Patent Publication Number: US-2023138782-A1

Title: Mainboard mounting mechanism and electric device

Description:
RELATED APPLICATION(S) 
     This application claims priority to Chinese Patent Application No. 202111266211.6 filed with the National Intellectual Property Administration, PRC on Oct. 28, 2021, which is incorporated herein by reference in entirety. 
     FIELD OF THE TECHNOLOGY 
     The present disclosure relates to the technical field of electronic devices, and in particular, to a mainboard mounting mechanism and an electronic device. 
     BACKGROUND 
     Mainboards on electronic devices (especially servers) are generally fixed on the chassis or the chassis box through trays. There are two handles on the mainboard for sliding the mainboard back and forth. The two handles can facilitate the sliding operation of the mainboard, however, placing the two handles on the mainboard will occupy a large space on the mainboard, which makes laying-out the mainboard more difficult. 
     SUMMARY 
     The present disclosure provides a mainboard mounting mechanism. 
     In one aspect, the present disclosure provides a mainboard mounting mechanism for use with a chassis box, the chassis box defining an accommodating space, the mainboard mounting mechanism including: a tray, slidably arranged in the accommodating space and divides the accommodating space into a mounting area and a sliding area along a sliding direction, the tray defines a holding space for holding a mainboard; a positioning post, positioned in the mounting area; and a rod assembly, rotatably connected to the tray, wherein the rod assembly drives the tray to slide toward the positioning post so as for the mainboard to be at a disengagement position, and the rod assembly drives the tray to slide away from the positioning post for the mainboard to be at an engagement position. 
     In certain embodiment(s), the rod assembly is positioned outside of the holding space. 
     In certain embodiment(s), the mainboard mounting mechanism further includes a guide member, defining a positioning hole, where the positioning post is received through the positioning hole for the guide member to be connected to the chassis box. 
     In certain embodiment(s), the guide member comprises a guide base and a guide rail extending from the guide base, and the positioning hole is defined on the guide base, and the tray is slidably connected with the guide rail. 
     In certain embodiment(s), the tray comprises a tray floor and a tray wall, the tray floor and the tray wall together define the holding space. 
     In certain embodiment(s), the mainboard mounting mechanism further includes a guide member, including a guide base and a guide rail extending from the guide base, where the tray includes a tray floor and a plurality of tray walls together defining the holding space, the plurality of tray walls include a proximal tray wall and a distal tray wall opposing the proximal tray wall, and where the guide rail extend from the proximal tray wall toward the distal tray wall. 
     In certain embodiment(s), an ear extends from the proximal tray wall and the rod assembly is positioned between the guide base and the ear. 
     In certain embodiment(s), the rod assembly includes a first part, including a first end, a second end, and a mounting portion positioned between the first end and the second end; and a second part, rotatably connected to the mounting portion of the first part. 
     In certain embodiment(s), the first end is rotatably connected to the guide base through a first rod. 
     In certain embodiment(s), the second part a third end and a fourth end, and the third end is rotatably connected to the mounting portion. 
     In certain embodiment(s), the mounting part divides the first part into a first segment and a second segment, the first segment is defined between the first end and the mounting portion, the second segment is defined between the mounting portion and the second end, when the first part rotates clockwise, an angle between the second part and the first segment gradually increases, and an angle between the second part and the second segment gradually decreases, and when the first part rotates counterclockwise, the angle between the second part and the first segment gradually decreases, and the angle between the second part and the second segment gradually increases. 
     In certain embodiment(s), a first buckle is present on the first part, and a second buckle is present on the tray, when the mainboard is at the engagement position, the first buckle is buckled with the second buckle. 
     In another aspect, the present disclosure provides an electronic device, the electronic device includes a chassis box and a mainboard mounting mechanism, the chassis box defining an accommodating space, and the mainboard mounting mechanism including: a tray, slidably arranged in the accommodating space and divides the accommodating space into a mounting area and a sliding area along a sliding direction, the tray defines a holding space for holding a mainboard; a positioning post, positioned in the mounting area; and a rod assembly, rotatably connected to the tray, wherein the rod assembly drives the tray to slide toward the positioning post so as for the mainboard to be at a disengagement position, and the rod assembly drives the tray to slide away from the positioning post for the mainboard to be at an engagement position. 
