Detachable adapter clamping cage

Abstract

The invention relates to a detachable adapter card cage which comprises a cage body, a card latch and an operating piece, the cage body comprises a top plate part and a side plate part, the top plate part and the side plate part are fixedly connected to form a containing space, and the containing space is located on one inner side of the side plate part. The clamping latch is pivoted with the side plate part and is positioned on one outer side of the side plate part; and the operating piece is pivoted with the cage body and is movably connected with the clamping latch. Wherein the detachable adapter clamping cage can be connected with a holding frame arranged in a device shell through the clamping latch so as to be mounted in the device shell. According to the detachable adapter clamping cage, the rotatable clamping latch serves as a fixing structure for installing the detachable adapter clamping cage, so that the structural thickness of the detachable adapter clamping cage at the side plate part can be effectively controlled. Therefore, the detachable adapter card cage can be applied to the situation that two adapter card slots are arranged close to each other, and when the detachable adapter card is connected to one of the two adapter card slots, the use of the other adapter card slot is not affected.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present application relates to a detachable adapter card cage. Background Art

[0002] Riser cards are often used in servers to connect additional expansion cards. To securely secure these riser cards, a riser cage is often used to provide additional structural support. Therefore, the layout of the riser card slots on the motherboard influences the design of the riser cage. For example, if two riser card slots are located close together, the structural design of the riser cage will be significantly limited. Summary of the Invention

[0003] Based on this, it is necessary to provide a detachable adapter card cage to address the above problem, and use a rotatable latch on the side panel of the detachable adapter card cage as a fixed installation structure, so that the detachable adapter card cage can be used in situations where two adapter card slots are set close to each other.

[0004] A detachable riser card cage, comprising:

[0005] A cage body, the cage body comprising a top plate portion and a side plate portion, the top plate portion and the side plate portion being fixedly connected to form a receiving space, the receiving space being located on an inner side of the side plate portion;

[0006] a latch pivotally connected to the side plate, the latch being located on an outer side of the side plate; and

[0007] an operating member pivotally connected to the cage body and movably connected to the latch;

[0008] The detachable adapter cage can be connected to a fixing bracket disposed in a device housing through the latch so as to be installed in the device housing.

[0009] The technical solution is further described below:

[0010] In one embodiment, the latch is a plate and is arranged parallel to the side plate.

[0011] In one embodiment, the operating member is pivotally connected to the side plate portion, and the operating member is located on the inner side of the side plate portion.

[0012] In one embodiment, the operating member is exposed from the top plate.

[0013] In one embodiment, the latch has a hook, and the detachable adapter cage can hook the retaining bracket through the hook to be installed in the device housing.

[0014] In one embodiment, the front end of the hook has a chamfered structure, and when the detachable adapter cage is installed in the device housing, the latch can be rotated by abutting against the retaining frame through the chamfered structure.

[0015] In one embodiment, the operating member and the latch are movably connected via a guide groove and a guide post, and the guide post is slidably connected to the guide groove.

[0016] In one embodiment, the guide groove is provided on the operating member, and the guide post is provided on the latch.

[0017] In one embodiment, the operating member is pivotally connected to the side plate portion, the operating member is located on the inner side of the side plate portion, the side plate portion has an opening, and the guide post passes through the opening.

[0018] In one embodiment, an elastic member is further included. The elastic member is connected to both the latch and the cage body, and the elastic member is used to apply force to the latch to rotate the latch.

[0019] In the aforementioned removable riser cage, the latches for engaging with the retaining brackets within the device housing are located on the outside of the side panels and are pivotally connected to the side panels. This allows the rotatable latches to serve as a fixed structure for mounting the removable riser cage, effectively controlling the thickness of the removable riser cage at the side panels. Therefore, the removable riser cage can be used in situations where two riser card slots are adjacent to each other, and connecting a removable riser card to one of the two riser card slots does not affect the use of the other riser card slot. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0020] The drawings that constitute a part of this application are used to provide further understanding of this application. The illustrative embodiments of this application and their descriptions are used to explain this application and do not constitute improper limitations on this application.

[0021] In order to more clearly illustrate the technical solutions in the embodiments of the present application, the following briefly introduces the drawings required for use in the description of the embodiments. Obviously, the drawings described below are only some embodiments of the present application. For ordinary technicians in this field, other drawings can be obtained based on these drawings without any creative work.

