Patent Application
20170086324
The present invention relates generally to the housing of electronic and optical equipment and, more specifically, to a system and method for housing printed circuit board assemblies that differ in one or more physical dimensions.
When new complex optoelectronic functions are first implemented, they are often implemented in the form of a large subassembly. These large subassemblies are then typically placed on printed circuit board assemblies (PCBAs) that are housed within an electronic enclosure along with other printed circuit board assemblies. Over time, as technology evolves, the large optoelectronic subassemblies are replaced with subassemblies of smaller and smaller physical size. As the optoelectronic subassemblies decrease in size, in order to save space within electronic enclosures, it is highly desirable to place the smaller subassemblies on printed circuit board assemblies of a smaller physical size. However, since existing electronic enclosures don't efficiently and easily provide a mechanism to accommodate printed circuit boards of various physical sizes, often space goes wasted in electronic enclosures as technologies evolve.
A system and corresponding method for housing circuit boards of different physical dimensions in accordance with an example embodiment of the present invention is provided.
An example embodiment is a system for housing circuit boards, comprising of an enclosure, one or more positionable enclosure partitions, and one or more circuit board housings (located within the enclosure). The circuit board housings are formed in part by the one or more enclosure partitions. Each of the circuit board housings has a first dimension and a second dimension—each of which may vary. The position of one or more enclosure partitions determines the value of one dimension of the circuit board housings, while the length of the partitions bound the value of a second dimension of the circuit board housings. A given system may contain multiple enclosure partitions. These partitions can be the same length, or they may be different lengths. Each enclosure partition may provide mechanical support for circuit boards placed inside the circuit board housings. The system may provide a number of locations within the enclosure where the partitions may be placed.
Embodiments also include a method of housing circuit boards. The method includes creating one or more circuit board housings within and enclosure by using one or more enclosure partitions. The method further includes choosing partitions of particular lengths in order to accommodate a range of values for a first dimension for one or more circuit board housings. In addition, the method may include positioning the partitions within the enclosure to accommodate a second dimension of one or more circuit board housings.
Further embodiments include an enclosure for housing circuit boards. The enclosure includes an interior cavity formed by connected top, bottom, rear, and side planar surfaces. In addition, the enclosure includes one or more enclosure partitions, whose length may vary. The enclosure partitions can be used to assist in forming circuit board housings for circuit boards. The position of the one or more partitions determine the value of one dimension of a given circuit board housing, while the length of one or more partitions bound the value of a second dimension of the circuit board housings.
Still further embodiments include a system that includes an enclosure with enclosure partitions, and multiple circuit boards. In such a system, circuit boards can be placed on either side of a given partition. The value of a first dimension of the circuit boards dictate the position of a given enclosure partition, while the value of a second dimension of the circuit boards on either side of the partition drives the length of the given partition.
The foregoing will be apparent from the following more particular description of example embodiments of the invention, as illustrated in the accompanying drawings in which like reference characters refer to the same parts throughout the different views. The drawings are not necessarily to scale, emphasis instead being placed upon illustrating embodiments of the present invention.
A description of example embodiments of the invention follows.
A printed circuit board (or PCB) is used to mechanically support and electrically interconnect electronic and optoelectronic components using conductive signal traces etched from copper sheets that are laminated onto a non-conductive substrate. Once a printed circuit board is populated with its electronic and optoelectronic components it is commonly referred to as a printed circuit board assembly (or PCBA). However, it is common within the industry to refer to printed circuit board assemblies as simply circuit boards, as is done in this patent application.
Circuit board 120 is at least twice the width of circuit board 110. Circuit board 130 is at least twice the width of circuit board 120, and at least four times the width of circuit board 110. Circuit board 125 is at least three times the width of circuit board 110. Circuit board 140 is substantially the same width (other than small differences due to manufacturing tolerances) as circuit board 110, but it is at least twice the height of circuit board 110. Circuit board 150 is substantially the same width as circuit board 120 (other than small differences due to manufacturing tolerances), but it is at least twice the height of circuit board 120.
In addition to the circuit boards depicted in
With the inclusion of structural support, other combinations of circuit boards may be housed by the enclosure 170.
The enclosure 200a, illustrated in
The enclosure 200b, illustrated in
The enclosure 200c, illustrated in
The enclosure 200d, illustrated in
The enclosure 200e, illustrated in
The enclosure 200f, illustrated in
The enclosure 200g, illustrated in
The enclosure 200h, illustrated in
The enclosure 200i, illustrated in
The enclosure 200j, illustrated in
An enclosure comprising of configurable circuit board sub-cavities may also comprise of at least one fixed cavity that is not configurable. Such a location would always house a circuit board of the same size.
