Computer component latching mechanism and method

Abstract: The disclosure relates to a latching mechanism for securing an enclosure case of a computer system to a rack. The rack has two pairs of spaced apart posts, each having attachment locations for supporting two cooperative oppositely facing bracket members. The bracket members include platforms for supporting the bottom of the case, such as a case for a CPU. Each member has supports for rotatably receiving a torsion shaft of a latch. Each shaft is formed with two spaced apart arms having outer portions that engage the upper corners of the opposite sides of the case at two locations on each side. The arms of each shaft are angularly displaced relative to each other along the shaft so that one arm is caused to engage the case before the other arm, and in effecting the holding contact of the arms a torque is placed on the shaft, which remains as a positive force latching the case to the bracket and hence to the rack.

Description: The present invention relates to a latching arrangement for latching a computer component to a frame, and a method of manufacturing a mounting arrangement for a unit of a computing system. More particularly the present invention relates to both certain individual elements and the combination of a rack designed to receive a bracket, which supports an enclosure case containing some part of the computering system, for example, a multi-processing unit and peripherals, the case being secured to the bracket and hence the rack by a latching mechanism. Present designs employ a variety of free standing frames, referred to commonly as racks, to house various components of the computing systems, for example, enclosure cases that contain system boards, disk drives, tape and CD-ROM units, etc. These and other elements of such computer systems contained in cases are employed in certain instances as servers, and while servers are used both in PC and work station environments, for the purpose of describing the present invention and not as a limitation, a work station environment is the intended use. In the designs referenced to above, the cases containing the elements are mounted in the rack by fasteners, such as bolts and screws, which of course involve the use of tools, manpower and a certain amount of down time when installing, removing and replacing the cases. The fastening in the first instance is usually done by the computer manufacturer prior to shipping the system to the customer-user, in which it is important that the method of fastening maintain the internal cases secure during the usually severe pre-shipment drop and vibration testing and during shipment against vibration and inadvertent dropping. Upon receipt, the user is left with the task of removing the bolts or other fasteners to remove a case from the rack to perform needed upgrading or repairs of components and/or to replace failed components. The aim of the present invention is to provide a latching mechanism adapted in an ergonomic manner to be mounted on a frame element of a computer system, the mechanism including a moveable arm for latching and unlatching a component of the computer system to the frame element without the need of the use of tools. According to the present invention there is provided a latching arrangement for latching a computer component to a frame, characterised by: a torsion shaft member rotatably mounted on a support, said support being attachable to said frame, a first part of said shaft member, forming a latching mechanism comprising a laterally extending arm section including a latching portion, a second part of said shaft member including an element for use in rotating said shaft member to bring said latching portion into and out of a latched position, and a third part of said shaft member including a second element for creating a latching force on said latching portion when in said latched position. The latching arrangement preferably has at least two arm sections arranged on the torsion shaft and in a spaced apart relationship to each other, the arm sections being angularly arranged on the shaft so that on rotation of the shaft one of the arm sections is caused to first engage the case after which the second arm section makes contact, in which between the two contacts the shaft is placed under a desired torsion force that holds the arm sections in their latched position by a positive latching force. The torsion shaft is preferably quickly and easily installed and removed to and from the bracket. When employed in combination with a rack and a number of brackets, a latching arrangement for each bracket can be employed to mount several cases of various sizes in the rack. In securing the cases, the latching force is applied at spaced locations in a manner so as to be taken only on the portions of a case directly across from the feet of the case into the feet and not by other portions of the body of the case. The above features are accomplished in a manner, when used with a rack, to allow, in a user friendly manner, for the quick, effortless