Supports: racks – Elements
Reexamination Certificate
2001-02-01
2004-09-28
Braun, Leslie A. (Department: 3634)
Supports: racks
Elements
C211S041180, C361S759000, C403S387000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06796444
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a front rail in a sub-rack, which acts as a cabinet in which a plurality of printed circuit boards packing electronic circuit assemblies are mountable, and which constitutes an electronic equipment unit such as a communication apparatus and so on.
2. Description of the Prior Art
FIG. 1
is a perspective view of the constitution of a conventional sub-rack. In
FIG. 1
, reference numeral
100
denotes a sub-rack.
101
denotes a top plate.
102
denotes a bottom plate.
103
denotes a side plate.
104
denotes a front rail arranged on front edges of the top plate
101
and the bottom plate
102
, respectively.
105
denotes a mid-rail arranged on a midrange of the top plate
101
and the bottom plate
102
, respectively, so as to cross the midrange.
106
denotes a guide rail whose both ends are mounted on upper faces of the front rail
104
and the mid-rail
105
.
107
denotes a locating hole for locating a position on which a printed circuit board (not shown) is inserted.
FIG. 2
is a perspective view of the sub-rack
100
that a plug-in unit is partially mounted. In
FIG. 2
,
111
denotes a front panel constituting a front part of the sub-rack
100
when the printed circuit board (not shown) is mounted into the sub-rack
100
.
112
denotes a handle mounted on the front panel
111
and used for the insertion of the printed circuit board (not shown) into the sub-rack
100
and for the removal thereof from the sub-rack
100
.
FIG. 3
is a side view of the constitution of the plug-in unit mounted into the sub-rack
100
. In
FIG. 3
, since the common numerals denote common elements or the counterparts in
FIG. 2
, the description of such parts is omitted.
121
denotes a printed circuit board.
122
denotes a connector arranged on the printed circuit board
121
, which is connectable by a plug-in type with another connector (not shown) on a back plane mounted on a rear part of the sub-rack
100
.
123
denotes a guide pin which can be inserted into the locating hole
107
in order to locate the printed circuit board
121
.
124
denotes a handle-supporting part which is connected with the printed circuit board
121
or the front panel
111
.
125
denotes a pin which is fixed to the handle
112
or the handle-supporting part
124
to allow rotation of the handle
112
with respect to the handle-supporting part
124
.
FIG. 4
is a drawing of the plug-in unit coupling with the front rail. In
FIG. 4
, since the common numerals denote common elements or the counterparts in
FIGS. 1
to
3
, the description of such parts is omitted.
131
denotes a first claw part of the handle
112
, and
132
denotes a second claw part of the handle
112
.
133
denotes a first engagement part formed on the front rail
104
, and
134
denotes a second engagement part formed on the front rail
104
.
The operation of this invention will be described as follows.
When the plug-in unit having the printed circuit board
121
is inserted into the sub-rack, the printed circuit board
121
is slid along a groove formed in the guide rail
106
. The guide pin
123
arranged on the plug-in unit is then inserted into the locating hole
107
formed in the front rail
104
to locate the front panel
111
with respect to the front rail
104
. Consequently, the handle
112
is rotated in a direction “A” in a state of engaging the first claw part
131
of the handle
112
with the first engagement part
133
of the front rail
104
. The connector
122
of the printed circuit board
121
is then connected to the back plane to finish the insertion of the plug-in unit into the sub-rack
100
.
When the plug-in unit is removed from the sub-rack
100
, the handle
112
is rotated in a direction “B” in a state of engaging the second claw part
132
of the handle
112
with the second engagement part
134
of the front rail
104
to remove the connector
122
of the printed circuit board
121
from the back plane. Consequently, the printed circuit board
121
is pulled out along the groove formed in the guide rail
106
to remove the plug-in unit from the sub-rack
100
.
The conventional sub-rack is constituted as described above. The front rail
104
is made of extruded aluminum materials. When a plurality of large-size printed circuit boards are mounted on the front rail
100
, the front rail
100
bent, and the printed circuit board
121
disconnects from the groove of the guide rail
106
and falls to the bottom part of the sub-rack
100
.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a front rail having a sufficient strength to hold a plurality of large-size printed circuit boards in required positions of a sub-rack.
In order to achieve the object of the present invention, a front rail in a sub-rack formed by bending a plate comprises a front part having a hole, the hole allowing insertion of a dowel pin, the dowel pin being arranged on a printed circuit board, a top part on which a guide rail for guiding the printed circuit board is mounted, a rear part extending from the top part via a hem formed by folding back a plate, the rear part for supporting a lower portion of the top part, and a bottom part extending from the rear part. As a result of such a pressing operation of one steel sheet and the arrangement of the hem, the front rail can obtain a sufficient strength. As a result, the front rail is hardly bent when the plurality of large-size printed circuit boards are mounted thereon, and it can prevent such boards from dropping out of the guide rail.
Here, the front part may come into contact with the bottom part the hem. The structural strength of the front rail can be therefore enhanced by the addition of the hem. It is easy to form the hem extending from the top part because the front part extends from the bottom part. Accordingly, the production of the front rail is facilitated.
The front rail may further comprise a plurality of engagement holes which are arranged on the hem extending from both the front and bottom parts. The claw part of the handle of the plug-in unit can easily engage with the engagement hole, and convenience of operation can be enhanced.
The front rail may further comprise a mounting part having a screw hole, the mounting part formed by bending a cantilever part in a lateral direction, wherein the cantilever part is integrated with the top part. The front rail can be therefore easily arranged in the sub-rack owing to a simple operation of connecting a bolt inserted into the side part of the sub-rack with the screw hole.
The front rail may further comprise a mounting part having a screw hole, the mounting part formed by bending a cantilever part in a lateral direction, wherein the cantilever part is integrated with the bottom part. Since the side parts of the sub-rack can sustain the downward load forcing on the bottom part to prevent the hem extending from the top part from opening, the stability of the front rail shape can be improved. Accordingly, aspects such as a positioning accuracy can be further improved.
The front rail may further comprise a mounting hole arranged on the hem extending from the top part, the mounting part for mounting a guide rail guiding the printed circuit board. Accordingly, it is possible to form the mounting hole by a series of sheet-metal processes including bending and so on. When compared with arranging a mounting member on the top part by another operation steps, the front rail in embodiment 1 can be manufactured at a low cost.
The front rail may further comprise a plurality of projections arranged on the rear edge side, the respective projections extending in a rear direction. The guide rail guiding the printed circuit board can be therefore mounted on the projections by forwardly moving the guide rail in a horizontal direction. Accordingly, the mounting of the guide rail on the front rail can be easily performed, and the structure of a guide rail-mounting part can be simplified which facilitates manufacture of the front rail
Braun Leslie A.
Mitsubishi Denki & Kabushiki Kaisha
Oblon & Spivak, McClelland, Maier & Neustadt P.C.
Tran Khoa
LandOfFree
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