Abstract:
An electronic component equipment rack utilizes vertically extending adjustable rails to support electronic components therein. The vertically extending rails are configured to allow a power distribution unit to be attached thereto. The dimensions of the vertically extending rails allow the power distribution unit to be disposed between the attached vertically extending rail and an associated adjacent opposed side of the rack. The vertically extending rails can be Z-shaped with front and rear flanges and a side panel extending therebetween. The power distribution unit can be attached to the rear flange and be adjacent the rear flange and the side panel. The power distribution unit can be flush with the front flange. The rack and the opening between opposing vertically extending rails can conform to the EIA3 10-D standard.

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
       [0001]    This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No. 61/110,201, filed on Oct. 31, 2008. The entire disclosure of the above application is incorporated herein by reference. 
     
    
     FIELD 
       [0002]    The present disclosure relates to a rail for electronic equipment racks, and more particularly, to a rail for use in a rack system for mounting electronic equipment. 
       BACKGROUND 
       [0003]    This section provides background information related to the present disclosure which is not necessarily prior art. 
         [0004]    Electronic equipment is often mounted in racks. A rack may be a cabinet, open or closed. One standardized rack is the nineteen inch rack that is subject to standards issued by various organizations. One such standard is the EIA 310-D standard, a standard promulgated by the Electronic Industries Association. A single rack may be different heights, but typically has a 42 U form. That is, it can hold up to 42 modules having a 1U form (or any combination of 1U, 2U, 3U, etc., that add up to 42). A 1U form has a height of 1.75 inches. The nineteen inch rack has opposed vertical rails on opposed sides of the cabinet, typically two opposed vertical rails at the front of the cabinet and two opposed vertical rails at the rear of the cabinet. The nineteen inches is the width of the front panel of the equipment that is mounted in the rack. The vertical rails have a series of mounting holes therein that run along the length of the vertical rails. When the vertical rails are mounted in the racks, the mounting holes are spaced slightly less than nineteen inches from each other. EIA 310-D specifies that the distance between centerlines of the mounting holes of the opposed vertical racks is 18 5/16 inches. EIA 310-D also specifies that the opening between the opposed vertical rails be at least 17¾ inches. It also specifies the spacing of the mounting holes that run along the length of the vertical rails. The hole spacing for a 1U rack unit includes three holes that alternates at ½ inch, ⅝ inch, ⅝ inch. The start and stop of the “1U” spacing is the middle of the ½ inch spaced holes of adjacent 1U rack units. The opposed vertical rails are typically disposed in both the front and rear of the cabinet. To accommodate the vertical rails and the opening between them, the cabinet is wider than nineteen inches, typically twenty-four inches (600 mm) wide. The equipment may be attached directly to the vertical rails, or may be attached to rails that slide in and out of the cabinet which in turn are attached to the vertical rails. 
         [0005]    A common configuration of the vertical rails is an L shape having a flange that extends along an inside wall of the cabinet and a flange that extends inwardly from the inside wall of the cabinet. 
       SUMMARY 
       [0006]    This section provides a general summary of the disclosure, and is not a comprehensive disclosure with its full scope or all of its features. 
         [0007]    An electronic equipment rack according to the present disclosure can include a pair of opposed side walls and front and rear pairs of vertically extending adjustable rails. Each front rail can be adjacent different ones of the opposed side walls and each rear rail can be adjacent different ones of the opposed side walls. A power distribution unit is disposed between a first one of the vertically extending rails and the associated adjacent opposed side wall. The power distribution unit is attached to the first vertically extending rail. 
