STORAGE DEVICE

• US 20100220436A1
• Filed: 05/07/2010
• Published: 09/02/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 04/13/2007
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Hitachi, Ltd.
• Original Assignee: Hitachi, Ltd.
• Inventors: Miyamoto, Kenichi, Yokoi, Chikazu
• Granted Patent: US 7,965,502 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 361/679.320
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/187 Mounting of fixed and removable disk drives
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0601 Interfaces specially adapted for storage systems
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0673 Single storage device
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 33/126 Arrangements for providing electrical connections, e.g. connectors, cables, switches
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 33/128 of the plurality of recording/reproducing devices, e.g. disk drives, onto a chassis
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 33/142 by air cooling

Abstract

A storage device includes an enclosure, a plurality of drive connectors within the enclosure to which media drives are connected, a cooling fan in the enclosure, a backboard positioned to divide an interior space of the enclosure in an anteroposterior direction, and a plurality of temperature-dependent devices disposed behind the backboard. Air is taken in via an enclosure front face from outside the enclosure due to the cooling fan'"'"'s rotation, flows through the interior space of the enclosure, and passes through the backboard. The backboard has all or some of the drive connectors on a front face thereof, arranged in a matrix configuration having a plurality of rows and a plurality of columns. The plurality of drive connectors includes two first drive connectors, each first drive connector connected to a user-detachable media drive and located in a same column of the matrix configuration.

Claims

1. A storage device, comprising:

an enclosure;

a plurality of drive connectors provided within the enclosure and to which media drives are connected, the plurality of drive connectors being arranged in a matrix configuration having a plurality of rows and a plurality of columns;

an expansion slot member having a smaller number of expansion drive slots than a number of media drives that can be pre-installed, the plurality of drive connectors being constituted by a first drive connector to which a media drive that is inserted via the expansion drive slot is connected and a second drive connector to which a pre-installed media drive is connected, the media drive connected to the first drive connector being installed so as to be detachable by a user, wherein the plurality of drive connectors includes two first drive connectors, the two first drive connectors being located in a same column of the matrix configuration;

a cooling fan provided in the enclosure;

a backboard which is a circuit substrate having all or some of the plurality of drive connectors on the front face thereof and which is disposed so as to divide an interior space of the enclosure in an anteroposterior direction; and

a plurality of temperature-dependent devices disposed behind the backboard, wherein air is taken in via an enclosure front face from outside the enclosure as a result of rotation of the cooling fan, flows through the interior space of the enclosure, and then passes through the backboard.

2. The storage device according to claim 1, wherein the two first drive controllers are located in a right-most column of the matrix configuration.

3. The storage device according to claim 1, wherein the two first drive controllers are located in a left-most column of the matrix configuration.

4. The storage device according to claim 1, wherein the plurality of temperature-dependent devices include a battery and a power device;

and

a media drive is not connected to a drive connector in front of the battery and a media drive is connected to a drive connector in front of the power device.

5. The storage device according to claim 1, wherein the matrix configuration includes three rows and a middle row has a higher priority, whereby when media drives are connected to the plurality of drive connectors, the media drives are first connected to the middle row.

6. The storage device according to claim 1, wherein the matrix configuration includes four columns and a third column has a higher priority, whereby when media drives are connected to the plurality of drive connectors, the third column is filled with media drives before another column.

7. The storage device according to claim 1, wherein the matrix configuration includes three rows and a bottom row has a higher priority, whereby when media drives are connected to the plurality of drive connectors, the media drives are first connected to the bottom row.

8. The storage device according to claim 1, wherein two or more media drives are connected to drive controllers such that the media drives are undetachable by the user.

9. The storage device according to claim 8, wherein the drive controllers connected to the two or more media drives are located on a rear face of the backboard.