Patent Application
20210375327
This non-provisional application claims priority under 35 U.S.C. ยง 119(a) on Patent Application No(s). 202010479590.6 filed in China on May 29, 2020, the entire contents of which are hereby incorporated by reference.
The disclosure relates to a support assembly, more particularly to a support assembly using elastic engagement components to fix a hard disk drive thereon.
As technology progresses, a server is widely used to assist businesses of a company. The server is equipped with a plurality of hard disk drives to provide functions, such as data storage and data processing.
In general, before the hard disk drive is installed in the server, the hard disk drive is firstly mounted on a support chassis, then the support chassis with the hard disk drive is mounted on a tray of the server. However, one hard disk drive is, conventionally, required to be fixed on one support chassis via four screws, and thus the installation of the hard disk drives on the support chasses requires a lot of screws and time. Therefore, the cost of the installation of the hard disk drives on the support chasses is difficult to be reduced, and it is troublesome to install the hard disk drives on the support chasses.
The disclosure provides a support assembly which is capable of reducing the cost of the installation of the hard disk drive on the support chassis, and making the installation of the hard disk drive on the support chassis easily.
One embodiment of the disclosure provides a support assembly configured to support a hard disk drive. The support assembly includes a tray, a hard disk drive chassis and two engagement components. The tray includes a plate, a first vertical wall and a second vertical wall. The first vertical wall and the second vertical wall are disposed on the plate and are spaced apart from each other. The hard disk drive chassis is placed on the plate of the tray and located between the first vertical wall and the second vertical wall. The hard disk drive chassis includes a bottom part, a first side part and a second side part. The first side part and the second side part are respectively connected to two opposite sides of the bottom part, the first side part and the second side part are respectively located close to the first vertical wall and the second vertical wall. The bottom part, the first side part and the second side part together form an accommodation space therebetween, and the accommodation space is configured to accommodate the hard disk drive. The elastic engagement components are respectively disposed on the first side part and the second side part. The hard disk drive chassis is movable between an engaged position and a released position. When the hard disk drive chassis is in the engaged position, the elastic engagement components are respectively pressed by the first vertical wall and the second vertical wall so as to be configured to engage with the hard disk drive. When the hard disk drive chassis is in the released position, the elastic engagement components are not pressed by the first vertical wall and the second vertical wall so as to be configured to detach from the hard disk drive.
According to the support assembly as discussed above, the elastic engagement components are respectively disposed on the first side part and the second side part of the hard disk drive chassis, and the first side part and the second side part of the hard disk drive chassis are respectively located close to the first vertical wall and the second vertical wall of the tray, such that the engagement components are respectively pressed by the first vertical wall and the second vertical wall so as to engage with the hard disk drive placed on the hard disk drive chassis as the hard disk drive chassis is moved to the engaged position. Therefore, the hard disk drive can be fixed on the hard disk drive chassis without any screws, and thus the cost in purchasing the screws can be saved, and the hard disk drive can be easily installed on the hard disk drive chassis.
The present disclosure will become more fully understood from the detailed description given hereinbelow and the accompanying drawings which are given by way of illustration only and thus are not limitative to the present disclosure and wherein:
In the following detailed description, for purposes of explanation, numerous specific details are set forth in order to provide a thorough understanding of the disclosed embodiments. It will be apparent, however, that one or more embodiments may be practiced without these specific details. In other instances, well-known structures and devices are schematically shown in order to simplify the drawing.
In addition, the following embodiments are disclosed by the figures, and some practical details are described in the following paragraphs, but the present disclosure is not limited thereto. Furthermore, for the purpose of illustration, some of the structures and components in the figures are simplified, and wires, reference lines or buses are omitted in some of the figures.
Moreover, the terms used in the present disclosure, such as technical and scientific terms, have its own meanings and can be comprehended by those skilled in the art, unless the terms are additionally defined in the present disclosure. That is, the terms used in the following paragraphs should be read on the meaning commonly used in the related fields and will not be overly explained, unless the terms have a specific meaning in the present disclosure.
