TWI681704B - Expansion card holding mechanism - Google Patents

Abstract

An expansion card holding mechanism is installed in an electronic apparatus and includes a structural part, a connection part, and a rotatable part. The connection part is fixed on the structural part and includes a pivot and a limitation part. The pivot extends in an engagement direction. The rotatable part includes a rod and a plurality of card holding parts. The rod includes a pivot hole and a limitation slot. The pivot hole extends in the engagement direction. The card holding parts are fixed on the rod in the engagement direction. Each card holding part includes a holding slot extending perpendicular to the engagement direction for holding a card edge of an expansion card. The rotatable part is rotatably sleeved on the pivot through the pivot hole. The limitation part is located within the limitation slot, for limiting a rotation angle range of the rod rotating relative to the pivot around the engagement direction.

Description

Expansion card clamping mechanism

The invention relates to an expansion card clamping mechanism, in particular to an expansion card clamping mechanism suitable for use inside electronic equipment.

In order to expand the functions of the computer system, the computer system uses more and more expansion cards (such as PCIe display cards), and its length is getting longer and longer. It is insufficient to rely on the slot to provide expansion card structure support. At present, although there are designs for auxiliary fixing of expansion cards, for example, a fixed slide slot is provided in the device for the card edge to slide in to achieve the effect of support; but this also limits the installation direction of the expansion card, which must be parallel to the slide slot , Making this design unsuitable for computer systems with compact component configurations. Or, the rotation holding mechanism is used to press the card edge of the expansion card to achieve a fixed effect; but this method can usually only be implemented for a single expansion card. When there are multiple expansion cards arranged closely, it is difficult to rotate all The holding mechanism realizes the support or fixation of all expansion cards. Or, the slider with a slide slot can slide or hold the expansion card edge, although after the slide slot is separated from the expansion card, the slider will not interfere with the installation and removal of the expansion card. However, the action of the slider itself (ie, sliding) takes up a considerable amount of space, so this design is also not conducive to a computer system with compact component configurations. In addition, when the slider has a plurality of sliding grooves, pushing only one end side of the slider is easy to skew the slider, resulting in uneven movement, and even unable to effectively slide the slider to position, resulting in operation failure; if it is changed to push The middle part of the slider requires more operating space, which is not conducive to a computer system with compact component configuration. In addition, if the aforementioned auxiliary fixed structural designs take up considerable space, in addition to not being conducive to the flexibility of the configuration of each component of the computer system, it may also be detrimental to the planning and design of the cooling airflow (including the diversion structure).

In view of the problems in the prior art, one object of the present invention is to provide an expansion card holder The mechanism is suitable for an electronic device, and the effect of clamping or detaching the edge of the expansion card is realized by using a rotating operation.

The expansion card clamping mechanism according to the present invention is suitable for an electronic device and includes a structural member, a connecting member, and a rotating member. The connecting member is fixed on the structural member. The connecting member includes a shaft and a limiting member, and the shaft extends in an engaging direction. The rotating member includes a rod body and a plurality of card clamping members. The card clamping members are fixedly arranged on the rod body in the direction of the connection. The rod body includes a shaft hole and a limiting groove, and the shaft hole extends in the connecting direction. Each of the card holding members includes a holding groove, and the holding groove extends perpendicular to the connecting direction. The rotating member is rotatably sleeved on the shaft through the shaft hole, and the limiting member is located in the limiting groove to limit the rotation angle range of the rod body relative to the shaft around the engagement direction. In this way, through the rotation operation of the rotating member, the card clamping member can be placed in different positions, thereby achieving the effect of clamping and separating from the edge of the expansion card.

Compared with the prior art, the expansion card clamping mechanism according to the present invention occupies less space and can still clamp (or support, fix) multiple expansion cards. In addition, the expansion card clamping mechanism according to the present invention uses rotation to drive the card clamping members to move between different positions, so there is no possibility that the slider is skewed and the movement is uneven as in the prior art by only pushing one end side of the slider Shun problem.

The advantages and spirit of the present invention can be further understood through the following detailed description of the invention and the accompanying drawings.

