Patent Publication Number: US-2023135341-A1

Title: Support brackets with multiple orientations

Description:
BACKGROUND 
     Printed circuit boards may have card slots to receive cards enabling functionality, such as wireless capabilities, and the like. The printed circuit boards may therefore have components to receive and retain the cards. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         FIG.  1 A  depicts an example printed circuit board with an example support bracket installed in a first orientation. 
         FIG.  1 B  depicts the printed circuit board of  FIG.  1 A  with the example support bracket installed in a second orientation. 
         FIG.  2    depicts the example support bracket of  FIG.  1 A . 
         FIGS.  3 A and  3 B  depict an exploded view of a printed circuit board and another example support bracket in a first and second orientation, respectively. 
         FIG.  4    depicts a side view of a printed circuit board with an example support bracket. 
         FIG.  5    depicts an example computing device with a printed circuit board with an example support bracket having multiple orientations. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
     Sometimes, cards for printed circuit boards may have different sizes. For example, 4G and 5G wireless wide area network cards have different lengths. Accordingly, printed circuit boards with fixed components would have different versions of the board to each accept one of the 4G and 5G cards, creating difficulties in managing inventory. To accommodate this, some printed circuit boards may have different sized brackets which may be attached, however this still increases the number of components to be manufactured and tracked, and the brackets may be easily lost. Other solutions involve rotatable or slidable components to accommodate cards of different sizes. However, such solutions rely on the ability of the components to easily move between different positions, and hence may not retain the card in the proper position. 
     An example printed circuit board has a support bracket which can be installed in multiple orientations to change the length of the card slot for the printed circuit board. In particular, the support bracket has a retaining portion closer to one end of the support bracket so that when the support bracket is oriented in a first orientation, the retaining portion is closer to a fixed portion, such as a connector, a card slot or the like, on the printed circuit board, and when the support bracket is oriented in a second orientation, the retaining portion is further from the fixed portion of the printed circuit board. The retaining portion and the fixed portion define the card slot, and hence the card slot can receive cards of different lengths depending on the orientation of the support bracket. The support bracket and printed circuit board may also have corresponding alignment structures to restrict the movement of the support bracket from the selected orientation. 
       FIG.  1 A  depicts a printed circuit board (PCB)  100  with an example support bracket  102  installed in a first orientation. The PCB  100  includes the support bracket  102  and a fixed portion  104  disposed on the PCB  100 . 
     Together, the support bracket  102  and the fixed portion  104  define a card slot  106  to receive a card on the PCB  100 . For example, the card slot  106  may be to receive a wireless wide area network card (WWAN), to enable wireless communications at a computing device in which the PCB  100  is deployed. In particular, the fixed portion  104  defines a first end of the card slot  106  and the support bracket  102  defines a second end of the card slot  106 . 
     The fixed portion  104  may be a card connector and include an opening, including pins, connectors, and the like, to form an electrical connection with the card received in the card slot  106 . 
     The support bracket  102  includes a retaining portion  108  to retain the card in the card slot  106 . For example, the retaining portion  108  may be generally cylindrical shaped to mate with a corresponding half-moon shaped recession on the card received in the card slot  106 . The mating of the retaining portion  108  and the card may thus serve to retain the card in the card slot  106 . Accordingly, the retaining portion  108  of the support bracket  102  defines the second end of the card slot  106 . 
     The support bracket  102  may be installed on the PCB  100  in one of two orientations, as depicted in  FIGS.  1 A and  1 B . In  FIG.  1 A , the support bracket  102  is oriented in a first orientation, with the retaining portion  108  closer to the fixed portion  104 . Thus, the support bracket  102  defines a first length L 1  of the card slot  106 , where L 1  is defined between the fixed portion  104  and the retaining portion  108 . In  FIG.  1 B , the support bracket  102  is oriented in a second orientation, with the retaining portion  108  further from the fixed portion  104 . Thus, the support bracket  102  defines a second length L 2  of the card slot  106 , where L 2  is similarly defined between the fixed portion  104  and the retaining portion  108  and is longer than L 1 . 
