TWM663978U - Fault-tolerant disk array mounting module and floating connector thereof - Google Patents

Abstract

A fault-tolerant disk array installation module includes a hard disk installation backplane, a backplane bracket and a floating connector. The backplane bracket is installed on the hard disk installation backplane and includes a disk array card installation portion. The floating connector includes a fixed base, two floating screws and a connector body. The fixed base includes a main body and two fixed parts. The main body includes two end surfaces arranged opposite to each other. The two fixed parts extend outward from the two end surfaces of the main body, respectively, and are respectively provided with a through hole. The floating screw is arranged in the through hole, so that the fixed base can be connected to the backplane bracket in an adjustable position along an installation direction. The connector body includes a first connecting terminal, and the first connecting terminal is arranged on the fixed base.

Description

Fault-tolerant disk array mounting module and floating connector thereof

This invention relates to a fault-tolerant disk array installation module, and more particularly to a fault-tolerant disk array installation module that uses a floating connector to connect a disk array control card and a hard disk expansion card.

In recent years, due to the popularity of cloud computing and the trend led by AI platforms, servers have developed more vigorously. In order to enable servers to provide better services, existing servers are all committed to improving computing power, storage space and information throughput.

As mentioned above, after a server is put into operation, it usually runs for a long time. In addition to maintenance, it will almost always run until it can no longer operate, or until its performance cannot keep up with the next-generation equipment, and then the equipment will be replaced with a new one. Therefore, when manufacturing a server, a large number of hard drives are usually installed to increase the storage space as much as possible. Among them, as far as the hardware conditions of the server itself are concerned, the performance of information throughput mainly depends on the read and write speed of the hard drive. Since the advent of solid-state drives, their read and write speeds have been greatly improved compared to traditional magnetic disks, so how to integrate a large number of solid-state drives is even more important.

In the prior art, common hard disk management technology mainly utilizes a Raid (Redundant Array of Independent Disks) card to connect multiple hard disks to form one or more hard disk array groups.

However, since there are different levels of Raid technology, and Raid technology is usually managed and controlled by the chip of the Raid card, in practice, in order to support different Raid cards, different hard drive backplanes need to be designed to support different configurations, resulting in a variety of hard drive backplane design styles, which relatively increases the manufacturing cost of the server; in addition, due to the variety of Raid card styles, the assembly often causes alignment problems due to tolerances.

In view of the fact that in the prior art, most existing servers use Raid cards to integrate and control multiple hard disks, but because Raid technology has multiple levels, the styles of Raid cards vary, and corresponding hard disk backplanes with different designs are required to support them, resulting in a relatively increased manufacturing cost of the entire server. In addition, the variety of styles will easily lead to tolerance problems, which in turn makes assembly difficult. Therefore, the main purpose of this invention is to provide a fault-tolerant disk array installation module, which can be designed with a backplane bracket and a floating connector, so that the floating connector can be assembled with disk array control cards of different specifications, and the disk array control card can be electrically connected to the hard disk expansion card through the floating connector.

In order to solve the problems of the previous technology, the necessary technical means adopted by this invention is to provide a fault-tolerant disk array installation module, which includes a hard disk installation backplane, a backplane bracket and a floating connector.

The backplane bracket is installed on the hard disk installation backplane and includes a disk array card installation part and an expansion card installation part which are arranged relatively. The disk array card installation part is used to install a disk array control card, and the expansion card installation part is used to install a hard disk expansion card.

The floating connector includes a fixed base, two floating screws and a connector body. The fixed base includes a main body and two fixed parts.

The main body comprises two end surfaces which are arranged opposite to each other. The two fixing parts extend outwards from the two end surfaces of the main body respectively and are respectively provided with a through hole.

Two floating screws are respectively arranged in the through holes of the two fixing parts, so as to connect the fixing base to the back plate bracket in an adjustable position along an installation direction.

The connector body includes a first connection terminal, which is arranged on the fixing base and used for connecting to a connection port of the disk array control card.

In an auxiliary technical means derived from the above-mentioned necessary technical means, the fixed base further includes at least one first positioning structure, which is arranged on the back side of the main body, and the back panel bracket further includes at least one second positioning structure, which is used to position relative to the at least one first positioning structure.