and toolless latching and unlatching of the case to and from the rack, in which the latching arrangement will not take up space in the rack nor require any modification of existing designs of the case or rack, or impede the cooling of the computing components. While not requiring the use of tools to effect the latching and unlatching, the latching arrangement is capable of withstanding the usually severe pre-shipment drop and vibration testing and such forces that may be reasonably anticipated during shipment and installing. According to a further aspect of the present invention there is provided a method of manufacturing a mounting arrangement for a unit of a computing system, said arrangement including a frame, a bracket and a latch portion, said unit having first and second outer engageable surfaces, the method being characterised by the steps of: forming supporting surfaces on said frame, forming said bracket to include two side members, forming each said side member to include a supporting surface constructed and arranged to cooperate with a different one of said supporting surfaces of said frame in a manner to secure said side members to said frame, in which said side members are co-planar and parallel to each other, forming each said side member to include supporting portions constructed and arranged to support a different portion of said first outer engageable surface of said unit, forming on each said side member a latch receiving portion, forming a said latch portion for each said side member from a metal shaft, including forming an arm, a bracket receiving portion and a handle, in spaced, apart relationship to each other as part of each said shaft; forming each said bracket receiving portion of an associated latch portion to be received by said latch receiving portion of an associated side member; forming and arranging each said arm section in a manner such that when said unit is supported by said supporting portions of said side members different portions of said second outer engageable surface of said unit are arranged adjacent to said arm sections, forming each said arm section so as to include a portion arranged to contact a different one of said different portions of said second outer engageable surface of said unit, in a manner to latch said unit to said bracket and hence to said frame, forming said latching portions of said arm sections in a manner to create a latching force on said unit when latched to said bracket, and forming each said handle to effect a rotation of an associated arm so as to bring an associated arm section into and out of contact with a different one of said different portions of said second outer engageable surface of said unit. The present invention will now be further described, by way of example, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:- FIG. 1 is a schematic isometric view of a rack illustrating, in exploded fashion, a cooperative pair of left and right hand bracket members and by dot-dash line representation their operative mounted positions in the rack, FIG. 2 is an enlarged isometric view of the left hand bracket member shown in FIG. 1, FIG. 3 is an enlarged isometric view of the right hand bracket member shown in FIG. 1, FIG. 4 is an enlarged end view of the handle side i.e. the right side of the bracket member shown in FIG. 3, with the torsion shafts removed, FIG. 5 is an enlarged plan view of one of the details shown in the previous figures, FIG. 6 is an enlarged elevational view of one of the torsion shafts shown in the previous figures, FIG. 7 is an end view of the torsion shaft shown in FIG. 6, and FIG. 8 is a schematic isometric view of an enclosure case illustrating the four feet of the case and some of its components. With reference to FIG. 1 there is illustrated a rack 10, referred to sometimes hereinafter as a restraining member, of a well known design having in the usual fashion four upright free standing posts 12, this particular rack being rectangular in its plan view, thus having two short sides and two long sides, 14 and 16, respectively. The posts, along with cross members of the rack, are made of relatively heavy sheet steel commonly used in the computer industry for this purpose. The spaced apart posts 12 create an open interior 18 into which a number of enclosure cases, not shown, housing various computing components of a computing system are adapted to be securely mounted. One example of an arrangement of such components in a rack, in descending order from top to bottom, would be a peripherals tray, a disk unit, two CPUs, two disk units, two more CPUs followed by a fourth disk unit, the disk units being arranged to serve an adjacent CPU. Included with the CPUs in their cases will be the usual associated components, such as, printed circuit boards 9 ("PCBs") loaded with CPU chips 11 and memory units 13, shown schematically in FIG. 8. Each post 12 is provided with vertical rows of inside and outside screw holes 20 and 22, respectively. Left and right hand holding complimentary cooperative members 24 and 26, respectively, of