Abstract:
A cassette storage device is disclosed, which is capable of storing a cassette having a first connector. The cassette storage device comprises: a housing having an opening and a second connector; a tray coupled to the housing and being moveable through the opening; a first shaft positioned between the housing and the tray; a second shaft positioned between the housing and the tray; a driving end coupled to the first shaft and the second shaft; and a releasing switch positioned on the housing and coupled to the first shaft. Therefore, when the first connector of the cassette is going to be ejected from the second connector of the housing, the releasing switch is only required to be pushed slightly, then the first shaft, along with the driving end will subsequently make the second shaft rotate and thus push the cassette out from the cassette storage device.

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
       [0001]    1. Field of the Invention 
         [0002]    The present invention relates to a cassette storage device and, more particularly, to a cassette storage device capable of separating the cassette (hot-plug element) from the cassette storage device easily. 
         [0003]    2. Description of Related Art 
         [0004]    As shown in  FIG. 1 , a conventional cassette storage device comprises a lower cover  11 , an upper cover  12 , two side plates  13 , a front plate  14 , a rear plate  15  and a tray  16 , wherein the front plate  14  comprises a hot-plug element entrance  141 , and the rear plate  15  has an outer surface  151  and a hot-plug connector  152 . In addition, the tray  16  has a holding area  161  and a rear side surface  163 , and a retaining spring  162  connected with the lower cover  11  and the tray  16 , so as to pull out the hot-plug element  17  and the tray  16  from the cassette storage device, if necessary. Thus, when a user wants to release the cassette (hot-plug element) from the cassette storage device, the inlet  171  of the hot-plug element  17  will be separated from the hot-plug connector  152 . 
         [0005]    However, this kind of cassette storage device still has many defects. For instance, for compensating the joint force between the inlet of the hot-plug element and the hot-plug connector, the cassette storage device uses a retaining spring to separate the hot-plug element from the cassette storage device. Besides, the elastic force of the retaining spring must be bigger than the joint force between the inlet of the hot-plug element and the hot-plug connector. Furthermore, in order to separate the hot-plug element that is heavy, the cassette storage device requires a retaining spring with higher elastic force to pull the hot-plug element and the tray out from the cassette storage device. In addition, to match the different types of hot-plug connector with different joint forces, the conventional storage device needs to be equipped with different kinds of retaining springs. As a result, the manufacturing process of the conventional cassette storage device becomes complicated and a user must use quite a lot of strength to separate the cassette from the conventional cassette storage device. Some members of the public, for example some elderly people may lack the strength to successfully separate the cassette from the device. 
         [0006]    Therefore, it is desirable for the industries to provide a cassette storage device, which not only can reduce the production cost and simplify its operation process, but also can have conventional function for a user to separate the hot-plug element from the cassette storage device easily and without using excessive force. 
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
       [0007]    The cassette storage device for storing an element with a first connector in accordance with the present invention comprises: a housing having an opening, and a second connector corresponding to the first connector; a tray coupled to the housing and capable of moving at the opening; a first shaft positioned between the housing and the tray; a second shaft positioned between the housing and the tray, the second shaft being pivoted to the housing through a fulcrum for pushing the tray, while the first connector is separating from the second connector; a driving end coupled to the first shaft and the second shaft; and a releasing switch positioned on the housing and coupled to the first shaft. 
         [0008]    Therefore, for separating the cassette from the cassette storage device of the present invention, the user only needs to push the releasing switch for driving the first shaft and the second shaft, so as to separate the first connector of the hot-plug element (cassette) from the second connector of the cassette storage device. Besides, the cassette storage device of the present invention uses the driving force of the second shaft, instead of the compression force of the retaining spring, so as to compensate the joint force combining the first connector of the hot-plug element and the second connector of the cassette storage device. In addition, the cassette storage device of the present invention uses leverage instead of the retaining spring, so as to separate the cassette from the cassette storage device. For this reason, the cassette storage device of the present invention only requires retaining springs of one single kind, not retaining springs of several kinds, for separating the hot-plug element from the cassette storage device of the present invention. Thus, production cost of the cassette storage device of the present invention can be reduced, and the operation process can also be simplified. 
         [0009]    The cassette storage device of the present invention can store any kind of cassette. The cassette is preferably a hot-plug element or any kind of electronic element. The cassette storage device of the present invention can store any kind of hot-plug element in it, the hot-plug element is preferably a hard disk drive, a floppy disk, a CD-ROM, a card reader, or any kind of data storage elements. The tray of the cassette storage device of the present invention can be made of any kind of material, yet the tray is preferably plastic or metal. The tray of the cassette storage device of the present invention can have any number of openings, the number of openings is preferably from 1 to 10. The cassette storage device of the present invention can comprise any kind of tray locating unit, the tray locating unit is preferably an elastic shifter or a fixing protruding piece. The cassette storage device of the present invention can comprise any number of springs, the number of springs preferably ranges from 1 to 4. The second shaft of the cassette storage device is a lever having a first end, a second end, and a fulcrum, wherein the distance between the first end and a fulcrum is preferably smaller than the distance between the fulcrum and the second end. The driving end cassette storage device of the present invention can couple to the pushing rod with any kind of jointing element, the driving end is preferably coupled to the pushing rod with a universal joint or a plug. 