     In yet another aspect, the present disclosure provides a method of holding a mainboard to a chassis box through a mainboard mounting mechanism, the chassis box defining an accommodating space, the method including: providing the mainboard mounting mechanism, where the mainboard mounting mechanism includes: a tray, slidably arranged in the accommodating space and divides the accommodating space into a mounting area and a sliding area along a sliding direction, the tray defines a holding space for holding a mainboard; a positioning post, positioned in the mounting area; and a rod assembly, rotatably connected to the tray, wherein the rod assembly drives the tray to slide toward the positioning post so as for the mainboard to be at a disengagement position, and the rod assembly drives the tray to slide away from the positioning post for the mainboard to be at an engagement position. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       The following drawings are incorporated herein as a part of the present disclosure. The accompanying drawings illustrate certain embodiment(s) of the present disclosure, which explains the principles of the present disclosure. 
         FIG.  1    is a schematic structural diagram of a mainboard mounting mechanism (the mainboard is at a disengagement position) according to certain embodiment(s) of the present disclosure; 
         FIG.  2    is a schematic structural diagram of a mainboard mounting mechanism (the mainboard is at a disengagement position) according to certain embodiment(s) of the present disclosure; 
         FIG.  3    is a schematic structural diagram of a mainboard mounting mechanism (the mainboard is at an engagement position) according to certain embodiment(s) of the present disclosure; 
         FIG.  4    is a schematic diagram of a partial structure of a chassis box according to certain embodiment(s) of the present disclosure; 
         FIG.  5    is a schematic diagram of a tray according to certain embodiment(s) of the present disclosure; 
         FIG.  6    is a schematic diagram of a rod assembly according to certain embodiment(s) of the present disclosure; and 
         FIG.  7    is a schematic diagram of a guide member according to certain embodiment(s) of the present disclosure. 
     
    
    
     REFERENCE NUMERALS IN THE DRAWINGS 
       10  Chassis box 
       401  Box floor 
       402  Box wall 
       1021  First box wall 
       11  Accommodating space 
       12  Positioning portion 
       13  Positioning column 
       101  Mounting area 
       102  Sliding area 
       20  Tray 
       201  Holding space 
       21  Tray floor 
       211  Slot hole 
       212  Handle 
       22  Tray wall 
       221  Proximal tray wall 
       2211  Ear 
       2212  Second buckle 
       222  Distal tray wall 
       23  Guiding groove 
       30  Positioning post 
       40  Rod assembly 
       41  First part 
       4101  First end 
       4102  Second end 
       411  Mounting portion 
       412  Handle portion 
       413  First buckle 
       42  First rod 
       43  Second part 
       4301  Third end 
       4302  Fourth end 
       44  Second rod 
       45  Third rod 
       50  Guide member 
       51  Guide base 
       511  Guide base floor 
       5111  Positioning hole 
       512  Guide base wall 
       52  Guide rail 
       521  Extending end 
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
     In the following description, details are provided in order to enable a thorough understanding of the present disclosure. It will be appreciated by those skilled in the art, however, that the following description is merely illustrative of alternative embodiments of the present disclosure and that the present disclosure may be practiced without one or more of these details. Also, some technical features known in the art are not detailed herein to avoid confusion with the present disclosure. 
     The mainboard mounting mechanism of the present disclosure is used to fix the mainboard inside the electronic device, and the electronic device can be a server, a computer, a TV, or the like, which are not listed here one-by-one, but the electronic device in the present disclosure is not limited to the above specific electronic device. 
     As shown in  FIGS.  1  to  3   , the mainboard mounting mechanism includes a chassis box  10 , a tray  20 , a positioning post  30 , and a rod assembly  40 . 
     The chassis box  10  defines an accommodating space  11 , and the accommodating space  11  is used for accommodating the tray  20 . When the mainboard mounting mechanism is applied to the electronic device, the chassis box  10  may directly be the chassis of the electronic device. Referring to  FIG.  4   , in addition to the accommodating space  11 , the chassis box  10  also has a positioning portion  12  and a positioning column  13 . In certain embodiment(s), the chassis box  10  includes a box floor  401  and a plurality of box walls  102 . The box floor  401  and the plurality of box walls  402  together form the accommodating space  11 , the positioning portion  12  may be a part of one of the side boxes  402 , and the positioning column  13  may be arranged on the box floor  401  and protrude toward the accommodating space  11 . The positioning portion  12  and the positioning column  13  are used for positioning the tray  20 . 