     As can be seen, in each orientation of the support bracket  102 , the card slot  106  may be defined with different lengths, based on the distance of the retaining portion  108  from the fixed portion  104 . Accordingly, the PCB  100  may be configured to have a card slot  106  which accepts cards of different lengths. For example, the if the card is a WWAN card, the support bracket  102  may be configured such that in the first orientation, the card slot  106  accepts a 4G WWAN card, having a length of 38 mm, and in the second orientation, the card slot  106  accepts a 5G WWAN card, having a length of 48 mm. In other examples, the card may be a storage drive, such as an M.2 storage drive, having different lengths for different lengths for different storage quantities. Further, both cards or drives may be accepted on the same PCB  100  without acquiring a new PCB when, for example, a user wants to upgrade from 4G wireless communications to 5G wireless communications, or from one storage drive to a higher capacity storage drive. 
       FIG.  2    depicts a close-up view of the example support bracket  102 . The support bracket  102  includes a base  200 , a bracket alignment structure  202  and an attachment structure  204  in addition to the retaining portion  108 . In some examples, the support bracket  102  may be formed of a conductive material, such as a metal, to ground a card received in the card slot  106 , while in other examples, the support bracket  102  may be formed of an insulating material, such as a plastic, a rubber, or the like, to avoid any interference with the circuitry on the PCB  100 . The material of the support bracket  102  may be selected based on the suitable conductivity effects of the support bracket  102 . 
     The base  200  has a first end  206 - 1  and a second end  206 - 2  and is generally to support the components of the support bracket  102 . In particular, the retaining portion  108  is supported on the base at or proximate the first end  206 - 1  to allow the retaining portion  108  to have a varying position relative to the fixed portion  104  based on the orientation of the support bracket  102 , as will be described in further detail below. 
     The bracket alignment structure  202  is at the second end  206 - 2  of the base  200  and cooperates with a board alignment structure (not shown) on the PCB  100 , to together form an alignment structure to align the support bracket  102  in one of the first orientation and the second orientation. In the present example, the bracket alignment structure  202  includes guide pins  208 - 1  and  208 - 2  extending from the base  200  of the support bracket  102 . In particular, the first guide pin  208 - 1  extends from a first side of the base  200  in a direction opposite the retaining portion  108 , proximate the second end  206 - 1 , and the second guide pin  208 - 2  extends from a second side of the base  200  in a direction opposite the retaining portion  108 , proximate the second end  206 - 1 . The guide pins  208 - 1 ,  208 - 2  are to be received in corresponding guide holes of the PCB  100  to align the support bracket  102  on the PCB  100 . 
     For example,  FIGS.  3 A and  3 B  depict another example support bracket  102  separated from the PCB  100  to show a board alignment structure  300  of the PCB  100 . The board alignment structure  300  is generally to align the support bracket  102  on the PCB  100 . In particular, the board alignment structure  300  aligns the support bracket  102  in the first orientation or the second orientation and maintains the support bracket  102  in the selected orientation. For example, the board alignment structure  300  may prevent the support bracket  102  from inadvertently being switched, rotated, or slid to a different orientation, for example during transport of the PCB  100  or when the computing device in which the PCB  100  is deployed is in use. 
     In the present example, the board alignment structure  300  includes guide holes  304 - 1  and  304 - 2  in the PCB  100 . The guide holes  304 - 1  ,  304 - 2  are to receive the guide pins  208 - 1 ,  208 - 2  to align the support bracket  102  on the PCB  100 . More generally, the board alignment structure  300  and the bracket alignment structure  202  cooperate with one another to form an alignment structure to align the support bracket  102  on the PCB  100 . 
     Further, the board alignment structure  300  and the bracket alignment structure  202  may be configured such that the same structures may be used to align the support bracket  102  in both the first orientation and the second orientation. 
     For example, the first guide hole  304 - 1  is to receive the first guide pin  208 - 2  and the second guide hole  304 - 2  is to receive the second guide pin  208 - 2  when the support bracket  102  is oriented in the first orientation, as can be seen in  FIG.  3 A . Further, the location of the guide pins  208 - 1 ,  208 - 2  at the sides of the support bracket  102  allow the guide pins  208 - 1 ,  208 - 2  and the guide holes  304 - 1 ,  304 - 2  to restrict the rotation of the support bracket  102  from the first orientation. 
     As can be seen in  FIG.  3 B , the guide holes  304 - 1 ,  304 - 2  and the guide pins  208 - 1 ,  208 - 2  may also be used to align the support bracket  102  in the second orientation. In particular, the first guide hole  304 - 1  is to receive the second guide pin  208 - 2  and the second hole  304 - 2  is to receive the first guide pin  208 - 1  when the support bracket  102  is oriented in the second orientation, opposite the first orientation. The guide pins  208 - 1 ,  208 - 2  and the guide holes  304 - 1 ,  304 - 2  may then restrict the rotation of the support bracket  102  from the second orientation. 
