Patent Publication Number: US-2023154682-A1

Title: Box for accommodating capacitor and rack assembly

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
     This non-provisional application claims priority under 35 U.S.C. § 119(a) on Patent Application No(s). 202111349521.4 filed in China, on Nov. 15, 2021, the entire contents of which are hereby incorporated by reference. 
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     Technical Field of the Invention 
     The invention relates to a box for accommodating at least one capacitor and a rack assembly, more particularly to a box and a rack assembly allowing at least one capacitor to be engaged therein. 
     Description of the Related Art 
     With the development of the internet, the demand for a server including a plurality of disk drives increases, and the mechanism for protecting a supercapacitor (SC) draws more attention. However, in conventional servers, the mechanism for installing the supercapacitor only takes one kind of the server into consideration, and the supercapacitor is fixed in the server by screwing, thereby causing the installation of the supercapacitor to be inconvenient. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     The invention is to provide a box for accommodating at least one capacitor and a rack assembly to install the capacitor in an electronic device in a convenient manner. 
     One embodiment of this invention provides a box for accommodating at least one capacitor including a bottom plate, two first side plates, two second side plates, a fixed engagement structure and a movable engagement structure. The two first side plates are disposed opposite to each other. The two second side plates are disposed opposite to each other. The two first side plates and the two second side plates are respectively connected to a plurality of side edges of the bottom plate so that the bottom plate, the two first side plates and the two second side plates together form an accommodation space. The fixed engagement structure and the movable engagement structure are respectively connected to the two first side plates. The fixed engagement structure and the movable engagement structure are located at a side of the accommodation space that is located farthest from the bottom plate. The movable engagement structure includes a cantilever part and an engagement part. The cantilever part is connected to one of the two first side plates. The engagement part protrudes from a movable end part of the cantilever part. 
     Another embodiment of this invention provides a rack assembly including a cage and a box for accommodating at least one capacitor. The box is removably disposed on the cage and includes a bottom plate, two first side plates, two second side plates, a fixed engagement structure and a movable engagement structure. The two first side plates are disposed opposite to each other. The two second side plates are disposed opposite to each other. The two first side plates and the two second side plates are respectively connected to a plurality of side edges of the bottom plate so that the bottom plate, the two first side plates and the two second side plates together form an accommodation space. The fixed engagement structure and the movable engagement structure are respectively connected to the two first side plates. The fixed engagement structure and the movable engagement structure are located at a side of the accommodation space that is located farthest from the bottom plate. The movable engagement structure includes a cantilever part and an engagement part. The cantilever part is connected to one of the two first side plates. The engagement part protrudes from a movable end part of the cantilever part. 
     According to the box for accommodating at least one capacitor and the rack assembly discussed above, with the cooperation of the fixed engagement structure and the movable engagement structure, the capacitor can be accommodated into or removed from the box in a convenient manner. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       The present invention will become more fully understood from the detailed description given hereinbelow and the accompanying drawings which are given by way of illustration only and thus are not limitative of the present invention and wherein: 
         FIG.  1    is a perspective view of a rack assembly according to a first embodiment of the invention; 
         FIG.  2    is an exploded view of the rack assembly in  FIG.  1   ; 
         FIG.  3    is a side view of the rack assembly in  FIG.  1   ; 
         FIG.  4    is a perspective view showing the installation of a capacitor; 
         FIG.  5    is a partially enlarged cross-sectional view of the rack assembly  1  in  FIG.  1   ; and 
         FIGS.  6 - 7    are cross-sectional views showing the assembly procedure of a box and a cage of the rack assembly in  FIG.  1   . 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
     In the following detailed description, for purposes of explanation, numerous specific details are set forth in order to provide a thorough understanding of the disclosed embodiments. It will be apparent, however, that one or more embodiments may be practiced without these specific details. In other instances, well-known structures and devices are schematically shown in order to simplify the drawing. 
     Please refer to  FIGS.  1  to  5   , where  FIG.  1    is a perspective view of a rack assembly  1  according to a first embodiment of the invention,  FIG.  2    is an exploded view of the rack assembly  1  in  FIG.  1   ,  FIG.  3    is a side view of the rack assembly  1  in  FIG.  1   ,  FIG.  4    is a perspective view showing the installation of a capacitor  50 , and  FIG.  5    is a partially enlarged cross-sectional view of the rack assembly  1  in  FIG.  1   . 
