Electricity: electrical systems and devices – Housing or mounting assemblies with diverse electrical... – For electronic systems and devices
Reexamination Certificate
1999-08-30
2001-10-16
Picard, Leo P. (Department: 2835)
Electricity: electrical systems and devices
Housing or mounting assemblies with diverse electrical...
For electronic systems and devices
C361S679090, C361S689000, C361S689000, C361S689000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06304439
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to removable storage systems. More particularly, the present invention relates to removable storage systems in which a bay assembly mates with a disk drive sled assembly that supports a disk drive and that allows insertion and removal thereof from the bay assembly.
2. Description of the Prior Art and Related Information
Disk arrays allow high data storage capacities at relatively low cost. Such arrays (configured as a Redundant Array of Independent Disks (RAID), for example) typically include many interconnected magnetic disk drives. To allow the array to be expanded or to allow easy replacement of inoperative drives requires that drives be added or swapped, often without powering down the array. Such removable disk drives, whether disposed in a RAID enclosure or within a server, are often disposed within a drive rack assembly. The drive rack assembly typically includes a bay assembly that receives a disk drive housed in a removable and mating disk “sled” assembly. To populate the bay assembly with disk drives, the disk drive sled assembly is inserted within the bay assembly until the disk drive interface signal connector mates with and is fully seated within a corresponding connector disposed at the rear of the bay assembly.
However, conventional removable storage system disk sled assemblies are susceptible to damage from mishandling and are relatively costly to manufacture and to assemble. An improved disk sled assembly, therefore, would include fewer moving parts, be relatively robust and less susceptible to mishandling and should be inexpensive to manufacture and to assemble. Moreover, to avoid damaging the respective connectors of the disk drive and the bay assembly during insertion and removal of the sled assembly from the bay assembly, the disk drive sled assembly should be precisely guided within the bay assembly and some perceptible indicia should indicate when the disk drive connector is fully mated with and seated within the corresponding connector at the rear of the bay assembly. Additionally, such an improved sled assembly should be simple to use and suited to single-hand operation.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
An object of the present invention, therefore, is an improved removable storage system that has few moving parts, is easy to use and is inexpensive to manufacture and to assemble. A further object of the present invention is to provide an improved bay assembly that precisely guides the disk drive sled assembly into the bay assembly and securely mates and fully seats the disk drive connector with the corresponding connector on the bay assembly.
Accordingly, the present invention may be regarded as a removable storage system that includes a bay assembly for receiving a disk drive, the disk drive including a disk drive connector and a disk drive sled assembly for supporting the disk drive and for insertion into the bay assembly and removal from the bay assembly. The bay assembly includes an opening bounded by a bay floor wall and a bay ceiling wall. The bay floor wall and the bay ceiling wall each have a channel formed for receiving a respective guide rail, a backplane for carrying disk drive interface signals, a backplane connector, the backplane connector being adapted to mate with the disk drive connector to connect the disk drive interface signals to the disk drive, a cam member for sliding the sled assembly in or out of the bay assembly, a cam support frame for supporting the cam member, a cam support surface for attaching the cam support frame to the bay assembly and a pin for pivotally supporting the cam member in the cam support frame. The cam member includes a first leg and a second leg for engaging the sled assembly, the legs being spaced-apart to form a guide path for guiding one of the guide rails into a respective channel, a bore for inserting the pin to establish a cam rotation axis and a grip member for pushing the cam member to rotate about the cam rotation axis. The cam support frame includes a cam support frame back wall, a pair of cam support frame side walls, a bore in each cam support frame side wall for inserting and supporting the pin and attachment means for attaching the cam support frame back wall to the cam support surface.
The disk drive sled assembly includes a conductive support frame having a sled side wall, a sled ceiling wall, a sled floor wall, a sled end wall and an opening opposite the sled end wall, the disk drive being disposed in the conductive support frame and attached to respective inner surfaces of the sled floor wall and the sled ceiling wall. A pair of rails is fastened to respective outer surfaces of the sled floor wall and the sled ceiling wall for supporting the disk drive sled assembly in the bay assembly channels. A bezel is attached to the sled end wall and includes a handle member for manually gripping the disk drive sled assembly and a trough formed in the bezel having a first surface and a second surface. The trough is disposed to engage the legs such that upon partial insertion of the sled assembly into the bay assembly when the grip member is rotated away from the backplane, the legs engage the first surface to urge the disk drive sled into the bay assembly to connect the connectors and such that upon partial removal of the sled assembly from the bay assembly when the grip member is rotated toward the backplane, the legs engage the second surface to urge the disk drive out of the bay assembly and to disconnect the connectors.
According to further embodiments of the present invention, the disk drive sled assembly may further comprise an array of grounding fingers conductively fastened to the sled end wall. The first surface of the trough may be closer to the opening than the second surface of the trough. One cam support frame side wall of the pair of cam support frame side walls may include a protrusion and the cam member may include an indentation that mates with the protrusion upon rotation of the cam member to form a detent.
The present invention may also be viewed as a disk drive sled assembly for supporting a disk drive and for insertion and removal from a mating bay assembly, the bay assembly comprising a pivotable cam assembly that includes a pair of cam legs configured to pivot about a cam rotation axis when a cam grip member is rotated. The sled assembly includes a conductive support frame having a sled side wall, a sled ceiling wall, a sled floor wall, a sled end wall and an opening opposite the sled end wall. The disk drive is disposed in the conductive support frame and attached to respective inner surfaces of the sled floor wall and the sled ceiling wall. A pair of rails is fastened to respective outer surfaces of the sled floor wall and the sled ceiling wall for supporting the disk drive sled assembly in corresponding channels disposed in the bay assembly. A bezel attached to the sled end wall includes a handle member for manually gripping the disk drive sled assembly and a trough formed in the bezel having a first surface and a second surface. The trough is disposed to engage the legs such that upon partial insertion of the sled assembly into the bay assembly when the grip member is rotated away from the opening, the legs engage the first surface to urge the disk drive sled into the bay assembly and such that upon partial removal of the sled assembly from the bay assembly when the grip member is rotated toward the opening, the legs engage the second surface to urge the disk drive out of the bay assembly.
The foregoing and other features of the invention are described in detail below and set forth in the appended claims.
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Chang Yean-Hsi
Connex, Total Technologies, Inc.
Kim Won Tae C
Picard Leo P.
Shara Milad G
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