International Business Machines Corporation

Stanley J Cutts

David Newmarch

Ian Golledge

Eric A Johnson

Reginald Beer

John S Heath

Neil Morris

David S Gaunt

Albert N Hamper

John Veal

Steven Brian Kew

David E White

Paul D Carey

David A Evans

An information processing system comprises a plurality of information processing devices; and a fault-tolerant power distribution system comprising a plurality N+1, wherein N is greater than 1, removable power supplies for providing power to the system, N power supplies being sufficient to provide power to the plurality of devices; and a plurality M removable power distribution units for connecting the power supplies to the devices, the connection of the power supplies with the power distribution units being configured such that on removal of either of the units, the remaining unit is still connected to N of the power supplies to thereby maintain power to the system.

Redundant power distribution in an information processing system

A cooling system provides redundant fault-tolerant cooling to electrical devices in an electrical apparatus and comprises a plurality N+1 individual cooling fans, N cooling fans being required to provide cooling of the devices and further comprises monitor logic for monitoring the status of the plurality of cooling fans and for issuing a non-critical warning to the apparatus in the event of failure of one of the cooling fans, the logic being further operable, in the event of a failure in the logic, to issue a non-critical warning to the apparatus.

Fault tolerant cooling in electrical apparatus

A housing designed to accommodate a plurality of removable electrical devices includes power connectors mounted within the housing for connecting a power source to each of the devices. In order to prevent a user from inadvertently contacting live connectors within the housing, the housing is provided with one or more safety elements e.g., in the form of fins fixed in the cavity which are positioned to lie between adjacent devices. The position, size and location of the pins are strategically chosen to prevent access to the connector(s). The position of the fins between the devices allows the user access to the devices to load and unload them into and from the housing.

Housing for electrical apparatus

A modular housing for first and second groups of replaceable functional units, e.g., disk files comprises a chassis for supporting the units within a first compartment extending along the length of a chassis support structure and removable via opposite openings in the chassis. Replaceable cooling and power supply assemblies are located within a second compartment of the drawer and can be removed from drawer via one of the openings without removing either of the groups of functional units. The fan of a combined cooling and power supply unit is arranged centrally within the second compartment such that it draws cooling air past the first group of units and exhausts air towards the second group of units.

Modular housing

A disk cartridge file employs a cartridge which is a rigid enclosure containing a flexible information storage disk mounted on a drive hub. One wall of the cartridge comprises a central hub drive aperture and an arcuate radially extending access slot for a read/write transducer. In operation, the disk flies over the inner surface of the apertured wall on an air bearing. This surface is planar over a major portion including the access slot but has a smoothly contoured raised land bordering the slot on the downstream side thereof. When employed in combination with a transducer of the ring stabilized type which projects through the slot and penetrates into the normal path of the medium, the transducer is coupled with the medium in a stable closely spaced air bearing relationship. The raised land extends the range of penetration over which the transducer is coupled, particularly at the outer diameter of the disk.

Disk cartridge having a flexible disk storage medium and a disk file

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Winchester, United Kingdom

Stanley J Cutts