Dell USA L.p.

Dell Products Inc.

Dell Computer Corporation

R Steven Mills

Andrew Lafayette McAnally

Steven L Sands

Ty R Schmitt

Jerry D Gandre

Randall Terry Smith

Arthur Lopez

Steve Sands

Gita P Khadem

Blake West

Eric B Holloway

Steve L Sands

A docking plenum for a rack is disclosed. The docking plenum includes a pair of sides that are coupled to first and second panels at the top of the docking plenum. The panels at the top of the docking plenum are separated from one another by an aperture. The docking plenum includes a front opening and a rear opening between the two sides. Each of the front opening and the rear opening are sized to receive a rack. The placement of a first rack in the front opening and a second rack in the rear opening creates a heated air cavity that is formed by the racks, the floor of the docking plenum, and the panels at the top of the docking plenum. When the racks are placed in the opening, and when one or more fans in the computer systems are activated, the fans draw air from outside the plenum across the interior of the computer systems. Heated air exits the computer systems and enters the heated air cavity. The heated air exits the heated air cavity through the aperture in the top of the docking plenum. Each rack may include wheels.

Docking Plenum for a Rack

A single peripheral device bay including a frame can receive a variety of different adapter plates, and thereby accommodate the maximum number of devices for each of a variety of different types and/or sizes of peripheral devices when the adapter plates are chosen for the particular type and/or size of device. Such a peripheral device bay includes a frame that can be permanently attached to the chassis of a computer system or an external enclosure. The removable adapter plates are attached to the frame so as to accommodate different devices. Because the peripheral device bay can be permanently attached to the chassis or enclosure, it can provide either with additional structural stability.

Peripheral device bay with adapter plates

A chassis retaining system for securing a chassis supporting electronic equipment such as a computer system to a rack. The chassis retaining system includes a handle and a securing device with a retaining surface. The securing device is coupled to the handle, and the retaining surface is movable with respect to the handle. The chassis retaining system further includes a user interface device coupled to the handle and to the securing device. The user interface device is movable with respect to the handle. The user interface device is engageable by a user to move the retaining surface from a first position with respect to the handle wherein a surface of the electronics rack in which a chassis is mounted retains the retaining surface, to a second position wherein the surface of the electronics rack does not retain the retaining surface.

Chassis retaining system for an electronics rack

A drive bay for an alternately orientable computer chassis includes a first pair of parallel opposing side panels and a second pair of parallel opposing side panels, each side panel having an interior side surface and an exterior side surface, and a plurality of drive mounting features on the interior side surface of each side panel. The first pair of parallel opposing side panels and the second pair of parallel opposing side panels arranged to form an enclosure with a rectangular aperture. The drive bay allows drives to be mounted horizontally in the drive bay, whether the chassis is in a tower or a desktop/rack orientation, and without having to ever change the orientation of the drive bay with respect to the chassis. Because the drive bay need not be re-mounted when the orientation of the chassis is changed, the drive bay can provide additional structural support to the chassis.

Drive bay for alternately orientable computer chassis

A computer, or electronic device, according to which two fans are mounted on a mounting member which, in turn, is mounted to a wall of the chassis of the computer or component so that the fans establish an air flow in the chassis in a predetermined direction. The fans are mounted to the mounting member, and the mounting member is mounted to the wall, in a manner so that the fans extend at an angle to the wall and so that the space occupied by the fans is less than the space that the fans would occupy when mounted in a side-by-side relation and parallel to the wall. The fans are also positioned so that, if one fails, the other will cool the components normally cooled by the failed fan.

Computer with an improved cooling system and a method for cooling a

An electronic system includes a chassis with attachment features which may interchangeably accept and secure a connector assembly and paralleling board assembly. The connector assembly may be used in a lower cost nonredundant power supply configuration while the paralleling board assembly may be used in multiple power supply configurations. The power supply may be interchangeably connected to the connector assembly and the paralleling board assembly.

Electronic system implementing redundant and nonredundant power supply

A fan carrier for mounting a fan in a protective housing of electronic equipment. The fan carrier includes a frame for securing a fan having a flange with a front side and a back side. The fan carrier also includes a first securing device connected to the frame. The first securing device has a first surface. The fan carrier further includes a second securing device connected to the frame. The second securing device has a first surface movable as to the frame. When a fan is secured to the frame, the first surface of the first securing device retains the flange and the first surface of the second securing device retains the flange.

