Abstract:
A slide-in module for hard disk drives which enables a “hot-replace” function that assures continuous motions, a precise guidance when replacing hard disk drives and an all around shielding in the built-in condition. The slide-in module includes ejectors laterally inserted into the front, a shielding plate behind the front and contact rails laterally contactable from the outside at side walls having angle pieces that are electrically connectable to grounding surfaces of a hard disk drive arranged within the slide-in module.

Description:
The present invention is directed to a slide-in module for hard disk drives which enables a “hot-replace” function. 
     DESCRIPTION OF THE PRIOR ART 
     High-grade modern data processing systems currently assume, and modern software requires, that disk drives can be exchanged and replaced during operation of the system. This means that screw-fastening assemblies are foregone and simpler [sic ] disk replacement systems implemented. The sensitive mechanism of high-capacity drives does not allow jerky movements even when replacing a disk, such movements would damage the hard disks. Imprecise guidances destroy the components of plug-type connections as well. Further, all around shielding deteriorates the functionability of the hard disk drives. 
     The publication U.S. Pat. No. 5,277,615 discloses a slide-in module for hard disk drives which enables a “hot-replace” function that fundamentally allows continuous motions upon insertion or removal of the slide-in module. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     It is therefore an object of the present invention to specify a slide-in module for hard disk drives which enables a “hot-replace” function which allows for, continuous movements, which assures precise guidance when replacing hard disk drives, and which provides all around shielding in the built-in condition. 
     The slide-in module can be precisely guided in a shaft. Ejectors allow a continuous movement when pulling or plugging the slide-in module. Lateral angle pieces connectable to ground and shielding plates that shield the front of the module enable the hermetic sealing of the hard disk drives in the built-in condition. 
     Entry bevels for axle projections of the ejectors enable the simple, snappable insertion of the ejectors into the front of the housing of the slide-in module. Hooks implemented at leg ends of the ejectors assure a dependable hooking at allocated parts. Guide pins at a flat module fixed to the stern wall increase the precision of the guidance of the slide-in module. 
     More specifically, in an embodiment of the present invention, a slide-in module for hard disk drives is provided which includes: a housing having a floor, two side walls, a stem wall and a substantially open front end; a pair of substantially U-shaped ejectors attached to the front end of the housing, each ejector formed with a pair of legs and a web part disposed therebetween wherein the web parts are adjacently positioned near a center of the front end and their respective leg pairs extend outwardly therefrom, each leg respectively having an axle projection attached thereto wherein a pair of axle projections on an ejector engage appertaining front end recesses of the housing to form a rotational axis for the ejector such that the ejectors may be outwardly opened in window-like fashion with respect to the housing; a pair of spring fingers, each spring finger attached to one web part of an ejector for engagement with a closure recess on the housing when the ejector is closed with respect to the housing, each spring finger including an outwardly projecting catch nose for operational engagement with a human appendage wherein the respective spring finger may be disengaged with the closure recess and the ejector opened; a front shielding plate positioned behind the front end of the housing, the front shielding plate including lateral arm parts extending over the side walls of the housing and being fixedly engaged within side recesses in the side walls, the front shielding plate having an upper edge with upwardly projecting contact humps and having a lower edge with downwardly projecting contact humps which extend through lower recesses in the floor of the housing; at least one stern wall supporting edge member extending from a rear recess in the stern wall; at least one floor supporting edge member extending from a rear edge of the floor; a flat module positioned over the rear recess of the stern wall and between the at least one stern wall supporting edge member and the at least one floor supporting edge member; and a pair of contact rails, each contact rail attached adjacent a side wall of the housing for lateral outside contact, each contact rail further including an angle piece projecting into the housing proximate to the floor for electrical connection to a grounding surface of a hard disk drive arranged inside the housing. 
     In an embodiment, the slide-in module further includes entry bevels formed adjacent the front end recesses of the housing, the legs of the ejectors being compressed so as to guide the axle projections along the entry bevels prior to engagement with the front end recesses. 
     In an embodiment, the slide-in module further includes a hook member formed at an end of each leg of the ejectors wherein the hook member projects outwardly beyond the side wall when the ejector is in a closed position and projects into an interior of the housing when the ejector is in an open position, and wherein the hook member engages a cooperating holder of a drive shaft when the housing is inserted into the shaft and the ejector moved into the closed position. 
     In an embodiment, the slide-in module further includes attachment members for securing the flat module to the stem wall. 
     Additional features and advantages of the present invention are described in, and will be apparent from, the Detailed Description of the Preferred Embodiments and the Drawings. 
    
    
     DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     FIG. 1 shows a slide-in module of the present invention in a perspective, overall view. 
     FIG. 2 shows the slide-in module according to FIG. 1 in an exploded view. 
     FIG. 3 shows a tower-like arrangement composed of a plurality of slide-in modules according to FIG. 1 in a side view. 
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
     The slide-in module shown in FIG. 1 includes a drawer-like housing  1  which is handled like a drawer. The slide-in module acts in a metallic box that is not shown in detail in the FIG.  1 . Except for the front side, the metallic box includes a shielding wall on all sides. Wherein the module is thus shielded toward all sides by the metallic box. 
