Electricity: electrical systems and devices – Housing or mounting assemblies with diverse electrical... – For electronic systems and devices
Reexamination Certificate
2001-09-08
2004-02-17
Schuberg, Darren (Department: 2835)
Electricity: electrical systems and devices
Housing or mounting assemblies with diverse electrical...
For electronic systems and devices
C361S694000, C361S695000, C361S724000, C312S223100, C312S223200
Reexamination Certificate
active
06693796
ABSTRACT:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The invention claimed and disclosed herein pertains to hard disk drive support apparatus and methods, and more specifically, to hard disk drive support apparatus and methods in which the hard disk drives are suspended.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Hard disk drives are known in the art. A hard disk drive is often in the form of a module comprising a hard disk data storage medium along with related components which enable data to be stored and retrieved from the hard disk. Hard disk drives are often arranged in groups that are referred to as “arrays.” Hard disk drive arrays generally comprise, in addition to a plurality of hard disk drives, a power supply module, airflow devices for cooling, and a printed circuit assembly (PCA). The power supply module supplies electrical power to the hard disk drives of the array, while the PCA provides signal and power routing between each of the disk drives of the array. The PCA can also act as a controller for the disk drive array by performing various processing functions associated with the operation of the array.
Prior art hard disk drives are generally operationally supported in large cabinet-like enclosures. Each enclosure typically has a door or cover panel on the front through which at least some of the hard disk drives can be accessed for service and the like. Prior art PCA's are usually mounted behind the hard disk drives and toward the back of the enclosure. Each of the hard disk drives is configured to slide into the enclosure in a drawer-like fashion. Respective mating connector portions are mounted on both the PCA and on the back of each of the disk drives. The connector portions are configured to create a connection between each respective disk drive and the PCA when the drive in slid into the enclosure.
Several disadvantages can be associated with the typical configuration of prior art hard disk drive arrays. For example, because of the connector configuration between the PCA and the drives, as explained above, the entire assembly comprising the enclosure and related framework, the hard drives, the connector portions, and the PCA, must adhere to extremely close manufacturing tolerances. That is, extremely close tolerances must be maintained between nearly all of the components of the hard disk drive array assembly so that the connector portions will function properly. This can result in an unacceptably high proportion of resources which are devoted toward achieving such high manufacturing tolerances.
Another disadvantage associated with the typical configuration of prior art hard disk drive arrays is that each of the hard disk drives must typically be removed from the enclosure for shipping of the assembly. That is, each of the hard disk drives must be packed and shipped separately from the enclosure and then reassembled into the enclosure at the shipping destination. This is due to the fact that shock and vibration encountered during shipping can damage the hard drives if they are shipped in the array itself.
Thus, the disk drives are typically packed in shipping containers that are provided with appropriate protective packing materials. The packing materials are generally placed around the disk drives to protect the drives from shock and vibration anticipated during shipping. This also requires that the disk drives be unpacked and installed into an enclosure, or other support device, at the destination. Further, to ensure correct installation and start-up of the disk drives at the end-user site it is often necessary to have a technician from the OEM on-site during such installation and start-up. This can result in delay of the operational availability and readiness of the disk array in cases wherein technicians are in short supply or wherein the technicians must travel great distances. This can all lead to an unacceptable level of resources that must be expended in shipping and setup of the disk arrays.
In addition to avoiding shock and vibration which may damage the hard drives during shipping, it is also desirable to protect the hard drives from shock and vibration while they are operational. For example, an operational disk array system may encounter a shock as a result of an earthquake, or even an operator bumping the disk array system. Likewise, an operational disk array system may encounter vibration resulting from the operation of the disk array system itself, such as from cooling fans, the spinning of disk drives in the array, and the movement of read/write heads within the disk.
Another problem encountered by disk array systems is cooling of the system. Due to the heat generated by operation of the disk drives and the power supply unit, a large amount of heat can build up within a disk drive enclosure. If this heat is not removed, the disk drives may malfunction due to overheating. It is thus desirable to remove the heat in an efficient manner. That is, a disk array cooling system should use as little power as possible to remove as much heat as possible from all of the operational components within the disk array system, and from the disk drives in particular.
What is needed then is a disk drive support and a disk array system that achieves the benefits to be derived from similar prior art methods and devices, but which avoids the shortcomings and detriments individually associated therewith.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The instant invention generally concerns apparatus and methods of supporting at least one disk drive in a manner that minimizes mechanical shock and vibration to the disk drive. In one embodiment, the disk drive is supported on a suspension system that acts to absorb external forces. A chassis is provided on which the suspension system is supported. The chassis can be in the form of an enclosure to protect the disk drive, as well as related components, from environmental elements. The disk drive can be supported directly on the suspension system or, in the alternative, can be supported on a frame that is directly supported on the suspension system. The disk drive can be rigidly mounted on the frame so that the frame and the disk drive together act as a unitary mass relative to the suspension system. That is, the additional mass of the frame can serve to lessen the mechanical shock and vibration experienced by the disk drive because of the additional inertia of the frame and disk drive together.
The chassis provides single-faced access to the internal components thereof, including the disk drives. This allows similar chassis to be located adjacent to one another in back-to-back, stacked and sided-to-side configurations while not affecting internal access to any given chassis. Connections with other arrays can be made from the front to also assist in this flexible configurability. The suspension system can comprise a layer of foam. The foam can act both as a resilient support as well as a damping device, thereby facilitating relatively efficient and simple construction of the suspension system and other support components such as the chassis and frame, while at the same time affording desirable shock and vibration protection for the disk drive.
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Anson Jon
Ives Thom
Edwards Anthony Q.
Hewlett--Packard Development Company, L.P.
Schuberg Darren
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