Abstract:
A protecting device for enclosing cable connectors of a computer includes a rear panel ( 10 ) of a computer chassis, a first member ( 20 ) and a second member ( 30 ). The rear panel has a plurality of I/O ports ( 102 ) for the cable connectors inserting thereinto. The first member has a first rear wall. The second member is attached to the rear panel by a second hook. The second member has a second rear wall and a cap around the second hook. The first rear wall is coupled with the second rear wall for enclosing the cable connectors. The cap encloses the second hook with the rear panel.

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
       [0001]     1. Field of the Invention  
         [0002]     The present invention relates to protecting devices, and more particularly to a protecting device for cable connectors which are secured to a rear panel of a computer chassis.  
         [0003]     2. General Background  
         [0004]     Many peripheral equipments, such as mouse, keyboard, USB and moveable hard disk drive, are coupled to a computer with cable connectors through I/O ports. Usually, the cable connectors are very easily removed from the computer.  
         [0005]     A cable connector is plugged into a socket on a chassis of an electronic device. A bracket is provided for enclosing the connector therein. The bracket has a first generally U-shaped member and a second generally U-shaped member. A first fastener connects the first member to the second member so that the connector is enclosed between the first and second members. A second fastener secures at least one of the first and second U-shaped members to the chassis of the electrical device. However, there are not protecting devices disclosed for preventing the bracket from being exteriorly removed.  
         [0006]     What is needed, therefore, is a protecting device which protects cable connectors of the peripheral equipments from unwanted removal.  
       SUMMARY  
       [0007]     A protecting device for enclosing cable connectors of a computer includes a rear panel of a computer chassis, a first member and a second member. The rear panel has a plurality of I/O ports for the cable connectors inserting thereinto. The first member has a first rear wall. The second member is attached to the rear panel by a second hook. The second member has a second rear wall and a cap around the second hook. The first rear wall is coupled with the second rear wall for enclosing the connectors. The cap encloses the second hook with the rear panel.  
         [0008]     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, in which: 
     
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0009]      FIG. 1  is an exploded, isometric view of a protecting device of a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the protecting device including a first member, a second member and a rear panel;  
         [0010]      FIG. 2  is another isometric view of the first member and the second member;  
         [0011]      FIG. 3  is similar to  FIG. 1 , but showing the first member secured to the rear panel;  
         [0012]      FIG. 4  is an assembled view of  FIG. 1 ;  
         [0013]      FIG. 5  is similar to  FIG. 4 , but viewed from another aspect;  
         [0014]      FIG. 6  is an alternative embodiment of the first member of  FIG. 1 ;  
         [0015]      FIG. 7  is an alternative embodiment of the second member of  FIG. 1 ; and  
         [0016]      FIG. 8  is an assembled view of the alternative embodiment of the first member and the second member. 
     
