Patent Document

The present invention is a continuation in part of Provisional Application Ser. No. 60/068,482, filed Dec. 22, 1997. 
    
    
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention relates to a semiconductor memory device which can be exchanged with a variety of models of hard disk devices used with electronic equipment. 
     Personal computers and other devices requiring large capacity non-volatile storage have traditionally incorporated internal hard disks in their architecture. As shown in FIG. 8, a conventional hard disk device  41  is generally mounted to a base  43  inside a personal computer (not shown). A plurality of mounting screw holes  45   a - 45   d  are formed on a case  44  of hard disk device  41 . Base  43  has a plurality of screw passage holes  46   a - 46   d  which align with each mounting screw hole  45   a - 45   d . A plurality of screws  42  pass through the aligned screw holes to mount hard disk device  41  to base  43  inside the computer. 
     The prior art includes a disk (not shown) inside internal hard disk device  41 . The disk spins at a high rotation rate. The disk is subject to vibration as a result of the high rate of rotation. These vibrations can damage the disk or cause impact between the disk surface and the read/write head(s) which access disk data. 
     In operating conditions where external vibrations or impacts are likely to occur such as, for example, in portable computers, the stress on the disk is exacerbated. In these types of environments, hard disk device  41  may be replaced with a semiconductor disk device  48  to reduce the number of moving parts which may be adversely affected by vibration or impact. 
     Semiconductor disk device  48  also serves as a replacement for hard disk device  41  for upgrade purposes. Hard disk device  41  can also be replaced by semiconductor disk device  48  during normal preventative maintenance program, or if hard disk device  41  fails. 
     Replacement of hard disk device  41  is accomplished by first removing screws  42  and hard disk device  41 . Semiconductor disk device  48  is attached to base  43  with screws  42  which pass through corresponding mounting screw holes  49   a - 49   d.    
     In the above described prior art the position and screw thread size and type of mounting screw holes  45   a - 45   d  change with different models of hard disk device  41 . The position of screw passage holes  46   a - 46   d  and the spacing W also differs depending on the model of hard disk device  41 . The spacing and hole pattern to mount semiconductor disk device  48  must correspond to each replaced model of hard disk device  41 . A plurality of types of semiconductor disk devices  48  must therefore be prepared to match various spacing W, screw thread size and type and position for mounting screw holes  45   a - 45   d  corresponding to various models of hard disk device  41 . If only one type of semiconductor disk device  48  is manufactured, replacement of hard disk device  41  is limited to one type. The position of mounting screw holes  49   a - 49   d  do not correspond to screw passage holes  46   a - 46   d  of base  43  when semiconductor disk device  48  is to be exchanged with hard disk device  41  of a differing model. Furthermore, when the screw thread size and type differ, semiconductor disk device  48  can not be mounted and attached to base  43  using screws  42 . 
     OBJECTS AND SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     An object of the present invention is to provide a technique for mounting a semiconductor memory device which overcomes the above discussed problems in the prior art. 
     Another object of the present invention is to provide the facility to exchange one type of semiconductor memory device with a plurality of models of hard disk devices. 
     Still another object of the present invention is to provide a semiconductor memory device as a non-volatile memory that can be easily mounted in a variety of electronic equipment. 
     It is still another object of the present invention to provide a semiconductor memory device which can be quickly and easily installed as a replacement for a hard disk device. 
     Yet another object of the present invention is to avoid the need of additional mounting equipment to adapt the semiconductor memory device to the mounting configuration of various hard disk device types. 
     Briefly stated, the present invention provides a single semiconductor memory device replaces a variety of hard disk device types having different mounting configurations. The semiconductor memory device must have available the same mounting configuration as that of the hard disk device. Including multiple mounting configuration means, such as screw holes, in the case of the semiconductor memory device avoids the need for multiple replacement semiconductor memory device types. The multiple mounting configurations allow the semiconductor memory device to be mounted in a variety of orientations and mounting configurations. Thus, a single semiconductor memory device type can replace multiple varieties of hard disk device types without the need for extra mounting equipment. 