         [0010]    Other objects, advantages, and novel features of the invention will become more apparent from the following detailed description when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. 
     
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0011]      FIG. 1  is an exploded drawing of a cassette storage device of prior art. 
           [0012]      FIG. 2  is a schematic drawing showing a cassette storage device according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention. 
           [0013]      FIG. 3A  is an exploded view showing a cassette storage device according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention. 
           [0014]      FIG. 3B  is a perspective view showing a cassette storage device according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention. 
           [0015]      FIG. 4  is a top view showing a hot-plug element according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention, while the cassette is inserting in the cassette storage device. 
           [0016]      FIG. 5  is a top view showing a hot-plug element according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention, while the cassette is separating from the cassette storage device. 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT 
       [0017]      FIG. 2  is a schematic drawing showing a cassette storage device according a preferred embodiment of the present invention. In this preferred embodiment, the cassette storage device  2  comprises a housing  21  having an opening  211  and a second connector  212  wherein the second connector  212  is adapted to mate with a first connector  271 ; a tray  22  couples to the housing and is capable of moving at the opening  211 , in this preferred embodiment, the tray  22  couples to the housing  21  through a rail and moves in or out from the housing  21 ; a first shaft  23  is positioned between the housing  21  and the tray  22 ; a second shaft  24  is positioned between the housing  21  and the tray  22  and pivots to the housing  21  through a fulcrum  241 ; a driving end  25  couples to both the first shaft  23  and the second shaft  24 ; and a releasing switch  26  is positioned at the housing  21  and couples to the first shaft  23 . In this preferred embodiment, the cassette storage device  2  is used to store an element  27 . When the first connector  271  of the element  27  is going to be separated from the second connector  212  of the housing  21 , the user only needs to push the releasing switch  26  for driving the first shaft  23  to move. At this time, the driving end  25  coupled to the first shaft  23  pushes the second shaft  24  to rotate around the fulcrum  241 , so as to push out the tray  22  by means of the leverage. It should be noted that, in this preferred embodiment, this present invention uses the leverage and the second shaft to separate the first connector of the element from the second connector of the housing. 
         [0018]      FIG. 3A  is an exploded view showing a cassette storage device according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention.  FIG. 3B  is a perspective view showing a cassette storage device according to this preferred embodiment of the present invention. In this preferred embodiment, the cassette storage device comprises a lower cover  31 , an upper cover  32 , two side plates  33 , a front plate  34 , a rear plate  35 , a button  36 , a push rod  37 , a lever  38 , and a tray  39 . In this preferred embodiment, the lower cover  31 , the upper cover  32 , the two side plates  33 , the front plate  34 , and the rear plate  35  embody the aforementioned housing  21 . The push rod  37  embodies the aforementioned first shaft  23 . The lever  38  embodies the aforementioned second shaft  24 . The button  36  embodies the aforementioned releasing switch  26 . In addition, the front plate  34  comprises a hot-plug element inlet  341  (as embodying the aforementioned opening  211 ) and an opening for adapting to the button  36 . The rear plate  35  comprises an outer surface  351 , an opening  352  positioned at the outer surface  351 , and a hot-plug connector  353  (as embodying the aforementioned second connector  212 ). The push rod  37  and the lever  38  connect with each other through a universal joint (as embodying the aforementioned driving end  25 ). Furthermore, when the tray  39  is at a standby position, the hot-plug element  4  is at the holding area  391  of the tray  39 . In addition, when the tray  39  is at a stored position, the tray  39  is surrounded by the lower cover  31 , the upper cover  32 , the two side plates  33 , the front plate  34  and the rear plate  35 . Furthermore, a retaining spring  392  respectively connects with the tray  39  and the lower cover  31  for urging the tray  39  from the stored position to the standby position, so as to separate the hot-plug element  4  from the tray  39 . Finally, the tray  39  has a plurality of holes  394  defined in the holding area  391  for reducing the weight of the tray  39 . 
         [0019]    The differences between the cassette storage device of the present invention and the conventional cassette storage device are the pushing rod  37  positioned at the inner surface of the side plate  33 , the button  36 , and the lever  38 . In this preferred embodiment, a user can just press the button  36  to separate the hot-plug element  4  from the cassette storage device. In addition, the lever  38  locates at the outer surface  351  of the rear plate  35 . The lever  38  has a first end  381  connecting the pushing rod  37  through a universal joint, a second end  382 , and a fulcrum  383 . Furthermore, a compression spring  371  surrounds part of the pushing rod  37  for adapting to a protruding piece  372 , so as to reposition the button  36  and the pushing rod  37  to their original positions for subsequent pressing of the button  36 . 