a case carrying bracket 28 are arranged to be secured to pairs of front and back posts 12 by means of the inside holes 20. The inner arranged holes 20 are formed on vertically extending bars 21 of the posts that have flat inside surfaces 23 spaced inwardly towards the center of the rack. The members or supports 24 and 26 are arranged co-planar and while located opposite hand, are identically constructed. The securement of the members 24 and 26 is by means of screws 30 that pass through tabs 32 (see FIG. 2), there being a set of two tabs provided at the opposite ends of the cooperative pair of bracket members, i.e. the left and right hand members 24 and 26. The arrangement and construction of the tabs 32 are more clearly shown in FIGS. 2 and 3 and will be described more in detail below. The members 24 and 26 are arranged parallel to the long sides 16 of the rack 10. While FIG. 1, for simplicity, illustrates only one bracket 28, it will be appreciated that there will be mounted in the rack 10 several of these brackets, for example a bracket for each of the CPUs referred to above. These units may be of a desk top type and hence there may be a need or interest to quickly and conveniently insert and remove them to and from the rack. In now referring to FIGS. 2 and 3, which better illustrates the construction of the bracket 28, reference will be first directed to FIG. 2 showing mainly the inside characteristics of the member 24 of the bracket. The member is formed of cold rolled mild carbon steel having upper and lower platforms 34 and 36, respectively, for supporting two stacked enclosure cases, not shown. At the inner end of the platform 36 there is provided a vertically extending stop member 38, the upper end of which projects above the upper platform 34 an amount sufficient to serve as a stop for a case supported by the upper platform 34, as the lower part of the member 38 will function as a stop for a case carried by the lower platform 36. The platforms 34 and 36 each have rearwardly extending portions 40 that terminate at the very end of the bracket member and serve to add support and rigidity to the member. The members 24 and 26 only support a relatively small portion of the underside of the cases at their two opposite corners, one of the cases in its entirety being shown in FIG. 8. The outer longitudinal side of the bracket member 24 is formed with a vertical wall 42 to which the platforms 34 and 36 are made an integral part, the wall extending the full length of the member. FIG. 2 shows that the tabs 32 are arranged to project perpendicularly beyond the wall 42 and also outwardly to the left and right and parallel thereto. The tabs have some holes 41 that are closed and others that have open slots for convenience of mounting and alignment when the two members 24 and 26 that make up the bracket are secured to the posts 12 by the screws 30. The perpendicular projections allow the vertical wall 42 to be placed a desired distance away from the adjacent vertical inside surfaces of an associated post 12. The upper surface 44 of the bracket member 24 is maintained below the arms of a torsion shaft, to be described below, but the height of the member and the positions of the two platforms 34 and 36 are such that the tabs 32 align longitudinally with the arms and thus avoid using any of the inner space of the rack because of the employment of the latching arrangement. FIG. 2 shows that both the platforms 34 and 36 and the vertical wall 42 are provided with a number of openings 46 that allow for cooling of the internal components of the case. FIG. 2 also indicates by the four outlined areas 48 that each platform has two areas which will be contacted by the feet 49 of two cases, one foot for each case only being identified, which are supported by their respective platforms. In inserting a case into the bracket 28, the bracket's open front end and the lead in portions of the platforms allow the insertion as a simple quick operation. The two platforms of the members 34 and 36 are separated vertically a desired distance from each other to allow the installing of the two stacked cases. The same result is accomplished by the distance maintained between the upper platforms 34 and the computer component mounted above the bracket. The various sections that make up both sides of the bracket, in a customary manner, are interconnected by cold forming and tig welding. FIG. 3 illustrates the outer side, that is, the side that faces the post 12, of the right hand cooperative member 26 of the bracket 28. In looking at the inside surface of the vertical wall 42, the inside surfaces of the projecting tabs 32 are seen along with the inside surfaces of the closed and slotted holes 41. As in the case of the inside construction of the bracket, the outside takes the form of upper and lower sections indicated at 52 and 54, respectively, designed to accommodate two stacked enclosure cases. Hereinafter these reference numbers will also be used to designate the inside sections formed by the platforms 34 and 36. For each