Electricity: electrical systems and devices – Housing or mounting assemblies with diverse electrical... – For electronic systems and devices
Reexamination Certificate
1998-08-27
2001-10-02
Picard, Leo P. (Department: 2835)
Electricity: electrical systems and devices
Housing or mounting assemblies with diverse electrical...
For electronic systems and devices
C361S689000, C361S689000, C361S689000, C361S689000, C361S310000, C361S437000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06297954
ABSTRACT:
CLAIM OF PRIORITY
This application makes reference to, incorporates the same herein, and claims all rights accruing thereto under 35 U.S.C. §119 through my patent application entitled Computer System earlier filed in the Korean Industrial Property Office on the Aug. 28, 1997, and there duly assigned Ser. No. 1997/42209.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates, in general, to a computer system and, more particularly, to a computer system capable of easily seating auxiliary equipment, such as a floppy disc drive, a CD-ROM drive or a hard disc drive, in the bay of a chassis without using any separate fixing means, such as set screws.
2. Background Art
The development of an information-oriented society has resulted in increasing reliance by society on computer systems to collect and analyze data. This increasing reliance on computer systems has led to the continuous improvement of the hardware used with computer systems and to the further development of multi-functional computer systems.
One technique used to increase the usefulness of computers has been the use of removable hard disk drives. An advantage of removable hard disk drives is that larger amounts of data can be transferred from one computer system to another. The technology used for removable disk drives is also useful for more permanently attached drives, such as floppy disk drives or compact disk read only memory drives.
One method of attaching disk drives or other peripherals to a computer chassis is to attach braces onto each side of the peripheral using fasteners. Typically these braces have elastic portions or projections on the side that result in a firm fit between the peripheral and the bay in the computer housing. In addition, the side braces may have an additional elastic member contacting the side of the peripheral device for use in the case of failure of one of the fasteners. One example of this method is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 5,136,466 to Remise entitled Mounting Device for Detachably Mounting a Plurality of Computer Peripherals.
Another method of attaching peripherals to computer housings is to slide the peripheral, such as a hard disk drive, in through the front of the bay to secure the peripheral to the computer system. Some techniques for slidably mounting a peripheral device into a computer system are shown in U.S. Pat. No. 5,319,519 to Sheppard entitled Housing with Latch and Ejection Mechanism Air Portable Hard Disk Drive, and U.S. Pat. No. 5,123,721 to Seo entitled Device for Securing Peripheral Equipment of Computer.
The above described methods of attaching portable disk drives have the disadvantages of requiring fasteners to be inserted into the peripheral, and of requiring the peripherals in special housings to be compatible with the bracketing method. In addition, the design of the attachment mechanism is complicated, thus requiring more assembly time.
To eliminate some of the assembly time required to mount a peripheral into a computer system, fastenerless mounting systems have been developed. One fastenerless mounting system is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 5,680,293 to McAnally entitled Screwless Hard Disk Drive Mounting in a Computer System with a Chassis via a First Bracket Rigidly Mounted to the Chassis and a Second Bracket Movably Mounted to the Chassis. Mc Ally '293 mentions a bracket system that secures a hard disk drive to a dual leaf spring and bracket combination. The bracket requires that a user position a hard drive in a computer housing and then place a brace over one side of the hard drive.
The peripheral, or disk drive, mounting systems of the contemporary art do not provide a peripheral mounting system that allows a user to slide a peripheral into position, that is free from fasteners, and that does not require access to a side of the peripheral device for engaging the peripheral with the computer system. As such, I believe that it may be possible to improve on the prior art by providing a peripheral mounting system that allows a user to slide a peripheral into position, that is free from fasteners, that does require a large number of components, that is easy to install, that does not require access to a side of the peripheral device for engaging the peripheral with the computer system, that can be inserted and released through the front of the peripheral bay, and that is simpler for consumers to use.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide an improved peripheral mounting system for a computer system.
It is another object to provide a peripheral mounting system for a computer system that allows a user to slide a peripheral into position inside of a computer system.
It is still another object to provide a peripheral mounting system for a computer system that is free from fasteners.
It is yet another object to provide a peripheral mounting system for a computer system that does not require a large number of components.
It is still yet another object to provide a peripheral mounting system for a computer system that is easy to install.
It is a further object to provide a peripheral mounting system for a computer system that does not require access to a side of the peripheral device to secure the peripheral inside of the computer system.
It is a further object still to provide a peripheral mounting system for a computer system that can be inserted and released through the front of a peripheral bay.
It is still yet a further object to provide a peripheral mounting system for a computer system that is simpler for consumers to use.
To accomplish these and other objects, a peripheral mounting device is provided that uses a pair of brace devices to secure a peripheral device to a computer chassis. A bay, or recess, is positioned in said chassis to receive the peripheral device. The peripheral device has a multitude of hollows in the peripheral body to allow plugs to physically engage the peripheral device. A brace device is inserted between the two lateral sides of the peripheral device and the lateral sides of the bay. The brace devices physically connect to the peripheral device to hold it in position and exert a compressive force to further secure the peripheral in position. The brace device may be constructed using a first bracket and a second bracket, that is slidably engageable with the first bracket. The second bracket has a bowed elastic portion on a side opposite to the first bracket. The brace device is inserted into a slot in the side of the bay in the chassis to secure a peripheral device within the bay. The second bracket has a latch attached at one end to allow a user to manually compress the elastic portion of the second bracket. To insert the peripheral into the bay, a user manipulates the latch to compress the elastic portion and move the brace device closer to the lateral side of the bay. This allows the peripheral device to fit inside the bay because, in compressing the elastic portion, the user has moved the plugs out of the way of the peripheral body. After the peripheral device is in place, the user releases the latch and the bracket device moves into physical contact with the peripheral. At the same time, the plugs on the side of the first bracket that face into the bay make physical contact with the peripheral device. Thus, the peripheral device is secured by plugs that are inserted into hollows in the peripheral body and by the frictional force generated by the compressive force resulting from the elastic portion of the second bracket.
In addition, the second bracket has a multitude of prongs that have elastic characteristics. These prongs engage the first bracket and maintain the proper amount of space between the two brackets. The prongs are inserted into holes in the first bracket that secure the prongs in position.
Furthermore, the plugs used with the first bracket may be integrally ormed with the first bracket or they may be welded or removably inserted into the bores that exist along the first bracket. The bores may be constructed with inner threads making it pos
Bushnell , Esq. Robert E.
Chang Yean-Hsi
Picard Leo P.
Samsung Electronics Co,. Ltd.
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