Claims
- 1. A pluggable cartridge, comprising:
a first wall; a second wall, said first and second walls having a bottom edge; a printed circuit card being housed within and protected by said first and second walls so as to be moveable with respect to said bottom edge; a pivot block secured to said first wall; a handle movably connected to said pivot block so as to be movable between a first position and a second position, a portion of said handle being attached to said printed circuit card by an articulated mechanical linkage such that movement of said handle to said first position causes said printed circuit card to move to a position proximate said bottom edge and such that movement of said handle to said second position causes said printed circuit card to move a position remote from said bottom edge; and a latching arm slideably secured to said handle, said first position defining a locked position having a portion of said handle lockably engaged with said pivot block, and said second position defining a latched position having a portion of said latching arm slid toward said pivot block so as to be latchably engaged with said pivot block.
- 2. The cartridge as in claim 1, further comprising:
a release finger secured to said handle by a biasing portion, said release finger having a first end and a second end, said biasing portion being configured such that a force applied to said first end causes said second end to unlock from pivot block and causes said latching arm to slide away from said pivot block to unlatch said portion from said pivot block.
- 3. The cartridge as in claim 2, further comprising:
a plurality of electrical connectors disposed along an edge of said printed circuit card, said edge being proximate said bottom edge, said plurality of electrical connectors being extended from said bottom edge when said handle is in said first position and being retracted into said bottom edge when said handle is in said second position.
- 4. The cartridge as in claim 3, wherein said plurality of electrical connectors are selected from the group consisting of male connectors, female connectors, and a combination of male and female connectors.
- 5. A method of securing and unsecuring a pluggable cartridge in a structure, comprising:
moving a handle to a first position, said handle being connected to a first movable portion of said pluggable cartridge, said first movable portion of said pluggable cartridge being secured in a first desired position when in said first position; sliding said pluggable cartridge into said structure until said first movable portion is in a facial spaced relationship with a portion of said structure; depressing a release arm of said handle to unsecure said first movable portion from said first desired position; and moving said handle to a second position to move said first movable portion to a second desired position, said second desired position being defined by said first movable portion being seated in said portion of said structure, said second position being configured to secure said second movable portion of said pluggable cartridge in said second desired position.
- 6. The method as in claim 5, further comprising:
depressing said release arm of said handle to unsecure said first movable portion from said second desired position; returning said handle to said first position to move said first movable portion back to said first desired position; and sliding said pluggable cartridge from said structure.
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
[0001] This application is divisional application of U.S. Ser. No. 10/194,836 filed on Jul. 12, 2002, which is related to commonly owned and assigned U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/941,912 filed on Aug. 29, 2001, entitled “Auto Docking/Locking Rack Hardware For Easy Serviceability of Printed Circuit Cards in Tight Spaces”, the contents of which are incorporated herein in their entirety by reference thereto.
Divisions (1)
|
Number |
Date |
Country |
Parent |
10194836 |
Jul 2002 |
US |
Child |
10680803 |
Oct 2003 |
US |