Patent Application
20230012759
The present disclosure relates generally to Information Handling Systems (IHSs), and more particularly, to toolless installation Compression Attached Memory Modules (CAMMs) in IHSs.
As the value and use of information continue to increase, individuals and businesses seek additional ways to process and store it. One option available to users is Information Handling Systems (IHSs). An IHS generally processes, compiles, stores, and/or communicates information or data for business, personal, or other purposes thereby allowing users to take advantage of the value of the information. Because technology and information handling needs and requirements vary between different users or applications, IHSs may also vary regarding what information is handled, how the information is handled, how much information is processed, stored, or communicated, and how quickly and efficiently the information may be processed, stored, or communicated.
Variations in IHSs allow for IHSs to be general or configured for a specific user or specific use such as financial transaction processing, airline reservations, enterprise data storage, or global communications. In addition, IHSs may include a variety of hardware and software components that may be configured to process, store, and communicate information and may include one or more computer systems, data storage systems, and networking systems.
Embodiments of systems and methods for toolless Compression Attached Memory Module (CAMM) installation in Information Handling Systems (IHSs) are described. In an illustrative, non-limiting embodiment, an integral toolless-installation CAMM bolster plate has a generally flat, parallelepiped body portion configured to contact one surface of a CAMM Printed Circuit Board (PCB) and provide compression between the CAMM and a z-axis compression connector. The bolster plate body defines (a) ramped keyhole(s), each ramped keyhole converts lateral displacement of the toolless-installation CAMM bolster plate into vertical displacement, providing the compression between the CAMM and the z-axis compression connector, by the ramped keyhole(s) sliding along (a) bottom face(s) of (a) head(s) of (a) fixed standoff(s) extending from an IHS PCB, through the z-axis compression connector and the CAMM PCB. The bottom face(s) of the head(s) of the fixed standoff(s) may be angled at a chamfer matching a chamfer in the key-hole ramp(s).
The integral toolless-installation CAMM bolster plate may lock in place, laterally displaced, to maintain the compression between the CAMM and the z-axis compression connector. The integral toolless-installation CAMM bolster plate may also have a flange portion extending generally perpendicular from the body portion. This flange portion may be positioned to be disposed over an end edge of the CAMM PCB. The toolless-installation CAMM bolster plate may also include a dielectric insulating material having a low coefficient of friction disposed on a bottom surface of the bolster plate body portion, to contact the surface of the CAMM PCB.
The integral toolless-installation CAMM bolster plate may be configured to receive the head of each standoff through a first end of each ramped keyhole and be moved laterally along the CAMM PCB to engage the head of each standoff with each ramped keyhole to provide increasing vertical pressure to the one surface of the CAMM PCB, to in turn, provide the compression between the CAMM and the z-axis compression connector. The toolless-installation CAMM bolster plate may then lock in place, with the head of each standoff maintained in a second end of each ramped keyhole, opposite the first end, to maintain the compression between the CAMM and the z-axis compression connector.
Particularly, the toolless-installation CAMM bolster plate keyholes may each have sidewall portions defining a width of the keyhole sufficient to receive the head of the standoff extending from the IHS PCB, with this width narrow enough to laterally retain the head of the standoff. A deep end portion of the keyhole may be defined between the side wall portions and may define a shallow opening through the bolster plate body of a width sufficient to receive the head of the standoff. The ramp portion may be defined between the side wall portions, extending from the deep end portion to a shallow end portion of the keyhole. This shallow end portion of the keyhole may also be defined between the side wall portions, and the ramp portion may define a central slot through the bolster plate body, contiguous with the shallow opening and a deep opening defined in the shallow end portion. The slot may have a width sufficient to receive a shaft of the standoff, but narrower than the head of the standoff. Also, the shallow end portion of the keyhole may define a generally flat portion, between the side wall portions. The deep opening may also extend through the bolster plate body and have a width sufficient to receive the shaft of the standoff, but narrower than the width of the head of the standoff. The integral toolless-installation CAMM bolster plate is thereby configured to receive the head of the standoff through the shallow opening, be moved laterally along the CAMM PCB to engage the head of fastener with the ramp portion and provide increasing vertical pressure to the one surface of the CAMM PCB to provide the compression between the CAMM and the z-axis compression connector. The integral toolless-installation CAMM bolster plate may then lock in place with the head of the standoff maintained in the shallow end portion by the generally flat portion to maintain the compression between the CAMM and the z-axis compression connector. For example, the flat portion of the shallow end of each keyhole may be angled obliquely away from the ramp portion to receive the head of the standoff and lock the toolless-installation CAMM bolster plate in place and maintain the compression between the CAMM and the z-axis compression connector.
