The present invention relates to a rack system and more particularly to a supporting assembly for a rack system.
Generally, a rack system includes slide rails for mounting a piece of electronic equipment or its chassis to the posts of a rack. U.S. Pat. No. 6,398,041 B1, for example, discloses a snap system for latching a chassis (11) such that, while the chassis (11) is in a rack, the latches (30L, 30R) at the left and right front ends of the chassis (11) can engage with the left and right front columns (13L, 13R) of the rack respectively.
When operating such a rack system, however, it is sometimes required to pull the electronic equipment or chassis in the rack outward to a predetermined position, and it is important that the electronic equipment or chassis be kept from leaving the predetermined position inadvertently.
One objective of the present invention is to provide a supporting assembly configured for a rack system and having a blocking mechanism for preventing the object carried by the supporting assembly from moving away from a predetermined position in a certain direction.
Another objective of the present invention is to provide a supporting assembly configured for a rack system and, thanks to cooperation between a first feature and a second feature, capable of preventing a rear portion of the object carried by the supporting assembly from tilting up with respect to a front portion of the object while the object is being displaced from a first position toward a second position.
According to one aspect of the present invention, a rack system includes a rack, a first supporting assembly, a second supporting assembly, an object to be carried, and a blocking kit. The rack includes a plurality of posts. The first supporting assembly is mounted on a first side of the rack while the second supporting assembly is mounted on a second side of the rack. The object is supported between the first supporting assembly and the second supporting assembly. The blocking kit is coupled to the rack and includes a connecting base and a blocking member. The connecting base is detachably mounted on one of the posts, and the blocking member can be moved to either one of a locked position and an unlocked position with respect to the connecting base. When the object reaches a second position from a first position after displacement in a first direction, the blocking member is at the locked position to block the object and thereby prevent the object from displacement from the second position in the first direction. When the blocking member is at the unlocked position, the object is no longer blocked by the blocking member and can therefore leave the second position.
Preferably, the blocking member is arranged at the connecting base and can be operated in order to be moved.
Preferably, the connecting base includes a mounting portion and a side portion substantially perpendicularly connected to the mounting portion. The mounting portion is detachably connected to the aforesaid one of the posts, and the blocking member is located at the side portion.
Preferably, the object includes a first sidewall and a second sidewall. The first sidewall and the second sidewall correspond in position to the first supporting assembly and the second supporting assembly respectively. At least one of the two sidewalls has a front end portion and a rear end portion, and there is a structural feature between the front end portion and the rear end portion of said at least one of the two sidewalls. When the object is at the second position and the blocking member is at the locked position, the blocking member blocks the object through the structural feature.
Preferably, the rack system further includes a first feature and a second feature. The first feature is provided at one of the first supporting assembly and the object and at least is an elastic member. The second feature is provided at the other of the first supporting assembly and the object and is a longitudinal space with a border. The first feature and the second feature are configured to work with each other to prevent a rear portion of the object from tilting up with respect to a front portion of the object while the object is being displaced from the first position toward the second position.
Preferably, the first feature is provided at the first supporting assembly, and the second feature is provided at the first sidewall as the longitudinal space with the border.
Preferably, the longitudinal space with the border has a first end and a second end opposite the first end.
Preferably, one of the first supporting assembly and the second supporting assembly includes a first supporting frame and a second supporting frame. The first supporting frame and the second supporting frame are connected in such a way that they can extend and retract with respect to each other. A front mounting member is arranged at the first supporting frame while a rear mounting member is arranged at the second supporting frame. The front mounting member and the rear mounting member are mounted on a front post and a rear post of the rack respectively. The connecting base of the blocking kit is detachably mounted on the front post.
Preferably, the first supporting frame includes a vertical portion and a horizontal portion, wherein the horizontal portion is substantially perpendicularly connected to the vertical portion and is configured to support a bottom portion of the object.
Preferably, an auxiliary frame is arranged at the second supporting frame. The auxiliary frame can be displaced, and thus adjusted, along the length direction of the second supporting frame and includes a vertical portion and a horizontal portion. The horizontal portion of the auxiliary frame is substantially perpendicularly connected to the vertical portion of the auxiliary frame and is configured for supporting the bottom portion of the object.
Preferably, the rack system further includes a retaining member detachably mounted on the rear post. When the object is at the first position, a retaining portion of the retaining member corresponds in position to a top portion of the object.
According to another aspect of the present invention, a rack system includes a rack, a supporting assembly, an object to be carried, and a blocking kit. The rack includes a front post and a rear post. The supporting assembly is mounted on the front post and the rear post via a front mounting member and a rear mounting member respectively. The object is carried by the supporting assembly. The blocking kit is coupled to the rack and includes a connecting base and a blocking member. The connecting base is mounted on the front post, and the blocking member is arranged at the connecting base. When the object reaches a second position from a first position after displacement in a first direction, the blocking member is at a locked position to block the object and thereby prevent the object from displacement from the second position in the first direction. The object can leave the second position when the blocking member is at an unlocked position.
