Patent Application
20080276505
The present invention relates to housings for computers and other data appliances and, in particular, to exploitation of otherwise unused cabinet portions.
Computers and digital equipment such as routers, servers, storage network devices, telecommunication switches and the like—herein referred to generically as “data appliances”—are typically housed in cabinets that stand on their own (e.g., desktop computer cabinets) or which can be stacked in a rack configuration. Because the same data appliance can contain different components depending on the purpose (or the customer) for which it is provisioned, and also to provide for later expansion, appliance chassis are generally built in a standard configuration with room to accommodate more than the standard suite of internal components. As a result, the cabinet in which the appliance is housed will have unused “real estate,” i.e., blank face panels that may be removed when accessories are installed. These panels serve no functional or decorative purpose.
Accordingly, in a first aspect, the invention comprises a method of modifying a data-appliance cabinet, in particular a cabinet that accommodates a plurality of accessory (e.g., storage or other) devices which may or may not be present, where the space allocated to each accessory device includes a portion of a front (visible) side of the cabinet. The method comprises the steps of providing a display that includes a panel having front and rear surfaces and dimensions matching a front-side portion of the cabinet allocated to an accessory device, a translucent window through the panel, and a light source for illuminating the translucent window via the rear surface of the panel. In a front-side portion of the cabinet allocated to an absent accessory device (i.e., one not actually present in the cabinet), the backlit display is installed with the panel rear surface within the cabinet and the panel front surface exposed such that, upon activation of the light source within the cabinet, the window is backlit for external viewing.
The translucent window may take the form of a word, message, logo or design, and the light source may be physically affixed to the rear surface of the panel. The display is typically installed by removing a blank panel from the cabinet and replacing it with the display.
In preferred embodiments, the light source comprises a bundle of optical fibers extending along the translucent window. Light entering the optical fibers at ends thereof escapes transversely to illuminate the translucent window. A light source for the fibers may, for example, be connected to an existing power source within the cabinet.
In another aspect, the invention comprises a display for a data-appliance cabinet that accommodates a plurality of accessory devices which may or may not be present, where the space allocated to each accessory device includes a portion of a front side of the cabinet. The display comprises a panel having front and rear surfaces and dimensions matching a front-side portion of the cabinet allocated to an accessory device, a translucent window through the panel, a light source for illuminating the translucent window via the rear surface of the panel, and means facilitating installation of the backlit display. In particular, the display is installed in the front-side portion of the cabinet allocated to an absent accessory device. Activation of the light source within the cabinet causes the window to be backlit for external viewing.
The light source may be physically affixed to the rear surface of the panel, and may include means facilitating connection to an existing power source within the cabinet. As set forth above, the light source may comprise a bundle of optical fibers extending along the translucent window, such that light entering the optical fibers at ends thereof escapes transversely to illuminate the translucent window.
The foregoing discussion will be understood more readily from the following detailed description of the invention, when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which:
The figures and components shown therein may not be drawn to scale.
Refer first to
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With reference to
Light source 125 is preferably driven using power sources already available in the computer 100 and accessible via the empty accessory compartment behind display 106. For example, light source 125 may terminate in a hard-disk power connector (e.g., a standard four-pin male connector plug) that is connected to the motherboard or a cable within computer 100.
It will therefore be seen that the foregoing represents a highly versatile, self-contained and conveniently implemented approach to dedicating otherwise wasted cabinet space to a display. The terms and expressions employed herein are used as terms of description and not of limitation, and there is no intention, in the use of such terms and expressions, of excluding any equivalents of the features shown and described or portions thereof, but it is recognized that various modifications are possible within the scope of the invention claimed.