     The shielding of the front side of the module occurs within the slide-in module. The shielding of the front side is accomplished with a front shielding plate  2  that is arranged behind the front of the housing  1 . Further particulars about the front shielding plate  2  shall follow later. 
     Ejectors  3 ,  4  that are laterally pushed into the front side of the module are arranged at the front of the housing  1 , a first thereof being a left ejector  3  and a second being a right ejector  4 . 
     A recess  5  is provided in the stern wall of the housing  1 . Supporting edges  6  and  7  are allocated to the recess  5 . The allocation is established in such a way that a flat module  8  having a base edge  9  can be first introduced and raised up between the supporting edges  6  and  7  obliquely from outside the housing  1  through the recess  5  and then can be fixed to the stern wall against parts  10 . 
     At the lateral walls of the module, the housing  1  includes contact rails  11  have which are laterally contactable from the outside. Contact rail  11  have angle pieces  12  (FIG. 2) projecting into the housing  1  close to the floor of the module. Angle pieces  12  can be electrically connected to grounding surfaces of a hard disk drive which may be arranged inside the housing  1 . 
     Some details mentioned in conjunction with FIG. 1 can be more clearly seen in FIG.  2 . The ejectors  3  and  4  are fashioned U-shaped in front view. Hooks  13 ,  14  are arranged at their respective leg ends. Further, axle projections  15 ,  16  are arranged in pairs at the legs of their respective ejectors  3  and  4  in the region of the leg ends. Upon insertion of the ejectors  3 ,  4  into the housing  1 , the axle projections  15 ,  16  engage appertaining recesses  17  at the housing  1 . The axle projections  15 ,  16  act as rotational axes in the recesses  17 . The effect is such that the ejectors  3 ,  4  can be opened window-like wherein webs  18 ,  19  are movable toward the front and outside of the module proceeding from the middle of the front. The result thereof is that the hooks  13 ,  14  arranged at the leg ends are movable from a position (see FIG. 1) projecting beyond the lateral dimensions of the housing  1  into a position arranged within the outside dimensions of the housing  1 . A further result is that back edges  20 ,  21  of the hooks  13 ,  14  are replaced by salient edges  22 ,  23  laterally projecting beyond the outside dimensions of the housing  1  at the tips of the leg ends of the U-shaped ejectors  3 ,  4 . 
     The webs  18 ,  19  exhibit such a width, depth and recess that at least human index fingers can be engaged behind the webs  18 ,  19 . 
     Above the webs  18 ,  19 , the ejectors  3 ,  4  include spring fingers  24 ,  25  that project beyond the front of the module. Catch noses are arranged on the cover surfaces of the spring fingers  24 ,  25  for engagement in recesses arranged inside the housing  1  in an interlocked position. For moving the ejectors  3 ,  4  out of the interlocked position, the spring fingers  24 ,  25  are pressed down; for example, with the human thumb. The spring fingers  24 ,  25  thus assume a lowered position, as a result whereof the catch noses slide out of the appertaining recesses in the housing  1 . 
     The front shielding plate  2  arranged behind the front of the housing  1  includes lateral arm parts  26  that are arranged gripping over the sidewalls of the housing  1 . Coming from outside the housing  1 , parts of the arm parts  26  engage recesses at the sidewalls of the housing  1 . These parts thereby snap resiliently into the recesses and thus fix the front shielding plate  2 . As a result of the resilient snap-in mechanism, the front shielding plate  2  can be easily released and removed. 
     Contact humps  29 ,  30  are formed at an upper edge  27  and a lower edge  28  of the front shielding plate  2 , respectively. Recesses are provided in the floor of the housing  1  for the contact humps  30  at the under edge  28  of the front shielding plate  2 , wherein the contact humps  30  project through these recesses and beyond the outside dimensions of the housing  1 . In particular, the contact humps  30  arranged at the lower edge  28  of the front shielding plate  2  are resiliently formed. 
     In the arrangement shown in FIG. 3, wherein a plurality of slide-in modules are arranged above one another in tower-like fashion, contact humps  30  at the lower edge  28  of an upper slide-in module contact the contact humps  29  at the upper edge  27  of a lower slide-in module. In FIG. 3, contact point  31  references the described location. 
     When the uppermost front shielding plate  2  of an uppermost slide-in module is contacted by corresponding contact humps connected to a slide-in module housing and when the contact humps  30  at the lower edge  28  of a lowest slide-in module of an arrangement according to FIG. 3 again contact the slide-in module housing, a complete shielding at the front side of the slide-in modules is established. A further improvement of the shielding is achieved when the arm parts  26  of the front shielding plates  2  are likewise laterally contacted. When springs connected to the slide-in module housing also contact the contact rails  11  of the slide-in modules, the hard disk drives arranged in the slide-in modules can be grounded. The grounding occurs via the angle pieces  12  that can be screwed to ground parts of the hard disk drives with screws  32 . 
     Entry bevels  33  for the axle projections  15 ,  16  of the ejectors  3 ,  4  are provided for the lateral insertion of the ejectors  3 ,  4 . The legs of the U-shaped ejectors  3 ,  4  are brought into a compressed position by the bevels before they engage the appertaining recesses  17  at the housing  1 . 