     In this embodiment, the rack assembly  1  includes a cage  10  for an expansion card  30  and a box  40  for the capacitor  50 . The cage  10  may include a main body  12  and a plurality of fasteners  14 . For example, an expansion card  30  is configured to be installed on the main body  12 . Specifically, the expansion card  30  meets, for example, PCIE standard, and is installed on the main body  12  via a riser card  20 . For example, the riser card  20  has two connectors  22  each for the expansion card  30  to be plugged therein. For example, the fasteners  14  are I-shaped bolts configured to be fixed in pear-shaped holes, and are riveted on the main body  12 . 
     In this embodiment, the riser card  20  has two connectors  22 , but the invention is not limited thereto. In other embodiments, the riser card may merely have one connector. 
     The main body  12  can accommodate two expansion cards. However, in order to install the box  40  on the main body  12 , one of the two expansion cards may be removed from the main body  12  so that the box  40  can be installed on the main body  12  without the interference of the removed expansion card. In this embodiment, the box  40  is removably disposed on the cage  10 , which will be described in detail later. The box  40  includes a bottom plate  100 , two first side plates  200  and  300  and two second side plates  400  and  500 . The two first side plates  200  and  300  are disposed opposite to each other. The two second side plates  400  and  500  are disposed opposite to each other. The first and second side plates  200 ,  300 ,  400  and  500  are respectively connected to side edges of the bottom plate  100 , such that the bottom plate  100  and the first and second side plates  200 ,  300 ,  400  and  500  together form an accommodation space S. The capacitor  50  is configured to be accommodated in the accommodation space S and is, for example, a supercapacitor. The capacitor  50  is accommodated into or removed from the accommodation space S via a top opening formed by side plates  200 ,  300 ,  400  and  500  and connected to the accommodation space S. 
     In this embodiment, the bottom plate  100  may have an opening  110 . The opening  110  is connected to the accommodation space S and is located opposite to the top opening. A user can push the capacitor  50  out of the accommodation space S by sticking a finger or another object through the opening  110 . 
     In this embodiment, the first side plate  200  may have an opening  210  for cable management. Specifically, at least one cable of the capacitor  50  is disposed through the opening  210 . 
     In this embodiment, the box  40  may further include a fixed engagement structure  600  and a movable engagement structure  700 . The fixed engagement structure  600  and the movable engagement structure  700  are connected to the two first side plates  200  and  300 , respectively. The fixed engagement structure  600  and the movable engagement structure  700  are located on a side of the accommodation space S that is located farthest away from the bottom plate  100 . The movable engagement structure  700  includes a cantilever part  710  and an engagement part  720 . A fixed end part of the cantilever part  710  is fixed to the first side plate  300 , and the engagement part  720  protrudes from a movable end part of the cantilever part  710  that is located opposite to the fixed end part of the cantilever part  710 . 
     In this embodiment, the box  40  may further include a first protruding plate  800 , a second protruding plate  900  and a blocking component  1000 . The first protruding plate  800  protrudes from the second side plate  400 . The second protruding plate  900  protrudes from the second side plate  500 . The blocking component  1000  is movably disposed on the second side plate  500 . The first protruding plate  800  has two first fastening holes  810 . The second protruding plate  900  has a recess  910 . The blocking component  1000  includes a cantilever portion  1010 , a blocking portion  1020  and a handle portion  1030 . A fixed end part of the cantilever portion  1010  is fixed to the second side plate  500 . The blocking portion  1020  is fixed to a movable end part of the cantilever portion  1010  that is located opposite to the fixed end part of the cantilever portion  1010 . The handle portion  1030  is fixed to the blocking portion  1020  for moving the blocking portion  1020  relative to the second protruding plate  900 . In this way, the blocking component  1000  is movable between a blocking position (as shown in  FIG.  5   ) and a releasing position (as shown in  FIG.  6   ) relative to the second side plate  500 . When the blocking component  1000  is located at the blocking position, the second protruding plate  900  and the blocking portion  1020  together form a second fastening hole for a corresponding fastener  14  to be disposed therein; that is, the blocking portion  1020  closes the recess  910  of the second protruding plate  900 , such that the blocking portion  1020  and the second protruding plate  900  are fixed to the corresponding fastener  14 . Three of the fasteners  14  are removably disposed in the two first fastening holes  810  and the second fastening hole, respectively. When the blocking component  1000  is located at the releasing position, a vertical distance between the blocking portion  1020  and the bottom plate  100  is smaller than that between the second protruding plate  900  and the bottom plate  100 . That is, the blocking portion  1020  of the blocking component  1000  is not located on a side of the corresponding fastener  14 , and thus the corresponding fastener  14  is not blocked by the blocking component  1000  so as to be released. 
