim 1 wherein said exposed
region permits an antenna contact on said circuit card to be
accessible.
6. The card retention mechanism of claim 1 wherein said first
bracket comprises an electrical socket for receiving a
corresponding connector on a first end of said circuit card.
7. The card retention mechanism of claim 6 wherein said second
bracket comprises a non-electrical receiving socket that receives a
second end of said circuit card.
8. The card retention mechanism of claim 1 wherein said circuit
card comprises a wireless circuit card.
9. A system, comprising: a circuit board; a first bracket mountable
to said circuit board; a second bracket mountable to said circuit
board; wherein said first and second brackets retain a card
therebetween; and wherein said second bracket comprises opposing
stair-shaped members defining an exposed region therebetween, said
exposed region thereby exposes an electrical contact of said card
to enable connection of an electrical conductor thereto, each of
said opposing, stair-shaped members comprises a bore that receives
a fastener therethrouqh for connection to said circuit board.
10. The system of claim 9 wherein first and second brackets
comprise receiving portions for multiple cards thereby permitting
multiple cards to be retained therebetween.
11. The system of claim 10 wherein said multiple cards are retained
between the first and second brackets in a stacked arrangement.
12. The system of claim 9 wherein said electrical conductor is an
antenna wire that is adapted to couple said electrical contact to
an antenna.
13. The system of claim 9 wherein said first bracket comprises an
electrical socket for receiving a corresponding connector on a
first end of said card.
14. The system of claim 13 wherein said second bracket comprises a
non-electrical receiving socket that receives a second end of said
card.
15. The system of claim 9 wherein said card comprises a wireless
card.
16. A bracket, comprising: a base portion adapted to be coupled to
a circuit board; first and second stair-shaped members projecting
away from said base portion, each of said first and second
stair-shaped members adapted to receive a portion of a circuit
card; wherein said first and second stair-shaped members define an
exposed region therebetween, said exposed region exposes an antenna
contact of said circuit card to be exposed to enable connection of
an electrical conductor and wherein each of said first and second
stair-shaped members comprises a bore through which a screw passes
to retain said circuit card in place.
17. The bracket of claim 16 wherein each said first and second
members comprises a mechanical receiving portion that receives and
structurally supports an end portion of said circuit card.
18. The bracket of claim 16 wherein each of said first and second
members is adapted to receive end portions of multiple circuit
cards.
19. The bracket of claim 18 wherein said first and second members
retain said multiple circuit cards in a parallel arrangement.
20. (canceled)
21. The bracket of claim 16 wherein said circuit card comprises a
wireless circuit card.
Description
BACKGROUND
[0001] Many electronic systems including computers, such as
notebook computers, permit one or more add-in cards to be installed
into the system to expand the system's capability One such
capability that can be expanded is the ability of the system to
wirelessly communicate with other systems. Adding a wireless card
to the system permits the system to transmit and receive wireless
communications Different types of wireless protocols are available.
By way of example, one wireless protocol may be a protocol that is
useful to implement wireless local area networks (LANs). Another
protocol enables the system to participate as part of a wireless
wide area network (WAN). Generally, physically separate wireless
cards are used to implement disparate wireless protocols. However,
adding multiple wireless cards into a space-constrained system,
such as a notebook computer, is problematic.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0002] For a detailed description of exemplary embodiments of the
invention, reference will now be made to the accompanying drawings
in which,
[0003] FIG. 1 shows a perspective view of wireless card retention
mechanism in accordance with embodiments of the invention, and
[0004] FIG. 2 shows a cross-sectional view of the wireless card
retention mechanism in accordance with embodiments of the
invention.
NOTATION AND NOMENCLATURE
[0005] 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, direct, optical or wireless electrical
connection. Thus, if a first device couples to a second device,
that connection may be through a direct electrical connection,
through an indirect electrical connection via other devices and
connections, through an optical electrical connection, or through a
wireless electrical connection.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
[0006] FIGS. 1 and 2 show perspective and side views, respectively,
of an embodiment of a circuit card retention mechanism that
comprises a first bracket 20 and a second bracket 60. The brackets
20, 60 are each mountable to a circuit board 100 and are adapted to
retain one or more circuit cards therebetween. The term "bracket"
is a broad term intended to include any type of structural
mechanism to mate with and help retain one or more circuit cards in
place with a host system (e.g., a notebook Computer) In at least
one embodiment, one or more of the circuit cards comprises wireless
circuit cards A wireless circuit card comprises a radio transceiver
and other logic and circuitry that permits a host system containing
such a card to receive and transmit wirelessly with other similarly
equipped systems. As shown in FIG. 2, the circuit board 100 mounts
to a base 102 In some embodiments in which the host system is a
computer, the circuit board 100 is the computer's "system board"
(also referred to as a "mother board").
[0007] In the embodiment shown in FIG. 1, two wireless cards 25 and
27 are shown retained in place between brackets 20 and 60, but in
other embodiments the brackets may retain in place only a single
wireless card. In yet other embodiments, the brackets may retain in
place more than two wireless cards The wireless cards 25, 27 may be
separate instances of the same wireless card (i.e., the same type
of card such as same model number) or the cards may be different
types of wireless cards (e.g., wireless cards that adhere to
different wireless communication protocols)
[0008] Bracket 20 comprises receiving portions 21 and 23 provided
in surfaces 22 and 24 Receiving portions 21, 23 comprise electrical
sockets into which corresponding electrical connectors provided on
cards 25, 27 can be inserted The cards' electrical connectors
provide electrical contacts for data and/or power Electrical
connections are routed from the receiving portions 21, 23, through
bracket 20, and to the circuit board 100 to which the bracket
establishes electrical contact. Thus, the bracket 20 provides
electrical connectivity between the cards 25, 27 and the circuit
board 100.
