Abstract:
A mounting assembly includes a chassis having a bottom wall and two opposite sidewalls, a front panel having two opposite sidewalls, and a pair of pushing members pivotally attached to the sidewalls of the chassis respectively. Each of the sidewalls of the front panel forms a sliding post for sliding in the through slot, thereby slidably mounting the front panel to the chassis. Each of the sidewalls of the chassis defines a through slot therein. Each of the pushing members forms a catch thereon. The pushing members are pivotable between a first position in which the sliding post engages with the catch and a second position in which the sliding post disengages from the catch.

Description:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION  
       [0001]     The present invention relates to a mounting assembly for a front panel of a computer enclosure, and more particularly to a mounting assembly for a front panel of a computer enclosure that is convenient to attach and remove to/from a chassis.  
       DESCRIPTION OF RELATED ART  
       [0002]     Nowadays, with the trend being to produce ever smaller computers, users are faced with the inconvenience of trying to do maintenance and parts replacement or installation within the ever more confining spaces of computer enclosures. Therefore, it is desirable that a front panel should be conveniently removable from a chassis for access to the electronic components inside. A typical mounting assembly is that a front panel is directly riveted to a chassis, or a front panel is integratedly molded with a chassis, so the front panel cannot be detached from the chassis when necessary for installation or removal of other electronic components.  
         [0003]     What is needed, therefore, is a mounting assembly for a computer enclosure allowing convenient attachment and removal of a front panel to/from a chassis.  
       SUMMARY OF INVENTION  
       [0004]     A mounting assembly includes a chassis having a bottom wall and two opposite sidewalls, a front panel having two opposite sidewalls, and a pair of pushing members pivotally attached to the sidewalls of the chassis respectively. Each of the sidewalls of the front panel forms a sliding post for sliding in the through slot, thereby slidably mounting the front panel to the chassis. Each of the sidewalls of the chassis defines a through slot therein. Each of the pushing members forms a catch thereon. The pushing members are pivotable between a first position in which the sliding post engages with the catch and a second position in which the sliding post disengages from the catch.  
         [0005]     Other advantages and novel features will be drawn from the following detailed description of preferred embodiments with the attached drawings, in which: 
     
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS  
       [0006]      FIG. 1  is an exploded, isometric view of a mounting assembly in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the mounting assembly including a chassis, a front panel, a pair of elastic components, a pair of pushing members, and a pair of locking members;  
         [0007]      FIG. 2  is an enlarged, isometric view of the front panel of  FIG. 1 , but viewed from another aspect;  
         [0008]      FIG. 3  is an enlarged, isometric view of the elastic component, the pushing member, and the locking member of  FIG. 1 , but viewed from another aspect;  
         [0009]      FIG. 4  is a pre-assembled isometric view of  FIG. 1 , but without the front panel;  
         [0010]      FIG. 5  is an enlarged view of a circled portion □ of  FIG. 4 ;  
         [0011]      FIG. 6  is an assembled, isometric view of  FIG. 1 ; and  
         [0012]      FIG. 7  is similar to  FIG. 6 , but viewed from another aspect. 
     