Referring to
In this embodiment, the support assembly 1 includes the tray 10, the hard disk drive chassis 20 and a plurality of elastic engagement components 30. In addition, in this or another embodiment, the support assembly 1 may further include a plurality of engagement components 40 and the positioning component 50.
The tray 10 includes a plate 11, a first vertical wall 12 and a second vertical wall 13. The first vertical wall 12 and the second vertical wall 13 are disposed on the plate 11 and spaced apart from each other. In this embodiment, the first vertical wall 12 has a recess 121, and the second vertical wall 13 has a recess 131.
The engagement components 40 are disposed on the plate 11. The engagement components 40 are the same in structure, and thus the following only introduces one of them. The engagement component 40 includes a head portion 41, a neck portion 42 and a body portion 43. The neck portion 42 is located between and connected to the head portion 41 and the body portion 43, and one end of the body portion 43 located away from the neck portion 42 is fixed on the plate 11. A width W1 of the head portion 41 and a width W3 of the body portion 43 are larger than a width W2 of the neck portion 42.
The hard disk drive chassis 20 includes a bottom part 21, a first side part 22 and a second side part 23. The first side part 22 and the second side part 23 are respectively connected to two opposite sides of the bottom part 21, and the bottom part 21, the first side part 22 and the second side part 23 together form an accommodation space 24 therebetween. The accommodation space 24 of the hard disk drive chassis 20 is configured to accommodate a hard disk drive 2.
The bottom part 21 of the hard disk drive chassis 20 has a plurality of engagement holes 211. The engagement holes 211 are the same in structure, so the following only introduces one of them. The engagement hole 211 has a wide portion 2111 and a narrow portion 2112 connected to each other. A width W4 of the wide portion 2111 is larger than a width W5 of the narrow portion 2112. The width W1 of the head portion 41 of the engagement component 40 is smaller than the width W4 of the wide portion 2111 of the engagement hole 211 and is larger than the width W5 of the narrow portion 2112. The width W2 of the neck portion 42 is smaller or equal to the width W5 of the narrow portion 2112 of the engagement hole 211. The width W3 of the body portion 43 is larger than the width W4 of the wide portion 2111 of the engagement hole 211.
The first side part 22 has two through holes 221 spaced apart from each other, and the second side part 23 also has two through holes 231 spaced apart from each other. The through holes 221 and 231 are connected to the accommodation space 24 of the hard disk drive chassis 20. Each of the elastic engagement components 30 includes a fixed portion 31 and an engagement portion 32 connected to each other. The fixed portions 31 are respectively fixed on the first side part 22 and the second side part 23, and the fixed portions 31 are respectively located close to the through holes 221 of the first side part 22 and the through holes 231 of the second side part 23. Each of the engagement portions 32 has an engagement protrusion 321 and a contact protrusion 322. The engagement protrusion 321 and the contact protrusion 322 are formed by, for example, a stamping process. The engagement protrusions 321 protrude toward the accommodation space 24 of the hard disk drive chassis 20, and the engagement protrusions 321 are, for example, respectively disposed through the through holes 221 of the first side part 22 and the through holes 231 of the second side part 23 while not experiencing any external force. The contact protrusions 322 protrude away from the accommodation space 24 of the hard disk drive chassis 20, and each of the contact protrusions 322 has a curved surface 3221.
In this embodiment, the hard disk drive chassis 20 further includes a front part 25. The front part 25 is connected to the bottom part 21, and the front part 25, the first side part 22 and the second side part 23 are respectively located at different sides of the bottom part 21. The positioning component 50 is rotatably disposed on the front part 25, and the positioning component 50 is movable between an initial position and a contact position. The front part 25 has a guiding protrusion 251, a first positioning bump 252 and a second positioning bump 253, and the positioning component 50 has a guiding hole 51, a first positioning hole 52, a second positioning hole 53 and a recess 54. The guiding protrusion 251 is movably located in the guiding hole 51. In addition, the plate 11 of the tray 10 has a stopper 111, and the stopper 111 has two contact surfaces 1111 and 1112 respectively facing different directions.
