Electricity: electrical systems and devices – Housing or mounting assemblies with diverse electrical... – For electronic systems and devices
Reexamination Certificate
1999-05-25
2001-09-11
Gaffin, Jeffrey (Department: 2835)
Electricity: electrical systems and devices
Housing or mounting assemblies with diverse electrical...
For electronic systems and devices
C361S727000, C361S753000, C361S759000, C361S788000, C361S801000, C361S802000, C439S062000, C439S064000, C070S085000, C312S223100, C312S223200, C211S041170, C206S701000, C206S707000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06288902
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates in general to a modular data storage system, and more particularly to a process and apparatus for securing a data storage module within an enclosure to reduce mechanical shock and vibrations associated therewith during operation, handling and transportation.
2. Description of the Related Art
In general, a common data storage system comprises multiple data storage modules that slidably dock within an enclosure. Normally, the data storage modules provide disk drives which each includes a plurality of internal disks or platters that spin at high speeds within the drive during operation. Although there are numerous data storage modules and enclosures used in the industry today, none satisfy all of the performance requirements that the industry demands.
As illustrated in
FIG. 1
, a conventional data storage system
8
includes an enclosure
10
having multiple bay slots
12
that extend linearly from the front of the structure to a backplane where a circuit board
14
is mounted. The circuit board provides various multiple pin connectors
16
and circuitry on a silicon composite sheet of about 1.5 mm thick. Each bay slot
12
provides a set of upper and lower guide tracks
18
to aid the user in aligning the data storage module
20
within the desired bay slot
12
. Each guide track
18
provides a width Wt.
A typical data storage module
20
consists of a drive tray
32
, a securing mechanism
34
, guide rails
36
, and a data storage device
22
, e.g. a disc drive. The drive tray
32
provides a rigid rectangular structure for receiving, securing, and mounting the disc drive. The securing mechanism
34
attaches to the front end of the drive tray
32
so that the user can lock each data storage module
20
in the desired bay slot
12
of enclosure
10
. As illustrated, guide rails
36
reside on either side of the drive tray
32
and provide the necessary structure to be received by the guide tracks
18
of the enclosure slot
12
. Each guide rail
36
provides a constant width Wr and thickness between distal ends.
The above data storage system is very popular in the industry due to its simplicity in design, ease of operation, and relatively low cost to produce. However, the conventional design has problems inherent to its construction during operation. In particular, the system provides a certain amount of designed gap between the guide rails
36
and the supporting guide tracks
18
, and between the locking mechanism
34
and the enclosure
10
. Because these gaps ensure ease of insertion and removal of the modules and manufacturability of the parts, they can not be eliminated. Consequently, a conventional data storage module is essentially free to move across the gaps, even after the conventional latching mechanism is locked.
This free boundary condition existing along the gaps, together with the large mass of a typical data storage device, make the module easily excited by shock and vibration regardless of whether they are self-generated by the data storage device or externally imparted upon the system. Consequently, while the rear end of a module is constrained in all three translational axes by the circuit board connector, the front end of the module is not well constrained. Therefore, this arrangement inherently forces the module to rotate about its better constrained end, the connector, in response to vibration, shock excitation, and gyroscopic motion, even when the force is translational. In other words, disc drives in the conventional data storage system are prone to rotational vibrations regardless of whether the input is external to the drive or self-exited by the drive itself during operation, handling and transportation.
Rotational vibration is an increasing concern to a data storage systems designer since it can have a significant impact on the performance and data integrity of modern disc drives. In addition, considering that the rotational speed and data track density of the disc drive will continue to rapidly increase in the future and disc drive manufacturers have very limited options to reduce or suppress the rotational vibrations at the drive level, the current problems exhibited by rotational vibrations will only get worse over time if no viable solutions are developed.
In attempts to resolve the above problems, some conventional data storage systems utilize elastomeric shock mounts to isolate or attenuate the shock and vibrations externally imparted upon the system. However, for the shock mounts to work properly, they must be allowed to deflect freely and therefore require extra sway and component space within the system. Such a system fails to achieve the maximum data storage density for the given data storage device, and provides an additional cost and process assembly step. In addition, given that the rotational vibrations may be caused by the forces that the drive itself generates, such as disk stack imbalance and the reaction from the actuator seek, the shock mounts fail to isolate or attenuate the rotational vibrations.
Other conventional data storage systems attempt to provide data storage module constraints inside the enclosure. These constraints are designed to rely on contacts between rigid members and non-compliant parts of the enclosure, and therefore do not take-up, fill, or effectively remove the gaps between the mating parts that allow for the rotational vibrations. For example, compliant members near the rear end of the enclosure between the data storage module and the enclosure. Consequently, such designs fail to effectively constrain the movement of the data storage modules in more than one direction.
Due to the problems inherent to the conventional data storage system, data storage devices in such systems are susceptible to shock and vibrations imparted upon the system during the transportation, end-use handling, and operation, and often sustain permanent physical damages or loss of data. In addition, disc drives in the conventional data storage system are very sensitive to the effect of rotational vibration and may suffer significant degradation of performance during the normal operation of the system.
The present invention is directed to overcoming, or at least reducing the effects of, one or more of the problems set forth above.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
In one aspect of the present invention, an apparatus is provided for loading and securing a data storage drive within an enclosure. The enclosure comprises a frontal opening having a top side, a bottom side and a compliant backplane. The compliant backplane includes a plurality of electrical connectors mounted thereto and laterally spaced from the frontal opening. A compliant pressure plate attaches on the top side of the enclosure above various lock vias within the enclosure and adjacent to the frontal opening. The enclosure also includes top and bottom guide tracks defining a plurality of bay slots for slidably aligning and coupling the data storage drive with at least one of the plurality of electrical connectors. A drive tray having a left, right, and front side define top and bottom planes for attaching a data storage drive therebetween. First and second guide rails attach to the exterior surfaces of the left and right drive tray sides and are shaped to slidably mount within at least one of the data storage drive bay slots and between the respective top and bottom guide tracks. A lever handle having a securing knob at one end pivotally mounts to a front side of the drive tray. A latch attaches to the other end of the lever handle so that it may move to lock the drive tray within the desired slot enclosure and establish a stabilizing pressure between the securing knob, enclosure, backplane, and pressure plate.
In another aspect of the instant invention, a process is provided for securing a data storage module within a reciprocating enclosure. In particular, process comprising: gripping a pivotal lever handle attached to a front end of the data storage module, said handle being positioned in an extended po
Kim Kwang Ho
McDonald Julie
Foster David
Gaffin Jeffrey
Hewlett--Packard Company
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