Patent Publication Number: US-2010116765-A1

Title: Docking assembly

Description:
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
     This application claims priority to U.S. Provisional App. No. 61/112,611, filed Nov. 7, 2008, entitled “DOCKING ASSEMBLY,” the contents of which are incorporated by reference in its entirety. 
    
    
     FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention relates to a docking assembly for use with a ventilated rack system by which air can be provided into a cage housed in the rack such as that disclosed in U.S. application Ser. No. 11/871,942, filed Oct. 12, 2007, entitled “VENTILATED RACK SYSTEM,” the contents of which are incorporated by reference in its entirety. More specifically, the docking assembly preferably includes a tubular body having displaceable legs to secure the docking system onto a ventilation plenum of the ventilated rack system. 
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     Ventilated rack systems commonly available in the art are typically assembled by the manufacturer and shipped to the laboratory in an assembled format. In U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/871,942 filed by the same assignee as the instant invention, a high density rack and cage assembly having air plenums that are capable of being shipped in a disassembled format and easily assembled at the laboratory facility is shown and described. The rack assembly includes air plenums that support a docking valve that engage the valve of a cage to supply air to each of the cages housed in the rack. However, a disadvantage of such an assembly is that the docking assembly needs to be welded and cannot be easily mounted to an air plenum to assure a proper air coupling with the cages supported thereby. Accordingly, a docking assembly that is easy to install and will prevent leakage of air from or to the cage is desirable. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     A docking assembly for use in a ventilated rack system that includes components that can be assembled at a laboratory facility using relatively simple tools is provided. 
     The docking assembly includes a tubular base having displaceable legs at a plenum end proximate to the plenum, which preferably secures the tubular base to a plenum. A cup and a spring are supported on the tubular base. The spring urges the cup toward the cage end, proximate a cage supported in the rack system, to maintain the cup in position against the cage to assure that the air is supplied to the cage. 
     Other objects and features of the present invention will become apparent from the following detailed description, considered in conjunction with the accompanying drawing figure. It is to be understood, however, that the drawings are designed solely for the purpose of illustration and not as a definition of the limits of the invention, for which reference should be made to the appended claims. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       The particular features and advantages of the invention as well as other objects will become apparent from the following description taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, in which: 
         FIG. 1  is a perspective view of a partially assembled rack system in accordance with an embodiment of the invention; 
         FIG. 2  is a perspective view of an air plenum in accordance with an embodiment of the invention; 
         FIG. 3  is a partial perspective view of an air plenum and an air dock in accordance with an embodiment of the invention; 
         FIG. 4  is a perspective view of a docking assembly in accordance with an embodiment of the invention; 
         FIG. 5  is a front elevational view of the docking assembly of  FIG. 4 ; 
         FIG. 6  is a top planar view of the docking assembly of  FIG. 4 ; 
         FIG. 7  is a bottom planar view of the docking assembly of  FIG. 4 ; 
         FIG. 8  is a perspective view of a cup of a docking assembly in accordance with an embodiment of the invention; 
         FIG. 9  is a top planar view of the cup of  FIG. 8 ; 
         FIG. 10  is a cross-sectional view of the cup of  FIG. 8 ; 
         FIG. 11  is a perspective view of a body of a docking assembly in accordance with an embodiment of the invention; 
         FIG. 12  is a cross-sectional view of the body of  FIG. 11 ; and 
         FIG. 13  is a perspective view of a docking base of  FIG. 4 . 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF EXEMPLARY EMBODIMENTS 
     Certain exemplary embodiments of the present invention will now be described with reference to the drawings. In general, such embodiments as shown in  FIGS. 1-13  relate to a docking assembly for a ventilated rack system having components that are particularly suited to being can be assembled by an end user, for example, at a laboratory rather than being pre-assembled by the manufacturer at the factory. Accordingly, the ventilated rack system also preferably includes a pressure based air handling unit, a relatively easily operated clean-out system, and adjustable canopies having selectively removable sides as disclosed in U.S. application Ser. No. 11/871,942. 
     With reference to  FIGS. 1-3 , an embodiment of a ventilated rack system as described in U.S. application Ser. No. 11/871,942 may include a plurality of vertical plenum  310  arranged in parallel between side frames of the rack for supplying and removing air to and from rack. An air supply blower can provide HEPA filtered air through supply plenum  350 , preferably extending horizontally proximate the top of rack, to an air supply channel  320  of vertical plenum  310  via an air supply port  322  ( FIG. 1-2 ). The air can be provided through an air supply docking assembly  340  to cages in the rack. 
