Supports – Stand – Understructure
Reexamination Certificate
1999-07-29
2001-11-06
King, Anita (Department: 3632)
Supports
Stand
Understructure
C248S188900, C248S677000, C312S351900
Reexamination Certificate
active
06311941
ABSTRACT:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates generally to computer systems. More particularly, the invention relates to a mechanism that improves the stability of towerlike chassises.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
A trend in the computer industry is the use of a tower chassis to house a computer system's electrical components and associated devices. The tower chassis is characterized by a vertical cabinet that can be positioned off a desk top thereby providing the user with additional desk top space. Although the vertical nature of the tower chassis is beneficial in this respect, at times the height of the tower chassis can make it subject to occasional instability problems, such as rocking and tipping. For this reason, some tower chassises are equipped with tip prevention devices.
One such tip prevention device
100
is illustrated in FIG.
1
. There is shown a tip prevention device
100
that can be mounted to the bottom surface of a tower chassis. Typically, two such tip prevention devices
100
are mounted to the tower chassis. A first tip prevention device
100
is mounted at the front of the bottom surface and a second tip prevention device
100
is mounted at the rear of the bottom surface.
The tip prevention device
100
is fabricated of plastic parts including a base bar
102
and two anti-tip feet
104
a
-
104
b
. At each end of the base bar
102
, there is a slot
106
a
-
106
b
that houses an anti-tip foot
104
. The anti-tip foot
104
rotates about an axis within the slot
106
so that the anti-tip foot
104
can be placed in a number of positions. The anti-tip foot
104
has a cylindrical-shaped head
108
including a number of detents
110
a
-
110
h
spaced around the head
108
. Each slot
106
includes two springs
112
, where each spring
112
includes a knob
114
. When the head
108
is rotated within a slot
106
, each spring
112
is depressed so that its respective knob
114
rides on the outer surface of the head
108
until both knobs
114
fall into the desired detents
110
. The detents
110
on the head
108
and the springs
112
are spaced so that when a knob
114
fits into a detent
110
, the anti-tip foot
104
is positioned at either a 0, 45 or 90 degree angle angular position.
The tip prevention device
100
described above has several drawbacks. First, the device is dependent on the base bar
102
that is specifically configured to the dimensions of the tower chassis. The use of the device
100
for other chassises may require that the base bar
102
be tailored to the dimensions of a particular chassis. In addition, the rotation of the tip prevention device
100
is limited to a certain range so that it can be only placed in one of three specific positions. At times, it may be desirable to rotate the device in a different orientation in order to achieve a desired position. Another disadvantage is that the device
100
utilizes large plastic parts which increases the overall cost of the device
100
. Accordingly, there is a need for a tip prevention device that can overcome these shortcomings.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The present invention pertains to an anti-tip device or tip prevention device that can be used with a tower chassis of a computer system. The anti-tip device includes a hub and a base foot that is assembled and then mounted to the bottom surface of the tower chassis. Any number of anti-tip devices can be positioned on the bottom surface and in any configuration. In one such configuration, four anti-tip devices are mounted to each corner of the bottom surface of the tower chassis.
The anti-tip device rotates about an axis so that the device can be placed in one of a number of positions. In a first position, the anti-tip foot can be extended outward from the tower chassis in a first direction thereby extending the horizontal base of the tower chassis. Alternatively, the anti-tip foot can be extended outward from the tower chassis in a second direction that extends the vertical base of the tower chassis. In either of these positions, the stability of the tower chassis is improved against occasional tipping and rocking. In yet another position, the anti-tip foot can be retracted inward.
The anti-tip foot includes a hub and a base foot. The cylindrical-shaped hub is fitted into an interior cavity of the base foot. The hub provides the base foot with a rotational base and includes a spring mechanism that locks into the base foot. The spring mechanism includes a knob that is supported on either side by pressure arms. In addition, the top side of the hub includes a set of pins that are used to mount the hub to the tower chassis and which ensure that the hub is kept stationary.
The base foot includes an elongated foot and a cavity that houses the hub. The interior circumference of the cavity includes a number of detents that are used to place the foot in one of a number of predefined angular positions. As the base foot is rotated, the rotational force decompresses the spring so that it rides on the interior circumference of the cavity. When the spring encounters a detent, the spring expands and snaps into the detent thereby securely placing the base foot into a desired position.
The design of the anti-tip device is advantageous for several reasons. First, the anti-tip device is a simple design consisting of only two main plastic pieces: the hub and the base foot. This simplicity makes the device easy to manufacture and hence, more cost effective.
Furthermore, the mechanical design of the device lends itself to additional benefits. First, the foot can accomplish a full three hundred and sixty degree rotation in either direction. This makes the anti-tip foot a more robust design since the device can be placed in any position on the tower chassis. In addition, the knob of the spring mechanism is supported on either side by pressure arms. As such, the hub only requires a single spring mechanism. Thirdly, the hub rotating about the interior cavity of the base foot minimizes the amount of wear that is placed on the spring mechanism. Furthermore, if the spring mechanism were ever to wear out, it only requires replacement of the hub and not the entire assembly.
REFERENCES:
patent: 3811715 (1974-05-01), Brudy
patent: 4449969 (1984-05-01), Schweizer
patent: 4785190 (1988-11-01), Frankena
patent: 4955873 (1990-09-01), Rajlevsky
patent: 5109572 (1992-05-01), Park
patent: 5297003 (1994-03-01), Nomura et al.
patent: 5601541 (1997-02-01), Swisher
patent: 5865408 (1999-02-01), Swisher
patent: 5887962 (1999-03-01), Tsai
patent: 5911393 (1999-06-01), Reuter
patent: 5934774 (1999-08-01), Wu et al.
http://www.in-win.com/icon/q500mec.jpg, pp. 1 of 1.
http://www.in-win.com/framecode/ino13q600.html, pp. 1 of 1.
Baxter Gwendolyn
Hartnett Clare T.
Hewlett--Packard Company
King Anita
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