The present invention(s) is/are illustrated by way of example and is/are not limited by the accompanying figures, in which like references indicate similar elements. Elements in the figures are illustrated for simplicity and clarity, and have not necessarily been drawn to scale.
Double Data Rate 5 (DDRS) IHS memory may typically use the long-time industry standard SODIMM form factor. Embodiments of the present systems and methods employ Compression Attached Memory Modules (CAMMs) that affix to the motherboard of a computer system via a connector that replaces the previously used SODIMM connector. Some CAMM implementations may use screws, nuts or other threaded fasteners to attach a top bolster plate to a bottom bolster plate, or the like, and apply compression force to deflect spring contacts in a CAMM connector between the CAMM and the system PCB to compressively couple the CAMM to the PCB. However, one convenience that the SODIMM connector provides is that the memory module can be installed and uninstalled into the computer system without the use of any tools.
Embodiments of the present systems and methods employ toolless installation bolster plate to apply compression force to deflect spring contacts in the CAMM connector between the CAMM and the system PCB to compressively couple the CAMM to the PCB. Thereby, CAMM maintains a toolless latching mechanism which allows a user, technician, etc. to install and uninstall the CAMM without the use of any tools, while still generating sufficient compression force against the CAMM connector to maintain good signal integrity, while maintaining a small space envelope.
Accordingly, using systems and methods described herein, an IHS (e.g., a handheld device, laptop, etc.) may employ an integral toolless-installation CAMM bolster plate that has a generally flat, parallelepiped body portion configured to contact one surface of a CAMM Printed Circuit Board (PCB) and provide compression between the CAMM and a z-axis compression connector. The bolster plate body defines (a) ramped keyhole(s), each ramped keyhole converts lateral displacement of the toolless-installation CAMM bolster plate into vertical displacement, providing the compression between the CAMM and the z-axis compression connector, by the ramped keyhole(s) sliding along (a) bottom face(s) of (a) head(s) of (a) fixed standoff(s) extending from an information handling system (IHS) PCB, through the z-axis compression connector and the CAMM PCB. The integral toolless-installation CAMM bolster plate may lock in place, laterally displaced, to maintain the compression between the CAMM and the z-axis compression connector. The integral toolless-installation CAMM bolster plate may also have a flange portion extending generally perpendicular from the body portion.
Attachment of CAMM 202 to connector 208 may employ backing plate 212 attached at a bottom side of system PCB 210 and bolster 204 placed on top of CAMM 202 (e.g., CAMM PCB 214). CAMM backing plate 212 and bolster plate 204 provide mechanical support for necessary compression forces. To wit, contact connections of connector 208 are brought into firm contact with the surface contact connections of CAMM 202 (i.e., CAMM PCB 214) by bolster 204 tightening against CAMM 202 (i.e., CAMM PCB 214) such as, in accordance with embodiments of the present systems and methods, lateral displacement of using toolless installation CAMM bolster plate 204, as shown in
In some embodiments, toolless installation CAMM bolster plate 204 may be fashioned as a flanged, L-shaped, member, as illustrated, to provide additional stiffness to the bolster to facilitate later installation described above, as well as to evenly maintain compression across the surface of CAMM 202 (i.e., CAMM PCB 214) and/or connector 208 (once installed). Therefore, toolless-installation CAMM top bolster plate 204 may include flange portion 220 extending generally perpendicular from body portion 216. Flange portion 220 may be positioned so as to be disposed over end edge 222 of CAMM PCB 214. Also, in accordance with various embodiments of the present systems and methods, bolster plate materials may be selected to ensure such stiffness. Therefore, in accordance with embodiments of the present systems and methods, toolless installation CAMM bolster plate 204 may be made of metal, such as, a stainless steel, (an) aluminum (alloy), or the like. Likewise, standoff(s) 304 may be made of the same, or other metal, such as stainless steel, copper, brass, etc. Whereas toolless installation CAMM bolster plate 204 and standoff(s) 304 may be made from a metal that is electrically conductive, to provide electrical conductivity to the ground plane of system PCB 210, toolless installation CAMM bolster plate 204 may be made of a non-electrically conductive metal (or other material, such as a rigid plastic) such as to avoid unintentional arcing, static discharge, or the like during installation and/or removal of CAMM 202. In further accordance with some embodiments of the present systems and methods, a dielectric insulating material (not shown) may be disposed on a bottom surface of top bolster plate body portion 216 to contact surface 218 of CAMM PCB 214. This dielectric insulating material, may, in accordance with embodiments of the present systems and methods, has a low coefficient of friction, such as less than 0.01. For example, the dielectric insulating material may be Teflon (coefficient of friction of steel on Teflon: 0.04), Mylar (coefficient of friction of steel on mylar: −0.2), or the like.