     According to an embodiment of the present invention there is provided a semiconductor memory device comprising: a case, the case having at least first and second mounting means, the at least first mounting means includes a plurality of first mounting portions having a first inter-portion spacing in the case, the at least second mounting means includes a plurality of second mounting portions having a second inter-portion spacing in the case, an electronic device being capable of using a hard disk device for memory storage, the hard disk device being removably mounted to a plurality of third mounting portions of the electronic device, and at least one of the at least first and second mounting means aligned with the third mounting portions, whereby the semiconductor memory device is mounted to the electronic device in place of the hard disk device. 
     According to another embodiment of the present invention there is provided a semiconductor memory device comprising: a case, the case having at least first, second, third and fourth mounting means, both of the first and second mounting means being accessible from at least one of a front and a back of the semiconductor memory device, both of the third and forth mounting means being accessible from a left side and a right side of the semiconductor device, the at least first mounting means includes a plurality of first mounting portions having a first inter-portion spacing in the case, the at least second mounting means includes a plurality of second mounting portions having a second inter-portion spacing in the case, the at least third mounting means includes a plurality of third mounting portions having a third inter-portion spacing in the case, the at least fourth mounting means includes a plurality of fourth mounting portions having a fourth inter-portion spacing in the case, an electronic device being capable of using a hard disk device for memory storage, the hard disk device being removably mounted to a plurality of fifth mounting portions of the electronic device, and at least one of the at least first, second, third and fourth mounting means align with the plurality of fifth mounting portions, whereby the semiconductor memory device is mounted to the electronic device in place of the hard disk device. 
     According to another aspect of the present invention there is provided a method of replacing a variety of hard disk devices in different electronic devices with a single semiconductor memory device comprising: the electronic devices having a plurality of hard disk device mounting means including first attachment means that mount the hard disk device to the electronic equipment, removing the first attachment means, removing the hard disk device from the electronic device, the semiconductor memory device having at least two sets of pluralities of mounting means, orienting the semiconductor memory device such that at least one of the at least two sets aligns with corresponding hard disk device mounting means in the electronic device, and fixing the semiconductor memory device to the electronic device with at least one of the first attachment means and a second attachment means engaging the hard disk device mounting means and the at least one of the at least two sets, whereby the semiconductor memory device is mounted to the electronic equipment. 
     The above, and other objects, features and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the following description read in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which like reference numerals designate the same elements. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     FIG. 1 is a bottom view of a semiconductor memory device according to an embodiment of the present invention. 
     FIG. 2 is a side view of the semiconductor memory device of FIG. 1 viewed from along line W—W. 
     FIG. 3 is an exploded perspective view of a mounting configuration for the semiconductor memory device of FIG. 1 according to an embodiment of the resent invention. 
     FIG. 4 is an exploded perspective view of another mounting configuration for the semiconductor device of FIG. 1 according to another embodiment of the present invention. 
     FIG. 5 is an exploded perspective view of a mounting configuration of a hard disk device to a base. 
     FIG. 6 is an exploded perspective view of another mounting configuration of a hard disk device to a base. 
     FIGS.  7 ( a )- 7 ( b ) are plan views of personal computers equipped with different type hard disk devices in different mounting configurations. 
     FIG. 8 is an exploded perspective view of a prior art mounting configuration indicating the attachment of a semiconductor memory device to a base in place of a hard disk device. 
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
     Referring first to FIG.  7 ( a ), one type of an internal hard disk device  2  is shown that acts as a non-volatile memory storage device in a piece of electronic equipment, in this case a notebook type personal computer  1 . Hard disk device  2  is oriented with its long dimension perpendicular to the long dimension of personal computer  1 . 
