U.S. patent number RE35,915 [Application Number 08/518,164] was granted by the patent office on 1998-10-06 for apparatus for removably supporting a plurality of hot plug-connected hard disk drives.
This patent grant is currently assigned to Compaq Computer Corporation. Invention is credited to Robert J. Hastings, Paily T. Varghese.
United States Patent |
RE35,915 |
Hastings , et al. |
October 6, 1998 |
Apparatus for removably supporting a plurality of hot
plug-connected hard disk drives
Abstract
A series of hard disk drives are secured atop molded plastic
support trays slidably and removably received in opposing guide
channel member pairs snap-fitted into opposite side walls of a
sheet metal cage structure externally used in conjunction with a
file server or other computer device. Snap-fitted into rear end
portions of the trays are small printed circuit boards that are
insertable into hot plug sockets at the rear of the cage. Forwardly
projecting guard plates on the rear end of the cage block manual
access to the board/socket interface, and the surface mounted
grounding leads on the board extend rearwardly beyond its signal
leads to enhance grounding safety during disk drive installation
and removal. At the front end of each tray is a vertical support
plate upon which LED indicating lights are conveniently mounted for
the associated disk drive. Each guide channel member has a metal
grounding clip portion that is pressed against the adjacent cage
wall and is contacted by a grounding screw on the disk drive as the
drive is slid into the housing, the grounding crew also functioning
to prevent inadvertent upside-down installation of the drive. To
assist in installing and removing each disk drive, its associated
support tray is provided at its front corners with pivotable
ejection latch members removably secured thereto using a molded
connection structure that eliminates the requirement for attachment
screws or rivets.
Inventors: |
Hastings; Robert J. (Kingwood,
TX), Varghese; Paily T. (Tomball, TX) |
Assignee: |
Compaq Computer Corporation
(Houston, TX)
|
Family
ID: |
25490650 |
Appl.
No.: |
08/518,164 |
Filed: |
August 23, 1995 |
Related U.S. Patent Documents
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Application
Number |
Filing Date |
Patent Number |
Issue Date |
|
Reissue of: |
950598 |
Sep 24, 1992 |
05277615 |
Jan 11, 1994 |
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Current U.S.
Class: |
439/377; 361/725;
361/727; 361/740; 361/747; 361/752; 439/64; 439/928.1; 720/654;
360/99.13; 361/679.33; 361/679.58 |
Current CPC
Class: |
G06F
1/187 (20130101); G11B 33/128 (20130101); H05K
7/1489 (20130101); G06F 1/181 (20130101); G06F
1/184 (20130101); G11B 33/126 (20130101); Y10S
439/928 (20130101) |
Current International
Class: |
G06F
1/18 (20060101); G11B 33/12 (20060101); H01R
013/642 (); H05K 005/00 (); H05K 007/14 (); G11B
033/02 () |
Field of
Search: |
;439/62,64,377,74,326,928.1 ;361/685,725,727,740,747,752,759,801
;403/323,380 ;312/223.1,223.2,332.1,334.7 ;211/26 ;360/97.01
;369/75.1 |
References Cited
[Referenced By]
U.S. Patent Documents
Foreign Patent Documents
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1123503 |
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May 1982 |
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CA |
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0029484 |
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Jul 1980 |
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EP |
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0278358 |
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Aug 1988 |
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EP |
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0349285 |
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Jan 1990 |
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EP |
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0428294 |
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May 1991 |
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EP |
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0425175 |
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May 1991 |
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EP |
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0488679 |
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Jun 1992 |
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EP |
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2649854 |
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Jul 1989 |
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FR |
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Other References
IBM Technical Disclosure Bulletin, vol. 33, No. 12, May, 1991,
"Removable Tray Assembly", pp. 178-183. .
Patent Abstracts of Japan, vol. 13, No. 435, (E-825), Sep. 28,
1989..
|
Primary Examiner: Hughes; S. Thomas
Attorney, Agent or Firm: Konneker & Smith,P.C.
Claims
What is claimed is:
1. Apparatus for supporting and providing a plug connection for a
disk drive, comprising:
a housing cage structure having an open front end, a rear end wall
having a plug socket thereon, and first and second opposite side
walls extending between said open front end and said rear end wall,
said first and second opposite side walls having facing
surfaces;
first and second elongated guide channel members having open side
portions with interiors, and generally U-shaped cross-sections
along their lengths;
means for mounting said guide channel members on the facing
surfaces of said first and second side walls in a parallel
relationship in which said open side portions of the mounted first
and second guide channel members face one another and said first
and second guide channel members longitudinally extend toward said
plug socket in a generally laterally aligned relationship
therewith;
a support tray member having opposite side edge portions slidably
and supportingly receivable in the interiors of said first and
second guide channel members in a manner permitting said support
tray member to be slid rearwardly along said first and second guide
channel members to bring said support tray member to an operating
position within said cage structure, said support tray member
having a rear end portion and a top side portion disposed forwardly
of said rear end portion;
a printed circuit board having a connector edge portion;
means for removably mounting said printed circuit board on said
rear end portion of said support tray member for movement therewith
in a manner such that when said support tray member is rearwardly
moved through said cage structure to said operating position the
connector edge portion of the mounted printed circuit board is
conductively and removably received within said plug socket;
means for removably securing the disk drive to said top side
portion of said support tray member for movement therewith; and
means for electrically coupling said printed circuit board to the
disk drive.
2. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein:
said printed circuit board has formed on said connector edge
portion thereof a plurality of conductive, rearwardly extending
signal traces electrically connectable to said plug socket in
response to operative rearward insertion of said connector edge
portion into said plug socket, and a plurality of conductive
grounding traces electrically connectable to said plug socket in
response to operative rearward insertion of said connector edge
portion into said plug socket,
said grounding traces extending rearwardly beyond said signal
traces, whereby, upon insertion of said connector edge portion into
said plug socket a grounding connection is formed therebetween
before a signal connection and, upon removal of said connector edge
portion from said plug socket, the signal connection therebetween
is broken before the grounding connection.
3. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein said means for removably
mounting said printed circuit board on said rear end portion of
said support tray member include:
upwardly projecting clip means formed on said rear end portion of
said printed circuit board and operative to engage said printed
circuit board and provide for a releasable snap-on fit thereof on
said rear end portion of said support tray member.
4. The apparatus of claim 3 wherein:
said clip means include a spaced plurality of upwardly projecting
resilient clip members positioned on a rear edge portion of said
support tray member and being rearwardly deflectable to lockingly
engage rear edge portions of said printed circuit board, and
said support tray member has wall means formed thereon and
operative to protectively limit rearward deflection of said
resilient clip members.
5. The apparatus of claim 3 wherein said means for removably
mounting said printed circuit board on said rear end portion of
said support tray member further include:
a spaced plurality of holes extending transversely through said
printed circuit board, and
a spaced plurality of upwardly projecting post portions disposed on
said rear end portion of said support tray member and being
receivable in said holes to essentially preclude edgewise movement
of said printed circuit board relative to said support tray
member.
6. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein:
said support tray member is of a molded plastic construction.
7. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein:
said support tray member has a plate member projecting upwardly
from the front end thereof in front of the front end of the mounted
disk drive,
said plate member has a plurality of disk drive indicating lights
operatively mounted thereon, and
said apparatus further comprises wiring means, interconnected
between said printed circuit board and said indicating lights, for
transmitting electrical signals from said printed circuit board to
said indicating lights.
8. The apparatus of claim 7 further comprising:
wall means associated with said support tray member for forming
thereon a wire passage, beneath the mounted disk drive, through
which said wiring means extend.
9. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein:
said housing cage structure has opposing channel portions formed on
said open front end thereof and extending transversely to said
guide channel members,
said support tray member has opposite front corner portions,
and
said apparatus further comprises a pair of ejection latch members
pivotally mountable on said opposite front corner portions and
operative, when pivoted relative thereto, to engage said cage
channel portions in a manner selectively creating an insertion or
withdrawal force on said support tray member, and means for
removably and pivotally mounting said ejection latch members on
said opposite front corner portions of said support tray
members.
10. The apparatus of claim 9 wherein, for each of said ejection
latch members, said means for removably and pivotally mounting said
ejection latch members include:
a hole formed through the ejection latch member,
a post member formed on one of said front corner portions of said
support tray and insertable through said hole, when the latch
member is in a first pivotal orientation relative to the post
member, to rotatably support the latch member on the post
member,
first cooperating means on the post member and the latch member for
preventing withdrawal of the post member from the latch member hole
when the latch member is rotated about the post member away from
said first pivotal orientation relative thereto, and
second cooperating means on said one of said front corner portions
and the latch member for releasably blocking rotation of the latch
member to said first pivotal orientation thereof after the latch
member is operatively installed on the post member.