Deep end portion 606 of keyhole 306 is defined between side wall portions 602 and 604. This deep end portion defines shallow opening 608 through top bolster plate body 216 of a width sufficient to receive head 308 of standoff 304, such as shown in
In accordance with such embodiments of the present systems and methods, integral toolless-installation CAMM top bolster plate 204 receives head 308 of standoff 304 through shallow opening 608 and is moved laterally along surface 218 of CAMM PCB 214 to engage head 308 of standoff 304 with slotted ramp portion 610 to provide increasing vertical pressure against surface 218 of CAMM PCB 214 to, in turn provide compression between CAMM 202 and z-axis compression connector 208. Then, as shown in
Thereby, in accordance with embodiments of the present systems and methods, toolless installation of a CAMM in an IHS may include disposing the CAMM in the IHS, with an array of surface contact connections of the CAMM aligned with associated contact elements of a z-axis compression connector. The toolless-installation top bolster plate is then disposed on a top surface of the CAMM′ PCB, in contact with the top surface of the CAMM PCB and over the z-axis compression connector. A head of a standoff extending from a system PCB of the IHS, received through an opening in the CAMM PCB, is received in a first, wider, thinner end of a ramped keyhole defined in the toolless-installation top bolster plate. The toolless-installation top bolster plate is then laterally displaced the along the CAMM PCB, with the head of the standoff in the first end of the ramped keyhole, engaging the received head of the standoff with a narrower, ramped, steepening portion of the keyhole, thereby providing increasing vertical pressure to one surface of the CAMM PCB. This presses the array of CAMM surface contact connections into contact with the associated contact elements of the z-axis compression connector, and compresses the z-axis compression connector, providing compression between the CAMM contacts and the z-axis compression connector contacts. The toolless-installation top bolster plate locks in place, laterally displaced, with the head of the standoff maintained in a second, narrower, end of the ramped keyhole, opposite the first end and angled obliquely away from the ramped portion of the keyhole. Whereby, the compressing of the z-axis compression connector locks (e.g., snap-fit locks) the toolless-installation top bolster plate in place, laterally displaced, maintaining the compression of the z-axis compression connector and the compression between the CAMM contacts and the z-axis compression connector contacts.
For purposes of this disclosure, an IHS may include any instrumentality or aggregate of instrumentalities operable to compute, calculate, determine, classify, process, transmit, receive, retrieve, originate, switch, store, display, communicate, manifest, detect, record, reproduce, handle, or utilize any form of information, intelligence, or data for business, scientific, control, or other purposes. For example, an IHS may be a personal computer (e.g., desktop or laptop), tablet computer, mobile device (e.g., Personal Digital Assistant (PDA) or smart phone), server (e.g., blade server or rack server), a network storage device, or any other suitable device and may vary in size, shape, performance, functionality, and price. An IHS may include Random Access Memory (RAM), one or more processing resources such as a Central Processing Unit (CPU) or hardware or software control logic, Read-Only Memory (ROM), and/or other types of nonvolatile memory. Additional components of an IHS may include one or more disk drives, one or more network ports for communicating with external devices as well as various I/O devices, such as a keyboard, a mouse, touchscreen, and/or a video display. An IHS may also include one or more buses operable to transmit communications between the various hardware components.