     Referring to FIG. 5, hard disk device  2  is mounted and attached to a base  4  by a plurality of screws  3 . Base  4  is placed in the interior of notebook type personal computer  1 . 
     A plurality of mounting screw holes  6   a - 6   d  are formed in a case  5  of hard disk device  2 . Screw passage holes  7   a - 7   d  are formed in base  4  and align with each mounting screw hole  6   a - 6   d . Each of mounting screw holes  6   a - 6   d  and screw passage holes  7   a - 7   d  are formed so that there is a spacing A in the X-direction and a spacing B in the Y-direction. 
     Hard disk device  2  is placed in a mounting position on base  4 . Each mounting screw hole  6   a - 6   d  is aligned with a corresponding screw passage hole  7   a - 7   d . Hard disk device  2  is mounted to base  4  by inserting screws  3  into screw passage holes  7   a - 7   d  and screwing each screw  3  into mounting screw holes  6   a - 6   d.    
     Referring to FIG.  7 ( b ), another type of an internal hard disk device  22  is shown that acts as a non-volatile memory storage device in a piece of electronic equipment, in this case a notebook type personal computer  21 . In contrast to the setup in FIG.  7 ( a ), hard disk device  22  is oriented with its long dimension parallel to the long dimension of personal computer  21 . 
     Referring to FIG. 6, hard disk device  22  is mounted and attached to a base  24  by a plurality of screws  23 . Base  24  is placed in the interior of a notebook type personal computer  21 . 
     A plurality of mounting screw holes  26   a - 26   d  are formed in a case  25  of hard disk device  22 . Screw passage holes  27   a - 27   d  are formed on base  24  and align with each mounting screw hole  26   a - 26   d . Each of mounting screw holes  26   a - 26   d  and screw passage holes  27   a - 27   d  are formed so that there is a spacing B in the X-direction and a spacing C in the Y-direction. 
     Hard disk device  22  is placed in a mounting position on base  24 . Each mounting screw hole  26   a - 26   d  is aligned with a corresponding screw passage hole  27   a - 27   d . Hard disk device  22  is mounted to base  24  by inserting screws  23  into screw passage holes  27   a - 27   d  and screwing each screw  23  into mounting screw holes  26   a - 26   d.    
     In the configurations shown in FIGS. 5-7, screws  3  and screws  23  are of the same type, thread and size. 
     Referring to FIGS. 1-4, either of hard disk device  2  type or hard disk device  22  type can be replaced by a single semiconductor disk device  31 . Semiconductor disk device  31  can be mounted in the same configuration to replace either hard disk device  2 , with mounting dimensions A and B, or hard disk device  22 , with mounting dimensions B and C. Although hard disk devices  2  and  22  share dimension B, dimensions A and C are different. This would obviate a common replacement by prior-art semiconductor disk devices. 
     Referring to FIG. 1, mounting screw holes  34   a - 34   d  comprise a portion of a first mounting means. Mounting screw holes  34   a - 34   d  are formed in a back side of case  33  of semiconductor disk device  31 . 
     Referring to FIG. 3, screw passage holes  7   a - 7   d  comprise a further portion of first mounting means. Screw passage holes  7   a - 7   d  are located in base  4  for alignment with mounting screw holes  34   a - 34   d.    
     Referring again to FIG. 1, mounting screw holes  35   a - 35   d  comprise a portion of a second mounting means. Mounting screw holes  35   a - 35   d  are also formed in a back side of case  33  of semiconductor disk device  31 . 
     Referring to FIG. 4, screw passage holes  27   a - 27   d  comprise a further portion of second mounting means. Screw passage holes  27   a - 27   d  are located in base  24  and align with mounting screw holes  35   a - 35   d.    
     Referring again to FIG. 1, mounting screw holes  34   a - 34   d  are formed with a spacing A in the X-direction and a spacing B in the Y-direction. Furthermore, mounting screw holes  35   a - 35   d  are formed with a spacing C in the X-direction and a spacing B in the Y-direction. 
