Patent Publication Number: US-2019182979-A1

Title: Cable bridle, cable bridle mechanism and swapping system using the same

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION 
     This application is a divisional application of and claims the priority benefit of a prior application Ser. No. 14/954,970, filed on Nov. 30, 2015. The prior application Ser. No. 14/954,970 claims the priority benefit of Taiwan application serial no. 104130041, filed on Sep. 11, 2015. The entirety of each of the above-mentioned patent application is hereby incorporated by reference herein and made a part of this specification. 
    
    
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     Field of the Invention 
     The invention relates to a cable bridle, a cable bridle mechanism and a swapping system using the same. 
     Description of Related Art 
     With rapid development of information technology, computer hardware equipments have been constantly reformed in response to various changes. For example, in the early stage computers, the hard disk is installed inside a host housing of the computer. Yet, for the purpose of data storage or backup, or on basis of data portability and security measure, the so-called “mobilerack” (e.g., a hard disk tray) has been developed based on demands to provide users greater convenience. Furthermore, in the existing servers, a swapping system is also widely applied because of aforesaid advantages. 
     Hereinafter, the hard disk in the server is taken as an example. In general, to avoid entangled information cables in the space inside a computer system due to complex layout, the swapping hard disk module in conventional art adopts a back plate to organize data signals from multiple hard disks by simplified cables for transmission, so as to reduce loss of the cables. However, the back plate means higher cost and potential risk of damage. The reason is that, in addition to the circuitry layout, it also requires a considerable amount of connects. Specific connectors must be disposed at the inside the back plate for connecting to the corresponding data ports of the hard disks, and additional connects are also required at the outside of the back plate for outputting signals. Moreover, with increases in plugging times, it is inevitably that damage and deviation will occur on the ports and pins of the hard disk and the connectors to reduce the durability of the swapping hard disks, resulting in reduction of the overall durability of the system. 
     Based on the above, it has indeed become a problem to be considered and solved for person skilled in the art as how to use simple structure configuration to reduce the loss of the cables while satisfying the motion mechanism of the swapping structure as mentioned above. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     The invention is directed to a cable bridle, a cable bridle mechanism and a swapping system using the same, which are capable of properly receiving and releasing the cable connected between different devices in the swapping system. 
     A swapping system of the invention includes a first device, a second device, a cable, and at least one cable bridle. The first device has a receiving space. The second device is movably disposed in the receiving space for moving into or moving out of the first device. The cable located in the receiving space is electrically connected between the first and the second devices. The cable is received or released according to a relative motion of the first and the second devices. The cable bridle is disposed on the cable. The second device is moved into the first device so that the cable is received, and the cable is constrained by the at least one cable bridle to form at least one bending when the cable is received. 
     A cable bridle mechanism of the invention is adapted to a cable. The cable bridle mechanism includes a track, a moving member and at least one cable bridle. The track has a path. The moving member is movably coupled to the track to move along the path, and the moving member has a buckling slot. The cable bridle has a body and at least one first buckling portion. The first buckling portion extends from the body to be buckled to the cable. The body has a second buckling portion facing away from the first buckling portion. The second buckling portion is engaged with the buckling slot to secure the body on the moving member. When the cable is received or released, the cable drives the cable bridle and the moving member to move along the path of the track and form a bending on a place where the cable and the body are buckled. 
     A cable bridle of the invention is adapted to a cable. The cable is electrically connected between a first device and a second device. The first device and the second device are movably assembled together. The cable is received or released according to a relative motion of the first device and the second device. The cable bridle includes a body and at least one first buckling portion. The first buckling portion extends from the body. The first buckling portion is buckled to the cable so that the body is contacted against the cable. When the cable is received or released according to the relative motion of the first device and the second device, the cable is constrained by the body to form a bending. 
     Based on the above, in the swapping system according to the invention, the cable bridles are disposed on the cable between two different devices. Accordingly, when said two devices are moved close to or away from each other by the relative motion, the cable can be constrained by the cable bridles to form at least one bending so that the cable can form a structure with multiple stacked sections due to the bendings when said two devices are moved close to each other to thereby achieve the effect of receiving. 
     To make the above features and advantages of the present disclosure more comprehensible, several embodiments accompanied with drawings are described in detail as follows. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       The accompanying drawings are included to provide a further understanding of the invention, and are incorporated in and constitute a part of this specification. The drawings illustrate embodiments of the invention and, together with the description, serve to explain the principles of the invention. 
         FIG. 1  is a schematic diagram illustrating a partial structure of a swapping system according to an embodiment of the invention. 
         FIG. 2  is a schematic diagram illustrating another state of the swapping system depicted in  FIG. 1 . 
