Cable modules with pogo pins for marking the mounting position of the cable modules on the wired rear panel

Abstract

A cable module includes a printed circuit assembly (PCA) and a cable electrically connected to the PCA. The connector PCA includes a printed circuit board (PCB); a connector mounted on the PCB and configured to receive a drive connector of a media drive of an information handling device; and pogo pins mounted on the PCB. The cable module is configured to be attached to a cable module mounting location of a backplane. The pogo pins are positioned to engage the backplane when the cable module is mounted to the backplane. A microcontroller can receive output signals from the pogo pins when the cable module is mounted to the backplane and, based on the output signals from the pogo pins, can determine identification information about the cable module mounting location where the cable module is mounted.

Description

INTRODUCTIONComputers, such as servers, generally include a system board (e.g., a motherboard) and various components mounted on the system board, such as a processor, memory, etc. In addition, some computers have removable storage media, such as removable storage drives (e.g., solid state drives (SDDs)). These removable drives are typically connected to the system board so that they can be easily connected or disconnected without the need to disassemble the computing device (e.g., without the need to open the housing). Moreover, the removable modules are often hot-plug enabled, i.e., they can be installed or removed when the system is powered on.The computer housing may include trays provided for receiving removable media drives. In many systems, the slots are configured to allow easy insertion and / or removal of removable media from the exterior of the housing (e.g., via a front or rear panel). The slots may include support, alignment, and attachment structures for securing the removable media within the slot. In addition, blind coupling connections are generally provided in the shafts at predetermined positions, which are arranged such that the drive connections of the media drives engage in the connections of the shafts when the media drives are inserted into the shafts.The dummy connectors for the removable drives are generally disposed on a support structure, often referred to as a backplane, that is connected to the chassis and extends across the rear slots. The back wall holds the connectors in the aforementioned predetermined positions to allow blind mating with the media drive connectors upon insertion. In some systems, the backplane includes a printed circuit board assembly (PCA), and the blind mate connectors are mounted to the PCA and electrically connected to circuitry in the PCA. These internal circuits in the PCA are communicatively connected to the system board, often by board-to-board electrical connections. Thus, in such systems, communication between the system board and the media drives can be via the backplane and the blind docking connectors mounted thereon.BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGSThe present disclosure may be understood from the following detailed description, either alone or in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. The drawings are included to provide a further understanding of the present disclosure and are included in and form a part of this specification. The drawings illustrate one or more examples of the present teachings and together with the description explain certain principles and operations. In the drawings: FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an example of a cable module and an example of a computer system including the cable module. FIG. 2 is a perspective view of another cable module. FIG. 3 is a cross-section of the cable module of FIG. 2 taken along line 3 indicated in FIG. 2. FIG. 4 is a cross-section of the cable module of FIG. 2 taken along the line 4 indicated in FIG. 2 and opposing a top surface of the connector PCA of the cable module. FIG. 5 is a cross-section of the cable module of FIG. 2 taken along the line 5 indicated in FIG. 2 and opposing a bottom side of the connector PCA. FIG. 6 is a top view of a cargo pin unit of the cable module of FIG. 2. FIG. 7 is a perspective view of the cargo pin unit of the cable module of FIG. 2. FIG. 8 is a front view of a cargo pin unit of the cable module of FIG. 2. FIG. 9 is a side view of a cargo pin unit of the cable module of FIG. 2. FIG. 10 is a cross-sectional view of a portion of the plug PCA of the cable module of FIG. 2 taken along a centerline of the circuit board of the PCA. FIG. 11 is a plan view of a portion of the plug PCA of the cable module of FIG. 2. FIG. 12 is a bottom view of a portion of the plug PCA of the cable module of FIG. 2. FIG. 13 is a perspective view of an example backplane to which multiple instances of the cable module of FIG. 2 are mounted. FIG. 14 is an enlarged perspective view of a portion of the back panel of FIG. 13. FIG. 15 is a front view of the rear wall of FIG. 13 in a state without the cable modules mounted thereon.DETAILED DESCRIPTIONIn some recent computer systems, rather than a PCA-based backplane, wired backplane assemblies are provided to support Blindmat connectors for media drive sleds. In a cabled backplane assembly, cables are attached to a supporting structure, such as a metal plate, referred to herein as a backplane plate. These cables include cable modules located at their ends that include a connector (which may be similar to the Blindmate connectors used in PCA based backplanes) as well as other circuitry such as a PIC (Peripheral Interface Controller) chip. The backplane panel holds the connectors of the cable modules at predetermined positions aligned with the books, similar to the PCA-based backplanes would hold their connectors at the predetermined positions. However, unlike PCA-based backplanes, the backplane panel in the wired backplane assembly is generally passive and generally does not participate in communication of data signals between the media drives and the system