Fan flange retention in a fan carrier

A device for securing a power supply in a computer chassis includes a power supply housing having a handle movably mounted thereon. An insertion and extraction cam device extends from the handle and is pivotable into and out of engagement with a cam receiver in the chassis. A housing locking device extends from the handle and is slidable into and out of engagement with a lock receiver in the chassis. A power switch actuator tab is connected to extend from the handle and slide into and out of engagement with a power switch actuator arm mounted in the power supply. A power cord lock is connected to extend from the handle and slide to and from a lock position adjacent a power cord plug attached to the power supply.

Computer power supply insertion and extraction apparatus and method

The present invention provides, for use in a chassis configured to alternatively house first or second planar boards hating different thicknesses and daughter board side surfaces, a universal planar mount for supporting the planar board within the chassis. The universal planar may consist of a planar support coupled to a wall of the chassis that has first and second shoulders, preferably more than two, associated therewith that may be stair-stepped with respect to each other. The planar support may consist of a plurality of planar supports. In another aspect, the shoulders are formed in opposite side edges of the support walls. The first shoulder is engagable with the first planar board to mount the daughter board side surface of the first planar board a predetermined distance from the wall. Alternatively, the second shoulder is engagable with the second planar board to mount the daughter board side surface of the second planar board the same predetermined distance from the wall, thereby allowing either of the first or second planar boards to be used in the same chassis without modification to the chassis or accessory parts, such as the daughter boards.

Planar mounts capable of mounting planars of varying thickness

A printed circuit board ground clip is provided having upwardly extending retainers and downwardly extending legs. The legs are designed to insert within plated-through holes of a variable thickness printed circuit board. The upwardly extending retainers terminate as a spaced pair of flanges which frictionally receive and electrically couple with a hook. The hook extends from the chassis of an electronic device, through a slot within the printed circuit board and between the spaced flanges. Accordingly, the hook and ground clip form an electrical conduit between a ground supply connected to the electronic device chassis and a ground conductor formed within the printed circuit board. Chassis-to-ground conductor attachment is performed during assembly of the board to the chassis backplane. Attachment can be quickly and easily reversed to allow board re-work, without requiring placement of heat upon the board. The present attachment mechanism further avoids user-inserted fasteners and the reliability problems they present.

Printed circuit board ground clip

A representation of a three dimensional part is provided with a three dimensional part summary information tag. Thus advantageously allowing part summary information to be easily accessible and visible to users who access the part data file.

System for permanently retaining multi dimensional CAD part information

The present invention provides a shroud for cooling a heatsink that is associated with a heat generating electrical component. Conventionally, the heatsink has a base portion with a first side and an oppositely disposed second side. The first side has cooling projections with outer ends that extend from the first side with the second side being attached to the heat generating electrical component. The shroud of the present invention comprises a wall that may be comprised of a thermoplastic or metallic material, The wall extends about and covers a portion of the cooling projections to form a passage for a flow of fluid about the cooling projections. The passage has a varying cross-sectional area to maximize the flow of the fluid about the cooling projections, to thereby enhance transfer of heat from the cooling projections to the fluid flowing through the passage. In one aspect, the varying cross-sectional area is formed by at least one of the walls surround the cooling projections having a concave shape projecting toward the cooling projections.

For use with a heatsink a shroud having a varying cross-sectional area

A cooling subsystem and method for a chassis of a computer system. The cooling subsystem comprises: (1) first and second cooling fans having first and second motors associated therewith for driving the first and second cooling fans, respectively and (2) a common plenum substantially shrouding and providing a pathway for air communication between the first and second cooling fans, the first and second fans cooperating to provide an optimum rate of air flow from without the chassis to within the chassis to provide air exchange within the chassis, the air flow within the chassis being in a predetermined direction to provide directed cooling of a specified device within the chassis, the common plenum allowing the first and second fans to continue to cooperate to provide a minimum air flow to provide a minimum air exchange within the chassis, the air flow remaining in the predetermined direction to continue the directed cooling of the specified device when a selected one of the first and second motors fails. The plenum comprises a bypass aperture therein for allowing the air to alternatively enter and exit the plenum, the bypass aperture increasing a rate of air flow across the subsystem when a selected one of the first and second motors fails.

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Austin, TX, United States of America

R Steven Mills