According to still another aspect of the present invention, a supporting assembly for a rack system includes a first supporting frame, a second supporting frame, and a first feature. The first supporting frame includes a vertical portion and a horizontal portion substantially perpendicularly connected to the vertical portion. The second supporting frame is connected to the first supporting frame in such a way that they can extend and retract with respect to each other. The first feature is provided at the first supporting frame, at least is an elastic member, and is arranged along the length direction of the first supporting frame.
Preferably, the supporting assembly further includes an auxiliary frame that can be displaced, and thus adjusted, in the length direction of the second supporting frame to either one of a first adjusted position and a second adjusted position. The auxiliary frame includes a vertical portion and a horizontal portion substantially perpendicularly connected together.
Preferably, the supporting assembly further includes a blocking kit. The blocking kit includes a connecting base and a blocking member. The blocking member is arranged at the connecting base and can be moved to either one of a locked position and an unlocked position.
Preferably, the first supporting frame is mounted on a front post via a front mounting member, the second supporting frame is mounted on a rear post via a rear mounting member, and the blocking kit is coupled to the front post. When the blocking member is at the locked position, the object supported by the supporting assembly is blocked from displacement in a predetermined direction.
Referring to
The rack 22 includes a plurality of posts. Here, the rack 22 includes a pair of front posts 22a and a pair of rear posts 22b by way of example.
The first supporting assembly 24 (also referred to herein as the supporting assembly) is mounted on a first side S1 of the rack 22. The first supporting assembly 24 is mounted on the corresponding front post 22a of the rack 22 via at least one front mounting member 32 and is mounted on the corresponding rear post 22b of the rack 22 via at least one rear mounting member 34.
The second supporting assembly 26 is mounted on a second side S2 of the rack 22. The second supporting assembly 26 has substantially the same structural configuration as the first supporting assembly 24 and, for the sake of brevity, will not be described in more detail. Preferably, the first supporting assembly 24 (or the second supporting assembly 26) includes a first supporting frame 36 and a second supporting frame 38. The first supporting frame 36 and the second supporting frame 38 are connected in such a way that they can extend and retract with respect to each other. For example, one of the first supporting frame 36 and the second supporting frame 38 defines a longitudinal channel 40 in which the other of the first supporting frame 36 and the second supporting frame 38 can be movably mounted. The front mounting member 32 is arranged at the first supporting frame 36, and the rear mounting member 34 is arranged at the second supporting frame 38.
The object 28 is, for example, the chassis of a piece of electronic equipment but is not necessarily so in practice. The object 28 is supported between the first supporting assembly 24 and the second supporting assembly 26.
Preferably, the object 28 includes a first sidewall 42, a second sidewall 44, and a bottom portion 46 connected between the first sidewall 42 and the second sidewall 44. The first sidewall 42 and the second sidewall 44 correspond in position to the first supporting assembly 24 and the second supporting assembly 26 respectively. In this embodiment, the first sidewall 42 and the second sidewall 44 have substantially the same structural configuration, but the two sidewalls do not necessarily do so in practice.
As shown in
Preferably, an auxiliary frame 52 is arranged at the second supporting frame 38 and can be adjusted, or displaced, along the length direction of the second supporting frame 38. For example, the auxiliary frame 52 includes a bent portion 54 movably pressed against an upper wall 55 of the second supporting frame 38. The auxiliary frame 52 includes a vertical portion 56 and a horizontal portion 58 substantially perpendicularly connected to the vertical portion 56. The horizontal portion 58 is configured to support a rear part of the bottom portion 46 of the object 28.
Preferably, one of the first sidewall 42 and the second sidewall 44 of the object 28 (e.g., the first sidewall 42) has a front end portion 60 and a rear end portion 62, and a structural feature 64 is located between the front end portion 60 and the rear end portion 62. When viewed from the outside, the structural feature 64 may be a hole, a groove, or the wall of a recess for example; the present invention has no limitation in this regard.
Preferably, the rack system 20 further includes at least one first feature 68 provided at one of the first supporting assembly 24 and the object 28. In this embodiment, the first feature 68 is provided at the first supporting assembly 24 and at least is an elastic member for example. Preferably, a plurality of elastic members are provided as the at least one first feature 68. The rack system 20 preferably further includes a second feature 70 provided at the other of the first supporting assembly 24 and the object 28. In this embodiment, the second feature 70 is provided at the first sidewall 42 of the object 28 and is, for example, a longitudinal space with a border. Here, by way of example, three first features 68 are arranged along the length direction of the first supporting frame 36, and each first feature 68 is an elastic member that includes a fixed portion 69a and an elastic portion 69b connected to the fixed portion 69a. Preferably, the second feature 70 has a first end 72a and a second end 72b respectively adjacent to the two end portions (e.g., a front end portion and a rear end portion) of the second feature 70.
