Electricity: electrical systems and devices – Housing or mounting assemblies with diverse electrical... – For electronic systems and devices
Reexamination Certificate
2000-04-14
2001-10-30
Picard, Leo P. (Department: 2835)
Electricity: electrical systems and devices
Housing or mounting assemblies with diverse electrical...
For electronic systems and devices
C361S689000, C361S689000, C361S727000, 36, 36
Reexamination Certificate
active
06310777
ABSTRACT:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
This invention concerns electronic apparatus and more particularly such apparatus which includes a plurality of removable magnetic hard disk drives to store data.
BACKGROUND TO THE INVENTION
Magnetic hard disk drives are an essential part of the modern personal computer, such drives being used to store large amounts of data in digital form. It is possible but unusual to change the hard drive of a personal computer, but when such a change is effected the computer has in general be powered down before the drive can safely be removed and new drive inserted in order not to cause damage to the drive. This is usually not a problem as shutting down computer and restarting it is relatively rapid compared with the time it takes to place the hard drive itself.
Magnetic hard drives do, however, have other uses then as memory devices for personal computers. In particular, they can be used as storage media for large amounts of data because of their large capacity combined with the speed with which such data can be recorded. In some applications, a plurality of such drives are used for the simultaneous recording of data.
As will be appreciated, although hard disk drives can store very large amounts of data, for example 10 Gb or more, there comes a time when they are full to capacity and need to be changed for empty drives. However, this causes problems when continuous data recording is required because it is then impossible to power down the whole data recording system.
An approach to this problem has been to locate each hard disk drive in a carrier which in turn is locked in place in a suitable slot in the data reporter, the drive making electrical connection with the rest of the recording system through a suitable plug and socket. The plug and socket enable the necessary electrical connections to be made, and the lock which can be used to lock the carrier in the slot and prevent its removal, activates a switch which controls the electrical power to the hard drive. Thus, when the lock is unlocked, thereby enabling the carrier and hard drive to be inserted and removed, power to the drive has been disconnected and the drive can be safely inserted or removed, However, locking the lock both serves to prevent the carrier and associated drive from being removed, and it also applies power to drive via a switch which is activated in the process of locking the lock.
Whilst the interlock on the power supply to the individual hard drives usual is that the drives can be replaced without damage to the ensures that the drives can be replaced without damage to the drives and/or other devices in the data recorders caused, for example, by breaking one or more connections between them prior to the drive being powered down, it does not remove the problem of in some cases of having to replace the large number of drives at the same time. Furthermore, when multiple drive changes are effected, it is usually important to identify which drive was located in which slot for the data recorder because particular slots in these recorders are often used to record data of a particular type or from a particular source. Labels could be used to identify individual carriers, but with relatively large numbers having to changed at one time, and the large number of replacements, it becomes difficult to monitor the situation.
One possible solution to the problem would be to mount a plurality of hard disk drives in a single carrier and thereby enable all or the drives in the carrier to be replaced in a single operation, power to be drives then being controlled by a locking mechanism in a similar manner to that used hitherto for carriers holding a single hard drive. Unfortunately, a new problem is then encountered due to the high insertion and withdrawal forces required to connect and disconnected plug and socket connectors of the individual drives which typically involve making and breaking eighty connections each. Data recorders recording simultaneously on eight hard drives would then require such large forces to plug and unplug all eight connections simultaneously that doing so is either physically impossible by hand or it results in damage to the equipment itself.
A solution to the problem of high insertion force for a multiplicity of connectors would be to use a so-called zero insertion force connector, such connectors being available with several hundred connections. However, zero insertion force connectors do not make all of their contacts simultaneously, and electrical damage could occur if they were used to connect a plurality of hard disk drives in carrier into a data recorder because the power supply to the drives could stay on after or be switched on before other connections are broken or made.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
According to the present dimension there is provided data recording apparatus including the plurality of removable hard disk drives for recording data thereon, at least two of said drives being located on a removable carrier which facilitates the insertion and removal thereof from the apparatus, a zero insertion force connector which provides electrical connections between the drives on the carrier and the apparatus, switch means for connecting and disconnecting power to the disc drives on the carrier, and interlock means for preventing the zero insertion force connector being connected or disconnected without the switch means having first been operated to disconnect power from the disc drives.
DETAILS OF THE INVENTION
The present invention enables a plurality of hard disc drives to be replaced simultaneously with the data recording apparatus itself still powered up, and the use of a zero insertion force connector to provide connections between the carrier used to hold the drives and the apparatus itself facilitates this process. As a result, the exchange of a plurality of hard drives is particularly facilitated, and problems associated with identifying individual drives when they are replaced individually are avoided.
Various types of zero insertion force connector are known in the electronics art. However, it is generally preferred for the present invention to use such connectors having a rotatable shaft for locking and unlocking them, the shaft being rotatable about an axis substantially perpendicular to the plane of the mating surfaces of the connector. These connectors have the particular advantage that the half of the connector having the rotatable shaft can be mounted on the carrier, and substantially in the plane of the rear of the carrier, with the rotatable shaft being extended if necessary so that is accessible from the front of the carrier.
When a zero insertion force connector with a rotatable actuating shaft is used, the interlock means preferably prevents rotation of the shaft unless the switch means has previously been actuated to disconnect electrical power from or prevent the application of electrical power to the disc drives. This enables the carrier to be safely removed from or inserted into the rest of the recorder with the zero insertion force connector unlocked and the switch means in a state where it stops power being applied to the hard disc drives.
It is particularly preferred that the interlock means physically maintains the switch means in a state where electrical power cannot be applied to the disc drives until the zero insertion force connector has been mated and electrical connections have been completed between the respective halves of the connector, for example by rotating the actuating shaft of the connector to its locked position when the connector is lockable and unlockable by such means.
Other types of zero insertion force connector can be used in accordance with the present invention, for example those which lock and unlock merely be repeatedly pushing the two halves of the connectors together, locking being effected by pushing the two halves together and unlocking being effected by pushing the mated halves together again, and those which have rotatable actuating shafts which rotate substantially in the plane of the mating surfaces of the conn
Blank Rome Comisky & McCauley LLP
Datskovsky Michael
Knott John
Picard Leo P.
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