Abstract:
A computer, or other electronic device, according to which a handle is pivotally mounted to a component, such as a power supply, for installing the component supply in the computer chassis. After the component is inserted in the chassis, the handle is pivoted towards the component which establishes a fulcrum for forcing the component into the chassis. To remove the component from the chassis, the handle is pivoted away from the component which establishes a fulcrum to assist in the removal.

Description:
BACKGROUND 
     The invention relates generally to a computer and more particularly to a computer having a handle for installing a component into, and removing the component from, the chassis of the computer. 
     Computers, and many other types of electronic devices, include components, such as power supplies and the like, which are mounted in the chassis of the computer or electronic device. However, the mounting of components in the chassis often presents design and assembly challenges. For example, the power supply must be precisely located in the chassis and then advanced towards a connector mounted in the chassis with sufficient force to engage a connector on the power supply with the connector in the chassis. However it is often difficult to precisely locate the power supply in the chassis due to the relatively small amount of space that is available in the chassis and to create sufficient leverage to force the power supply connector into engagement with the connector in the chassis. Also, power supplies are often mounted directly onto the chassis using fasteners, such as screws, making it difficult to easily replace or remove the power supply for repair. 
     Therefore, what is needed is a handle for an electronic component, such as a power supply, which enables the component to be easily and quickly installed in the component chassis without the need for fasteners, and which creates leverage to force the connector on the component into mating engagement with the connector in the chassis and lock the electronic component in place, while enabling the component to be easily and quickly removed from the chassis. 
     SUMMARY 
     According to the present disclosure, a handle is pivotally mounted to a component, such as a power supply, for installing it in a chassis. After the component is inserted in the chassis, the handle is pivoted towards the component which establishes a fulcrum for forcing it further into the chassis. When the component is fully installed in the chassis, the handle is pivoted away from the component which establishes a fulcrum to assist in removing the component from the chassis. 
     Advantages are thus achieved with the foregoing, because the component can be easily and quickly installed and removed for service and replacement without the need for fasteners. Also, due to the forces established by the above-mentioned fulcrums, the connector of the component can be engaged with, and disengaged from, the connector in the chassis. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     FIG. 1 is a diagrammatic representation of a computer according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. 
     FIG. 2 is an isometric view of the computer of FIG. 1, taken from the rear thereof and showing two power supplies disposed in the chassis of the computer. 
     FIG. 3 is an enlarged isometric view of a handle that is used to install a power supply in the computer of FIGS. 1 and 3. 
     FIGS. 4A-4C are side elevational views, depicting the handle of FIG.  3  and its corresponding power supply in different operational modes. 
    
    
     DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT 
     An embodiment of the present disclosure is shown in FIG. 1 in connection with a computer, referred to, in general, by the reference numeral  10 , which can be in the form of a server, a tower computer, a desktop computer, a laptop computer, or the like. The computer  10  includes a chassis  12  in which a motherboard  14  is mounted. A processor  16  is mounted on the motherboard  14  along with a plurality of memory devices, or modules,  18  and two input/output (I/O) devices  20 . Two buses  16   a  and  16   b  are also provided on the motherboard  14  and connect the processor  16  to the memory modules  18  and to the input/output devices  20 , respectively. 
     Two power supplies  22  and  24  are installed in the chassis  12  in a manner to be described. The power supplies  22  and  24  have connectors  22   a  and  24   a  extending from their respective rear surfaces which are adapted to extend in corresponding slot connectors  22   b  and  24   b,  respectively, disposed on the motherboard  14 . A pair of cable assemblies  26   a  and  26   b  connect the motherboard to a hard drive unit  28   a  and a disk drive unit  28   b,  respectively. It is understood that other components, electrical traces, electrical circuits and related devices (not shown) are provided in the chassis  12 . Because these are all conventional, they will not be described in any further detail. 
     As shown in FIG. 2, the power supplies  22  and  24  are inserted into two large openings respectively formed in the rear wall of the chassis  12 . The latter wall includes three spaced vertical surfaces  30   a,    30   b,  and  30   c  and a horizontal surface  30   d  which define the above openings. In their mounted position, the respective front ends of the power supplies  22  and  24  extend slightly inwardly from the surfaces  30   a - 30   d.    
