Sun Microsystems, Inc.

Kenneth Kitlas

Robert J Lajara

Anita Patel

Ronald L Barnes

Clifford B Willis

Vince P Hileman

Jimmy Clidaras

Kenneth A Lown

Steven J Furuta

Milton C Lee

Barry Marshall

Wayman Lee

Mohammed A Tantoush

Lee Winick

Alan Lee Minick

Steve J Furuta

Satyanarayana Nishtala

Kenneth Clayton Gross

James M Carney

William A Izzicupo

Daniel D Gonsalves

Joseph M Spano

Alan Lee Winick

Mathew J Palazola

Nagaraj P Mitty

David E Desilets

Hassan Siahpolo

Mark R Pugliese

Erich H Selna

Khim H Foo

Alan W Lam

Talal Ahwal

Robert Antonnucio

Quyen T Vu

Thanh Tran

David Kwang Jae Kim

Bakul V Herekar

Myra Torres

Winnie C Leung

Winiie C Leung

An assembly is disclosed which enables a printed circuit board (PCB) to be added to or removed from a computer system without deactivating other parts of the system. The assembly, which holds the PCB, translates lateral motion into vertical motion to enable lateral motion to be applied to derive the vertical motion needed to plug and unplug a PCB into and out of an expansion slot. This motion translation makes it possible to insert or remove a PCB via a rear, front, or side access portal of a housing rather than through the top of the housing. Thus, the assembly eliminates the need to remove the housing from a rack, or to remove a top from the housing, which in turn eliminates the need to shut down any other parts of the system. Thus, the assembly enables a PCB to be 'hot swapped' into and out of a computer system.

Mechanism for facilitating hot swap capability

A modular computer system mechanical interconnection includes a primary chassis having a first opening and a secondary chassis attached to the primary chassis and having a second opening, wherein the first opening and the second opening are generally aligned. The apparatus further includes a backplate covering the aligned first opening and second opening.

Modular computer system mechanical interconnection

According to one embodiment, a computer system is disclosed. The computer system includes a circuit board, and connectors mounted on the circuit board. Each connector supports a peripheral component interface (PCI) card. In addition, the computer system includes a shroud that encloses the connectors in order to separate the associated PCBs from other components on the circuit board.

PCI card retaining device with integrated airflow guide

The electronic device with a system for enhancing the cooling of components located therein is provided. The device includes a housing with a fan positioned adjacent the housing and adapted for producing airflow within the housing. The printed circuit board is mounted within the housing, and a heat-producing device is mounted on the printed circuit board. The heatsink is coupled to the heat-producing device, and a shroud is mounted on the printed circuit board and extends up to the heatsink so as to improve airflow in the region adjacent the heatsink.

Method and apparatus for removing heat from an electronic device

A computer system housing with a curved bezel that forms one or more sideways gap between a side of the computer housing chassis and the bezel attached to that side. Typically, the curved bezel is attached to the front of the chassis with each sideways gap extending perpendicularly from the front of the chassis to a predetermined width and stretching to predetermined length along the front of the chassis. The sideways gaps facilitate increased air inlet from the sides and allow efficient cooling of various system components that are mounted on the chassis and housed within the housing. One or more cooling fans may be mounted at different locations within the housing to optimize air circulation and, hence, cooling within the housing. The chassis may be partitioned into two separate sub-chassis for proper positioning of the cooling fans as well as to accommodate changes in computer system configurations with minimized retooling of the chassis.

Computer system housing configuration

Computer system housing and configuration

A stiffener for a printed circuit board where the stiffener is placed between the printed circuit board and a wall of the metal chassis in a computer system housing. The loaded printed circuit board may first be mounted on the stiffener, which, in turn, may then be mounted on the appropriate wall of the chassis along with the circuit board. Alternately, the stiffener may first be mounted on the appropriate chassis wall, and the circuit board may then be mounted on the stiffener. Additional circuit components may then be added onto the circuit board. The lies between the circuit board and the wall of the chassis on which the circuit board is being mounted. The back plane support provided by the stiffener may reduce damage to the conducting paths of the printed circuit board due to pressures exerted during component mounting, manufacture, transportation, etc. Additionally, a circuit board carrying densely populated electronic components may be easily mounted on or removed from the chassis without damage. Adequate board-to-chassis grounding may also be accomplished through the sheet metal stiffener frame. Horizontal and vertical struts in the stiffener frame may provide additional stiffness and rigidity in the vicinity of the high density connectors on the circuit board. Besides increased stability, unusually tight tolerances on the flatness of the circuit board surface near high density connectors may be achieved with the support provided by the stiffener.