     The tray  20  is slidable in the accommodating space  11  and divides the accommodating space  11  into a mounting area  101  and a sliding area  102  in the sliding direction X (the sliding direction is also the first direction in the following description). The tray  20  is used to carry the mainboard. To carry the mainboard, the tray  20  has a holding space  201  capable of carrying the mainboard. In view of  FIG.  1    and  FIG.  5   , the tray  20  includes a tray floor  21  and a plurality of tray walls  22 , the tray floor  21  and the plurality of tray walls  22  together form the holding space  201 . The plurality of tray walls  22  includes a proximal tray wall  221  positioned in the mounting area  101 . The mounting area  101  is to the left of the proximal tray wall  221 , from the perspective view of  FIG.  1   . The sliding area  102  is part of the mounting area  101  other than the mounting area  101 , the tray  20  slides in the sliding area  102 , and defines a maximum sliding distance S. For When the tray  20  is four sided, there are four tray walls  22 , the tray wall  22  opposite to the proximal tray wall  221  is a distal tray wall  222 , and to engage with the tray  20  that is four sided, the chassis box  10  is also four sided. When the tray  20  is positioned in the accommodating space  11 , one of the plurality of box walls  402  is opposite to the distal tray wall  222 . To differentiate, the box wall  402  sitting opposite to the distal tray wall body  222  is termed first box wall  1021 . According to  FIG.  1   , a distance between the first box wall  1021  and the distal tray wall  222  defines the maximum sliding distance S. It should be noted that the shape of the tray  20  can be reasonably set according to the shape of the mainboard, including but not limited to the four-sided tray  20  shown in the drawings, as long as the mainboard can be supported and the accommodating space  11  can be divided into the mounting area  101  and the sliding area  102  based on the tray  20 . 
     The positioning post  30  is fixedly arranged in the mounting area  101 . The positioning post  30  is used as a reference for the tray  20  to slide. The positioning post  30  may be integrally formed with the chassis box  10 . As shown in  FIG.  4   , the positioning post  30  is integrated with the chassis box  10 . Alternatively, and in an embodiment not shown, the positioning post  30  may also be formed separately of the chassis box  10 . 
     The rod assembly  40  is used as a power transmission for causing the tray  20  to slide. In certain embodiment(s), the rod assembly  40  is located outside the holding space  201  and is rotatably connected to the tray  20 . The rod assembly  40  can rotate under the action of an external force, and the rod assembly  40  can be folded or unfolded based on the rotation, so as to drive the tray  20  to slide toward the positioning post  30  and hence for the mainboard to be in a disengagement position (as shown in  FIG.  1   , the mainboard is at a disengagement position, and when the mainboard is at the disengagement position, disengagement of the mainboard can be achieved by pulling up the connecting rod  40  to separate the tray  20  from the chassis box  10 ) or drive the tray  20  to slide away from the positioning post  30  so that the mainboard is at an engagement position, (as shown in  FIG.  3   , the mainboard is in the engagement position, when the mainboard is at the engagement position, the mainboard is secured as required relative to the chassis box  10 ) 
     To provide guidance when the tray  20  slides, the mainboard mounting mechanism further includes a guide member  50  for guiding the tray  20  to slide in a first direction. The first direction may be the X direction as shown in  FIG.  1   . As shown in  FIG.  7   , the guide member  50  includes a guide base  51  and a guide rail  52  extending from one side of the guide base  51 . The guide base  51  is secured outside the holding space  201  through the positioning column  30 , and the tray  20  is slidably connected to the guide rail  52 . In certain embodiment(s), the guide base  51  includes a guide base floor  511  and a guide base wall  512 . The guide base floor  511  is provided with a positioning hole  5111 , and the positioning post  30  is received through the positioning hole  5111  to secure the guide member  50  on the chassis box  10 . There are two guide base walls  512 , and the two guide base walls  512  are arranged opposite to each other. The guide base wall  512  is used for hinged connection with the first end  4101  of the first part  41 . The guide rail  52  extend close to the proximal tray wall  221  and has an extending end  521  capable of extending into the holding space  201 . In order to avoid occupying too much of the holding space  201 , when the mainboard is at the engagement position, the extending end  521  does not protrude into the space  201 . Even when the mainboard is at the disengagement position, the length of a distance at which the guide rail  52  protrudes into the holding space  201  does not exceed the maximum sliding distance S. The guide member  50  is provided to guide the tray  20  for sliding. In certain embodiment(s), the guide rail  52  can be omitted when the mainboard is not too long in length and the guide is not required, and the guide base floor  511  is integrally formed with the box floor  401 . 
