Structure for mounting printed circuit board in an electronic appliance

A structure for mounting a PCB in electronic appliances such as computers includes, a slidable moving arrangement disposed on the bottom surface of a PCB, while a PCB guide arrangement is disposed on the chassis of an electronic appliance for guiding a linear movement of the slidable moving arrangement. Two connectors are respectively provided on the PCB and the chassis at corresponding positions, the connectors being electrically connected to each other when the PCB is completely set on the chassis. A locking lever is rotatably mounted to the chassis so as to be rotated in opposite directions by the slidable moving arrangement normally maintaining the position of the PCB on the chassis and selectively releasing the PCB from the chassis. The structure of this invention detachably, slidably, quickly, precisely and easily mounts a PCB to the chassis.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
1. Field of the Invention 
The present invention relates, in general, to a structure for mounting a 
printed circuit board (PCB) in an electronic appliance such as a computer 
and, more particularly, to a structure for detachably and slidably 
mounting a PCB in an electronic appliance, thus allowing a user to easily 
mount and remove the PCB to or from the chassis of the electronic 
appliance. 
2. Description of the Related Art 
In an earlier configuration of a computer, a chassis is provided in the 
housing of the computer and a plurality of elements such as a power 
supply, a hard disk drive, a floppy disk drive, and CD-ROM drive are 
installed on the chassis at predetermined positions. The chassis also 
supports a printed circuit board (PCB) which controls the operation of the 
above noted elements. 
In a computer, a motherboard or the PCB is designed to allow a user to 
repair or upgrade the computer. In order to upgrade the computer, the 
existing PCB is removed from the chassis prior to being changed to a new 
one. 
In order to improve the work efficiency while repairing or changing the 
PCB, the chassis has to be designed to allow a user to easily install or 
remove the PCB to or from the chassis. 
One earlier structure for mounting a PCB in a computer has a plurality of 
mounting bosses which have the same height and are formed on predetermined 
positions of the chassis. The PCB is placed above the mounting bosses 
prior to being attached to the bosses by a plurality of set screws. 
However, the above-noted mounting structure has problems in that it is 
necessary to insert or remove all of the set screws one by one in order to 
mount or remove the PCB on or from the chassis. 
In another earlier structure for mounting a PCB in the computer, the PCB is 
designed to be slidably movable on the chassis. 
In order to accomplish the above noted slidable structure, a slidable 
moving means having a locking part at a corner of the bottom end is 
mounted to the bottom surface of the PCB in the same direction as a 
sliding direction of the PCB. A locking lever having a rounded bay is 
mounted to the top surface of the outside edge of the chassis at a 
predetermined position in such a way that the lever is rotatable on the 
chassis. 
The above-noted slidable mounting structure has problems in that the 
locking lever is rotatably mounted to the chassis through a shaft such 
that the lever may be accidentally removed from the slidable moving means 
when the chassis is leaned on its side. 
It is therefore necessary to manually and precisely readjust the position 
of the locking lever when the slidable moving means is moved to mount the 
PCB to the chassis. This is inconvenient to a user. Furthermore, the 
structure does not have any means for locking the lever so that the 
structure fails to stably hold the PCB on the chassis. 
The following patents each disclose features in common with the present 
invention but do not teach or suggest the specifically recited structure 
for mounting a printed circuit board in an electronic appliance in 
accordance with the present invention: U.S. Pat. No. 5,668,696 to Schmitt, 
entitled Carriei-Based Mounting Structure For Computer Peripheral Chassis, 
U.S. Pat. No. 5,600,542 to Malgouires, entitled Modular Automation Device 
With A Locking Member, U.S. Pat. No. 4,628,413 to Speraw, entitled Card 
Cassette Ejector Apparatus, U.S. Pat. No. 5,428,507 to Chatel et al., 
entitled Front Panels For Rack-Mounted Printed Circuit Boards, U.S. Pat. 
No. 5,558,528 to Cheng et al, entitled Connector With Ejector, U.S. Pat. 
No. 5,676,556 to Yamaguchi et al., entitled Lever-Coupling Type Connector, 
U.S. Pat. No. 5,417,513 to Hayashi, entitled Lever Of Lever Type 
Connector, U.S. Pat. No. 5,140,501 to Takahashi et al., entitled Mechanism 
For Inserting And Withdrawing Printed Board Unit Of Electronics Circuit 
Device, U.S. Pat. No. 5,541,809 to Kakizaki et al., entitled Electronic 
Equipments Chassis Made From Bent Sheet Metal, and U.S. Pat. No. 5,692,208 
to Felcman et al., entitled Lever Apparatus For An Ejector Mechanism In A 
Personal Computer. 
