Metal working – Means to assemble or disassemble – Means to assemble electrical device
Reexamination Certificate
1999-11-12
2001-03-20
Young, Lee (Department: 3729)
Metal working
Means to assemble or disassemble
Means to assemble electrical device
C029S729000, C029S757000, C029S759000, C361S689000, C361S727000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06202291
ABSTRACT:
TECHNICAL FIELD
The present invention relates generally to alignment fixtures used in electronic testing and more particularly to duplication of software onto multiple storage devices. The inventor anticipates that primary application of the present invention will be in aligning device interconnectors for pre-installing software on an array of hard drives from one master hard drive. However, the present invention is also well suited to use in aligning device interconnectors for other manufacturing, testing, and end use applications where a repetitive interconnection of an electronic device or module gives rise to the same or similar problems common to this requirement. Applications such as the testing of electronic devices, and uploading/downloading of data from individual devices to a common electronic system or network of systems are examples.
BACKGROUND ART
Although there are certain general conventions concerning the configuration of interconnectors in electronic devices, there are still variations which exist from manufacturer to manufacturer. In particular the locational placement of power and signal connections to the devices are subject to much variation. To some extent, variations in location when making device interconnections have been dealt with by the use of flexible cables, which can be attached to connectors in varying spatial locations within the reach of the cable length, assuming the configuration of pins in the male portion align correctly with the corresponding female sockets. Each cable then must be manually guided to the correct position and pressed into position, taking care that the approach angles are within certain limits such that the connector pins are not bent in the process.
This works adequately for applications where few devices are used or the devices are expected to remain attached with infrequent subsequent replacements. However, for applications where devices are plugged and unplugged repeatedly, as when large lots of devices are tested, or are connected for data transfer or software imaging, this manipulation of cables is cumbersome and time intensive. For these kinds of high-repetition applications, a more suitable method would be to use connectors which allow the devices to be installed into a multiple device array structure. The connectors would be stationary, perhaps mounted on a common backplane, so that very minimal manipulation is required, and perhaps the process could even be automated. Unfortunately, the variations in position of the connectors from manufacturer to manufacturer make this impractical, as a backplane set up for one kind of device would not be usable for devices from a different manufacturer.
One example, which demonstrates the more general state of the industry, is the hard drive device, or HDD, as it will be referred to for brevity. The HDD adheres to a number of industry standards, including the MCC specifications which establish a matrix of length, width, and heights for various sizes commonly known as 3.5″ full height, 3.5″ half height, 2.5″ full height, 2.5″ half height, and so on. Mounting screw sizes and locations, as well as electrical connections, power, signaling, protocol, and more, are standardized within each drive size class and sub-class, however the exact locations of the electrical connections were not standardized. All of the hard drives in the very popular sizes, such as those used by computer manufacturers, are reasonably similar in the placement of the external printed circuit board on the bottom surface of the design, and generally position the electrical connectors in a similar area.
The hard drives within a sub-class generally have the same number of electrical connections, for example 4 power contacts in a row of equal spacing and 40 signal contacts in 2 rows of consistent and equal spacing. They also have common dielectric contact housings which extend outward surrounding their respective power or signal contacts. It is practical therefore to consider all 4 power connections as a set with 1 positional location in relationship to external references. Similarly, all 40 signal connections are treated as a set in relationship to the external references. There are generally variations in the positional relationship of the power contact set with the signal contact set and both the power contact set and signal contact set vary in relationship to the external references of the hard drive assembly. Therefore attempting to make connections with a second type of device with a stationary backplane which has been configured for a particular first device type will most likely be unsuccessful.
Thus there is a need for an apparatus and method of interconnecting electronic devices which allow high repetition usage, which are adaptable to wide positional variation in power and signal connector sets, and which allows multiple units to be processed with minimal or no human manipulation.
DISCLOSURE OF INVENTION
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a method and apparatus for aligning multiple electronic devices for quick insertion into an array box.
Another object of the invention is to provide an apparatus which can accommodate positional variations in the power and signal connections in electronic devices.
And, another object of the invention is to provide a device which uses interconnectors which have a higher cycle life than those found in standard connectors.
A further object of the present invention is to provide a method of performing high-speed software imaging on as many as 10 storage devices at once.
Yet another object of the present invention is to provide an apparatus and method by which connections are easily and conveniently made so that processing time is reduced.
A still further object of the present invention is to provide a spring pin contact set for power connections which is independent in position from the spring pin set for the signals.
Additionally, an object of the present invention is that the respective spring pin sets are positioned independently of the mechanical guides used to locate each device.
Briefly, one preferred embodiment of the present invention is a method and apparatus for aligning multiple device interconnections which includes a structure having at least one reference plane. The structure further includes a number of device bays. The apparatus also includes at least one interconnect assembly, and at least one clamp for locking the interconnect assembly in fixed spatial relation to the reference plane. A clamp release is provided for releasing the clamp so that the interconnect assembly is free to move with respect to the reference plane. A positioning guide is provided for positioning the interconnect assembly at an appropriate location with respect to the one or more reference planes for proper alignment while the clamp is released, before again being clamped in a fixed position with respect to the reference planes.
An advantage of the present invention is that by using spring contact connectors cycle life is expanded from 200-300 cycles in a conventional connector, to tens of thousands of cycles.
Another advantage of the invention is the manual connector plugging process of cables is eliminated.
And, another advantage of the invention is the time required to establish power and signal connections is reduced by approximately 90%.
A further advantage of the present invention is that large multiples of electronic devices can be simultaneously processed.
A yet further advantage of the present invention is that scrap damage costs are reduced since the use of easily bent connector contacts is eliminated.
A still further advantage of the present invention is that there is no need to keep multiple pin interconnect systems at hand which are each separately configured for a specific brand and model of electronic device. The present invention is adaptable to wide variations in power and signal connectors.
An additional advantage of the present invention is that devices without built-in guides or lead-in features can be aligned.
Chang Rick Kiltae
Greystone Peripherals
Guernsey Larry B.
Hickman Coleman & Hughes LLP
Young Lee
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