1‧‧‧Electronic equipment

100‧‧‧System motherboard

102‧‧‧Diversion structure

1022‧‧‧vent

104‧‧‧Expansion card

1042‧‧‧Card edge

106、107‧‧‧Expansion card clamping mechanism

1062‧‧‧Structure

1062a‧‧‧Projection

1062b‧‧‧First side

1062c‧‧‧Second side

1062d‧‧‧ First stop

1062e‧‧‧Second stop

1062f‧‧‧Guiding surface

1062g‧‧‧First card point

1062h‧‧‧Second card point

1064‧‧‧Connector

1064a‧‧‧shaft

1064b‧‧‧Limiting parts

1064c‧‧‧Side

1064d‧‧‧Card hook

1064d'‧‧‧Cantilever

1064e‧‧‧rib

1064f‧‧‧‧

10641‧‧‧ Avoidance slot

10642, 10643‧‧‧

10644‧‧‧Bevel

1066‧‧‧rotating parts

1066a‧‧‧rod

1066b‧‧‧Card holder

1066c‧‧‧shaft hole

1066d‧‧‧limit slot

1066e‧‧‧slot

1066f‧‧‧ opening

1066g‧‧‧closed end

1066h‧‧‧parallel plate

1066k‧‧‧First connection board

1066m‧‧‧Second connecting plate

1066n‧‧‧Card slot

1066p‧‧‧Operation Department

1066q‧‧‧ end

1066r‧‧‧ reached the top

1068‧‧‧ Connection direction

1070‧‧‧Rotation angle range

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of an internal part of an electronic device according to an embodiment.

FIG. 2 is an exploded view of the expansion card clamping mechanism in FIG. 1. FIG.

FIG. 3 is a schematic view of the rotating member in FIG. 2 from another perspective.

4 is a cross-sectional view of the expansion card clamping mechanism of FIG. 1 along line X-X.

FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram of the rotating member in FIG. 1 in a release position.

6 is a schematic diagram of a connecting member according to an embodiment.

7 is a cross-sectional view of the cantilever of FIG. 6 along line Y-Y.

8 is a top view of the rotating member of the expansion card clamping mechanism at a clamping position.

9 is a top view of the rotating member of the expansion card clamping mechanism in a release position.

FIG. 10 is a schematic diagram of a connecting member according to an embodiment.

Please refer to Figure 1. An electronic device 1 (such as but not limited to a server) according to an embodiment includes a device casing (not shown) and a system motherboard 100, a diversion structure 102, and a plurality of expansion cards disposed in the device casing 104 and an expansion card clamping mechanism 106. The expansion card 104 is electrically connected to the system motherboard 100, for example, directly inserted into the expansion card slot on the system motherboard 100 or indirectly electrically connected to the system motherboard 100 via a riser card (with a drawer). The expansion card clamping mechanism 106 can be operated to clamp one side of the expansion card 104 to assist in fixing the expansion card 104; the expansion card clamping mechanism 106 can also be operated to disengage from the expansion card 104 to facilitate removal and installation of the expansion card 104.

Please also refer to Figures 2 to 4. The expansion card clamping mechanism 106 includes a structural member 1062 in the electronic device 1, a connecting member 1064, and a rotating member 1066. The connecting member 1064 is fixed on the structural member 1062 and includes a shaft 1064a and a limiting member 1064b. The shaft 1064a extends in an engaging direction 1068 (indicated by an arrow in FIG. 2). The rotating member 1066 includes a rod body 1066a and a plurality of card clamping members 1066b. The rod body 1066a includes a shaft hole 1066c and a limiting groove 1066d, and the shaft hole 1066c extends in the connecting direction 1068. The card clamping members 1066b are fixedly arranged on the rod body 1066a in the engaging direction 1068. For example, the card clamping members 1066b are fixedly arranged on the rod body 1066a at intervals in the engaging direction 1068, and the card clamping members 1066b A clamping groove 1066e is included, extending perpendicular to the connecting direction 1068. The rotating member 1066 is rotatably sleeved on the shaft 1064a with a shaft hole 1066c, and the limiting member 1064b is located in the limiting groove 1066d to limit the rotation angle range 1070 of the rod body 1066a relative to the shaft 1064a around the direction of engagement 1068 (see FIG. 4 Marked).