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
Accordingly, the present invention has been made keeping in mind the above 
problems occurring in the earlier arrangements, and an object of the 
present invention is to provide a structure for mounting a PCB in 
electronic appliances such as computers, which detachably, slidably, 
quickly, precisely and easily mounts the PCB to the chassis of an 
electronic appliance without requiring any additional motion in the 
sliding movement of the PCB on the chassis, thus improving work efficiency 
and being convenient to users while repairing or changing the PCB in 
electronic appliances. 
In order to accomplish the above object, the present invention provides a 
structure for mounting a printed circuit board (PCB) in an electronic 
appliance, comprising: a slidable moving means disposed on a bottom 
surface of the PCB; a PCB guide means, disposed on a chassis of the 
electronic appliance, for guiding a linear movement of the slidable moving 
means; two connectors respectively provided on the PCB and the chassis at 
corresponding positions, the connectors being electrically connected to 
each other when the PCB is completely set on the chassis; a locking lever 
rotatably mounted to the chassis so as to be rotated in opposite 
directions by the slidable moving means, normally maintaining a position 
of the PCB on the chassis and selectively releasing the PCB from the 
chassis; and a lever locking means for selectively locking the locking 
lever when the lever is in a PCB locking position, preventing the lever 
from being accidentally rotated to a PCB releasing position.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing the configuration of an earlier 
computer. FIGS. 2 and 3 each show earlier structures for mounting a PCB in 
a computer. 
As shown in the drawings, a chassis 14 is provided in the housing of a 
computer or an electronic appliance. A plurality of elements, such as a 
power supply 16, a hard disc drive 18, a floppy disc drive 20 and a CD-ROM 
drive 22, are installed on the chassis 14 at predetermined positions. The 
chassis 14 also supports a printed circuit board (PCB) 24 which controls 
the operation of the above elements. 
In a typical computer, a motherboard or the PCB 24 is designed to allow a 
user to repair or upgrade the computer. In order to upgrade the computer, 
the existing PCB 24 is removed from the chassis 14 prior to being changed 
to a new one. In other electronic appliances, the PCB 24 is designed to be 
easily repaired or changed to a new one when it is defective. 
Therefore, in order to improve work efficiency while repairing or changing 
the PCB 24 of the electronic appliance, the chassis 14 has to be designed 
to allow a user to easily install or remove the PCB 24 to or from the 
chassis 14. 
FIG. 2 shows an earlier structure for mounting a PCB 24 in a computer. As 
shown in the drawing, the mounting structure has a plurality of mounting 
bosses (not shown), which have the same height and are formed on 
predetermined positions of the chassis 14. The PCB 24 is placed above the 
mounting bosses prior to being attached to the bosses by a plurality of 
set screws 26 at the top of the PCB 24. 
However, the above mounting structure is problematic in that it is 
necessary to tighten or loosen the set screws 26 one by one at the top of 
the PCB 24 in order to mount or remove the PCB 24 on or from the chassis 
14, thus reducing work efficiency while mounting or removing the PCB 24. 
Particularly, in the case of a computer with a motherboard, the PCB 24 or 
the motherboard has to be often removed from the chassis 14 in order to 
upgrade the computer, so the PCB mounting structure with the set screws 26 
remarkably reduces work efficiency while upgrading the computer. 
FIG. 3 is a plan view showing another earlier structure for mounting a PCB 
in the computer. As shown in the drawing, this PCB mounting structure is 
designed to allow a PCB 24 to be slidably movable on the chassis 14, thus 
being slidably attached to or removed from the chassis 14. 
In order to accomplish the above slidable structure, a slidable moving 
means 28, having a locking part 28a at a corner of the bottom end, is 
mounted to the bottom surface of the PCB 24 in the same direction as a 
sliding direction of the PCB 24. A locking lever 30, having a rounded bay 
30a, is mounted to the top surface of the outside edge of the chassis 14 
at a predetermined position in a way such that the lever 30 is rotatable 
on the chassis 14. 
In the above mounting structure, when the PCB 24 slides on the chassis 14 
so as to be mounted to the chassis 14, the locking lever 30 of the chassis 
14 is caught by the locking part 28a of the slidable moving means 28, so 
the lever 30 is rotated in a predetermined direction and locks the 
slidable moving means 28 of the PCB 24, thus preventing the PCB 24 from 
being removed from the chassis 14. When the locking lever 30 is manually 
rotated in the opposite direction by a user, the lever 30 is removed from 
the slidable moving means 28, thus automatically separating the PCB 24 
from the chassis 14. 
