Low Profile Tool-less HDD Carrier for 2U Server Chassis
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current 2U chassis in server racks have limited hard drive capacity due to bulky HDD carriers and restrictive vertical or horizontal layouts, which hinder the efficient use of space and number of drives that can be accommodated.
Innovation Solution
A low profile tool-less HDD carrier with rotatable sidewalls, dual torsion spring mechanism for tool-less installation, and electromagnetic interference shielding and vibration absorption materials, allowing for optimized horizontal and vertical HDD configurations within a 2U chassis, enabling increased storage capacity by accommodating more HDDs without the need for tools.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Quantity of substance
If traditional HDD carriers are used in 2U chassis, then the carrier can provide structural support and drive retention, but the carrier size limits the number of drives that can be accommodated
Solution Approach 1:
The carrier is divided into multiple modular bay sections that can be independently configured. Each bay is a separate compartment that can hold one or more HDDs, allowing the overall carrier structure to be segmented into different layouts (e.g., 8 bays of 3.5-inch drives or 16 bays of 2.5-inch drives) to maximize space utilization within the 2U chassis.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent transitions from traditional vertical drive mounting to a horizontal layout orientation. By arranging HDDs horizontally within the carrier bays and utilizing the full width of the 2U chassis, the design effectively uses the horizontal dimension more efficiently, allowing more drives to fit within the same volume without increasing carrier height.
2Ease of operation
If tool-less installation mechanism is implemented, then installation ease is improved, but device complexity increases due to additional mechanisms
Solution Approach 1:
The carrier incorporates self-latching mechanisms that automatically engage when HDDs are inserted into the bays. The spring-loaded eject buttons provide self-service functionality, allowing users to easily remove drives by simply pressing the button without requiring tools or complex manual operations. The system serves itself by automatically securing drives upon insertion.
Solution Approach 2:
Spring-loaded eject buttons serve as intermediary elements between the user and the drive retention mechanism. These buttons translate simple user pressure into the mechanical action needed to release the latching mechanism, providing an intuitive and tool-less interface for drive installation and removal while keeping the overall mechanism relatively simple.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The low profile tool-less HDD carrier system enhances storage capacity in 2U chassis by allowing for up to 28 HDDs through optimized layouts and tool-less installation, improving space utilization and reducing bulkiness, thereby increasing the overall storage potential of server racks.
Implementation Method 1
dual torsion spring mechanism for tool-less installation
Implementation Method 2
electromagnetic interference shielding
Implementation Method 3
vibration absorption materials
Data Source
AI summary
Disclosed is a two rack unit chassis and low profile tool-less hard disk drive carrier (HDD). The two rack chassis including a plurality of HDD bays and a backplane including a plurality of connectors corresponding to the plurality of bays, each bay configured to receive a low profile tool-less carrier. The low profile tool-less carriers each comprising a first latch configured to release a sidewall of the low profile tool-less carrier and receive an HDD, a second latch configured to release a lever having at least one protraction at an inward end, and the lever configured to couple the at least one protrusion of the low profile tool-less carrier to the connector of the corresponding bay to which the low profile tool-less carrier is inserted.