In this embodiment, the shaft hole 1066c includes an opening 1066f at one end of the rod body 1066a. The limiting groove 1066d is a slot that communicates with the shaft hole 1066c and extends along the connecting direction 1068 to the opening 1066f; on the other hand, the structure of the rod body 1066a is logically equivalent to a pipe body with an opening at one end and a limiting groove 1066d is a slot on the wall of the tube extending axially from the opening. The limiting member 1064b is a plate member and extends along the connecting direction 1068. The limiting member 1064b connects the shaft 1064a and the structural member 1062 in a direction perpendicular to the connecting direction 1068.

When assembling the rotating member 1066 to the connecting member 1064, the shaft hole 1066c of the rotating member 1066 is aligned with the shaft 1064a, and the limiting groove 1066d is aligned with the limiting member 1064b, and the rotating member 1066 is sleeved on the shaft 1064a along the direction of engagement 1068. In this embodiment, the closed end 1066g of the limiting groove 1066d blocks one side 1064c of the limiting member 1064b, which has the effect of assembly positioning. Due to the interaction between the limiting groove 1066d and the limiting member 1064b, the rotation angle range 1070 of the rotating member 1066 relative to the rod body 1066a is limited, and the actual setting value is determined by the actual product. In this embodiment, the rotating member 1066 can be operated to rotate relative to the connecting member 1064 to be selectively located in a clamping position (as shown in FIG. 1) or a release position (as shown in FIG. 5). When the rotating member 1066 is at the clamping position, the card clamping members 1066b clamp one card edge 1042 of the corresponding expansion card 104 to assist in fixing the corresponding expansion card 104 (as shown in FIG. 1); when rotating When the component 1066 is in the release position, the card holders 1066b are all separated from the card edge 1042 of the corresponding expansion card 104 (as shown in FIG. 5), so that the corresponding expansion card 104 can be removed and installed.

In addition, in this embodiment, the card holder 1066b includes two parallel plates 1066h and a first connecting plate 1066k. The two parallel plates 1066h are relatively fixed on the rod body 1066a and extend perpendicular to the connecting direction 1068 to form a clamping groove 1066e. The first connecting plate 1066k is fixed on the rod body 1066a and connected between the two parallel plates 1066h, which is beneficial to the structural strength of the card holder 1066b. The rotating member 1066 further includes a plurality of second connecting plates 1066m fixed on the rod body 1066a. The second connecting plate 1066m is connected between two adjacent card clamping members 1066b, which is also beneficial to the rod body 1066a and the card clamping The structural strength of piece 1066b.

In addition, in this embodiment, the shaft 1064a includes a hook 1064d, and the rod body 1066a correspondingly includes a hook 1066n. After the rotating member 1066 is assembled to the connecting member 1064, the hook 1064d snaps into the slot 1066n, which helps prevent the rotating member 1066 from being detached from the connecting member 1064. The hook 1064d protrudes from the peripheral surface of the shaft 1064a, and the clamping groove 1066n is a perforation and communicates with the shaft hole 1066c. The clamping groove 1066n extends perpendicular to the connecting direction 1068, so that when the rotating member 1066 rotates relative to the shaft 1064a, the hook 1064d can Keep snapping into the card slot 1066n. Moreover, in practice, the hook 1064d can be a cantilever 1064d' (as shown in FIG. 6). Please also refer to Figure 7. In this example, the shaft 1064a includes an escape groove 10641 corresponding to the cantilever 1064d'. One end 10642 of the cantilever 1064d' is fixed to one side of the escape groove 10641, and the other end 10643 of the cantilever 1064d' is suspended in the escape groove 10641 so that The cantilever 1064d' can elastically deflect in the escape groove 10641. The cantilever 1064d' includes a slope 10644, which can be pushed against the rod body 1066a to deflect the cantilever 1064d' downward (as indicated by the dotted line in FIG. 7), so that the cantilever 1064d' can snap into the slot 1066n. When the rotating member 1066 wants to disengage from the connecting member 1064, the user can use a tool to push the hook 1064d (or cantilever 1064d') through the slot 1066n to disengage the hook 1064d (or cantilever cantilever 1064d') from the slot 1066n, so that The rotating member 1066 is pulled away from the connecting member 1064. In addition, in this embodiment, the card slot 1066n is located between two adjacent card holders 1066b; in other words, the card slot 1066n is located in the middle of the rod body 1066a.