     Two handles  32  and  34  are pivotally connected to the power supplies  22  and  24 , respectively, and each functions to install and remove its corresponding power supply into and from the chassis  12  in a manner to be described. The power supply  22  and its handle  32  are shown in their fully installed position in FIG. 2, and the power supply  24  and the handle  34  are shown in a position during the installing operation. 
     The handle  32  is shown in detail in FIG.  3  and is in the form of a rectangle having two side walls  36  and  38 , an upper wall  40  as viewed in FIG. 3, and a lower wall  42 . A partition  44  extends between the sidewalls  36  and  38  and parallel to the upper wall  40  and has a bent, extended, portion  44   a  from which a hook  46  extends. An additional partition  48 , shaped in the form of a trapezoid, extends from the upper wall  40  and between the latter wall and the partition  44 . The hook  46  and the partition  48  are adapted to be engaged by a person installing and removing the power supply  22  in a manner to be described. 
     A pair of levers  50  and  52  are disposed at the respective ends of the lower wall  42 , and form a triangle including the latter wall and the corresponding lower end portions of the walls  36  and  38 , respectively, of the handle  32 . The levers  50  and  52  are identical and include C-shaped snap members  50   a  and  52   a,  respectively, at one apex thereof and extensions  50   b  and  52   b,  respectively, at another apex thereof. The functions of the snap members  50   a  and  52   a,  as well as the extensions  50   b  and  52   b  will be described later. 
     A flange  40   a  is formed on the upper portion of the upper wall  40  of the handle  32 , and a flange  40   b  extends rearwardly from the latter wall at one end thereof. Two posts  56   a  and  56   b  extend from the respective ends of the lower wall  42 . The functions of the flanges  40   a  and  40   b  and the posts  56   a  and  56   b  will be described in detail. 
     As shown in FIG. 2, a pair of slots  12   a  and  12   b  are formed through the floor, or bottom wall, of the chassis  12  and receive portions of the handle  32  during installation of the power supply  22 . 
     With reference to FIGS. 3 and 4A, a push button switch  60  is mounted in the chassis  12  and extends adjacent the side wall of the power supply adjacent the wall  38  of the handle  32 . The switch  60  functions to connect and disconnect the power supply  22  to a source of electrical power. To this end, the push button of the switch  60  is spring biased outwardly to the position shown in FIG. 4A in which the switch is in an electrically open position, and is adapted to be forced to a retracted, closed position to establish the connection under conditions to be described. Because the switch  60  is of a conventional design, it will not be described in any further detail. 
     FIGS. 4A-4C show three positions of the handle  32  during the installation of the power supply  22  in the chassis  12 . To this end, a slot  22   a  extends through the upper wall of the power supply  22 , and a pin  58  extends from a side wall of the power supply adjacent the wall  36  of the handle  32 . It is understood that another pin (not shown) extends from the opposite side wall of the power supply. The functions of the slot  22   a  and the pins, including the pin  58 , will be described in detail. 
     Before inserting the power supply  22  in the chassis  12 , the snap member  50   a  of the handle  32  is snapped over the pin  58  of the power supply  22  as shown in FIG. 4A, and the snap member  50   b  is snapped over the above-mentioned pin on the opposite wall of the power supply. This attaches the handle  32  to the power supply  22 , yet permits pivotal movement of the handle relative to the power supply. 
     The power supply  22 , with the handle  32  attached thereto in the above manner, is then inserted in the opening between the vertical surfaces  30   a  and  30   b  (FIG. 2) and into the interior of the chassis  12 . The power supply  22  is then advanced into the chassis  12  until the leading surface of the lower wall  42  of the handle  32  butts against the horizontal surface  30   d  of the chassis  12  as better shown in FIG.  4 A. This sets the handle  32  at a precise angle relative to the rear surface of the power supply  22 , so that the extensions  50   b  and  52   b  of the handle  32  are located just above the slots  12   a  and  12   b,  respectively of the chassis  12 . In this position, the connector  22   a  (FIG. 1) on the rear end of the power supply  22  is close to, but not in engagement with, the corresponding connector  22   b  in the chassis  12 . 
