Abstract:
A peripheral device assembly is disclosed wherein the assembly includes a device bay for receiving a peripheral device carrier. An interior side surface of the device bay defines at least one extrusion portion surrounding a hole for receiving a first end of a lever arm of the peripheral device carrier, and the extrusion portion comprises edges protruding from the interior side surface of the device bay toward an exterior side surface of the device bay.

Description:
TECHNICAL FIELD 
     The present disclosure relates generally to the field of information handling systems, and more specifically, systems and apparatus for carrying peripheral devices within information handling systems. 
     BACKGROUND 
     As the value and use of information continues to increase, individuals and businesses seek additional ways to process and store information. One option available to users is an information handling system (IHS). An information handling system generally processes, compiles, stores, and/or communicates information or data for business, personal, or other purposes thereby allowing users to take advantage of the value of the information. Because technology and information handling needs and requirements vary between different users or applications, information handling systems may also vary regarding what information is handled, how the information is handled, how much information is processed, stored, or communicated, and how quickly and efficiently the information may be processed, stored, or communicated. The variations in information handling systems allow for such systems to be general or configured for a specific user or specific use such as financial transaction processing, airline reservations, enterprise data storage, or global communications. In addition, information handling systems may include a variety of hardware and software components that may be configured to process, store, and communicate information and may include one or more computer systems, data storage systems, and networking systems. 
     An information handling system (IHS) may include peripheral devices including storage devices (e.g., hard drives) that are coupled to the chassis or bay of the IHS. For example, a hard drive is typically disposed within a hard drive carrier, and the carrier may be inserted, via a guide rail system, into the drive bay of the chassis of the IHS or drive assembly. Thus, the hard drive carrier may accommodate a hard drive while also mechanically mating with a drive bay of an IHS. 
     The mechanical connection between the hard drive carrier and the drive bay may be affected by the manufacturing tolerances of the hard drive housed within the hard drive carrier, the chassis, and/or the drive bay, which is housed within the IHS. Particularly, in cases where more than one hard drive carrier is inserted into an IHS, space constraints may exist for camming the multiple carriers into the drive bay. Space constraints may be a result of a requirement that the cam surface, i.e., point of insertion, of the hard drive carrier be close to the front surface of the IHS (e.g., server) chassis, particularly the drive bay. In some situations, the distance between the edge of the cam surface of the hard drive carrier and the front of the drive bay can be limited, i.e., less than 3 mm. Further, the introduction of multiple hard drive carriers, each associated with relatively large insertion and retention force, may result in a need for a great amount of strength in the cam surface of the drive bay. 
     Previous and current IHS platforms employ bent tabs as cam surfaces between drive bays and drive carriers. However, the bent tabs have experienced difficulty in withstanding the insertion and retention force requirements of the hard drive carriers and tight tolerances pertaining to space requirements of the cam surfaces between the drive bays and drive carriers. Thus, a need exists for improved peripheral device carrying apparatus and systems designed to withstand space and force requirements in a typical IHS. 
     SUMMARY 
     The following presents a general summary of several aspects of the disclosure in order to provide a basic understanding of at least some aspects of the disclosure. This summary is not an extensive overview of the disclosure nor is it intended to identify key or critical elements of the disclosure or to delineate the scope of the claims. The following summary merely presents some concepts of the disclosure in a general form as a prelude to the more detailed description that follows. 
     One aspect of the disclosure provides for a peripheral device assembly wherein the assembly includes a device bay for receiving a peripheral device carrier. An interior side surface of the device bay defines at least one extrusion portion surrounding a hole for receiving a first end of a lever arm of the peripheral device carrier, and the extrusion portion comprises edges protruding from an interior side surface of the device bay toward an exterior side surface of the device bay. 
     Another aspect of the present disclosure provides for a storage device assembly disposed within an information handling system, the assembly including a device bay for receiving a hard drive carrier, wherein an interior side surface of the device bay defines at least one extrusion portion surrounding a hole for receiving a first end of a lever arm of the hard drive carrier. The extrusion portion includes edges protruding from the interior side surface of the device bay toward an exterior side surface of the device bay. 