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION  
       [0013]     Referring to  FIGS. 1, 2  and  3 , a mounting assembly in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention includes a chassis  10 , a front panel  20 , a pair of elastic components  30 , a pair of pushing members  40 , and a pair of locking members  50 . In the preferred embodiment, the elastic components  30  may be torsion springs, and the locking members  50  may be screws.  
         [0014]     The chassis  10  includes a bottom wall  14 , and two opposite sidewalls  11 ,  12  extending upwardly and perpendicularly from two opposite sides of the bottom wall  14 . An elongated through slot  112  is defined in a front end of the sidewall  11 . A top edge of the sidewall  11  of the chassis  10  is bent inward and horizontally to form a flange  114 . The flange  114  defines a screw hole  116  for engaging with one of the locking members  50 , and a through hole  118  for extension of an end of one of the elastic components  30  therethrough, thereby locating an end of the elastic component  30  therein. An elongated through slot  122  is defined in a front end of the sidewall  12 , corresponding to the through slot  112 . A top edge of the sidewall  12  of the chassis  10  is bent inward and horizontally to form a flange  124 . The flange  124  defines a screw hole  126  for engaging with the other locking member  50 , and a through hole  128  for extension of an end of the other elastic component  30  therethrough, thereby locating an end of the other elastic component  30  therein. A latching portion  141  is defined in a front end of the bottom wall  14  of the chassis  10 .  
         [0015]     The front panel  20  includes a body  21 , a computer bezel  22  mounted to the body  21 , a supporting bracket  23  securely mounted to the body  21 , and a sliding plate  25  fixedly mounted to the body  21 . A bottom end of the body  21  is formed to have an insert tab  212  for inserting into the latching portion  141  of the chassis  10 , thereby locating the front panel  20  on the chassis  10 . The supporting bracket  23  is used for accommodating a data storage device such as an optical disk drive or a hard disk drive therein, and includes a sidewall  231  and a bottom wall  237 . The sidewall  231  of the supporting bracket  23  acts as one sidewall of the front panel  20 . A pair of sliding posts  232  extends outwardly and horizontally from the sidewall  231 . A top edge of the sidewall  231  is bent inward and horizontally to form a wide flange  233  parallel to the bottom wall  237 . The flange  233  is stamped to form a stopping tab  234  thereon. The sliding plate  25  acts as another sidewall of the front panel  20 . A pair of sliding posts  252  (shown in  FIG. 6 ) extends outwardly and horizontally from the sliding plate  25 . A rear top edge of the sliding plate  25  is bent inward and horizontally to form a flange  254 . A portion of the flange  254  is bent vertically and upwardly to form a stopping tab  256  thereon.  
         [0016]     A front end of each pushing member  40  is formed to have a pushing portion  42  thereon. A slanted guiding portion  422  is formed on each pushing portion  42 . A catch  424  is formed at a bottom end of each pushing portion  42 . A pair of opposite projections  43 ,  44  is formed on each pushing member  40 . The two projections  43 ,  44  each have a wedge-shaped protrusion  432 ,  442  respectively. A circular post  46  is formed on each pushing member  40  at a rear end thereof, adjacent to the two projections  43 ,  44 , and a through hole  461  is defined in each circular post  46 , for extension of the locking members  50  therethrough. Resisting portions  47  adjacent to the circular posts  46  are formed on the pushing members  40 , for resisting against the stopping tabs  254 ,  256 . A projection  48  is formed on a distal end of each pushing member  40 . The elastic components  30  are tightly disposed on the circular posts  46 . One end of each elastic component  30  is respectively clipped between the two wedge-shaped protrusions  432 ,  442 , and the other end of the elastic components  30  inserts through a corresponding one of the through holes  118 ,  128  of the sidewalls  11 ,  12 , thereby locating the elastic components  30  on the pushing members  40 .  
         [0017]     Referring also to  FIGS. 4 and 5 , before the front panel  20  is mounted to the chassis  10 , the two elastic components  30  are disposed around the circular posts  46  respectively according to the aforementioned description. Then the locking members  50  are inserted through the through holes  461  of the pushing members  40  respectively and engaged in the screw holes  116 ,  126  of the sidewalls  11 ,  12  of the chassis  10 . Therefore, the pushing members  40  are pivotally attached to the sidewall  11 ,  12  of the chassis  10  respectively. Moreover, the pushing members  40  elastically abut against the sidewalls  11 ,  12  of the chassis  10  by reason of rebounding of the corresponding elastic components  30 , respectively.  
         [0018]     Referring also to  FIGS. 6 and 7 , in assembly of the front panel  20 , the sliding posts  232  of the supporting bracket  23  and the sliding posts  252  of the sliding panel  25  are horizontally aligned with the through slots  112 ,  122  respectively. Then, the front panel  20  is moved inward and the sliding posts  232 ,  252  slide along the through slots  112 ,  122 . Simultaneously, the insert tab  212  of the body  21  of the front panel  20  aligns with the latching portion  141  of the bottom wall  14  of the chassis  10 . As the front panel  20  reaches the pushing members  40 , a rear one of the sliding posts  232  and a rear one of the sliding posts  252  slide on the slanted guiding portions  422  of the pushing members  40  and thus push the pushing members  40  to rotate outwardly, respectively. After the rear sliding posts  252  have completely ridden over the guiding portions  422 , the pushing members  40  are rotated inward to their original positions by restoring forces of the elastic components  30  and snappingly engage with the sliding posts  232 ,  252 . As a result, the rear one of the sliding posts  232  and the rear one of the sliding posts  252  are stuck by the catches  424  respectively, thereby preventing the sliding posts  232 ,  252  from moving outwardly. Simultaneously, the insert tab  212  of the body  21  of the front panel  20  engages in the latching portion  141  of the bottom wall  14  of the chassis  10 , thereby preventing the front panel  20  from moving further inwardly. Thus, the front panel  20  is easily secured to the chassis  10 .  
         [0019]     In disassembly of the front panel  20 , the pushing portions  42  of the pushing members  40  are simultaneously pushed outward, thereby urging each of the pushing members  40  to pivot about the corresponding locking members  50  respectively. Thus, the catches  424  of the pushing members  40  disengage from the sliding posts  232 ,  252 , and give way to the sliding posts  232 ,  252  respectively. Simultaneously, the resisting portions  47  of the pushing members  40  resist against the stopping tab  234  of the supporting bracket  23  and the stopping tab  256  of the sliding plate  25  respectively, thereby urging the sliding posts  232 ,  252  of the front panel  20  to move forwardly along the through slots  112 ,  122  respectively. Then, the pushing members  40  are released. The pushing members  40  return to their original positions due to rebounding of the elastic components  30  respectively. At the same time, the insert tab  212  of the body  21  disengages from the latching portion  141  of the chassis  10 . Then, the front panel  20  is pulled forwardly until the rear one of the sliding posts  232  and the rear one of the sliding posts  252  of the front panel  20  leave the through slots  112 ,  122 . In this manner, the front panel  20  is easily drawn out from the chassis  10 .  
         [0020]     In a modified embodiment of the present invention, only one sidewall of the chassis  10 , for example, the sidewall  11 , is equipped with the pushing members and other components of the mounting arrangement of the front panel  20 . In this case, the sidewall  12  of the chassis  10  and the front panel  20  may be modified accordingly.  
         [0021]     While the present invention has been illustrated by the description of preferred embodiments thereof, and while the preferred embodiments have been described in considerable detail, it is not intended to restrict or in any way limit the scope of the appended claims to such details. Additional advantages and modifications within the spirit and scope of the present invention will readily appear to those skilled in the art. Therefore, the present invention is not limited to the specific details and illustrative examples shown and described.