In
In general, the interior cavity 422 may be segmented into an array of sub-cavities 421a-h comprised of n rows (n=2 for cavity 422) and m columns (m=4 for cavity 422), and an enclosure partition 430 may be positioned between any two columns of the array (at locations 425a-c for instance), in order to form one or more circuit board housings. More specifically, if a single enclosure partition is placed between two columns of sub-cavities, the enclosure cavity is effectively divided into a first half (to the left of the partition) and a second half (to the right of the partition). This results in a first set of circuit board housings (to the left of the partition) and a second set of circuit board housings (to the right of the partition). If each circuit board housing is a single sub-cavity in height, then the placement of a single enclosure partition results in the formation of a first set of n circuit board housings (to the left of the partition) and a second set of n circuit board housings (to the right of the partition). Each of the n circuit board housings to the left of the partition has a first dimension (the width) whose value may be substantially equal to the width of i columns, while each of the n circuit board housings to the right of the partition has a first dimension (the width) whose value may be substantially equal to the width of m−i columns (where i is any integer in the range of 1 to m−1). As an example, if an enclosure partition is placed at location 425a within enclosure 420, then i=1, and m−i=4−1=3, resulting in a first dimension (width) whose value is 1 column wide (for the circuit board housings to the left of the partition) and a first dimension whose value is equal to 3 columns wide (for the circuit boards to the right of the partition).
The system 450a for housing circuit boards is able to be configured to simultaneously house circuit boards that differ in two dimensions. Such a configuration is depicted in
Therefore, for an enclosure that can be configured to house circuit boards that differ in at least two dimensions, one dimension may include the dimension of circuit board width, and one dimension may include the dimension of circuit board height. The enclosure may be configured to house circuit boards of at least a first circuit board width, a second circuit board width, and a third circuit board width. Additionally, the enclosure may further be configured to house circuit boards of at least a first circuit board height and a second circuit board height.
The enclosure 420 may be augmented with at least one positionable enclosure partition 430a-b, used to configure the enclosure.
The at least one positionable enclosure partition may be constructed such that when it is placed within the enclosure the positionable enclosure partition spans the entire height of the enclosure, as illustrated in
The positionable enclosure partitions may further include circuit board guides 440a-h, used to guide a circuit board into position within the enclosure. (Typically, it will be the printed circuit board of the PCBA that slides into the circuit board guides, but this does not always have to be the case. For some circuit board assemblies, another structure within the PCBA may be used to slide into the circuit board guides.) The right and left interior walls of the enclosure (i.e., the side interiors) may also include circuit board guides 435a-b, and 435c-d respectively. These circuit board guides (435a-b, and 435c-d) may be located on a non-movable (i.e., non-positionable) structure within the enclosure. Alternatively, the structure that they are located on may be movable (positionable). The circuit board guides 435a-d may span the entire depth of the enclosure, as indicated in
The circuit board guides may be implemented in the form of slots on the positionable enclosure partitions (and within the left and right side interiors of the enclosure cavity). A more detailed view of one possible implementation of such slots is shown by the partial enclosure partition and circuit board 460 in
The front panel 464 may further include at least one hole 462c used to attach the front panel to a positionable enclosure partition, or some other structure of the enclosure.
The circuit boards 110, 120, 125, 130, 140, and 150 may additionally contain an electrical connector at the rear of the circuit boards (not shown). The electrical connector on the circuit board may mate with an electrical connector on a backplane (not shown) that may be located at the rear of the interior cavity of the enclosure. The backplane may be physically divided into eight sub-sections, corresponding to the eight sub-cavities of the enclosure cavity indicated by the dashed lines in
Once all three full-height positionable enclosure partitions are placed into locations 425a-c, eight circuit boards 110 of a first circuit board width and a first circuit board height may be inserted into eight circuit board housings of the enclosure. Since, a given full-height positionable enclosure partition contains lower left circuit board guides 440c,g, upper left circuit board guides 440a,e, lower right circuit board guides 440d,h, and upper right circuit board guides 440b,f, a single full-height positionable enclosure partition provides circuit board guides for up to four circuit boards (two on either side of the partition).
When eight circuit boards 110 are placed within the enclosure 420 using three full-height positionable enclosure partitions located at predetermined enclosure locations 425a, 425b, and 425c, the two most left circuit boards 110 are located between the left interior wall of the enclosure and the enclosure partition at location 425a. Similarly, the second set of two circuit boards are placed between the enclosure partitions located at locations 425a and 425b within the enclosure, the third set of two circuit boards are placed between the enclosure partitions located at locations 425b and 425c within the enclosure, and the right most two circuit boards are placed between the right interior wall of the enclosure and the enclosure partition located at location 425c.
When the enclosure is partitioned with three full-height positionable enclosure partitions, such that eight circuit boards 110 of a first circuit board width and a first circuit board height can be placed within the enclosure, the eight circuit boards may be populated within the enclosure in any desired order. Furthermore, a given circuit board may be placed into the enclosure without affecting the electrical or optical operation of any existing circuit boards within the enclosure.
In addition, to accommodating the eight-circuit-board-structure 200a, when three full-height positionable enclosure partitions are placed within enclosure 420, the structure 200d shown in
The configuration 200b, shown in
By placing only two full-height positionable enclosure partitions into the enclosure 420, configuration 200f shown in
As shown in the configuration 200c, with no enclosure partitions installed, two circuit boards 130 of a fourth circuit board width and a first circuit board height can be accommodated.