In an auxiliary technical means derived from the above necessary technical means, the fixing base further includes a terminal setting portion extending from the main body portion for fixing and setting the first connecting terminal.

In an auxiliary technical means derived from the above-mentioned necessary technical means, the floating screw includes a screw seat, a screw body and a spring. The screw seat is passed through and fixed in the through hole, the screw body is passed through the screw seat, and the spring is arranged between the screw seat and the screw body to elastically abut the screw body.

In an auxiliary technical means derived from the above-mentioned necessary technical means, the screw seat also includes a through groove, the spring is arranged between the through groove and the screw body, the through groove further includes a stop ring, the screw body is penetrated by the through groove, and the screw body is further limited by the stop ring.

As described above, since the fixed base of the floating connector of the present invention is floatably assembled to the backplane bracket by means of floating screws, the connector disposed on the fixed base can be error-tolerant by means of a floating connection, effectively solving the assembly difficulty problem caused by tolerance.

The specific implementation examples adopted in this creation will be further explained through the following implementation examples and drawings.

Please refer to the first and second figures. The first figure is a three-dimensional schematic diagram showing the fault-tolerant disk array installation module of the preferred embodiment of the present invention; the second figure is a three-dimensional exploded schematic diagram showing the fault-tolerant disk array installation module of the preferred embodiment of the present invention.

As shown in the first and second figures, a fault-tolerant disk array installation module 100 includes a hard disk installation backplane 1, a backplane bracket 2 and a floating connector 3.

The hard disk installation backplane 1 is actually provided with a plurality of plug-in slots (not shown) for hard disks to be plugged in. Specifically, the hard disk referred to in this embodiment is a solid state hard disk.

The backplane bracket 2 is integrally formed and extends from a disk array card mounting portion 21 along a first direction D1 to an expansion card mounting portion 22, and the backplane bracket 2 further includes a connector setting portion 23. The disk array card mounting portion 21 is fixed to one end of the hard disk mounting backplane 1, and the expansion card mounting portion 22 is fixed to the other end of the hard disk mounting backplane 1 relative to the disk array card mounting portion 21.

The connector installation portion 23 includes an integrally formed extension sheet 231 and two stop structures 232 (only one is marked in the figure). The extension sheet 231 is integrally formed and connected to one side of the disk array card installation portion 21, and the two stop structures 232 extend from one side edge of the extension sheet 231 in a second direction D2 perpendicular to the first direction D1, and the two stop structures 232 are spaced apart from each other. The extension sheet 231 includes two lock holes 2311 (only one is marked in the figure) and two first positioning structures 2312 (only one is marked in the figure); wherein the two lock holes 2311 are arranged in an array along the first direction D1, and the two first positioning structures 2312 are offset from each other in the first direction D1.

In addition, in this embodiment, the two first positioning structures 2312 are both holes.

Please continue to refer to Figures 3 to 5. Figure 3 is a three-dimensional schematic diagram showing the floating connector of the preferred embodiment of the present invention; Figure 4 is a three-dimensional schematic diagram showing the floating connector of the preferred embodiment of the present invention from another viewing angle; and Figure 5 is an A-A cross-sectional schematic diagram of Figure 4.

As shown in the first to fifth figures, the floating connector 3 includes a fixed base 31, two floating screws 32 (only one is marked in the figure) and a connector body 33. The fixed base 31 includes a body portion 311, two fixed portions 312 (only one is marked in the figure) and a terminal setting portion 313.

The main body 311 includes two end surfaces 3111 (only one is marked in the figure) arranged opposite to each other, a side surface 3112 and a back surface 3113. The two end surfaces 3111 are arranged opposite to each other, and the side surface 3112 is connected to the two end surfaces 3111, and the back surface 3113 is connected to the side surface 3112, and the back surface 3113 and the side surface 3112 are perpendicular to each other; in addition, the main body 311 also includes two second positioning structures 3114 (only one is marked in the figure), and the two second positioning structures 3114 protrude from the back surface 3113 and correspond to the two first positioning structures 2312 respectively.