11. The apparatus of claim 10 wherein:
said first cooperating means include a circumferentially spaced
plurality of radially outwardly extending projections on an outer
end portion of the post member, and a complementarily configured
circumferentially spaced plurality of radially outwardly extending
portions of the latch member hole through which said projections
may be extended to outwardly overlie the latch member when it is in
said first pivotal orientation relative to the post member, and
said second cooperating means include a stop surface on the latch
member and a resilient locking portion disposed on said one of said
corner portions of said support tray member, the locking portion
being depressible to permit rotation of the latch member about the
post member to said first pivotal orientation, and releasable to
form an abutment for said stop surface to releasably preclude
rotation of the latch member to said first pivotal orientation
thereof.
12. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein:
said printed circuit board has opposite side edge portions slidably
receivable in said guide channel members and defining rearward
extensions of said opposite side edge portions of said support tray
member.
13. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein:
said rear end wall of said housing cage structure has guard wall
means projecting forwardly therefrom and operative to block manual
access to said printed circuit board when it is adjacent said plug
socket.
14. The apparatus of claim 13 wherein:
said plug socket is horizontally elongated, and
said guard wall means include first and second guard plates
projecting forwardly beyond said rear end wall of said housing cage
structure above and below said plug socket.
15. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein:
said housing cage structure is formed from a metal material,
said first and second guide channel members are formed from a
plastic material, and
said apparatus further comprises sheet metal grounding clip members
carried by said guide channel members and deformingly pressed
against said first and second side walls of said housing cage
structure, and metal grounding members secured to and projecting
outwardly beyond opposite side portions of the mounted disk drive,
said metal grounding members being configured and positioned to
releasably engage said grounding clip members when said support
member is rearwardly brought to said operating position thereof
within said housing cage structure.
16. The apparatus of claim 15 further comprising:
cooperating means on said grounding clip members and said guide
channel members for providing a releasable snap-fit mounting
connection between said grounding clip members and their associated
guide channel members.
17. The apparatus of claim 1 further comprising:
cooperating means on said guide channel members and said side walls
of said housing cage structure for providing a releasable snap-fit
attachment engagement between said guide channel members and said
side walls of said housing cage structure.
18. The apparatus of claim 1 further comprising:
cooperating means disposed on the disk drive and said side walls of
said housing cage structure for preventing upside-down insertion of
said support tray member fully into said housing cage
structure.
19. The apparatus of claim 18 wherein said cooperating means
include:
an inward projection formed on one of said side walls of said
housing cage structure, and
a stop member secured to and projecting outwardly from a side
portion of the disk drive,
said inward projection being positioned to be engaged by said stop
member, when said support tray member is partially inserted
rearwardly into said guide channel members in an upside-down
orientation, in a manner precluding further rearward insertion into
said housing cage structure.
20. Apparatus for removably supporting a disk drive,
comprising:
a housing cage structure having an open front end, a rear end wall
having a plug socket thereon, and first and second opposite side
walls extending between said open front end and said rear end wall,
and opposing wall channel portions formed on said open front end,
said first and second opposite side walls having facing
surfaces;
first and second elongated guide channel members having open side
portions, and generally U-shaped cross-sections along their
lengths;
means for mounting said guide channel members on the facing
surfaces of said first and second side walls in a parallel
relationship in which said open side portions of the mounted first
and second guide channel members face one another and said first
and second guide channel members longitudinally extend toward said
plug socket in a generally laterally aligned relationship therewith
and generally perpendicular to said opposing wall channel portions
of said housing cage structure;
a generally flat support member having opposite front corner
portions, and opposite side edge portions slidably and supportingly
receivable in the interiors of said first and second guide channel
members in a manner permitting said support member to be slid
rearwardly along said first and second guide channel members to
bring said support member to an operating position within said
housing cage structure;
a pair of ejection latch members pivotally mountable on said
opposite front corner portions of said support member and
operative, when pivoted relative thereto, to engage said wall
channel portions of said housing cage structure in a manner
selectively creating an insertion or withdrawal force on said
support member; and
means for removably and pivotally mounting said ejection latch
members on said opposite front corner portions of said support
member, said means for removably and pivotally mounting, for each
ejection latch member, including:
a hole formed through the ejection latch member,
a post member formed on one of said front corner portions of said
support member and insertable through said hole, when the latch
member is in a first pivotal orientation relative to the post
member, to rotatably support the latch member on the post
member,
first cooperating means on the post member and the latch member for
preventing withdrawal of the post member from the latch member hole
when the latch member is rotated about the post member away from
said first pivotal orientation relative thereto, and
second cooperating means on said one of said front corner portions
of said support member and the latch member for releasably blocking
rotation of the latch member to said first pivotal orientation
thereof after the latch member is rotatably installed on the post
member.
21. The apparatus of claim 20 wherein:
said first cooperating means include a circumferentially spaced
plurality of radially outwardly extending projections on an outer
end portion of the post member, and a complementarily configured
circumferentially spaced plurality of radially outwardly extending
portions of the latch member hole through which said projections
may be extended to outwardly overlie the latch member when it is in
said first pivotal orientation relative to the post member, and
said second cooperating means include a stop surface on the latch
member and a resilient locking portion disposed on said one of said
corner portions of said support member, the locking portion being
depressible to permit rotation of the latch member about the post
member to said first pivotal orientation, and releasable to form an
abutment for said stop surface to releasably preclude rotation of
the latch member to said first pivotal orientation thereof.
22. The apparatus of claim 20 wherein said plug socket is a hot
plug socket. .Iadd.
23. For use in conjunction with a housing cage structure having an
open end, and an end wall spaced inwardly apart from and facing the
open end and having a plug socket thereon, disk drive apparatus
insertable inwardly through the open housing cage structure end in
a manner removably holding said disk drive apparatus therein and
operatively coupling it to the plug socket, said disk drive
apparatus comprising:
a support tray member having a base wall with opposite top and
bottom sides, a rear end portion, and a front end portion disposed
forwardly of said rear end portion, said support tray member being
rearwardly movable inwardly through the open housing cage structure
end, toward the plug socket, to an operating position;
a printed circuit board having a connector edge portion;
mounting means for mounting said printed circuit board on one of
said opposite top and bottom sides of said rear end portion of said
base wall, in a parallel relationship therewith, for movement with
said support tray member in a manner such that when said support
tray member is rearwardly moved through the cage structure to said
operating position said connector edge portion of the mounted
printed circuit board is conductively and removably received within
the plug socket;
securing means for securing a disk drive to one of said top and
bottom sides of said front end portion of said base wall, forwardly
of the printed circuit board, for movement therewith;
coupling means for electrically coupling said printed circuit board
to the disk drive; and
support means associated with said support tray member and
cooperatively engageable with a portion of the housing cage
structure, in response to movement of said support tray member into
the housing cage structure to said operating position, to removably
support said support tray member within the housing cage structure.
.Iaddend..Iadd.
24. The disk drive apparatus of claim 23 further comprising:
a hard disk drive secured by said securing means to said top side
of said front end portion of said base wall forwardly of said
printed circuit board. .Iaddend..Iadd.25. The disk drive apparatus
of claim 24 wherein:
said printed circuit board is mounted on said top side of said
front end portion of said base wall. .Iaddend..Iadd.26. The disk
drive apparatus of claim 23 wherein:
said printed circuit board has formed on said connector edge
portion thereof a plurality of conductive, rearwardly extending
signal traces electrically connectable to the plug socket in
response to operative rearward insertion of said connector edge
portion into the plug socket, and a plurality of conductive
grounding traces electrically connectable to said plug socket in
response to operative rearward insertion of said connector edge
portion into the plug socket, said grounding traces
extending rearwardly beyond said signal traces. .Iaddend..Iadd.27.
The disk drive apparatus of claim 23 wherein said means for
mounting said printed circuit board on said rear end portion of
said support tray member include:
upwardly projecting clip means formed on said rear end portion of
said printed circuit board and operative to engage said printed
circuit board and provide for a releasable snap-on fit thereof on
said rear end portion of said support tray member.
