Electrical connectors – Metallic connector or contact having part permanently... – Adapted to be secured to conductor formed on printed circuit...
Reexamination Certificate
2001-07-27
2004-01-06
Duverne, Jean F. (Department: 2839)
Electrical connectors
Metallic connector or contact having part permanently...
Adapted to be secured to conductor formed on printed circuit...
Reexamination Certificate
active
06672914
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
A typical computerized system (e.g., a data storage system, a general purpose computer, a data communications device, etc.) includes a power sub-system having, among other things, a power supply and a set of bus bars, that connect the power supply to operating circuitry (e.g., one or more backplanes, circuit boards, etc.). One computerized system includes a bus bar block which holds the bus bars in place relative to each other and relative to neighboring components. In particular, the bus bar block holds the bus bars rigidly in place thus preventing the bus bars from contacting each other or contacting the neighboring components (e.g., the sides of a cabinet, a sub-frame, etc.). Without the bus bar block to rigidly hold the bus bars in place, the bus bars could move (e.g., due to vibration of the cabinet) and cause electrical damage (e.g., cause a fire due to an electrical short, cause damage to the power supply, cause damage to a neighboring circuit board, etc.).
One conventional bus bar block is a single contiguous non-conductive member which screws into a metal sub-frame of a cabinet. The bus bar block is machined and/or molded from a solid piece of plastic, and includes a main body and four tabs (one tab extending from each corner of the main body). The tabs of the bus bar block have screw holes, and the sub-frame has press-fit (or compression-fit) nuts which align with the screw holes. Accordingly, a technician can fasten the bus bar block to the sub-frame by aligning the bus bar block with the sub-frame, inserting screws through the screw holes, and screwing the tabs of the bus bar block to the sub-frame.
Before the technician fastens the bus bar block to the sub-frame, the bus bars are typically secured to the bus bar block to form a bus bar assembly (e.g., bolted to the bus bar block using nuts and bolts). The technician then positions the bus bar assembly within the cabinet and against the sub-frame making sure that each of the bus bars resides in a proper position and extends from the bus bar block to a proper location within the cabinet (e.g., to a backplane). Then, the technician'screws the bus bar block of the bus bar assembly to the sub-frame. After installation of the bus bar assembly, the technician can perform other installation duties such as attaching one or more power supplies to the bus bar assembly.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
Unfortunately, there are deficiencies to conventional approaches for mounting bus bar assemblies. For example, the above-described conventional approach requires separate hardware (e.g., screws, press-fit nuts, etc.) for fastening a bus bar block of a bus bar assembly to a sub-frame. Such hardware can be expensive and cumbersome to carry or ship with the bus bar assembly prior to installation.
Furthermore, the use of separate hardware can require a significant amount of additional resources to install (e.g., tools, labor, etc.). For example, when installing a bus bar assembly manually, a technician typically must hold the bus bar assembly in place (i.e., properly align the screw holes of the bus bar block over corresponding nuts of the sub-frame) and use a screwdriver (e.g., an electric screwdriver) to screw the bus bar block into the sub-frame. This installation procedure may require a significant amount of installation time (e.g., several minutes), and may be difficult to maneuver and/or physically taxing (e.g., due to the technician having to work in a compact or cramped location within an electronic cabinet).
In contrast to the above-described conventional bus bar mounting approach, the invention is directed to techniques for mounting a bus bar assembly that is configured to interlock with a frame assembly (e.g., a sub-frame within an electronic cabinet). Such interlocking can alleviate the need for separate hardware (e.g., screws), special tools (e.g., an electric screwdriver) and substantial installation time (e.g., time to screw a bus bar block of the bus bar assembly into a sub-frame).
One arrangement of the invention is directed to a bus bar mounting system having a frame assembly and a bus bar assembly. The frame assembly includes a chassis which is mountable within an equipment cabinet, and an interlocking portion that forms a unitary member with the chassis. The bus bar assembly includes a set of bus bars, and a bus bar block. The bus bar block includes (i) a base portion, each bus bar of the set of bus bars coupling to the base portion, and (ii) an interlocking portion that is configured to interlock with the interlocking portion of the frame assembly in order to retain the bus bar assembly in a fixed position relative to the frame assembly. The interlocking portion of the bus bar block forms a unitary member with the base portion of the bus bar block. With such interlocking, separate hardware for fastening the bus bar block to the frame assembly can be unnecessary thus reducing costs and simplifying installation. Additionally, such interlocking provides a sturdy and reliable mechanism for holding the bus bar assembly in place thus preventing the bus bars from inadvertently contacting and damaging neighboring components.
In one arrangement, the interlocking portion of the bus bar block includes an outer section, and a neck section that couples the outer section to the base portion of the bus bar block. The neck section is configured to slidably engage with a groove defined by the interlocking portion of the frame assembly. As such, a technician can simply align the neck section of the bus bar block interlocking portion with the groove defined by the interlocking portion of the frame assembly, and slide the bus bar block into position.
In one arrangement, the outer section, the neck section and the base portion of the bus bar block define a rectangular-shaped notch configured to receive the a section of the interlocking portion of the frame assembly. In this arrangement, the groove defined by the interlocking portion of the frame assembly preferably has a rectangular shape. Additionally, the neck section preferably has a rectangular-shaped cross-section in order to engage with the groove to interlock the bus bar assembly with the frame assembly. Accordingly, the interlocking portions of the frame assembly and the bus bar block can work together to hold the bus bar assembly in place.
In one arrangement, the frame assembly further includes an alignment portion. A Here, the base portion of the bus bar block includes a corresponding alignment portion that aligns with the alignment portion of the frame assembly by way of an alignment pin. For example, the frame assembly can further include a spring loaded alignment pin retained by the alignment portion of the frame assembly, and the alignment portion of the base portion of the bus bar block can include a laterally extending section that defines (i) a contact surface to rest on the alignment portion of the frame assembly, and (ii) an alignment hole that receives the spring loaded alignment pin retained by the alignment portion of the frame assembly. As such, the alignment pin prevents the bus bar assembly, from rotating or pivoting about the interlocking point in a manner that could damage the bus bar assembly or the frame assembly (e.g., in a manner that could break the bus bar block or bend the frame assembly due to a technician inadvertently pushing against the bus bar assembly while installing another part of the computerized system).
The features of the invention, as described above, may be employed in computerized systems, devices and methods, and other computer-related components such as those of EMC Corporation of Hopkinton, Mass.
REFERENCES:
patent: 5229922 (1993-07-01), Muramatsu et al.
patent: 5728975 (1998-03-01), Tanaka
patent: 5744751 (1998-04-01), Kassai
patent: 5923526 (1999-07-01), Kangas
patent: 6317971 (2001-11-01), Colarusso et al.
patent: 6420655 (2002-07-01), Yang et al.
Chapin & Huang , L.L.C.
Duverne Jean F.
EMC Corporation
Huang, Esq. David E.
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