The two fixing portions 312 are integrally formed and extend outward from the two end surfaces 3111 , respectively, and are respectively provided with a through hole 3121 (only one is marked in the figure); wherein the two through holes 3121 correspond to the two locking holes 2311 , respectively.

The terminal setting portion 313 is integrally connected to the side surface 3112 and is relatively located between the two fixing portions 312 . The terminal setting portion 313 also includes six supporting structures 3131 (only one is shown in the figure).

The two floating screws 32 are respectively disposed in the through holes 3121 of the two fixed parts 312 and are used to be locked in the two locking holes 2311. Each floating screw 32 includes a screw seat 321, a screw body 322 and a spring 323. The screw seat 321 further includes a through groove 3211, and a stop ring 32111 is also disposed in the through groove 3211. The screw seat 321 is penetrated and fixed in the through hole 3121 of the fixed part 312. The screw body 322 is inserted into the through groove 3211, and the thread of the screw body 322 is further stopped and limited by the stop ring 32111 to prevent the screw body 322 from being separated from the screw seat 321, so that the screw body 322 is limitedly inserted into the screw seat 321. The spring 323 is arranged between the through groove 3211 and the screw body 322. More specifically, the through groove 3211 further includes a spring receiving structure 3212 for receiving one end of the spring 323, so that the other end of the spring 323 abuts against the nail head of the screw body 322, so that the screw body 322 maintains a certain tension.

The connector body 33 is fixed to the fixed base 31. The connector body 33 includes a circuit substrate 331 and a first connection terminal 332. The circuit substrate 331 is embedded and fixed in the body portion 311 and abuts against the terminal setting portion 313. The first connection terminal 332 is set on the circuit substrate 331. In practice, the connector body 33 is a MCIO (Mini Cool Edge IO) connector.

Please continue to refer to the sixth figure, which is a cross-sectional schematic diagram showing the floating connector of the present invention being set on the backplane bracket through the floating screw. As shown in the first to sixth figures, in the process of fixing the floating connector 3 to the backplane bracket 2, the two second positioning structures 3114 are first positioned with the two first positioning structures 2312 respectively, so that the two floating screws 32 set on the two fixing parts 312 can be aligned with the two locking holes 2311 respectively through the two through holes 3121, and then the two floating screws 32 are respectively passed through the two locking holes 2311 of the backplane bracket 2 through the through grooves 3211 and locked to the nuts N, so that the floating connector 3 is fixed to the backplane bracket 2.

As mentioned above, in the present embodiment, the first positioning structure 2312 is a hole, and the second positioning structure 3114 is a convex column, but it is not limited to this. In other embodiments, the opposite or other structures that can cooperate with each other for positioning can also be used. In addition, it should be particularly noted that the floating connector 3 of the present embodiment is mutually positioned with the first positioning structure 2312 through the second positioning structure 3114, and then the floating screw 32 is fixed to the backplane bracket 2. Therefore, the dimensions of the first positioning structure 2312 and the second positioning structure 3114 do not need to be precisely matched, that is, the hole diameter of the first positioning structure 2312 is slightly larger than the convex column diameter of the second positioning structure 3114 to achieve the effect of relative positioning, and through the design of mismatched dimensions, the floating space of the floating connector 3 relative to the backplane bracket 2 on the contact surface can also be increased.

In addition, since the connector setting portion 23 of the present embodiment is also provided with two stop structures 232, after the two second positioning structures 3114 are respectively positioned with the two first positioning structures 2312, and before the two floating screws 32 are locked to the backplane bracket 2, the two stop structures 232 can be used to temporarily support the fixed base 31 of the floating connector 3, so as to facilitate the subsequent locking action of the screw body 322.

Please continue to refer to Figures 7 to 9. Figure 7 is a three-dimensional schematic diagram showing the disk array control card plugged into the floating connector; Figure 8 is a B-B cross-sectional diagram of Figure 7; and Figure 9 is a three-dimensional schematic diagram showing the disk array control card electrically connected to the hard disk expansion card through the floating connector.