Referring to
More specifically, the blocking kit 30 includes a connecting base 74 and a blocking member 76. The connecting base 74 is detachably mounted on the front post 22a. The blocking member 76 is arranged at the connecting base 74, and an operating member 78 is provided to operate the blocking member 76. Preferably, the operating member 78 includes an operating portion 96 configured to be operated, or more particularly to be pressed, by a user.
The connecting base 74 includes a mounting portion 80 and a side portion 82, wherein the side portion 82 is bent with respect to the mounting portion 80. Here, the side portion 82 is substantially perpendicularly connected to the mounting portion 80, and the mounting portion 80 is detachably connected to the front post 22a. For example, the mounting portion 80 is locked to the front post 22a by a locking member 84 passing through a mounting hole 85 of the front post 22a. The side portion 82, on the other hand, includes an opening 95 in communication with a first side L1 and a second side L2 of the side portion 82. A position-limiting portion 77 and a lug 88 are adjacent to the opening 95. The position-limiting portion 77 is bent with respect to the side portion 82 while the lug 88 protrudes from the side portion 82.
The blocking member 76 includes a connecting portion 79, an elastic arm 90, and a blocking portion 92. The connecting portion 79 is connected to the connecting base 74 (e.g., to the side portion 82). The elastic arm 90 extends from the connecting portion 79 and corresponds in position to the opening 95. The blocking portion 92 is connected to the elastic arm 90 and can pass from the first side L1 to the second side L2 of the side portion 82. The first side L1 and the second side L2 are opposite sides of the side portion 82.
The operating member 78 is pivotally connected to the lug 88 of the connecting base 74 by a shaft member 86. In addition, the operating member 78 is connected to or abutted against the elastic arm 90 of the blocking member 76.
As shown in
More specifically, a user may operate the blocking member 76 either directly or by applying a force F to the blocking member 76 through the operating member 78 (or the operating portion 96 to be exact) (see
In
While the object 28 is at the first position P1, the structural feature 64 is quite a distance away from the blocking kit 30, as shown in
When the object 28 is pulled out in the first direction D1 and reaches a predetermined position, referring to
Once the object 28 is further displaced in the first direction D1 and reaches a second position P2, referring to
Referring to
Referring to
Referring to
More specifically, the blocking kit 200 is coupled to a post 210 (e.g., a front post) of the rack by way of example. The connecting base 212 is detachably mounted on the post 210. The blocking member 202 is arranged at and can be moved with respect to the connecting base 212. The blocking member 202 and the operating member 204 are pivotally connected to the lug 214 of the side portion 208 by the shaft member 206.
Preferably, the blocking member 202 includes an elastic arm 216 and a blocking portion 218 connected to the elastic arm 216. Here, by way of example, the elastic arm 216 is abutted against the side portion 208 via a supporting leg 220, and the blocking portion 218 can pass from the first side L1 to the second side L2 of the side portion 208 of the connecting base 212 through a through hole 222 in the side portion 208. Preferably, the side portion 208 includes an opening 224 in communication with the first side L1 and the second side L2, and the operating member 204 passes through the opening 224 in order to be connected to or abutted against the blocking member 202.
Referring to
It can be known from the above that the rack system disclosed herein preferably has the following features:
1. The blocking kit 30 is detachably mounted on a post (e.g., a front post 22a) of the rack 22 and can prevent the object 28 from being displaced from the second position P2 in a certain direction.
2. The supporting assembly 24 and the object 28 include the first feature 68 and the second feature 70 respectively. The first feature 68 and the second feature 70 can work with each other to prevent a portion of the object 28 from tilting up with respect to another portion of the object 28 while the object 28 is being displaced from the first position P1 toward the second position P2 in the first direction D1.
3. The auxiliary frame 52 can be adjusted in position, allowing the horizontal portion 58 of the auxiliary frame 52 to meet different needs by supporting the rear part of the bottom portion 46 of the object 28 at different positions or by adapting to objects whose lengths are different from that of the object 28.
4. The retaining member 100 is detachably mounted on a post (e.g., a rear post 22b) of the rack 22 to keep the object 28 from moving upward while the rack system 20 is being transported or handled; thus, the safety with which to transport or handle the rack system 20 is increased.
While the present invention has been disclosed through the foregoing embodiments, it should be understood that the embodiments are not intended to be restrictive of the scope of the invention. The scope of patent protection sought by the applicant is defined by the appended claims.
Number | Date | Country | Kind |
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106144677 | Dec 2017 | TW | national |