Canister having a combined guide rail and light pipe system for use in a computer peripheral enclosure

• US 6,483,107 B1
• Filed: 05/11/1999
• Issued: 11/19/2002
• Est. Priority Date: 05/11/1999
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Josef Rabinovitz
• Original Assignee: Josef Rabinovitz
• Inventors: Rabinovitz, Josef, Danino, Eli, Fisk, Richard
• Primary Examiner(s): LE, QUE TAN
• Application Number:
  US09/310,036
• Time in Patent Office: 1,288 Days
• Field of Search: 250/239, 250/216, 52/362, 52/365, 52/792, 361/683-685, 361/725-727
• US Class Current: 250/239
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/181 Enclosures for portable computers G06F1/1613
• 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: G06F 1/20 Cooling means
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 33/022 Cases
• 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 casing of a computer peripheral enclosure. The casing has at least one compartment. Each compartment is rectangular and has a cross-sectional area and a depth. Each compartment also has two guide rail guides. A canister for use with a storage device includes a u-shaped tray which is rectangular and has a cross-sectional area and a depth. The canister has two guide rails. The cross-sectional area and the depth of the canister are slightly less than the cross-sectional area and the depth of each compartment. The u-shaped tray also has two side walls and a two return lips so that the u-shaped tray is able to slide freely, but snugly, into the compartment of the casing. Each guide rail is mechanically coupled to one of the side walls of the u-shaped tray walls. The guide rails of each u-shaped tray slides freely, but snugly, into one of the compartments on the guide rail guides thereof.

Claims

1. A canister for use with a storage device and a casing of a computer peripheral enclosure with the casing having at least one compartment each of which has a rectangular cross-section and a depth and each of which also has two guide rail guides, said canister comprising:

a. a u-shaped tray having a rectangular cross-section and a depth which are slightly less than the rectangular cross-section and the depth of said compartment, respectively, and also having a pair of side walls whereby said u-shaped tray is able to slide freely, but snugly, into said compartment of said casing;

b. a pair of guide rails each of which is mechanically coupled to said side walls of said u-shaped tray walls whereby said guide rails of said unshaped tray slides freely, but snugly, into said compartment on the guide rail guides;

c. a light pipe system having a light pipe mechanically coupled to said side wall and a lens mechanically coupled to said u-shaped tray.

2. A canister according to claim 1 wherein said canister includes a front plate mechanically coupled to said u-shaped tray and a handle which mechanically couples said u-shaped tray to said compartment wherein said lens is mechanically coupled to said handle.

3. A canister according to claim 2 wherein said canister includes a lock which locks said coupler to said front plate.

4. A canister according to claim 3 wherein said canister includes an electromagnetic interference grounding system whereby each of said u-shaped trays has a plurality of springs which mechanically and electrically coupled it to one of the compartments of the casing.

5. A canister according to claim 3 wherein said canister includes a combination rail guide and light pipe system in which one of said guide rails encloses said light pipe.

6. A canister according to claim 3 wherein said canister includes a ventilation system wherein said handle, said front plate, said side walls of said u-shaped tray have a pattern of holes which allow air to pulled in by a blower whereby the storage devices are cooled.

7. A computer peripheral enclosure comprising:

a. a casing having a plurality of compartments each of which having a rectangular cross-section and a depth;

b. a plurality of canisters each of which has a side wall, with each of said canisters being freely, but snugly, slidable into one of said compartments of said casing; and

c. a light pipe system having a plurality of light pipes and a plurality of lenses, each light pipe mechanically coupled to said side wall of one of said canisters and each of said lenses being mechanically coupled to said canisters.

8. A computer peripheral enclosure according to claim 7 wherein said casing has a plurality of compartments each of which has a rectangular cross-section and a depth and each of which also has two guide rail guides and wherein each of said computer peripheral device holders is a canister which includes a u-shaped tray having a rectangular cross-section and a depth which are slightly less than the rectangular cross-section and the depth of said compartment, respectively, and also having a pair of side walls whereby said u-shaped tray is able to slide freely, but snugly, into said compartment of said casing;

and a pair of guide rails each of which is mechanically coupled to said side walls of said u-shaped tray walls whereby said guide rails of said u-shaped tray slides freely, but snugly, into said compartment on the guide rail guides.

9. A canister according to claim 8 wherein said canister includes a front plate mechanically coupled to said u-shaped tray and a handle which mechanically couples said u-shaped tray to said compartment.

10. A canister according to claim 9 wherein said canister includes a lock which locks said handle to said front plate.

11. A canister according to claim 10 wherein said canister includes a light pipe system having a light pipe mechanically coupled to said side wall and a lens mechanically coupled to said handle.

12. A computer peripheral enclosure for receiving a number of computer peripheral devices to be plugged into and removed from interconnecting circuits, said computer peripheral enclosure comprising:

a. a casing having a front cage and a rear cage, each having a rectangular outline and open front and rear sides relative to an insertion axis;

b. a back-plane having front and rear faces and being mounted vertically between the rear of the front cage and the front of the rear cage and including multi-pin connectors disposed on the front and rear faces and a plurality of light emitting diodes mechanically coupled to said back-plane; and

c. a plurality of computer peripheral device holder each of which is insertable through the front of the front cage into engagement with said multi-pin connectors on the front face of the back-plane each of said computer peripheral devices holders having two rail guides;

d. a plurality of light pipes each of which is disposed in one of said rail guide of one of said computer peripheral device holders and each of which is optically coupled to one of said light emitting diodes to form a plurality of light pipe system.

13. A computer peripheral enclosure according to claim 12 wherein a plurality of support modules insertable through the rear opening of the rear enclosure into engagement with the connectors on the rear face of the back-plane wherein the support modules which includes a pair of redundant power-supply sub-modules, each having an internal fan and sufficient power supply capability to provide all needed power, the power supply modules including rear faces closing off the open rear side of the back enclosure when the sub-modules are plugged in, and the support modules also include a fan sub-module and a battery compartment including a backup battery and wherein said computer peripheral enclosure includes a panel closing the rear face of the battery compartment, and connectors on the panel.