board. Instead, in a cabled backplane assembly, each connector has its own cable connecting it to the system board. Cabled backplane assemblies are sometimes less expensive to manufacture than PCA backplanes and are also easier to repair or upgrade so that they are becoming more and more popular.However, with wired backplanes, it may be difficult for the system to identify which tray a particular media drive is installed in. Each slot may be associated with an identifier (e.g., a number), and the system generally needs to know which slot each media drive is installed in. In a PCA backplane, this identification is relatively easy because each connector is fixedly mounted at a predetermined position known to a controller in the backplane. Since the controller knows the position of each plug, it can assign a shelf number to each of the plugs that corresponds to the position of the plug. Then, when a media drive is plugged in, the controller may identify which port the media drive is connected to and assign the tray number associated with the port to that media drive.However, the above-described field identification approach may not work with a wired backplane, as, unlike a PCA backplane, the locations of the connectors may not be known to the system. In particular, during the assembly of the cabled backplane, the plug connectors of the cable modules can be connected to the backplane board in a plurality of different arrangements, and the system may not know which cable module is located at which assembly location. Although it is possible for a user to manually determine which cables are connected to which assembly sites and program this information into the system, this would involve considerable effort and would involve a high probability of failure.To address these problems, techniques are disclosed herein for automatically identifying the mounting locations of cable modules in a cabled backplane. The cable modules disclosed herein may include cargo pins attached to a printed circuit board (PCB) of the cable module, the cargo pins arranged to engage the backplane when the cable module is connected thereto. A controller of the cable modules is configured to monitor the outputs of the cargo pins and determine a mounting position of the cable module on the backplane based on the cargo pin outputs. Since the controller may determine the installation position of each cable module, the controller may associate a slot number with each cable module so that the system may identify which slot a particular media drive is inserted into when the particular media drive is connected to one of the ports.As mentioned above, the mounting locations of the cable modules are determined based on the outputs of the cargo pins, and these outputs depend on how the cargo pins interact with the backplane. The cargo pins may engage the backplane in two ways: either the cargo pin engages a conductive element of the backplane (e.g., by contact with a conductive portion of the backplane itself), or the cargo pin engages a non-conductive element of the backplane (e.g., by passage through an opening in the backplane or contact with a non-conductive material on the board). When the cargo pin contacts a conductive element, a circuit is completed and a first output signal is generated by the cargo pin. If, on the other hand, the cargo pin encounters a non-conductive element, the circuit is not closed and a second output signal is thus generated by the cargo pin. Thus, by arranging conductive and non-conductive elements in predetermined patterns at the locations where the cargo pins contact them, identification information for each cable module mounting location can be encoded into the backplane.More specifically, each cable module attachment location of the backplane may be provided with a corresponding identification field. Each identification panel includes an array of conductive elements and / or non-conductive elements disposed at locations aligned with the cargo pins of a cable module when the cable module is mounted to the cable module mounting location associated with the identification panel. The pattern of conductive and non-conductive elements in a given identification arrangement may uniquely identify the associated cable module mounting location, and this identification may be communicated to the controller of the cable module by the signals output from the cargo pins when cooperating with the identification arrangement.Moreover, in some examples, the cargo pins of each cable module may be provided in the form of two units each having two cargo pins, wherein a first cargo pin unit is disposed on a top side of the circuit board of the cable module and a second cargo pin unit is disposed on a bottom side of the circuit board directly opposite the first cargo pin unit. This arrangement may allow for a more compact cable module than other possible arrays of the cargo pins, such as an array in which four cargo pins are provided on the same side of the circuit board. For limited space applications, a more compact cable module may be desired.Moreover, in some examples, each cargo pin unit is identical to the other and has two 90 degree asymmetric mounting pins for mounting the cargo pin unit to the circuit board. Each 90-degree mounting pin includes a horizontal portion extending parallel to the circuit board and a vertical portion extending perpendicular to the circuit board. The vertical portion of the 90 degree mounting pin is to be inserted into a through hole contact in the circuit board to secure the cargo pin unit to the circuit board. In some examples, the mounting pins of each cargo pin unit are asymmetric because their horizontal portions are of different lengths. This asymmetry may be advantageous in that it allows the through holes for mounting one cargo pin unit to be interleaved with the through holes for mounting the other cargo pin units, allowing the two cargo pin units to be positioned directly opposite on opposite sides of the circuit board, saving space. On the other hand, if the cargo pin units were symmetrical