         [0020]    Finally, when the tray  39  and the hot-plug element  4  are located at the stored position, the hot-plug connector  353  positioned at the rear plate  35  mates with the inlet  41  of the hot-plug element  4  for the electrical connection between a computer server (not shown) and the element  4  to exchange electrical signals. 
         [0021]    Hereinafter, each element operation status of the cassette storage device of the preferred embodiment will be described in reference to the hot-plug element being inserted in and separated from the cassette storage device. 
         [0022]      FIG. 4  is a top view showing the hot-plug element according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention, when the cassette is to be inserted in the cassette storage device. In this preferred embodiment, when the tray  39  is located at a standby position, the hot-plug element  4  is placed at the holding area  391  of the tray  39 . In this preferred embodiment, part of the hot-plug element  4  protrudes from the outer side of the cassette storage device, and another part of the hot-plug element  4  inserts in the cassette storage device through the hot-plug element inlet  341 . At this time, the retaining spring  392  connected with the tray  39  and the lower cover  31  is stretched and kept in its extended status, and the hot-plug connector  353  inserts in the inlet  41  to secure the hot-plug element  4 . Finally, the elastic shifter (not shown in figure) will flip up for securing the tray  39  in the stored position. 
         [0023]      FIG. 5  is a top view showing the hot-plug element according to the preferred embodiment of the present invention, while the cassette is being separated from the cassette storage device. When the user presses the button  36 , the button  36  will move toward the rear plate  35  for driving the pushing rod  37  in the same direction at the same time. Therefore, the pushing rod  37  will drive the first end  381  of the lever  38  to move for driving the lever  38  to rotate around the fulcrum  383 , so as to drive the second end  382  of the lever  38  to move toward the front plate  34 . At this time, the second end  382  of the lever  38  passes through the opening  352  of the rear plate  35  for contacting the side surface  393 , so as to drive the tray  39  and the hot-plug element  4  thereon to move toward the front plate  34 . Besides, by using the specially designed pushing rod  37 , while the button  36  pushes the pushing rod  37 , an elastic shifter (not shown in figure) is pressed down for releasing the tray  39  from the cassette storage device. 
         [0024]    Therefore, the joint force between the hot-plug connector  353  and the inlet  41  of the hot-plug element  4  will be compensated by the pushing force of the second end  382  of the lever  38 , so as to separate the hot-plug element  4  from the rear plate  35 . Then, the tray  39  and the hot-plug element  4  are retracted to the standby position by the elastic force of the compression spring  392 . While the user presses the button  36 , the compression spring  392  is kept in its compressed status. Therefore, when the second end  382  of the lever  38  has pushed the hot-plug element  4  out of the cassette storage device of the present invention, the compressed spring  371  returns to its original position and drives the button  36  and the pushing rod  37  back to their original positions at the same time. 
         [0025]    Therefore, for separating the cassette from the cassette storage device of the present invention, the user can just push the button to drive the pushing rod and the lever, so as to execute related operation. Accordingly, the second end of the lever will contact the side surface of the hot-plug element for separating the hot-plug element from the cassette storage device. At the same time, the joint force between the inlet and the hot-plug connector will be compensated by the pushing force of the second end of the lever. As a result, the cassette storage device of the present invention differs from that of the prior art, which just uses a retaining spring to separate the hot-plug element from the hot-plug connector. In addition, when the inlet of the hot-plug element separates from the hot-plug of the cassette storage device of the present invention, the hot-plug element and the tray of the cassette storage device are pushed to the standby position by the elastic force of the retaining spring. Furthermore, when the second end of the lever pushes the hot-plug element out from the cassette storage device of the present invention, the compression spring surrounding the pushing rod makes the button and the pushing rod return to their original positions. 
         [0026]    In summary, the cassette storage device of the present invention makes use of leverage, instead of the retaining spring, to separate the cassette from the cassette storage device. For this reason, the cassette storage device of the present invention only requires retaining springs of one single kind, not retaining springs of several kinds, for separating the hot-plug element from the cassette storage device of the present invention. Thus, production cost of the cassette storage device of the present invention can be reduced, and the operation process can also be simplified. When the user wants to separate the cassette from the cassette storage device of the present invention, the user can just push the releasing switch to drive the first shaft and the second shaft for separating the first connector of the element from the second connector of the cassette storage device. Then, the cassette or any kind of hot-plug element can be released from the cassette storage device more conveniently. Therefore, the cassette storage device of the present invention is very useful for a user with limited strength, especially when the user wants to separate the hot-plug element from the cassette storage device of the present invention. 
         [0027]    Although the present invention has been explained in relation to its preferred embodiment, it is to be understood that many other possible modifications and variations can be made without departing from the scope of the invention as hereinafter claimed.