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION  
       [0017]     Referring to FIGS.  1  to  5 , a protecting device in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention includes a rear panel  10  of a chassis of an electronic device like a computer and a protecting cage including a first member  20  and a second member  30 .  
         [0018]     A plurality of I/O ports  102  is defined in the rear panel  10 . A mounting hole  15  is defined at an end of the rear panel  10 . A plurality of ventilation holes  17  is defined above the I/O ports  102 . Two securing holes  11 ,  13  are defined at two sides of the ventilation holes  17 . A bent flange  12  extends from a bottom edge of the rear panel  10 . Two latching opening  122 ,  124  are defined in the bent flange  12 , as shown in  FIG. 5 .  
         [0019]     Referring to  FIGS. 1 and 2 , the first member  20  includes a bottom wall  22  and a pair of side walls  26  extending upwardly and perpendicularly from opposite edges of the bottom wall  22 . A pair of retaining hooks  222 ,  224  protrudes from the bottom wall  22  for engaging in the latching opening  122 ,  124 , as shown in  FIG. 5 . A mounting hook  25  extends from the side wall  26  corresponding to the mounting hole  15  of the rear panel  10 . A wedge portion  251  is formed at a free end of the mounting hook  25 . A top plate  29  bestrides the pair of side walls  26 . A pair of locking hooks  21 ,  23  is formed on the top plate  29  corresponding to the securing holes  11 ,  13  respectively. The locking hooks  21 ,  23  each have a wedge portion  211 ,  231 . The wedge portions  211 ,  231  are disposed face to face. A first rear wall  24  protrudes perpendicularly from the bottom wall  22  between the pair of side walls  26 . A plurality of indented positioning blocks  240 , each having a positioning hole  241 , is formed at an upper edge of the first rear wall  24 . A plurality of hemicycle-shaped cutouts  243  and elongated cutouts  245  are defined in the first rear wall  24  between the adjacent positioning blocks  240 .  
         [0020]     The second member  30  includes a top wall  32  and a pair of side walls  36  extending downwardly and perpendicularly from opposite edges of the top wall  32 . A pair of shielding caps  321 ,  323  protrudes from the top wall  32 . A pair of locking hooks  31 ,  33  extends forward from the shielding caps  321 ,  323  respectively, corresponding to the securing holes  11 ,  13  of the rear panel  10 . The locking hooks  31 ,  33  each have a wedge portion  311 ,  331 . The wedge portions  311 ,  331  are disposed face to face. An elongated lever  35  extends from an inner surface of the side wall  36  for squeezing the mounting hook  25  of the first member  20 . A second rear wall  34  extends perpendicularly from an edge of the top wall  32  between the pair of side walls  36 . A plurality of catches  341  protrudes from the second rear wall  34 , corresponding to the positioning holes  241  of the first member  20 . A plurality of hemicycle-shaped cutouts  343 , a T-shaped cutout  345  and a plurality of elongated cutouts  346  are defined in the second rear wall  34 .  
         [0021]     Referring to FIGS.  3  to  5 , the retaining hooks  222 ,  224  are received into the latching opening  122 ,  124 . Then, the mounting hook  25  and the locking hooks  21 ,  23  insert into the mounting hole  15  and bottom portions of the securing holes  11 ,  13  respectively along an exclusive inserting direction due to limitation of the retaining hooks  222 ,  224 . The wedge portions  211 ,  231  of the locking hooks  21 ,  23  are engaging with the edges of the securing holes  11 ,  13  respectively to mount the first member  20  on the rear panel  10 , as shown in  FIG. 3 .  
         [0022]     The second member  30  is placed on the first member  20  with the top plate  29  abutting against the top wall  32 . The second member  30  is then pushed to slide along the first member  20  towards the rear panel  10 . The catches  341  of the second member  30  are inserted into the positioning holes  241  of the positioning block  240  of the first member  20 . The elongated lever  35  is inserted into the mounting hole  15 , so that the mounting hook  25  is squeezed by the elongated lever  35 , and the wedge portion  251  of the mounting hook  25  engages with the edge of the mounting hole  15  tightly. At the same time, the locking hooks  31 ,  33  of the second member  30  are inserted into top portions of the securing holes  11 ,  13  respectively. The wedge portions  311 ,  331  of the locking hooks  31 ,  33  engage with the edges of the securing holes  11 ,  13  respectively to mount the second member  30  on the rear panel  10 . The I/O ports  102  of the rear panel  10  are enclosed by the first member  20  and the second member  30 . The caps  321  and  323  enclose the hooks  21 ,  31 ,  23   33  to present the first member  20  and the second member  30  being exteriorly removed from the rear panel  10 . The first rear wall  24  of the first member  20  matches the second rear wall  34  of the second member  30 . As shown in  FIG. 5 , the hemicycle-shaped cutouts  243  of the first member  20  join with the hemicycle-shaped cutouts  343  of the second member  30  to form a plurality of round through slots  41 . The elongated cutout  245  joins with the T-shaped cutout  345  to form a T-shaped through slot  42 . The cutouts  346  of the second member  30  are blocked by the first rear wall  24  of the first member  20 , thereby forming a plurality of elongated through slots  43 .  
         [0023]     In disassembly, the locking hooks  31 ,  33  of the second member  30  is deformed to disengage from the securing holes  11 ,  13  of the rear panel  10  with hands inside the chassis. The second member  30  is thus pushed to slide from the first member  20 .  
         [0024]     In use, the first member  20  is firstly mounted to the rear panel  10  of the computer chassis. A plurality of cable connectors of peripheral equipments is coupled to the I/O ports  102  of the rear panel  10 . The cables of the peripheral equipments can be distributed in the cutouts  243 ,  245  of the first member  30  respectively. The second member  30  is then mounted to the rear panel  10  for matching the first member  20 . The cable connectors are enclosed in the protecting cage formed by the first member  20  and the second member  30 , so that the cable connectors cannot be removed outside.  
         [0025]     Referring to  FIGS. 6, 7  and  8 , an alternative embodiment of the present invention is shown. The alternative embodiment is generally similar to the previous.  
         [0026]     In the alternative embodiment, the second member  30 ′ is matched to the first member  20 ′ in another form. A bottom of a second rear wall  34 ′ is bent inwards, then downwards and outwards to form a plurality of U-shaped catches  341 ′. Corresponding to the catches  341 ′, a plurality of positioning holes  241 ′ are defined in the first rear wall  24 ′. A clip  35 ′ with a recess  351 ′ is formed on the inner surface of the top wall  32 ′.  
         [0027]     Firstly, the first member  20 ′ is mounted to the rear panel  10 ′ with the retaining hooks  222 ′, the mounting hook  25 ′, and the locking hooks  21 ′,  23 ′. The catches  341 ′ of the second member  30 ′ is inclined and inserted into the openings  241 ′ from inner space of the first member  20 ′. Then the second member  30 ′ is pivoted about the catches  341 ′ in the openings  241 ′, until the second member  30 ′ covers the first member  20 ′. The second member  30 ′ is pushed forwards. An edge of the top plate  29 ′ of the first member  20 ′ is received in the recess  351 ′ of the clip  35 ′ to stably join the first member  20 ′ and the second member  30 ′ together. At the same time, the locking hooks  31 ′,  33 ′ are engaged on the rear panel  10 ′ to secure the second member  30 ′ on the rear panel  10 ′.  
         [0028]     It is believed that the present invention and its advantages will be understood from the foregoing description, and it will be apparent that various changes may be made thereto without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention or sacrificing all of its material advantages, the examples hereinbefore described merely being preferred or exemplary embodiments of the invention.