Once a full-height enclosure partition is slid into the enclosure, the enclosure partition may be attached to the top interior 415 and or bottom interior 412 of the enclosure. The full-height enclosure partition may be attached to the enclosure using at least one screw. The at least one screw may be a thumb-screw that can be tightened using ones thumb and finger only. Additionally, the thumbs screw could contain an Allen wrench slot that could be used to further tighten the screw using an Allen wrench. The screw could further be permanently attached to the positionable enclosure partition so that when the screw is unscrewed it does not separate from the positionable enclosure partition.
The screw used to attach the partition to the enclosure may attach the partition to the enclosure from the interior of the enclosure or from the exterior of the enclosure. If the screw is attached from the exterior of the enclosure, then the procedure to install the enclosure partition would be to first slide the enclosure partition into the enclosure, and then install the at least one screw by first inserting the screw through a hole in either the top or bottom of the enclosure (or both, when two screws are used), and then screwing the screw into a threaded hole on the top or the bottom of the enclosure partition. A washer may be placed between the screw head and the exterior of the enclosure. The washer may be a lock washer. For additional stability, four or more screws could be used.
If the screw used to attach the partition to the enclosure is attached from the interior of the enclosure, it's desirable to use a screw that is permanently (or semi-permanently) attached to the positionable enclosure partition, so that the screw cannot fall into the enclosure. When attaching the partition to the bottom of the enclosure, the screw could be placed into a hole that goes through the bottom horizontal structure 432 of the enclosure partition, and then screwed into a threaded hole on the bottom of the enclosure. Similarly, when attaching the partition to the top of the enclosure, the screw could be placed into a hole that goes through the top horizontal structure 431 of the enclosure partition, and then screwed into a threaded hole on the top interior of the enclosure.
At least two guide pins may be used to correctly position a positionable enclosure partition within the enclosure. The guide pin may reside on the positionable enclosure partition (in that case a guide pin hole resides on the enclosure top and or bottom interior), or the guide pin may reside on the top and or bottom interior of the enclosure (in that case, a guide hole resides on the positionable enclosure partition). The preferred method is to place the guide pin on the positionable enclosure partition, so that the guide pins do not interfere with circuit boards that are of a second or third circuit board widths. The at least two guide pins could be stationary pins, or they could be spring loaded pins. If the guide pin is a stationary guide pin, the enclosure partition may be first inserted into the enclosure at an angle, and then snapped into place by turning the partition such that it becomes perpendicular to the enclosure top and bottom. If the guide pin is spring loaded, the pin is forced into the guide pin hole using a spring mechanism once the positionable enclosure partition is put into place. If multiple guide pins are utilized, screws may not be required to further hold the positionable enclosure partition into its correct location. Alternatively, a combination of both guide pins and screws may be used to position the enclosure partition and to secure it onto the enclosure.
Positionable enclosure partitions that span less than the entire height of the enclosure may also be placed within the enclosure 420. In one embodiment, a positionable enclosure partition that spans half the height of the enclosure (half-height enclosure partition) may be placed within the enclosure 420. For this case, the length of the positionable enclosure partition is substantially equal to a first circuit board height. This half-height positionable enclosure partition may be attached to the top interior of the enclosure (wherein it is not additionally attached to the bottom interior of the enclosure), or the half-height positionable enclosure partition may be attached to the bottom interior of the enclosure (wherein it is not additionally attached to the top interior of the enclosure).
The half-height positionable enclosure partition may optionally contain a guide pin used to guide the enclosure partition into place on the enclosure interior top or bottom. The guide pin may be stationary or spring loaded.
The half-height positionable enclosure partition may be screwed to the enclosure interior top or bottom. The half-height positionable enclosure partition may be screwed to the enclosure using a screw from the exterior of the enclosure (into a threaded hole on the enclosure partition), or the enclosure partition may be screwed to the enclosure using a screw from the interior of the enclosure (into a threaded hole on the enclosure top or bottom). For this later case, the screw may be a thumb screw. The thumb screw may optionally contain an Allen wrench slot.
Alternatively or additionally, both the full-height positionable enclosure partition and the half-height positionable enclosure partition may attach to the back interior cavity of the enclosure.
The system for housing circuit boards 500 shown in
The positionable enclosure partitions 530a 530b have a length equal to length 1 (as indicated in
The system for housing circuit boards 500 additionally comprises of an enclosure 510, as shown in
There are six locations where the half-height positionable enclosure partition can be placed within the example embodiment enclosures of 420 and 510. The six locations are those indicated by the top and bottom positions associated with locations 425a, 425b, and 425c in
It should be noted, that for one embodiment, a maximum of three half-height positionable enclosure partitions 530 may be placed within the enclosure 420, 510, or 590. This is because if a half-height positionable enclosure partition is placed in either the top or bottom locations corresponding to locations 425a, 425b, or 425c, then a corresponding half-height positionable enclosure partition may not be placed opposite the half-height positionable enclosure partition in those locations. In this embodiment, if a partition that spans the entire height of the enclosure is required at a location, a full-height positionable enclosure partition should be used. In an alternative embodiment, two half-height positionable enclosure partitions may be placed opposite one another (at a given location 425a, 425b, or 425c) in order to form the functionality associated with the full-height positionable enclosure partition. This later embodiment provides for additional flexibility when an enclosure is only partially populated initially.