Then, the following paragraphs will describe the installation of the hard disk drive 2 onto the tray 10. Referring to
Firstly, the positioning component 50 is positioned in the initial position, and the first positioning bump 252 and the second positioning bump 253 are respectively located in the second positioning hole 53 and the recess 54. Then, the hard disk drive 2 is placed in the accommodation space 24 of the hard disk drive chassis 20, such that the engagement protrusions 321 of the engagement portions 32 of the elastic engagement components 30 are, for example, respectively and slightly inserted into recesses 3 of the hard disk drive 2. Then, the head portions 41 of the engagement components 40 respectively pass through the wide portions 2111 of the engagement holes 211, such that the neck portions 42 of the engagement components 40 are respectively located at the wide portions 2111 of the engagement holes 211. At this moment, the hard disk drive chassis 20 is partially located between the first vertical wall 12 and the second vertical wall 13 of the tray 10, and the first side part 22 and the second side part 23 are respectively located close to the first vertical wall 12 and the second vertical wall 13. And the hard disk drive chassis 20 is in a released position, the contact portions 322 of two engagement portions 32 located relatively close to the positioning component 50 are respectively located outside the first vertical wall 12 and the second vertical wall 13, and the contact portions 322 of the other two engagement portions 32 located away from the positioning component 50 are respectively located in the recesses 121 of the first vertical wall 12 and the recesses 131 of the second vertical wall 13, such that the engagement portions 32 of the contact protrusions 322 are not pressed by the first vertical wall 12 and the second vertical wall 13.
Then, referring to
The entire hard disk drive chassis 20 is moved along the negative X-axis direction, such that the first vertical wall 12 and the second vertical wall 13 respectively press against the contact protrusions 322 of the elastic engagement components 30 so as to move the engagement protrusions 321 of the elastic engagement components 30 further into the recesses 3 of the hard disk drive 2. When the hard disk drive chassis 20 is moved from the released position to an engaged position, the engagement protrusions 321 are maintained inserted into the recesses 3 of the hard disk drive 2 by the pressure of the first vertical wall 12 and the second vertical wall 13. As a result, the movement of the hard disk drive 2 along the positive and negative Z-axis direction is limited by the engagement protrusions 321, thereby fixing the hard disk drive 2 on the hard disk drive chassis 20. Therefore, the hard disk drive 2 can be fastened to the hard disk drive chassis 20 without any screws, and thus the cost in purchasing the screws can be saved, and the hard disk drive 2 can be easily installed on the hard disk drive chassis 20.
On the other hand, when the hard disk drive chassis 20 is in the engaged position, the movement of the hard disk drive chassis 20 in the positive and negative Y-axis direction is limited by the first vertical wall 12 and the second vertical wall 13. In addition, when the hard disk drive chassis 20 is in the engaged position, the neck portions 42 of the engagement components 40 are respectively located at the narrow portions 2112 of the engagement holes 211, and the bottom part 21 of the hard disk drive chassis 20 is located between the head portions 41 of the engagement components 40 and the plate 11 of the tray 10. More specifically, the bottom part 21 of the hard disk drive chassis 20 is located between the head portions 41 and the body portions 43 of the engagement components 40. As such, the movement of the hard disk drive chassis 20 in the positive and negative Z-axis direction is limited by the head portions 41 and the body portions 43 of the engagement components 40.
In this embodiment, the curved surfaces 3221 of the contact protrusions 322 of the elastic engagement components 30 are in contact with the first vertical wall 12 and the second vertical wall 13 as the hard disk drive chassis 20 is moved from the released position to the engaged position along the negative X-axis direction, thus the curved surfaces 3221 can guide the movement of the hard disk drive chassis 20. Therefore, the movement of the hard disk drive chassis 20 is smooth.