     Reference is made to  FIGS. 4-12  wherein an embodiment of a docking assembly  800  for connecting to an aperture  340   a  in the plenum  310  for supplying air from the plenum  310  into cages is depicted. The docking assembly  800  is preferably insertable into a corresponding docking aperture  340   a  of the plenum  310  ( FIG. 3 ) until properly positioned. Preferably, the docking assembly  800  can snap into place when inserted a sufficient distance into the docking aperture  340   a.    
     As shown in  FIGS. 4-7 , the docking assembly  800  can include a tubular body  830  having legs  836 , a cup  810  having a cup aperture  812 , and a docking base  860  having a base aperture  862 . The docking assembly  800  has a plenum end  833  and a cage end  831 . The cup  810 , the tubular body  830 , the docking base  860 , and the spring  890  are arranged coaxially. The cup  810  is supported on the tubular body  830  and is slidably engaged with the tubular body  830 . The spring  890  surrounds the tubular body  830 . The docking base  860  is slidably engaged with the tubular body  830  proximate the plenum end  833 . 
     The tubular body  830  has apertures  870 , a body channel  834 , and a retaining mechanism as further described below. Tubular body  830  can also have a circular cross-section with an outer diameter smaller than the inside diameter of the cup  810 . The tubular body  830  is aligned coaxially with the cup  810  and the docking base  860 . 
     With reference to  FIGS. 6-7 , the tubular body  830  includes a plurality of apertures  870 , a body channel  834 , an outwardly extending flange  832 . The apertures  870  are sized, shaped and arranged to be in fluid connection with the apertures  340   a  in the plenum  310  to provide controlled airflow to the cage. As shown in  FIGS. 11-12 , the body channel  834  of the tubular body  830  extends through the length of the tubular body  830 . As shown in  FIGS. 4-7 , the body channel  834  can be aligned with the cup aperture  812 . The outwardly extending flange  832  is disposed on the perimeter of the tubular body  830  proximate the cage end  831 . 
     The tubular body  830  also includes a retaining mechanism for connecting the docking assembly  800  to an aperture  340   a  in the plenum  310  and retaining the docking assembly  800  in position. In the embodiment shown in  FIG. 11 , the tubular body includes a plurality of deflectable extended legs  836  extending toward the plenum end  833 . Legs  836  are constructed and arranged to be inserted into the docking aperture  340   a  of the plenum  310 . Preferably, the extended legs  836  are flexible and are displaceable inward into the body channel  834  and are normally disposed outward away from the body channel  834 . Accordingly, as the legs  836  are inserted into the docking aperture  340   a , the legs  836  are displaced (bent) by pressure toward each other. The portions of the legs  836  that have been inserted through the docking aperture  340   a  will then return to the normal non-deflected position and away from each other to secure the body to the plenum. 
     Referring to  FIG. 12 , each leg  836  can include a foot  838  extending outward, away from the axis of the tubular body  830 . Therefore, the cross-section of the leg  836  can be greater proximate the foot  838 . The foot  838  can include an angled insertion surface  838   a  and an abutment surface  838   b . As the legs  836  are inserted into the docking aperture  340   a , the plenum wall  310   a  defining the docking aperture  340   a  contacts the angled insertion surface  838   a  of the foot  838 . The legs  836  are displaced inward until the feet  836  can be inserted through the docking aperture  340   a . Once inserted, the legs  836  return to their position, more preferably, until the outer wall of the leg  836  contacts the portion of the plenum wall  310   a  that defines the docking aperture  340   a.    
     The tubular body  830  can further include a stopping element for preventing the displacement of the docking base  860  beyond a certain distance from the foot  838  when the tubular body  830  is engaged with the docking base  860 . Referring to the embodiment shown in  FIGS. 11-12 , the stopping element can include a stopping surface  840  extending outward from the outer wall of the tubular body  830  proximate the legs  836 . Preferably, the tubular body  830  has a wider portion  842  and a narrower portion  844  wherein the legs  836  are within the narrower portion  844 . The stopping surface  840  can be provided where the wider portion  842  and the narrower portion  844  meet. The diameter of the wider portion  842  is greater than the inner diameter of the base aperture  862  of the docking base  860 , thus preventing the displacement of the docking base  860  past the stopping surface  840 . It is to be understood that alternate stopping elements are contemplated. For example, rather than providing a wider portion  842  and a narrower portion  844  having a stopping surface  840 , the tubular body  830  can have a single diameter or a gradual change in diameter without a defined stopping surface, wherein the stopping element can include one or more bumps or other mechanism to prevent the docking base  860  from being displaced beyond a specified distance. 
