Patent Publication Number: US-2005122674-A1

Title: Multifunction handle for a removable storage or other removable computer devices

Description:
TECHNICAL FIELD  
      The present application relates generally to computer systems, and more specifically to removable mass storage or other types of removable devices for computer or other electronic systems.  
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
      Modern computer systems include mass storage devices such as hard drives for storing application programs to be executed by the computer system, and for storing data utilized by such programs as well as other data desired to be stored by users of the system. A hard disk is a magnetic disk on which data is stored, and the storage density of a hard disk is the amount of data that can be stored in a given area of the disk. As the storage density of hard drives has increased, meaning that more data can be stored on smaller disks, physically smaller drives having relatively large storage capacities have become possible.  
      Physically smaller hard drives have led to removable drives, where a removable drive is a hard drive that can easily be plugged into and removed from a drive bay in the computer system. Removable hard drives make it easier to back up data and to transfer data from one computer to another, and also enable a user to more easily replace a defective drive and to upgrade software for the computer system. Furthermore, removable drives provide improved data security in many environments because a removable drive can be removed from the associated computer system and stored in a safe location when desired. Hard drives are the type of removable device being discussed herein merely for ease of description, and one skilled in the art will appreciated that the principles described herein apply equally well to other types of mass storage devices such as magnetic-tape drives, CD-ROM drives, and DVD drives, as well as to other types of removable devices.  
      Various mechanical configurations for the removable drive and the drive bay into which the drive is inserted are currently utilized. For example,  FIG. 1  is an isometric drawing illustrating a portion of a conventional computer system  100  including a removable drive  102  that fits into a drive bay  104 . A handle  106  includes pins  108 ,  110  that fits into respective holes  112 ,  114  within the drive bay  104  as illustrated by lines  116 ,  118 , and further includes pinion teeth  120  formed near the pins  108 ,  110 . The handle  106  rotates about axes of the pins  108 ,  110  when inserted into the holes  112 ,  114 . A pair of guide tracks  121  are positioned within the drive bay  104  such that when the removable drive  102  is inserted into the drive bay a pair of guide rails  122  (only one shown in  FIG. 1 ) rest upon the guide tracks. Each of the guide rails  122  includes track teeth  124  formed on the rail near a front end  126  of the removable drive  102 . The removable drive  102  further includes a key lock  127  positioned on the front end  126  that controls a rod  129  to either extend through an opening  131  in a side of the removable drive in a direction indicated by an arrow  133  or to retract the rod within the opening. When the removable drive  102  is completely inserted within the drive bay  104 , the key lock  127  is activated to cause the rod  129  to extend into a hole (not shown) within the bay to thereby prevent removal of the drive from the bay. In this way, the key lock  127  and rod  129  operate in combination to form an interlock mechanism that prevents removal of the drive  102  from the bay  104  when activated.  
      In operation, to insert the removable drive  102  into the drive bay  104  the handle  106  is first rotated clockwise about the axis of the pins  108 ,  110  to position a top cross-member  128  of the handle above an opening of the drive bay. The key lock  127  is deactivated at this point, causing the rod  129  to retract within the opening  131  in the side of the drive. The removable drive  102  is then inserted into the drive bay  104  and the guide rails  122  of the removable drive ride upon the guide tracks  121  within the drive bay. The removable drive  102  is pushed towards a back of the drive bay  104  in a direction indicated by an arrow  130 , with the guide rails  122  sliding upon the guide tracks  121  until the track teeth  124  of the guide rails engage the pinion teeth  120  of the handle  106 .  
      At this point, as the removable drive continues to be pushed into the drive bay  104  in the direction indicated by the arrow  130 , the handle  106  begins rotating counterclockwise about the axes of the pins  108 ,  110 . A person inserting the removable drive  102  at this point grabs the top cross-member  128  of the handle  106  and applies force to continue the handle rotating counterclockwise and thus towards a bottom of the drive bay  104  in a circular arc. As the handle  106  is rotated counterclockwise, the pinion teeth  120  of the handle engage the track teeth  124 , pushing the removable drive  102  towards the back of the drive bay. Electrical connectors (not shown) on a back of the removable drive  102  are coupled to electrical connectors (not shown) at the back of the drive bay  104  as the handle  106  is rotated counterclockwise to electrically interconnect the removable drive to the computer system  100  and thereby complete insertion of the removable drive into the drive bay.  