.Iaddend..Iadd.28. The apparatus of claim 27 wherein:
said clip means include a spaced plurality of upwardly projecting
resilient clip members positioned on a rear edge portion of said
support tray member and being rearwardly deflectable to lockingly
engage rear edge portions of said printed circuit board, and
said support tray member has wall means formed thereon and
operative to protectively limit rearward deflection of said
resilient clip members. .Iaddend..Iadd.29. The disk drive apparatus
of claim 27 wherein said means for mounting said printed circuit
board on said rear end portion of said support tray member further
include:
a spaced plurality of holes extending transversely through said
printed circuit board, and
a spaced plurality of upwardly projecting post portions disposed on
said rear end portion of said support tray member and being
receivable in said holes to essentially preclude edgewise movement
of said printed circuit board relative to said support tray member.
.Iaddend..Iadd.30. The disk drive apparatus of claim 23
wherein:
said support tray member is of a molded plastic construction.
.Iaddend..Iadd.31. The disk drive apparatus of claim 23
wherein:
said support tray member has a plate member projecting upwardly
from the front end thereof,
said plate member has a plurality of disk drive indicating lights
operatively mounted thereon, and
said disk drive apparatus further comprises wiring means,
interconnected between said printed circuit board and said
indicating lights, for transmitting electrical signals from said
printed circuit board to said indicating lights. .Iaddend..Iadd.32.
The disk drive apparatus of claim 31 further comprising:
wall means associated with said support tray member for forming
thereon a wire passage, disposed along the underside of said
support tray member,
through which said wiring means extend. .Iaddend..Iadd.33. For use
in conjunction with a housing cage structure having an open end,
and an end wall spaced inwardly apart from and facing the open end
and having a plug socket thereon, disk drive apparatus insertable
inwardly through the open housing cage structure end in a manner
removably holding said disk drive apparatus therein and operatively
coupling it to the plug socket, said disk drive apparatus
comprising:
a support tray member having a base wall with opposite top and
bottom sides, a rear end portion, and a front end portion disposed
forwardly of said rear end portion, said support tray member being
rearwardly movable inwardly through the open housing cage structure
end, toward the plug socket, to an operating position, said front
end portion of said base wall having opposite side edge portions
extending in front-to-rear directions;
a printed circuit board anchored to one of said top and bottom
sides of said base wall and being positioned rearwardly of said
front end portion of said base wall, said printed circuit board
extending generally parallel to said base wall and having opposite
side edge portions generally aligned with and forming rearward
extensions of said opposite side edge portions of said base wall,
said printed circuit board further having a rearwardly extending
connector edge portion removably and operatively receivable in the
plug socket;
a disk drive secured to one of said top and bottom sides of said
front end portion of said base wall and being electrically coupled
to said printed circuit board; and
support means associated with said support tray member and
cooperatively engageable with a portion of the housing cage
structure, in response to movement of said support tray member into
the housing cage structure to said operating position, to removably
support said support tray member within the housing cage structure,
said support means including the aligned opposite side edge
portions of said base wall and said printed circuit board.
.Iaddend..Iadd.34. The disk drive apparatus of claim 33
wherein:
the housing cage structure has guide channel structures disposed
therein, and
the aligned opposite side edge portions of said base wall and said
printed circuit board are configured to be slidably and
supportingly received in the guide channel structures.
.Iaddend..Iadd.35. The disk drive apparatus of claim 33 further
comprising:
a plate member projecting upwardly from a front end portion of said
support tray member forwardly of said disk drive,
a plurality of disk drive indicating lights operatively mounted on
said plate member, and
wiring means, interconnected between said printed circuit board and
said indicating lights, for transmitting electrical signals from
said printed circuit board to said indicating lights.
.Iaddend..Iadd.36. The disk drive apparatus of claim 35 further
comprising:
wall means associated with said support tray member for forming
along an underside portion thereof a wire passage through which
said wiring means extend. .Iaddend..Iadd.37. For use in conjunction
with a housing cage structure having an open end, and an end wall
spaced inwardly apart from and facing the open end and having a
plug socket thereon, disk drive apparatus insertable inwardly
through the open housing cage structure end in a manner removably
holding said disk drive apparatus therein and operatively coupling
it to the plug socket, said disk drive apparatus comprising:
a support tray member having a rear end portion and a top side
portion disposed forwardly of said rear end portion, said top side
portion having opposite front corner portions, said support tray
member being rearwardly movable inwardly through the open housing
cage structure end, toward the plug socket on the end wall of the
housing cage structure, to an operating position;
a printed circuit board having a connector structure thereon;
mounting means for mounting said printed circuit board on said rear
end portion of said support tray member for movement therewith in a
manner such that when said support tray member is rearwardly moved
through the cage structure to said operating position said
connector structure of the mounted printed circuit board is
conductively and removably received within the plug socket;
securing means for securing a disk drive to said top side portion
of said support tray member for movement therewith;
coupling means for electrically coupling said printed circuit board
to the disk drive;
support means associated with said support tray member and
cooperatively engageable with a portion of the housing cage
structure, in response to movement of said support tray member into
the housing cage structure to said operating position, to removably
support said support tray member within the housing cage
structure;
a pair of ejection latch members pivotally mountable on said
opposite front corner portions of said support tray member and
operative, when pivoted relative thereto, to engage a portion of
the housing cage structure in a manner selectively creating an
insertion or withdrawal force on said support tray member; and
means for removably and pivotally mounting said ejection latch
members on corner portions of said support tray member, said means
for removably and pivotally mounting, for each ejection latch
member, including:
a hole formed through the ejection latch member,
a post member formed on one of said front corner portions of said
support member and insertable through said hole, when the latch
member is in a first pivotal orientation relative to the post
member, to rotatably support the latch member on the post
member,
first cooperating means on the post member and the latch member for
preventing withdrawal of the post member from the latch member hole
when the latch member is rotated about the post member away from
said first pivotal orientation relative thereto, and
second cooperating means on said one of said front corner portions
of said support member and the latch member for releasably blocking
rotation of the latch member to said first pivotal orientation
thereof after the latch member is rotatable installed on the post
member. .Iaddend..Iadd.38. The disk drive apparatus of claim 37
wherein:
said first cooperating means include a circumferentially spaced
plurality of radially outwardly extending projections on an outer
end portion of the post member, and a complementarily configured
circumferentially spaced plurality of radially outwardly extending
portions of the latch member hole through which said projections
may be extended to outwardly overlie the latch member when it is in
said first pivotal orientation relative to the post member, and
said second cooperating means include a stop surface on the latch
member and a resilient locking portion disposed on said one of said
corner portions of said support member, the locking portion being
depressible to permit rotation of the latch member about the post
member to said first pivotal orientation, and releasable to form an
abutment for said stop surface to releasably preclude rotation of
the latch member to said first pivotal orientation thereof.
.Iaddend..Iadd.39. For use in conjunction with a housing cage
structure having an open end, and an end wall spaced inwardly apart
from and facing the open end and having a plug socket thereon, disk
drive apparatus insertable inwardly through the open housing cage
structure end in a manner removably holding said disk drive
apparatus therein and operatively coupling it to the plug socket,
said disk drive apparatus comprising:
a support tray member having a base wall with a rear portion and a
front portion disposed forwardly of said rear portion, said support
tray member being rearwardly movable inwardly through the open
housing cage structure end, toward the plug socket, to an operating
position;
a printed circuit board mounted on a side of said rear portion of
said base wall in a generally parallel relationship therewith and
having a rearwardly projecting connector edge portion with a
plurality of signal traces disposed thereon, and a grounding trace
disposed thereon and extending rearwardly of said signal traces,
said connector edge portion being removably receivable in the plug
socket in response to rearward movement of said support tray member
through the housing cage structure to said operating position;
securing means for securing a disk drive to said front portion of
said base wall for movement therewith;
coupling means for electrically coupling said printed circuit board
to the disk drive; and
support means associated with said support tray member and
cooperatively engageable with a portion of the housing cage
structure, in response to movement of said support tray member into
the housing cage structure to said operating position, to removably
support said support tray structure
within the housing cage structure. .Iaddend..Iadd.40. The disk
drive apparatus of claim 39 further comprising:
a disk drive secured by said securing means to said front portion
of said support tray member forwardly of said printed circuit
board. .Iaddend..Iadd.41. The disk drive apparatus of claim 40
wherein:
said disk drive is a hard disk drive. .Iaddend..Iadd.42. The disk
drive apparatus of claim 39 wherein:
said support tray member is of a plastic construction.
