Slotted rail mount for circuit boards

Details Slotted rail mount for circuit boards Slotted rail mount for circuit boards

1999-07-08

2001-04-10

Gandhi, Jayprakash N. (Department: 2835)

Electricity: electrical systems and devices

Housing or mounting assemblies with diverse electrical...

For electronic systems and devices

C361S801000, C361S689000, C361S689000, C361S727000, C361S756000, C439S078000, C439S097000, C174S050510

Reexamination Certificate

active

06215674

ABSTRACT:

TECHNICAL FIELD
The present invention relates to methods and systems for mounting printed circuit boards within enclosures and, in particular, to a slotted rail mount for mounting printed circuit boards within spatially constrained enclosures.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Until recently, motherboards have been mounted into personal computers (“PCs”) and servers using screws and mounting assemblies that require significant design efforts, assembly time, and perhaps most importantly, a potentially time consuming and complex procedure for replacement of the motherboard mounted within a fully assembled PC or server. Common motherboard mounting techniques currently require large, parallel cable connections for connecting the motherboards to other components within the PC or server. Moreover, mounting techniques often vary from vendor to vendor, so that a motherboard prepared for mounting within a PC or server manufactured by one vendor may not be interchangeable with a motherboard manufactured by a different vendor.
In order to address the above-mentioned motherboard mounting problems, Intel® has developed a rail-mounting system for motherboards manufactured according to the NLX motherboard specification standard.
FIG. 1
shows a detailed view of an NLX rail mounting assembly. Raised brackets
102
-
107
, that together comprise a runner, are punched up through the surface
108
of an enclosure or chassis. A plastic rail
110
is affixed to the lower surface of the motherboard
112
via screws
114
-
116
. In the interest of brevity, the numerical labels used in
FIG. 1
will be used again in
FIGS. 2 and 3
to label components shown in
FIGS. 2 and 3
that are also shown in FIG.
1
.
FIG. 2
shows a rail positioned prior to mounting onto the runner. The front end of the rail
110
is angled, or tapered, to form a blunt point
202
that is positioned above a first pair of raised brackets
102
-
103
of the runner. Prior to mounting, the rail
110
is collinear with a central track
204
of the runner and the bottom surface of the rail
110
is coplanar with the surface of the enclosure from which the raised brackets of the runner are punched. The motherboard (not shown in
FIGS. 2 and 3
) is mounted to the enclosure by sliding the rail
110
affixed to the motherboard into the central track
204
of the runner, so that the rail
110
is held in place by the raised brackets
102
-
107
.
FIG. 3
illustrates a rail positioned within the central track of a runner following mounting.
FIGS. 4 and 5
illustrate the use of the NLX motherboard mounting system in a server enclosure. The numerical labels used in
FIG. 4
are reused in
FIG. 5
, for components shown in both figures, for the sake of brevity and clarity. In
FIG. 4
, a motherboard
402
is positioned for mounting into a server enclosure
404
. The server enclosure includes two runners
406
and
408
into which rails
410
and
412
, affixed to the underside of the motherboard
402
, are slid in order to mount the motherboard
402
securely to the enclosure
404
. The motherboard
402
is fully mounted when conductive electrical connectors
414
, arranged along the lower edge of the motherboard
402
, are snugly fit into a connector receptacle
416
.
FIG. 5
shows the motherboard of
FIG. 4
mounted within the server enclosure. Once the motherboard
402
has been slid into position, a hinged panel
502
is rotated 90 degrees about two hinges
504
and
506
and snapped into position to form the top of the enclosure
404
. This hinged top surface
502
is necessary because, prior to mounting, the motherboard
402
must be positioned, as shown in
FIG. 4
, with the lower edges of the rails
416
and
418
above the first sets of raised brackets
420
and
422
, respectively. Prior to mounting, the top portion of the motherboard
402
extends above the plane of the top of the server enclosure
424
-
426
.
While the NLX rail mounting system, described above in
FIGS. 1-5
, addresses the above-mentioned problems related to standardization, ease of mounting and replacement, and cableless connection, the necessity of the motherboard to be positioned above the top runner brackets prior to mounting requires either a hinged surface that can be opened to accommodate insertion of the motherboard, as shown in
FIGS. 4 and 5
, or requires server enclosures having at least once dimension significantly greater than the vertical dimension of the motherboard. However, designers and manufacturers of servers and PCs, in response to consumer demand, strive to keep the size of servers and PCs as small as possible, and strive to minimize manufacturing costs. Design of the hinged top surface of the server enclosure, as shown in
FIGS. 4 and 5
, adds additional parts and labor costs to the manufacture of the server or PC, and perhaps more importantly, may result in a weakening of the mechanical structure of the enclosure. For these reasons, designers and manufacturers of PCs and servers have recognized the need for a motherboard mounting system compatible with the NLX standard that does not require the motherboard to slide for a significant distance along runners, and that therefore does not require the motherboard to be initially positioned above the top of the runners prior to mounting, as illustrated in FIG.
4
.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
In one embodiment of the present invention, two slotted-rail mounting assemblies are employed to mount a motherboard within a server enclosure. Each slotted-rail mounting assembly comprises a runner piece, having raised brackets and guide posts that together form a runner and a slotted rail that slides through a control track of the runner. The slotted rails are affixed to the lower surface of the motherboard. The runners are affixed to a surface of the enclosure. Each slotted rail has two slots that allow the slotted rail to be positioned over corresponding raised brackets of the runner piece and against a surface of the enclosure within the central track of the runner. The slotted rail can then be translated along the central track of the runner for a distance of approximately ½ inch in order to lock the slotted rail underneath the runner brackets, thus mounting the motherboard securely to the surface of the enclosure to which the runners are affixed. Because mounting of the motherboard via the slotted-rail mounting assemblies does not require the motherboard to slide for many inches across the surface of the enclosure, the motherboard can be mounted within a compact enclosure, without requiring a hinged panel or an aperture through which the motherboard can be inserted.


REFERENCES:
patent: 3829741 (1974-08-01), Athey
patent: 3932016 (1976-01-01), Ammenheuser
patent: 4427254 (1984-01-01), Koppensteiner
patent: 5432682 (1995-07-01), Giehl et al.
patent: 5805429 (1998-09-01), Andersson
patent: 5867366 (1999-02-01), Klein et al.
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patent: 5999416 (1999-12-01), McAnally et al.
patent: 6088222 (2000-07-01), Schmitt et al.
patent: 6114626 (2000-09-01), Barnes et al.
patent: 6118667 (2000-09-01), Grosser et al.

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