         FIG. 3  is a block diagram of the swapping system depicted in  FIG. 1 . 
         FIG. 4  and  FIG. 5  are explosion diagrams illustrating part of the members in the swapping system depicted in  FIG. 1  respectively from different perspectives. 
         FIG. 6  and  FIG. 7  are schematic diagrams respectively illustrating the cable bridle in different states. 
         FIG. 8  is a schematic diagram illustrating a portion of a swapping system according to another embodiment of the invention. 
         FIG. 9  is a schematic diagram illustrating the cable bridle in the swapping system depicted in  FIG. 8 . 
         FIG. 10  is a schematic diagram illustrating a cable bridle mechanism according to yet another embodiment of the invention. 
     
    
    
     DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENTS 
     Reference will now be made in detail to the present preferred embodiments of the invention, examples of which are illustrated in the accompanying drawings. Wherever possible, the same reference numbers are used in the drawings and the description to refer to the same or like parts. 
       FIG. 1  is a schematic diagram illustrating a partial structure of a swapping system according to an embodiment of the invention, in which a storage state of the swapping system is illustrated.  FIG. 2  is a schematic diagram illustrating another state of the swapping system depicted in  FIG. 1 , in which an unfolding state of the swapping system is illustrated.  FIG. 3  is a block diagram of the swapping system depicted in  FIG. 1 , in which an electrical connection relationship of related members of the swapping system is illustrated. Herein, a swapping case structure of the server is used as an example for the description, but the present embodiment is not limited thereto. 
     Referring to  FIG. 1 ,  FIG. 2  and  FIG. 3  together, in the present embodiment, a swapping system  100  includes a first device  110 , a second device  120 , a cable  130  and a cable bridle  140 . It should be noted that, the first device  110  is a host system of the server for example, which has a control unit  116 , and the second device  120  is a swappable device (e.g., multiple electronic components such as disk drives, circuit boards or an array thereof) mounted on the host system for example. Herein, as shown in  FIG. 1  and  FIG. 2 , the second device  120  has the characteristic of a drawer structure, on which a plurality of sub units A 1  to A 6  (i.e., those illustrated in dashed line contour) may be disposed and served as representative of a disk drive array. Further, the second device  120  can be movably disposed in a receiving space  112  of the first device  110  through a sliding track  114 , so as to move into or move out of the receiving space  112  in X-axis. Accordingly, the user can pull the second device  120  out from the receiving space  112  through the drawer structure for replacing or maintaining the sub units A 1  to A 6 , and push the second device  120  back to the receiving space  112  after said operations are completed. 
     The cable  130  is located in the receiving space  112  and electrically connected between the first device  110  and the second device  120  for supplying power to the sub units A 1  to A 6  from the host system (the control unit  116  of the first device  110 ) or signal transmission. Accordingly, the cable  130  will be received or released (i.e., a receiving state depicted in  FIG. 1  and a releasing state depicted in  FIG. 2 ) according to a motion status of the second device  120  relative to the first device  110 . In order to successfully move the second device  120  out of the receiving space  112  and replace the sub units A 1  to A 6  under an uninterrupted power state, a length of the cable  130  must satisfy a length required for moving the second device  120  out of the receiving space  112 . As such, it is required to provide sufficient space, structure and method for storing the cable  130  when moving the second device  120  into the receiving space  112 . 
     Based on the above, the present embodiment adopts the cable bridle  140  disposed on the cable  130  so that the cable  130  is constrained by the cable bridle  140  to form at least one bending when the second device  120  is moved into the receiving space  112  of the first device  110 . As such, the cable  130  may be received to accomplish the goal of storing the second device  120  inside the first device  110  without causing entanglement or interfering on the cable  130 . Conversely, when the cable  130  is released or unfolded according to the relative motion of the first device  110  and the second device  120 , the cable  130  may be unfolded based on the bending. Accordingly, as shown in  FIG. 1 , the present embodiment adopts the cable bridles  140  disposed on multiple positions on the cable  130 , so as to form a plurality of bendings at the fixed positions and accordingly achieve the purpose of receiving and releasing. 
     More specifically, the cable bridles  140  of the present embodiment can also be movably disposed on the first device  110  along a path X 1 , so that the cable  130  may be successfully received. Accordingly, when the cable  130  is received or released according to the relative motion of the first device  110  and the second device  120 , a plurality of portions on the cable  130  (i.e., portions on which the cable bridles  140  are respectively disposed) are constrained to move back and forth on the path X 1 . That is to say, with use of the cable bridles  140  on the cable  130 , the portions of the cable  130  can move according to the fixed path X 1 , such that bendings formed on the fixed positions (the positions where the cable bridles  140  are respectively disposed) on the cable  130  can move along the path X 1  towards the inside of the first device  110  when the second device  120  is moved into the receiving space  112 . Therefore, the cable  130  is bent into multiple sections, and these sections may be stacked and received one by one, so that the cable  130  may be successfully stored between the first device  110  and the second device  120 . On the other hand, when the second device  120  is moved out of the receiving space  112 , the bendings formed on the fixed positions (the positions where the cable bridles  140  are respectively disposed) of the cable  130  also gradually move along an reversed direction of the path X 1  (in a positive X-axis direction) towards the outside of the first device  110 , so that the cable  130  may be successfully released or unfolded. 