[0022] In addition, the drawings are not drawn to a 1:1 scale, and the relative sizes of the various elements are drawn only for illustrative purposes and are not necessarily drawn to true scale.

[0023] Figure 1 FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of a detachable riser cage according to an embodiment of the present application.

[0024] Figure 2 for Figure 1 Another view of the center removable riser cage.

[0025] Figure 3 for Figure 1 Exploded view of the center removable riser cage.

[0026] Figure 4 for Figure 1 Schematic diagram of the linkage between the operating member and latch of the removable riser cage.

[0027] Figure 5 for Figure 4 Another schematic diagram of the linkage between the middle operating member and the latch.

[0028] Figure 6 A schematic diagram illustrating installing a removable riser cage into a device housing.

[0029] Figure 7 Illustration of the removable riser cage after installation into the device housing.

[0030] Description of reference numerals:

[0031] 1. Removable riser card cage; 12. Cage body; 12a. Accommodating space; 122. Top panel; 122a. Stopper; 124. Side panel; 124a. Inner side; 124b. Outer side; 124c. Opening; 124d. Protrusion; 124e. Opening; 14. Latch; 14a. Rotating axis; 142. Hook; 142a. Chamfered structure; 16. Operating member; 16a. Rotating axis; 18. Elastic member; 20. Guide groove; 22. Guide column; 3. Riser card; 42. Device housing; 44. Motherboard; 442, 444. Slot; 46. Retaining frame; D1. First direction; D2. Second direction. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0032] To make the above-mentioned objects, features, and advantages of the present application more clearly understood, the specific embodiments of the present application are described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings. The following description sets forth many specific details to facilitate a full understanding of the present application. However, the present application can be implemented in many other ways than those described herein, and those skilled in the art can make similar improvements without violating the scope of the present application. Therefore, the present application is not limited to the specific embodiments disclosed below.

[0033] In the description of this application, it should be understood that if the terms "center", "longitudinal", "lateral", "length", "width", "thickness", "up", "down", "front", "back", "left", "right", "vertical", "horizontal", "top", "bottom", "inside", "outside", "clockwise", "counterclockwise", "axial", "radial", "circumferential", etc. appear, the orientation or position relationship indicated by these terms is based on the orientation or position relationship shown in the accompanying drawings, which is only for the convenience of describing this application and simplifying the description, and does not indicate or imply that the device or element referred to must have a specific orientation, be constructed and operated in a specific orientation, and therefore cannot be understood as a limitation on this application.

[0034] In addition, if the terms "first" or "second" appear, these terms are used for descriptive purposes only and should not be understood to indicate or imply relative importance or implicitly specify the number of technical features indicated. Therefore, a feature specified as "first" or "second" may explicitly or implicitly include at least one of such features. In the description of this application, if the term "plurality" appears, "plurality" means at least two, for example, two, three, etc., unless otherwise specifically defined.

[0035] In this application, unless otherwise specified or limited, the terms "mounted," "connected," "connected," "fixed," etc., should be interpreted broadly. For example, these terms may refer to fixed connections, removable connections, or integration; mechanical connections or electrical connections; direct connections or indirect connections through an intermediary; and internal communication between two components or interaction between two components, unless otherwise specified. Those skilled in the art will understand the specific meanings of these terms in this application based on the specific circumstances.

[0036] In this application, unless otherwise expressly specified or limited, if a first feature is described as being "above" or "below" a second feature, or similar descriptions, this may mean that the first and second features are in direct contact, or that the first and second features are in indirect contact through an intermediate medium. Furthermore, when a first feature is described as being "above," "above," or "above" a second feature, it may mean that the first feature is directly above or diagonally above the second feature, or simply means that the first feature is at a higher level than the second feature. When a first feature is described as being "below," "below," or "below" a second feature, it may mean that the first feature is directly below or diagonally below the second feature, or simply means that the first feature is at a lower level than the second feature.

[0037] It should be noted that if an element is referred to as being "fixed to" or "disposed on" another element, it may be directly on the other element or there may be an intermediate element. If an element is considered to be "connected to" another element, it may be directly connected to the other element or there may be an intermediate element. If any, the terms "vertical", "horizontal", "upper", "lower", "left", "right" and similar expressions used in this application are for illustrative purposes only and do not represent the only embodiment.