In the embodiment of
IHS 600 utilizes chipset 603 that may include one or more integrated circuits that are connected to processor(s) 601. In the embodiment of
In IHS 600, bus 602 is illustrated as a single element. Various embodiments may utilize any number of separate buses to provide the illustrated pathways served by bus 602.
In various embodiments, IHS 600 may include one or more I/O ports 616 that may support removeable couplings with various types of external devices and systems, including removeable couplings with peripheral devices that may be configured for operation by a particular user of IHS 600. For instance, I/O 616 ports may include USB (Universal Serial Bus) ports, by which a variety of external devices may be coupled to IHS 600. In addition to or instead of USB ports, I/O ports 616 may include various types of physical I/O ports that are accessible to a user via the enclosure of IHS 600.
In certain embodiments, chipset 603 may additionally utilize one or more I/O controllers 610 that may each support the operation of hardware components such as user I/O devices 611 that may include peripheral components physically coupled to I/O port 616 and/or peripheral components that are wirelessly coupled to IHS 600 via network interface 609. In various implementations, I/O controller 610 may support the operation of one or more user I/O devices 610 such as a keyboard, mouse, touchpad, touchscreen, microphone, speakers, camera and other input and output devices that may be coupled to IHS 600. User I/O devices 611 may interface with an I/O controller 610 through wired or wireless couplings supported by IHS 600. In some cases, I/O controllers 610 may support configurable operation of supported peripheral devices, such as user I/O devices 611.
As illustrated, a variety of additional resources may be coupled to processor(s) 601 of IHS 600 through chipset 603. For instance, chipset 603 may be coupled to network interface 609 that may support different types of network connectivity. IHS 600 may also include one or more Network Interface Controllers (NICs) 622 and 623, each of which may implement the hardware required for communicating via a specific networking technology, such as Wi-Fi, BLUETOOTH, Ethernet and mobile cellular networks (e.g., CDMA, TDMA, LTE). Network interface 609 may support network connections by wired network controllers 622 and wireless network controllers 623. Each network controller 622 and 623 may be coupled via various buses to chipset 603 to support different types of network connectivity, such as the network connectivity utilized by IHS 600.
As illustrated, IHS 600 may support integrated display device 608, such as a display integrated into a laptop, tablet, 2-in-1 convertible device, or mobile device. IHS 600 may also support use of one or more external displays 613, such as external monitors that may be coupled to IHS 600 via various types of couplings, such as by connecting a cable from the external display 613 to external I/O port 616 of the IHS 600. One or more display devices 608 and/or 613 coupled to IHS 600 may utilize LCD, LED, OLED, or other display technologies. Each display device 608 and 613 may be capable of receiving touch inputs such as via a touch controller that may be an embedded component of display device 608 and/or 613 or graphics processor 607, or it may be a separate component of IHS 600 accessed via bus 602. In some cases, power to graphics processor 607, integrated display device 608 and/or external display 613 may be turned off or configured to operate at minimal power levels in response to IHS 600 entering a low-power state (e.g., standby). In certain scenarios, the operation of integrated displays 608 and external displays 613 may be configured for a particular user. For instance, a particular user may prefer specific brightness settings that may vary the display brightness based on time of day and ambient lighting conditions. As such, chipset 603 may provide access to one or more display device(s) 608 and/or 613 via graphics processor 607. Graphics processor 607 may be included within a video card, graphics card or within an embedded controller installed within IHS 600. Additionally, or alternatively, graphics processor 607 may be integrated within processor(s) 601, such as a component of a system-on-chip (SoC). Graphics processor 607 may generate display information and provide the generated information to one or more display device(s) 608 and/or 613, coupled to IHS 600.