     In this embodiment, the first protruding plate  800  has two first fastening holes  810 , but the invention is not limited thereto. In other embodiments, the first protruding plate may merely have one first fastening hole. 
     In this embodiment, the box  40  may further include a third protruding plate  1100 . The third protruding plate  1100  protrudes from the second side plate  500  and has a third fastening hole  1110 . The third protruding plate  1100  and the second protruding plate  900  are arranged side by side. The fasteners  14  are removably disposed in the two first fastening holes  810 , the second fastening hole and the third fastening hole  1110 , respectively. The box  40  is able to slide relative to the cage  10  and the fasteners  14  may be consider as being slidably disposed in respective fastening holes. 
     The assembly procedure of the capacitor  50  and the box  40  is firstly described. As shown in  FIG.  4   , in order to accommodate the capacitor  50  into the accommodation space S, the movable engagement structure  700  is bent outwards along a direction A and then the capacitor  50  is placed into the accommodation space S along a direction B, or the capacitor  50  is directly pushed into the accommodation space S along the direction B while forcing the movable engagement structure  700  to be bent outwards along the direction A. On the other hand, in order to remove the capacitor  50  from the accommodation space S, the movable engagement structure  700  is bent outwards along the direction B and then the capacitor  50  can be moved out of the accommodation space S by turning over the box  40  or sticking a finger or another object through the opening  110 . 
     Next, the assembly procedure of the box  40  and the cage  10  are described. As shown in  FIG.  5   , the box  40  with the capacitor  50  accommodated therein is assembled to the cage  10 . Further, the blocking component  1000  is located at the blocking position, such that a corresponding one fastener  14  is disposed in the second fastening hole together formed by the second protruding plate  900  and the blocking portion  1020 . Thus, the box  40  is stably fixed to the cage  10 . 
     Next, the procedure of removing the box  40  from the cage  10  is described. Please refer to  FIGS.  6  to  7    that are cross-sectional views showing the removal procedure of the box  40  from the cage  10  of the rack assembly  1  in  FIG.  1   . As shown in  FIG.  6   , the handle portion  1030  of the blocking component  1000  is pressed along a direction C so as to force the blocking portion  1020  to be moved downwards to the releasing position to release the blocked fastener  14 . That is, the blocking portion  1020  of the blocking component  1000  no longer blocks the fastener  14 . Therefore, the box  40  is able to slide relative to the cage  10 . Next, the box  40  is moved along a direction D so that the fasteners  14  are detached from respective fastening holes (as shown in  FIG.  7   ), thereby allowing the box  40  to be removed from the cage  10 . The box  40  can be installed on the cage  10  by a procedure opposite to the aforementioned assembly procedure. 
     According to the box for accommodating at least one capacitor and the rack assembly discussed above, with the cooperation of the fixed engagement structure and the movable engagement structure, the capacitor can be accommodated into or removed from the box in a convenient manner. 
     Furthermore, the fasteners are removable from respective fastening holes, and the movable blocking component can be moved away from the fastener. Thus, the box is allowed to be assembled to or removed from the cage via pressing the movable blocking component and then pushing the box without screwing or removing screws, thereby enhancing the convenience for assembling the box and the cage. 
     It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various modifications and variations can be made to the present invention. It is intended that the specification and examples be considered as exemplary embodiments only, with a scope of the invention being indicated by the following claims and their equivalents.