of the sections 52 and 54 there is provided four outwardly projecting horizontal in-line tabs 56 having open bottoms and a single outwardly projecting in-line tab 58 being arranged adjacent the front end of the bracket, i.e. to the right as one views FIG. 3. This latter tab has an open top, as distinguished from the bottom openings of the former tabs. The size of the openings of the four tabs 56 and 58 is made to accommodate the diameters of the bracket receiving portions of associated torsion shafts 60 of two latching mechanisms, sometime hereinafter referred to as a latch, 62 shown arranged in and supported by the bracket members in FIGS. 2 and 3. When a torsion shaft is mounted in its associated member it will be inserted into the openings of the tabs 56 and forced over the tab 58 into its opening locking the shaft in the member. While held against vertical movement, the clearance between the shaft and openings of the tabs allows for free rotation of the shaft. The provision of the tabs 56 and 58 allow the shafts to be installed and removed very quickly and easily without the use of tools. In referring to the torsion shafts 60, it should be noted that a handle 64 is provided for each shaft, and when vertically disposed, indicates that the shafts are in their unlatched positions. In the unlatched positions the handles allow free movements of the cases into and out of each section 52 and 54 of the opposed cooperative bracket members 24 and 26. FIGS. 2 and 3 reveal that each shaft is formed with two spaced apart laterally extending arm sections, each comprising a pair of spaced apart arms 66 between which a latching portion or cross member 67 extends when referring to the upper section 52, the case, not shown, slides under the overhanging inwardly projecting cross members 67 of the arm sections when the handle 64 is in the indicated vertical position. FIG. 3 shows the cooling openings 46 in the vertical wall 42. The arm sections 66 of the torsion shafts 60 are located on the shafts so as to be generally directly across from where the feet of the cases are supported by the platforms 34 and 36. This design allows the latching force of an arm section to be taken directly from the top of a case into its foot located directly below the point of the application of the force and hence into the associated platform, and in this way isolates the latching force from the rest of the plastic wall of the case. To complete the description of the members 24 and 26 of the bracket 28, reference is made to FIGS. 4 and 5. At this end of the bracket on the outside thereof, there is provided for each section 52 and 54 relatively large rectangularly shaped flat tabs or containing members 68 projecting perpendicularly from the vertical wall 42 towards the post 12 of the rack 10 but spaced therefrom. These tabs 68 fall behind the handles 64 of the torsion shafts 60. The handles of each member 24 and 26 move towards the adjacent inside surface of an associated post 12, in which the bars 21 and tabs 32 space the handles far enough away from the posts sufficient to allow the necessary movements of the handles to effect the latching. To each outside vertical face of the tabs 68 there is attached a horizontally extending detail 70 having two stepped or indented portions 72 and 74, the depths of the steps being dimensioned to receive in a locking manner a portion of the handle 64 of an associated torsion shaft 60. The details 70 are shown to have wider portions on the side nearest an associated handle when in its vertical position, which portion causes the handle to spring outwardly when moved into the latching position, after which the handle will spring back into one of the step portions 72 and 74. The handles move from generally vertical positions, to positions approaching horizontal positions, the latter positions being the latching positions, in which the cross members 67 are caused to contact the top adjacent corner of the case. The two step portions 72 and 74 serve to lock an associated torsion shaft in its latched position and allow for the selection of two latching forces, depending on which step in which the handle is located. Since the details 70 for each member 24 and 26 are identically constructed and arranged in the same locations, the gripping action on each side of a case can be made with substantially the same force or if desired with a different force. In any event, as between two cooperative cross members 67 of any one torsion shaft 60, once the second cross member establishes its latching force with the case the force exerted by each cross member will be substantially equal. FIG. 6 shows that the inner end of each shaft of the latching mechanism 62 is provided with a thrust washer 76, the inner surface of which engages the adjacent outer surface of the adjacent tab 56, which contact limits the axial movement of the shaft in a direction from left to right, but yet still allows free and easy rotation of the shaft. The shaft is limited in its movement in the opposite direction by the handle 64 contacting the tab 