As can be seen, from
The configuration 200c uses no full-height positionable enclosure partitions and no half-height positionable enclosure partitions. The configurations 200a and 200d use three full-height positionable enclosure partitions and no half-height positionable enclosure partitions. The configuration 200f uses two full-height positionable enclosure partitions and no half-height positionable enclosure partitions. The configurations 200b and 200e use one full-height positionable enclosure partition and no half-height positionable enclosure partitions. The configuration 200g uses no full-height positionable enclosure partitions and two half-height positionable enclosure partitions (attached to the bottom interior). The configurations 200h and 200j use one full-height positionable enclosure partition and two half-height positionable enclosure partitions. The configuration 200i uses one full-height positionable enclosure partition and one half-height positionable enclosure partition. In all configurations shown, no more than three positionable enclosure partitions are used.
From
As is evident from the previous discussions and drawings, the width dimension of a given circuit board housing is dependent upon the position of the positionable enclosure partition (within the enclosure) used to form the housing. For example, when a positionable enclosure partition is placed at location 425a, the width of the corresponding circuit board housing to the left of the partition is one sub-cavity. When the positionable enclosure partition is placed at location 425b, the width of the corresponding circuit board housing to the left of the partition is two sub-cavities. When the positionable enclosure partition is placed at location 425c, the width of the corresponding circuit board housing to the left of the partition is three sub-cavities.
In the example embodiment of enclosure 420, one may designate the width of the circuit board housing as a first dimension, and the height of the circuit board housing as a second dimension. Then, an example embodiment is a system for housing circuit boards, comprising of an enclosure, one or more positionable enclosure partitions, and one or more circuit board housings (located within the enclosure). The circuit board housings are formed in part by the one or more enclosure partitions. Each of the circuit board housings has at least a first dimension and a second dimension—each of which may be one of a plurality of predetermined values. The position of one or more enclosure partitions determines the value of the first dimension of a given circuit board housing, while the length of one or more partitions bounds the value of the second dimension of the given circuit board housing, and therefore determines the range of values of the second dimension of the circuit board housing.
The system may provide a number of predetermined locations within the enclosure where the partitions may be placed (such as at locations 425a, 425b, and 425c). Since the enclosure partitions can be positioned at these different locations within the cavity of the enclosure, the enclosure partitions are said to be positionable.
Since the positionable enclosure partitions so described are narrow and flat in physical structure, the enclosure partitions can be described as substantially planar in form.
A given system may contain multiple enclosure partitions. These partitions can be substantially the same length, or they may be of substantially different lengths. In general, an embodiment of a system for housing circuit boards may comprise of a plurality of positionable enclosure partitions of a variety of lengths.
Each enclosure partition may provide mechanical support for circuit boards placed inside the circuit board housings formed in part by the enclosure partition. This mechanical support may be in the form of circuit board guides located on both sides of the enclosure partitions, wherein the circuit boards are guided into predefined locations within the enclosure (circuit board housings) by way of these circuit board guides, and then the circuit board guides are used to physically support the circuit boards once the circuit boards are fully inserted into the enclosure. Additional mechanical support is provided by the enclosure partitions by way of the optional screw holes 462a contained within the front portion of the enclosure partitions. These screw holes can be used to attach the front face plate of a given circuit board to the enclosure partition, thereby providing an additional level of mechanical support to the circuit board. Therefore, the system provides a means for securing a circuit board to one or more partitions, and this means may be of the form of a screw through the front panel of the circuit board and into a threaded hole on the front facing surface of the enclosure partition.
The system provides a means for guiding circuit boards into predetermined locations within the enclosure. The means may be of the form of circuit board guides located on each enclosure partition, and located on the interior side surfaces of the enclosure.
Embodiments of the invention include a means for attaching the positionable enclosure partitions to the interior cavity of the enclosure. One means is to use one or more screws to attach the partition to the top and or bottom interior surfaces of the enclosure. The screw may originate from the exterior of the enclosure, or it may originate from the interior of the enclosure.
A system for housing circuit boards may comprise of only a single predetermined location for placement of an enclosure partition. However, in a preferred embodiment, the system comprises of a plurality of predetermined locations for placement of enclosure partitions (locations 425a-c, for example).
An embodiment of a system for housing circuit boards may provide a means for guiding its enclosure partitions into predefined locations within the enclosure. One means involves using at least one guide pin on the enclosure partitions to aid in guiding the partitions into corresponding guide holes on the top or bottom of the interior surfaces of the enclosure.
Although previous example embodiments designated the width of the circuit board housing as a first dimension, and the height of the circuit board housing as a second dimension, other example embodiments may designate the height of the circuit board housing as a first dimension, and the width of the circuit board housing as a second dimension.
Embodiments of the invention include a method for housing circuit boards within an enclosure. The method includes creating at least one circuit board housing within the enclosure using at least one positionable enclosure partition. The circuit board housing created may be of a variety of sizes, including a variety of fixed values for a first dimension, and a variety of fixed values for a second dimension. The method additionally includes choosing a positionable enclosure partition of a particular length, wherein the length of the positionable enclosure partition determines a predetermined range of values of the first dimension of the circuit board housing. The method further includes placing the at least one positionable enclosure partition at one of a plurality of predetermined locations within the enclosure, wherein the location chosen determines the value of a second dimension of the circuit board housing.