     A further aspect of the present disclosure provides for an information handling system including a processor, a memory communicatively coupled to the processor, and a chassis supporting the processor and the memory. The system further includes a device bay, coupled to the chassis, for receiving a peripheral device carrier, wherein a surface of the device bay defines at least one extrusion portion surrounding a hole for engaging with a first end of a lever arm of the hard drive carrier when the peripheral device carrier is in a locked position. The extrusion portion includes edges protruding from an interior side of the surface of the device bay toward an exterior side of the surface of the device bay. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       For detailed understanding of the present disclosure, references should be made to the following detailed description of the several aspects, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which like elements have been given like numerals and wherein: 
         FIG. 1  represents an information handling system (IHS) in accordance with one aspect of the present disclosure; 
         FIG. 2  provides a perspective view of a drive assembly mountable within an IHS, in accordance with one aspect of the present disclosure; 
         FIGS. 3A &amp; 3B  provide alternative views of a hard drive carrier capable of being inserted into a drive bay in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure; 
         FIGS. 4A &amp; 4B  provide alternative views of a hard drive carrier engaged with a portion of a drive bay wall in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure; 
         FIGS. 5A &amp; 5B  provide alternative views of a portion of a drive bay wall in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure; and 
         FIG. 6  provides a magnified cross-sectional view of the portion of drive bay wall of  FIGS. 5A and 5B . 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
     Before the present apparatus and systems are described, it is to be understood that this disclosure is not limited to the particular apparatus and systems described, as such may vary. One of ordinary skill in the art should understand that the terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing possible aspects, embodiments and/or implementations only, and is not intended to limit the scope of the present disclosure which will be limited only by the appended claims. 
     It must also be noted that as used herein and in the appended claims, the singular forms “a,” “and,” and “the” may include plural referents unless the context clearly dictates otherwise. Thus, for example, reference to “a drive” refers to one or more drives, and reference to “a method of contacting” includes reference to equivalent steps and methods known to those skilled in the art, and so forth. 
     This disclosure is not limited in its application to the details of construction and the arrangement of components set forth in the following description or illustrated in the drawings. The disclosure is capable of other embodiments, implementations or aspects and of being practiced or of being carried out in various ways. Also, the use of “including,” “comprising,” “having,” “containing,” “involving,” “consisting” and variations thereof, is meant to encompass the items listed thereafter and equivalents thereof as well as additional items. 
     For purposes of this disclosure, an embodiment of an Information Handling System (IHS) may include any instrumentality or aggregate of instrumentalities operable to compute, classify, process, transmit, receive, retrieve, originate, switch, store, display, manifest, detect, record, reproduce, handle, or utilize any form of information, intelligence, or data for business, scientific, control, or other purposes. For example, an IHS may be a personal computer, a storage device, or any other suitable device and may vary in size, shape, performance, functionality, and price. The IHS may include random access memory (RAM), one or more processing resources such as a central processing unit (CPU) or hardware or software control logic, ROM, and/or other types of nonvolatile memory. Additional components of the IHS may include one or more disk drives, one or more network ports for communicating with external devices as well as various input and output (I/O) devices, such as a keyboard, a mouse, and a video display. The IHS may also include one or more buses operable to transmit data communications between the various hardware components. 
     The present disclosure describes external or peripheral devices which may be inserted into, placed in contact with, coupled to, and/or communicatively coupled to an IHS. Although the disclosure may mention specific types or components of peripheral devices such as storage devices, drive assemblies, drive bays, hard drive carriers, or the like, those skilled in the art will recognize that the aforementioned devices/components may be used interchangeably with peripheral device assemblies, peripheral device bays, peripheral device carriers, or the like. Examples of peripheral device may include, but are not limited to, storage devices, power supplies, or any suitable device/component which may be inserted into, placed in contact with, coupled to, and/or communicatively coupled to an IHS. 