     To facilitate the connection of the rod assembly  40  to the tray  20  so that the rod assembly  40  drives the tray  20  during the folding or unfolding process, an ear  2211  extends from the proximal tray wall  221  and toward the outside of the holding space  201 , and the rod assembly  40  is connected to between the guide base  51  and the ear  2211 . As shown in  FIG.  6   , the rod assembly  40  includes a first part  41  and a second part  43 ; the first part  41  includes a first end  4101 , a second end  4102 , and a mounting portion  411  formed between the first part  41  and the second end  4102 ; the first end  4101  is hinge connected to the guide base  51  through the first rod  42 . A handle portion  412  is formed at the second end  4102 , and an external force can be applied to the first part  41  through the handle portion  412  to make the first part  41  rotate clockwise or counterclockwise about the first rod  42 . The second part  43  includes a third end  4301  and a fourth end  4302 . The third end  4301  is hinge connected to the mounting portion  411  through the second rod  44 , and the fourth end  4302  is hinge connected to the ear  2211  through the third rod  45 . Accordingly, an external force can be applied to the rod assembly  40  through the handle portion  412 , and when the rod assembly  40  is rotated, the tray  20  can be driven. The rod assembly  40  is not limited to the two-link structure shown in the drawings, but can also be a three-link or even a four-link structure, as long as the rod assembly  40  can fold or unfold by rotations so as to drive the tray  20 . 
     In the two-link structure given above, the mounting portion  411  divides the first part  41  into a first segment and a second segment, the first segment is defined between the first end  4101  and the mounting portion  411 , and the second segment is defined between the mounting portion  411  and the second end  4102 , when the first part  41  rotates clockwise under an external force, the angle between the second part  43  and the first segment gradually increases, and the angle between the second part  43  and the second segment gradually decrease. When the first part  41  rotates counterclockwise under an external force, the angle between the second part  43  and the first segment gradually decreases, and the angle between the second part  43  and the second segment gradually increases. Accordingly, the purpose of moving the tray  20  can be achieved by changing the size of the angle between the second part  43  and the first segment. In view of  FIG.  1   ,  FIG.  3   , and  FIG.  6   , the angle between the second part  43  and the first segment is increased to 180°, and the angle between the second part  43  and the second segment is reduced to 0°, and the mainboard is at the engagement position; when the angle between the second part  43  and the first segment is reduced to a minimum, and the angle between the second part  43  and the second segment is increased to a maximum, the mainboard is at the disengagement position. It can be seen from  FIG.  1   , when the first part  41  is substantially perpendicular to the guide rail  52 , the angle between the second part  43  and the first segment is reduced to the minimum, and the angle between the second part  43  and the second segment increases to the maximum. When disengaging the mainboard, having the positioning portion  12  in place to resist the first part  41  prevents the sliding stroke of the tray  20  from being greater than the maximum sliding distance S. 
     In addition, to facilitate the sliding of the tray  20  and then to engage the mainboard at the engagement position, a first buckle  413  is formed on the first part  41 , and a second buckle  2212  is formed on the proximal box wall  221 . When the mainboard is at the engagement position, the first buckle  413  is engaged with the second buckle  2212 , so as to stabilize the mainboard at the engagement position. 
     To better guide, the tray floor  21  may also be formed with a slot hole  211  to help limit the translational sliding of the tray  20  along the first direction X. Through an engagement of the positioning column  13  to the slot hole  211 , a limit to the translational sliding of the tray  20  along the first direction X can be achieved. The slot hole  211  can be a semicircular hole at both ends, and the semicircle at both ends can be of equal diameter, so that the slot hole  211  is an elongated kidney hole, and the semicircle at both ends can also be unequal diameter as shown in  FIG.  5   , where the slot hole  211  is a gourd-like hole. 
     In addition, when the length of the mainboard is relatively large, a handle  212  can protrude out from the tray floor  21  at a location away from the guide rail  52 . By applying an external force to the handle portion  412  of the first part  41  and by applying another external force to the handle  212 , the mainboard may then be disengaged, while the problem associated with easy tilting of the mainboard applied with only one external force can be solved. 