Another embodiment of the invention is an enclosure for housing circuit boards, wherein the enclosure comprises of an interior cavity formed by top, bottom, rear, and side planar surfaces that are connected together. The enclosure further comprises of one or more enclosure partitions, and one or more configurable circuit board housings. The enclosure partitions can be used to assist in forming circuit board housings for circuit boards within the enclosure by partitioning the interior cavity in two dimensions. More specifically, at least a first positionable enclosure partition (whose length may be one of a plurality of lengths) may be used to form at least a first circuit board housing. The position of the positionable enclosure partition within the interior cavity of the enclosure determines the value of a first dimension of the circuit board housing, while the length of the positionable enclosure partition determines the maximum value and the range of values of a second dimension of the circuit board housing. The at least one enclosure partition is substantially planar, meaning that the partition is relatively flat, and two of its dimensions are much larger (at least two times larger) than its third dimension. The third dimension may only be large enough to provide a substantially small separation between two circuit boards positioned on either side of it. This separation may be approximately equal to the thickness of a typical printed circuit board, in one example embodiment. Or, the third dimension may only be large enough to provide card guides for the circuit boards positioned on either side of it, while providing a substantially small separation between the two circuit boards positioned on either side of it. The third dimension of the partition may also be sufficiently small so that it is not possible to house a circuit board within its third dimension boundaries. In other words, according to embodiments of this invention, a single positionable enclosure partition may not be a circuit board carrier, capable of mechanically supporting a circuit board by itself. In order to mechanically support a circuit board, a given positionable enclosure partition requires a second mechanically supporting structure. The second mechanically supporting structure may be a second positionable enclosure partition, or it may be the left or right interior surface of the enclosure cavity.
It can be noted that when both a first and a second positionable enclosure partition is used to form a circuit board housing within an enclosure (such as when a circuit board enclosure is formed in between enclosure partitions placed at locations 425a and 425c), the locations of both enclosure partitions determine the value of a first dimension of the circuit board housing. For example, when the first partition is placed at location 425a, and the second partition is placed at 425c, a circuit board housing is created between the two partitions that is two sub-cavities wide, while when the first partition is placed at location 425a, and the second partition is placed at 425b, a circuit board housing is created between the two partitions that is one sub-cavity wide.
It can be noted that when both a first and a second positionable enclosure partition is used to form a circuit board housing within an enclosure (such as when a circuit board enclosure is formed in between enclosure partitions placed at locations 425a and 425c), the length of both enclosure partitions determine the range of values of a second dimension of the circuit board housing. For example, when the first partition is a first length, and the second partition is a second length that is equal to twice the first length, the value of the second dimension of the circuit board housing formed between the two partitions is limited to the first length. Similarly, when the first partition is a first length, and the second partition is a second length that is equal to half the first length, the second dimension of the circuit board housing formed between the two partitions is limited to half the first length. If the lengths of the two partitions are equal in length, than the second dimension of the circuit board housing can be equal to or less than the length of the two partitions. For instance, if a first partition is length 1 (as depicted in
It can be noted from the previous discussions that for a circuit board housing formed between two positionable enclosure partitions, the two positionable enclosure partitions may be substantially the same length (other than small differences due to manufacturing tolerances), or the two positionable enclosure partitions may be substantially different in length (wherein substantially different in this context implies a difference of at least the height of one sub-cavity).
Yet another embodiment of the invention is a system comprising of an enclosure, at least one enclosure partition having a first side and a second side, and a first circuit board. The enclosure is characterized by an interior cavity of a first enclosure dimension and a second enclosure dimension. Likewise, the first circuit board is characterized by a first circuit board dimension and a second circuit board dimension. The value of the first circuit board dimension may be equal to a variety of predetermined values, substantially equal to or less than the value of first enclosure dimension. (Wherein, substantially equal to means slightly less than the value of the first enclosure dimension, so that the circuit board may fit within the enclosure interior without scraping the walls of the enclosure.) The value of the second circuit board dimension may be equal to a variety of predetermined values, substantially equal to or less than the value of the second enclosure dimension. (Wherein, substantially equal to means slightly less than the value of the second enclosure dimension, so that the circuit board may fit within the enclosure interior without scraping the walls of the enclosure.) The at least one enclosure partition is positionable within the enclosure at a variety of predetermined locations. The first circuit board may be placed on the first side of the positionable enclosure partition, wherein the partition then provides partial mechanical support for the first circuit card. In such an embodiment, the value of the first circuit board dimension of the first circuit board may determine the position of the enclosure partition within the enclosure. For instance, if the circuit board has a first dimension equal to the width of a single sub-cavity (such as circuit board 110), then the enclosure partition may be placed at either location 425a or 425c within enclosure 420 (wherein the circuit board is placed to the left of the partition if it is placed at location 425a, and wherein the circuit board is placed to the right of the partition if it is placed at location 425c). Alternatively, if the circuit board has a first dimension equal to the width of a two sub-cavities (such as circuit board 120), then the enclosure partition may only be placed at location 425b within enclosure 420.