.Iaddend..Iadd.43. Apparatus for supporting and providing a plug
connection for a disk drive, comprising:
a housing cage structure having an open front end, a rear end wall
having a plug socket thereon, and first and second opposite side
walls extending between said open front end and said rear end wall,
said first and second opposite side walls having facing
surfaces;
first and second elongated guide channel members having open side
portions with interiors, and generally U-shaped cross-sections
along their lengths;
means for mounting said guide channel members on the facing
surfaces of said first and second side walls in a parallel
relationship in which said open side portions of the mounted first
and second guide channel members face one another and said first
and second guide channel members longitudinally extend toward said
plug socket in a generally laterally aligned relationship
therewith;
a support tray member having opposite side edge portions slidably
and supportingly receivable in the interiors of said first and
second guide channel members in a manner permitting said support
tray member to be slid rearwardly along said first and second guide
channel members to bring said support tray member to an operating
position within said cage structure, said support tray member
having a rear end portion and a top side portion disposed forwardly
of said rear end portion;
a printed circuit board having a connector edge portion;
means for mounting said printed circuit board on said rear end
portion of said support tray member for movement therewith in a
manner such that when said support tray member is rearwardly moved
through said cage structure to said operating position the
connector edge portion of the mounted printed circuit board is
conductively and removably received within said plug socket;
means for securing the disk drive to said top side portion of said
support tray member for movement therewith; and
means for electrically coupling said printed circuit board to the
disk
drive. .Iaddend..Iadd.44. The apparatus of claim 43 wherein:
said printed circuit board has formed on said connector edge
portion thereof a plurality of conductive, rearwardly extending
signal traces electrically connectable to said plug socket in
response to operative rearward insertion of said connector edge
portion into said plug socket, and a plurality of conductive
grounding traces electrically connectable to said plug socket in
response to operative rearward insertion of said connector edge
portion into said plug socket,
said grounding traces extending rearwardly beyond said signal
traces, whereby, upon insertion of said connector edge portion into
said plug socket a grounding connection is formed therebetween
before a signal connection and, upon removal of said connector edge
portion from said plug socket, the signal connection therebetween
is broken before the grounding connection. .Iaddend..Iadd.45. The
apparatus of claim 43 wherein said means for mounting said printed
circuit board on said rear end portion of said support tray member
include:
upwardly projecting clip means formed on said rear end portion of
said printed circuit board and operative to engage said printed
circuit board and provide for a releasable snap-on fit thereof on
said rear end portion of said support tray member.
.Iaddend..Iadd.46. The apparatus of claim 45 wherein:
said clip means include a spaced plurality of upwardly projecting
resilient clip members positioned on a rear edge portion of said
support tray member and being rearwardly deflectable to lockingly
engage rear edge portions of said printed circuit board, and
said support tray member has wall means formed thereon and
operative to protectively limit rearward deflection of said
resilient clip members. .Iaddend..Iadd.47. The apparatus of claim
45 wherein said means for mounting said printed circuit board on
said rear end portion of said support tray member further
include:
a spaced plurality of holes extending transversely through said
printed circuit board, and
a spaced plurality of upwardly projecting post portions disposed on
said rear end portion of said support tray member and being
receivable in said holes to essentially preclude edgewise movement
of said printed circuit
board relative to said support tray member. .Iaddend..Iadd.48. The
apparatus of claim 43 wherein said support tray member is of a
molded plastic construction. .Iaddend..Iadd.49. The apparatus of
claim 43 wherein:
said support tray member has a plate member projecting upwardly
from the front end thereof in front of the front end of the mounted
disk drive,
said plate member has a plurality of disk drive indicating lights
operatively mounted thereon, and
said apparatus further comprises wiring means, interconnected
between said printed circuit board and said indicating lights, for
transmitting electrical signals from said printed circuit board to
said indicating lights. .Iaddend..Iadd.50. The apparatus of claim
49 further comprising:
wall means associated with said support tray member for forming
thereon a wire passage, beneath the mounted disk drive, through
which said wiring
means extend. .Iaddend..Iadd.51. The apparatus of claim 43
wherein:
said housing cage structure has opposing channel portions formed on
said open front end thereof and extending transversely to said
guide channel members,
said support tray member has opposite front corner portions,
and
said apparatus further comprises a pair of ejection latch members
pivotally mountable on said opposite front corner portions and
operative, when pivoted relative thereto, to engage said cage
channel portions in a manner selectively creating an insertion or
withdrawal force on said support tray member, and means for
removably and pivotally mounting said ejection latch members on
said opposite front corner portions of said support tray members.
.Iaddend..Iadd.52. The apparatus of claim 51 wherein, for each of
said ejection latch members, said means for removably and pivotally
mounting said ejection latch members include:
a hole formed through the ejection latch member,
a post member formed on one of said front corner portions of said
support tray and insertable through said hole, when the latch
member is in a first pivotal orientation relative to the post
member, to rotatably support the latch member on the post
member,
first cooperating means on the post member and the latch member for
preventing withdrawal of the post member from the latch member hole
when the latch member is rotated about the post member away from
said first pivotal orientation relative thereto, and
second cooperating means on said one of said front corner portions
and the latch member for releasably blocking rotation of the latch
member to said first pivotal orientation thereof after the latch
member is operatively
installed on the post member. .Iaddend..Iadd.53. The apparatus of
claim 52 wherein:
said first cooperating means include a circumferentially spaced
plurality of radially outwardly extending projections on an outer
end portion of the post member, and a complementarily configured
circumferentially spaced plurality of radially outwardly extending
portions of the latch member hole through which said projections
may be extended to outwardly overlie the latch member when it is in
said first pivotal orientation relative to the post member, and
said second cooperating means include a stop surface on the latch
member and a resilient locking portion disposed on said one of said
corner portions of said support tray member, the locking portion
being depressible to permit rotation of the latch member about the
post member to said first pivotal orientation, and releasable to
form an abutment for said stop surface to releasably preclude
rotation of the latch member to
said first pivotal orientation thereof. .Iaddend..Iadd.54. The
apparatus of claim 43 wherein:
said printed circuit board has opposite side edge portions slidably
receivable in said guide channel members and defining rearward
extensions of said opposite side edge portions of said support tray
member. .Iaddend..Iadd.55. The apparatus of claim 43 wherein:
said rear end wall of said housing cage structure has guard wall
means projecting forwardly therefrom and operative to block manual
access to said printed circuit board when it is adjacent said plug
socket. .Iaddend..Iadd.56. The apparatus of claim 55 wherein:
said plug socket is horizontally elongated, and
said guard wall means include first and second guard plates
projecting forwardly beyond said rear end wall of said housing cage
structure above and below said plug socket. .Iaddend..Iadd.57. The
apparatus of claim 43 wherein:
said housing cage structure is formed from a metal material,
said first and second guide channel members are formed from a
plastic material, and
said apparatus further comprises sheet metal grounding clip members
carried by said guide channel members and deformingly pressed
against said first and second side walls of said housing cage
structure, and metal grounding members secured to and projecting
outwardly beyond opposite side portions of the mounted disk drive,
said metal grounding members being configured and positioned to
releasably engage said grounding clip members when said support
member is rearwardly brought to said operating position thereof
within said housing cage structure. .Iaddend..Iadd.58. The
apparatus of claim 57 further comprising:
cooperating means on said grounding clip members and said guide
channel members for providing a releasable snap-fit mounting
connection between said grounding clip members and their associated
guide channel members. .Iaddend..Iadd.59. The apparatus of claim 43
further comprising:
cooperating means on said guide channel members and said side walls
of said housing cage structure for providing a releasable snap-fit
attachment engagement between said guide channel members and said
side walls of said housing cage structure. .Iaddend..Iadd.60. The
apparatus of claim 43 further comprising:
cooperating means disposed on the disk drive and said side walls of
said housing cage structure for preventing upside-down insertion of
said support tray member fully into said housing cage
structure.