         [0008]    A system of supporting and providing power to electronic components in a cabinet which conforms to EIA 310-D standard according to the present disclosure can include a plurality of adjustable vertically extending rails configured to be retained and supported by upper and lower side rails attached to side walls of the cabinet. Each of the vertically extending rails includes first and second flanges, a side panel, and top and bottom mounting flanges. The first flange can have a plurality of first mounting holes therein extending along its vertical length for attaching electronic equipment thereto. The first mounting holes conform to the EIA 310-D standard. The second flange is spaced apart from and substantially parallel with the first flange. The second flange has a plurality of second mounting holes therein extending vertically along its vertical length. The second mounting holes including a repeating series of hole groupings with each grouping having a rectangular hole vertically flanked on either side with a circular hole. The side panel extends substantially orthogonally between the first and second flanges and is substantially parallel with the side walls of the cabinet when the vertically extending rail is attached thereto. The side panel has a plurality of third mounting holes therein which include holes having a same configuration as the first and second mounting holes along with a plurality of elongated vertically extending slots. The top mounting flange has a paw configured to be received in a T-slot of the upper side rail. The bottom mounting flange has a lip configured to be received in a T-slot of the lower side rail. A vertically extending power distribution unit is attached to the second flange of a first one of the vertically extending rails. The power distribution unit has a transverse dimension parallel with the second flange that is about 1.75 inches. The first and second flanges are dimensioned such that the side panel is transversely spaced apart from a closest side wall of the cabinet greater than about 1.75 inches when attached to the upper and lower side rails of the cabinet. The power distribution unit is located between the side panel of the first vertically extending rail and the closest side wall. 
         [0009]    A vertical support rail for an electronic equipment cabinet conforming to EIA 310-D standard according to the present disclosure includes a first flange having a plurality of first mounting holes therein extending along its vertical length for attaching electronic equipment thereto. The first mounting holes conform to the EIA 310-D standard. A second flange is spaced apart from and substantially parallel with the first flange. The second flange has a plurality of second mounting holes therein extending along its vertical length. The second mounting holes include a repeating series of vertically extending hole groupings with each grouping having a rectangular hole vertically flanked on either side with a circular hole. There is a side panel that extends substantially orthogonally between the first and second flanges. The side panel has a plurality of third mounting holes therein. The third mounting holes include holes having a same configuration as the first and second mounting holes along with a plurality of elongated vertically extending slots. There is a top mounting flange having a paw configured to be received in a T-slot of an upper side rail of the cabinet. There is also a bottom mounting flange having a lip configured to be received in a T-slot of a lower side rail of the cabinet. The first and second flanges are dimensioned such that the side panel is transversely spaced apart from a closest side wall of the cabinet greater than about 1.75 inches when attached to the upper and lower side rails of the cabinet. A vertically extending power distribution unit can be attached to the second flange and located between the side panel and the closest side wall. 
     
    
     
       DRAWINGS 
         [0010]    The drawings described herein are for illustrative purposes only of selected embodiments and not all possible implementations, and are not intended to limit the scope of the present disclosure. 
           [0011]      FIG. 1  is a fragmented front perspective view of a rack having vertical mounting rails in accordance with an aspect of the disclosure; 
           [0012]      FIG. 2  is an isometric view of a vertical mounting rail of the rack of  FIG. 1 ; 
           [0013]      FIG. 3  is a fragmented side perspective view of one of the vertical mounting rails of  FIG. 1  having toolless cable management pieces attached thereto; 
           [0014]      FIG. 4  is a fragmented plan view of an upper mounting flange of the vertical mounting rail of  FIG. 2  attached to a side member of the rack of  FIG. 1 ; and 
           [0015]      FIG. 5  is a cross-sectional view along line  5 - 5  of  FIG. 1 . 
       
    
    
       [0016]    Corresponding reference numerals indicate corresponding parts throughout the several views of the drawings. 
       DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
       [0017]    Example embodiments will now be described more fully with reference to the accompanying drawings. 
         [0018]    With reference to the figures, a nineteen inch EIA rack cabinet  100  has a plurality of vertical mounting rails  102  to which equipment modules or rails supporting equipment modules can be mounted. Each vertical mounting rail  102  has a front flange  104 , a rear flange  106 , and a side panel  108  extending therebetween. Front flange  104 , rear flange  106  and side panel  108  extend longitudinally virtually the entire length of vertical mounting rail  102 . In an illustrative embodiment, front and rear flanges  104 ,  106  and side panel  108  are oriented to provide a Z-shaped EIA vertical mounting rail. That is, vertical mounting rail  102  has a Z-shaped cross-section when viewed from the top or bottom. Front and rear flanges  104 ,  106  may be parallel to one another while side panel  108  extends therebetween at a right angle (orthogonal) relative to both front and rear flanges  104 ,  106 . Vertical mounting rail  102  includes mounting flanges  110  at the top  110   a  and bottom  110   b  which extend outwardly (as oriented with respect to cabinet  100 ) and include a portion parallel to side plate  108  which abuts against and is affixed to cabinet  100  at a side  111  of cabinet  100 , such as to upper and lower side members  112  of cabinet  100 . 