     Referring to FIG. 2, mounting screw holes  36  and mounting screw holes  37  comprise portions of third and forth mounting means, respectively. Mounting screw holes  36 ,  37  are formed in both side surfaces of case  33 . Mounting screw holes  36 ,  37  are formed with a spacing A and C in the X-direction, respectively. 
     The present invention operates as follows with reference first to FIG.  5 . First, hard disk device  2  is removed from personal computer  1  for reasons that include device failure. preventative maintenance or device upgrade. Screws  3  are loosened and hard disk device  2  is removed from base  4 . 
     Referring next to FIG. 3, semiconductor disk device  31  is placed in a mounting position on base  4  in place of hard disk device  2 . Semiconductor disk device  31  is oriented with mounting screw holes  34   a - 34   d  aligned with screw passage holes  7   a - 7   d  of base  4 . Screws  3  are inserted through screw passage holes  7   a - 7   d  and into mounting screw holes  34   a - 34   d . Screws  3  are then tightened in mounting screw holes  34   a - 34   d  to secure semiconductor disk device  31  to base  4 . Thus, semiconductor disk device  31  is mounted on base  4  in place of one type of internal hard disk device  2  in a notebook type personal computer  1 . 
     Now referring to FIG. 6, hard disk device  22  is removed from personal computer  21  for reasons that include device failure, preventative maintenance or device upgrade. Screws  23  are loosened and hard disk device  22  is removed from base  24 . 
     Referring next to FIG. 4, semiconductor disk device  31  is placed in a mounting position on base  24  in place of hard disk device  22 . Semiconductor disk device  31  is oriented with mounting screw holes  35   a - 35   d  aligned with screw passage holes  27   a - 27   d  of base  24 . Screws  23  are inserted through screw passage holes  27   a - 27   d  and into second screw holes  35   a - 35   d . Screws  23  are then tightened in mounting holes  35   a - 35   d  to secure semiconductor disk device  31  to base  24 . Thus, semiconductor disk device  31  is mounted on base  24  in place of a different type of internal hard disk device  22  in a notebook type personal computer  21 . 
     As the above configurations show, a single semiconductor disk device  31  replaces either hard disk device  2  or hard disk device  22  types. Depending on the type which is to be replaced, either mounting screw holes  34   a - 34   d  or mounting screw holes  35   a - 35   d  can be used to mount semiconductor disk device  31 . As a result, a single semiconductor disk device  31  can be exchanged with two different models of hard disk devices  2 ,  22 . 
     Semiconductor disk device  31  is also mounted in other configurations using mounting screw holes  36  and mounting screw holes  37 . Semiconductor disk device  31  replaces hard disk devices mounted using screw holes corresponding to mounting screw holes  36 . Alternatively, semiconductor disk device  31  replaces hard disk devices mounted using screw holes corresponding to mounting screw holes  37 . Thus, one type of semiconductor disk device  31  can be exchanged with multiple types of hard disk devices  2 ,  22 . 
     In the above embodiments, screws  3  and screws  23  are used as one example of mounting means. However, the mounting means is not limited to only screws  3 ,  23 . For example, rivets can be used to mount semiconductor disk device  31 . Furthermore, screws  3  and screws  23  are not limited to the same size and type, and can be of different sizes. 
     In addition, the above embodiments use personal computer  1  and personal computer  21  as examples of electronic equipment. The present invention is not limited to these examples, however. Other types of electronic equipment that operate using a hard disk device  2 ,  22  can be the object of the present invention. 
     In addition to the three interhole spacings A, B and C, more than three interhole spacings are considered to fall within the spirit and scope of the invention. 
     Having described preferred embodiments of the invention with reference to the accompanying drawings, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited to those precise embodiments, and that various changes and modifications may be effected therein by one skilled in the art without departing from the scope or spirit of the invention as defined in the appended claims.

Technology Category: 3