       FIG. 1  illustrates one possible implementation of an IHS  5  comprising a CPU  10 . It should be understood that the present disclosure has applicability to IHSs as broadly described above, and is not intended to be limited to the IHS  5  as specifically described. The CPU  10  or controller may comprise a processor, a microprocessor, minicomputer, or any other suitable device, including combinations and/or a plurality thereof, for executing programmed instructions. It is appreciated that execution of the algorithm to be described below occurs in the processor or the CPU  10 . The CPU  10  may be in data communication over a local interface bus  30  with components including memory  15  and input/output interfaces  40 . The memory  15 , as illustrated, may include non-volatile memory  25 . The non-volatile memory  25  may include, but is not limited to, flash memory, non-volatile random access memory (NVRAM), and electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM). The non-volatile memory  25  may contain a firmware program (not shown) which may contain programming and/or executable instructions required to control a keyboard  60 , mouse  65 , video display  55  and/or other input/output devices not shown here. This type of firmware may be known as a basic input/output system (BIOS). The memory may also comprise random access memory (RAM)  20 . The operating system and application programs (e.g., graphical user interfaces) may be loaded into the RAM  20  for execution. 
     The IHS  5  may be implemented with a network port  45  to permit communication over a network  70  such as a local area network (LAN) or a wide area network (WAN), such as the Internet. As understood by those skilled in the art, IHS  5  implementations may also include an assortment of ports and interfaces for different peripherals and components, such as video display adapters  35 , disk drives port  50 , and input/output interfaces  40  (e.g., keyboard  60 , mouse  65 ). Further, the aforementioned components may be housed within or supported by a chassis (not shown). 
       FIG. 2  depicts one example of a carrier for a storage device of an IHS, a drive assembly indicated generally at  200 . The drive assembly  200  shown may be a component of an IHS such as a server system, a desktop computer system, a workstation, or a network storage device. The drive assembly  200  is merely one example of a peripheral device assembly contemplated herein. The drive assembly  200  may include at least one peripheral device bay, such as a drive bay  205 , mounted within the drive assembly  200 . Disposed within the drive assembly  200 , particularly on an interior side surface  208 ,  209  of the drive bay  205 , are guide rails  235  to receive a peripheral device carrier, shown as a hard drive carrier  210 . At least one extrusion portion  230  disposed on the interior side surface  208  of the drive bay  205  provides a point for the insertion (i.e., camming or cam surface) for the hard drive carrier  210  into the drive assembly (to be discussed in more detail below). Generally, components of a drive assembly  200  may be constructed from any suitable material such as metal or metal alloy, plastic, or the like. 
     As shown in  FIG. 2 , the drive assembly  200  may accommodate at least one hard drive carrier  210  to be in contact with at least one guide rail  235 . Guide rails  235  may be affixed to the drive assembly  200 , specifically to an interior side surface  208 ,  209  of the drive bay  205 , through any conventional fastening means such as via screws, bolts, or the like. Guide rails  235  can be constructed in a variety of different ways, depending in part on the construction of the drive carriers  210  used with the drive bay  205 . The guide rails  235  may abut from the interior side surface  208 ,  209  of the drive assembly  200  to provide grooves to mate with any suitable device, such as carrier rails (not shown) of the drive carrier  210 , as the device is inserted into the IHS chassis, drive assembly  200  or drive bay  205 . In other implementations, guide rails  235  may be channels integrally formed from an interior side surface  208 ,  209  of drive bay  205 . Each guide rail  235  may have a front portion that is wider than the majority of the guide rail  235 , thereby facilitating insertion of a hard drive carrier  210 . Each guide rail  235  may also include an interior portion providing support for the inserted carriers. Consequently, the guide rail  235  may have a substantially U-shaped cross section. Those of ordinary skill in the art will readily recognize that a variety of different guide rail designs can be used including rails, grooves formed by pairs of rails or lances, slots, or the like. 
