Guide assembly for proper electrical blind mating of a module in an enclosure

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10129997-B2
Application number	US-201715399517-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Jan 5, 2017
Priority date	Jan 5, 2017
Publication date	Nov 13, 2018
Grant date	Nov 13, 2018

Abstract

A guide assembly an enclosure-based device such as a computer provided in a rack-mountable chassis. The guide assembly is configured to facilitate blind connector mating such as electrical interconnection between a receiving connector on a previously-mounted board and an edge connector on a circuit board supported in a housing of a module that is slid or inserted into the interior space of the enclosure or chassis. The guide assembly (and devices that include a guide assembly) address the two design challenges discussed above of increasing numbers of circuits in devices that need to be connected and of decreasing pitch between the connectors. The guide assembly is configured, with its mechanical features, to decouple the degrees of freedom (DOFs) between the module being inserted into the chassis and the receiving/mating connector on the previously-mounted board. The guide assembly constrains five out of the six DOFs, which effectively ensures proper connector mating.

First claim

We claim:

1. An apparatus adapted for insertion of modules to provide consistent blind mate interconnection, comprising:
a chassis comprising a first sidewall and a second sidewall opposite the first sidewall defining an interior space of the chassis;
a clamp with a planar body extending within the interior space of the chassis between the first and second sidewalls of the chassis;
a first circuit board attached to the clamp, wherein the circuit board includes a connector extending away from the clamp into the interior space of the chassis;
a module with a housing including a first sidewall and a second sidewall extending parallel to the first sidewall of the housing of the module, wherein a second circuit board is mounted between the first and second sidewalls of the housing of the module and wherein the second circuit board includes a connector extending outward from the housing of the module proximate to lead-in ends of the first and second sidewalls of the housing of the module; and
a guide assembly comprising a first set of guide members on the housing of the module and a second set of guide members extending from a body of the clamp,
wherein abutting contact between the first set of guide members and the second set of guide members forces alignment between the connectors of the first and second circuit boards for blind mate interconnection as the module is inserted into the interior space of the chassis,
wherein the first set of guide members comprises a first pair of guide members extending from the lead-in end of the first sidewall of the housing of the module that are spaced apart by a first alignment groove extending parallel to a longitudinal axis of the first sidewall of the housing of the module, and
wherein the first set of guide members comprises a second pair of guide members extending from the lead-in end of the second sidewall of the housing of the module that are spaced apart by a second alignment groove extending parallel to a longitudinal axis of the second sidewall of the housing of the module;
wherein the second set of guide members comprises a first clamp guide member and a second clamp guide member each with an outer side extending outward from the body of the clamp into the interior space and each with a contact surface that includes a sloped portion angled at an angle of at least 30 degrees away from the outer side;
wherein each of the first and second clamp guide members includes a planar body orthogonal to the body of the clamp and wherein the planar body of each of the first and second claim guide members has a thickness less than a height of the first and second alignment grooves, whereby the first and second clamp guide members are receivable in the first and second alignment grooves.

2. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the first set of guide members provide Y-axis alignment between the connectors of the first and second circuit boards and wherein the second set of guide members provide X-axis alignment between the connectors of the first and second circuit boards.

3. The apparatus of claim 2 , wherein the X-axis and Y-axis alignments are provided at least partially concurrently by the guide assembly.

4. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein each of the first pair of guide members includes a planar body oriented at a bend angle away from a plane of the first sidewall of the housing of the module toward a center axis of the housing of the module, wherein each of the second pair of guide members includes a planar body oriented at the bend angle away from a plane of the second sidewall of the housing of the module toward a center axis of the housing of the module, and wherein the bend angle is greater than 15 degrees.

5. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the first and second pairs of guide members each includes an upper guide member with a body having a lead-in side with a contact portion angled at an angle of at least 30 degrees from vertical toward the first and second alignment grooves, respectively, and wherein the first and second pairs of guide member each includes a lower guide member with a body having a lead-in side with a contact portion angled at an angle of at least 30 degrees from vertical toward the first and second alignment grooves, respectively.

6. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein a distance between the outer sides of the first and second clamp member guide members is in the range of 0.5 to 2 millimeters less than a distance between inner surfaces of the first and second sidewalls of the housing of the module and wherein the outer sides of the first and second clamp members has a length greater than a length of the first and second alignment grooves.

7. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the module comprises a fan module, wherein the first circuit board comprises a midplane board, wherein the second circuit comprises a fan printed circuit assembly (PSA), and wherein the connector of the second circuit board comprises an edge connector.

8. An apparatus for aligned insertion of modules to provide consistent blind mate interconnection, comprising:
a clamp with a planar body;
a first circuit board with a connector extending through an opening in a clamp body;
a module with a housing including a first sidewall and a second sidewall spaced apart from the first sidewall of the housing of the module, wherein a second circuit board is positioned between the first and second sidewalls of the housing of the module and wherein the second circuit board includes a connector; and
a guide assembly comprising a first set of guide members on the housing of the module and a second set of guide members extending from the clamp body, wherein contact between the first set of guide members and the second set of guide members guides relative movement of the housing relative to the clamp body to provide alignment between the connectors of the first and second circuit boards during blind mate interconnection of the first and second boards,
wherein the second set of guide members comprises a first clamp guide member and a second clamp guide member each with an outer side extending orthogonally outward from the clamp body and with a contact surface that includes a sloped portion angled at an angle of at least 30 degrees away from the outer side,
wherein the first set of guide members comprises a first pair of guide members extending from the lead-in end of the first sidewall that are spaced apart by a first alignment groove extending parallel to a longitudinal axis of the first sidewall,
wherein the second set of guide members comprises a second pair of guide members extending from the lead-in end of the second sidewall that are spaced apart by a second alignment groove extending parallel to a longitudinal axis of the second sidewall,
wherein each of the first and second clamp guide members includes a planar body orthogonal to the clamp body, and
wherein the planar body of each of the first and second clamp guide members has a thickness less than a height of the first and second alignment grooves, whereby the first and second clamp guide members are receivable in the first and second alignment grooves.

9. The apparatus of claim 8 , wherein each of the first pair of guide members includes a planar body oriented at a bend angle away from a plane of the first sidewall toward a center axis of the housing of the module, wherein each of the second pair of guide members includes a planar body oriented at the bend angle away from a plane of the second sidewall toward a center axis of the housing of the module, and wherein the bend angle is greater than 15 degrees.

10. The apparatus of claim 8 , wherein the first and second pairs of guide members each includes an upper guide member with a body having

Assignees

• Oracle Int Corp

Inventors

• Hofmann Andres Gabriel
• Di Ricco Kurzava Rebecca
• Stetor Gabrielle Kariann

Classifications

• H05K7/1409

  by lever-type mechanisms · CPC title

• G06F1/185

  Mounting of expansion boards · CPC title

• H05K7/1404

  by edge clamping, e.g. wedges · CPC title

• G06F1/181

  Enclosures (for portable computers G06F1/1613) · CPC title

• H05K7/1405

  by clips or resilient members, e.g. hooks · CPC title