      With the removable drive  102  completely inserted into the drive bay  104 , the top cross-member  128  of the handle  106  is positioned either across the opening defined by the drive bay  104  adjacent a front end  126  of the removable drive  102  are below the opening defined by the drive bay, depending upon the precise physical structure of the handle. At this point, the key lock  127  is activated causing the rod  129  to extend outward in a direction indicated by the arrow  133  and into the corresponding hole in the side of the drive bay to thereby lock the drive into the bay and prevent removal of the drive.  
      Once inserted into the drive bay  104 , the drive  102  cannot be randomly removed from the bay, or data stored on the disk and other problems with computer system  100  could result, as will be appreciated by those skilled in the art. For example, an operating system running on the computer system  100  may store in cache memory within the computer system some type of file system information structure of the drive  102 , such as a file allocation table (FAT) in a Windows system. The file system information structure is a data structure that the operating system uses to locate files on the drive  102 , such as the FAT, for example, which corresponds to a table indicating the location of files on the drive. If the drive  102  is pulled out before the current file system information structure stored in cache is transferred to the drive, then the operating system may not know where files are located on the drive and improper operation of the computer system  100  may result (e.g., the system could lock up or crash).  
      When completely inserted into the drive bay  104  and the key lock  127  activated, a user could grab the top cross-member  128  of the handle and rotate the handle clockwise in an attempt to remove the drive. In this situation, the user could, through the leverage provided by the handle  106 , inadvertently break the rod  129  and remove the drive  102 . Not only would this break the rod  129  and possibly damage the drive  102 , but the drive could be removed at the wrong time, resulting in loss of data on the drive and/or improper operation of the system  100 . As a result of the possibility of damaging the drive  102  and rod  129 , many drives simply do not include interlock mechanisms such as the key lock  127  and rod  129 , leaving open the possibility of removing the drive at the wrong time and losing data.  
      There is need for a system and method of inserting removable drives into a computer system and preventing removal of such drives at undesirable times.  
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
      According to one aspect of the present invention, a removable device, such as a removable mass storage device, includes a multifunction handle coupled to the device. The multifunction handle includes a force-developing portion and includes an interlock portion adapted to be engaged by an interlock component. The handle develops an insertion force at the force-developing portion responsive to a force applied to the handle, and also secures the removable device in a desired position to prevent use of the handle responsive to the interlock portion being engaged by the interlock component. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       FIG. 1  is an isometric drawing illustrating a conventional mechanical structure of a removable disk that fits into a drive bay of a computer system.  
       FIG. 2  is an isometric drawing of a removable drive including a multifunction handle and interlock mechanism according to one embodiment of the present invention.  
       FIG. 3  is an isometric drawing showing the multifunction handle of  FIG. 2  rotated relative to the position in  FIG. 2  and showing insertion cams formed on the handle.  
       FIG. 4  is an isometric view illustrating the removable drive of  FIG. 2  within a cross-section of a drive bay and showing in more detail the interlock mechanism according to one embodiment of the present invention.  
       FIGS. 5A and 5B  are cross-sectional views illustrating the operation of the multifunction handle of  FIG. 2  in inserting the removable drive within the drive bay of  FIG. 4 .  
       FIG. 6  is a functional block diagram of a computer system including the removable drive and drive bay of  FIG. 4  according to one embodiment of the present invention. 
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS  
       FIG. 2  is an isometric drawing of a removable drive  200  including a multifunction handle  202  and an interlock mechanism  204  according to one embodiment of the present invention. The interlock mechanism  204  includes, in part, an opening  206  in the handle and an opening  208  in a side  209  of the removable drive  200 . In operation, the handle  202  functions to assist a user in inserting the removable drive  200  within a drive bay (not shown) and the interlock mechanism  204  functions to prevent the use of the handle and thereby prevent removal of the drive when the interlock mechanism is engaged, as will be described in more detail below. In this way, the handle  202  provides three functions: 1) insertion and removal of the drive  200  into and from a drive bay; 2) interlock to prevent removal of the drive; and 3) carrying handle when the drive is not inserted in a drive bay.  
      In the following description, certain details are set forth in conjunction with the described embodiments of the present invention to provide a sufficient understanding of the invention. One skilled in the art will appreciate, however, that the invention may be practiced without these particular details. Furthermore, one skilled in the art will appreciate that the example embodiments described below do not limit the scope of the present invention, and will also understand that various modifications, equivalents, and combinations of the disclosed embodiments are within the scope of the present invention. Finally, the operation of well known components or conventional techniques have not been shown or described in detail below to avoid unnecessarily obscuring the present invention.  
