TWM655848U - Expantion card assembly and server device - Google Patents

Abstract

A server device includes a chassis and an expansion card assembly. The expansion card assembly includes a front plate, a fixing bracket, a protective cover, a backplane, an expansion card module and two quick-release bolts. The front plate is fixedly screwed to the front plate of the chassis. The fixing bracket is fixedly screwed to the bottom plate of the chassis. The protective cover is connected to the front plate and the fixed frame respectively. The backplane is located in the protective cover and electrically connected to a circuit mainboard. The expansion card module includes an expansion card unit and a connection frame. The expansion card unit is electrically connected to the backplane, and one end of the expansion card unit is fixedly screwed to the front plate. The connection frame is toollessly secured to the other end of the expansion card unit through one of the quick-release bolts, and toollessly secured to the fixing bracket through another of the quick-release bolts.

Description

Expansion card assembly and server device

This invention relates to a server device, and more particularly to a server device having an expansion card assembly.

As cloud demands increase, today's servers will add multiple sets of computing components to meet their cloud demands. These computing components are, for example, expansion cards (GPU interface cards or PCIe cards). In the conventional layout of server devices, the expansion card assembly is usually locked to the inner wall of the case to accept the expansion card to be inserted therein.

However, when installing or replacing the expansion card assembly on the housing, the user must use a tool to remove the bolts to disassemble the expansion card assembly, which not only reduces the convenience of disassembling the expansion card assembly, but also greatly increases the assembly cost and time.

It can be seen that the above-mentioned technology still has inconveniences and defects, which are problems that the industry needs to solve urgently.

This invention proposes an expansion card assembly and a server device to solve the problems of the prior art.

According to an implementation method of the present invention, a server device includes a chassis, a circuit board and at least one expansion card assembly. The chassis includes a base plate and a front frame adjacent to each other. The circuit board is located on the base plate. The expansion card assembly includes a front plate, a fixing frame, a protective cover, an adapter backplane, at least one expansion card module, at least one first quick-release bolt and at least one second quick-release bolt. The front plate is located in the chassis and is locked to the front frame. The fixing frame is located in the chassis and is locked to the base plate. The protective cover is respectively connected to the front plate and the fixing frame. The adapter backplane is located in the protective cover and is electrically connected to the circuit board. The expansion card module includes an expansion card unit and a connection frame. The expansion card unit is located in the protective cover and is electrically connected to the adapter backplane, and one end of the expansion card unit is locked to the front plate. The connecting frame is located in the protective cover and is fixed to the fixing frame without tools through a first quick release bolt, and is fixed to the other end of the expansion card unit without tools through a second quick release bolt.

According to one or more embodiments of the invention, in the expansion card assembly, a first slide rail is provided on one side of the front panel facing the fixed frame, and a second slide rail is provided on one side of the fixed frame facing the front panel. The expansion card module is inserted into the first slide rail and the second slide rail respectively at two opposite ends of the expansion card module, and the expansion card module is inserted and removed from the protective cover.

According to one or more embodiments of the invention, in the above-mentioned expansion card assembly, the expansion card module further includes a positioning bracket, which is fixed to one end of the expansion card unit relative to the fixing bracket and connected to the adjacent surface of the front plate. The expansion card assembly further includes a stop cover and at least one third quick-release bolt. The stop cover is pivotally connected to the front plate to prevent the expansion card module from leaving the protective cover. When the stop cover rotates and covers the positioning bracket, the stop cover fixes the positioning bracket to the front plate without tools through the third quick-release bolt.

According to one or more embodiments of the invention, in the expansion card assembly, the expansion card assembly further includes a first handle and a second handle. The first handle is pivotally connected to the front panel, and the second handle is pivotally connected to the fixing frame.

According to one or more embodiments of the present invention, in the above-mentioned expansion card assembly, the housing further includes at least one fourth quick-release bolt, and the front frame is fixed to the front plate without tools via the fourth quick-release bolt.