In the enclosure of the previous embodiment, if a first circuit board with a first circuit board dimension and a second circuit board dimension is placed on a first side of the enclosure partition, and a second circuit board with a first circuit board dimension and a second circuit board dimension is placed on the second side of the enclosure partition, then the length of the enclosure partition is determined by the value of the second circuit board dimensions of both circuit boards. In particular, the length of the enclosure partition is determined by the circuit board with the larger second circuit board dimension. The value of the second circuit board dimension of the second circuit board may be equal to a variety of predetermined values substantially equal to (as previously defined) or less than the value of the second enclosure dimension. The value of the first circuit board dimension of the first circuit board, the value of the first circuit board dimension of the second circuit board, and the value of the first enclosure dimension determines if the second circuit board can be placed on the second side of the enclosure partition (opposite from the first circuit board). The value of the first circuit board dimension of the first circuit board, the value of the first circuit board dimension of the second circuit board, and the value of the first enclosure dimension also determines if a second enclosure partition is required. For instance, if the value of the first circuit board dimension of both circuit boards is equal to three sub-cavities, and the value of the first enclosure dimension is equal to four sub-cavities, then the two circuit boards cannot be placed on either side of the first enclosure partition. If the value of the first circuit board dimension of both circuit boards is equal to one sub-cavity, and the value of the first enclosure dimension is equal to four sub-cavities, then the two circuit boards can be placed on either side of the first enclosure partition, but a second enclosure partition is required on the second side of the second circuit board in order to provide mechanical support for both sides of the second circuit board.
In general, in one embodiment an enclosure that is capable of housing 2m circuit boards of a first circuit board width and a first circuit board height, organized as two rows of m circuit boards, a maximum of m−1 positionable enclosure partitions may be required in order accommodate all possible combination of circuit boards.
In a similar manner, in one embodiment, it can be shown that for an enclosure that is capable of housing 3m circuit boards of a first circuit board width and a first circuit board height, organized as three rows of m circuit boards, a maximum of 2(m−1) positionable enclosure partitions may be required in order accommodate most possible combinations of circuit boards. (This assumes the availability of full-height, ⅓rd-height and ⅔rds-height enclosure partitions.) The worst case number of positionable enclosure partitions occurs when the middle row is use to house a circuit board this is a first circuit board height and is of a circuit board length that spans the entire row, while the first and third rows comprise of circuit boards that are all a first circuit board width and a first circuit board height. In order to accommodate some configurations, for the three row enclosure, the ⅓rd height positionable enclosure partitions may need to attach to the interior back of the enclosure. Alternatively, if the back-attachable ⅓rd height positionable enclosure partitions were not available, some enclosure configurations may not be possible to support.
In all cases wherein a first positionable enclosure partition is used to house a circuit board operating within the enclosure, and wherein a second positionable enclosure partition is latter added to the enclosure, the operation of the circuit board is not interrupted in any manner before during or after the installation of the second positionable enclosure partition. This is insured by the fact that existing positionable enclosure partitions never have to be replaced in order to accommodate additional circuit boards. In order to accommodate all possible future configurations after the installation of the first circuit board, it must be possible to be able to install half-height positionable enclosure partitions opposite to one another.
The half-height and full-height positionable enclosure partitions additionally may contain threaded screw holes used to secure the circuit boards into the enclosure. The circuit boards may contain front panels that are able to be attached to the positionable enclosure partitions via at least one screw through the front panel of the circuit board. Additionally, for circuit boards that are installed against the left or right wall (interior side) of the enclosure, screw holes may be provided on the left and right wall of the enclosure in order to attach the front panels of the circuit boards to those walls.
Additionally, the at least one screw used to attached the front panel of a circuit board to a positionable enclosure partition (or to the side wall of the enclosure) may be permanently attached to the front panel of the circuit board.
Additionally, the at least one screw used to attached the front panel of a circuit board to a positionable enclosure partition (or to the side wall of the enclosure) may be a thumb screw.
Additionally, the at least one screw used to attached the front panel of a circuit board to a positionable enclosure partition (or to the side wall of the enclosure) may contain an Allen wrench slot.
In a preferred embodiment, the position of the rear attachment mechanisms 640b, 640d, 640f, 640h, are located substantially near the middle of their associated partitions (instead of near the rear of their associated partitions). (For this case, substantially near the middle implies that the attachment mechanisms 640b, 640d, 640f, 640h, are closer to the middle of the partition than to the rear of the partition.) This is done in order to enable a human hand to more easily access the rear set of attachment mechanisms 640b, 640d, 640f, 640h on each partition once the partitions are positioned within the enclosure.
