Illumination – Light fiber – rod – or pipe
Reexamination Certificate
1999-09-22
2001-05-15
Cariaso, Alan (Department: 2875)
Illumination
Light fiber, rod, or pipe
C362S085000, C362S133000, C361S689000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06231224
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Technical Field
This invention relates in general to hard disk drives and in particular to a hard disk drive carrier with light pipe guides for the drive activity lights.
2. Background Art
Hard disk drives (HDD) that are removable during operation in a computer or peripheral systems environment are sometimes referred to as “hot-pluggable.” An HDD is typically mounted in a hard disk drive carrier prior to installation in a system. An HDD carrier is a frame-like structure which attaches to the HDD to assist in its insertion into or removal from the system. HDD carriers also protect the HDD when it is outside of the systems environment. HDD carriers are typically constructed out of metal and/or polymeric materials.
The system contains several HDD's, each of which may be readily interchangeable in the system. The HDD's are mounted in bays in a chassis located within a system enclosure. The system typically has an activity light or lights for each bay that indicate operational functions. Unfortunately, the lights are usually located at the rear of the enclosure and not visible once the HDD and carrier assembly is installed. Thus, an apparatus and method for coupling a hot-pluggable drive in a system and monitoring the activity lights of the system while the drive is in operation is needed.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
A carrier for a hot-pluggable hard disk drive has a frame with a pair of side walls, a front bezel, and a rear connector assembly. The hard disk drive mounts to the frame within its confines. One of the side walls has a pair of channels in its outer surface. The carrier also has a visible light pipe mounted in each of its channels. The light pipes extend along the side wall from the front bezel to the rear connector assembly. The rear ends of the light pipes are vertically aligned and their front ends are horizontally aligned.
The carrier is installed in the hard disk drive docking bay of a computer system. The rear end of the docking bay has a docking connector for interconnecting with the drive, and a pair of activity lights. When the carrier is seated in the docking bay, the rear ends of the light pipes are precisely aligned with the activity lights and separated from them by a small clearance. The light emitted by the activity lights is transmitted through the light pipes and displayed at the front bezel for viewing by the user.
REFERENCES:
patent: 4692842 (1987-09-01), Joly et al.
patent: 5340340 (1994-08-01), Hastings et al.
patent: 5579204 (1996-11-01), Nelson et al.
patent: 5654873 (1997-08-01), Smithson et al.
patent: 5721838 (1998-02-01), Takahashi et al.
patent: 5764481 (1998-06-01), Ruch et al.
patent: 5790374 (1998-08-01), Wong
patent: 6061244 (2000-05-01), O'Sullivan et al.
patent: 6064569 (2000-05-01), Sands et al.
patent: 6071150 (2000-06-01), Tang et al.
patent: 6084768 (2000-07-01), Bolognia
patent: 6088221 (2000-07-01), Bolognia
patent: 6098127 (2000-08-01), Kwang
Gamble Eric T.
McNulty Edward J.
Bracewell & Patterson LLP
Cariaso Alan
International Business Machines - Corporation
LandOfFree
Light pipe guide and carrier for hard disk drive does not yet have a rating. At this time, there are no reviews or comments for this patent.
If you have personal experience with Light pipe guide and carrier for hard disk drive, we encourage you to share that experience with our LandOfFree.com community. Your opinion is very important and Light pipe guide and carrier for hard disk drive will most certainly appreciate the feedback.
Profile ID: LFUS-PAI-O-2517090