Chipset 603 also provides processor(s) 601 with access to one or more storage devices 619. In various embodiments, storage device 619 may be integral to IHS 600 or may be external to IHS 600. In certain embodiments, storage device 619 may be accessed via a storage controller that may be an integrated component of the storage device. Storage device 619 may be implemented using any memory technology allowing IHS 600 to store and retrieve data. For instance, storage device 619 may be a magnetic hard disk storage drive or a solid-state storage drive. In certain embodiments, storage device 619 may be a system of storage devices, such as a cloud system or enterprise data management system that is accessible via network interface 609.
As illustrated, IHS 600 also includes Basic Input/Output System (BIOS) 617 that may be stored in a non-volatile memory accessible by chipset 603 via bus 602. Upon powering or restarting IHS 600, processor(s) 601 may utilize BIOS 617 instructions to initialize and test hardware components coupled to the IHS 600. BIOS 617 instructions may also load an operating system (OS) (e.g., WINDOWS, MACOS, iOS, ANDROID, LINUX, etc.) for use by IHS 600. BIOS 617 provides an abstraction layer that allows the operating system to interface with the hardware components of the IHS 600. The Unified Extensible Firmware Interface (UEFI) was designed as a successor to BIOS. As a result, many modern IHSs utilize UEFI in addition to or instead of a BIOS. As used herein, BIOS is intended to also encompass UEFI.
As illustrated, certain IHS 600 embodiments may utilize sensor hub 614 capable of sampling and/or collecting data from a variety of hardware sensors 612. Sensors may provide access to data describing environmental and operating conditions of IHS 600 (e.g., accelerometers, gyroscopes, hinge sensors, rotation sensors, hall effect sensors, temperature sensors, voltage sensors, current sensors, IR sensors, photosensors, proximity sensors, distance sensors, magnetic sensors, microphones, ultrasonic sensors, etc.). Generally, in various implementations, processor 601 may receive and/or produce context information using sensors 612 including one or more of, for example: a user's presence state (e.g., present, near-field, mid-field, far-field, absent), a facial expression of the user, a direction of the user's gaze, a user's gesture, a user's voice, an IHS location (e.g., based on the location of a wireless access point or Global Positioning System), IHS movement (e.g., from an accelerometer or gyroscopic sensor), lid state (e.g., of a laptop), hinge angle (e.g., in degrees), IHS posture (e.g., laptop, tablet, book, tent, and display), whether the IHS is coupled to a dock or docking station, a distance between the user and at least one of: the IHS, the keyboard, or a display coupled to the IHS, a type of keyboard (e.g., a physical keyboard integrated into IHS 600, a physical keyboard external to IHS 600, or an on-screen keyboard), whether the user operating the keyboard is typing with one or two hands (e.g., holding a stylus, or the like), a time of day, software application(s) under execution in focus for receiving keyboard input, whether IHS 600 is inside or outside of a carrying bag, ambient lighting, a battery charge level, whether IHS 600 is operating from battery power or is plugged into an AC power source (e.g., whether the IHS is operating in AC-only mode, DC-only mode, or AC+DC mode), a power consumption of various components of IHS 600 (e.g., CPU 601, GPU 607, system memory 605, etc.), an operating temperature of components of IHS 600, such as CPU temperature, memory module temperature, etc. In certain embodiments, sensor hub 614 may be an independent microcontroller or other logic unit that is coupled to the motherboard of IHS 600. Sensor hub 614 may be a component of an integrated system-on-chip incorporated into processor 601, and it may communicate with chipset 603 via a bus connection such as an Inter-Integrated Circuit (I2C) bus or other suitable type of bus connection. Sensor hub 614 may also utilize an I2C bus for communicating with various sensors supported by IHS 600.
As illustrated, IHS 600 may utilize embedded controller (EC) 620, which may be a motherboard component of IHS 600 and may include one or more logic units. In certain embodiments, EC 620 may operate from a separate power plane from the main processors 601 and thus the OS operations of IHS 600. Firmware instructions utilized by EC 620 may be used to operate a secure execution system that may include operations for providing various core functions of IHS 600, such as power management, management of operating modes in which IHS 600 may be physically configured and support for certain integrated I/O functions. In some embodiments, EC 620 and sensor hub 614 may communicate via an out-of-band signaling pathway or bus 624.
