Standalone open frame

• US 20080290051A1
• Filed: 05/17/2007
• Published: 11/27/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 05/17/2007
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Hewlett Packard Enterprise Development LP (Hewlett-Packard Enterprise Company)
• Original Assignee: Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P. (HP Inc.)
• Inventors: Manzi, Steven F., Wortman, Michael L.
• Granted Patent: US 8,020,715 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 211/26
• CPC Class Codes: H05K 7/1488 Cabinets therefor, e.g. chassis or racks or mechanical interfaces between blades and support structures
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 29/49826 Assembling or joining

Abstract

A standalone open frame of an apparatus in one example is configured to support a rack-mount electronic component of a predetermined size selected from any of a plurality of predetermined sizes. The standalone open frame is configured to securely engage the rack-mount electronic component through employment of at least one set of rack-mount adapters that is configured for the predetermined size of the rack-mount electronic component.

Claims

1. An apparatus, comprising:

a standalone open frame configured to support a rack-mount electronic component of a predetermined size selected from any of a plurality of predetermined sizes;

wherein the standalone open frame is configured to securely engage the rack-mount electronic component through employment of at least one set of rack-mount adapters that is configured for the predetermined size of the rack-mount electronic component.

2. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the standalone open frame is configured to support a first rack-mount electronic component of a first predetermined size with a first set of rack-mount adapters;

wherein the standalone open frame is configured to support a second rack-mount electronic component of a second predetermined size with a second set of rack-mount adapters.

3. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the at least one set of rack-mount adapters is operable to couple the rack-mount electronic component to or remove the rack-mount electronic component from the standalone open frame without tools.

4. The apparatus of claim 3, in combination with the at least one set of rack-mount adapters, wherein the standalone open frame is configured to engage the at least one rack-mount adapter through employment of at least one first keyhole coupling.

5. The apparatus of claim 4, wherein the at least one first keyhole coupling of the at least one set of rack-mount adapters and the standalone open frame is securable with at least one first spring clip.

8. The apparatus of claim 4, wherein the at least one set of rack-mount adapters comprises a first adapter and a second adapter that are configured to couple opposing sides of the rack-mount electronic component to the standalone open frame.

9. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the standalone open frame comprises a tubular structure that allows the standalone open frame to be slidably moved on a surface.

10. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the standalone open frame is configured to simultaneously support a plurality of rack-mount electronic components;

wherein the standalone open frame is configured to receive one set of rack-mount adapters for each of the plurality of rack-mount electronic components.

11. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the standalone open frame comprises a first standalone open frame;

wherein the first standalone open frame is configured to receive at least one stacking bracket that is configured to couple the first standalone open frame together with a second standalone open frame in a stacked configuration.

12. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the standalone open frame is configured to support a rack-mount electronic component in compliance with the Electronic Industries Alliance (“

EIA”

) RS-310 standard.

13. The apparatus of claim 12, wherein the plurality of predetermined sizes comprise any of a 1U size, 2U size, 3U size, and 4U size.

14. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the standalone open frame allows tool-less access to the rack-mount electronic component when coupled with the standalone open frame.

6. The apparatus of claim 6, wherein the at least one set of rack-mount adapters is configured to engage the rack-mount electronic component through employment of at least one second keyhole coupling.

7. The apparatus of claim 6, wherein the at least one second keyhole coupling of the at least one set of rack-mount adapters and the rack-mount electronic component is securable with one or more of the at least one first spring clip and at least one second spring clip.

15. A method, comprising the steps of:

engaging at least one set of rack-mount adapters with a standalone open frame, wherein the at least one set of rack-mount adapters are configured for a predetermined size of a rack-mount electronic component;

engaging the rack-mount electronic component with the at least one set of rack-mount adapters to securely engage the rack-mount electronic component to the standalone open frame.

16. The method of claim 15, wherein the step of engaging the at least one set of rack-mount adapters with the standalone open frame comprises the step of:

engaging at least one first keyhole coupling between the at least one set of rack-mount adapters and the standalone open frame.

17. The method of claim 16, wherein the step of engaging the rack-mount electronic component with the at least one set of rack-mount adapters to securely engage the rack-mount electronic component to the standalone open frame comprises the step of:

engaging at least one second keyhole coupling between the at least one set of rack-mount adapters and the rack-mount electronic component.

18. The method of claim 17, further comprising the step of:

securing the at least one first keyhole coupling through employment of at least one first spring clip.

19. The method of claim 18, further comprising the step of:

securing the at least one second keyhole coupling through employment of at least one second spring clip.

20. The method of claim 18, further comprising the step of:

securing the at least one second keyhole coupling through employment of the at least one first spring clip.