According to one or more embodiments of the invention, in the expansion card assembly, the housing further includes a support frame, the support frame is L-shaped, including a first portion and a second portion intersecting each other, the first portion is locked to the bottom plate, and there is a gap between the second portion and the bottom plate. The expansion card assembly further includes at least one fifth quick-release bolt and at least one sixth quick-release bolt. The fifth quick-release bolt fixes the fixing frame to the second portion of the support frame without tools, and the sixth quick-release bolt fixes the first portion to the bottom plate without tools.

According to an implementation method of the present invention, an expansion card assembly includes a front plate, a fixing frame, a protective cover, an expansion card module, at least one first quick-release bolt and at least one second quick-release bolt. The protective cover is connected to the front plate and the fixing frame respectively. The expansion card module includes an expansion card unit and a connecting frame. The expansion card unit is located in the protective cover, and one end of the expansion card unit is locked to the front plate. The connecting frame is located in the protective cover, fixed to the other end of the expansion card unit without tools through the first quick-release bolt, and fixed to the fixing frame without tools through the second quick-release bolt.

According to one or more embodiments of the invention, in the expansion card assembly, a first slide rail is provided on one side of the front panel facing the fixed frame, and a second slide rail is provided on one side of the fixed frame facing the front panel. The expansion card module is inserted into the first slide rail and the second slide rail respectively at two opposite ends of the expansion card module, and the expansion card module is inserted and removed from the protective cover.

According to one or more embodiments of the invention, in the above-mentioned expansion card assembly, the expansion card module further includes a positioning bracket, which is fixed to one end of the expansion card unit relative to the fixing bracket and connected to the adjacent surface of the front plate. The expansion card assembly further includes a stop cover and at least one third quick-release bolt. The stop cover is pivotally connected to the front plate to prevent the expansion card module from leaving the protective cover. When the stop cover rotates and covers the positioning bracket, the stop cover fixes the positioning bracket to the front plate without tools through the third quick-release bolt.

According to one or more embodiments of the invention, in the expansion card assembly, the expansion card assembly further includes a first handle and a second handle. The first handle is pivotally connected to the front panel, and the second handle is pivotally connected to the fixing frame.

Through the above-mentioned structure, the server device of this embodiment does not need to use tools to remove bolts to disassemble the expansion card assembly, which not only greatly improves the convenience of disassembling the expansion card assembly, but also reduces the assembly cost and time.

The above is only used to explain the problems that this creation is intended to solve, the technical means to solve the problems, and the effects produced, etc. The specific details of this creation will be introduced in detail in the implementation method and related diagrams below.

The following will disclose multiple implementations of the present invention with drawings. For the sake of clarity, many practical details will be described together in the following description. However, those skilled in the art should understand that these practical details are not necessary in some implementations of the present invention and should not be used to limit the present invention. In addition, in order to simplify the drawings, some commonly used structures and components will be depicted in the drawings in a simple schematic manner. For the convenience of the reader, the sizes of the components in the drawings are not drawn according to the actual scale.

FIG. 1 is a partial three-dimensional diagram of a server device 10 of an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a partial exploded diagram of an expansion card assembly 300 and a case 100 of FIG. 1. As shown in FIG. 1 and FIG. 2, the server device 10 includes a case 100, a circuit board 200, and a plurality of (e.g., 3) expansion card assemblies 300. The case 100 includes a bottom plate 110, a front frame 120, and two side plates 130. The side plates 130 are erected on two opposite sides of the bottom plate 110, and the front frame 120 is located on the same side of the bottom plate 110 and the side plates 130, and is adjacent to the bottom plate 110 and the side plates 130 at the same time, so that a storage space 140 is defined in the case 100. The circuit board 200 is located in the housing space 140 of the housing 100 and is placed flat on the bottom plate 110. Each expansion card assembly 300 has a long axis direction (such as the X axis). These expansion card assemblies 300 are located in the housing 100 and are arranged in the housing space 140 of the circuit board 200 in sequence along a horizontal direction (such as the Y axis) orthogonal to the long axis direction (such as the X axis).