68. To allow for a free rotation of the torsion shaft a clearance is provided between the washer 76 and tab 56 and the handle 64 and tab 68. The handles are formed in the shape of open rectangles for ease of manipulation by hand. FIGS. 6 and 7 best illustrate the radial offset relationship of the pairs of spaced arm sections 66 and cross members 67 of each torsion shaft 60. The shaft shown in these figures is for the member 24, which means the shaft and cross members rotate towards one viewing FIG. 6 from the unlatched illustrated position to the latched position. The cross members are offset with respect to their radii relative to the shaft 60 as indicated in FIG. 7, where the cross member 67B, closest to the handle 64, is shown to be slightly offset with respect to the cross member 67A. In this arrangement, the cross members 67A of each shaft contact the case first after which the case is contacted by the cross members 67B. The degree of offset in the form shown, measured by the two different angles of the cross members, and further defined by the acute angle formed by two lines drawn through the parallel axes of the cross members and the parallel axis of the shaft, amounts to approximately eleven degrees, which may range between plus or minus 3 degrees in the shaft being illustrated. The reference to the acute angle is understood to mean the angle formed when the two lines are viewed as being in a common vertical plane passing transversely through the longitudinal axis of the torsion shaft 60. FIG. 7 indicates the shape of the arms of one of the shafts that allows the cross members arranged at their outer ends to apply the latching force to one of the upper corners of the case. On rotation of the handle of the member 24 in a counterclockwise direction, i.e. into the paper so to speak, the cross member 67A is caused to contact the case first, after which on a slight additional counterclockwise rotation the cross member 67B is brought into engagement with the top surface of the case. During the time between when the two contacts are being made a desired and predetermined torque is placed on the torsion shaft sufficient to accomplish an effective constant latching force securing the case to the rack 10. In order to accomplish the desired torsion condition, the torsion shaft 60 is made out of high carbon or alloy spring steel tempered wire. For the illustrated embodiment an approximation of the diameter of the shaft is 4.76 mm, the length of the shaft 420 mm, the throw of the arms 32 mm, and the length of the handle 93 mm. The approximate weight of the case can be 12.7 kg. The length of the handles of each member 24 and 26 will allow their lower ends to engage the details 70 of the bracket 28. The latching surfaces of the cross members 67 are coated with a plastic to improve their gripping affect with the case. The same coating, for the same reason, may be provided for the handles. FIG. 8 is designed to indicate that an enclosure case 82 is provided with four perimetric located raised feet 49 which engage the spaced areas 48 of the platforms 34 and 36 and play a role in transferring to the platforms the latching force and in so doing protecting the plastic case from damage from this force. As indicated, the outer shell of the case is formed out of a plastic of the type customarily used in the computer industry. The case 82, being a desk top type, is provided with the four feet 49 at the four corners of the case, the feet also being formed of plastic in the general form of either a single elongated piece or two such pieces arranged perpendicularly and joined together. The portions of the feet that contact the platforms are made out of rubber like insert members. An example of the size of the length of a section of a foot for a case measuring approximately 40 cm square would be 3 cm. While the bracket has been shown to support a case in a horizontal position, the bracket may be positioned to support a case in a vertical position. In briefly describing the operation of the latching arrangement, assuming that one or more of the brackets 28 are secured by screws 30 to the posts 12 of the rack 10, and the two torsion shafts 60 for an enclosure case 82 to be received by the rack are mounted in a toolless fashion in an associated bracket 28 with the handles 64 in their receiving positions, the case 82 can be slid over the particular cooperative pairs of platforms 34 and 36 to be used to support the case in the rack 10. In referring to the installation of only a single case, with the torsion shafts 60 in their receiving positions, the upper surface 88 of the case 82 will move free of any contact by the arms 66 and cross members 67 of the torsion shafts 60 which will be in their ambushed positions. The stop members 38 of the bracket 28 will properly position the case longitudinally on the platforms being used. After this, to effectively latch the case 82 to the rack 10 without the need of any tools, the handles 64 of the torsion shafts 60 of a bracket 28 are rotated to cause the cross members 67 to move