Patent Abstract:
One embodiment is a system for holding a component in a device comprising: a latch feature that is connected to one of the component and the device and has a tang and a cavity; a latch module that is connected to the other of the device and the component and has a first pin that interacts with the tang and a second pin that moves between a first position and a second position, wherein the first position is within the latch module, and the second position is within the cavity; and wherein the first pin and the second pin are connected with each other such that a movement of the first pin causes the second pin to change from one of the first position and the second position to the other of the first position and the second position.

Full Description:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION  
       [0001]     This application relates in general to latches, and in specific to a latch for a removable component.  
       DESCRIPTION OF THE RELATED ART  
       [0002]     Some computer systems have components or modules that may be removed so that other modules may be plugged into the computer systems. This is typical for laptop computers or other mobile computers (e.g. a personal data assistant or PDA), but also servers and desktop computers may have removable components. These smaller, portable computers may have one or more bays that allow a user to plug in one or more components, such as hard drives, optical drives, floppy drives, power supplies, etc., as desired by the user.  
         [0003]     Typically, a latch is used to hold the component in the bay and ensure the component remains in electrical connection with the computer system. The latch also may assist in ejecting the component from the bay when the user desires to remove the component from the computer system. Prior latches are varied and wide ranging.  
         [0004]     Latches have included simple spring-loaded latches in the system. These require the user to turn the system over, rotate the latch and then manually pull out the device. The advantage to this latch is that it is inexpensive and takes very little space, needing only a small latch and spring. One disadvantage to this latch is that the computer system must be turned upside down. If the laptop is docked, then the computer also needs to be shut down for undocking. Another disadvantage to this solution is that the component must be customized to add a set of holes for a pull tab. This customization then adds supply chain costs because the component vendors must hold a stock of specialized components.  
         [0005]     Other latches require levers, handles, cams, springs, and other mechanical parts to provide mechanical advantage to push the component out of the bay of the system. The advantage to this type of system is that the component is firmly held within the system, and the component is relatively easy to remove from the system. A disadvantage is that it is much more complicated because of all the mechanical parts. This complication adds additional cost, significant space, and causes additional failures in the field due to the complexity. It is also difficult to get a consistent feel because each system must implement the levers, cams, and springs in the space that they have available, so they are different from system to system. A consumer that is accustomed to one system may have difficulty with another system.  
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
       [0006]     One embodiment is a system for holding a component in a device comprising: a latch feature that is connected to one of the component and the device and has a tang and a cavity; a latch module that is connected to the other of the device and the component and has a first pin that interacts with the tang and a second pin that moves between a first position and a second position, wherein the first position is within the latch module, and the second position is within the cavity; and wherein the first pin and the second pin are connected with each other such that a movement of the first pin causes the second pin to change from one of the first position and the second position to the other of the first position and the second position. 
     
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0007]      FIGS. 1A and 1B  depict views of a computer system having a component that includes a latch involving embodiments;  
         [0008]      FIG. 2  depicts a perspective view of a component according to a representative embodiment;  
         [0009]      FIG. 3  depicts another perspective view of a component having a latch feature according to the representative embodiment;  
         [0010]      FIG. 4  depicts a perspective view of a latch module according to the representative embodiment;  
         [0011]      FIGS. 5, 6 , and  7  depict a series of views showing the interaction of the latch module with the latch feature during insertion of the component into the computer system, according to the representative embodiment; and  
         [0012]      FIGS. 8 and 9  depict a series of views showing the interaction of the latch module with the latch feature during removal of the component from the computer system, according to the representative embodiment. 
     
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION  
       [0013]      FIG. 1A  depicts a perspective view  10  of a computer system  11  having a component  12  that is latched to the computer system  11  according to embodiments. Component  12  may be a hard drive, an optical drive (e.g. a CD drive or a DVD drive), a floppy drive (e.g. a 3.5 inch drive, a ZIP drive), a modem card, a network card, a memory card (e.g. a memory stick), or a power supply (e.g. a battery or a power converter for connecting with an external power source), as examples.  
