Universal Rack Mounting System for EDP Equipment Reconfiguration
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Solution Overview
Problem
The lack of standardization in EDP equipment dimensions and mounting hardware leads to installation difficulties, inefficiencies, and significant capital expenditures in data centers, where reconfiguring equipment is often disruptive and costly.
Innovation Solution
A uniform mounting system for EDP equipment that standardizes how equipment is mounted to racks, allowing for adjustable horizontal offsets and versatile attachment options, including telescoping rails and universal adapters, to accommodate varying widths and depths while maintaining compatibility with NEMA standards.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If equipment is mounted using manufacturer-specific rack mounting hardware, then each piece of equipment can be securely mounted to the rack, but installation becomes complicated and time-consuming due to the need for different hardware for each equipment type
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements a universal mounting system where a single standardized adapter design can accommodate multiple equipment types and manufacturers. The adapter includes standardized components such as a mounting plate, fasteners, and alignment features that work across different equipment configurations, eliminating the need for manufacturer-specific hardware while maintaining secure mounting.
Solution Approach 2:
The mounting system is divided into separate, interchangeable components including the adapter, mounting plate, fasteners, and alignment features. This segmentation allows each component to be optimized independently and enables easy replacement or reconfiguration without affecting the entire mounting system, simplifying installation and maintenance.
2Reliability
If traditional rack mounting methods are used, then equipment can be mounted to the rack, but reconfiguring equipment layout is disruptive and costly
Solution Approach 1:
The mounting system incorporates dynamic adjustment capabilities through movable mounting plates, adjustable fasteners, and reconfigurable alignment features. These elements allow equipment to be easily repositioned vertically and horizontally along the rack structure without requiring complete disassembly, enabling rapid reconfiguration while maintaining equipment stability during operation.
Solution Approach 2:
The adapter and mounting components are pre-configured with standardized interfaces and alignment features that anticipate future reconfiguration needs. This preliminary standardization allows equipment to be quickly installed and later repositioned without requiring custom fabrication or complex adjustment procedures, reducing reconfiguration downtime.
3Adaptability or versatility
If multiple types of mounting hardware are purchased for different equipment, then all equipment can be mounted, but capital expenditures increase significantly
Solution Approach 1:
The patent establishes a universal mounting hardware platform that can accommodate multiple equipment types, manufacturers, and configurations using the same basic adapter design. This single platform replaces the need for maintaining separate inventory of manufacturer-specific mounting hardware, reducing capital expenditures while preserving adaptability through the adapter's ability to interface with various equipment mounting patterns.
Solution Approach 2:
The standardized adapter system enables mounting hardware to be easily removed from one equipment piece and reused on another, rather than being discarded or stored as specialized inventory. The universal design ensures that adapters, mounting plates, and fasteners can be recovered and reused across different equipment configurations, reducing the quantity of hardware that needs to be purchased and stored.
Data Source
AI summary
A universal mounting system is provided for use in connection with substantially any type of electronic equipment so was to reduce or substantially avoid the need for rail kids or other mounting assemblies that are its equipment specific for mounting equipment to racks. In one implementation, a uniform mounting system (101) includes a number of rail and slider assemblies (112). Each of the rail and slider assemblies includes a slider that is slightly mounted on a support rail. Each of the slider is includes mounting flange is and brackets for mounting the slider to a piece of equipment. The mounting flanges 116 that's collectively define a segmented vertical rail. A safety stop mechanism can be used to define very a offset figurations of the equipment with respect to a front end of the rack.