inwardly and particularly downwardly towards the center of the rack, where they will contact the two opposite upper corners of the case 82 and latch the case to the rack under the torsion forces created in the two shafts by the sequential latching contact of the cross members 67A and 67B of each shaft. Once this occurs, the handles will be positioned in one of the steps 72 or 74 of an associated detail 70 of the bracket 28 to assure that the torsion force on each torsion shaft will be maintained as long as the handles remain locked. This locked condition will withstand the usually severe pre-shipment drop and vibration testing and similar forces that may reasonably be expected during shipment and use. In removing the enclosure case 82 from the rack 10, the described action is simply reversed. In a given rack a number and if desired all of the enclosure cases can be installed in the rack by employing the latching mechanism. It will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that the torsion shaft can take different forms, for example, when employed with very small size cases, a single cross member need only be used, in larger cases three or more cross members may be desirable. Also, instead of the disclosed bracket other forms may be employed. The torsion shaft may be used without a rack or bracket, in which, for example, the shaft may be mounted directly on the chassis of a case for internally securing a computer component to the chassis. In accordance with the provisions of the patent statutes, I have explained my invention in terms of its preferred embodiment, however, it will be readily understood by those skilled in the art to which the invention pertains that it may be practiced otherwise than illustrated and described.

Claims: A latching arrangement for latching a computer component (82) to a frame (10), characterised by: a torsion shaft member (60) rotatably mounted on a support (24, 26), said support (24, 26) being attachable to said frame (10), a first part of said shaft member (60), forming a latching mechanism (62) comprising a laterally extending arm section (66) including a latching portion (67), a second part of said shaft member (60) including an element (64) for use in rotating said shaft member (60) to bring said latching portion (67) into and out of a latched position, and a third part of said shaft member (60) including a second element (62) for creating a latching force on said latching portion (67) when in said latched position. A latching arrangement as claimed in claim 1, in which said shaft member (60) has a longitudinal axis and includes at least two lateral arm sections (66), each of said arm sections (66) including a said portion (67) and each said latching portion (67) extending parallel to said longitudinal axis, said arm sections (66) being spaced apart from each other along said longitudinal axis of said shaft member (60) and arranged to have a different angular relationship to each other relative to said axis. A latching arrangement as claimed in claim 2, in which said different angular relationship falls within the range of 8 to 14 degrees as measured by an acute angle defined by lines drawn through longitudinal axis of said shaft member (60) and the longitudinal axes of said latching portions (67) of said arm sections. A latching arrangement as claimed in claim 2, in which said shaft member (60) is formed out of a tempered spring steel and constructed and arranged to be capable of functioning as a torsion bar when subjected to a torque created by said latching portions of said arm sections (66) during a latching operation. A latching arrangement as claimed in claim 1 further characterised by: a bracket (28) having a plurality of supports (24, 26), each support (24, 26) including a portion (56) constructed and arranged to receive said torsion shaft member (60) so that said tension shaft member (60) is movable relative to said portion (56), said torsion shaft member including said latching portion (67) constructed and arranged to latch said computer component (82) to said bracket (28), and said shaft member (60) including said second member (62) for effecting movement of said latching portion to and from a latched position with said computer component (82) and for creating a latching force on said latching portion when in said latched position. A latching arrangement as claimed in claim 5, further characterised by: said frame (10) including an attachment portion (23), said support (24, 26) including a second portion (32) securable to said attachment portion (23) of said frame (10). A latching arrangement as claimed in claim 6, characterised by: said computer component (82) including a portion (88) engageable by said second element (62) for effecting movement in a manner to maintain said latched portion (67) in said latched position under a predetermined latching force, and including a computer component (82) comprising an enclosure case having an internally installed PCB (9), CPU (11) and memory units (13), said support (24, 26) including openings (46) sized