FIG. 3 is an exploded view of the expansion card assembly 300 of FIG. 1. FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram of the expansion card assembly 300 of FIG. 3 viewed from another direction. As shown in FIG. 2 and FIG. 3, each expansion card assembly 300 includes a front panel 310, a fixing frame 320, a protective cover 330, an adapter backplane 350, and an expansion card module 390. The front panel 310 is locked to the front frame 120. The fixing frame 320 is opposite to the front panel 310 and is locked to the bottom plate 110. The protective cover 330 is located between the front panel 310 and the fixing frame 320, and is respectively connected to the front panel 310 and the fixing frame 320, so that the front panel 310, the fixing frame 320, and the protective cover 330 jointly define a storage slot 340. The adapter back plate 350 is located in the protective cover 330 (ie, the receiving slot 340 ), adheres to the inner wall 331 of the protective cover 330 , and is plugged into the slot 210 ( FIG. 2 ) of the circuit board 200 along a vertical direction (eg, Z axis), thereby electrically connecting the circuit board 200 .

As shown in FIG. 3 and FIG. 4 , the expansion card module 390 includes an expansion card unit 391, a connecting frame 392 and a positioning bracket 393. The expansion card unit 391 is located in the protective cover 330 and is plugged into the adapter backplane 350 along the horizontal direction (such as the Y axis), thereby electrically connecting to the circuit board 200 through the adapter backplane 350. One end of the expansion card unit 391 is locked to the front panel 310. The connecting frame 392 is used to fill the space between the expansion card unit 391 and the fixing frame 320 in response to the distance between the expansion card unit 391 and the fixing frame 320. The positioning bracket 393 is L-shaped, with a portion 393A fixed to one end of the expansion card unit 391 opposite to the fixing bracket 320, and another portion 393B connected to the adjacent surface 312 of the front panel 310 adjacent to the inner surface 311. Therefore, the expansion card unit 391 is directly sandwiched between the connecting bracket 392 and the positioning bracket 393. The connecting bracket 392 is not limited to an adjustable bracket or a non-retractable bracket, however, the invention is not limited thereto.

FIG. 5 is a side view of the housing 100 in FIG. 1. As shown in FIG. 4 and FIG. 5, the connecting frame 392 is located in the protective cover 330 (i.e., the storage slot 340), and the connecting frame 392 is fixed to the fixing frame 320 without tools through the first quick release bolt S1, and is fixed to the other end of the expansion card unit 391 without tools through the second quick release bolt S2. In this way, by operating the first quick release bolt S1 and the second quick release bolt S2, the user can quickly complete the disassembly and assembly steps of the expansion card unit 391.

More specifically, one surface of the front panel 310 facing the fixing frame 320 (hereinafter referred to as the inner surface 311) has at least one first slide rail 321 (FIG. 4), and one surface of the fixing frame 320 facing the front panel 310 (hereinafter referred to as the inner surface 322) has at least one second slide rail 313 (FIG. 3). Thus, when the user wants to move the expansion card module 390 horizontally (such as along the Y axis) into the protective cover 330 (i.e., the storage slot 340), the user moves the two opposite ends of the expansion card module 390 into the first slide rail 321 and the second slide rail 313 respectively, so that the expansion card module 390 can be pluggably confined in the protective cover 330 (i.e., the storage slot 340). More specifically, the positioning bracket 393 of the expansion card module 390 is removably positioned in the first slide rail 321, and the connecting frame 392 of the expansion card module 390 is removably positioned in the second slide rail 313, however, the present invention is not limited thereto.

FIG6 is a combined view of the expansion card assembly 300 and the housing 100 of FIG3. As shown in FIG3 and FIG6, the expansion card assembly 300 further includes a stopper cover 360. The stopper cover 360 is pivotally connected to the adjacent surface 312 of the front panel 310. Thus, when the blocking cover 360 rotates and covers the positioning bracket 393 and the second slide rail 313, the expansion card module 390 is blocked and prevents the positioning bracket 393 from moving out of the protective cover 330 (i.e., the receiving slot 340); conversely, when the blocking cover 360 rotates away from the positioning bracket 393 to expose the positioning bracket 393 and the second slide rail 313, the expansion card module 390 can be horizontally moved out of the protective cover 330 (i.e., the receiving slot 340).