In various embodiments, IHS 600 may not include each of the components shown in
Accordingly, systems and methods described herein provide an IHS having a CPU mounted to a system PCB may employ one or more CAMMs mounting a plurality of memory devices on at least one of surface of a CAMM PCB and having an array of surface contact connections, each surface contact connection configured to be engaged with an associated contact element of a z-axis compression connector, or the like. In such embodiments at least one standoff may be affixed to, and extend, from the system PCB. Whereby, a toolless-installation top bolster plate may, in accordance with embodiments of the present systems and methods, be configured to be affixed to a surface of the CAMM PCB to provide compression between the CAMM and the z-axis compression connector. The top bolster plate may define at least one ramped keyhole, with each ramped keyhole configured to receive a head of one standoff in a wider, deep end of the ramped keyhole. The top bolster plate may be a generally flat parallelepiped body configured to contact one surface of the CAMM PCB, with a flange portion extending generally perpendicular from the body portion. This flange portion may be positioned to be disposed over an end edge of the CAMM PCB. The top bolster plate may be laterally displaced along the CAMM PCB, with the head(s) of the standoff(s) received in the deep end of the ramped keyhole, so as to engage the received head(s) of the standoff(s) with a ramped, steepening portion of the keyhole. This lateral displacement provides increasing vertical pressure to the surface of the CAMM PCB to provide compression between the CAMM and the z-axis compression connector. The toolless-installation top bolster plate may then lock in place, laterally displaced, to maintain the compression between the CAMM and the z-axis compression connector. In such an IHS, the z-axis compression connector may provide the compression, and this compression may lock the toolless-installation top bolster plate in place.
It should be understood that various operations described herein may be implemented in software executed by processing circuitry, hardware, or a combination thereof. The order in which each operation of a given method is performed may be changed, and various operations may be added, reordered, combined, omitted, modified, etc. It is intended that the invention(s) described herein embrace all such modifications and changes and, accordingly, the above description should be regarded in an illustrative rather than a restrictive sense.
The terms “tangible” and “non-transitory,” as used herein, are intended to describe a computer-readable storage medium (or “memory”) excluding propagating electromagnetic signals; but are not intended to otherwise limit the type of physical computer-readable storage device that is encompassed by the phrase computer-readable medium or memory. For instance, the terms “non-transitory computer readable medium” or “tangible memory” are intended to encompass types of storage devices that do not necessarily store information permanently, including, for example, RAM. Program instructions and data stored on a tangible computer-accessible storage medium in non-transitory form may afterwards be transmitted by transmission media or signals such as electrical, electromagnetic, or digital signals, which may be conveyed via a communication medium such as a network and/or a wireless link.
Although the invention(s) is/are described herein with reference to specific embodiments, various modifications and changes can be made without departing from the scope of the present invention(s), as set forth in the claims below. Accordingly, the specification and figures are to be regarded in an illustrative rather than a restrictive sense, and all such modifications are intended to be included within the scope of the present invention(s). Any benefits, advantages, or solutions to problems that are described herein with regard to specific embodiments are not intended to be construed as a critical, required, or essential feature or element of any or all the claims.
Unless stated otherwise, terms such as “first” and “second” are used to arbitrarily distinguish between the elements such terms describe. Thus, these terms are not necessarily intended to indicate temporal or other prioritization of such elements. The terms “coupled” or “operably coupled” are defined as connected, although not necessarily directly, and not necessarily mechanically. The terms “a” and “an” are defined as one or more unless stated otherwise. The terms “comprise” (and any form of comprise, such as “comprises” and “comprising”), “have” (and any form of have, such as “has” and “having”), “include” (and any form of include, such as “includes” and “including”) and “contain” (and any form of contain, such as “contains” and “containing”) are open-ended linking verbs. As a result, a system, device, or apparatus that “comprises,” “has,” “includes” or “contains” one or more elements possesses those one or more elements but is not limited to possessing only those one or more elements. Similarly, a method or process that “comprises,” “has,” “includes” or “contains” one or more operations possesses those one or more operations but is not limited to possessing only those one or more operations.