to allow circulation of air adjacent to said computer component (82). A latching arrangement as claimed in claim 1, in which said frame (10) includes spaced apart uprights (12) each including attachment portions (23), said bracket (28) including spaced apart attachment portions (32) constructed and arranged to be attached to a different one of said attachment portions (23) of said uprights (12), fastening facilities (30) for effecting said attachment of said bracket (28) to said uprights (12), said bracket (28) including a computer component carrying portion (34) for supporting said component (82), and an outer engageable surface (88) which when said component (82) is supported by said carrying portion (34) of said bracket (28), is presented in a position to be engaged by said arm section (66), said latching portion (67) being constructed and arranged to engage said outer surface (88) of said supported component (82) to latch said component (82) to said bracket (28) and hence to said frame (10). A latching mechanism as claimed in claim 8, in which said shaft member (60) includes a second arm section (66) arranged in a spaced apart relationship to said first arm section (66) on said shaft member (60), said arm sections (66) each including similar portions constructed to extend towards different portions of said component (82) when carried by said bracket (28), with each said arm section (66) terminating in a said latching portion (67), each said latching portions (67) comprising a cross member (67a), with said cross members (67a, 67b) of each said arm section (66) being constructed and arranged to assume a different angular relationship to each other relative to the longitudinal axis of said shaft member (60), such that on rotation of said shaft member one of said cross members (67a, 67b) is, in use, caused to engage one of said portions of said component (82) before said other cross member is caused to engage the other of said portions of said component (82), and wherein once said one cross member is caused to make its engagement said shaft member (60) is subject to a torsion force until said other cross member is caused to make its engagement, and wherein after said last said engagement said shaft member (60) continues to be subjected to a torsion force. A latching arrangement as claimed in claim 9, in which said frame (10) includes two cooperative pairs of said uprights (12), each of said uprights (12) including a said attachment portion (23), said bracket (28) including two of said supports (24. 26), with a said spaced apart attachment portion (32) of said bracket (28) being provided for each of said supports (24, 26), said attachment portions (32) of each said support (24, 26) being attached to a different one of said attachment portions (23) of said pairs of said uprights (12), such that said supports (24, 26) are attached to a different one of said pairs and arranged directly across from each other, each said support (24, 26) including a said shaft member (60) and a wall member (42), said carrying portion (40) of each said support (24, 26) including a first platform (34) carried by each said wall member (42) in a manner to be generally co-planar and parallel to each other, said platforms (34, 36) including supporting surfaces of a dimension sufficient to support portions of the opposite sides of said component (82), and said supports (24, 26) including common ends constructed and arranged to receive said component (82). A latching arrangement as claimed in claim 10, in which said component (82) comprises a first said component (82), each said support (24, 26) having a second said platform (36) spaced from said first said platform (34) of said supports (24, 26), in a manner that said two supports (24, 26) support a second said component (82) in a stacked superimposed relationship with said first component (82), said second platforms (36) including supporting surfaces of a dimension sufficient to support portions of the opposite sides of said second component (82), and said common ends of each of said supports (24, 260 being constructed and arranged to receive said second component (82). A latching mechanism as claimed in claim 11, in which each said support (24, 26) includes a stop element (38) for positioning their said supported components (82) on associated said platforms (34, 36), each said support (24, 26) including a said latch supporting portion which includes spaced apart generally aligned tabs (56), each said tab (56) including a portion constructed and arranged to receive and rotatably support a different portion of the shaft member (60), and said shaft member (60) being formed out of a tempered spring steel. A method of manufacturing a mounting arrangement for a unit of a computing system (82), said arrangement including a frame (10), a bracket (28) and a latch portion (67), said unit (82) having first and second outer engageable surfaces, the method being characterised by the steps of: forming supporting surfaces (23) on said frame, forming said bracket (28) to include two side