     As can be seen, the board alignment structure  300  is fixed relative to the fixed portion  104 . Further, the spatial arrangement of the retaining portion  108  and the bracket alignment structure  202  at opposing ends  206 - 1  and  206 - 2  of the support bracket  102  allows the retaining portion  108  to be located in different positions relative to the fixed portion  104 , thereby defining different lengths of the card slot  106 . In particular, in the first orientation, the retaining portion  108  is positioned on a first side of the board alignment structure  300 , proximate the fixed portion  104 . In the second orientation, the retaining portion  108  is positioned on a second side of the board alignment structure  300 , distal from the fixed portion  104 . 
     Returning again to  FIG.  2   , the attachment structure  204  is generally to affix the support bracket  102  to the PCB  100 . In the present example, the attachment structure  204  includes a screw hole  210  in the base  200  to receive a screw to affix the support bracket  102  to the PCB  100 . The PCB  100  may have a corresponding screw hole  306  (depicted in  FIGS.  3 A and  3 B ). The screw holes  210 ,  306  may be arranged relative to the board alignment structure  300  to allow the same screw holes  210 ,  306  to be used when the support bracket  102  is oriented in the first orientation or the second orientation. 
     In some examples, the attachment structure  204  may additionally or alternately include double-sided tape to secure the support bracket  102  to the PCB  100 . In particular, the double-sided tape may be applied to the surface of the support bracket  102  which contacts the PCB  100 . The double-sided tape may additionally assist in maintaining proper alignment of the support bracket  102  in either the first orientation or the second orientation and restricting any additional rotation or sliding of the support bracket. 
     Referring to  FIG.  4   , a side view of the PCB  100  and the support bracket  102  oriented in the second orientation is depicted. In the second orientation, where the retaining portion  108  is positioned on the second side of the board alignment structure  302 , the retaining portion  108  is further from the fixed portion  104  than the screw hole  210 . Accordingly, when a screw  400  is received through the screw holes  210 ,  306 , a card  402  received in the card slot lies over the screw  400  and the screw holes  210 ,  306 . 
     The support bracket  102  may therefore further include a nut step  404  to elevate the retaining portion  108 , such that the card  402  is elevated above the screw  400  when the support bracket  102  is aligned in the second orientation. That is, the card  402  rests on the nut step  404  when retained by the retaining portion  108 , and the nut step  404  has a sufficient height to elevate the card  402  above the screw  400 . 
       FIG.  5    depicts an example computing device  500  employing a PCB  502 . The computing device  500  is depicted in the present example as a laptop computer, but may be any suitable computer device, including, but not limited to, desktop computers, tablets, printers, monitors, mobile devices, all-in-one devices, and the like. 
     The PCB  502  includes a card slot to receive a card on the PCB  502 . The computing device  500  further includes a support bracket  504  to be installed on the PCB  502  to define the card slot. The support bracket  504  is orientable in a first orientation to define a first length of the card slot, or a second orientation opposite the first orientation to define a second length of the card slot. For example, the PCB  502  may be similar to the PCB  100 , and the support bracket  504  may be similar to the support bracket  102 . 
     The card slot may therefore receive a first card of a first length when the support bracket  504  is oriented in the first orientation. The card slot may alternately receive a second card of a second length when the support bracket is oriented in the second orientation. For example, the first card may be a first type of WWAN card, such as a 4G WWAN card, having a length of 38 mm. The second card may be a second type of WWAN card, such as a 5G WWAN card, having a length of 48 mm. 
     Thus, in order to switch between a 4G and a 5G WWAN card, users need not acquire a new computing device  500  or even a new PCB  502 . Rather, the support bracket  504  may be changed from the first orientation to the second orientation (or vice versa) to allow the computing device  500  to accept and read the new card. 
     As described above, an example printed circuit board may have a support bracket which can be oriented in multiple orientations to define differing lengths of a card slot. The PCB may therefore use the same components (i.e., the board itself and the support bracket in one of the selected orientations) to receive cards of differing lengths. Further, the PCB and support bracket may have alignment and attachment structures to maintain the selected orientation of the support bracket, and to affix the support bracket to the PCB. 
     The scope of the claims should not be limited by the above examples, but should be given the broadest interpretation consistent with the description as a whole.