.Iaddend..Iadd.1. The apparatus of claim 60 wherein said
cooperating means include:
an inward projection formed on one of said side walls of said
housing cage structure, and
a stop member secured to and projecting outwardly from a side
portion of the disk drive,
said inward projection being positioned to be enraged by said stop
member, when said support tray member is partially inserted
rearwardly into said guide channel members in an upside-down
orientation, in a manner precluding further rearward insertion into
said housing cage structure. .Iaddend..Iadd.62. The disk drive
apparatus of claim 33 wherein:
said disk drive is mounted on the top side of said front end
portion of said base wall, and
said printed circuit board is mounted on the top side of said rear
end
portion of said base wall. .Iaddend..Iadd.63. For use conjunction
with a housing cage structure having an open end, and an end wall
spaced inwardly apart from and facing the open end and having a
plug socket thereon, disk drive apparatus insertable inwardly
through the open housing cage structure end in a manner removably
holding said disk drive apparatus therein and operatively coupling
it to the plug socket, said disk drive apparatus comprising:
a support tray having a base wall structure with opposite top and
bottom sides, a front end portion, a rear end portion having a
downwardly offset top side portion, and a rear edge, said support
tray being rearwardly movable inwardly through the open housing
cage structure end, toward the plug socket on the end wall of the
housing cage structure, to an operating position;
a printed circuit board having a connector edge portion;
mounting means for mounting said printed circuit board on said
downwardly offset top side portion of said rear end portion of said
base wall structure, in a parallel relationship therewith, with
said connector edge portion of said printed circuit board
projecting rearwardly beyond said rear edge of said rear end
portion of said base wall structure, for movement with said support
tray in a manner such that when said support tray is rearwardly
moved through the cage structure to said operating position said
connector edge portion of the mounted printed circuit board is
conductively and removably received within the plug socket;
securing means for securing a disk drive to the top side of said
front end portion of said base wall structure forwardly of said
printed circuit board;
coupling means for electrically coupling said printed circuit board
to the disk drive; and
support means associated with said support tray and cooperatively
engageable with a portion of the housing cage structure, in
response to movement of said support tray member into the housing
cage structure to said operating position, to removably support
said support tray within the
housing cage structure. .Iaddend..Iadd.64. The disk drive apparatus
of claim 63 wherein:
said base wall structure of said support tray further has opposite
side edge portions longitudinally extending in front-to-rear
directions, and
said printed circuit board is generally vertically aligned with
said opposite side edge portions of said base wall structure of
said support tray. .Iaddend..Iadd.65. The disk drive apparatus of
claim 64 wherein:
said printed circuit board has opposite side edge portions that
generally define rearward extensions of said opposite side edge
portions of said base wall structure of said support tray.
.Iaddend..Iadd.66. The disk drive apparatus of claim 63
wherein:
said base wall structure of said support tray has opposite side
edge portions longitudinally extending in front-to-rear directions,
and
said support means include said opposite side edge portions of said
base wall structure of said support tray. .Iaddend..Iadd.67. The
disk drive apparatus of claim 63 further comprising a disk drive
secured by said securing means to the top side of said front end
portion of said base wall
structure. .Iaddend..Iadd.68. The disk drive apparatus of claim 67
wherein:
said disk drive apparatus further comprises a disk drive indicating
light carried on a front end portion of said support tray, and
said coupling means include electrical wiring connected to said
printed circuit board and having a first portion electrically
coupling said printed circuit board to said disk drive, and a
second portion extending between said disk drive and said base wall
structure and connected to said disk drive indicating light.
.Iaddend..Iadd.69. The disk drive apparatus of claim 63
wherein:
said disk drive apparatus further comprises a pair of ejection
latch members pivotally carried on a front end portion of said
support tray and being operative to engage the housing cage
structure in a manner selectively creating an insertion or
withdrawal force on said support tray. .Iaddend..Iadd.70. For use
in conjunction with a housing cage structure having an open end,
and an end wall spaced inwardly apart from and facing the open end
and having a plug socket thereon, disk drive apparatus insertable
inwardly through the open housing cage structure end in a manner
removably holding said disk drive apparatus therein and operatively
coupling it to the plug socket, said disk drive apparatus
comprising:
a support tray having a base wall structure with opposite top and
bottom sides, a front end portion having an upstanding front
transverse wall, and a rear end portion having a rear edge, said
support tray being rearwardly movable inwardly through the open
housing cage structure end, toward the plug socket on the end wall
of the housing cage structure, to an operating position;
a disk drive indicating light carried on said upstanding front
transverse wall;
a printed circuit board having a connector edge portion;
mounting means for mounting said printed circuit board on a side of
said rear end portion of said base wall structure, in a parallel
relationship therewith, with said connector edge portion of said
printed circuit board projecting rearwardly beyond said rear edge
of said rear end portion of said base wall structure, for movement
with said support tray in a manner such that when said support tray
is rearwardly moved through the cage structure to said operating
position said connector edge portion of the mounted printed circuit
board is conductively and removably received within the plug
socket;
securing means for securing a disk drive to the top side of said
front end portion of said base wall structure forwardly of said
printed circuit board;
wiring means for electrically coupling said printed circuit board
to the disk drive and to said disk drive indicating light;
a pair of ejection latch members pivotally carried on said
upstanding front transverse wall and being operative to engage a
portion of the housing cage structure in a manner selectively
creating an insertion or withdrawal force on said support tray;
and
support means associated with said support tray and cooperatively
engageable with a portion of the housing cage structure, in
response to movement of said support tray into the housing cage
structure to said operating position, to removably support said
support tray within the
housing cage structure. .Iaddend..Iadd.71. The disk drive apparatus
of claim 70 wherein:
said upstanding front transverse wall has a forwardly projecting
portion, and
said pair of ejection latch members are pivotally carried on said
forwardly projecting portion. .Iaddend..Iadd.72. The disk drive
apparatus of claim 70 further comprising a disk drive secured by
said securing means to said top side of said front end portion of
said base wall structure, between said upstanding front transverse
wall and said printed circuit board. .Iaddend..Iadd.73. The disk
drive apparatus of claim 72 wherein a portion of said wiring means
extends between said disk drive and said base wall structure and is
interconnected between said printed circuit board and said
indicating light. .Iaddend..Iadd.74. The disk drive apparatus of
claim 70 wherein said printed circuit board is mounted on the top
side of
said rear end portion of said base wall structure.
.Iaddend..Iadd.75. The disk drive apparatus of claim 70
wherein:
said base wall structure further has opposite side edge portions
longitudinally extending in front-to-rear directions, and
said support means include said opposite side edge portions of said
base wall structure. .Iaddend.
Description
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to the mounting and support
of hard disk drives for computers, and more particularly relates to
apparatus for removably supporting a plurality of hot
plug-connected hard disk drives.
2. Description of Related Art
Hard disk drives for a file server or other computer are often
mounted, in a vertically spaced array external to the file server,
in a rectangular sheet metal "cage" structure within an external
disk drive support housing. For operational convenience and
flexibility, each disk drive is typically "hot plug" connected
within the support housing. This type of electrical connection
permits any of the supported disk drives to be removed and
re-installed within the support housing without disturbing the
operation of the other disk drives.
Under a conventional practice, each disk drive is mounted atop a
printed circuit board having a rear card edge portion which is
insertable into a back plane hot plug socket within the cage
structure. To install each disk drive within the cage, side edge
portions of its supporting printed circuit board are inserted into
a pair of track members mounted on opposed side wall portions of
the cage and then slid rearwardly along the tracks until the rear
card edge portion of the circuit board is operatively received its
associated hot plug socket at the back of the cage.
Some or all of the following problems, limitations and
disadvantages are commonly associated with conventional hot plug
disk drive support apparatus of this general type:
1. The use of a printed circuit board to underlie and carry each
hard disk drive tends to increase both the complexity and cost
associated with removably supporting each disk drive, and
additionally presents sharp solder and wire points along the
underside of the board which the installer must carefully handle to
avoid scratches and nicks in his fingers when installing and
removing the disk drive from the cage.
2. On some circuit board-supported disk drives, a considerable
amount of manual pulling force is required to disconnect the board
from its associated hot plug socket within the cage. On other
conventionally supported disk drives, the circuit board is provided
with pivotable ejection latches that must be screwed or pinned to
the circuit board, thereby increasing the overall complexity and
fabricational cost of the support system.
3. A typical method of securing an installed disk drive within the
cage is to install a screw in the cage which acts as a stop to
prevent removal of the disk drive assembly from the cage. This
undesirably complicates and lengthens the individual disk drive
installation and removal procedure.
4. Among other grounding-related problems, the necessary grounding
between each disk drive and the sheet metal cage in which it is
removably supported often requires fairly complex interconnections
therebetween which tend to be rather tedious and time consuming to
properly utilize. Additionally, the card edge hot plug socket
interface area is normally exposed within the cage where it can be
inadvertently touched by an installer trying to make alignment or
other adjustments within the cage.
