Function card fixing structure having a releasing component to lock and unlock a sliding component

A function card fixing structure is provided, comprising a main body including a first portion and a second portion, wherein the first portion is perpendicular to the second portion, and the first portion comprises a plurality of trenches extending along a direction of a long axis of the main body. A sliding component is disposed at a side of the second portion, wherein the sliding component comprises a plate body and a locking portion, and one side of the plate body comprises a plurality of openings and stopping portions. A releasing component comprising a locking portion is at one side, wherein the locking portion of the releasing component is locked with the locking portion of the sliding component.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The instant disclosure relates to a fixing structure; in particular, to a function card fixing structure.

2. Description of Related Art

In the recent age of information and technology, computers are necessary for people in their daily life. In order to increase the functions of computers, slots of a mother board are required to install function cards, such as a sound card, graphic accelerating card, interface card or network card to increase the additional functions thereof. However, when transporting the computers or if the computers are impacted by accident, the function cards drop out of the mother board and the slots of the mother board are easily damaged. In order to prevent the looseness of the function card, a traditional way sets a metal blank connected to the function card, so that after the function card is plugged to the slot of the mother board, the metal blank is fixed to the computer casing to insure the function card not dropping off when transporting the computer or the computer being impacted in an accident, and that the function card is electrically connected to the mother board well. However, with the increasing functions of function cards and the mother board needing to be plugged with many function cards to increase the functions thereof, the functions easily generate heat. Therefore, the function card needs adding a heat dissipation module to help releasing heat. Accordingly, these function cards have bigger size and have more weight than standard expansion cards. The heat dissipation module not only increases the overall weight of the function card and mother board, but also makes the function card unable to be solidly fixed on the mother board with the design where only a side of the function card has a metal blank. This issue further affects the stability of the entire structure including the mother board and the function cards, and the electrical connection of the function cards to the mother board is also affected. Furthermore, the traditional structure using the metal blank or other structures requires a plurality of screws for installing function cards. It is extremely inconvenient for people engaged in the industry to assemble and disassemble the function cards.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The objective of the instant disclosure is to provide a function card fixing structure which can solve the drawbacks of traditional structure. In order to achieve the aforementioned objectives, according to an embodiment of the instant disclosure, a function card fixing structure is provided, comprising a main body including a first portion and a second portion, wherein the first portion is perpendicular to the second portion, and the first portion comprises a plurality of trenches extending along a direction of a long axis of the main body. A sliding component is disposed at a side of the second portion, wherein the sliding component comprises a plate body and a locking portion, and one side of the plate body comprises a plurality of openings and stopping portions. A releasing component comprising a locking portion is at one side, wherein the locking portion of the releasing component is locked with the locking portion of the sliding component.

Preferably, the casing has a plurality of bumping components plugged into the slots of the plate body of the sliding component to limit moving of the sliding component along a direction.

Preferably, the function card fixing structure further comprises at least one elastic component, and one side of the elastic component is fixed to the main body and another side of the elastic component is fixed to the sliding component, and when the slots of the sliding components are aligned to the trenches, the elastic component applies an elastic force to the sliding component.

Preferably, the openings and the stopping portions are alternatively interposed with each other, and the stopping portion of the sliding component are used to limit movement a plug portion of the function card when the plug portion is plugged into the corresponding trenches.

Preferably, the function card comprises at least one heat sink module, and another side of the function card opposite the plug portion is fixed to a casing.

The disclosure has advantages as follows. The releasing component of the function card fixing structure has a locking portion at an end, and this locking portion of the releasing component can lock with the locking portion of the sliding component. After the function card is plugged into the trench, a user can push the releasing component for the sliding component to cover the trench, so that the function card is fixed. According to the function card fixing structure, a user can proceed with a sliding action to the sliding component to install and disassemble the function card. The user does not need use any screw to install a function card and disassemble the function card. Therefore, the user can be bare-handed install and disassemble the function card. The action is easy and there is no issue of losing accessories. In addition, the function card fixing structure provided by the disclosure can provide the function card with enough fixing strength, such that the function card is not separated from the casing during transporting and is not damaged accordingly.

In addition, the function card fixing structure can be used for vertical type or horizontal type casing. That is, the disclosure does not limit where the function card fixing structure connects to the casing. The position where the function card fixing structure is located can change in accordance with shape, size or function of the casing, and the installation and disassembling of the function card fixing structure are not affected.