mounting pins, respectively, the through holes for one cargo pin unit would collide with the through holes for the other cargo pin unit, so that they could not be positioned directly opposite each other.An alternative possibility for positioning the cargo pin units directly opposite one another without using the asymmetric fastening pins would be to provide different cargo pin units with differently sized fastening pins, e.g. a first cargo pin unit with long symmetric fastening pins and a second cargo pin unit with short symmetric fastening pins. However, providing two different cargo pin units may complicate manufacture and increase costs. By using the asymmetric mounting pins, the same identical cargo pin units can be used on both sides of the circuit board, reducing complexity and cost.Various devices, systems, and methods in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure will be described below.FIG. 1 is a block diagram conceptually illustrating an example computer system 10 ("system 10") and an example cable module 100. It should be understood that FIG. 1 is not intended to depict particular shapes, dimensions, or other structural details, accurate or to scale, and that implementations of the system 10 or cable module 100 may include a different number and arrangement of the depicted components and may include other parts that are not depicted. Moreover, in FIG. 1 and in the following description, the cable module 100 is shown in an installed state in the system 10 for ease of understanding, but it should be understood that some examples include the cable module 100 alone (i.e., in a state not installed in the system 10).In FIG. 1, a physical connection between two elements is represented by a solid line extending between them, an electrical connection between two elements is represented by a dashed line extending between them, and an engagement between two elements is represented by a dotted line extending between them.As shown in FIG. 1, the computer system 10 includes a housing 180, a system board 170 supported by the housing 180, a back plate 160 secured to the housing 180, and one or more cable modules 100 connected to the back plate 160.The housing 180 may include a base, walls, and support structures as known to those skilled in the art. Additionally, the housing 180 may include one or more (in some examples, multiple) media drive slots 185 configured to removably receive the media drives 175. For example, in some implementations, the sleds 185 are configured to receive media drives 175 with a form factor specified by one of the enterprise and data center standard form factor (EDSFF) standards, such as one of the E1 form factors as specified in SNIA SFF TA-1006 or one of the E3 form factors as specified in SNIA SFF TA-1008. In other implementations, the slots 185 are configured to receive media drives 175 with a form factor specified by an open compute project (OCP) standard, such as the OCP NIC 3.0 standard. In other implementations, the slots 185 are configured to hold media drives 175 with a U.2 or U.3 form factor. In other implementations, the slots 185 are configured to receive media drives 175 having different form factors.The system board 170 may be comprised of, for example, a motherboard or a host processor module and includes at least one processor 172. In addition, the system board 170 may include one or more connectors 171 for connection to the cables 140 of the cable modules 100, as described in more detail below.The back wall 160 comprises a metal plate, panel or frame attached to the housing 180 and extending across the back of the books 185. The rear wall panel 160 includes a plurality of cable module mounting locations 161 (only one is shown in FIG. 1 ), each cable module mounting location 161 being aligned with a corresponding one of the slots 185. The cable module mounting locations 161 are each configured to receive a cable module 100 to secure the cable module 100 to the backplane 160. In particular, each cable module mounting location 161 may include a plug receptacle 163 into which a plug 120 for the cable module 100 is inserted. Additionally, in some examples, additional attachment features 162, such as bolt holes, friction fit attachment features, snap fit attachment features, etc., may be provided at the cable module attachment locations 161 to further attach the cable modules 100 to the backplane 160. Each cable module attachment location 161 also includes a corresponding identification field 165 that encodes a unique identification of the cable module attachment location 161, as will be discussed in more detail below in connection with the description of the cable module 100.The cable module 100 includes a cable 140, a connector PCA 110 connected to one end of the cable 140, and a housing 130 that supports and / or accommodates the connector PCA 110. The cable module 100 may also include a second connector (not shown) disposed at an opposite end of the cable 140 and connected to the connector 171 of the system board 170.The connector PCA 110 includes a printed circuit board (PCB) 115, a connector 120 mounted on the PCB 115, and cargo pins 120 mounted on the PCB 115. In some examples, the PCA 110 connector also includes a PIC microcontroller 119 mounted on the circuit board 115.The circuit board 115 may include cable mounting contacts 116 that are electrically connected (e.g., soldered) to the conductors of the cable 140. The circuit board 115 may also include contacts 117 of the plug assembly that are electrically connected to electrical pins in the plug 120. The connector assembly contacts 117 may also be electrically connected to the PIC 119 and / or the cable assembly contacts 116 via conductive traces in the circuit board 115. Thus, electrical signals may be transmitted between the cable 140 and the connector 120 via the contacts 116 and 117 and the traces therebetween (and in some cases via the PIC 119).The connector 120 may be an electrical connector configured to be blindly connectable to a drive connector of one of the media drives 175. In particular, in