GB2377084A

GB2377084A - Heat dissipating disk rack

Info

Publication number: GB2377084A
Application number: GB0115565A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Wen-Kao Wu
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 2001-05-22
Filing date: 2001-06-25
Publication date: 2002-12-31
Also published as: NL1018128C1; GB0115565D0

Abstract

A rack with high heat dissipation comprises a stationary rack (5) and a plurality of removable racks (2). The stationary rack (5) is made of extruded aluminium and its lateral walls are fitted with inner slide rails (51) and outer longitudinal ribs (252). Each of removable racks has longitudinal outer ribs (251) for sliding into the stationary rack along the sliding rails (51). An upright stand (53) is located at the front of the stationary rack with indicator lights (54). A cover body (3) with a cooling fan (33) is fixed to a rear face of the upright stand and can be swung open or closed. The stationary rack and the cooling fan can dissipate heat generated by hard disks in the removable racks (2) efficiently and the indicator lights (4) on the upright stand can signal the state of the hard disks. Pressing handles (24) allow easy insertion and removal of the racks (2) into the stationary rack (5).

Description

HEAT DISSIPATING MOBILE RACK The present invention relates to a heat dissipating mobile rack.

A conventional rack for mounting hard disks as shown in Fig. 1 comprises a stationary rack 13 fitted in compartments 11,12 in a computer casing 1. The stationary rack 13 has longitudinal rails 14 on its lateral sides and sockets 15 at its rear end for engaging with hard disks 16. The stationary rack 13 is made of a flat iron sheet and offers not only inferior heat dissipation and is unstable but also has no indication of the running of the hard disks. In particular, when the server is used at high frequencies and at wide bands of frequencies on the INTERNET, this results in the computer breaking down because of the stacked hard disks generating high temperatures. As shown in Fig. 2, a conventional movable rack is provided with an engaging hole to receive a lock hook 171 extending outward from the lateral side of a hard disk 17 for fitting the hard disk 17. The lock hook 171 then connects with a handle knob 172. When the hard disk is to be taken out from the movable rack, the handle knob 172 is moved outward to decline the hook 171 so that it moves away from the engaging hole for picking up the hard disk 17. As only a single hook 171 is provided on one lateral side of the hard disk 17, uneven forces may be exerted each lateral side of the hard disk. Thus, the operation of taking out the hard disk is not smooth and can also easily

result in damaged parts. Hence, how to enhance the effective heat dissipation, how to indicate the hard disk being in a state of running, and how to improve the defect of uneven forces exerting the hard disk are problems which need to be overcome for the benefit of consumers and suppliers.

In one aspect the present invention provides a mobile rack with heat dissipation, which comprises a stationary rack with a front swing cover and a rear circuit board, a lateral upright stand with indicator lights, and an inner cooling fan. The stationary rack may be provided with opposite inner slide rails at both its lateral sides to allow movable racks to be slid in and out easily and engage by means of overlapping with each other. In addition, the stationary rack is integrally made of extruded aluminium to enhance the efficiency of dissipation of a great deal of the heat generated by the hard disks.

One embodiment of the present invention provides a mobile rack with high heat dissipation, which comprises a pressing handle with an upper pivot shaft, a lower pivot shaft, and a connecting rod. The connecting rod may diagonally connect with the upper shaft and the lower shaft. Both shafts may be provided with a hook to engage with engaging holes in the movable rack when the pressing handle is pressed to the front end of the movable rack. The two hooks can disengage from the engaging holes when the pressing handle is pushed outward by a resilient force of a

spring in the shaft on the pressing handle to allow the hard disk therein to be taken out easily and smoothly.

In another aspect, the invention provides a heat dissipating mobile rack comprising a stationary rack formed preferably of extruded aluminium, the stationary rack further comprising: two opposite lateral walls, the inner surface of each said lateral wall having a plurality of slide rails and the outer surfaces of the lateral walls having a plurality of longitudinal ribs; an upright support having a plurality of indicator lights arranged at one end, and a cover body with a front end hinged to a rear part of the upright support by means of upper and lower joints, the cover body having an inner face mounted with a cooling fan, where in use, the stationary rack and the cooling fan dissipate heat generated by a plurality of hard disks fitted in a plurality of stacked removable racks and the indicator lights on the upright support signal the state of a said hard disk.