In order to further understand the instant disclosure, the following embodiments and illustrations are provided. However, the detailed description and drawings are merely illustrative of the disclosure, rather than limiting the scope being defined by the appended claims and equivalents thereof.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

The aforementioned illustrations and detailed descriptions are exemplary for the purpose of further explaining the scope of the instant disclosure. Other objectives and advantages related to the instant disclosure will be illustrated in the subsequent descriptions and appended drawings.

First Embodiment

Referring toFIG. 1,FIG. 2andFIG. 3, the embodiment provides a function card fixing structure, comprising a main body102which has a first portion108and a second portion106. The first portion108and the second portion106are perpendicular to form an L shaped structure. However, the disclosure does not limit the shape of the function card fixing structure. The shape of the function card fixing structure can vary in accordance with the shape and size of a casing. The first portion108of the main body102comprises a plurality of trenches114which extend along a direction of a long axis of the main body102. In more detail, the trenches120are open having wide top portion and narrow middle portion. Therefore, a plug portion146of the function card144can be plugged into the trench114, and the narrow portion of the trench114can limit horizontal movement, i.e. the x direction, of the function card144. The first portion108of the main body102has a stop portion116neighboring each of the trenches114. The stop portion116of the main body102can be anti-U shaped and is used to limit movement of the function card144along the direction parallel to one axis of the function card, i.e. the y direction. However, the disclosure does not limit the stop portion116to be anti-U shaped. The stop portion116can have another shape. The main body102can comprise a plurality of threaded holes140therein and can be fixed to a casing using a plurality of screws142. The main body shown inFIG. 1comprises four trenches114, but this is only an example. The amount of the trenches can vary in accordance with size of the casing or spec of the product. Top portions of the trenches114extend to the second portion106of the main body102to form a plurality of openings118in the second portion106of the main body102.

The function card fixing structure further comprises a sliding component104, and as shown inFIG. 1,FIG. 2,FIG. 3andFIG. 4. The sliding component104is movably disposed under the second portion106of the main body102. The sliding component104comprises a plate body110and a locking portion112, in which the plate body110and the locking portion112are perpendicular with each other. A side of the plate body110comprises a plurality of openings124and stopping portions122, in which the openings124and stopping portions122are disposed alternatively. In more detail, two stop portions122are disposed at two sides of one of the openings124, and the opening124and the stop portion122neighbor each other. The stop portions122substantially are flanges of the plate body112, and further comprise arc shaped structures126thereunder. The arc shaped structure126comprises a bevel and a plane, in which the bevel is used for the plug portion146to be easily guided into the trenches114when moving the sliding component104. The arc shaped structure126can have a function to suppress the plug portion146. The stop portion122can be used to limit movement along the direction of the trench114, i.e. in the z direction. The sliding component104can slide along the direction of the long axis of the second portion106of the main body102, i.e. the x direction inFIG. 1, and a rod component132connects to the sliding component104. Therefore, a user can move the sliding component104through pushing the rod component132.

As shown inFIG. 3, the embodiment further comprises at least one elastic component152, in which a side of the elastic component152is fixed to a side of the main body102and another side thereof is fixed to a side of the sliding component104. The elastic component152can be a spring. When the user pushes the rod component132to move the sliding component104for the openings124of the sliding component104to align with the corresponding trenches114, the elastic component152applies a force to the sliding component104, in which the direction of the force is parallel to the plate body110and is along the direction toward the position of the elastic component152. Two springs152are shown in the figures of the embodiment. However, the disclosure is not limited thereto. The amount of the springs152can vary in accordance with requirement of the product. The plate body110of the sliding component104can comprise a plurality of slots134, each of which has a first opening136and a second opening138, and the width of the first opening136is greater than the width of the second opening138. The casing has a plurality of bumping components120plugged into the slots134of the plate body110, and the bumping components120can be plugged into the first opening136first and then slide to the second opening138, wherein each of the bumping components120comprises a first column-shaped structure156and a second column shaped structure158. The first column-shaped structure156protrudes through a hole of the second portion106of the main body102, so that the sliding component104is movably connected to the second portion106of the main body102, and the sliding component104can only move along the long-axis direction thereof (i.e. the x direction).