[0038] See also Figures 1 to 3 A removable adapter cage 1 according to one embodiment of the present application includes a cage body 12, a latch 14, and an operating member 16. The cage body 12 includes a top panel 122 and a side panel 124. The top panel 122 and the side panel 124 are fixedly connected to form a receiving space 12a. The latch 14 is pivotally connected to the side panel 124, allowing the latch 14 to rotate relative to the side panel 124 about a rotation axis 14a (indicated by a chain line in the figure). The operating member 16 is also pivotally connected to the side panel 124, allowing the operating member 16 to rotate relative to the side panel 124 about a rotation axis 16a (indicated by a chain line in the figure). The rotation axis 14a is parallel to the rotation axis 16a. The latch 14 and the operating member 16 are movably connected, allowing the latch 14 and the operating member 16 to transmit power to each other. In an actual product, a user can operate the operating member 16 (e.g., rotate the operating member 16) to rotate the latch 14, thereby engaging or disengaging the latch 14 with an external structure (e.g., a holder within an electronic device). Furthermore, the removable riser cage 1 further includes an elastic member 18 (e.g., but not limited to, a tension spring, represented by a simple broken line in the figure). The elastic member 18 is connected to both the latch 14 and the cage body 12 (the side panel 124). The elastic member 18 is used to apply force to the latch 14, causing it to rotate relative to the side panel 124, thereby providing a reset effect for the latch 14.

[0039] In this embodiment, the accommodating space 12a is located on the inner side 124a of the side plate portion 124, and the latch 14 is located on the outer side 124b of the side plate portion 124. Figure 2 The riser card 3 is housed in the accommodating space 12a and secured to the side panel 124. This means the riser card 3 is also located on the inner side 124a of the side panel 124. Furthermore, the latch 14 is a plate member and is positioned parallel to the side panel 124. Because both the latch 14 and the side panel 124 are plate-shaped and stacked together, this structural design helps limit the thickness of the removable riser cage 1 at this location; in turn, the removable riser cage 1 exhibits a reduced profile.

[0040] Furthermore, in this embodiment, the operating member 16 is located on the inner side 124a of the side panel 124, and the latch 14 is located on the outer side 124b of the side panel 124. That is, the operating member 16 and the latch 14 are located on opposite sides of the side panel 124, which helps to balance the forces on the side panel 124. Furthermore, the operating member 16 is exposed from the top panel 122, making it easier for the user to operate the operating member 16.

[0041] Furthermore, in this embodiment, the operating member 16 and the latch 14 are movably connected via a guide slot 20 and a guide post 22. The guide slot 20 is provided in the operating member 16, and the guide post 22 is provided in the latch 14. The guide post 22 is slidably connected to the guide slot 20. The guide post 22 abuts against the side walls of the guide slot 20, allowing force to be transmitted between the two, thereby enabling the operating member 16 and the latch 14 to move in conjunction with each other. Furthermore, in this embodiment, the side panel 124 has an opening 124c, providing clearance for the guide post 22. The guide post 22 passes through this opening 124c, and during transmission between the operating member 16 and the latch 14, the guide post 22 does not contact (the edge of) the opening 124c.

[0042] See also Figure 4 and Figure 5 , which is a schematic diagram of the linkage between the operating member 16 and the latch 14; wherein the outline of the cage 12 is drawn with chain lines, the outline of the operating member 16 blocked by the latch 14 is drawn with dotted lines, and the rotation axis 14a of the latch 14 and the rotation axis 16a of the operating member 16 are both indicated by cross marks in the figure. When the user does not operate the operating member 16 (such as Figure 4 As shown), under the action of the elastic member 18, the latch 14 tends to rotate clockwise. At this time, the latch 14 is supported by the convex portion 124d of the side plate portion 124 (see Figure 1 ) is stopped and stops at a locked position (such as Figure 4 As shown). The latch 14 has a hook 142 for hooking an external structure (such as a holder in an electronic device). When the user operates the operating member 16, for example, the user uses a finger to move the operating member 16 in a first direction D1 (such as a horizontal direction, as indicated by an arrow in the figure) (for example, until the operating member 16 is stopped by the stopping portion 122a of the top plate portion 122), so that the operating member 16 rotates clockwise. While the operating member 16 rotates clockwise, the operating member 16 drives the latch 14 to rotate counterclockwise through the guide groove 20 and the guide column 22. At this time, the latch 14 is in a release position (such as Figure 5 Thereafter, when the user's finger moves away from the operating member 16, the latch 14 rotates clockwise under the action of the elastic member 18 until it is stopped by the protrusion 124d of the side plate 124 and stops at the locked position. Simultaneously with the clockwise rotation of the latch 14, the latch 14 also drives the operating member 16 to rotate counterclockwise via the guide slot 20 and the guide post 22.