5. It is conventional to provide each disk drive with a plurality
of indicating lights showing the operative state of the drive.
However, under conventional practice, these indicating light arrays
typically must be located on the support housing remote from the
disk drives. This can lead to visual confusion as to which
indicating lights are associated with which disk drive.
It can be seen from the foregoing that it would be desirable to
provide external hot plug disk drive support apparatus, of the
general type described above, with a variety of operational,
fabricational and safety improvements. It is accordingly an object
of the present invention to provide hot plug-connected external
disk drive support apparatus incorporating such improvements.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
In carrying out principles of the present invention, in accordance
with a preferred embodiment thereof, apparatus is provided for
removably supporting and providing a hot plug connection for a disk
drive such as one of a series of external disk drives used in
conjunction with a file server or other computer device. In
accordance with various separate aspects of the present invention,
the preferred embodiment of the apparatus incorporates therein a
variety of operational, fabricational and safety improvements.
The overall disk drive support apparatus representatively comprises
a housing structure with a sheet metal cage structure disposed
therein and having an open front end, a rear end wall having a hot
plug socket thereon, first and second opposite side walls extending
between the open front end and the rear end wall, and an opposing
pair of wall channel portions formed on front ends of the cage
structure side walls.
First and second molded plastic guide channel members having open
side portions, and generally U-shaped cross-sections along their
lengths are mounted on the facing surfaces of the cage structure
side walls in a parallel relationship in which the open side
portions of the guide channel members face one another, the lengths
of the guide channel members are generally transverse to the front
wall channel portions of the cage structure, and the guide channel
members are in a generally laterally aligned relationship with the
hot plug socket.
The disk drive to be supported within the cage structure is
removably secured to the top side of a molded plastic support tray
having opposite side edges slidably and supportingly receivable in
the interiors of the guide channel members in a manner permitting
the support tray to be slid rearwardly along the guide channel
members to bring the support tray to an operating position within
the cage structure.
A printed circuit board is removably mounted on a rear end portion
of the support tray in a manner such that when the support tray is
rearwardly moved through the cage structure to its operating
position therein the circuit board is conductively and removably
received within the hot plug socket. Wiring means are provided for
electrically coupling the printed circuit board to the disk drive
to transmit power thereto from the hot plug socket.
The use of the molded plastic support tray to carry the disk drive,
and the use of a relatively small connector circuit board on the
rear end of the tray to connect to the hot plug socket reduces the
cost of operatively supporting the disk drive, compared to the
conventional practice of using a larger printed circuit board to
both carry the disk drive and connect it to the hot plug socket,
and further provides more user friendly handling characteristics by
eliminating the sharp solder and wiring points typically found
along the entire underside of the larger circuit board.
Extending rearwardly along a side surface of the small printed
circuit board are pluralities of conductive ground and signal
traces. The ground traces extend rearwardly beyond the signal
traces. This aspect of the present invention facilitates the
electrical performance of the disk drive support structure since
when the disk drive is rearwardly moved to its operating position
within the cage structure a grounding connection is formed between
the circuit board before a signal connection therebetween.
Conversely, as the circuit board is unplugged from the hot plug
socket, the signal connection is broken before the grounding
connection is. To facilitate the mounting of the circuit board on
the rear end of the support tray, means are formed on the tray for
providing a releasable snap-fit attachment engagement with the
circuit board.
Projecting upwardly from the front end of the support tray body is
a transverse end plate upon which a plurality of disk drive
indicating lights are operatively mounted, the wiring means from
the circuit board being conveniently routed to the indicating
lights via a wire passage formed by wall means on the top side of
the support tray body beneath the disk drive.
To assist in inserting and withdrawing the disk drive from the cage
structure, ejection latch members are pivotally secured to front
corner portions of the support tray and operate in a generally
conventional manner, via reactive forces with the front wall
channel portions of the cage structure, to exert leveraged
insertion and withdrawal forces on tray. According to a feature of
the present invention, the latch members are removably secured to
the front corner tray portions using a specially designed molded
connection structure that eliminates the requirement for attachment
screws or rivets and simplifies the fabrication of the overall disk
drive support structure.
As a safety feature, the rear end wall of the cage structure has
guard wall means projecting forwardly therefrom and operative to
block manual access to the printed circuit board when it is
adjacent the hot plug socket. For electrostatic discharge purposes,
the guide channel members, which are preferably plastic moldings,
have snap-fitted thereon sheet metal grounding clips that are
deformingly pressed against the metal cage side walls. Grounding
screws secured to and projecting outwardly beyond the disk drive
are brought into contact with the clips when the tray is rearwardly
moved to its operating position within the cage structure, thereby
reliably grounding the inserted disk drive to the metal cage
structure.
Inward projections formed on the cage structure side walls are
positioned to block these grounding screws, in the event that an
attempt is made to rearwardly insert the tray in an upside-down
orientation, in a manner preventing the tray from being fully
inserted in this improper orientation.
While the various aspects of the present invention summarized above
have been described in conjunction with the removable support and
hot plug connection of a single disc drive, it will be readily
appreciated that by simply using additional hot plug sockets and
support components, such as additional guide channel members,
support trays and rear end circuit boards, grounding clips, etc., a
spaced array of disk drives may be removably supported and hot
plug-connected within a housing cage structure .
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
FIG. 1 is a partially phantomed, simplified perspective view of a
representative external, hot-plug connection hard disk drive
support housing structure embodying principles of the present
invention;
FIG. 2 is an enlarged scale, partially exploded fragmentary
perspective view of an interior sheet metal cage portion of the
housing, with one of the tray-supported disk drives removed
therefrom;
FIG. 3 is an enlarged scale partially exploded perspective view of
the removed FIG. 2 disk drive and its underlying support tray
structure;
FIG. 4 is an exploded perspective view of a rear end portion of the
support tray structure illustrating the snap-fit installation
thereon of a printed circuit board connector member;
FIG. 5 is an exploded outer side perspective view of a specially
designed support rail structure used to slidably carry the disk
drives within the cage;
FIG. 6 is an exploded perspective view of the support rail
structure and a side wall portion of the cage, and illustrates the
snap-fit connection between the support rail structure and the cage
wall;
FIG. 7 is a schematic cross-sectional view through one of the
support tray structures illustrating the operation of a grounding
clip portion of one of its associated support rail structures;
FIG. 8 is a schematic cross-sectional view through a rear end
portion of the cage taken along line 8--8 of FIG. 2 and
illustrating the operation of a spaced series of forwardly
projecting safety guard plates therein; and
FIGS. 9A-9D are bottom side perspective views of a rear corner
portion of one of the disk drive support trays and sequentially
illustrate the unique installation and operation thereon of an
ejection latch member utilized to facilitate the installation and
removal of a disk drive into and from the cage.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
Referring initially to FIGS. 1 and 2 of the drawings, in a
preferred embodiment thereof the present invention provides
apparatus for removably supporting and providing hot plug
connections for a vertically spaced plurality of disk drives 10
(FIG. 2) such as those externally utilized in conjunction with a
file server (not shown) or other computer device. The support
apparatus representatively includes a generally rectangular housing
12 having an open front end 14, and a generally rectangular sheet
metal cage structure 16 disposed within the housing.
Cage 16 has an open front end 18 rearwardly adjacent the housing
end 14, top and bottom walls 20 and 22, left and right side walls
24 and 26, and a rear end wall 28 spaced inwardly apart from the
rear end wall 30 of housing 12. A vertically spaced pair of
horizontally elongated hot plug sockets 32 are mounted on the rear
cage end wall 28 (FIG. 2).
For purposes later described, three vertically spaced, horizontally
elongated rectangular guard plate members 34 project forwardly
beyond the rear cage end wall 28, with each of the sockets 32 being
disposed between and parallel to a vertically adjacent pair of the
plates 34. Front end portions of the cage side walls 24,26 are bent
to form a pair of vertically extending wall channel portions 36
having generally U-shaped cross-sections along their lengths, and
horizontally facing open sides.
Referring now to FIGS. 1-4, each of the disk drives 10 is supported
on the top side of one of a specially designed pair of molded
plastic support trays 38 each having a generally rectangular body
40. Body 40 has a series of cooling holes 42 formed therethrough; a
rear end portion 44 (see FIG. 4); a pair of outwardly projecting
opposite side edges 46 rearwardly terminating at rear end portion
44; an upwardly projecting front end plate portion 48 with three
LED disk drive activity indicating lights 50 mounted thereon; and a
pair of opposite front corner portions 52 projecting outwardly
beyond the lower side edge of the front end plate 48.