However, the above slidable mounting structure is problematic in that since 
the locking lever 30 is rotatably mounted to the chassis 14 through a 
shaft 31, the lever 30 may be accidentally removed from the slidable 
moving means 28 when the chassis 14 is leaned on its side. 
Therefore, it is necessary to manually and precisely readjust the position 
of the locking lever 30 when the slidable moving means 28 is moved to 
mount the PCB 24 to the chassis 14. The slidable mounting structure is 
thus inconvenient to users. 
Another problem experienced in the slidable mounting structure is that the 
structure does not have any means for locking the lever 30, so that the 
structure fails to stably hold the PCB 24 on the chassis 14. 
In the structure according to the preferred embodiment of this invention, 
the same elements as those of the earlier structures of FIGS. 1 to 3 are 
denoted by the same reference numerals as those of the earlier structures. 
FIG. 4 is an exploded perspective view showing a PCB mounting structure in 
accordance with the preferred embodiment of this invention. FIG. 5 is a 
plan view showing the relationship between a locking lever and a slidable 
moving means both included in the above PCB mounting structure. 
As shown in the drawings, the PCB mounting structure of this invention 
comprises a slidable moving means 40, a PCB guide means 50, a locking 
lever 60, two connectors 70 and 70', and a lever locking means. In the 
structure, the slidable moving means 40 allows a PCB 24 to be slidably 
mounted to or removed from the chassis 14 of an electronic appliance such 
as a computer. The PCB guide means 50 guides a slidable movement of the 
PCB 24 on the chassis 14, thus allowing the PCB 24 to be more precisely 
and stably movable on the chassis 14. The locking lever 60, rotatably 
mounted to the chassis 14, normally maintains the position of the slidable 
moving means 40 on the chassis 14 and selectively releases the moving 
means 40 from the chassis 14. The two connectors 70 and 70' are 
respectively provided on the PCB 24 and the chassis 14, thus electrically 
connecting the PCB 24 to the other elements on the chassis 14 when the PCB 
24 is completely set on the chassis 14. The lever locking means 
selectively locks the locking lever 60 when the lever 60 is in a PCB 
locking position, thus preventing the lever 60 from being accidentally 
rotated to a PCB releasing position. 
In the above PCB mounting structure, the slidable moving means 40 is 
produced separately from the PCB 24 and is mounted to the bottom surface 
of the PCB 24 in the same direction as a sliding direction of the PCB 24. 
The moving means 40 is fixed to the PCB 24 using a plurality of screws 26. 
In the present invention, two or more slidable moving means 40 may be 
arranged on the PCB 24 in accordance with the size of the PCB 24. Of 
course, it is preferable to regularly space out the two or more slidable 
moving means 40. 
The guide means 50 is provided on the top and opposite side surfaces of the 
chassis 14 at a position around the PCB mounting area as best seen in FIG. 
4. The guide means 50 extend in the same direction as the sliding 
direction of the PCB 24 on the chassis 14. In the preferred embodiment of 
the present invention, the guide means 50 comprises two types of guide 
members 52 and 54. That is, two rows of first guide members 52, used for 
guiding the skirt part 44 of the slidable moving means 40, are formed on 
the top surface of the chassis 14 at a position corresponding to the 
slidable moving means 40. The first guide members 52 thus allow the 
slidable moving means 40 to be more precisely and stably movable on the 
chassis 14. Of course, a plurality of parallel rows of first guide members 
52 may be preferably formed on the chassis 14, thus effectively guiding 
the slidable moving means 40 regardless of the number of the moving means 
40. The second guide members 54 are individually formed on the interior 
surface of each side wall of the chassis 14 at a position around the PCB 
mounting area. The above second guide members 54, extending in the same 
direction as the sliding direction of the PCB 24, guide both side edges of 
the PCB 24 when the PCB 24 slides on the chassis 14. 
The locking lever 60 is rotatably mounted to the top surface of the outer 
edge of the chassis 14 at a position slightly diverged from the central 
axis of one row of the first guide members 52. The above locking lever 60 
comes into contact with the slidable moving means 40 and is rotatable in 
either direction when the moving means 40 linearly moves on the chassis 
14. Therefore, the locking lever 60 normally locks the position of the PCB 
24 on the chassis 14 and selectively releases the PCB 24, thus allowing 
the PCB 24 to be removed from the chassis 14. 
