Supports: cabinet structure – For particular electrical device or component – Housing for computer or computer related equipment
Reexamination Certificate
1999-06-21
2001-06-19
Cuomo, Peter M. (Department: 3636)
Supports: cabinet structure
For particular electrical device or component
Housing for computer or computer related equipment
C312S265600, C361S836000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06247767
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a computer enclosure, and particularly to a computer enclosure for exclusively mounting two different sized switching power supplies.
2. The Related Art
A power supply in a computer system is used for transforming the voltage value of local electrical power to an operational voltage for the computer system. For instance, local electrical power generally is an alternating current with a voltage value between 100 and 250 Volts. The electrical power used in a computer system is a direct current with a voltage usually under 12 Volts. Therefore, the local electrical power can not be used in the computer system directly. A switching power supply transforms the local electrical power and provides the computer system with a proper operational voltage. The switching power supply also distributes the electrical power to sub systems of the computer requiring different voltage levels, such as a CD-ROM drive, a floppy disk drive, a hard disk drive and a fan.
As shown in
FIG. 1
, a conventional computer enclosure
10
includes a rear panel
12
defining an opening
14
in an upper portion thereof for mounting a switching power supply
16
therein. The power supply
16
has a socket
18
and a plurality of venting holes
20
exposed to the opening
14
. Several holes
22
are defined proximate the opening
14
and are aligned with corresponding holes
24
of the power supply
16
for screwing and fixing the power supply
16
to the computer enclosure
10
. A supporting bracket
26
extending from an edge of the opening
14
supports the power supply
16
. However, the conventional computer enclosure
10
can only accommodate a power supply of one predetermined size. Another power supply having a different dimension can not be mounted to the computer enclosure
10
.
In the SFX Power Supply Design Guide, Version 1.0 Release, three kinds of power supplies having different dimensions are introduced, to be used with a Micro ATX motherboard. The power supply of a first dimension having a rectangular face with a width of 50 mm and a length of 100 mm is mated with the corresponding opening of the computer enclosure. The power supply of a second dimension has a rectangular mating face with a width of 63.5 mm and a length of 100 mm. The third power supply has a mating face with a width of 63.5 mm and a length of 113 mm. According to the specification of the Micro ATX motherboard, three different computer enclosures are needed for mounting the three different power supplies.
Conventional computer enclosures, such as the one shown in
FIG. 1
, can only mount one kind of power supply thereto. For mounting three different kinds of power supplies, three different computer enclosures are needed. Thus, three different kinds of tooling and molds are required for manufacturing the different computer enclosures. Under the same motherboard specifications, the three enclosures are slightly different regarding the power supply supporting bracket and the rear panel, which increases costs. Hence, a computer enclosure, which can exclusively mount different power supplies by means of a small modification of the enclosure, is requisite.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
An object of the present invention is to provide a computer enclosure that can exclusively mount power supplies of different size.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a bracket for exclusively mounting a power supply to a computer enclosure which can mount a larger power supply.
The present invention discloses a computer enclosure which can exclusively mount two differently sized power supplies. The computer enclosure includes a rear panel having a first opening for directly mounting a first power supply, a base panel having a fixing portion near the first opening, and a mounting bracket having a second opening for mounting a second power supply thereto which is then fixed to the rear panel. The second power supply is smaller than the first power supply. The mounting bracket is assembled with the second power supply. An electrical socket and venting holes of the second power supply communicate with an exterior of the computer enclosure through the second opening. The assembly of the mounting bracket and the second power supply is mounted to the rear panel and the base panel. The second opening aligns with the first opening for connecting the socket of the second power supply with an outside power source and for exposing the venting holes to the exterior of the enclosure.
REFERENCES:
patent: 3915530 (1975-10-01), Anderson et al.
patent: 5777848 (1998-07-01), McAnally et al.
patent: 5816673 (1998-10-01), Sauer et al.
patent: 5865518 (1999-02-01), Jarrett et al.
patent: 6040982 (2000-03-01), Gandre et al.
patent: 6116063 (2000-09-01), Foslien
Chen Yun-Lung
Liu Alvin
Anderson Jerry A.
Chung Wei Te
Cuomo Peter M.
Hon Hai - Precision Ind. Co., Ltd.
LandOfFree
Computer enclosure for exclusively mounting two different... does not yet have a rating. At this time, there are no reviews or comments for this patent.
If you have personal experience with Computer enclosure for exclusively mounting two different..., we encourage you to share that experience with our LandOfFree.com community. Your opinion is very important and Computer enclosure for exclusively mounting two different... will most certainly appreciate the feedback.
Profile ID: LFUS-PAI-O-2546628