some examples, the media drives 175 may include edge connectors, in which case the connector 120 may be a complementary edge connector receptacle configured to receive the edge connectors. In some examples, connector 120 includes a gen-z connector as specified in the gen-z scalable connector standard. In some examples, connector 120 may comprise an EDSFF connector (which in some cases may include a Gen-Z connector), such as an EDSFF 1C, 2C, 4C, or 4C+ connector. In some examples, connector 120 may include an OCP connector (which in some cases may include a Gen-Z connector), such as an OCP 4C or 4C+ connector. The connector 120 is configured to be inserted into the connector receptacle 163 of a cable module mounting location 161 of the backplane 160 and when so inserted, the connector 120 is positioned to align with the drive connector of a media drive 175 when the media drive 175 is inserted into the bay 185 corresponding to the cable mounting location 161, such that the drive connector and the connector 120 can be blindly connected together.Generally, at least two cargo pins 120 are provided. Cargo pins 120 are electrical connectors that include a housing and a spring-loaded conductive pin that can be forced to move relative to the housing by compression of the spring. In some examples, the cargo pins 120 are provided as part of cargo pin units, where each cargo pin unit comprises a discrete device that includes one or more cargo pins 120. For example, multiple Cargo pins 120 may share the same package, thus forming a Cargo pin unit with multiple Cargo pins 120.The cargo pins 120 may be attached to the circuit board 115 via cargo pin contacts 118. The cargo pin contacts 118 may be, for example, through-hole vias into which mounting pins of the cargo pins 120 are inserted and soldered. These cargo pin contacts 118 may be electrically connected to the PIC 119 and / or to the contacts of the cable assembly 116 via internal conductive traces of the circuit board 115.The cargo pins 120 are provided to facilitate identification of the cable module attachment locations 161. The more cargo pins 120 are present, the more cable module mounting locations 161 can be uniquely identified. However, the cargo pins 120 also occupy valuable space within the PCA 110, so that in some cases it may be advantageous to provide a minimum number of cargo pins 120 required to identify the cable module mounting locations 161. In general, each cargo pin 125 may provide two bits of data, such that N cargo pins 120 may enable unique identification of up to 2 N cable module mounting locations 161. In some examples, four cargo pins 120 are provided that may enable unique identification of up to sixteen cable module mounting locations 161. This arrangement enables a very space saving plug PCA 110. However, any number of the cargo pins 120 may be provided as long as the space allows.In some examples, each cargo pin unit includes two cargo pins 120 and has two mounting pins. In other examples, each cargo pin unit may include more cargo pins 120 and more mounting pins, such as three, four, or more cargo pins 120. In yet other examples, each cargo pin unit may include a single cargo pin 125.In some examples, four cargo pins 120 are provided in the form of two cargo pin units, each comprising two cargo pins 120, disposed on opposing sides of the circuit board 115. In some examples, the two cargo pin units are arranged directly opposite each other. In some examples, the two cargo pin units have asymmetric mounting pins. FIGS. 2-15 show an example of this type, which is described in more detail below.As mentioned above, each of the cable attachment locations 161 includes an identification field 165. Each identification field 165 includes an array of identification elements located at predetermined positions in the field. The number of identification elements in each array 165 may correspond to the number of the cargo pins 120 in each cable module 100, and the positions of each identification element in the array 165 may correspond to the positions of the cargo pins 120. More specifically, the identification assembly 165 of a particular mounting location 161 is positioned adjacent the plug receptacle 163 of the mounting location 161 such that when a cable module 100 is mounted to the particular mounting location 161, each cargo pin 125 of the cable module 100 is aligned with one of the positions in the assembly and thus engages one of the identification elements at that position. Each identification element may be either a conductive element 166 or a non-conductive element 167. Each identification field 165 is encoded with unique identifying information of the corresponding mounting location 161, which is based on the pattern of the conductive and non-conductive elements 166 and 167, respectively, in the field, i.e., which locations of the field comprise conductive elements 166 and which locations comprise non-conductive elements 167. For example, each position in the array may encode a single bit of the identification information, with a first value (e.g., 0) being encoded by the presence of a conductive element 166 at the position and a second value (e.g., 1) being encoded by the presence of a non-conductive element 167 at the position.The conductive elements 166 of the identification fields 165 may all be connected to a current source and may be supplied with a first predetermined voltage. The non-conductive elements 167, on the other hand, are insulated and do not carry an applied voltage. Moreover, each cargo pin 125 may be connected to a resistor within the cable module 110, which in turn is connected to a second predetermined voltage provided by the plug PCA 110. Thus, when the cargo pin 125 is not engaged with or engaged with any of the non-conductive elements 166, the voltage of the cargo pin 125 is raised through the resistor to the second predetermined voltage. This voltage may be sensed by a controller (e.g., PIC 119) and indicates a first value of the bit represented by the Cargo pin 125. On the other hand, when the cargo pin 125 