     Moreover, guide rails  235  may be located in rows on an interior side surface  208 ,  209  of the drive bay  205  and/or at a particular distance from each other so that the drive bay  205  is optimized to contain the maximum number of drive carriers  210  allowed. As shown, the drive bays  205  may each accommodate approximately 4 drive carriers  210  separated by guide rails  235 . It is understood, however, that any suitable number of drive carriers  210  may be inserted into an IHS chassis depending on the size of the drive bays  205 . 
     In some implementations, the distance between interior side surfaces  208 ,  209  may be set equal to the average size of a conventional drive carrier  210  or disk drive to be accommodated by the drive bay  205 . In still other implementations, the distance between interior side surfaces  208 ,  209  may be set to the largest size of a conventional drive carrier  210  or disk drive to be accommodated by the drive bay  205 . Although not shown, a storage device (e.g., hard disk drive or HDD) may be inserted within the hard drive carrier  210 . The hard drive carrier is adapted to receive any type of hard drive including, but not limited to, a fiber channel disk drive or a Small Computer System Interface (SCSI) disk drive. 
     Within each drive bay  205 , an extruded portion  230  of an interior side surface  208  of the drive bay  205  may serve as a cam surface between the drive bay  205  and hard drive carrier  210 . The extruded portion  230  may provide improved strength to withstand the insertion and retention force associated with the hard drive carrier as opposed to bent tabs as used in prior cam surfaces. In one implementation, the extruded portion  230  extends from one interior side surface  208  and away from a second interior side surface  209  within a drive bay  205 . In other words, rather than protruding towards the interior of a drive bay  205  where a hard drive carrier  210  may reside, an extruded portion  230  protrudes away from the interior of the drive bay  205 . Further, the extruded portion  230  surrounds an opening through which a locking end of a drive carrier lever arm  220  may be inserted to lock the drive carrier  210  into position within the drive bay  205  (to be discussed in more detail below). As shown, an actuating member  215 , when compressed, may release the drive carrier lever arm  220  from a locked position. 
     It is understood that several components of the drive assembly  200  may be moved to a locked or unlocked position. For example, the drive carrier lever arm  220 , peripheral device carrier (e.g., hard drive carrier), peripheral device (e.g., hard drive) or the like, may be in the locked position to enable the peripheral device carrier to be secured with in the peripheral device bay or the peripheral device to be secured in the peripheral device carrier. Alternatively, the drive carrier lever arm, peripheral device carrier (e.g., hard drive carrier), peripheral device (e.g., hard drive) or the like, may be in the unlocked position enable the peripheral device carrier to be released from the peripheral device bay or the peripheral device to be released from the peripheral device carrier. 
     The drive bay  205 , as one example of a peripheral device bay, and the hard drive carrier  210  shown in  FIG. 2  are only examples and are illustrative of one implementation of a drive assembly  200 . The physical dimensions and proportions of the hard drive carrier  210  and the drive bay  205  are not limited to those shown in  FIG. 2 . Generally, peripheral device bays may include a variety of mounting features, such as brackets and tabs, to allow the device bay to be fastened to an IHS chassis or housing. Alternatively, the drive bay  205  may be integrally formed within the IHS chassis, thus obviating the need for such mounting features. 
     Referring now to  FIGS. 3A and 3B , alternative views are provided of a hard drive carrier  210  capable of being inserted into or extracted from a drive bay  205 , in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure. Specifically in  FIG. 3A , a hard drive carrier  210  is depicted coupled to an interior side surface  208  of the drive bay  205 . As previously mentioned, an interior side surface  208  of the drive bay  205  may define at least one extruded portion  230  and guide rail  235 ,  240  to which a hard drive carrier  210  may contact. Further, the interior side surface  208  of the drive bay  205  may define an assembly contact member  315 , shaped as a hook or any suitable contacting structure. The hard drive carrier  210  may further comprise a drive carrier lever arm  220  which may be locked to secure a hard drive within the hard drive carrier  210  or released to eject the hard drive from the hard drive carrier  210 . The drive carrier lever arm  220  may be rotatably coupled to or rotatable with respect to a front portion of the hard drive carrier  210  by a rotating member (e.g., hinge) to allow easy insertion or extraction of a hard drive. Further, the drive carrier lever arm  220  may be constructed from a variety of suitable materials such as metal, metal alloy, plastic, or the like. 