In addition, as shown in FIG. 1 and FIG. 5 , the stop cover 360 is fixed to the front plate 310 by the third quick-release bolt S3 without tools, so as to prevent the stop cover 360 from rotating unexpectedly and exposing the positioning bracket 393 and the second slide rail 313. Thus, by operating the third quick-release bolt S3, the user can quickly move the expansion card module 390 in and out of the protective cover 330 (i.e., the storage slot 340).

The housing 100 further includes a fourth quick-release bolt S4. The front frame 120 is fixed to the front panel 310 without tools through the fourth quick-release bolt S4. Thus, by operating the fourth quick-release bolt S4, the user can quickly detach the expansion card module 390 from the front panel 310.

The housing 100 further includes a support frame 150, which is L-shaped and includes a first portion 151 and a second portion 152 intersecting each other. The first portion 151 is locked to the bottom plate 110, and a gap G is formed between the second portion 152 and the bottom plate 110. The expansion card assembly 300 further includes a fifth quick-release bolt S5 and a sixth quick-release bolt S6. The fifth quick-release bolt S5 fixes the fixing frame 320 to the second portion 152 of the support frame 150 without tools. The sixth quick-release bolt S6 fixes the first portion 151 to the bottom plate 110 without tools. In this way, by operating the fifth quick-release bolt S5 and the sixth quick-release bolt S6, the user can quickly install the support frame 150 to the expansion card module 390 or away from the expansion card module 390.

The expansion card assembly 300 further includes a first handle 370 and a second handle 380, wherein the first handle 370 is pivoted to the front panel 310, and the second handle 380 is pivoted to the fixing frame 320. Thus, by grasping the first handle 370 and the second handle 380 with both hands, the user can quickly remove the expansion card module 390 from the housing 100.

Through the above-mentioned structure, the server device of this embodiment does not need to use tools to remove bolts to disassemble the expansion card assembly, which not only greatly improves the convenience of disassembling the expansion card assembly, but also reduces the assembly cost and time.

Finally, the above disclosed embodiments are not intended to limit the present invention. Anyone skilled in the art can make various changes and modifications within the spirit and scope of the present invention, and all of them can be protected in the present invention. Therefore, the scope of protection of the present invention shall be determined by the scope of the patent application attached hereto.

10: Server device 100: Case 110: Bottom plate 120: Front frame 130: Side plate 140: Storage space 150: Support frame 151: First part 152: Second part 200: Circuit board 210: Slot 300: Expansion card assembly 310: Front panel 311: Inner surface 312: Adjacent surface 313: Second rail 320: Fixed frame 321: First rail 322: Inner surface 330: Protective cover 331: Inner wall 340: Storage slot 350: Adapter backplane 360: Stop cover 370: First handle 380: Second handle 390: Expansion card module 391: Expansion card unit 392: Connection frame 393: Positioning bracket 393A, 393B: Partial S1: First quick release bolt S2: Second quick release bolt S3: Third quick release bolt S4: Fourth quick release bolt S5: Fifth quick release bolt S6: Sixth quick release bolt G: Gap X, Y, Z: Axes

In order to make the above and other purposes, features, advantages and embodiments of this creation more clearly understandable, the attached drawings are described as follows: Figure 1 is a partial three-dimensional diagram of a server device of an embodiment of this creation. Figure 2 is a partial exploded diagram of the expansion card assembly and the housing of Figure 1. Figure 3 is an exploded diagram of the expansion card assembly of Figure 1. Figure 4 is a schematic diagram of the expansion card assembly of Figure 3 observed from another direction. Figure 5 is a side view of the housing through Figure 1. Figure 6 is a combined diagram of the expansion card assembly and the housing of Figure 3.