     The hooks  13 ,  14  at the leg ends of the ejectors  3 ,  4  include undercut edges  34  with which an improved gripping effect is achieved. 
     Guide pins  35  which are outwardly directed relative to the housing  1  and parallel to their insertion direction that improve the guidance properties of the slide-in module and can be provided at the flat module  8  fixed to the stern wall. Screws  36  can thereby fix the flat module  8  to the stern wall as well as hold the guide pins  35  in one work step. Advantageously, the guide pins  35  are in communication with an edgeboard connector  37 , so that a precise guidance for the contacts of the edgeboard connector  37  is established. 
     Another edgeboard connector  38  maybe provided via which a hard disk drive arranged in the slide-in module is contacted. The electrical connection toward the outside occurs via the flat module  8  that connects the two edgeboard connectors  37  and  38  to one another. 
     A few assembly steps are explained in greater detail below; 
     The ejectors  3 ,  4  are laterally inserted into the front of the housing  1 . To that end, the parts are inserted such that they automatically have their axle projections  15 ,  16  coming to lie next to the entry bevels  33  of the housing  1 . The legs of the ejectors  3 ,  4  are pressed up or down by pulling the ejectors  3 ,  4  transversely toward the middle. As a result thereof, spring surfaces  39  (FIG. 2) of the housing  1  are bent toward the back. The path for snapping the axle projections  15 ,  16  into the recesses  17  thereby becomes free. With the centering of the axle projections  15 ,  16  in the recesses, the legs of the ejectors  3 ,  4  are again pressed apart. The spring surfaces  39  can thereby return toward the front into their quiescent position. The legs of the ejectors  3 ,  4  can now no longer be pressed together. An unintentional disengagement is thus no longer possible. 
     Pressing on the front surfaces of the webs  18 ,  19  of the ejectors  3 ,  4  effects a snapping of the catch noses on the cover surfaces of the spring fingers  24 ,  25  in the housing  1 . 
     For assembling the front shielding plate  2 , the arm parts  26  are bent apart and brought down over the sidewalls of the housing  1 . A hooking of the front shielding plate  2  into the lateral openings of the housing  1  is achieved by pressing the arm parts  26  together. 
     For mounting the flat module  8 , the flat module  8  is brought into position between the supporting edges  6 ,  7  obliquely from behind. By perpendicularly raising the flat module  8 , the two screws  36  can be guided through correspondingly arranged holes from within the housing  1 . Screwing the two guide pins  35  onto the two screws  36  secures the flat module  8 . 
     For mounting the contact rails  11 , a hard disk drive is placed into the housing  1  from above. By displacement thereof toward the back, the multi-pole plug parts of the hard disk drive and flat module  8  are connected to one another. Both contact rails are subsequently laterally pushed through, for example, slots of the housing  1 . The ground contact of the hard disk drive is made planar to the outsides by flanging hard disk drive and angle pieces  12  of the contact rails  11  together with the screws  32 . 
     The following is with respect to the insertion of the slide-in module into a drive shaft: 
     The ejectors  3 ,  4  are first released. To this end, a thumb pressed onto the front edges of the cover surfaces of the spring fingers  24 ,  25  and the ejectors  3 ,  4  are to be opened window-like until they reside parallel to the slide-in direction. The entire slide-in module is plugged into the desired position of the drive shaft until the salient edges  22 ,  23  of the ejectors  3 ,  4  come to lie against a housing wall of the drive shaft. By swivelling the ejectors  3 ,  4 , the hooks  13 ,  14  engage cooperating holders at the drive shaft so that the slide-in module is pulled into the shaft with the hooks  13 ,  14 . The leading guide pins  35  thereby position the plug connectors for the slide-in module and a platter of the back side. The ejectors  3 ,  4  that snap in lock the slide-in module in the drive shaft and end the jolt-free installation. The release of the slide-in module is only enabled by pressing on the front edges of the cover surfaces of the spring fingers  24 ,  25  of the ejectors  3 ,  4  with simultaneous swivelling of the ejectors  3 ,  4 . The pressing with the back edges  20 ,  21  at an inner housing part of the drive shaft presses the slide-in module from the plug of the platter at the back side. 
     In the installed condition of the slide-in module, the contact rails  11  are contacted with springs to the sidewalls of the drive shaft and thus produce a desired ground contact between the hard disk drive and the drive shaft or, respectively, housing of the overall system. 
     In the installed condition of the slide-in module, the front shielding plates  2  represent a closed, frontal shielding surface. As already mentioned, each front shielding plate  2  has six contact points. Of these, two contact points are produced by coinings on the upper side with the foot springs of the front shielding plate  2  lying thereabove in the slide-in module lying thereabove. Each slide-in module thus has two upper and two lower shield contacts. Moreover, the lateral surfaces of the arm parts  26  contact each from shielding plate  2  to a respective spring in the drive shaft. 
     Although the present invention has been described with reference to specific embodiments, those of skill in the art will recognize that changes may be made thereto without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as set forth in the hereafter appended claims.