Open external hard drive enclosure

• US 8,154,862 B2
• Filed: 08/30/2010
• Issued: 04/10/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 08/30/2010
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Ping-Hung Lai
• Original Assignee: Ping-Hung Lai
• Inventors: Lai, Ping-Hung
• Primary Examiner(s): Gandhi, Jayprakash N
• Assistant Examiner(s): Wilson, Adrian S
• Application Number:
  US12/870,932
• Publication Number:
  US 20120050978A1
• Time in Patent Office: 589 Days
• Field of Search: 36167933-67945
• US Class Current: 361/679.33
• 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

An open external hard drive enclosure has a body, a hard drive port, at least one computer port, a power input port and a control circuit. The control circuit is electrically connected with the hard drive port, the at least one computer port and the power input port. An open chamber is formed in the body, has an inner bottom, two opposite inner long sidewalls and an inner short sidewall, and matches a size of a hard drive. The hard drive port is formed on and extends toward the open chamber. A lever is pivotally mounted on the inner short sidewall and being adjacent to the hard drive port to push out, disengage and conveniently replace a hard drive received in the open chamber.

Claims

1. An open external hard drive enclosure, comprising:

a body having;

a top;

a front;

an open chamber recessed from the top and the front to define a top opening and a front opening and having an inner bottom, two opposite inner long sidewalls and an inner short sidewall, and adapted to match a size of a hard drive; and

a stepwise indentation formed in the body, recessed from the top of the body and the inner short sidewall of the body, and having two pivot slots formed in two opposite inner walls of the stepwise indentation for the two pivot pins to be pivotally and respectively mounted therein so that a front surface of the lever body is level with the inner short sidewall of the body when the lever body is upright;

a hard drive port mounted in the body and protruding from the inner short sidewall of the body and into the open chamber;

at least one computer port mounted in and protruding beyond the body;

a power input port mounted in and protruding beyond the body;

a control circuit mounted in the body and electrically connected with the hard drive port, the at least one computer port and the power input port; and

a lever pivotally mounted on the inner short sidewall of the body, located above the hard drive port, and having;

a lever body being flat, taking a form of a rectangular column and having a front surface;

two pivot pins coaxially and respectively formed on and protruding from two opposite sides of the lever body; and

a curved indentation formed in a top of the lever body.

2. The open external hard drive enclosure as claimed in claim 1, wherein the body further has:

a recess formed in the inner bottom and having;

two long sides; and

two pivot holes formed in two opposite inner walls of the recess; and

a guide piece having;

two long edges being parallel with the two inner long sidewalls; and

two pivot pins pivotally and respectively mounted in the two pivot holes.

3. The open external hard drive enclosure as claimed in claim 2, wherein

the recess further has:

an arch opening formed in a portion of the inner bottom abutting one of the long sides; and

a gap formed in a portion of the inner bottom abutting a center of the other of the long sides of the recess;

the guide piece further has;

a fastener formed on and protruding from one of the long edges to correspond to the gap of the recess.

4. The open external hard drive enclosure as claimed in claim 2, wherein a thickness of the guide piece matches a depth of the recess so that the guide piece is flush with the inner bottom surface of the body when the guide piece is received in the recess.

5. The open external hard drive enclosure as claimed in claim 3, wherein a thickness of the guide piece matches a depth of the recess so that the guide piece is flush with the inner bottom surface of the body when the guide piece is received in the recess.

6. The open external hard drive enclosure as claimed in claim 5, wherein the guide piece is flipped up and fixed vertically by digging the long edge of the guide piece adjacent to the arch opening, pivotally flipping up the guide piece and fixing the fastener of the guide piece in the gap of the recess.