In this embodiment, the engagement protrusions 321 is not restricted to pass through the through holes 221 and 231 of the first side part 22 and the second side part 23 while not experiencing any external force; in some other embodiments, the engagement protrusions may not pass through the through holes of the first side part and the second side part while not experiencing any external force; that is, the engagement protrusions may not be inserted into the hard disk drive before the hard disk drive chassis is moved from the released position to the engaged position, but be inserted into the hard disk drive after the hard disk drive chassis is moved from the released position to the engaged position.
Then, the positioning component 50 is rotated from the initial position to the contact position. When the positioning component 50 is in the contact position, different sides of the positioning component 50 are respectively in contact with the contact surfaces 1111 and 1112 of the stopper 111 of the plate 11 (as shown in
The following will describe the steps of removing the hard disk drive chassis 20 from the tray 10. Firstly, the positioning component 50 is rotated from the contact position to the initial position so as to detach from the stopper 111 of the plate 11. Then, the hard disk drive chassis 20 is moved along the positive X-axis direction, such that the neck portions 42 of the engagement components 40 are respectively located at the wide portions 2111 of the engagement holes 211. At this moment, the hard disk drive chassis 20 can be removed from the tray 10 along the positive Z-axis direction. After the hard disk drive chassis 20 is removed from the tray 10, the hard disk drive 2 can be removed from the hard disk drive chassis 20 by slightly moving the elastic engagement components 30 to make the engagement protrusions 321 detach from the recesses 3 of the hard disk drive 2.
In this embodiment, the cooperation of the guide hole 51 of the positioning component 50 and the guide protrusion 251 of the front part 25 can limit the movement range of the positioning component 50 so as to prevent the positioning component 50 from being overly rotated. In this embodiment, the front part 25 has the guiding protrusion 251, and the positioning component 50 has the guiding hole 51, but the present disclosure is not limited thereto; in some other embodiments, the positioning component may have the guiding hole, and the front part may have the guiding protrusion; in another embodiment, the front part may have no guiding protrusion, and the positioning component may have no guide hole.
Moreover, the contact surface 1112 of the stopper 111 is able to stop the positioning component 50 at the contact position, which ensures that the positioning component 50 is positioned in the contact position.
Furthermore, the cooperation of the first positioning bump 252, the second positioning bump 253, the first positioning hole 52, the second positioning hole 53 and the recess 54 helps the positioning component 50 to be positioned in the initial position or the contact position, such that the possibility of unexpected movement of the positioning component 50 can be reduced.
In this embodiment, the second positioning bump 253 can enter into the recess 54 when the positioning component 50 is rotated from the contact position to the initial position, such that the second positioning bump 253 is prevented from interfering with the positioning component 50.
However, the first positioning bump 252 and the second positioning bump 253 of the front part 25 and the first positioning hole 52, the second positioning hole 53 and the recess 54 of the positioning component 50 are optional; in some other embodiments, the front part may have no first positioning bump and second positioning bump, and the positioning component may have no first positioning hole, second positioning hole and recess.
On the other hand, the quantity of the elastic engagement component 30 are not restricted to be four; in some other embodiments, the support assembly may only have two elastic engagement components. In such configuration, the two elastic engagement components may be the two elastic engagement components 30 located relatively close to or away from the positioning component 50 shown in
According to the support assembly as discussed above, the elastic engagement components are respectively disposed on the first side part and the second side part of the hard disk drive chassis, and the first side part and the second side part of the hard disk drive chassis are respectively located close to the first vertical wall and the second vertical wall of the tray, such that the engagement components are respectively pressed by the first vertical wall and the second vertical wall so as to engage with the hard disk drive placed on the hard disk drive chassis as the hard disk drive chassis is moved to the engaged position. Therefore, the hard disk drive can be fixed on the hard disk drive chassis without any screws, and thus the cost in purchasing the screws can be saved, and the hard disk drive can be easily installed on the hard disk drive chassis.
The embodiments were chosen and described in order to best explain the principles of the disclosure and its practical applications, to thereby enable others skilled in the art to best utilize the disclosure and various embodiments with various modifications as are suited to the particular use contemplated. It is intended that the scope of the disclosure be defined by the following claims and their equivalents.
| Number | Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 202010479590.6 | May 2020 | CN | national |