         [0019]    Vertical mounting rail  102  is dimensioned so that when its mounting flanges  110  are attached at a side of cabinet  100 , side panel  108  is spaced from the side  111  of cabinet  100  a distance W 1  sufficient to allow a power distribution unit (“PDU”)  114  ( FIGS. 1 and 5 ) that is no more than 1U wide to be disposed between side panel  108  and the side  111  of the cabinet  100 . Common PDUs illustratively have a 1U form factor, that is, a width W 2  of 1.75 inches. There are PDUs wider than 1U. Therefore, vertical mounting rail  102  is dimensioned so that when its mounting flanges  110  are attached at a side of cabinet  100 , side panel  108  of vertical mounting rail  102  is spaced slightly more than 1.75 inches from the side  111  of the cabinet  100  (i.e., W 1  is slightly more than 1.75 inches, such as 1.8 inches by way of non-limiting example). Side panel  108  of vertical mounting rail  102  illustratively has a depth D approximately equal to a depth of PDU  114 . PDU  114  may by way of example and not of limitation have a depth of approximately 3.61 inches. PDU  114  may be substantially flush with front flange  104 , such as shown in  FIG. 5 . 
         [0020]    Rear flange  106  has a series of mounting holes  116  extending along its length. Illustratively, mounting holes  116  align with a centerline  117  of PDU  114  when PDU  114  is mounted to vertical mounting rail  102 . PDU  114  illustratively includes tabs (not shown) that are received in mounting holes  116  in rear flange  106 . Mounting holes  116  may illustratively include a series of hole groupings with each hole grouping including a rectangular hole  118  flanked on either side with a circular hole  119 . It should be understood that mounting holes  116  can include other hole groupings, where each grouping has one or more holes. It should also be understood that the mounting holes  116  can have other shapes. In the case of a vertical mounting rail  102  used in a rack conforming to the EIA 310-D standard, rear flange  106  has a width W 3  of approximately 1.06 inches. 
         [0021]    Front flange  104  includes mounting holes  120  for the electronic equipment. By way of example and not of limitation, mounting holes  120  conform to the EIA 310-D standard of a grouping of inch, ⅝ inch and ⅝ inch holes for each 1U rack unit. 
         [0022]    Front flange  104  is dimensioned so that the requisite opening O ( FIG. 1 ) is provided between opposed vertical mounting rails  102 . In the case of the EIA 310-D standard, this opening is a minimum of 17¾ inches and front flange  104  of vertical mounting rail  102  illustratively has a width W 4  of approximately 0.59 inches. In this regard, the width W 4  of front flange  104  is less than the width of the front flange of prior art vertical mounting rails. The reduced width W 4  of front flange  104  facilitates mounting PDU  114  between side panel  108  of vertical mounting rail  102  and the side  111  of cabinet  100  yet still provides the requisite opening O between opposed vertical mounting rails  102  in the front of cabinet  100  and the rear of cabinet  100 . 
         [0023]    Side panel  108  illustratively includes a plurality of mounting holes, which may include mounting holes that are the same as mounting holes  116  and mounting holes that are the same as mounting holes  120 . Side panel  108  may illustratively include mounting slots  122  that receive mounting tabs of cable management pieces  124  ( FIG. 3 ), which may for example be toolless mounting cable management pieces such as those available from Knurr A G of Arnstor, Germany, or Liebert Corporation of Columbus Ohio, which may utilize the Knurr T-slot mounting. 