     Moving to  FIG. 3B , the hard drive carrier  210  comprising a frame  310  upon which a hard drive may reside. One pivot end  305  of the drive carrier lever arm  220  may be pivotally connected to an edge of the extrusion portion  230  of the interior side surface  208  of the drive bay  205 . The other end of the drive carrier lever arm  220  may contain a locking member (e.g., latch, tab)  330 , which is open in its free or unlocked state. Those having ordinary skill in the art will readily recognize that the locking member  330  can utilize a variety of different features to help secure the hard drive carrier  210  into the drive bay  205  including, for example, a hook or a single flat surface. The locking member  330  may be used to couple the drive carrier lever arm  220  to an actuating member  215  on the hard drive carrier  210 . When the locking member  330  is engaged with the actuating member  215 , the drive carrier lever arm  220  is considered in a closed position, thus securing a hard drive within the hard drive carrier  210  and/or the hard drive carrier  210  in the drive bay  205 . Alternatively, when the locking member  330  is not engaged with the actuating member  215 , the drive carrier lever arm  220  is said to be in an open position, thus allowing the ejection of a hard drive from the hard drive carrier  210  and/or the hard drive carrier  210  from the drive bay  205 . 
     When a hard drive carrier  210  is being inserted into the drive bay  205 , the drive carrier lever arm  220  is in an open or unlocked position and the carrier  210  is inserted into the bay  205  along the guide rails  235 ,  240 . As the insertion of the hard drive carrier  210  progresses, certain alignment features (e.g., connectors, pins) on the carrier  210  may begin to engage with a printed circuit board (PCB) in contact with the drive bay  205 , typically in the rear portion of the bay  205 . The drive carrier lever arm  220  may then be rotated toward the carrier  210  and insertion of the hard drive carrier  210  may be completed when the locking member  330  of the drive carrier lever arm  220  engages with the actuating member  215 . When the drive carrier lever arm  220  is engaged with the actuating member  215 , the locking member  330  is compressed against the hard drive carrier  210  such that the pivot end  305  of the drive carrier lever arm  220  becomes inserted into the hole of the extruded portion  230 . This may ensure the retention of the drive carrier lever arm  220  against the hard drive carrier  210  in a locked position. A portion of the pivot end  305  of the drive carrier lever arm  220  may further contact a camming element  315  upon insertion of the pivot end  305  into the hole of the extruded portion  230 . In one implementation, the locking member  330  of the drive carrier lever arm  220  may be received by a clip or the like within the actuating member  215 , thus creating a snap and/or an audible sound such as a click. Further, as the carrier  210  is secured into the bay  205 , any connection between the carrier  210  and/or the device (e.g., hard drive) retained therein and the printed circuit board in contact with the bay  205  may be completed. 
     To remove the hard drive carrier  210  from drive bay  205 , the drive carrier lever arm  220  may be unlocked from the actuating member  215  (i.e., via a clip within) by depressing the actuating member  215  and pulling the lever arm  220  away from the carrier  215 . Once the carrier  210  is released from the bay  205  and any connectors on the carrier  210  are disconnected from the PCB in contact with the bay  205 , the carrier  210  can be pulled out of the bay  205 . When the drive carrier lever arm  220  is not engaged with the actuating member  215 , the pivot end  305  is not inserted into the hole of the extruded portion  230 , nor is any portion of the pivot end  305  of the drive carrier lever arm  220  in contact with the camming element  315 . Those having ordinary skill in the art will readily recognize that a variety of different selectively engageable schemes can be used allowing the drive carrier lever arm  220  to be opened and closed and providing secure retention of the hard drive carrier  210  within the drive bay  205  or the hard drive within the hard drive carrier  210 . The drive carrier lever arm  220  may also be made of any suitable compliant or pliable material such that it may accommodate tolerance variations in dimensions of the hard drive carrier  220 , drive bay  205 , drive assembly  200  or IHS chassis. 