Whilst the invention has been described above, it extends to any inventive combination of the features set out above or in the following description.

The invention may be performed in various ways, and, by way of example only, an embodiment thereof will now be described, reference being made to the accompanying drawing, in which :-

Fig. 1 is a disassembled perspective view of a prior art mobile rack; Fig. 2 is a perspective view illustrating an engaging device of a prior art mobile rack; Fig. 3 is a perspective view of a mobile rack according the present invention; Fig. 4 is a perspective view of part of the mobile rack shown in Fig. 3; Fig. 5 is an exploded perspective view of part of the mobile rack shown in Fig. 4; Fig. 6 is a perspective view of part of the mobile rack illustrating a pressing handle being in a state of engaging; Fig. 7 is a perspective view similar to Fig. 6 illustrating the pressing handle in a state of disengaging; Fig. 8 is a plan view illustrating a hook and a rotating shaft moving relative to each other; and Fig. 9 is a perspective view illustrating an outline of the mobile rack according to the present invention.

Referring to Fig. 3, a mobile rack incorporating the present invention comprises an integral stationary rack 5 made of extruded aluminium. The inner surfaces of the two opposite lateral walls of the stationary rack 5 have a plurality of slide rails 51 and the outer surfaces of the side walls of the rack 5 have a plurality of longitudinal ribs 252 for promoting heat dissipation. The front of the stationary rack 5 has an upright support 53 disposed at one

side and a plurality of indicator lights 54 are arranged in order on the upright support 53. A cover body 3 is hinged to the stationary rack 5 behind the upright support 53 by means of upper and lower joints 55,52 so that it is possible for the cover body 3 to be swung open or closed.

On the inner surface of the cover body 3 there is mounted a cooling fan 33 to dissipate the heat generated by a respective hard disk in a plurality of movable racks 2. A circuit board 6 is provided on the rear end of the frame 5 for connecting with movable racks 2 when the movable racks 2 are mounted in the stationary rack 5.

The movable racks 2 have on their two opposite lateral walls a plurality of outer longitudinal ribs 251 for sliding along the sliding rails 51 of the stationary rack 5. The front of the movable rack 2 is provided with a pressing handle 24 to engage with corresponding hooks 261 located at both ends of the front of the rack 2. When the movable racks 2 have been inserted into the stationary rack 5 along its slide rails 51, each pressing handle 24 is actuated to rotate the respective hook 261. Thus, the movable racks 2 can be releasably fixed to the lateral walls of the stationary rack 5.

The movable racks 2 of the mobile rack formed by means of the previously described parts being assembled together are easy to attach to and detach from the stationary rack 5. In addition, the stationary rack 5 of extruded aluminium and the fan 33 may provide a high efficiency of heat

dissipation to prevent the computer from breaking down whilst operating at high frequency and at a wide range of frequencies on the INTERNET. Furthermore, the indicator lights on the upright stand 53 can display the operation of their respective hard disk.

Referring to Figs. 4 and 5, the front of the movable rack 2 has receiving grooves 21,22 located at both its ends for receiving the pressing handle 24 of the movable rack 2. One end of the pressing handle 24 has a rotating shaft 23 which has a circular groove 231 for receiving a spring 25. The end of the handle 24 extends outward to form a projection part 26 at its rim. The projection part 26 forms a hook 261 and has a bore 262. A pivot pin 27 is placed through the bore 262 to attach the projection part 26 to a connecting rod 28. The other end of the connecting rod 28 is attached to another shaft 29 by means of a pivot pin 27 extending through a hole 291 on the rim of the shaft 29. The shaft 29 also has a hook 292 similar to the hook 261 on the shaft 23. Hence, one end of the connecting rod 28 is pivotally connected with a lower part of the shaft 23 and the other end of the rod 28 is pivotally connected to an upper part of the shaft 29. The joint between the shaft 29 and the connecting rod 28 is then diagonally disposed with respect to the joint between the shaft 23 and the connecting rod 28. Thus, the shafts 23,29 can be disposed in the receiving grooves 21,22 respectively by means of respective fixing pins 100 engaging with an axial hole 230,

290 in shafts 23,29 such that the shafts 23,29 can fixed to the movable rack 2.