       FIG. 4  and  FIG. 5  are explosion diagrams illustrating part of the members in the swapping system depicted in  FIG. 1  respectively from different perspectives. Referring to  FIG. 1  and  FIG. 2 , and  FIG. 4  and  FIG. 5  together, in the present embodiment, the swapping system  100  further includes a track  150 , a moving member  160  and a fixing member  170 . The track  150  is disposed in the receiving space  112  of the first device  110 , and an extending direction of the track  150  is identical to the path of the motion of the second device  120  relative to the first device  110  (i.e., the two are parallel), that is, the track  150  has aforesaid path X 1 . The fixing member  170  is disposed on one end of the track  150 , such that a fixed position of the cable  130  is formed for bending and to serve as a fixed end when the cable  130  is received or released. 
     As shown in  FIG. 4  and  FIG. 5 , the moving member  160  includes a carrier  162 , a riveting member  164  and a riveting hole  168 . The riveting member  164  passes through the riveting hole  168  on the carrier  162  to be engaged with a track trench  152  of the track  150  so that the carrier  162  is movably combined with the track  150 . The moving member  160  further includes a buckling slot  166 . The cable bridle  140  can be engaged with the moving member  160  through the buckling slot  160  so as to fix the cable bridle  140  on the moving member  160 . More specifically, as shown in  FIG. 5 , the cable bridle  140  further includes a second buckling portion  146 , which is configured to be engaged with the buckling slot  166  of the moving member  160  to fix a body  142  of the cable bridle  140  onto the moving member  160 . 
     Accordingly, the cable bridle  140  can move back and forth on the track  150  according to the moving member  160 , so that the specific positions (i.e., where the cable bridles  140  are disposed) of the cable  130  can move back and forth along the path X 1  depicted in  FIG. 1  and  FIG. 2  when the cable  130  is driven to be received or received according to the motion of the second device  120  relative to the first device  110 . In other words, a cable bridle mechanism constituted by the track  150 , the moving member  160  and the cable bridle  140  in the present embodiment is capable of providing effects of constraining and folding the cable  130  between the first device  110  and the second device  120  with relative motion in the swapping system  100 . 
       FIG. 6  and  FIG. 7  are schematic diagrams respectively illustrating the cable bridle in different states. Referring to  FIG. 6  and  FIG. 7  together, specifically, the cable bridle  140  includes the body  142  and a first buckling portion  144 . The first buckling portion  144  extends from the body  142  and is used to be buckled to the cable  130  so that the body  142  can be contacted against the cable  130 , whereas the second buckling portion  146  extends from a main portion  142   a  and faces away from the first buckling portion  144 . In the present embodiment, the body  142  is a flexible sheet (e.g., a plastic sheet) divided into the main portion  142   a  and a plurality of sub portions  142   b  extended from the main portion  142   a . The first buckling portion  144  includes an engaging protrusion  144   c  and an opening  144   d , which are respectively disposed at two of the sub portions  142   b  located on two opposite sides of the main portion  142   a  and corresponding to each other. Accordingly, the two of the sub portions  142   b  corresponding to each other are respectively bent relative to the main portion  142   a  to be partially overlapped, such that the two of the sub portions  142   b  are buckled together due to the engaging protrusion  144   c  being passed through and engaged with the opening  144   d  while the cable  130  is secured therein. As a result, the main portion  142   a  of the body  142  may be attached on the cable  130 . 
     Furthermore, the cable bridle  140  of the present embodiment is in an unstressed state when being bent, and may generate an elastic deformation by force when the cable  130  is pulled straight. Therefore, when the second device  120  is moved into the receiving space  112  so that the cable  130  is received, an elastic restoring force of the cable bridle  140  can drive the cable  130  to bend at the positions where the cable  130  is attached by the main portion  142   a . Accordingly, the cable  130  may be successfully bent and stacked at each of the positions where the cable bridles  140  are buckled in order to achieve the effect of receiving. Also, as shown in  FIG. 1  and  FIG. 2 , in the cable  130  of the present embodiment, the cable bridles  140  are assembled on the moving members  160  and spaced apart from each other. That is to say, the cable  130  forms two types of bending because of the cable bridle  140 , where one type of bending is formed due to the cable bridle  140  being assembled to the moving member  160 , whereas another type of bending is in a free end state to maintain the freedom of the cable  130  when being received or released. 