The above slidable moving means 40 consists of a longitudinal body 42, a 
skirt part 44 and a locking part 48. In the longitudinal body 42, a 
longitudinal groove 42a, having a predetermined depth, is axially formed 
on the bottom surface, while a plurality of mounting bosses 42b are formed 
on the top surface so as to be regularly spaced out. The skirt part 44, 
having a predetermined width, is formed along the lower edge of each side 
wall of the above longitudinal body 42. The locking part 48 is formed at 
the outside end of the body 42 and transversely protrudes in a direction, 
thus having a hook-shaped configuration. A rounded bay 46, having a radius 
of curvature, is formed at the inside corner between the body 42 and the 
locking part 48. 
The locking lever 60 consists of a flat lever body 64, an actuating part 
66, a contact part 66a, and a locking slot 68. The flat lever body 64 
extends to a given length and is provided with a wide mount 62 having a 
shaft hole 62a. The actuating part 66 extends from the wide mount 62 in a 
direction parallel to the lever body 64, thus facing the lever body 64 
with the locking slot 68 being formed between the body 64 and the 
actuating part 66. The contact part 66a transversely extends to a length 
from the outside end of the actuating part 66. The locking slot 68, formed 
between the lever body 64 and the actuating part 66, is selectively 
brought into engagement with the locking part 48 of the slidable moving 
means 40 when the PCB 24 is slidably mounted to the chassis 14. 
In the locking lever 60, a rotation guide pin 62b, having a predetermined 
length, is provided on the bottom surface of the wide mount 62 at a 
predetermined position. An arcuate guide slot 14a, having a radius of 
curvature, is formed on the top surface of the chassis 14, so that the 
guide pin 62b is movably received in the guide slot 14a and guides a 
rotating motion of the locking lever 60 on the chassis 14. 
As shown in FIG. 5, the lever locking means comprises a locking protrusion 
82 and a locking hole 84. The locking protrusion 82, having a 
predetermined height, is formed on the bottom surface of the lever body 64 
at a predetermined position. The locking hole 84, having a predetermined 
depth, is formed on the top surface of the chassis 14 at a position 
corresponding to the terminal point of a rotating motion of the locking 
protrusion 82. 
FIG. 6 is an exploded perspective view showing the PCB mounting structure 
of this invention used with a computer. As shown in the drawing, the 
chassis 14 of the computer is generally divided into two compartments. In 
the first compartment, the chassis 14 carries a power supply unit 16 and a 
hard disc drive 18 at the rear panel and carries a floppy disc drive 20 
and a CD-ROM drive 22 at the front panel. In the second compartment, a PCB 
24 is horizontally set in the lower portion, while a plurality of option 
cards 24a are set in a plurality of expansion slots 28 at a position above 
the PCB 24. The expansion slots 28 are electrically connected to the PCB 
24. 
In the PCB mounting structure for computers, two rows of first guide 
members 52, constituting the guide means 50, are provided on the top 
surface of the chassis 14 and extend in the same direction as the sliding 
direction of the PCB 24 on the chassis 14. A locking lever 60 is rotatably 
mounted to the top surface of the outer edge of the chassis 14. while a 
slidable moving means 40, which engages with and is guided by the first 
guide members 52, is mounted to the bottom surface of the PCB 24. 
FIG. 7 is a sectional view showing the slidable moving means 40 brought 
into engagement with the first guide members 52. As shown in the drawing, 
the two rows of first guide members 52, individually having a 
predetermined length, are formed by partially cutting the top surface of 
the chassis 14 prior to bending upwardly the cut pieces. The first guide 
members 52 movably receive the skirt part 44 of the slidable moving means 
40, thus guiding a slidable movement of the slidable moving means 40 on 
the chassis 14. 
In the longitudinal body 42 of the ridable moving means 40, a longitudinal 
groove 42a, having a predetermined depth, is axially formed on the bottom 
surface, thus effectively reducing the frictional contact area between the 
top surface of the chassis 14 and the bottom surface of the body 42 and 
allowing the PCB 24 to be more easily mounted to and removed from the 
chassis 14. 
The PCB mounting structure of this invention is operated as follows when a 
PCB 24 or a motherboard is mounted to or removed from a chassis 14. 
FIG. 8 is a plan view showing the operation of the above PCB mounting 
structure when a PCB 24 is slidably mounted to the chassis 14. As shown in 
the drawing, in order to mount a PCB 24 or a motherboard to the chassis 
14, the PCB 24 is primarily arranged on the chassis 14 in a way such that 
the skirt part 44 of the slidable moving means 40 and both side edges of 
the PCB 24 are respectively aligned with the first and second guide 
members 52 and 54 of the guide means 50. Thereafter, the PCB 24 is pushed 
inwardly. The PCB 24 thus slides on the chassis 14 from the outside into 
the inside under the guide of the first and second guide members 52 and 
54. 