The other end of the pressing handle 24 has a step part 241. An elastic retainer 30 is provided on a side of a front recess of the movable rack 2. The retainer 30 can lock the step part 241 when the pressing handle 24 is pressed inward. At this time, shafts 23,29 rotate to present the hooks 261,292 on both sides of the movable rack 2 for engagement with fitting holes on the stationary rack 5. When the retainer 30 is moved outward to actuate a spring 25, the pressing handle 24 may be pushed forward by the resilient force of the spring 25 so that the hooks 261, 292 on shafts 23,29 move backward into the stationary rack 5 by inverse rotation. Thus, the hooks 261,292 can be removed from the fitting holes in the stationary rack 5 so that the hard disk in the mobile rack can be taken out easily. Therefore, the mobile rack of the present invention makes it easy to mount or detach a hard disk from a computer with much flexibility. Furthermore, both sides of the mobile rack are subjected to substantially even forces so that the possibility of damage may be greatly reduced.

Referring to Fig. 6, the retainer 30 on the mobile rack 2 engages with the step part 241 when the pressing handle 24 is pressed inward. Meanwhile, the hooks 261,292 are presented for engaging with engagement holes 41 to lock the movable rack 2 in the stationary rack when the movable rack 2 is slid into the stationary rack 5.

Referring to Figs. 7 and 8, it is only necessary to move the retainer 30 on the mobile rack 2 outward to release the step part 241 of the pressing handle 24 when the movable rack 2 is to be pulled out. The pressing handle 24 may be actuated to move outward because of the resilient force of the spring 25 and then the shafts 23,29 can rotate. Thus, the hooks 261,292 are released from the engaging holes 41 so that the movable rack 2 can slide out smoothly.

Referring to Fig. 9, it can be seen that the stationary rack 5 made of extruded aluminium can perform superior heat dissipation after the mobile rack of the present invention has been assembled completely. The indicator lights 54 arranged on one side of the front of the stationary rack 5 can display running of the hard disks in the mobile rack clearly. Therefore, the practicality of the mobile rack is enhanced substantially.

From the preceding description, it will be appreciated that the embodiment offers an easily operated mobile rack with an engaging device which is less susceptible to damage. Furthermore, the extruded aluminium stationary rack enhances heat dissipation in addition to that provided to the cooling fan. Moreover, the indicator lights provided on the stationary rack can display the state of hard disks in the mobile rack. Accordingly, it may be considered advantageous over the prior art.

Whilst the invention has been described with referencing to a preferred embodiment thereof, it is to be understood that modifications or variations may be easily made without departing from the spirit of this invention, which is defined by the appended claims.

Claims

Claims 1. A heat dissipating mobile rack comprising a stationary rack, preferably formed of extruded aluminium, the stationary rack further comprising: two opposite lateral walls, the inner surface of each said lateral wall having a plurality of slide rails and the outer surfaces of the lateral walls having a plurality of longitudinal ribs; an upright support having a plurality of indicator lights arranged at one end, and a cover body with a front end hinged to a rear part of the upright support by means of upper and lower joints, the cover body having an inner face mounted with a cooling fan, where in use, the stationary rack and the cooling fan dissipate heat generated by a plurality of hard disks fitted in a plurality of stacked removable racks and the indicator lights on the upright support signal the state of a said hard disk.
2. A rack as defined in claim 1, wherein each of the plurality of removable racks has on its two opposite lateral walls a plurality of outer longitudinal ribs for sliding into the stationary rack along said sliding rails, each removable rack further including engaging holes and a pressing handle on the front of the removable rack; each pressing handle having a first shaft at one end with a circular groove for receiving a spring with a rim of the

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shaft forming a first hook, the first shaft being pivotally fixed at one side of the front end of the movable rack; a connecting rod with two ends, with one said end pivotally connecting with said first hook; and a second shaft having a rim forming a second hook, the second shaft pivotally connecting with the other end of the connecting rod and being pivotally fixed to the front opposite to the first shaft; whereby, when a pressing handle is pressed inward for engagement, said hooks extend outward to engage with the stationary rack; and when the pressing handle is released for disengagement, the pressing handle is moved forward by the resilient force provided by the spring and thereby disengaging from the holes of the removable rack to allow it to be slid in and or out.