     In addition, the body  142  further includes a trench  148 , which is located on the main portion  142   a  and faces away from the second buckling portion  146 . In terms of structure, the trench  148  can maintain elasticity and structural strength of the body  142  while allowing the body  142  to achieve a bending state as shown in  FIG. 7 . 
     However, it is not intended to limit related structure of the cable bridle  140  coupled to the first device  110  herein. That is, in another embodiment not illustrated, the cable bridle on the cable can be directly and slidably coupled to a bottom plate of the first device, so that the cable can be received or released according to a motion status of the cable bridle on the first device. Furthermore, the present embodiment is not intended to limit an amount of the cable bridles and the positions of the cable bridles disposed on the cable, which may be decided based on the environment and the requirements in use. That is, users may dispose the cable bridles on proper positions of the cable according to the length of the cable and a space between the first device and the second device. Moreover, the present embodiment is not intended to limit a form and an amount of the first buckling portions, any known buckling structure in the conventional technology capable of allowing the body of the cable bridle to tightly contact with the cable is suitable for the present embodiment. 
       FIG. 8  is a schematic diagram illustrating a portion of a swapping system according to another embodiment of the invention.  FIG. 9  is a schematic diagram illustrating the cable bridle in the swapping system depicted in  FIG. 8 . The following description may refer to  FIG. 8  and  FIG. 9  together with reference to  FIG. 1  and  FIG. 2  of the foregoing embodiment. In the present embodiment, unlike the foregoing embodiment, a cable bridle  240  includes a body  242  and a first buckling portion  244 , whereas a second buckling portion  246  extends and faces away from the first buckling portion  244 . Furthermore, the first buckling portion  244  includes a contact protrusion  244   b  and an elastic locking hook  244   a , which are respectively disposed on the body  242 . The elastic locking hook  244   a  is engaged with the contact protrusion  244   b  so that the cable  130  passes through in between the body  242 , the contact protrusion  244   b  and the elastic locking hook  244   a . The elastic locking hook  244   a  is adapted to generate an elastic deformation by force to be released from the contact protrusion  244   b . Accordingly, the cable  130  can also generate the bending through the cable bridle  240  and move along the track  150  according to the moving member  160  to be successfully received or released (unfolded), so as to accomplish the same effects of the foregoing embodiment. 
       FIG. 10  is a schematic diagram illustrating a cable bridle mechanism according to yet another embodiment of the invention. Referring to  FIG. 10 , in the cable bridle mechanism of the present embodiment, unlike the foregoing embodiment, at least part of a track  350  is an arc line, and the moving members  160  and the cable bridle  140  (only part of them is shown herein) disposed on the track  350  are identical to those in the foregoing embodiment. Practically, except for the fixing member  170 , the rest of the moving members  160  can all move along the different paths X 1  and X 2  of the track  350  during the process in which the cable  130  is received or released. By doing so, the cable bridle mechanism of the present embodiment is not limited to the swapping system only capable of performing straight line motion. That is, by changing the paths of the track  350 , the cable bridle mechanism can be adapted to two devices with different motion paths to increase its applicability. In addition, a pivoting element (not illustrated) may also be disposed between the moving member  160  and the track  350 , so that the moving member  160  can pivot in relative to the track  350  accordingly when the path is changed, so as to effectively avoid interferences from being generated with the track  350 . 
     In summary, in the swapping system according to the foregoing embodiments of the invention, the cable bridles are disposed on the cable between two different devices. Accordingly, when said two devices are moved close to or away from each other by the relative motion, the cable can be constrained by the cable bridles to form at least one bending so that the cable can form a structure with multiple stacked sections due to the bendings when said two devices are moved close to each other to thereby achieve the effect of receiving. 
     Furthermore, at least part of the cable bridles can be coupled to one of the devices, or correspondingly disposed on the moving member and the track, so that the portions of the cable where the bendings are formed can be received or released one by one when the relative motion of the two devices occurs. Accordingly, the multiple stacked sections of the cable may be sequentially formed without generating interferences with other members. This also prevents the cable from overly large tension and stress when the cable is bent or extended due to the motion of the devices. As a result, the swapping system can be moved and maintained in the uninterrupted power state to thereby increase the durability. 
     Although the present disclosure has been described with reference to the above embodiments, it will be apparent to one of ordinary skill in the art that modifications to the described embodiments may be made without departing from the spirit of the disclosure. Accordingly, the scope of the disclosure will be defined by the attached claims and not by the above detailed descriptions.