comes into contact with one of the conductive members 166, it is short-circuited with the first predetermined voltage transmitted from the conductive member 166. When the Pogo pin 125 is at the first voltage, it indicates a second value of the bit represented by the Pogo pin 125. Thus, the PIC 119 or other controller connected to the pogo pin 125 may read a binary bit value from the pogo pin 125 depending on which voltage the cargo pin 125 has. In some examples, the first predetermined voltage is a ground voltage. In some examples, the second predetermined voltage is 3.3V.In examples where the backplate is conductive, the conductive elements 166 may comprise a portion of the backplate 160. In other words, in these examples, the conductive elements 166 are not a separate and distinct structure, but rather a portion of the larger plate 160. In these examples, the backplane 160 may be connected to a power source and the first predetermined voltage (e.g., ground) applied thereto.In other examples, the conductive elements 166 may include a contact pad or other conductive body attached to the plate 160. In these examples, each such conductive element 116 may be connected to a current source and have the first predetermined voltage (e.g., ground) applied thereto.In some embodiments, the non-conductive elements 167 include openings in the plate 160, and a cargo pin 125 can engage such a non-conductive element 167 by extending through the opening (without contacting the plate 160). As another example, in some implementations, the non-conductive elements 167 include an insulator (e.g., rubber or silicone) disposed on the plate 160 and the cargo pins 120 engage such non-conductive elements by contacting the insulator.In some examples, the PIC 119 may monitor the voltage of the cargo pins 120 and determine the identification information of the cable module mounting location 161 based on the voltage of the cargo pins 120. For example, in some implementations, there are four cargo pins 120- 1, 120- 2, 120- 3, and 120- 4 and eight cable module attachment locations 161, and the identifying information for the attachment locations 161 may be encoded as shown in the following table, where a "0" indicates that the cargo pin 125 is engaged with a conductive element 166 and thus has the first voltage (e.g., ground) and a "1" indicates that the cargo pin 125 is engaged with a non-conductive element 167 and thus has the second voltage (e.g., 3.3 V). Of course, this is only an illustrative example, and any other desired coding scheme could be used. Table 1 Table 11000020001300104001150100601017011080111Referring now to FIGS. 2-15, an example of a cable module 200 and a backplane 260 is described. Cable module 200 is an example implementation of cable module 100, and backplane 260 is an example implementation of backplane 160. Thus, the cable module 200 and the rear panel 260 each include components corresponding to the above-described components of the cable module 100 and the rear panel 160 (e.g., example implementations of components). Such corresponding components are given similar reference numerals with the same last two numerals, such as 110 and 210. Aspects of the above-described components of the cable module 100 and the rear wall panel 160 may also be applicable to the corresponding components of the cable module 200 and the rear wall panel 260, so that a duplicate description of these aspects already described above is omitted below.In FIGS. 2-12, cable module 200 is shown. The cable module 200 includes a PCA 210 connector including a circuit board 215, a connector 220 mounted on the circuit board 215, two cargo pin units 226 (i.e., cargo pin units 226- 1 and 226- 2) mounted on the circuit board 215 and a cable 240 connected to the circuit board 215. The PCA 210 connector may also include a PIC, not shown, mounted to the PCB 215. The cable module 200 may also include a housing 230 that houses the circuit board 215 and fasteners 231 (e.g., screws) that may attach the cable module 200 to the backplane 260.As shown in FIGS. 2-5, the cargo pin units 226-1 and 226-2 are mounted on opposite sides of the circuit board 215. Specifically, the cargo pin unit 226- 1 is mounted on an upper side of the circuit board 215 as shown in FIGS. 2-4, and the cargo pin unit 226- 2 is mounted on an lower side of the circuit board 215 as shown in FIGS. 2, 3, and 5. Also, the cargo pin units 226-1 and 226-2 are mounted directly opposite each other as shown in Figs. 2 and 3.As shown in FIGS. 2 and 6-9, each of the cargo pin units 226 includes two cargo pins 225 protruding from one side and two 90-degree mounting pins 227 protruding from an opposite side. The mounting pins 227 are asymmetric and have horizontal portions 228 of different lengths. That is, a first fixing pin 227a has a horizontal portion 228a which is longer than a horizontal portion 228b of a second fixing pin 227b. The mounting pins 227a and 227b also include a vertical portion 229a and 229b, respectively, which is connected to the horizontal portion 228a and 228b, respectively, by a bent portion. The cargo pin units 226 also each have attachment features 224, which may include a protrusion or other attachment feature that facilitates alignment and attachment of the cargo pin unit 226 to the circuit board 215.As shown in FIGS. 10-12, the asymmetric nature of the 90 degree mounting pins 227 of the cargo pin units 226 may allow the placement of the cargo pin units 226 directly opposite each other. That is, since the fixing pins 227a have longer horizontal portions 228a than the fixing pins 227b, the fixing pins 227a and 227b of one cargo pin unit 226 can be interlocked with the fixing pins 227a and 227b of the other cargo pin unit 226 without interfering with each other. Specifically, as shown in FIGS. 10-12, the shorter fixing pins 227b-1 and 227b-2 of the cargo pin units 226-1 and 226-2 are connected to cargo pin contacts 218-1 and 218-2 positioned closer to the units 226, while the longer fixing pins 227a-1 and 226a-2 of the cargo pin units 226-1 and 226-2 are connected to cargo