Patent Application
20090161309
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a removable hard drive casing, and more particularly, to a removable hard drive casing in which a hard drive tray with a hard drive supported thereon can be pulled out a predetermined distance from a fixing frame when a protective cover is opened, so that the hard drive is simultaneously disengaged from a connection port in a computer case to facilitate retrieving of the hard drive.
2. Description of the Prior Art
When a user inserts the hard drive tray 12 into the base 11, the force from the user may be applied at different angles and different positions. Therefore, the position of the hard drive tray 12 after being inserted into the base 11 tends to vary, resulting in a positional mismatch of pins and pinholes between the end of the hard drive 14 and the connection port 15 at the end of the base 11, so that the hard drive 14 cannot be successfully coupled to the computer. Furthermore, regardless whether the hard drive tray 12 is being inserted or pulled out, a considerable force is needed to be applied to the handle 13 of the hard drive tray 12 to engage or disengage the hard drive tray 12 from the base 11.
In addition, while the handle 13 on the hard drive tray 12 is usually designed for easy use, the handle 13 itself tends to be projecting from the computer case when the hard drive tray 12 is inserted in the base 11, not only taking space but also giving the computer case an odd look.
Therefore, the first objective of the present invention is to provide a removable hard drive casing wherein a hard drive tray can be pulled out a predetermined distance from within a fixing frame when a protective cover is opened, so that a hard drive supported on the hard drive tray is disengaged from a connection port on a computer case.
The second objective of the present invention is to provide a removable hard drive casing which uses a protective cover to hide the removable hard drive casing itself in a computer case when installed, with the aims of beautification and dust prevention.
The third objective of the present invention is to provide a removable hard drive casing wherein the bottom of a hard drive tray for holding a hard drive thereon is provided with a plurality of apertures, so that heat can be discharged from inside a fixing frame through the apertures and pass through openings of a framework formed at the bottom of the fixing frame.
In order to achieve the aforementioned objectives, a removable hard drive casing for rapidly integrating a hard drive into a computer case is disclosed. The removable hard drive casing comprises a fixing frame, a hard drive tray and a protective cover. The fixing frame comprises an opening and a receiving space. The hard drive tray can hold the hard drive therein and be inserted and integrated into the receiving space through the opening of the fixing frame. The hard drive tray is provided with a rack on one of the outer sidewalls thereof. The protective cover is a plate-like cover and has two opposite axle ends on the sidewalls thereof, pivotally connected to the opening of the fixing frame. The protective cover further has an arcuate rack corresponding to the rack provided on the outer sidewall of the hard drive tray. The hard drive tray can be moved for a predetermined distance to and from the inside of the fixing frame by means of the arcuate rack on the protective cover driving the rack on the hard drive tray when the protective cover is opened and closed.
In a preferred embodiment, the protective cover comprises a resilient fastener on an upper edge thereof for fastening the protective cover to the fixing frame and providing a force-exertion point so that the hard drive tray can be easily pulled out of or pushed into the receiving space of the fixing frame.
In a preferred embodiment, a bottom of the receiving space of the fixing frame is formed with a framework of crisscrossing bars, and the framework has a lead angle at an end thereof where the opening is located, so that the hard drive tray can be easily pushed into the receiving space. The hard drive tray is provided with a plurality of apertures at a bottom thereof, so that heat generated by the hard drive can be discharged through the apertures and pass through openings formed in the framework to go outward the fixing frame.
In a preferred embodiment, the hard drive tray includes a hole at the rear side thereof for electrical connection between the hard drive and a connection port in the computer case.
In a preferred embodiment, the fixing frame includes a plurality of fixing tabs disposed on the outer sidewalls thereof respectively, so that the fixing frame can be attached to the computer case.
In a preferred embodiment, the fixing frame includes a resilient pivot end on each of the two opposite outer sidewalls thereof, so that the axle ends can be attached to the resilient pivot ends.
In a preferred embodiment, the receiving space is provided with a rib on each of two opposite inner sidewalls thereof, so that the hard drive tray can be inserted and integrated into the receiving space through the opening, with a guide rail provided on each of two opposite outer sidewalls of the hard drive tray by moving along undersides of the ribs of the fixing frame.