       FIGS. 8-10  illustrate an embodiment of the cup  810 , which can have a tubular shape having a cup aperture  812  for receiving the tubular body  830 . The cup  810  is supported on the tubular body  830  proximate the cage end  831  and is slideably displaceable along the axis of the tubular body  830 . The cup  810  also includes an inner lip  814  or other element/member extending inward into the cup aperture  812 . The inner lip  814  of the cup  810  contacts the outwardly extending flange  832  of the tubular body  830  ( FIG. 11-12 ) to prevent the cup  810  from being displaced in direction H past the flange  832 . 
     The cup  810  can also include an outer lip  816  extending radially outward from the cup aperture  812 . Preferably, the outer lip  816  is located proximate the cage end  831 . When a cage (not shown) is connected to the docking assembly  800 , the outer lip  816  preferably contacts the wall of the cage. As the cage is pushed toward the plenum  310  in direction I, the wall of the cage can push the cup  810  via the outer lip  816  toward the plenum  310  in direction I against the biasing force of the spring  890 , forcing the spring  890  to contact, and thus increasing the force exerted by the spring  890 . 
     As shown in  FIG. 13 , the docking base  860  includes a base aperture  862 , a base abutment wall  864 , and a base abutment surface  865 . The tubular body  830  may be at least partially placed through the base aperture  862  of the docking base  860  and be slideably engaged therewith. The stopping surface  840  of the tubular body  830  prevents the docking base  860  from moving too far upwards toward the cage end  831  of the docking assembly  800 . 
     A spring  890  is provided between the cup  810  and the docking base  860  to urge the cup  810  away from the docking base  860 . The spring  890 , as shown in  FIG. 4-5  is provided outside the tubular body  830 , and more preferably surrounds the tubular body  830 . Spring  890  contacts the base abutment wall  864  to apply a force, which urges the cup  830  away from the plenum wall and toward the cage. 
     In accordance with an exemplary embodiment, the tubular body is inserted, at least partially, into the docking aperture  340   a  in the plenum wall  310   a  until a locking mechanism secures the tubular body  830  in place with respect to the plenum wall  310   a . The docking assembly  800  can preferably be mounted onto the plenum  310  by inserting the legs  836  in the direction I into the docking aperture  340   a  of the plenum  310 . The legs  836  can be displaced inward until the foot  838  clears the plenum wall  310   a . Thereafter, the legs  836  can be displaced outward such that the foot  838  extends beyond the diameter of the docking aperture  340   a  and substantially prevents the legs  836  from being withdrawn in direction H. 
     The abutment surface  865  of the docking base  860  contacts the outside of the plenum wall  310   a  while the abutment surface  838   b  of the foot  838  of the tubular body  830  contacts the inner surface of the plenum wall  310   a . Thus, the docking base  860  is secured to the plenum. The base abutment wall  864  is wider than the docking aperture  340   a , which facilitates sealing the docking aperture  340   a  to prevent leakage of air from between the docking assembly  800  and the vertical plenum  310 . The docking base  860  preferably prevents the tubular body  830  from being inserted too far into the docking aperture  340   a.    
     The spring  890  simultaneously urges the docking base  860  toward the plenum wall  310   a  until the base abutment surface  865  contacts the plenum wall  310   a . Preferably, no additional steps are necessary to secure the docking assembly  800  or to seal the connection between the docking assembly  800  and the plenum  310 . Therefore, the installation of the docking assembly  800  onto the plenum  310  is relatively simple. 
     Thus, while there have been shown and described and pointed out novel features of the present invention as applied to preferred embodiments thereof, it will be understood that various omissions and substitutions and changes in the form and details of the disclosed invention may be made by those skilled in the art without departing from the spirit of the invention. For example, the position of the various plenums, valves, and apertures as well as the arrangements thereof, can be changed without deviating from the scope of the invention as a matter of application specific to design choice. Additionally, other alterations can be made, as a way of non-limiting example, the number of shelves, compartments on the rack, or the number of cages that can be housed in each compartment, etc. as a matter of application specific to design choice, without deviating from the scope of the invention. It is the intention, therefore, to be limited only as indicated by the scope of the claims appended hereto. 
     It is also to be understood that the following claims are intended to cover all of the generic and specific features of the invention herein described and all statements of the scope of the invention which, as a matter of language, might be said to fall there between.