      In the example of  FIG. 2 , the handle  204  includes a front member  210 , a back member  212 , a side member  214 , and a side member  216  in which the opening  206  is formed. The handle  204  is attached to a housing  218  of the removable drive  200  to rotate about an axis  300  as shown in  FIG. 3 , which is an isometric drawing showing the multifunction handle  204  rotated relative to the position of the handle in  FIG. 2 . An arrow  302  indicates the rotation of the handle  204  about the axis  300  in a downward direction and an arrow  304  indicates rotation of the handle in an upward direction. The handle  204  further includes insertion cams  306  extending from the back member  212  that function to apply an insertion force to a drive bay (not shown) into which the drive  200  is being inserted when the front member  210  of the handle is pushed downward, as will be described in more detail below. One skilled in the art will understand that the handle  204  may be mounted to the housing  218  to allow the insertion cams  306  to extend through a front panel  308  and a top panel  310  of the housing in a variety of different ways, and  FIGS. 2 and 3  merely functionally illustrate the interconnection between the two.  
       FIG. 4  is an isometric view illustrating the removable drive  200  of  FIG. 2  within a cross-section of a drive bay  400  and showing in more detail the interlock mechanism  204  according to one embodiment of the present invention. The interlock mechanism  204  includes a solenoid  402  having a base  404  and a rod  406 , with the base being positioned so that the rod extends and retracts through the hole  208  ( FIG. 3 ) and through the hole  206  in the handle  202 . The interlock mechanism  402  is also shown above the drive bay  400  and removable drive  200  to better illustrate the operation of the mechanism. The upper depiction of the interlock mechanism  402  shows the rod  206  in a retracted position to withdraw the rod from the holes  206 ,  208 , such as during insertion and removal of the drive  200  from the drive bay  400 . Conversely, the lower diagram shows the rod  206  in an extended position to insert the rod into the holes  206 ,  208  and thereby prevent use of the handle  202  and removal of the drive  200  from the bay  400 . When the drive  200  is fully inserted into the drive bay  200  to couple electronics (not shown) of the drive to electronics (not shown) in the drive bay, the handle  202  is positioned downward as shown with the hole  206  in a position to receive the rod  406 .  
      A release switch  408  is positioned on a front edge of the drive bay  400  and is electrically coupled to electronics (not shown) in the drive bay. When the switch  408  is activated by a user, electronics within a computer system (not shown), of which the drive bay is a part, place the removable drive  200  into a condition safe for removal and communicate with the interlock mechanism  402  to withdraw the rod  402  and thereby allow the user to remove the drive using the handle  202 , as will be discussed in more detail below.  
       FIGS. 5A and 5B  are cross-sectional views illustrating the operation of the multifunction handle  202  of  FIG. 2  in inserting the removable drive  200  within the drive bay of  FIG. 4 . In  FIG. 5A , a force F is applied to the handle  202  to rotate the handle downward (i.e., counterclockwise) about the axis  300  as indicated by arrow  500 . As the handle  202  is rotated downward, a front portion  502  of the insertion cam  306  contacts an inner front portion  504  of the drive bay  400 , pushing the removable drive  200  into the drive bay as indicated by arrow  506 .  FIG. 5B  shows the handle rotated fully downward, with the force F of the front portion  502  of insertion cam  306  pushing the drive  200  into its fully inserted position within the drive bay  400 . At this point in  FIG. 5B , the side member  216  of handle  212  is positioned vertically with the hole  206  positioned to receive the rod  406  (not shown) of the interlock mechanism  402 . Once the rod  406  extends through the hole  206 , the handle  202  is secured in the position shown in  FIG. 5B  and may not be used to remove the drive  200  from the bay  400 .  
       FIG. 6  is a functional block diagram of a computer system  600  including the removable drive  200  and drive bay  400  of  FIG. 4  according to one embodiment of the present invention. The removable drive  200  is coupled through the drive bay  400  to computer circuitry  602  to provide for writing data to and reading data from the removable drive, and also for controlling the interlock mechanism  402  ( FIG. 4 ), as will be described in more detail below. The computer circuitry  602  also includes memory, such as dynamic random access memory (DRAM), and includes circuitry and operating system software for performing various computing functions, such as executing specific application software to perform specific calculations or tasks. Although the computer system  600  is shown as including only one removable drive  200  and associated drive bay  400 , a plurality of removable drives and associated drive bays may be included in the computer system  600 .  