[0043] Alternatively, in an actual product, the guide slot 20 can be positioned on the latch 14, and the guide post 22 can be positioned on the operating member 16, with the guide post 22 still maintaining a sliding connection with the guide slot 20. In this structural configuration, the operating member 16 and the latch 14 can also be movably connected via the guide slot 20 and the guide post 22. The description of this linkage is similar to the description of the linkage between the operating member 16 and the latch 14 above and is not repeated here.

[0044] In practical applications, the removable riser cage 1 can be installed in an electronic device. Before installation, one or more expansion cards must have been inserted into the riser card 3 fixed in the removable riser cage 1. Figure 6 , which shows a schematic diagram of installing the removable riser card cage 1 into the electronic device in a second direction D2 (e.g., vertical direction, indicated by an arrow in the figure); to simplify the figure, the riser card 3 (refer to Figure 2 ) and the expansion cards thereon are not shown. Only a portion of the structure of the electronic device is shown (including a portion of the device housing 42 (e.g., the bottom plate) and the main board 44). During the installation process, the user moves the detachable riser card cage 1 close to the main board 44 of the electronic device in the second direction D2 so that the riser card 3 is inserted into the slot 442 on the main board 44. Since the front end of the hook 142 of the latch 14 has a chamfered structure 142a, when the detachable riser card cage 1 moves downward, if the chamfered structure 142a at the front end of the hook 142 contacts the retaining frame 46 in the device housing 42 (e.g., directly or indirectly locked to the bottom plate of the device housing 42; Figure 6 The chamfered structure 142a can slide relative to the holder 46, causing the latch 14 to rotate counterclockwise until the front end of the hook 142 slides past the front end of the holder 46. Then, under the action of the elastic member 18, the hook 142 rotates clockwise and hooks the holder 46 (see FIG. Figure 4 ; wherein the outline of the retaining frame 46 is depicted by chain lines. In other words, the removable riser cage 1 can be mounted within the device housing 42 by hooking the retaining frame 46 via the hook 142. Furthermore, during the installation of the removable riser cage 1 within the device housing 42, the latch 14 can be rotated by abutting against the retaining frame 46 via the chamfered structure 142a.

[0045] See also Figure 7 , which shows a schematic diagram of the detachable riser cage 1 being installed in the device housing 42; at this time, the latch 14 is in the locked position (see Figure 4 ). Afterwards, if the user wishes to remove the removable adapter cage 1 from the device housing 42, the user can rotate the operating member 16 in the first direction D1 to rotate the latch 14 and move it out of the locked position (see Figure 5Then, the detachable riser cage 1 is moved in the opposite direction of the second direction D2 to disengage the riser card 3 from the slot 442 , thereby completing the removal operation of the detachable riser cage 1 .

[0046] As previously described, the removable riser cage 1 can be mounted within the device housing 42 by engaging the retaining bracket 46 disposed within the device housing 42 via the latch 14. The operating member 16 is pivotally connected to the side panel 124 of the cage body 12, but this is not a practical limitation. For example, the operating member 16 could be pivotally connected to the top panel 122 of the cage body 12 (in which case the operating member 16's rotation axis would be parallel to the vertical direction and perpendicular to the rotation axis 14a of the latch 14). The operating member 16 and the latch 14 could still be movably connected, for example, by a gear-like meshing mechanism.