10: Server device

100: Chassis

110: Base plate

120: front frame

130: Side panels

140: Storage space

200: Circuit board

210: Slot

300: Expansion card assembly

310: Front panel

320: Fixed frame

330: Protective cover

360: Stop cover

370: First Handle

380: Second handle

390: Expansion card module

391: Expansion card unit

S1: First quick-release bolt

S3: The third quick-release bolt

S4: Fourth quick-release bolt

X,Y,Z: axis

Claims (10)

A server device comprises: a case comprising a bottom plate and a front frame adjacent to each other; a circuit board located on the bottom plate; and at least one expansion card assembly comprising: at least one first quick-release bolt and at least one second quick-release bolt; a front plate located in the case and locked to the front frame; a fixing frame located in the case and locked to the bottom plate; a protective cover respectively connected to the front plate and the fixing frame; an adapter backplane located in the protective cover and electrically connected to the circuit board; and At least one expansion card module includes an expansion card unit and a connection frame. The expansion card unit is located in the protective cover and electrically connected to the adapter backplane. One end of the expansion card unit is locked to the front plate. The connection frame is located in the protective cover and is fixed to the fixing frame without tools through the first quick-release bolt, and is fixed to the other end of the expansion card unit without tools through the second quick-release bolt. A server device as described in claim 1, wherein the front panel has a first slide rail on one side facing the fixing frame, and the fixing frame has a second slide rail on one side facing the front panel, wherein the expansion card module is inserted into the first slide rail and the second slide rail respectively through two opposite ends of the expansion card module, and the expansion card module is inserted and removed from the protective cover. The server device as described in claim 2, wherein the expansion card module further comprises a positioning bracket, the positioning bracket is fixed to one end of the expansion card unit opposite to the fixing bracket and connected to the adjacent surface of the front plate; and the expansion card assembly further comprises a stop cover and at least one third quick-release bolt, the stop cover is pivotally connected to the front plate to stop the expansion card module from leaving the protective cover, wherein when the stop cover rotates and covers the positioning bracket, the stop cover fixes the positioning bracket to the front plate without tools through the third quick-release bolt. A server device as described in claim 1, wherein the expansion card assembly further includes a first handle and a second handle, the first handle is pivotally connected to the front panel, and the second handle is pivotally connected to the fixing bracket. The server device as described in claim 1, wherein the casing further comprises at least one fourth quick-release bolt, and the front frame is fixed to the front plate in a tool-free manner via the fourth quick-release bolt. The server device as described in claim 1, wherein the housing further comprises a support frame, the support frame is L-shaped, comprising a first portion and a second portion intersecting each other, the first portion is locked to the base plate, and there is a gap between the second portion and the base plate; and the expansion card assembly further comprises at least one fifth quick-release bolt and at least one sixth quick-release bolt, the fifth quick-release bolt fixes the fixing frame to the second portion of the support frame without tools, and the sixth quick-release bolt fixes the first portion to the base plate without tools. An expansion card assembly includes: At least one first quick-release bolt and at least one second quick-release bolt; A front plate; A fixing frame; A protective cover connected to the front plate and the fixing frame respectively; and An expansion card module includes: An expansion card unit located in the protective cover, and one end of the expansion card unit is locked to the front plate; A connecting frame located in the protective cover, fixed to the other end of the expansion card unit without tools through the first quick-release bolt, and fixed to the fixing frame without tools through the second quick-release bolt. As described in claim 7, the expansion card assembly, wherein the front panel has a first slide rail on one side facing the fixing frame, and the fixing frame has a second slide rail on one side facing the front panel, wherein the expansion card module is inserted into the first slide rail and the second slide rail respectively through two opposite ends of the expansion card module, and the expansion card module is inserted and removed from the protective cover. The expansion card assembly as described in claim 8, wherein the expansion card module further comprises a positioning bracket, the positioning bracket is fixed to one end of the expansion card unit opposite to the fixing bracket and connected to the adjacent surface of the front plate; and the expansion card assembly further comprises a stop cover and at least one third quick-release bolt, the stop cover is pivotally connected to the front plate to stop the expansion card module from leaving the protective cover, wherein when the stop cover rotates and covers the positioning bracket, the stop cover fixes the positioning bracket to the front plate without tools through the third quick-release bolt. An expansion card assembly as described in claim 7, wherein the expansion card assembly further comprises a first handle and a second handle, the first handle being pivotally connected to the front panel, and the second handle being pivotally connected to the fixing frame.

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