Support for electronic devices

Details Support for electronic devices Support for electronic devices

2000-10-13

2002-08-06

Wilkens, Janet M. (Department: 3637)

Supports: cabinet structure

Knockdown or setup type

Adjacent walls rigidly interlocked

C312S111000, C312S351000

Reexamination Certificate

active

06428126

ABSTRACT:

FIELD OF THE INVENTION
This invention pertains to methods and apparatus for supports for electronic devices.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Most prior art electronic equipment, such as large computers, is made up of sub-components which, in turn, comprise various electronic and electrical devices. These sub-component electronic and electrical devices are generally supported on a structural support, such as a chassis, frame, or the like, which can support a plurality of such devices. The electronic and electrical devices which make up the electronic equipment can be any of a number of different types of devices. The sub-component devices can include disk drives, controllers, and power supplies, to name only a few examples. Often, the electronic and electrical devices are configured to be modular.
Referring to
FIG. 1
, a semi-exploded view is shown of a typical unit of prior art electronic equipment which includes a structural support for supporting modular electronic and electrical devices. As is seen, the prior art unit of electrical equipment
10
typically includes a structural support
11
comprising a base
20
which rests on a floor
12
, or the like. Uprights
22
are welded or fastened to the base
20
as shown. A top frame
24
is welded or fastened to the upper ends of the uprights
22
in a like manner. The support
11
can also include side panels
26
and a top panel
27
which can be fastened to the uprights
22
and top frame
24
respectively. Additionally, several pairs of rails
32
can be fastened to the uprights
22
as shown, using threaded fasteners (not shown) or the like. Each pair of rails
32
can support a chassis
34
which is often fastened to the rails. Several modular electronic or electrical devices
36
are removably housed within each chassis
34
.
The modular configuration of the devices
36
provides many advantages. One such advantage of the modular configuration is that devices
36
can be added to the unit of electronic equipment
10
on an “as-required” basis. For example, as additional electronic equipment capacity is required, additional sub-component devices
36
, can be installed into the unit
10
and electrically connected to the system. This practice of adding individual sub-component devices
36
to a system is advantageous because it provides for efficient utilization of the sub-component devices. That is, the sub-component devices
36
are added to the unit of electronic equipment
10
incrementally as they are required, which minimizes idle sub-component devices.
However, several problems are associated with the use of the prior art supports
11
which are configured in the manner described above. Most of these problems associated with the prior art supports
11
stem from the configuration of the supports
11
which tend to be relatively large and heavy, and also tend to have a high parts-count. One of the problems that result from the configuration of the prior art support structures is an inefficiency in the use of valuable floor space. Specifically, a typical prior art support
11
generally takes up a considerable amount of floor space even if only a few sub-component devices
36
are supported on it. That is, a typical prior art support
11
will occupy a large footprint even though a very small portion of the structure is utilized for supporting sub-component devices
36
. Also, the large footprint of typical prior art supports prevents their use in situations where only a small amount of floor space is available. In such cases, the available floor space will go unused which results in wasted floor space. This inefficiency in the use of floor space can be undesirable because such floor space is often located in data rooms in which the environmental conditions are tightly controlled. The floor space in such rooms is often in high demand and in short supply.
Another problem associated with the configuration of prior art supports
11
is that the relatively heavy, bulky nature of the supports inhibits the mobility of the supports. This can be undesirable since it is sometimes necessary to relocate a support
11
within a data room, or the like. The heavy, bulky nature of the prior art supports
11
can thus result in difficult relocation procedures. An additional problem with the configuration of the prior art supports
11
is that the supports are constructed from many different parts including multitudes of fasteners (not shown) which hold the parts together. This relatively high parts-count of the structures necessitates large inventories of spare parts and also creates complex repair procedures in the event that a support structure is damaged. Additionally, prior art supports
11
are sometimes too heavy for the raised flooring, which can cause failure of the raised flooring.
Moving now to
FIG. 2
, a side elevation view is shown of the prior art unit of electronic equipment
10
which is depicted in FIG.
1
. As is seen, each chassis
34
generally houses at least one fan module
38
which causes a stream of cooling air
40
to flow through the respective chassis
34
to cool the respective sub-component devices
36
. The fan modules
38
are usually located behind the sub-component devices
36
as shown. The stream of cooling air
40
generally flows through each respective chassis
34
in a lateral direction as shown. This configuration results in at least one fan module
38
for each chassis
34
. This can result in a unit of electronic equipment
10
which houses a relatively high number of fans. This, in turn, can cause excessive noise and can create complex maintenance problems. Also as is seen, objects (not shown) cannot be placed adjacent to the support
11
which would block the flow of the streams of cooling air
40
through the chassis
34
. Further, the lateral movement of cooling air is contrary to the natural convection flow direction of cooling air, which is generally in the upward direction. This contrary movement of the cooling air in prior art electronic equipment
10
results in an inefficient design.
Therefore, it is desirable to provide a support apparatus which achieves the benefits to be derived from similar prior art devices, but which avoids the shortcomings and detriments individually associated therewith.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
This invention pertains to methods and apparatus for supporting a plurality of electronic devices. In accordance with one embodiment of the present invention, a support apparatus includes a structural element that defines a channel in which at least one electronic device can be supported. The apparatus includes a plurality of support surfaces that are defined on the structural element and which can supportably contact the electronic devices to support them. The support apparatus can comprise a single-piece structural element or a multi-piece structural element. The structural element can comprise an extrusion comprising a number of materials, including aluminum. The structural element can also be formed using any of a number of other methods.
In accordance with another embodiment of the present invention, a support apparatus includes at least one structural element that defines a channel in which at least one groove can be defined. The groove can be substantially longitudinal and can be undercut. The apparatus also includes a support member having a plurality of support surfaces defined on it. The support member can be configured to engage the groove within the channel so as to be mounted on the structural element within the channel. The support member can support a plurality of electronic devices on the support surfaces which supportably contact the devices.
In accordance with yet another embodiment of the present invention, a support apparatus includes at least two structural elements that can be connected to one another so as to each support at least one electronic device. The structural elements can be connected to one another in a substantially parallel orientation that can include a side-by-side orientation, a back-to-back orientation, and an end-to-end orientat

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