Patent Abstract:
An electrical adapter assembly for connecting a first hard disk drive and a second hard disk drive is provided. The electrical adapter assembly includes a connector capable of electrically inserting into the first hard disk drive, a printed circuit board (PCB) module electrically connecting the connector, and a loading member for loading the first hard disk drive. The PCB module includes a chip for controlling data transfer between the first hard disk drive and the second hard disk drive. The loading member includes a base and at least two guiding portions pivotally attached on the base to allow the first hard disk drive to be able to slide between the at least two guiding portions.

Full Description:
BACKGROUND 
   1. Technical Field 
   Embodiments of the present disclosure generally relate to connectors, and particularly, to an electrical adapter assembly for hard disk drives. 
   2. Description of Related Art 
   Hard disk drives are widely used as mass storage devices in computers. To transfer information/data from a first hard disk drive to a second hard disk drive using a computer, the two hard disk drives must be coupled to a motherboard of a computer and the operating system of the computer must be used to transfer the information/data. After the information/data is transferred and if one of the two hard disk drives is to be used on a second computer, the hard disk drive must be detached from the first computer and coupled to the motherboard of the second computer. As can be seen, this is a tedious and time consuming process. 
   Therefore, a need exits for providing an electrical adapter assembly that can conveniently and repeatedly connect hard disk drives to each other without interfacing to a motherboard. 

   
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       FIG. 1  is an isometric view of an electrical adapter assembly in accordance with an exemplary embodiment, the electrical adapter assembly includes a loading member. 
       FIG. 2  is an exploded perspective view of the electrical adapter assembly of  FIG. 1 . 
       FIG. 3  is an isometric view of the loading member of the electrical adapter assembly of  FIG. 1 . 
       FIG. 4  is an isometric view of the electrical adapter assembly connecting a second hard disk drive and supporting a first hard disk which is about to be connected thereon. 
       FIG. 5  is an isometric view of the electrical adapter assembly connecting the second hard disk drive to the second hard disk and supporting the first hard disk thereon. 
   

   DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
   Referring to  FIGS. 1 and 2 , an electrical adapter assembly  100  in accordance with an exemplary embodiment is configured for electrically connecting a first 1.8 inch hard disk drive  60  (shown in  FIG. 4 ) to a second 3.5 inch hard disk drive  70  (shown in  FIG. 4 ). The electrical adapter assembly  100  includes a connector  10 , a printed circuit board (PCB) module  20 , a loading member  30 , a pressing member  40 , and two fixing members  50 . The connector  10  is electrically connected with the PCB module  20 , and is fastened on the loading member  30  by the pressing member  40  and the fixing members  50 . 
   The connector  10  is a rectangle-shaped printed circuit board. The connector  10  includes 1.8 inch first golden fingers  11 , 1.8 inch second golden fingers  12 , and two fixing portions  13 . The first golden fingers  11  and the second golden fingers  12  are disposed at opposite edges of the connector  10  correspondingly. The two fixing portions  13  are respectively disposed at another two opposite edges of the connector  10 . The first golden fingers  11  and the second golden fingers  12  are electrically connected with each other. Each of the fixing portions  13  defines a fixing hole  131 . 
   The PCB module  20  includes a 1.8 inch first socket  21  and a 3.5 inch second socket  22 . Each of the first socket  21  and the second socket  22  includes a plurality of pins (not shown). The first socket  21  electrically connects the second golden fingers  12 , and the second socket  22  electrically connects to the second hard disk drive  70 . The PCB module  20  further includes a chip  23 , and circuits  24  for electrically connecting the chip  23  to the first socket  21  and the second socket  22 . The chip  23  is used for controlling data transfer between the first hard disk drive  60  and the second hard disk drive  70 . 
   The loading member  30  is used for docking the first hard disk drive  60 . Referring to  FIG. 3 , the loading member  30  includes a rectangle-shaped base  31 , and a fastening portion  32  extending along one shorter side of the base  31 . The base  31  includes four positioning poles  311   a ,  311   b ,  311   c ,  311   d . The positioning poles  311   a ,  311   b  are arranged on one longer side of the base  31 , and the positioning poles  311   c ,  311   d  are arranged on another longer side of the base  31 . Two fastening holes  321  are defined in opposite sides of the fastening portion  32 . The two fastening holes  321  correspond to the two fixing holes  131  of the connector  10 . 
   The loading member  30  further includes a first guiding wall  33   a , a second guiding wall  33   b  opposite to the first guiding wall  33   a , two long narrow-shaped supporting portions  35   a  and  35   b , and four guiding portions  39   a ,  39   b ,  39   c ,  39   d  (referring to  FIG. 4 ). 
   The first guiding wall  33   a  and the second guiding wall  33   b  are disposed at the two long sides of the base  31 , and curve around the four positioning poles  311   a ,  311   b ,  311   c ,  311   d  correspondingly. The first guiding wall  33   a  includes a stopper  333   a , and the second guiding wall  33   b  also includes a stopper  333   b . The stoppers  333   a  and  333   b  extend from top sides of the first guiding wall  33   a  and the second guiding wall  33   b  respectively towards each other. The stoppers  333   a  and  333   b  are adjacent to the fastening portion  32 , and parallel with the base  31 . 
   The supporting portions  35   a  and  35   b  extend from the base  31  between the first guiding wall  33   a  and the second guiding wall  33   b  and parallel with the long side of the base  31 . The supporting portions  35   a  and  35   b  face the stopper  333   a ,  333   b  respectively, and the supporting portions  35   a  and  35   b  are configured for guiding the first hard disk drive  60  and to decrease contact area between the loading member  30  and the first hard disk drive  60 . 
   Each of the four guiding portions  39   a ,  39   b ,  39   c ,  39   d  has a smooth cylindrical outside surface, and further defines a through hole  391  to allow the four guiding portions  39   a ,  39   b ,  39   c ,  39   d  to be sleeved on the four positioning poles  311   a ,  311   b ,  311   c ,  311   d  respectively. 
   The pressing member  40  is a flat-shaped board for pressing the connector  10  to the fastening portion  32  of the loading member  30 . The pressing member  40  defines two through holes  41  in the board corresponding to the two fixing holes  131  of the connector  10 . The two fixing members  50  are inserted through the two through holes  41  and the two fixing holes  131  sequentially, and engage with the two fastening holes  321  correspondingly, so as to fix the connector  10  onto the fastening portion  32  of the loading member  30 . The two fixing members  50  may be screws and the two fastening holes  321  may be threaded. 
   Referring also to  FIGS. 4 and 5 , in assembly, first, the connector  10  is disposed on the fastening portion  32  of the loading member  30 , and the two fixing holes  131  of the connector  10  are aligned with the two fastening holes  321  of the fastening portion  32 . Then, the pressing member  40  is disposed on the connector  10 , and the two through holes  41  are aligned with the two fixing holes  131  of the connector  10  correspondingly. After that, the two fixing members  50  are correspondingly inserted through the two through holes  41  and the two fixing holes  131 , and screwed into the two fastening holes  321  to fix the connector  10  on the fastening portion  32  of the loading member  30 . Finally, the second golden fingers  12  are inserted into the first socket  21  to electrically connect the connector  10  to the PCB module  20 . 
   When the electrical adapter assembly  100  is used for connecting the first hard disk drive  60  to the second hard disk drive  70 , the first hard disk drive  60  can be disposed between the first guiding wall  33   a  and the second guiding wall  33   b  and supported by the supporting portions  35   a ,  35   b . And then, the first hard disk drive  60  is pushed along a first direction D 1 , such that, opposite side surfaces of the first hard disk drive  60  contact the guiding portions  39   a ,  39   b  and the guiding portions  39   c ,  39   d  correspondingly and movement along a second direction D 2  substantially perpendicular to the first direction D 1  limited, and apply a frictional force to the guiding portions  39   a ,  39   b ,  39   c ,  39   d  to allow the guiding portions  39   a ,  39   b ,  39   c ,  39   d  to rotate around the four positioning poles  311   a ,  311   b ,  311   c ,  311   d  respectively. Finally, the one end of the first hard disk drive  60  slides under the two stopper  333   a  and  333   b , the first golden fingers  11  are inserted into a hard disk connector (not shown) of the first hard disk drive  60 . The second socket  22  of the PCB module  20  can be inserted into a hard disk connector (not shown) of the second hard disk drive  70 . 
   Therefore, the electrical adapter assembly  100  electrically connects the first hard disk drive  60  to the second hard disk drive  70 , thereby the first and second hard disk drives  60 ,  70  can transfer data between each other under control of the chip  23  of the PCB module  20 . Because the guiding portions  39   a ,  39   b ,  39   c ,  39   d  are rotatably disposed on the positioning poles  311   a ,  311   b ,  311   c ,  311   d  respectively, the first hard disk drive  60  will be protected from wear and tear due to sliding between the guiding portions  39   a ,  39   b ,  39   c ,  39   d . In addition, the two stoppers  333   a ,  333   b , the supporting portions  35   a ,  35   b , may cooperately prevent the first hard disk drive  60  from falling out of the base  31  in the up-down direction. 
   It is to be understood, however, that even though numerous characteristics and advantages of the present disclosure have been set forth in the foregoing description, together with details of the structure and function of the present disclosure, the present disclosure is illustrative only, and changes may be made in detail, especially in matters of shape, size, and arrangement of parts within the principles of the present disclosure to the full extent indicated by the broad general meaning of the terms in which the appended claims are expressed.

Technology Classification (CPC): 7