Unique to the embodiments 610a and 610b is the implementation of the circuit board guides 620a-f. As shown in
The half-height enclosure partition 610b has attachment mechanisms 640e-h and guide pins 650e-h on both its top horizontal member 670d and its bottom horizontal member 670e. This allows the single half-height enclosure partition 610b to be attached to either the top interior of the enclosure cavity or the bottom interior enclosure cavity. Therefore, this particular half-height enclosure partition may be considered to be a universal half-height enclosure partition. However, there are enclosure configurations where the attachment mechanisms and or guide pins on the half-height partitions may interfere with circuitry located on circuit boards above or below the half-height partitions. This may be the case where a board that is at least two sub-cavities wide spans over under a half-height partition. In order to address these configurations, a half-height enclosure partition that is designed to be attached specifically to the bottom of the enclosure (with no attachment mechanisms or guide pins on its top horizontal member), and a half-height enclosure partition that is designed to be attached specifically to the top of the enclosure (with no attachment mechanisms or guide pins on its bottom horizontal member), may be used. Alternatively, circuit boards could be designed such that components on the circuit boards avoid the interfering attachment mechanisms and guide pins.
When full-height positionable enclosure partition 610a is mounted within the interior cavity of an enclosure, two screws 640a-b are used to attach the partition to the top interior of the enclosure, and two screws 640c-d are simultaneously used to attach the partition to the bottom interior of the enclosure. Guide pins 650a-d are used to position the partition in place prior to screwing the partition into the top and bottom interiors of the enclosure. The four screws are preferable attached to the partition, so as to prevent the dropping of screws into the enclosure.
When half-height positionable enclosure partition 610b is mounted within the interior cavity of an enclosure, the partition is attached to either the top interior of the enclosure or the bottom interior of the enclosure, not both. When the partition is attached to the top interior of the enclosure, screws 640e-d are used to attach the partition to the top interior of the enclosure, and the two screws 640g-h are not utilized. When the partition is attached to the bottom interior of the enclosure, screws 640g-h are used to attach the partition to the bottom interior of the enclosure, and the two screws 640e-f are not utilized. The four screws are preferable attached to the partition, so as to prevent the dropping of screws into the enclosure.
From the detailed views of the positionable enclosure partitions shown in
A system for housing circuit boards supporting up to eight sub-cavities has been described in great detail. This system contained two rows of sub-cavities, with up to four sub-cavities in each row. Also, a system for housing circuit boards with three rows of sub-cavities has been described, but in less detail. It should be noted that embodiments of the invention are not limited to any number of rows, nor is it limited to any number of sub-cavities in each row. In general, a system for housing circuit boards as described herein may comprise of a an interior cavity that may be partitioned into an array of sub-cavities. The array of sub-cavities may further be comprised of n rows and m columns. A positionable enclosure partition may be placed between any of the m columns of sub-cavities. A minimum of m−1 m−1 positionable enclosure partitions may be placed in a system comprising of n rows and m columns. Each of the m−1 positionable enclosure partitions may have a height (i.e., length) equal to that of the height of n rows. Alternatively, each positionable enclosure partition may have a height (i.e., length) equal to the height of one to n rows.
Although the embodiments of the invention described previously utilized positionable enclosure partitions that were mounted vertically, embodiments of the invention are not limited to positionable enclosure partitions that are mounted vertically. Embodiments of the invention include a system for housing circuit boards wherein the positionable enclosure partitions are mounted horizontally instead of vertically. Such partitions would be used to separate rows of sub-cavities instead of columns of sub-cavities. These partitions could be attached to the left and right interior walls of the enclosure.
More complex, but not precluded by this invention, is a system for housing circuit boards comprising of both vertical and horizontal positionable enclosure partitions.
If an enclosure for housing circuit boards 420 initially comprises of no positionable enclosure partitions, then when a full-height positionable enclosure partition is placed in the interior cavity of the enclosure at the position indicated by the vertical dashed line 425a, then a first size circuit board housing is formed to the left of the positionable enclosure partition. This thus formed circuit board housing may house circuit boards 110 of a first circuit board width and a first circuit board height. Alternatively, this thus formed circuit board housing may house a circuit board 140 of a first circuit board width and a second circuit board height. If this same positionable enclosure partition is instead placed in the interior cavity of the enclosure at the position indicated by the vertical dashed line 425b, then a second size circuit board housing is formed to the left of the positionable enclosure partition. This thus formed circuit board housing may house circuit boards 120 of a second circuit board width and a first circuit board height. Alternatively, this thus formed circuit board housing may house a circuit board 150 of a second circuit board width and a second circuit board height.
From the previous example, it can be observed that, in general, the system so described for housing circuit boards comprising of an enclosure with an interior cavity, and at least one positionable enclosure partition, exhibits the following behavior. When the at least one positionable enclosure partition is placed in a first position within the interior cavity at least a first size circuit board housing is formed, enabling the housing of at least a first circuit board of a first circuit board size (110, for example), and wherein when the at least first positionable enclosure partition is placed in a second position within the interior cavity at least a second size circuit board housing is formed, enabling the housing of at least a second circuit board of a second circuit board size (120, for example), wherein the second circuit board size (120, for example) is substantially different from the first circuit board size (110, for example). (In this context, substantially different in size means that the difference between the two circuit boards is at least equal to the difference in size between one sub-cavity and two sub-cavities.) It can further be observed, that when the at least one positionable enclosure partition is placed in a first position, the enclosure in unable to house the circuit board of the second size, and similarly, when the at least one positionable enclosure partition is placed in a second position, the enclosure in unable to house the circuit board of the first size. In general, any size enclosure constructed according to the principles so described by the embodiments of this invention will exhibit the above so described behavior.