         [0014]     Note that the location of the component  12  is by way of example only, as the component may be mounted in the front, back, top, bottom, or any of the sides of the computer system, as well as in the display  13  of the computer system. Note that the number of components is by way of example only as the computer system may have more components that may be located in the same location as the component  12 , or in a different location of the computer system, e.g. on the opposite side or the back side of the computer system  11 . Further, note that the computer system  10  is a laptop computer system; however, other computer systems could be used with embodiments, e.g. a desktop system, a server, a storage system, a network system, a notebook computer, or a personal data assistant. Still further, note other embodiments may involve systems other than computer systems, e.g. game consoles, a television (e.g. a LCD television), or a media player (e.g. a radio, a MP3 player, a tape player, a CD player, or a DVD player). Embodiments would operate with any type of system that would have removable components.  
         [0015]      FIG. 1B  depicts a sectional view of the computer system  11  depicting a finger  14  of a user that is either inserting or removing the component  12 . To insert the component, the user would place the component into a bay or garage of the computer system. The user would then push the bezel  24  (or face plate) of the component, and move the component into the bay, until the latch (described below) holds the component in the bay, and the component electrically connects with the computer system. To remove the component, the user would push the bezel  24  to move the component further into the bay, which unlatches the component, and causes an ejector to push the component out of the bay. The ejector would at least move the component far enough out of the bay to allow the user to grasp and pull the component out of the remainder of the bay.  
         [0016]      FIG. 2  depicts a perspective view  20  of a component  12  according to a representative embodiment. The component  12  typically includes a connector  22  that engages with a corresponding connector of the computer system  11  to provide power to the component (or from the component if the component is a power supply), and data to or from the component as needed for the operation of the component. The component typically includes a flyover portion  23  which may be present on each type of component but is typically used by optical drive components (e.g. CD or DVD drives) to provide extra space or for the optical discs (e.g. a CD disc or DVD disc). The view of  FIG. 2  depicts the component  12  engaged with latch module  21 . The latch module  21  is attached to the computer system  11  in the bay, and latch module  21  engages with a latch feature ( 31  of  FIG. 3 ) of the component  12  to hold the component in the bay.  
         [0017]      FIG. 3  depicts another perspective view  30  of a component  12  having a latch feature  31  according to a representative embodiment. In this view, the component  12  is not engaged with the latch module  21  and the latch feature  31  is depicted. The latch feature  31  comprises a first flange  33  and a second flange  34  that define retention cavity  32 . The cavity  32  interacts with a retention pin ( 41  of  FIG. 4 ) of latch module  21 . The second flange  34  includes a tang  35  that interacts with an eject pin ( 42  of  FIG. 4 ) of the latch module  21 . The latch feature  31  may be integrally mounted on the component  12 , or it may be connected to the component via a fastener(s), e.g. a screw, a rivet, an adhesive, etc.  
         [0018]      FIG. 4  depicts a perspective view  40  of a latch module  21  according to a representative embodiment. The latch module  21  includes a retention pin  41 , which is spring-loaded, and moves in an arc  44 . The retention pin  41  interacts with the cavity  32  of latch feature ( 31  of  FIG. 3 ). The latch module  21  includes eject pin  42 , which is spring-loaded and moves in a direction  43  that is parallel with the direction of movement of component  12  during insertion/removal of component  12  into computer  11 . The retention pin  41  is operably connected with the eject pin  42  via at least one spring and at least one bar. The latch module  21  is mounted inside of the computer  11 . The latch module  21  may be permanently mounted (e.g. via an adhesive or a rivet(s)) or removably mounted to computer  11  (e.g. via a screw(s)). The latch module  21  may be relatively small, e.g. 4.8 millimeters (mm)×26.8 mm×50.0 mm. Note that these dimensions are by way of example only as other dimensions could be used.  