Each disk drive 10 is of a conventional construction and has a pair
of mounting rail sections 54 extending forwardly and rearwardly
along opposite lower side portions thereof. For purposed later
described, metal grounding screws 56 are connected to and project
outwardly from the mounting rails adjacent their rear ends. When
each disk drive 10 is operatively mounted atop the body portion 40
of its associated support tray 38, the disk drive is positioned
between the plate 48 and the rear end portion 44 of the tray body.
Each disk drive 10 is removably secured to its associated support
tray 38 by screws 58 extending upwardly through the tray body and
threaded into the bottom side of the disk drive.
Mounted atop the rear end portion 44 of each support tray 38 is a
small printed circuit board 60 having an elongated rectangular body
portion 62 from which a somewhat shorter rectangular plug portion
64 centrally projects in a rearward direction. Plug portion 64 has
formed on its top side a series of forwardly and rearwardly
extending electrically conductive surface traces including
grounding traces 66 and signal traces 68. For purposes later
described, the grounding traces 66 extend rearwardly beyond the
signal traces 68. A slot 78, parallel to the traces 66 and 68, is
formed in the circuit board plug portion 64 and functions in a
conventional manner to assure the proper orientation of the plug
portion when it is operatively inserted into one of the hot plug
sockets 32 as later described.
With reference now to FIG. 4, each circuit board body portion 62 is
releasably snap-fitted onto the top of its associated rear support
tray end portion 44 by means of a pair of abutment tabs 72 formed
on opposite sides of the tray body 40; a pair of upwardly
projecting latch portions 74 formed on the rear end of the tray; a
pair of upwardly projecting cylindrical post portions 76 formed on
the rear tray end portion 44 between the facing abutment and latch
pairs 72,74; and a pair of circular holes 78 formed through the
circuit board body 62.
As may be seen by comparing FIGS. 3 and 4, the circuit board 60 is
removably installed on the rear support tray end portion 44 by
inserting a front side edge portion 80 of the circuit board body
under the abutment tabs 72 and then downwardly pivoting the circuit
board 60 to cause the posts 76 to upwardly enter the circuit board
body holes 78. As the circuit board is pivoted downwardly to its
operative position on the support tray, rear side edge portions 82
of the circuit board body rearwardly deflect the latch portions 74
until hooked upper end portions thereof forwardly snap over top
side portions of the circuit board body (see FIG. 3) to releasably
lock the circuit board on the rear end portion of the support tray
38.
With the circuit board 70 releasably mounted on the support tray 38
in this manner, the posts 76 preclude edgewise movement of the
circuit board relative to the support tray so that the posts 76
resist in shear the insertion and removal loads imposed on the
circuit board as its plug portion 64 is pushed into and pulled out
of its associated hot plug socket 32 as later described. To protect
the latch portions 74 against excessive rearward bending, due to
installation forces or other forces exerted thereon, a protective
abutment wall section 84 is formed on the rear tray end portion 44
a short distance behind and around the outer side of each latch
portion 74. These abutment walls 84 act as stops to limit the
rearward deflection of each latch portion 74, and as guards to
protect the latch portions from damage.
As best illustrated in FIG. 3, with the circuit board 70 mounted on
the support tray 38, opposite end edge portions 90 of the circuit
board body 62 define rearward continuations of the side edge
portions 46 of the support tray 38. To provide for operative wiring
interconnections between the circuit board 70, the disk drive 10,
and the indicating lights 50, various connector pin sections, such
as the illustrated pin sections 86 and 88, are mounted on the
circuit board body 62.
Pin section 86 is operatively connected to the rear end of the
mounted disk drive 10 by a conventional ribbon cable 92, pin
section 88 is operatively connected to the indicating lights 50 by
wires 94 (see FIG. 3), and pin section 88 is operatively connected
to the underside of the disk drive 10 by wires 96. The wires 94,96
are conveniently routed to the indicating lights 50 and the
underside of the disk drive 10 through a wire passage disposed on
the top side of the support tray body 40 and generally defined by
notches 98 formed in transverse stiffening rib portions 100 of the
support tray body, and holding tab portions 102 that overlie the
routed wiring.
Referring now to FIGS. 2, 5 and 6, the support trays 38 are
slidably and removably mounted within the cage structure 16 by
means of four molded plastic guide channel members 106, one of
which is visible in FIG. 2 and perspectively illustrated in FIGS. 5
and 6. Each guide channel member 106 has an elongated
configuration; a rear end 108; a transversely enlarged front end
110; an outer side 112; an inner side 114; and a generally U-shaped
cross-section along its length. The cross-sectional configuration
of each guide channel member defines therein a longitudinally
extending channel or track 116 that laterally opens through the
inner side 114 of the member and vertically widens at the front end
of the member to facilitate the slidable insertion therein of a
circuit board end edge portion as later described.
The four guide channel members 106 are arranged in an upper pair
removably secured in a parallel, laterally opposing relationship to
the inner sides of the cage side walls 24 and 26, and a lower pair
removably secured in a parallel, laterally opposing relationship to
the inner sides of the cage side walls 24 and 26. Guide channel
members 106 are releasably snap-fitted onto the cage side walls
24,26 using upper and lower horizontal rows of generally T-shaped
openings 118,120,122 formed in each of the cage side walls 24 and
26 (see FIGS. 1, 2 and 6).
As best illustrated in FIG. 6, each of the side wall openings
118,120,122 has a vertically enlarged front end portion 124, and a
rear end portion 126 that is vertically narrowed by upper and lower
portions 128,130 or the particular cage side wall. For purposes
later described, horizontally elongated rectangular openings 132
are formed in the cage side walls 24,26 between each pair of
openings 118 and 120, and inturned side wall tab portions 134 are
positioned beneath the front ends of the openings 132.
Formed on the outer side of each of the guide channel members 106,
and projecting outwardly therefrom, are three longitudinally spaced
pairs of upwardly and downwardly extending holding tabs 136 and
138. Between the front two sets of tabs 136,138 the guide channel
member has formed thereon a horizontally elongated, inwardly
deflectable resilient latch portion 140 laterally projecting
outwardly beyond the outer side surface 112 of the guide channel
member and having a front end surface 142.
Between its rear two pairs of tabs 136,138 each guide channel
member 106 has two longitudinally spaced pairs 144,146 of ribbed
outward projections formed on its top and bottom side edge
surfaces. These projections have removably snap-fitted thereon clip
member pairs 148,150 projecting inwardly from the outwardly bowed
body portion 152 of a resiliently deformable sheet metal grounding
clip member 154 positioned on the outer side of the guide channel
member as illustrated in FIGS. 5 and 6. Projecting inwardly from
the top and bottom side edges of the grounding clip member 154, and
respectively overlying the top and bottom side edges of the guide
channel member 106, are top and bottom side portions 156 and 158.
As illustrated, side portion 156 has upturned front and rear ends,
and side portion 158 has downturned front and rear ends.
As representatively illustrated in FIG. 6, each guide channel
member 106 is removably snap-fitted onto its associated cage side
wall (for example, the illustrated left cage side wall 24) by first
outwardly inserting the three tab pairs 136,138 into the enlarged
front portions 124 of the side wall openings 118,120,122 as
indicated by the dashed arrows in FIG. 6, and pressing the guide
channel member against the interior surface of the cage side wall.
This initial insertion and pressing causes the latch portion 140 to
be engaged and inwardly depressed by the side wall 24, and also
resiliently bends the clip member body portion 152 against the side
wall 24.
With the guide channel member 106 pressed against the cage side
wall, the guide channel member is then rearwardly slid along the
side wall until the latch portion 140 snaps outwardly into the side
wall opening 132. This releasably locks the guide channel member in
place on the cage side wall, the front end surface 142 of the latch
portion 140 rearwardly overlying the front end surface 162 of the
side wall opening 132 and preventing forward movement of the guide
channel member relative to the cage, and the rear edge portions of
the tab pairs 136,138 abutting the rear end surfaces 164 of the
side wall opening portions 126 and preventing rearward movement of
the guide channel member relative to the cage.