As shown in FIGS. 1 to 9 , in practice, the disk array card installation portion 21 is used for installing a disk array control card 200 so that a connection port 201 of the disk array control card 200 is connected to the first connection terminal 332 . When the disk array control card 200 moves along an installation direction D3 and is installed in the disk array card installation portion 21, the connection port 201 is preset to move to a preset plug position P0 and accurately connects to the first connection terminal 332 at the preset plug position P0; however, if the connection port 201 has tolerances due to different styles of disk array control cards 200 or production, such that when the disk array control card 200 is installed in the disk array card installation portion 21, the actual plug position P1 to which the connection port 201 moves is different from the preset plug position P0, the connection port 201 may be moved to the preset plug position P0. When the connection position P0 is deviated, the user can adjust the locking depth of the floating screw 32 and the nut N to move the first connection terminal 332 from the preset plugging position P0 to the actual plugging position P1, so that the connection port 201 can be accurately connected to the first connection terminal 332 at the actual plugging position P1. In this way, the floating connection of the floating connector 3 can effectively absorb the tolerance problem when the connection port 201 and the first connection terminal 332 are connected, so that the disk array control card 200 can be effectively installed on the hard disk mounting backplane 1.

In addition, the connector body 33 of the present embodiment further includes a second connection terminal 333 electrically connected to the first connection terminal 332, and the second connection terminal 333 is used to be plugged into the connection port of the hard disk expansion card 300 when the hard disk expansion card 300 is installed in the expansion card installation portion 22. In this way, when the disk array control card 200 is installed in the disk array card installation portion 21, the disk array control card 200 can also be electrically connected to the hard disk expansion card 300 through the connector body 33.

In summary, in the prior art, when existing servers utilize Raid cards to integrate and control multiple hard disks, the various styles of Raid cards often require the design of different hard disk backplanes for support, which increases the manufacturing cost, and the style changes are more likely to lead to tolerance issues, which in turn cause assembly difficulties. In contrast, the fault-tolerant disk array installation module of this invention mainly fixes the backplane bracket to the hard disk backplane, and the floating connector fixed to the backplane bracket by floating screws can generate fault-tolerant space through a floating connection assembly method, thereby solving the assembly difficulties caused by tolerance when assembling disk array control cards of different specifications and styles.

The fault-tolerant disk array installation module provided in the preferred embodiment of the present invention can be installed in, for example, a server host, which can be used for artificial intelligence (AI) computing, edge computing, etc., and can also be used as a 5G server, cloud server, or Internet of Vehicles server, etc.

The above detailed description of the preferred specific embodiments is intended to more clearly describe the features and spirit of the invention, but is not intended to limit the scope of the invention by the preferred specific embodiments disclosed above. On the contrary, the purpose is to cover various changes and arrangements with equivalents within the scope of the patent application for the invention.

100: Error-tolerant disk array installation module 1: Hard disk installation backplane 2: Backplane bracket 21: Disk array card installation part 22: Expansion card installation part 23: Connector setting part 231: Extension plate 2311: Lock hole 2312: First positioning structure 232: Stop structure 3: Floating connector 31: Fixed base 311: Main body 3111: End face 3112: Side face 3113: Back face 3114: Second positioning structure 312: Fixed part 3121: Through hole 313: Terminal setting part 3131: Support structure 32: Floating screw 321: Screw seat 3211: Slot 3212: Spring accommodation structure 32111: Stop ring 322: Screw body 323: Spring 33: Connector body 331: Circuit board 332: First connection terminal 333: Second connection terminal 34: Connector 200: Disk array control card 201: Connection port 300: Hard disk expansion card N: Nut D1: First direction D2: Second direction D3: Installation direction P0: Default plug position P1: Actual plug position

The first figure is a three-dimensional schematic diagram showing a fault-tolerant disk array mounting module of a preferred embodiment of the present invention; The second figure is a three-dimensional exploded schematic diagram showing a fault-tolerant disk array mounting module of a preferred embodiment of the present invention; The third figure is a three-dimensional schematic diagram showing a floating connector of a preferred embodiment of the present invention; The fourth figure is a three-dimensional schematic diagram showing another perspective of the floating connector of a preferred embodiment of the present invention; The fifth figure is an A-A cross-sectional schematic diagram of the third figure; The sixth figure is a cross-sectional schematic diagram showing a floating connector set on a backplane bracket through a floating screw; The seventh figure is a three-dimensional schematic diagram showing a disk array control card plugged into a floating connector; The eighth figure is a B-B cross-sectional schematic diagram of the seventh figure; and Figure 9 is a three-dimensional schematic diagram showing the disk array control card being electrically connected to the hard disk expansion card via a floating connector.