In addition to the first portion108and the second portion106, the main body102further comprises a third portion151perpendicular to the second portion106, and a releasing component128is connected to the third portion151of the main body102. The releasing component128comprises a locking portion130. When the sliding component104is moved to a designated position, for example the openings124to which the plate body110aligns the trenches114of the main body102, the locking portion130connected to the releasing component128is locked to the locking portion112of the sliding component104. Therefore, the sliding component104is fixed by the locking between the locking portion112of the sliding component104and the locking portion130connected to the releasing component128. The plug portion146of the function card144can pass through the opening114of the plate body110of the sliding component104to be plugged into the trench114. The releasing component128can be pressed by the user to make the locking portion112of the sliding component104release from the locking portion130connected to the releasing component128. The sliding component104returns to the original position, so that the stop portions122align to the trenches114through the force applied by the elastic component152to the sliding component104. Accordingly, after the plug portion146is plugged into the corresponding trench114of the first portion108, movement of the plug portion146of the function card144is limited.

The function card144can be an interface card, a graphic card, a network card, a sound card, etc in the embodiment, wherein a side of the function card144is fixed to a side of the casing including terminals, for example a front window, and the function card fixing structure can be fixed to the opposite side of the casing, for example a back window. The function card144is a heavy card in the embodiment, for example a card having a heat releasing module. Therefore, in addition to the fixing portion fixed to the side of the casing having terminals, another side of the function card is fixed to the opposite side of the casing (for example fixed to the function card fixing structure of the disclosure). Therefore, the function card144is not spaced apart from the casing during transport, and unwanted damage is prevented. In more detail, the function card fixing structure can fit function cards144which have various lengths. For example, the function card144can be full height or low profile. When the function card144is not long enough to have two sides fixed to opposite sides of the casing, a connection portion150can be added between the function card144and the plug portion146. In addition, in an example, the function card144is a PCI interface card, and the function card fixing structure can be used for vertical type or horizontal type casing. It is noted that the disclosure does not limit the position where the function card fixing structure connects in the casing. The position where the function card fixing structure connects can change in accordance with shape, size or function of the casing.

The movement of the function card fixing structure of an embodiment of the invention is illustrated in accordance withFIG. 5A-FIG. 8. Please also refer toFIGS. 1 and 3if the reference numbers of some elements are not shown inFIG. 5A-FIG. 8. First, please refer toFIG. 5A,FIG. 5B,FIG. 5CandFIG. 5D. Before plugging the plug portion146of a function card144into the trench114of the function card fixing structure, the rod component132is pushed to move the sliding component104connected to the rod component132, such that the openings124of the sliding component104align to the trenches114of the main body102. When the sliding component104reaches a position, the locking portion112thereof is locked to the locking portion130of the releasing component128. Therefore, the sliding component104is fixed and cannot move. The elastic component152connected to the main body102and the sliding component104is strengthened to apply a force to the sliding component104, in which the force is parallel to the plate body110and is along the direction away from the elastic component152to the position close to the elastic component152. Next, as shown inFIG. 6, the plug portion146connected to the function card144is plugged into the trench114of the main body102passing through the opening118to the sliding component104. At this moment, horizontal movement (along direction x) of the function card144is limited by the main body102, and vertical movement (along direction y) of the function card144is limited by the stop portion116. Referring toFIG. 7A,FIG. 7BandFIG. 7C, the releasing component128is pushed to separate the locking portion112of the sliding component104and the locking portion130of the releasing component128. The sliding component104applied with the force from the elastic component152moves toward the elastic component152till the top portion of the trenches114are covered by the stop portions122of the sliding component104. At this time, vertical movement (along direction z) of the function card144is limited by the top portion116of the sliding component104. Therefore, the function card144cannot move along the vertical direction (the direction z). The sliding component104preferably is made of metal and is disposed under the second portion106of the main body102. The sliding component104withstands the second portion106of the main body102, so that the sliding component104can provide enough resist strength to the function card144. On the contrary, referring toFIG. 8, if the user wants to take the function card144out, he can push the rod component132again to move the sliding component104connected to the rod component132till openings124of the sliding component104align to the trenches114of the main body102. Accordingly, the user can move the plug portion146connected to the function card144out through the opening124of the sliding component104to take out the function card144.

According to the description above, the disclosure has the features as follows. According to the function card fixing structure, a user does not need to use any screw to install a function card and disassemble the function card. Therefore, the user can be bare-handed to install and disassemble the function card. The action is easy and there is no issue of losing accessories. In addition, the function card fixing structure provided by the disclosure can provide the function card with enough fixing strength, such that the function is not separated from the casing during transporting and is not damaged accordingly.

The figures and descriptions supra set forth illustrate the preferred embodiments of the instant disclosure; however, the characteristics of the instant disclosure are by no means restricted thereto. All changes, alterations, combinations or modifications conveniently considered by those skilled in the art are deemed to be encompassed within the scope of the instant disclosure delineated by the following claims.