      The computer system  600  further includes one or more input devices  604 , such as a keyboard or a mouse, coupled to the computer circuitry  602  to allow an operator to interface with the computer system. Typically, the computer system  600  also includes one or more output devices  606  coupled to the computer circuitry  602 , such as a printer and a video terminal. One or more data storage devices  608  are also typically coupled to the computer circuitry  602  to store data or retrieve data from external storage media (not shown). Examples of typical storage devices  908  could include floppy disks, tape cassettes, compact disk read-only (CD-ROMs) and compact disk read-write (CD-RW) memories, digital video disks (DVDs), and permanently installed hard drives.  
      The overall process of the insertion and removal of the removable drive  200  into and from the computer system  600  will now be described in more detail with reference to  FIGS. 2-6 . Assume the drive  200  is initially not inserted into the drive bay  400 . In this situation, the rod  406  of the interlock mechanism  402  is in the retracted position. A user then inserts the removable drive  200  into the drive bay  200  and pushes the drive toward the back of the bay, using the handle  202  and/or pushing on the front panel  308  of the drive. Once the drive  200  is nearly fully inserted into the drive bay  400 , roughly in the position shown in  FIG. 5B , the handle  202  is rotated downward. As the handle  202  is rotated downward, insertion cams  306  push against the inner front portion  504  of the drive bay  400 , pushing the drive  200  fully into position within the drive bay and thereby coupling electrical connectors (not shown) on a back of the removable drive  200  to electrical connectors (not shown) at the back of the drive bay  400 .  
      At this point, the handle  202  is rotated fully downward as shown in  FIGS. 4 and 5 B. The computer circuitry  602  detects that the drive  200  has been inserted into the drive bay  400 , and activates the interlock mechanism  402  to extend the rod  406  through the holes  206 ,  208  and secure the drive within the bay. The removable drive  200  is in this way coupled to the computer system  600 , and cannot be inadvertently removed by a user. For example, if an operating system running on the computer system  600  stores a file system information structure of the drive  200  in cache memory within the computer circuitry  602 , the drive cannot simply be pulled out of the bay  400  without the operating system having updated the file system information structure stored on the drive.  
      The removal of the drive  200  may then occur in at least two different ways. First, the release switch  408  may be activated by a user wishing to remove the drive  200  from the computer system  200 . In response to the switch  408  being activated, the operating system or other suitable program in the computer circuitry  602  first updates the file system information structure on the drive using the file system information structure stored in cache memory, if necessary. The operating system or other program thereafter deactivates the interlock mechanism  402 , causing the rod  406  to withdraw from the holes  206 ,  208 . Once the rod  406  is withdrawn from the holes  206 ,  208 , a user rotates the handle upward, disengaging the insertion cams  306  and the inner front portions  504  of the drive bay  400  and allowing the user to pull the drive out of the bay. Another way the drive  200  could be removed is for a user to select through a “soft switch” on display of the computer system  600  the desire to remove the drive from the system. In response to this selection, the operating system or other program would then deactivate the interlock mechanism  402  and a user would remove the drive from the bay  400  in the same way as just described.  
      Although the removable drive  200  is described as being a removable mass storage device, the removable drive could be another type of removable device as well. Also, although the handle  202  is shown and described as having a specific structure, one skilled in the art will realize that the handle may assume a variety of alternative and equivalent structures. For example, although the handle  202  is shown as rotating in an upward and downward direction in the described embodiments, in other embodiments the handle could function in a side-to-side manner to perform the same insertion and interlock functions in conjunction with the interlock mechanism  404 . The handle  202  may be formed from a variety of structures suitable for performing the desired insertion and interlock functions. Similarly, the interlocking mechanism  402  may be a variety of different structures, with the specific structure of the interlocking mechanism being selected to perform the desired function in conjunction with the particular handle  202  structure being utilized. Such alternative and equivalent structures for the handle  202  and interlocking mechanism  402  will be understood by those skilled in the art, and should be considered aspects of the present invention.  
      Even though various embodiments of the present invention have been set forth in the foregoing description, the above disclosure is illustrative only, and changes may be made in detail and yet remain within the broad principles of the present invention. One skilled in the art will appreciate that the example embodiments described above do not limit the scope of the present invention, and will also understand various modifications, equivalents, and combinations of such embodiments are within the scope of the present invention. Therefore, the present invention is to be limited only by the appended claims.