When the PCB 24 slides on the chassis 14 from the outside into the inside 
under the guide of the first and second guide members 52 and 54 as 
described above, the locking part 48 of the slidable moving means 40 comes 
into contact with the contact part 66a of the locking lever 60 prior to 
linearly moving to the inside of the chassis 14. 
As the locking part 48 of the slidable moving means 40 moves to the inside 
of the chassis 14 while being brought into contact with the contact part 
66a of the lever 60, the lever body 64 of the locking lever 60 is rotated 
in a direction under the guide of the arcuate guide slot 14a of the 
chassis 14 as shown in FIG. 9. The longitudinal body 42 of the slidable 
moving means 40 is thus completely set on the chassis 14. 
When the slidable moving means 40 of the PCB 24 is completely set on the 
chassis 14, the first connector 70, provided at the inside edge of the PCB 
24, is connected to the second connector 70' of the chassis 14. 
At the same time, the locking part 48 of the slidable moving means 40 is 
fitted into the locking slot 68 of the locking lever 60, while the contact 
part 66a of the locking lever 60 is fitted into the rounded bay 46 of the 
slidable moving means 40. 
During the above operation for mounting the PCB 24 to the chassis 14, the 
rotating motion of the locking lever 60 is stably guided by the arcuate 
guide slot 14a of the chassis 14 cooperating with the guide pin 62b of the 
locking lever 60. 
When the locking lever 60 is completely rotated to mount the PCB 24 to the 
chassis 14, the locking protrusion 82 of the lever locking means is seated 
in the locking hole 84 of the chassis 14 as shown in FIG. 9, thus locking 
the locking lever 60 in the PCB locking position and preventing the lever 
60 from being accidentally rotated to a PCB releasing position. 
FIG. 10 is a sectional view showing the PCB 24 completely set on the 
chassis 14. When the PCB 24 is completely set on the chassis 14 as shown 
in FIG. 10, the position of the PCB 24 is maintained by the skirt part 44 
of the slidable moving means 40 which engages with the first guide members 
52 of the chassis 14. In addition, the position of the PCB 24 on the 
chassis 14 is maintained by the locking part 48 of the slidable moving 
means 40 fitted into the locking slot 68 of the locking lever 60. The 
position of the PCB 24 on the chassis 14 is also maintained by the locking 
protrusion 82 of the lever locking means seated in the locking hole 84 of 
the chassis 14. 
FIG. 11 is a plan view showing the operation of the PCB mounting structure 
when the PCB 24 is removed from the chassis 14. As shown in the drawing, 
in order to remove the PCB 24 from the chassis 14, the lever body 64 of 
the locking lever 60 is manually levered outwardly, thus allowing the 
locking protrusion 82 of the lever locking means to be forcibly separated 
from the locking hole 84 of the chassis 14 prior to rotating the lever 60 
in an opposite direction. 
Therefore, the locking part 48 of the slidable moving means 40 is pushed 
outwardly by the contact part 66a of the locking lever 60. In addition, 
the first connector 70 of the PCB 24 is removed from the second connector 
70' of the chassis 14, so that the PCB 24 may be removed from the chassis 
14. 
The PCB 24 can be manually pulled out from the chassis 14 under the guide 
of the first and second guide members 52 and 54 of the guide means 50. 
Therefore, the PCB mounting structure for electronic appliances of this 
invention allows a user to easily repair or change the PCB. 
As described above, the present invention provides a structure for 
detachably and slidably mounting a PCB in electronic appliances, thus 
allowing a user to easily mount and remove the PCB to or from the chassis 
of an electronic appliance. In the PCB mounting structure of this 
invention, a slidable moving means of a PCB performs a slidable appliance 
motion, while a locking lever of a chassis is rotatable in opposite 
directions so as to perform a latching motion for locking or releasing the 
slidable moving means. The PCB mounting structure of this invention thus 
allows a PCB to be detachably, slidably, quickly, precisely and easily 
mounted to the chassis, so the structure improves work efficiency and is 
convenient to users while repairing or changing the PCB. 
The PCB mounting structure of this invention is also provided with a lever 
locking means, which selectively locks the locking lever when the lever is 
in a PCB locking position, thus preventing the lever from being 
accidentally rotated to a PCB releasing position. 
The PCB mounting structure allows a user to easily and quickly mount a PCB 
to the chassis of an electronic appliance without using any set screws, 
thus remarkably improving work efficiency while repairing or changing the 
PCB. 
Although the preferred embodiments of the present invention have been 
disclosed for illustrative purposes, those skilled in the art will 
appreciate that various modifications, additions and substitutions are 
possible, without departing from the scope and spirit of the invention as 
recited in the accompanying claims.