Computer system motherboard stiffener

A method and apparatus to vertically mount a first printed circuit board into a high-density connector on a second circuit board using one or more torque-limiting screws. A suitable support structure or support surface may be mounted on the second circuit board with the top of the support structure lying below the high-density connector in such a manner as to align the connecting edge on the first circuit board with the longitudinal opening in the high-density connector when the first circuit board is placed on the top surface of the support structure. One or more torque-limiting screws may be mounted on appropriated edges of the first circuit board. One or more grooved channels, preferably equal in number to the torque-limiting screws on the first circuit board, may be provided on the top of the support structure. The torque-limiting screws on the first circuit board are oriented in line with the corresponding grooved channels when the first circuit board is placed on the top of the support structure. The connecting edge on the first circuit board gets inserted into the high-density connector on the second circuit board when the torque-limiting screws are fastened into the grooved channels. The use of one or more torque-limiting screws and a suitable stable support structure may generate a high insertion force over a short insertion distance without overtightening the screws and may also prevent damage to the delicate high-density connecting edge of the first circuit board due to over-insertion. A simple mechanism to insert and remove one circuit board from the other may thus be achieved.

Interconnect engagement and removal using a torque-limiting screw

A computer system housing where a vertical printed circuit board, e.g., a riser card, is inserted into a socket on a computer system motherboard. Some internal space within the housing may allow optimization of system memory capacity through packing of additional memory modules on the riser card. The additional memory may be mounted on the riser card and may reside in the vertical space created between the riser card and the directly-mounted memory on the motherboard. The computer system housing further includes a chassis that may be partitioned into two separate sub-chassis for proper positioning of one or more cooling fans as well as to accommodate changes in computer system configurations with minimized retooling of the chassis. The cooling fans may be mounted at such locations on the chassis that allow optimization of air circulation and, hence, cooling within the housing. However, extra cooling fan(s) for the additional memory on the riser card may not be necessary in view of the creation of dedicated cooling channels within the housing by an efficient placement of the cooling fans. The optimization of fan placement within the housing results in efficient cooling of various system components and allows for increase in system component packing density without a similar increase in the number of cooling fans.

Computer system cooling configuration

A computer housing which includes a chassis that has a first compartment and a second compartment. The first compartment includes a first electronic assembly and a first fan that creates a flow of air through the compartment to create a compartment pressure that is less than an ambient pressure. The second compartment contains a second electronic assembly and a second fan which produces a flow of air that creates pressure within the compartment that is greater than the ambient pressure. The housing also contains an inner wall which separates the first compartment from the second compartment to inhibit air flow between the compartments.

Pulsar desk top system that will produce 500 watts of heat

A PCI card is inserted through an I/O opening in a computer panel. On one edge of the card is a cover from one end of which projects a tab. A resilient gasket is attached to the panel to create a flexible EMC seal around the opening. Preferably the gasket is formed of tin-plated beryllium copper. The gasket has alternate staggered spring fingers oriented opposite to the direction of insertion of the PCI card. To retain the gasket the panel is formed with slots at either end and an outward struck projection at the middle. The gasket is formed with a tongue at either end to be inserted in one of the slots and a punched-out opening to receive the projection.

Modular EMC PCI card gasket

A 'tower'-type computer has a metal frame or chassis enclosed in an ornamental plastic housing. One side of the plastic housing with an attached metal liner is detachable for access to the interior of the chassis. The upper front corner of the chassis is provided with a metallic subframe. The front of the chassis is substantially open in front of this subframe and is formed with ventilation holes below the subframe. A detachable main bezel, divided into three vertically separated sections, covers the front of the chassis. The upper section of the main bezel is substantially open but is provided with ears so that fasteners can connect the ears to the front of the chassis. A peripheral bezel snaps onto this upper section of the main bezel and is provided with three openings which are covered with removable fillers. When a filler is removed, a computer peripheral may be inserted through the peripheral bezel into tracks in a bracket installed in the subframe.

Toner-type computer housing for peripherals

A computer chassis cover that pushes an electronic card into a motherboard. The cover is pivotally connected to the chassis and can be rotated between an open position and a closed position. The cover encloses an electronic card that is plugged into a motherboard. When in the closed position, the inner surface of the cover is separated from the motherboard by a distance that is approximately equal to the distance between the motherboard and a top edge of the electronic card. When the cover is in the closed position the card is pushed into a fully mated position when the card is in a fully mated position. If the electronic card is higher than the fully mated position, the cover will engage and push the card into the motherboard. To install an electronic card, the card is initially partially plugged into a connector mounted to the motherboard. The cover is then rotated into the closed position to engage and push the electronic card further into the motherboard connector to the fully mated position. The cover has wide handle area that widely distributes the insertion force of the card. The distributed force reduces the end user discomfort when pushing the card into the motherboard.

Method to install SIMMs without causing discomfort to the user

Growing community of inventors

San Jose, CA, United States of America

Kenneth Kitlas