[0047] Also, see Figure 3 In this embodiment, the guide groove 20 on the operating member 16 is an arc groove. Figure 4 For the state in which the arc groove is located, the extension center of the arc groove (marked with a cross on the Figure 4 (center) is located at the intersection of the rotation axis 14a of the latch 14 and the rotation axis 16a of the operating member 16 in the horizontal and vertical directions. Figures 1 to 3 In this embodiment, the opening 124c of the side plate portion 124 is an arcuate groove extending around the rotation axis 14a of the latch 14. The guide post 22 also slides in the arcuate groove and abuts against the two side walls of the arcuate groove, which helps the guide post 22 to operate stably (including the linkage between the latch 14 and the operating member 16). Figures 1 to 3 In this embodiment, the side plate portion 124 further has another opening 124e, and a portion of the elastic member 18 is accommodated in the opening 124e, which can prevent the elastic member 18 from protruding excessively and interfering with other components (including components outside the detachable adapter cage 1).

[0048] Also, see Figure 7 . In the electronic device, the main board 44 has another slot 444, which is close to the slot 442. As described above, the removable adapter card cage 1 has a thin feature. After the removable adapter card cage 1 has been installed in the device housing 42, even if the latch 14 is located between the slot 442 and the slot 444, there is still enough corresponding slot 444 left to install another removable adapter card cage (for example, its general outline is drawn with a chain line in the figure). The structural logic of this removable adapter card cage is the same as that of the aforementioned removable adapter card cage 1, and the specific structure of this removable adapter card cage is a mirror image of the aforementioned removable adapter card cage 1. As Figure 7 As shown, both can be installed and removed smoothly individually; wherein, both share the same retaining frame 46.

[0049] In addition, in actual products, the aforementioned electronic device can be a server, which can be used for artificial intelligence (AI) computing, edge computing, and can also be used as a 5G server, cloud server, or Internet of Vehicles server.

[0050] The technical features of the above-mentioned embodiments can be combined arbitrarily. In order to make the description concise, not all possible combinations of the technical features in the above-mentioned embodiments are described. However, as long as there is no contradiction in the combination of these technical features, they should be considered to be within the scope of this specification.

[0051] The above-described embodiments merely represent several implementation methods of the present application. While the descriptions are relatively specific and detailed, they should not be construed as limiting the scope of the patent application. It should be noted that a person of ordinary skill in the art may make various modifications and improvements without departing from the spirit of the present application, and these modifications and improvements fall within the scope of protection of the present application. Therefore, the scope of protection of the present patent application shall be determined by the appended claims.

Claims

1. A detachable adapter cage, characterized in that: include: A cage body, the cage body comprising a top plate portion and a side plate portion, the top plate portion and the side plate portion being fixedly connected to form a receiving space, the receiving space being located on an inner side of the side plate portion; a latch pivotally connected to the side plate, the latch being located on an outer side of the side plate; and an operating member pivotally connected to the cage body and movably connected to the latch; The detachable adapter cage can be connected to a fixing bracket disposed in a device housing through the latch so as to be installed in the device housing.

2. The detachable riser cage according to claim 1, wherein: The latch is a plate and is arranged parallel to the side plate portion.

3. The detachable riser cage according to claim 1, wherein: The operating member is pivotally connected to the side plate portion, and the operating member is located on the inner side of the side plate portion.

4. The detachable riser cage according to claim 3, wherein: The operating member is exposed on the top plate.

5. The detachable riser cage according to claim 1, wherein: The latch has a hook, and the detachable adapter card cage can hook the holding bracket through the hook to be installed in the device housing.

6. The detachable riser cage according to claim 5, wherein: The front end of the hook has a chamfered structure. When the detachable adapter cage is installed in the device housing, the latch can be rotated by abutting against the holding frame through the chamfered structure.

7. The detachable riser cage according to claim 1, wherein: The operating member and the latch are movably connected via a guide groove and a guide post, and the guide post is slidably connected to the guide groove.

8. The detachable riser cage according to claim 7, wherein: The guide groove is arranged on the operating member, and the guide column is arranged on the latch.

9. The detachable riser cage according to claim 7, wherein: The operating member is pivotally connected to the side plate portion. The operating member is located on the inner side of the side plate portion. The side plate portion has an opening, and the guide column passes through the opening.

10. The detachable riser cage according to claim 1, wherein: The cage further comprises an elastic member connected to the latch and the cage body, and the elastic member is used to apply force to the latch to enable the latch to rotate.

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