pin contacts 218-3 and 218-4 positioned farther from the units 226. Positioning the cargo pin units 226- 1 and 226- 2 directly opposite on opposite sides of the circuit board 215 reduces the layout area of the circuit board 215 required for the cargo pins compared to the case that the cargo pins are arranged on the same side of the circuit board 215 or on opposite sides, but not directly opposite.If the cargo pin units were provided with mounting pins of equal length instead of the asymmetric arrangement, the arrangement of the cargo pin units directly opposite one another would not be possible, since the pins of one unit would interfere with the pins of the other unit (e.g. would attempt to occupy the same through hole as they). If the first unit had all short pins and the second unit had all long pins, the interference problem could be avoided, but then the units would no longer be identical, and therefore more component parts might have to be purchased and observed, which complicates manufacture and increases costs. In contrast, the cargo pin units 226- 1 and 226- 2 may be identical in the example of FIGS. 2-15, which simplifies manufacturing and reduces costs.As shown in FIGS. 13-15, the cable modules 200 may be connected to the backplane 260. As illustrated in FIGS. 13 and 15, the rear panel 260 includes eight cable module mounting places 261- 1 to 261- 8, and eight cable modules 200- 1 to 200- 8 may be mounted at the cable module mounting places 261- 1 to 261- 8, respectively. As illustrated in FIG. 15, each cable module mounting location 261 includes a plug receptacle 263 (i.e., the plug receptacles 263- 1 to 263- 8) and an identification field 265 (i.e., the identification fields 265- 1 to 265- 8). Each identification field 265 is located next to the plug connector receptacle 263 of the same mounting location 261. Each cable module mounting location 261 may also include attachment features 262 in the form of holes that may receive the attachment features 231 of the cable modules 200.As shown in Figures 13 and 14, in some embodiments, each identification array 265 comprises an array of four identification elements, each of which is either a conductive element 266 or a non-conductive element 267. As best seen in FIG. 14, in this example, the conductive elements 266 include portions of the plate 260 that are contacted by the cargo pins 225, and the non-conductive elements 267 include openings in the plate 260 through which the cargo pins 225 extend without contacting the plate. These identification elements 266 and 267 are located at predetermined locations that are aligned with the cargo pins 225 of the cable module 200 that is mounted at the mounting location 261 to which the panel 265 is connected. As shown in FIG. 14, in this example, the identification elements 266 and 267 of a particular array 265 are located at positions corresponding to the corners of a rectangle (i.e., the identification array 265 is in the form of a 2x2 grid of identification elements 266 or 267), with two upper identification elements 266 or 267 engaging the two upper cargo pins 225 of the upper cargo pin unit 226- 1 and two lower identification elements 266 or 267 engaging the two lower cargo pins 225 of the lower cargo pin unit 226- 2.As shown in Figure 13, each identification panel 265 has a unique array of conductive elements 266 and non-conductive elements 267 that encode an identification of the corresponding cable attachment site 261. As an illustrative example, in FIG. 13, the first identification array 265- 1 includes four conductive identification elements 266 that, using the coding scheme in Table 1 above, would encode the identifier "1" for the mounting location 261- 1 and the associated slot. The second identification array 265- 2 includes three conductive identification elements 266 and a non-conductive element 267 at a lower left position in array 265- 2 that would encode the tag "2" for the mounting location 261- 2 and the associated array using the encoding scheme in Table 1 above. The third identification field 265- 3 comprises three conductive identification elements 266 and a non-conductive element 267 at a lower right position in the field 265- 3, which using the coding scheme in table 1 above would encode the identifier "3" for the mounting location 261- 3 and the associated field. The fourth identification field 265- 4 comprises two conductive identification elements 266 in the two upper positions and two non-conductive elements 267 in the two lower positions in the field 265- 4, which, using the coding scheme in table 1 above, would code the identifier "4" for the mounting location 261- 4 and the associated field. The fifth identification field 265- 5 comprises three conductive identification elements 266 and a non-conductive element 267 in the upper right position in the field 265- 5, which using the coding scheme in table 1 above would code the identifier "5" for the mounting location 261- 5 and the associated field. The sixth identification array 265- 6 includes two conductive identification elements 266 in the upper left and lower right positions and two non-conductive elements 267 in the upper right and lower left positions in the array 265- 6, which using the coding scheme in Table 1 above would encode the identifier "6" for the mounting location 261- 6 and the associated array. The seventh identification field 265- 7 comprises two conductive identification elements 266 in two left positions and two non-conductive elements 267 in the two right positions in the field 265- 7, which, using the coding scheme in table 1 above, would code the identifier "7" for the mounting location 261- 7 and the associated field. Finally, the eighth identification field 265- 8 comprises a conductive identification element 266 in the upper left positions and three non-conductive elements 267 in the remaining positions of the field 265- 8, which, using the coding scheme in Table 1 above, would code the identifier "8" for the mounting location 261- 8 and the associated field. It should be understood that the coding scheme