Each guide channel member 106 may be quickly removed from the cage
16 simply by depressing the latch portion 140 from the outside of
the cage, forwardly sliding the guide channel member along the
inner surface of its associated cage side wall, and then removing
the tab pairs 136,138 from the front end portions 124 of the side
wall openings 118,120 and 122. The configuration of each guide
channel member 106 makes it reversible--i.e., each guide channel
member may be operatively installed on either of the cage side
walls 24 and 26. For example, the illustrated FIG. 2 guide channel
member 106 installed on the left cage side wall 24 can be
alternately installed on the right cage side wall 26 simply by
removing the guide channel member from the left side wall, rotating
the removed guide channel member 180.degree. about its longitudinal
axis, and then snapping the guide channel into place on the right
cage side wall 26.
With the two horizontally opposed pairs of guide channel members
106 operatively installed on the inner sided of the cage side walls
24,26 as described above, the two tray-mounted disk drives 10 may
simply be pushed into place within the cage 16 by inserting
opposite end edge portions of the circuit board body portions 62
into the track portions of the upper and lower opposing guide
channel pairs and rearwardly sliding the circuit board and tray
edge portions along the tracks until the circuit board portions 64
are operatively hot-plugged into their associated sockets 32 at the
rear end of the cage. Either of the disk drives 10 may be removed
from the cage, without disturbing the operation of the other disk
drive, by simply pulling the disk drive rearwardly out of the
cage.
Referring now to FIG. 7, as each of the disk drives 10 rearwardly
reaches its operating position within the cage 16, the grounding
screws 56 projecting outwardly from opposite sides of the disk
drive slide under and upwardly engage the upper side portions 156
of the resilient sheet metal grounding clips 154 on the two guide
channel members 106 that slidingly support the inserted disk drive.
This engagement between the grounding screws 56 and the upper
grounding clip side portions 156 forms secure and reliable
electrical grounding connections between the disk drive and the
metal cage structure via the grounding screws and the grounding
clips. It should be noted that if the guide channel member 106
shown in FIG. 7 was installed on cage side wall 26 instead of the
illustrated cage wall 24, the clip member side portion 158, and not
the side portion 156, would be engaged by one of the grounding
screws 56.
In addition to their electrical grounding function, the two metal
grounding screws 56 attached to the opposite sides of each of the
disk drives 10 provide another useful function in the overall disk
drive support apparatus of the present invention--they cooperate
with the inturned cage side wall projections 134 (FIG. 6) to
prevent the full rearward insertion of either disk drive into the
cage in the event that the disk drive is in an improper upside-down
orientation. Specifically, if either disk drive is turned
upside-down and then inserted into the cage, the two disk drive 56
strike and are rearwardly stopped by an associated opposing pair of
the inturned side wall portions 134, thereby preventing further
rearward insertion of the improperly oriented disk drive into the
cage. In turn, this prevents the disk drive circuit board 70 from
improperly engaging its associated hot plug socket 32.
Referring now to FIG. 8 it can be seen that as each of the disk
drives 10 rearwardly reaches its operative position in which its
circuit board 60 is fully inserted into its associated hot plug
socket 32, a pair of the forwardly projecting guard plates 34 come
into play to block both upper and lower manual access to the
circuit board as it approaches its associated hot plug socket, the
circuit board passing between the two guard plates as it approaches
the socket.
Referring now to FIGS. 1, 2 and 9A-9D, the manual pushing and
pulling forces on the support trays 38 necessary to respectively
insert their circuit board portions into the hot plug sockets, and
remove their circuit board portions from the sockets, are desirably
lessened by the use of pairs of ejection latch members 166
pivotally secured to the front corner portions 52 of the support
trays 38. As representatively illustrated in FIG. 2, each ejection
latch member 166 is pivotable relative to its associated tray
corner portion 52 between an outwardly pivoted dotted line release
position and an inwardly pivoted solid line locking position. The
inner ends of the latch members 166 are provided with hook portions
168 that extend into the interiors of the wall channel portions 36
of the cage structure 16.
In a conventional manner, when a given pair of latch members 166
are manually pivoted outwardly from their solid line positions
(when their associated disk drive is in its operatively inserted
position within the cage) their hook portions 168 bear against the
interiors of the channel wall portions 36 in a manner forcibly
moving the disk drive rearwardly to unplug its circuit board from
its associated hot plug socket. When the latch members 166 are
fully pivoted outwardly to their dotted line positions, their hook
portions 168 are automatically removed from the wall channel
portions 36, thereby permitting the disc drives to be slid
rearwardly out of the cage.
Conversely, when one of the disk drives 10 is slid partially into
the cage with its latch members 166 in their dotted line positions,
to bring the hook portions 168 into alignment with their associated
wall channel portions 36, inward pivoting of the latch members 166
from their dotted line positions to their solid line positions
causes the hook portions to enter the wall channel portions 36 and
then bear against them in a manner forcing the support tray circuit
board 60 rearwardly into its associated hot plug socket 32.
Although the general operation of the ejection latch members 166 is
conventional, they are pivotally and removably secured to the
support tray corner portions 52 in a unique manner that avoids the
necessity using of connecting screws or rivets, and which will now
be described in conjunction with FIGS. 9A-9D.
Projecting outwardly from the underside of each of the support tray
corner portions 52 are a cylindrical boss 170; an inwardly
depressible resilient latch portion 172 having an outer end surface
174; and a cylindrical post 176 having a circular outer end portion
178 from which three circumferentially and equally spaced
projections 180 radially outwardly extend.
The illustrated ejection latch member 166 has a connection plate
portion 182 from which the hook portion 168 outwardly extends.
Extending outwardly from the plate portion 182 in the opposite
direction is a lever plate section 184. Lever plate section 184 has
an inner side surface 186 from which a laterally spaced pair of
elongated resilient latch portions 188 outwardly extend, outer end
sections of the latch portions 188 having facing arcuate notches
190 formed therein.
A hole 192 is formed transversely through the connection plate
portion 182 and is complementarily configured relative to the upper
post end 178, the hole having three circumferentially spaced
radially outwardly projecting portions through which the upper post
end projections 180 may be passed when the upper post end
projections 180 and the hole portions 194 are circumferentially
aligned.
Each ejection latch member 166 is pivotally and removably installed
on the underside of its associated support tray corner portion 52
in the following manner. Referring first to FIG. 9A, the latch
member 166 is oriented as shown so that its connection plate hole
192 is positioned outwardly from the outer post end portion 175 in
a manner such that the hole portions 194 are circumferentially
aligned with the post end projections 180.
Next, as depicted in FIG. 9B, the latch member connection plate
portion 182 is moved inwardly toward and pressed against the
underside of the corner portion 52 to cause the post projections
180 to pass through the hole portions 194 and outwardly overlie the
connection plate portion 182. With the connection plate portion 182
in its FIG. 9B orientation it contacts and inwardly depresses the
corner portion latch 172.
While the connection plate portion 182 is held against the support
tray corner portion 52, the latch member 166 is rotated a short
distance about post 176 in a clockwise direction to move the plate
hole portions 194 out of circumferential alignment with the post
projections 180 as shown in FIG. 9C. At this point, in which the
latch member 166 is in its dotted line position shown in FIG. 2,
the latch portion 172 pops back up so that its end surface 174
faces the plate portion edge surface 196, and the latch member 166
is pivotally and captively retained on the support tray corner
portion 52.
It can be seen that, due to the latch end abutment surface 174, the
latch member cannot be pivoted in a counterclockwise direction past
its FIG. 9C position, to align the hole portions 194 with the post
end portions 180 and permit removal of the connecting plate portion
182 from the post 176, unless the latch portion 172 is manually
depressed and the latch 166 pivoted back to its FIG. 9B
position.
From its FIG. 9C open position the latch member 166 may be pivoted
in a clockwise direction to its FIG. 9D closed position in which
the boss 170 is received within and releasably held between the
arcuate notches 190 in the latch portions 188. At this point the
latch member is still captively retained on the post 176 since the
hole portions 194 have not been rotated far enough to be brought
into alignment with the post end portions 180.
The latch member may be quickly removed from the post 176 simply by
rotating the latch member in a counterclockwise direction to its
FIG. 9C position, manually depressing the latch 172 and further
rotating the latch member to its FIG. 9B position, and then lifting
the connecting plate portion 182 off the post 176.
While the disk drive support apparatus representatively described
above provides hot plug connections for the disk drives, it will
readily be appreciated by those skilled in this art that it could
also be employed using non-hot plug socket connections for the disk
drives if desired.
The foregoing detailed description is to be clearly understood as
being given by way of illustration and example only, the spirit and
scope of the present invention being limited solely by the appended
claims.
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