[0009] In accordance with embodiments of the invention, bracket 20
is L-shaped when viewed from the side (FIG. 2). The cards 25, 27
extend away from the plane of surfaces 22 and 24 in a generally
perpendicular direction as best shown in FIG. 2. The receiving
portions 21, 23 (FIG. 1) provide electrical connectivity between
the cards 25, 27 and the circuit board 100, as well as provide
structural support for the cards
[0010] The second bracket 60 comprising the card retention
mechanism comprises a pair of opposing members 69 and 70 as best
shown in FIG. 1. The opposing members 69, 70 project up from a base
75 in a generally stair-shaped arrangement. Thus, the opposing
members 69, 70 of bracket 60 generally have a stair-shaped
cross-section as best seen in FIG. 2, and the number of "stairs"
forming bracket 60 can be varied from that shown in FIG. 1. The
opposing members 69 and 70 comprise receiving portions 61 and 65
that are adapted to receive ends of the cards 25, 27 opposite the
ends mated to receiving portions 21 and 23 in bracket 20 In
accordance with some embodiments of the invention, the receiving
portions 61 and 65 of bracket 60 provide structural support for the
cards 25, 27 and do not provide electrical connectivity. As such,
the bracket 60 is, or has, a non-electrical receiving socket.
However, in other embodiments, receiving portions 61, 65 provide
electrical connectivity to the cards 25, 27,
[0011] As best shown in FIG. 2, the brackets 20 and 60 retain
multiple cards therebetween in a stacked arrangement. In at least
one embodiment, the cards are spaced apart in a parallel
orientation with respect to each other by a distance D1 of about
0.25 inches. Further, the cards are stacked in a staggered
arrangement about the x-axis (denoted in FIG. 1). Card 25 is spaced
apart from card 27 along the x-axis by a distance D2, although in
other embodiments the staggered relationship between the cards
could be along the y-axis. In some embodiments, D2 is about 0.25 to
0.5 inches. In the embodiment shown in FIG. 1, the cards 25, 27 are
not spaced apart along the y-axis, but in other embodiments, a
y-axis spacing could be implemented as desired. Spacing the cards
about the x-axis, at least in part, facilitates routing electrical
conductors through bracket 20 to the circuit board 100. In other
embodiments, the cards are not spaced about either the x-axis or
y-axis. One of ordinary skill in the art will appreciate that the
aforementioned values for D1 and D2 could be more or less than the
values stated,
[0012] The opposing members 69 and 70 comprising the second bracket
60 define an exposed region 80. The exposed region permits access
to one or more electrical contacts at ends of cards 25 and 27. One
or more electrical conductors can be electrically mated to the
contacts In the embodiment in which the cards comprise wireless
circuit cards, the contacts comprise electrical contacts for
antennas. Card 25 comprises antenna contacts 26 and card 27
comprises antenna contacts 28. Antenna contacts 26, 28 are thus
accessible via the exposed region 80 of bracket 60. As such, wires
29, 30, 31, and 32 can be coupled to the antenna contacts. The
wires 29-32 electrically connect the cards 25, 27 to antennas
mounted remotely from the cards in a suitable location within or on
the host system such as at an exposed outer surface of the host
system. In some embodiments, the wires 29-32 are soldered to the
contacts 26, 28. Staggering the cards 25, 27 along the x-axis
permits easier access to contacts 28 of the bottom card 27 than if
the cards were not staggered. In other embodiments, each of the
contacts 26, 28 can be for a purpose other than antenna contact
points.
[0013] In at least some embodiments, either or both of the brackets
20 and 60 are fabricated from plastic or other suitable,
non-electrically conductive material. In other embodiments, the
brackets 20, 60 are formed from an electrically conductive
material. The exposed region 80 may be formed from the bracket 60
during fabrication. For example, the exposed region may be formed
by cutting away or otherwise removing the bracket's material
defining the exposed region. In other embodiments, bracket 60 (as
well as bracket 20 if desired) is molded as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2,
for example, by injection molding. In such embodiments, the exposed
region 80 is created by removing material Bracket 60 may be formed
as one unitary piece or formed from multiple pieces coupled
together.
[0014] As shown in FIG. 1, each of the opposing members 69 and 70
comprise bores 63 through which fasteners such as screws 62 pass to
retain the cards 25 and 27 in place. The cards 25 and 27 have
corresponding bores through which the screws 62 also pass. The
screws 62 passing through the card 27 are denoted as screws 62a in
FIG. 2. Screws 62a pass through corresponding bores in 63 in the
bracket 60, card 27, and base 100. The screw 62a threads into a
correspondingly threaded member 105 that protrudes upward from base
102. Thus, the screws 62 function to retain the cards 25 and 27 in
place within bracket 60 and some of the screws function also to
retain bracket 60 in place with respect to circuit board 100 and
base 102.
[0015] 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.
It is intended that the following claims be interpreted to embrace
all such variations and modifications.
* * * * *