         [0024]    In this regard, mounting flanges  110  may attach to respective side members  112  of cabinet  100  utilizing the Knurr T-slot mounting. Cabinet  100  may include upper and lower side members  112 , with two upper side members  112  on respective opposite upper sides  111  of cabinet  100  and two lower side members  112  on respective opposite lower sides  111  of cabinet  100 . With reference to  FIG. 4 , each side member  112  of cabinet  100  may illustratively include a T-slot  126  in which a nut  136 , which may be square in shape by way of non-limiting example, is received. The upper mounting flange  110   a  of each vertical mounting rail  102  includes a “paw”  128  that is received in T-slot  126 . Paw  128  may illustratively be a hooked flange that projects outwardly from upper mounting flange  110   a  so as to fit into T-slot  126  of an upper side member  112  and hook over a portion of upper side member  112  defining a lower edge  131  of T-slot  126 . The paws  128  bear the weight of vertical mounting rails  102  when vertical mounting rails  102  are affixed to side members  112 , and thus also bear the weight of the equipment mounted to vertical mounting rails  102 . Each lower mounting flange  110   b  may include an outwardly extending flange  129  that is received in a slot, which may be a T-slot  126 , in lower side member  112 . Each mounting flange  110  also includes a longitudinally extending flange  132  having a slot  134  therein through which fastener  130  is inserted and tightened in the nut  136  in T-slot  126 . Engagement of fastener  130  with nut  136  allows vertical rails  102  to be adjusted to and secured in a desired position on side members  112 . 
         [0025]    The terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing particular example embodiments only and is not intended to be limiting. As used herein, the singular forms “a”, “an” and “the” may be intended to include the plural forms as well, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. The terms “comprises,” “comprising,” “including,” and “having,” are inclusive and therefore specify the presence of stated features, integers, steps, operations, elements, and/or components, but do not preclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, integers, steps, operations, elements, components, and/or groups thereof. The method steps, processes, and operations described herein are not to be construed as necessarily requiring their performance in the particular order discussed or illustrated, unless specifically identified as an order of performance. It is also to be understood that additional or alternative steps may be employed. 
         [0026]    When an element or layer is referred to as being “on”, “engaged to”, “connected to” or “coupled to” another element or layer, it may be directly on, engaged, connected or coupled to the other element or layer, or intervening elements or layers may be present. In contrast, when an element is referred to as being “directly on,” “directly engaged to”, “directly connected to” or “directly coupled to” another element or layer, there may be no intervening elements or layers present. Other words used to describe the relationship between elements should be interpreted in a like fashion (e.g., “between” versus “directly between,” “adjacent” versus “directly adjacent,” etc.). As used herein, the term “and/or” includes any and all combinations of one or more of the associated listed items. 
         [0027]    Although the terms first, second, third, etc. may be used herein to describe various elements, components, regions, layers and/or sections, these elements, components, regions, layers and/or sections should not be limited by these terms. These terms may be only used to distinguish one element, component, region, layer or section from another region, layer or section. Terms such as “first,” “second,” and other numerical terms when used herein do not imply a sequence or order unless clearly indicated by the context. Thus, a first element, component, region, layer or section discussed below could be termed a second element, component, region, layer or section without departing from the teachings of the example embodiments. 
         [0028]    Spatially relative terms, such as “inner,” “outer,” “beneath”, “below”, “lower”, “above”, “upper” and the like, may be used herein for ease of description to describe one element or feature&#39;s relationship to another element(s) or feature(s) as illustrated in the figures. Spatially relative terms may be intended to encompass different orientations of the device in use or operation in addition to the orientation depicted in the figures. For example, if the device in the figures is turned over, elements described as “below” or “beneath” other elements or features would then be oriented “above” the other elements or features. Thus, the example term “below” can encompass both an orientation of above and below. The device may be otherwise oriented (rotated  90  degrees or at other orientations) and the spatially relative descriptors used herein interpreted accordingly. 
         [0029]    The foregoing description of the embodiments has been provided for purposes of illustration and description. It is not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the invention. Individual elements or features of a particular embodiment are generally not limited to that particular embodiment, but, where applicable, are interchangeable and can be used in a selected embodiment, even if not specifically shown or described. The same may also be varied in many ways. Such variations are not to be regarded as a departure from the invention, and all such modifications are intended to be included within the scope of the invention.