In addition, in this embodiment, the shaft 1064a includes a plurality of ribs 1064e extending along the engaging direction 1068, and slidingly abuts against the inner wall surface of the shaft hole 1066c (as shown in FIGS. 2 and 4), which helps to reduce the shaft The friction area between 1064a and the shaft hole 1066c improves the stability of rotation of the rod body 1066a relative to the shaft 1064a.

In addition, in this embodiment, the rotating member 1066 includes an operating portion 1066p fixed to one end 1066q of the rod body 1066a; in practice, the rotating member 1066 may be, but not limited to, one-piece molding (such as plastic injection molding). The structural member 1062 correspondingly includes a protrusion 1062a. When the rotating member 1066 rotates with respect to the shaft 1064a, the protrusion 1062a and the operation portion 1066p may have a slight structural interference. The structure of the protrusion 1062a can be elastically deformed for the operation portion 1066p to slide over; this can be transmitted through the protrusion 1062a The material is selected and realized, or the structural design of the protrusion 1062a is realized, for example, the protrusion 1062a is implemented as a cantilever structure. Please also refer to Figures 8 and 9. In this embodiment, the protruding portion 1062a includes a first side which is oppositely arranged 1062b, a second side 1062c, a first blocking surface 1062d on the first side 1062b, a second blocking surface 1062e on the second side 1062c, and a guide connecting the first blocking surface 1062d and the second blocking surface 1062e引面1062f. The first blocking surface 1062d cooperates with one side of the guide surface 1062f to define a first snap point 1062g (shown by a cross mark in the figure), and the second blocking surface 1062e cooperates with the other side of the guide surface 1062f to define a second Stuck point 1062h (shown with a cross in the figure). The operation portion 1066p includes a pressing side 1066r. When the rotating member 1066 is in the clamping position (as shown in FIGS. 1 and 8 ), the abutting side 1066r of the operating portion 1066p abuts the first side 1062b of the protrusion 1062a; more precisely, the abutting side of the operating portion 1066p The top side 1066r is limited to the first snap point 1062g. When the rotating member 1066 is in the release position (as shown in FIGS. 5 and 9), the abutting side 1066r of the operating portion 1066p abuts the second side 1062c of the protrusion 1062a; more precisely, the abutting side of the operating portion 1066p The side 1066r is limited to the second card point 1062h. In short, through the interaction of the operating portion 1066p and the protruding portion 1062a, the rotating member 1066 can be stably stopped at the clamping position and the releasing position.

In addition, in the present embodiment, the connecting member 1064 is fixed to the structural member 1062 via the limiting member 1064b, but it is not limited in practice. For example, depending on the actual structure of the structural member 1062, one end 1064f of the shaft 1064a can also be fixed to the structural member 1062, that is, the shaft 1064a and the limiting member 1064b are connected to each other and are both connected to the structural member 1062. It is beneficial to the connection strength between the connecting member 1064 and the structural member 1062, as shown in FIG. 10 (or directly refer to another expansion card clamping mechanism 107 in FIG. 1). In this example, on the other hand, the connecting member 1064 extends along the connecting direction 1068 and is connected to the structural member 1062, and the limiting member 1064b extends from the shaft 1064a perpendicular to the connecting direction 1068 to the structural member 1062. For another example, the shaft 1064a is directly connected to the structural member 1062, and the limiting member 1064b is indirectly connected to the structural member 1062 via the shaft 1064a. The specific structure can be obtained based on the foregoing description, so it is not shown separately. For another example, the shaft 1064a and the limiting member 1064b are respectively connected to the structural member 1062, but are not connected to each other. The specific structure can be obtained based on the foregoing description, so it is not shown separately.

As described above, the expansion card clamping mechanism 106 drives the card clamping members 1066b through the rotation operation, so it can occupy less space, and there is no such thing as pushing only one end side of the slider in the prior art It is easy to make the slider skew and cause uneven movement. In addition, in this embodiment, the structural member 1062 is a part of the diversion structure 102, and the diversion structure 102 includes a vent 1022, and the connecting member 1064 is adjacent to the vent 1022, but this configuration is not limited in practice. In practice, the structural member 1062 and the connecting member 1064 can be, but not limited to, integrally formed (for example, plastic injection molding). Since the expansion card clamping mechanism 106 occupies little space, even if the expansion card clamping mechanism 106 occupies part of the area of the vent 1022, in principle, it has little effect on the airflow passing through the vent 1022. Moreover, in practice, the structural member 1062 may also be other structural members of the electronic device 1 (for example, a structural frame for fixing other components). In addition, since the expansion card clamping mechanism 106 occupies little space, it is suitable for installing a plurality of expansion card clamping mechanisms 106 in an electronic device containing multiple sets of expansion cards (or multiple expansion card extraction racks); as shown in FIG. 1 As shown, another expansion card clamping mechanism 107 is also provided in the electronic device 1, which is used to fix another group of expansion cards (or an expansion card extraction rack; indicated by a dotted frame).