of Table 1 is only one example and that any coding scheme may be used. Moreover, it should be appreciated that eight mounting locations 261 are just one example and that any number of mounting locations 261 may be used. For example, with four identification elements per array 265 and four cargo pins 225 per module 200, up to sixteen unique identifiers could be encoded for up to sixteen attachment locations 261. If more mounting slots 261 are desired, additional cargo pins 225 per module 200 and corresponding additional identification elements per array 265 could be added.In the above description, various types of electronic circuits are described. As used herein, the term "electronic" is broadly understood to include all types of circuits that utilize electricity, including digital and analog circuits, direct current (DC) and alternating current (AC) circuits, as well as circuits for converting electricity to another form of power and circuits for utilizing electricity to perform other functions. In other words, there is no distinction between "electronic" circuits and "electrical" circuits.It should be understood that both the general description and the detailed description include examples that have explanatory character and are intended to contribute to understanding of the present disclosure without limiting the scope of the present disclosure. Various mechanical, compositional, structural, electronic, and operational changes may be made without departing from the scope of this specification and the claims. In some instances, well-known circuits, structures, and techniques have not been shown or described in detail in order not to obscure the examples. Like numerals in two or more figures represent like or similar elements.Moreover, the singular forms "a", "an" and "the" also include the plural forms unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. Moreover, the terms "comprises," "comprises," "includes," and the like, specify the presence of particular features, steps, operations, elements, and / or components, but do not preclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, steps, operations, elements, components, and / or groups. Components described as being connected may be directly connected electronically or mechanically, or they may be indirectly connected via one or more intermediary components, unless expressly stated otherwise. Mathematical and geometric terms need not necessarily be used in accordance with their strict definitions, unless the context of the description indicates otherwise, as a person having ordinary skill in the art would understand that, for example, a substantially similar element that functions in a substantially similar manner could easily fall within the scope of a descriptive term, even though the term also has a strict definition.And / or: Occasionally, the term "and / or" is used herein in conjunction with a list of items. This formulation means that any combination of elements may be included in the list - from a single element to all elements and any permutation therebetween. For example, "A, B, and / or C" means "one of {A}, {B}, {C}, {A, B}, {A, C}, {C, B}, and {A, C, B}".Elements and their related aspects, which are described in detail in one example, may be incorporated into other examples, whenever practical, in which they are not specifically shown or described. For example, if an element is described in detail with reference to an example and not described with reference to a second example, the element may still be claimed as included in the second example.Unless otherwise noted herein or apparent from context, the use of approximation terms such as "substantially," "about," "about," "about," "about," and the like is to be understood as not requiring mathematical accuracy and instead referring to a range of variation that includes, but is not strictly limited to, the stated value, characteristic, or ratio. In particular, the range of variation implied by the use of such an approximation term includes, in addition to the ranges of variation (if any) explicitly indicated herein, at least all non-essential variations and also the variations typical in the relevant technical field for the relevant type of object due to manufacturing or other tolerances. In any case, the range of variation may comprise at least values that are within ±1% of the stated value, property or ratio, unless otherwise stated.Further modifications and alternative examples will be apparent to those skilled in the art in view of the present disclosure. For example, the devices and methods may include additional components or steps that have been omitted from the diagrams and descriptions for clarity of operation. Accordingly, this description is to be considered as illustrative only and is for the purpose of teaching one skilled in the art the general manner of carrying out the present teachings. The various examples shown and described herein are to be understood as exemplary. Elements and materials, as well as arrangements of these elements and materials, may be used in place of the elements and materials illustrated and described herein, parts and methods may be reversed, and certain features of the present teachings may be used independently, as would be apparent to one of ordinary skill in the art upon having knowledge of the present specification. Changes may be made to the elements described herein without departing from the scope of the present teachings and the following claims.It should be understood that the examples set forth herein are not limiting and that changes may be made in the structure, dimensions, materials, and methods without departing from the scope of the present teachings.Further examples in accordance with the present disclosure will be apparent to those skilled in the art from consideration of the specification and practice of the invention disclosed herein. It is intended that the specification and examples be considered as exemplary only, with the following claims being entitled to their full breadth, including equivalents, as applicable.