It can be further observed that the positionable enclosure partitions so described by this invention are substantially two-dimensional—meaning two of its dimensions are substantially larger than the third dimension.
Returning to the previous example embodiment, if an enclosure for housing circuit boards 420 initially comprises of no positionable enclosure partitions, then when a full-height positionable enclosure partition is placed in the interior cavity of the enclosure at the position indicated by the vertical dashed line 425a, then a first size circuit board housing is formed to the left of the positionable enclosure partition, and a second size circuit board housing is formed to the right of the positionable enclosure partition. The thus formed first size circuit board housing may house circuit boards 110 of a first circuit board width and a first circuit board height, or alternatively, the thus formed first size circuit board housing may house a circuit board 140 of a first circuit board width and a second circuit board height. The thus formed second circuit board housing may house circuit boards 125 of a third circuit board width and a first circuit board height, or alternatively, the thus formed second size circuit board housing may house a circuit board of a third circuit board width and a second circuit board height. If this same positionable enclosure partition is instead placed in the interior cavity of the enclosure at the position indicated by the vertical dashed line 425b, then a third size circuit board housing is formed to the left of the positionable enclosure partition. This thus formed circuit board housing may house circuit boards 120 of a second circuit board width and a first circuit board height. Alternatively, this thus formed circuit board housing may house a circuit board 150 of a second circuit board width and a second circuit board height. A circuit board housing is formed to the right of the enclosure positioned at location 425b that is also a third size circuit board housing, capable of housing either a circuit board 120 of a second circuit board width and a first circuit board height or a circuit board 150 of a second circuit board width and a second circuit board height.
Returning to the previous example embodiment, if an enclosure for housing circuit boards 420 initially comprises of no positionable enclosure partitions, then the enclosure may house circuit boards 130 of a fourth size width. When a half-height positionable enclosure partition is placed in the interior cavity of the enclosure at the position indicated by the vertical dashed line 425a, then a second size circuit board housing is formed to the left of the positionable enclosure partition, and a third size circuit board housing is formed to the right of the positionable enclosure partition, Now, in addition to being able to still house a circuit board 130 of a fourth circuit board width, the system is able to house a circuit board 110 of a first circuit board width and a first circuit board height, and a circuit board 125 of a third circuit board width and a first circuit board height.
In another embodiment of the invention, a system for housing circuit boards comprises of an enclosure with an interior cavity, and a positionable enclosure partition, wherein the enclosure allows for the placement of the positionable enclosure partition at only a single location within the interior cavity of the enclosure. An example of such an enclosure is one that is only as wide as the width of a circuit board (120) of a second circuit board width, and is only as tall as the height of a circuit board 150 of a second circuit board height. If the enclosure for housing circuit boards initially comprises of no positionable enclosure partitions, then the interior of the enclosure forms a circuit board housing that may house either a circuit board 120 of a second circuit board width and a first circuit board height or a circuit board 150 of a second circuit board width and a second circuit board height. If a full-height positionable enclosure partition is placed within the center of the enclosure, a circuit board housing is formed to the left and to the right of the partition. Each circuit board housing is able to house a circuit board of a first circuit board width and a first circuit board height, or each circuit board housing is able to house a circuit board of a first circuit board width and a second circuit board height. Once the single partition is placed within the enclosure, the enclosure is no longer able to house a circuit board of a second circuit board width.
Embodiments of the invention so described further comprise of positionable enclosure partitions of different lengths. The first dimension of all positionable enclosure partitions is equal to the enclosure depth. The second dimension of the positionable enclosure partition is equal to an integer number of first circuit board heights, and is referred to as the length of the positionable enclosure partition.
As described, the system for housing circuit boards comprises of a plurality of predetermined positions within the enclosure where positionable enclosure partitions may be placed. The partitions are used to create circuit board housings (out of sub-cavities) within the interior cavity of the enclosure. Each sub-cavity may have associated with it a sub-section of a backplane located in the rear interior of the enclosure cavity. Each backplane sub-section may have at least one backplane connector within its boundaries. The number of backplane connectors within each sub-section of the backplane is the same in the preferred embodiment. The size and type of connectors within each sub-section of the backplane is the same in the preferred embodiment. This allows all sub-cavities to be treated as identical entities, thus allowing for the insertion of a particular circuit board into any of the sub-cavities or group of sub-cavities (circuit board housings).
Embodiments of the invention further include a method of configuring an enclosure comprising of placing positionable enclosure partitions within the enclosure such that circuit boards that differ in at least two dimensions may be housed within the enclosure.
This application is a continuation of U.S. application Ser. No. 13/933,990 filed Jul. 2, 2013. The specification of the present invention is substantially the same as that of the parent application. The “Related Application” paragraph has been revised to include a specific reference to the parent application. The specification of the present invention contains no new subject matter.
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Parent | 13933990 | Jul 2013 | US |
| Child | 15369361 | US |