members (24, 26), forming each said side member (24, 26) to include a supporting surface (32) constructed and arranged to cooperate with a different one of said supporting surfaces (23) of said frame (10) in a manner to secure said side members (24, 26) to said frame (10), in which said side members (24, 26) are co-planar and parallel to each other, forming each said side member (24, 26) to include supporting portions (34, 36) constructed and arranged to support a different portion of said first outer engageable surface of said unit (82), forming on each said side member (24, 26) a latch receiving portion (56), forming a said latch portion (67) for each said side member (24, 26) from a metal shaft (60), including forming an arm (66), a bracket receiving portion (62) and a handle (64), in spaced, apart relationship to each other as part of each said shaft (60); forming each said bracket receiving portion (62) of an associated latch portion (67) to be received by said latch receiving portion (56) of an associated side member (24, 26), forming and arranging each said arm section (66) in a manner such that when said unit (82) is supported by said supporting portions (34, 36) of said side members (24, 26) different portions of said second outer engageable surface of said unit (82) are arranged adjacent to said arm sections (66), forming each said arm section (66) so as to include a portion arranged to contact a different one of said different portions of said second outer engageable surface of said unit (82), in a manner to latch said unit (82) to said bracket (28) and hence to said frame (10), forming said latching portions of said arm sections (66) in a manner to create a latching force on said unit when latched to said bracket (28), and forming each said handle (64) to effect a rotation of an associated arm (66) so as to bring an associated arm section (66) into and out of contact with a different one of said different portions of said second outer engageable surface of said unit (82). A method as claimed in claim 13, characterised by the additional steps of: forming said frame (10) as a rack (10) having spaced apart posts (12) which form an opening therebetween for receiving a said unit (82), forming a said supporting surface (23) on each said post (12), forming each said shaft as a torsion shaft (60), forming each said arm section (66) in the form of two arms (66) spaced apart along the axis of said shaft (60), forming each said latch portion (67) so as to be parallel to said axis of an associated shaft (60) and arranging said latching portions (67) of an associated shaft (60) to have a different angular relationship to each other relative to an associated shaft axis, and causing each said torsion shaft (60) to be carried by an associated bracket (28) in a manner to maintain said arm section (66) of said latch portions (67) in said latched positions under a torsion force. A method as claimed in claim 14, comprising the additional steps of: forming each said shaft (60) out of a tempered spring steel, forming, constructing and arranging a holding member (52, 54) for each shaft so as to be engaged by an associated handle so as to maintain an associated shaft (60) in said latching position, and forming said unit (82) as an enclosure case and installing in said case a PCB (9), CPU (11) and memory units (13). A method as claimed in claim 15, in which said mounting arrangement comprises at least two cases, each case adapted to contain computer components, said arrangement being characterised by the steps of: dividing said rack (10) into areas suitable for receiving a different one of said cases (82) in superimposed relationship to each other, mounting in a least one of said areas a said bracket (28) in a manner to support at least one of the sides of one of said cases (82), securing to said bracket (28) said shaft (60) in a manner to bring said latching portions (67) into a latched position, latching said one case (82) to said bracket (28) and hence to said rack (10), and subjecting said shaft (60) to a torsion force when in said latched position to maintain said latching portion in said latched position. A method as claimed in claim 16, characterised by the additional steps of: securing said shaft (60) without the use of a tool on said bracket (28), forming said shaft (60) to have two spaced apart latching portions (67), and arranging said two latching portions (67) to create said torsion force of said shaft (60) by the sequential engagement with said one case (82) of said two latching portions (67) of said shaft (60). A method as claimed in claim 16, in which said arrangement includes a holding member (52, 54), characterised by the additional step of: when said shaft is in its latched position causing said shaft to engage said holding member in a manner to maintain said shaft in its latched position under said torsion force.

Inventors: ZANDBERGEN RUSS E, ZANDBERGEN, RUSS E.
Applicants: SUN MICROSYSTEMS INC, SUN MICROSYSTEMS, INC.
Application year: 1995
Main classification: G06F1
IPC codes: H05K7, G06F1