     Now moving to  FIGS. 4A and 4B , alternative views are provided of a hard drive carrier  210  engaged with a drive bay wall  440  in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure. As previously discussed, the frame  310  of the hard drive carrier  210  is adapted to receive and lock in a hard drive. When the locking member  330  of the drive carrier lever arm  220  is engaged with an actuating member  215  on the hard drive carrier  210 , the hard drive carrier  210  is depicted as in a locked or engaged position. As such, the pivot ends  305  of the drive carrier lever arm  220  may be securely inserted within the hole of the extruded portion  230  of the interior side surface  208  of the drive bay  205 . In the present view, the extruded portion  230  of the interior side surface  208  may be seen proximate and within approximately 2.2 mm of the drive bay wall mounting flange  420 . Further, edges of the extruded portion  230  are shown protruding away from the interior side surface  208  toward the exterior side surface  410  of the drive bay wall  440 . 
     For the drive carrier lever arm  220  to engage properly with the extruded portion  230  (i.e., cam surface) on the drive bay wall, the cam surface must be relatively close to the front surface of the IHS chassis. In a typical IHS chassis, the extruded portion may be constructed within 2.2 mm of the drive bay wall mounting flange  420 . As used herein, “camming” or any form of “cam” may refer to the process of contacting or mating two different surfaces so as to allow the reinforcement of one of the surfaces upon the other surface. For example, a fastening member may be pivoted to provide a camming surface between a drive carrier and drive bay. 
     Referring now to  FIGS. 5A &amp; 5B , alternative views are provided of a drive bay wall  440 , in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure. When disposed within a drive assembly, contact surfaces  510 ,  520  and assembly contact member  315  provide points of contact between the drive bay wall  440  and drive assembly. As in the aforementioned, rail guides  235 ,  240  provide points of contact between the drive bay wall  440  and a hard drive carrier. Further, at least one extruded portion  230 , proximate the drive bay wall mounting flange  420 , may receive a pivot end  305  of a drive carrier lever arm  220  when engaging a hard drive carrier within the drive bay. 
     Turning to  FIG. 6 , a magnified cross-sectional view is provided of a drive bay wall  440 . Proximate to the drive bay wall mounting flange  420  is an extruded portion  230  with edges  605  surrounding a hole  610  through which a pivot end  305  of a drive carrier lever arm  220  can be inserted and secured. Depicted clearly are the edges  605  of the extruded portion  230 , which protrude toward the exterior side surface  410  and away from the interior side surface  208  of the drive bay wall  440 . 
     Storage device (e.g., hard drive or HDD) carrying apparatus and systems of the present disclosure exhibit enhanced strength and compactness and thus, provide higher drive densities in storage devices. Specifically, the extruded portions of the drive bay wall may provide improved strength to withstand the insertion and retention force requirements of the hard drive carrier as opposed to bent tabs as used in prior cam surfaces. Further, the extruded portions provide a cam surface with a tightly controlled tolerance in a very limited space between the drive bay and hard drive carrier. 
     One implementation of a drive assembly for use in the present disclosure is suitable to receive standardized 3.5″ or 2.5″ hard drive carrier that incorporates features including, but not limited to, low cost, small form factor, hot-swappable, applicability in both storage and server products, or the like. 
     Although the examples shown in  FIGS. 1-6  illustrate hard disk drive components, it will be apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art that a variety of different peripheral devices can take advantage of an extruded portion as a camming surface. Any suitable device, such as a blade server or power supply, associated with operation of an IHS or capable of being inserted into an IHS chassis, may also benefit from the apparatus and systems described herein. 
     Although the present disclosure has been described with reference to particular examples, embodiments and/or implementations, those skilled in the art will recognize that modifications and variations may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the claimed subject matter. Such changes in form and detail, including use of equivalent functional and/or structural substitutes for elements described herein, fall within the scope of the appended claims and are intended to be covered by this disclosure.