         [0019]      FIGS. 5, 6 , and  7  depict a series of views showing the interaction of the latch module  21  with the latch  31  during insertion of the component  12  into the computer system  11 , according to this representation embodiment. Note that in  FIGS. 5, 6 , and  7 , the component  12  and the computer system  11  are not shown for simplicity.  
         [0020]     In  FIG. 5 , the component  12  has been inserted into the bay of the computer  11  to where the tang  35  engages with the eject pin  42 . The component  12  would be protruding about 3 mm from the side of the computer  11 . Note that retention pin  41  is in its retracted position within the latch module  21 . The component  12  would then be pushed further into the bay to a location that is about 3 mm past its home location, as shown in  FIG. 6 . The home location is the position where the bezel  24  of the component  12  is flush with the side of the computer system  11 . Of course, in other embodiments the home location may be any desired position at which component  12  is to reside when fully connected to computer system  11 . Thus, in  FIG. 6  the bezel is about 3 mm inside of the computer bay. The movement of the eject pin  42  to the position of  FIG. 6  by tang  35  causes the retention pin  41  to move to its extended position, where the retention pin  41  engages with the cavity  32 . After moving to the position of  FIG. 6 , the user would stop pushing on bezel  24 , and the force of the spring on eject pin  42  would move the component to its home position of  FIG. 7 . In  FIG. 7 , the retention pin  41  is located within cavity  32  and is in firm contact with flange  33  of latch feature  31 . This prevents the movement of the component out of the bay. The force of the spring of the eject pin  42  prevents movement into the bay (unless the component is being pushed inward by an external force). The sides of the bay prevent lateral movement of the component. Note that the 3 mm dimensions are by way of example only as other dimensions could be used.  
         [0021]      FIGS. 8 and 9  depict a series of views showing the interaction of the latch module  21  with the latch  31  during removal of the component from the computer system, according to this representative embodiment. Note that in  FIGS. 8 and 9 , the component  12  and the computer system  11  are not shown for simplicity.  
         [0022]     From the home position shown in  FIG. 7 , the component is pushed in to a location that is about 3 mm past its home location, as shown in  FIG. 8 . As with  FIG. 6 , the bezel is about 3 mm inside of the computer bay in  FIG. 8 . The movement of the eject pin  42  to the position of  FIG. 8  by tang  35  will cause the retention pin  41  to move to its retracted position, where the retention pin  41  is located with latch module  21 . After moving to the position of  FIG. 8 , the user would stop pushing on bezel  24 , and the force from the spring of eject pin  42  would move the component out of the bay about 6-20 mm, which would allow the user to grasp the component and remove it from the computer.  FIG. 9  depicts retention pin  41  in the retracted position and the eject pin  42  beginning to move the component out of the bay via tang  35 . Note that the 6-20 mm dimensions are by way of example only as other dimensions could be used.  
         [0023]     The operations used to both install and remove components involve pushing, i.e. the component  12  is pushed into the computer  11  to latch the component, and the component is again pushed into the computer to unlatch and remove the component. Thus, the latch module  21  and the latch feature  31  can be referred to as a push-push mechanism, and a component  12  that uses the latch module  21  and the latch feature  31  can be referred to as a push-push component or device.  
         [0024]     Embodiments of the latches described herein may be used in different computer systems, thus providing the user with a constant feel for inserting/removing components for the different computer systems. Embodiments of the latches described herein enable the insertion/removal of a component without having to undock a mobile computer or without having to turn a computer upside down. Embodiments provide a latch that is easy for a user to operate, by providing the user with a large area to push (e.g. the bezel of the component).  
         [0025]     Note that the FIGURES depict the latch module  12  being attached to the computer system  11  and the latch feature  31  being attached to the component  12 ; however, other embodiments would have the latch module  21  being attached to the component  12  and the latch feature  21  being attached to the computer system  11 . As the latch feature  21  has no moving parts, this may be mounted (e.g. permanently) within the computer system  11 . The latch module  31 , which has moving parts, may be connected to the removable component  12 , and thus may be more readily repaired or replaced.

Technology Classification (CPC): 8