The above are only the preferred embodiments of the present invention, and all changes and modifications made in accordance with the scope of the patent application of the present invention shall fall within the scope of the present invention.

1‧‧‧Electronic equipment

100‧‧‧System motherboard

102‧‧‧Diversion structure

1022‧‧‧vent

104‧‧‧Expansion card

1042‧‧‧Card edge

106、107‧‧‧Expansion card clamping mechanism

1062‧‧‧Structure

1062a‧‧‧Projection

1066a‧‧‧rod

1066b‧‧‧Card holder

1066m‧‧‧Second connecting plate

1066p‧‧‧Operation Department

1068‧‧‧ Connection direction

Claims (10)

An expansion card clamping mechanism is suitable for an electronic device. The expansion card clamping mechanism includes: a structural member; a connecting member fixed on the structural member. The connecting member includes a shaft and a limiting member. The shaft extends in an engaging direction; and a rotating member includes a rod body and a plurality of clip holding members, the rod body includes a shaft hole and a limiting groove, the shaft hole extends in the engaging direction, and the clips The holding member is fixedly arranged on the rod body in the connecting direction, each of the card holding members includes a holding groove, the holding groove extends perpendicular to the connecting direction, and the rotating member is rotatably sleeved on the shaft hole On the shaft, the limiting member is located in the limiting groove to limit the rotation angle range of the lever body relative to the shaft around the engagement direction. The expansion card clamping mechanism according to claim 1, wherein the limiting slot is a slot that communicates with the shaft hole and extends along the connecting direction, and the limiting member is a plate member that extends along the connecting direction. The expansion card clamping mechanism according to claim 2, wherein the limiting member connects the shaft and the structural member in a direction perpendicular to the connecting direction, and one end of the shaft is fixed on the structural member. The expansion card clamping mechanism according to claim 3, wherein the shaft hole includes an opening, and the slot extends to the opening. The expansion card clamping mechanism according to claim 1, wherein the shaft includes a hook, the rod body further includes a hook, and the hook hooks into the hook. The expansion card clamping mechanism according to claim 5, wherein the card slot is located between two adjacent card clamping pieces. The expansion card clamping mechanism according to claim 1, wherein each of the card clamping members further includes two parallel plates and a first connecting plate, the two parallel plates are relatively fixed on the rod body and perpendicular to the connection Extending in the direction, the first connecting plate is fixed on the rod body and connected between the two parallel plates. The expansion card clamping mechanism according to claim 7, wherein the rotating member further includes a second connecting plate fixed on the rod body and connected between two adjacent card clamping members. The expansion card clamping mechanism according to claim 1, wherein the structural member includes a protruding portion, the protruding portion includes a first side and a second side arranged oppositely, and the rotating member further includes an operating portion, fixed At one end of the rod body, the rotating member rotates relative to the connecting member and is selectively located at a clamping position and a releasing position. When the rotating member is located at the clamping position, each of the card clamping members A clamping edge disposed on a card edge of an expansion card in the electronic device, and one abutting side of the operating portion abuts the first side of the protruding portion, and when the rotating member is in the release position, the One of the card holders is separated from the edge of the card, and the abutting side of the operating portion abuts the second side of the protruding portion. The expansion card clamping mechanism according to claim 9, wherein the protruding portion further includes a first blocking surface on the first side, a second blocking surface on the second side, and the first blocking surface A guide surface cooperates with a guide surface of the second stop surface, the first stop surface cooperates with one side of the guide surface to define a first snap point, and the second stop surface cooperates with the other side of the guide surface to define a The second locking point, when the rotating member is in the clamping position, the abutting side of the operating portion is limited to the first locking point, and when the rotating member is in the releasing position, the abutting side of the operating portion Limited to the second card point.

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