Claims

A cable module, comprising: a printed circuit board (PCA) comprising: a printed circuit board (PCB); a connector attached to the circuit board and configured to receive a drive connector of a media drive of an information processing device; a plurality of cargo pins attached to the circuit board; a cable electrically connected to the connector PCA, wherein the cable module is configured to be mountable at a cable module mounting location of a backplane, and wherein the plurality of cargo pins are positioned to engage the backplane in a mounted state of the cable module.The cable module of claim 1, further comprising: a microcontroller mounted on the circuit board and configured to receive output signals from the cargo pins in a mounted state of the cable module to the backplane, and determine identification information of the mounting location of the cable module to which the cable module is mounted based on the output signals from the cargo pins.The cable module of claim 2, wherein each of the cargo pins is configured to output a first signal in response to contact with a conductive element on the backplane and to output a second signal in response to contact with a non-conductive element on the backplane.The cable module of claim 3, wherein each of the cargo pins is connected via a resistor to a voltage source carrying a first predetermined voltage, the second signal comprises the first predetermined voltage, and the first signal comprises a second predetermined voltage.The cable module of claim 1, further comprising: a first cargo pin unit comprising two of the cargo pins; and a second cargo pin unit comprising two of the cargo pins, wherein the first cargo pin unit and the second cargo pin unit are mounted directly opposite each other on opposing surfaces of the circuit board.The cable module of claim 5, wherein the first cargo pin unit and the second cargo pin unit are identical.The cable module of claim 6, wherein the first cargo pin unit and the second cargo pin unit each comprise two 90 degree mounting pins that are asymmetrically and electrically connected to the circuit board.The cable module of claim 7, wherein for each of the first cargo pin unit and the second cargo pin unit, the two 90 degree mounting pins comprise a long mounting pin and a short mounting pin.A computing system comprising: a system board having a processor; a housing supporting the system board and defining a plurality of slots for removably receiving media drives; a backplane including a plurality of cable module mounting locations corresponding to the plurality of slots, respectively, each of the cable module mounting locations including a connector receptacle and an identification field encoding identification information of the cable module mounting location; a plurality of cable modules mounted to the backplane, respectively, at the plurality of cable mounting locations; wherein each of the cable modules includes: a printed circuit connector (PCA) comprising: a printed circuit board (PCB); a connector mounted to the circuit board and received in the cable receptacle of the cable module mounting location to which the respective cable module is mounted, the connector configured to receive a drive connector of a media drive; a plurality of cargo pins mounted to the circuit board and engaging the identification field of the cable module mounting location to which the respective cable module is mounted; a cable electrically connected to the PCA and the system board.The computing system of claim 9, wherein each of the cable modules comprises a microcontroller mounted to the circuit board and configured to receive output signals from the cargo pins and determine identification information about the mounting location of the cable module to which the cable module is mounted based on the output signals from the cargo pins.The computing system of claim 10, wherein each of the identification arrays comprises identification elements positioned to engage the cargo pins of one of the cable modules, each of the identification elements comprising a conductive element or a non-conductive element; wherein the identification fields encode the identification information based on the number and position of the conductive elements and the non-conductive elements in the identification field; wherein each of the cargo pins is configured to output a first signal responsive to contact with a conductive element in one of the identification arrays and output a second signal responsive to contact with a non-conductive element in one of the identification arrays.The computing system of claim 11, wherein each of the cargo pins is connected via a resistor to a voltage source carrying a first predetermined voltage, wherein each conductive element is connected to a voltage source carrying a second predetermined voltage, and wherein the second signal comprises the first predetermined voltage and the first signal comprises a second predetermined voltage.The computing system of claim 11, wherein the backplane is conductive and the conductive elements comprise portions of the backplane, and wherein the non-conductive elements comprise openings in the backplane.The computing system of claim 9, wherein each of the cable modules comprises a first cargo pin unit having two of the cargo pins and a second cargo pin unit having two of the cargo pins, wherein the first cargo pin unit and the second cargo pin unit are mounted directly opposite each other on opposing surfaces of the circuit board.The computing system of claim 14, wherein the first pogo pin unit and the second pogo pin unit are identical.The computing system of claim 15, wherein the first cargo pin unit and the second cargo pin unit each comprise two 90 degree mounting pins that are asymmetrically and electrically connected to the circuit board.The computing system of claim 16, wherein for each of the first pogo pin unit and the second pogo pin unit, the two 90 degree mounting pins comprise a long mounting pin and a short mounting pin.A method comprising: providing a backplane having a plurality of cable module attachment locations; encoding identification information for each of the cable module mounting locations into identification fields at the cable module mounting locations, each identification field comprising an array of identification elements; mounting a plurality of cable modules to the backplane at the plurality of cable mounting locations; identifying the cable module mounting locations at which each of the cable modules is mounted by detecting output signals from Cargo pins mounted on a printed circuit board (PCB) of each of the cable modules, wherein the Cargo pins of each cable module engage the identification elements of the identification arrangement of the cable module mounting location at which the respective cable module is mounted.The method of claim 18, wherein the identifying elements of the identifying pads comprise conductive elements and non-conductive elements; wherein identifying the cable module attachment locations at which each of the cable modules is attached comprises supplying a first voltage to the Pogo pins via resistors, supplying a second voltage to the conductive elements, and determining whether the output signals of the Pogo pins are at the first voltage or at the second voltage.The method of claim 18 further comprising: for each of the cable modules, attaching a first cargo pin unit comprising two of the cargo pins to a top surface of the circuit board and attaching a second cargo pin unit comprising two of the cargo pins to a bottom surface of the circuit board directly opposite the first cargo pin unit.

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