     According to another aspect of the present disclosure, an electronic device is also provided, which includes a chassis box and a mainboard installation mechanism, the chassis box includes the accommodating space  11 , and the mainboard installation mechanism is as described above, which will not be repeated here. In addition, the chassis and the like of the electronic device may have various existing or future structures, which do not limit the protection scope of the present disclosure. 
     When the mainboard is installed on the chassis box of the electronic device based on the mainboard mounting mechanism of the present disclosure, the tray  20  is set on the chassis box according to a cooperation between the positioning post  30  and the positioning hole  5111  on the guide base floor  511  (as shown in  FIG.  1   ). Then, an external force is applied through the handle portion  412  to make the first part  41  of the rod assembly  40  rotate clockwise, and the rod assembly  40  is gradually folded to drive the tray  20  to slide away from the positioning post  30  along the first direction X (rightward), for the mainboard to be at the engagement position (as shown in  FIG.  3   ), where the first buckle  413  and the second buckle  2212  are fastened together to stabilize the mainboard at the engagement position; when the mainboard is to be detached from the chassis of the electronic device, an external force is applied through the handle portion  412  to make the first part  41  of the rod assembly  40  rotate counterclockwise, the first buckle  413  is disengaged from the second buckle  2212 , and the rod assembly  40  is gradually unfolded, and the tray  20  glides along the first direction X toward the positioning post  30  (leftward) until the mainboard is at the disengagement position (as shown in  FIG.  1   ). Thereafter, an upward pulling force is exerted on the handle portion  412 , and at the same time, an upward pulling force is exerted on the handle  212 , and the tray  20  is disengaged from the chassis box. 
     Certain embodiment(s) of the present disclosure has the following beneficial effects: by arranging a rod assembly  40 , that can be folded or unfolded based on rotation, outside the holding space  201  of the tray  20 , the tray  20  is driven to slide, thereby driving the mainboard to slide back and forth to realize the mainboard assembly operation. This design not only considers the handle and sliding assembly functions, but also allows more space for the mainboard layout, making the mainboard assembly operation more convenient. 
     In the description of the present disclosure, the orientation or positional relationship indicated by the orientation words such as “left”, “right”, “upper”, “bottom” refers to the orientation or positional relationship shown in the drawings, is to facilitate the description of the present disclosure and to simplify the description. Unless stated to the contrary, these directional words do not indicate or imply that the device or element must have a particular orientation or be constructed and operated in a particular orientation and are not to limit the protection scope of the present disclosure. The directional words “inner” and “outer” refer to the inside and outside relative to the contour of each component itself 
     For the ease of description, spatially relative terms, such as “on”, “over”, “on top of”, “above”, may be used to describe the spatial positional relationship of one or more components or features in the drawings relative to other components or features. Spatially relative terms encompass not only the orientation of components as depicted in the figures, but also different orientations involved in use or operations. For example, if a component in the figures is turned upside down in its entirety, components “above” or “above other components or features” would include components “below” or “below other components or features”. Thus, the term “above” can encompass both an orientation of “above” and an orientation “below.” In addition, these components or features may also be oriented at other different angles (for example, rotated 90 degrees or other angles), all of which are intended to be encompassed herein. 
     The terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing specific embodiments only, and is not intended to limit the embodiments according to the present disclosure. As used herein, unless the context clearly dictates otherwise, the singular is intended to include the plural as well, furthermore, it is to be understood that when the terms “comprising” and/or “including” are used in the present disclosure, the terms refer to features, steps, operations, parts, components and/or combinations thereof. 
     Terms such as “first” and “second” in the description and claims of the present disclosure and the above drawings are used to distinguish similar objects, and are not necessarily used to describe a specific sequence or sequence. Data so used may be interchanged under appropriate circumstances so that the embodiments of the disclosure described herein can also be practiced in sequences other than those illustrated or described herein. 
     The present disclosure has been described according to the above-described embodiments, but the above-described embodiments are only for the purpose of illustration and description, and are not intended to limit the present disclosure to the scope of the described embodiments. In addition, those skilled in the art can understand that the present disclosure is not limited to the above-mentioned embodiments, and variations and modifications can be made according to the teachings of the present disclosure, which all fall within the protection claimed in the present disclosure. The scope of protection of the present disclosure is defined by the appended claims and their equivalents.