In a preferred embodiment, the hard drive tray includes a heat dissipation hole on an outer sidewall thereof, so that heat within the hard drive tray can be discharged by a cooling module through the heat dissipation hole. The cooling module can be chosen from one of following: a fan, a thermoelectric cooling module, a heat pipe and a heat sink.
The invention as well as a preferred mode of use, further objectives and advantages thereof, will best be understood by reference to the following detailed description of an illustrative embodiment when read in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, wherein:
The fixing frame 21 is a hollow frame with an opening 211 and can be installed in the computer case 4 so that the opening 211 is generally flush with a front surface of the computer case 4. At the center of the fixing frame 21 is an open receiving space 212, whose two opposite inner sidewalls 213 are each provided with a rib 2131. A plurality of fixing tabs 2141 are positioned on each of the two opposite outer sidewalls 214 of the fixing frame 21, so that the fixing frame 21 can be attached to the computer case 4 with a plurality of screws 5. The outer sidewalls 214 on the two sides of the opening 211 are each formed with a resilient pivot end 215, located one opposite the other. The bottom of the receiving space 212 of the fixing frame 21 is constructed as a framework 216 of crisscrossing bars which includes a lead angle 2161 at the end of the framework 216 where the opening 211 is located, so that the hard drive tray 22 can be easily pushed into the receiving space 212 through the opening 211.
The hard drive tray 22 is in the form of a box and serves to hold the hard drive 3. The hard drive tray 22 can move into and fit within the receiving space 212 through the opening 211 by means of guide rails 222 disposed respectively on the two outer sidewalls 221 of the hard drive tray, with the guide rails 222 moving along the undersides of the ribs 2131 inside the fixing frame 21. The hard drive tray 22 further includes a rack 223 on the outer sidewall 221. The bottom side of rack 223 is furnished with a plurality of teeth. The hard drive tray 22 for holding the hard drive 3 is provided with a plurality of apertures 224 at the bottom thereof, so that heat generated by the hard drive 3 can be discharged through the apertures 224 and pass through the openings of the framework 216 formed at the bottom of the fixing frame 21 to the outside of the fixing frame 21.
The hard drive tray 22 includes a hole 225 at the rear side thereof for electrical connection between a connection end 31 of the hard drive 3 and a connection port 41 inside the computer case 4. The hard drive tray 22 further includes a heat dissipation hole 226 on an outer sidewall 221 thereof so that a cooler module 6 can discharge the heat within the hard drive tray 22 through the heat dissipation hole 226. The cooler module 6 can be one of a fan, a thermoelectric cooling module, a heat pipe and a heat sink.
The protective cover 23 is a plate-like cover with a joining section 231 extending perpendicularly therefrom on both sides of the protective cover 23. The joining sections 231 are each formed with an axle end 232 for connecting with the resilient pivot ends 215. An arcuate rack 233 is provided on the outer periphery of the axle end 232 around the same axis as the axle end's in correspondence to the rack 223 on the outer sidewall 221 of the hard drive tray 22. The outer rim of arcuate rack 233 is partially formed with a plurality of teeth which can be meshed with the teeth of the rack 223. The protective cover 23 further includes a resilient fastener 234 attached to an upper edge thereof, so that the protective cover 23 can be fastened to the fixing frame 21 after rotating about the axle ends 232, thereby closing the opening 211. This design not only contributes to an esthetically better look, helps prevent dust, but also provides the user with a force-exertion point so that the hard drive tray 22 can be easily pulled out of or pushed into the receiving space 212 of the fixing frame 21.
Referring to
When the hard drive tray 22 is not completely inserted into the receiving space 212, the rack 223 on the outer sidewall 221 of the hard drive tray 22 is meshed with the arcuate rack 233 on the joining sections 231 of the protective cover 23. Now that the axle ends 232 (
Referring to
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In a reverse order of the process shown in
It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various modifications and variations can be made to the structure of the present invention without departing from the scope or spirit of the invention. In view of the foregoing, it is intended that the present invention cover modifications and variations of this invention provided they fall within the scope of the following claims and their equivalents.