100: Fault-tolerant disk array installation module

1: Hard drive installation backplane

2: Back panel bracket

21: Disk array card installation section

22: Expansion card installation section

23: Connector installation section

231: Extension sheet

2311: Keyhole

2312: First positioning structure

232: Stop structure

3: Floating connector

D1: First direction

D2: Second direction

Claims (10)

A fault-tolerant disk array installation module comprises: A hard disk installation backplane; A backplane bracket, which is installed on the hard disk installation backplane and comprises a disk array card installation portion, wherein the disk array card installation portion is used to install a disk array control card; and A floating connector, comprising: A fixed base, comprising: A main body, comprising two end surfaces arranged opposite to each other; and Two fixed portions, which extend outward from the two end surfaces of the main body respectively and are respectively provided with a through hole; Two floating screws, which are respectively arranged in the through holes of the two fixed portions, so as to enable the fixed base to be connected to the backplane bracket in an adjustable position along an installation direction; and A connector body has a first connection terminal, which is disposed on the fixed base and is used to connect to a connection port of the disk array control card. As described in claim 1, the fault-tolerant disk array mounting module, wherein the fixed base further includes at least one first positioning structure, the at least one first positioning structure is arranged on a back side of the main body, and the backplane bracket further includes at least one second positioning structure, the at least one second positioning structure is used to position relative to the at least one first positioning structure. As described in claim 1, the fault-tolerant disk array mounting module, wherein the fixing base further includes a terminal setting portion, which extends from the main body and is used for fixing the first connecting terminal. As described in claim 1, the fault-tolerant disk array mounting module, wherein the floating screw includes a screw seat, a screw body and a spring, the screw seat is penetrated and fixed in the through hole, the screw body is penetrated in the screw seat, and the spring is disposed between the screw seat and the screw body to elastically abut the screw body. As described in claim 4, the fault-tolerant disk array mounting module, wherein the screw seat further includes a through groove, the spring is arranged between the through groove and the screw body, and the through groove includes a stop ring, the screw body is penetrated by the through groove, and the thread of the screw body is further stopped and limited by the stop ring. A floating connector is used to be connected to a backplane bracket in a floating manner. The backplane bracket includes a disk array card mounting portion. The disk array card mounting portion is used to install a disk array control card. The floating connector includes: A fixed base, including: A main body, including two end surfaces arranged opposite to each other; and Two fixed parts, which extend outward from the two end surfaces of the main body respectively and are respectively provided with a through hole; Two floating screws, which are respectively arranged in the through holes of the two fixed parts, are used to make the fixed base adjustable along an installation direction. Connected to the backplane bracket; and A connector body, which has a first connection terminal, which is arranged on the fixed base and is used to connect to a connection port of the disk array control card. A floating connector as described in claim 6, wherein the fixed base further includes at least one first positioning structure, the at least one first positioning structure is arranged on a back side of the main body, and the backplane bracket further includes at least one second positioning structure, the at least one second positioning structure is used to position relative to the at least one first positioning structure. A floating connector as described in claim 6, wherein the fixed base further includes a terminal setting portion, which extends from the main body and is used for fixing the first connecting terminal. A floating connector as described in claim 6, wherein the floating screw includes a screw seat, a screw body and a spring, the screw seat is passed through and fixed in the through hole, the screw body is passed through the screw seat, and the spring is arranged between the screw seat and the screw body to elastically abut the screw body. A floating connector as described in claim 9, wherein the screw seat further includes a through groove, the spring is arranged between the through groove and the screw body, and the through groove further includes a stop ring, the screw body is penetrated by the through groove, and the screw body is further stopped and limited by the stop ring.

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