     The handle  32  is then pivoted about the pin  58  and the corresponding pin on the opposite wall of the power supply  22  in the direction shown by the arrow in FIG. 4B until the handle  32  reaches a vertical position shown in FIG.  4 B. During this movement, the extensions  50   b  and  52   b  move into the slots  12   a  and  12   b,  respectively, of the chassis  12 , and then act as fulcrums to cam, or force, the power supply  22  in a direction from right-to-left as viewed in FIG.  4 A. This force is sufficient to engage the connector  22   a  (FIG. 1) on the power supply  22  with the corresponding connector  22   b  in the chassis  12 . During this pivotal movement of the handle  32 , the flange  40   a  engages, in a slight interference, the lower surface of the upper wall of the power supply  22  and flexes the wall upwardly until the flange reaches, and extends into, the slot  22   a  in the power supply. In this position, the extensions  50   b  and  52   b  of the handle  32  move to the rear portions of the slots  12   a  and  12   b  and engage the corresponding surfaces of the chassis  12  defining the latter portions. 
     The power supply  22  and the handle  32  are thus locked in their fully installed position shown in FIGS. 2 and 4B, with the handle  32  extending in an upright position parallel to the corresponding wall of the power supply  22 . In this position of the handle  32 , the flange  40   b  of the handle  32  engages the push button switch  60  to force the button of the switch to its retracted, closed position and thus electrically connect the power supply  22  to a source of electrical power. 
     It is noted from FIG. 4B, that, in the fully installed position of the power supply  22 , the pin  56   a  is slightly spaced from the vertical surface  30   a  of the chassis  12 . This is also true in connection with the pin  56   b  and the vertical surface  30   b.  The significance of this will be apparent from the following. 
     To remove the power supply  22  from the chassis  12  for replacement or repair, the handle  32  is initially pushed downwardly in the chassis by manually engaging the partition  44  and exerting a downwardly-directed force until the flange  40   a  clears the slot  22   a.  The hook  46  is then manually engaged and pulled in a direction indicated by the arrow in FIG. 4C to pivot the handle  32  a relatively short distance away from the power supply  22  until the pins  56   a  and  56   b  (FIG. 2) engage the vertical surfaces  30   a  and  30   b,  respectively, of the chassis  12 . This establishes fulcrums between the pin  56   a  and the surface  30   a  as shown in FIG. 4C, and between the pin  56   b  and the surface  30   b  (FIG.  2 ). Therefore, upon further pivotal movement of the handle  32  away from the power supply  22  in the direction shown by the arrow in FIG. 4C, the fulcrums establish a force that assists in the removal of the power supply from the housing and is sufficient to disengage the connector  22   a  (FIG. 1) on the power supply  22  from its corresponding connector  22   b  in the chassis  12 . During this movement, the flange  40   b  of the handle  32  disengages the push button switch  60  to allow the push button to move to its extended, open position and thus electrically disconnect the power supply  22  from the above-mentioned source of electrical power. This pivotal movement of the handle  32  continues until the power supply  22  can easily be manually removed from the chassis  12 . 
     As a result of the above, the handle  32  enables the power supply  22  to be easily and quickly installed and locked in, and removed from, the computer chassis  12 , while creating leverage that enables the power supply connector  22   a  to engage with, and disengage from, the connector  22   b  in the chassis. Also, the handle  32  can be used to carry the power supply  22  prior to installation in the chassis  12 . It is understood that the handle  34  functions in an identical manner to install the power supply  24  in, and remove the power supply from, the chassis  12 . 
     It is also understood that variations can be made in the foregoing without departing from the scope of the embodiments therein. For, example, the spatial references referred to above, such as “upper”, “lower”, “side”, etc., are for illustration purposes only and are not intended to limit the specific location or orientation of any of the structure. Further, the device of the above embodiment is not limited to mounting a power supply in a computer, but is equally applicable for mounting any component in a chassis, or the like. 
     Other modifications, changes and substitutions are intended in the foregoing disclosure and in some instances some features of the disclosure will be employed without a corresponding use of other features. Accordingly, it is appropriate that the appended claims be construed broadly and in a manner consistent with the scope of the embodiments herein.