Interconnector and light pipe guide for disk drive and disk drive carrier

• US 6,431,718 B1
• Filed: 09/14/2000
• Issued: 08/13/2002
• Est. Priority Date: 09/22/1999
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Lenovo International Limited (Lenovo Group Ltd.)
• Original Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Inventors: McNulty, Edward J., Gamble, Eric T.
• Primary Examiner(s): CARIASO, ALAN B
• Application Number:
  US09/662,193
• Time in Patent Office: 698 Days
• Field of Search: 361/685, 361/727, 361/797, 439/76.1, 439/676, 439/928.1, 362/85, 362/89, 362/132, 362/133, 362/234, 362/253, 362/551, 362/559
• US Class Current: 362/85
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/184 Mounting of motherboards
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/187 Mounting of fixed and removable disk drives
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 33/122 Arrangements for providing electrical connections, e.g. connectors, cables, switches
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 33/124 of the single recording/reproducing device, e.g. disk drive, onto a chassis

Abstract

A carrier for a hot-pluggable disk drive has a frame with a pair of side walls, a front bezel, and a rear connector assembly. The disk drive mounts to the frame within its confines. The carrier also has pipes for transmitting light to the front bezel. The light pipes extend along the side wall from the front bezel to the rear connector assembly. The carrier is installed in the disk drive docking bay of a computer system. The rear end of the docking bay has a docking connector for interconnecting with the rear connector assembly, which also interconnects with the drive. The rear connector assembly is provided with a retainer for supporting the rearward ends of the light pipes. When the carrier is seated in the docking bay, the light pipes precisely align with activity lights at the back of the docking bay. The light emitted by the activity lights is transmitted through the light pipes and displayed at the front bezel for viewing by the user.

Claims

1. A carrier for a computer system disk drive, the computer system having an enclosure, a docking bay located within the enclosure for receiving the carrier, and a docking bay connector and an activity light located at a rearward end of the docking bay, the carrier comprising:

a frame having a front end and a rear end, the frame being adapted to support a hot-pluggable disk drive between the front and rear ends; and

an interconnector assembly mounted adjacent to the rear end of the frame, the interconnector assembly having an electrical connector for electrically coupling the disk drive to the computer system, and an integrally formed retainer in the interconnector assembly for aligning a light conduit relative to the activity light in the docking bay so that light emitted by the activity light is transmitted to the front end of the frame.

2. The carrier of claim 1 wherein the electrical connector of the interconnector assembly has a front portion protruding into the carrier for engaging a disk drive connector, and a rear portion protruding beyond the rear end of the carrier for engaging the docking bay connector.

3. The carrier of claim 1 wherein the electrical connector has receptacles for capturing a disk drive connector, and alignment tabs for ensuring compliance with the docking bay connector.

4. The carrier of claim 1 wherein the interconnector assembly has mounting tabs that engage holes in the rear end of the frame, and mounting holes for fastening the interconnector assembly to the frame.

5. The carrier of claim 1 wherein the electrical connector is located beneath the rear end of the frame.

6. The carrier of claim 1 wherein the retainer is located at a corner of the interconnector assembly.

7. The carrier of claim 1 wherein the retainer comprises a rigid shroud with an opening for capturing a rear end of the light conduit.

8. The carrier of claim 7 wherein the opening in the retainer is a tapered hole.

9. A carrier for a computer system disk drive, the computer system having an enclosure, a docking bay located within the enclosure for receiving the carrier, and a docking bay connector and an activity light located at a rearward end of the docking bay, the carrier comprising:

a frame having a front end and a rear end, the frame being adapted to support a hot-pluggable disk drive between the front and rear ends; and

an interconnector assembly mounted adjacent to the rear end of the frame, the interconnector assembly having an electrical connector with a front portion protruding into the carrier for electrically coupling to a disk drive connector, a rear portion protruding beyond the rear end of the carrier for engaging the docking bay connector, and a rigid shroud that is integrally formed with and extends from the interconnector assembly, the shroud having an opening for capturing a rear end of a light conduit and aligning the light conduit relative to the activity light in the docking bay so that light emitted by the activity light is transmitted to the front end of the frame.

10. The carrier of claim 9 wherein the front portion of the electrical connector has receptacles for capturing the disk drive connector, and the rear portion has alignment tabs for ensuring compliance with the docking bay connector.

11. The carrier of claim 9 wherein the interconnector assembly has mounting tabs that engage holes in the rear end of the frame, and mounting holes for fastening the interconnector assembly to the frame.

12. The carrier of claim 9 wherein the electrical connector is located beneath the rear end of the frame.

13. The carrier of claim 9 wherein the shroud is located at a corner of the interconnector assembly.

14. The carrier of claim 9 wherein the opening in the shroud is a tapered hole.

15. An interconnector assembly for a computer system disk drive carrier, the computer system having an enclosure, a docking bay located within the enclosure for receiving the carrier, and a docking bay connector and an activity light located at a rearward end of the docking bay, the carrier having a front end and a rear end for supporting a hot-pluggable disk drive, the interconnector assembly comprising:

a generally planar body adapted to be mounted to the rear end of the carrier;

an electrical connector integrally formed with the body having a front portion for protruding into the carrier and electrically coupling to a disk drive connector, and a rear portion for protruding beyond the rear end of the carrier and engaging the docking bay connector; and

a rigid shroud integrally formed with and extending from the body, the shroud having an opening for capturing a rear end of a light conduit and aligning the light conduit relative to the activity light in the docking bay so that light emitted by the activity light is transmitted to the front end of the carrier.

16. The interconnector assembly of claim 15 wherein the front portion of the electrical connector has receptacles for capturing the disk drive connector, and the rear portion has alignment tabs for ensuring compliance with the docking bay connector.

17. The interconnector assembly of claim 15 wherein the interconnector assembly has mounting tabs that engage holes in the rear end of the carrier, and mounting holes for fastening the interconnector assembly to the carrier.

18. The interconnector assembly of claim 15 wherein the shroud is located at a corner of the interconnector assembly.

19. The interconnector assembly of claim 15 wherein the opening in the shroud is a tapered hole.

20. The interconnector assembly of claim 15 wherein the shroud has a pair of vertically-oriented openings for capturing a pair of conduits.