System and method for reducing acoustic energy near HDD systems

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-12308008-B2
Application number	US-202217648870-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Jan 25, 2022
Priority date	Jan 25, 2022
Publication date	May 20, 2025
Grant date	May 20, 2025

Abstract

A system for protecting a hard disc drive (HDD) from acoustic energy in a chassis comprises a set of foam strips formed from acoustically absorptive material. Each foam strip has a thickness such that, when the HDD is installed in a chassis, the acoustically absorptive material is in a substantially uncompressed state. Foam strips are separated by an airflow path width, wherein two foam strips, a first surface of an HDD and a second surface form an airflow path. The second surface may be a surface of an adjacent HDD or a wall of the chassis. Each foam strip has a width and length configured for absorbing acoustic energy that would otherwise propagate through the airflow path.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A system for reducing acoustic energy near a hard disc drive (HDD) installed in a bay in a chassis of an information handling system, wherein the HDD is positioned in the bay with a gap between a first surface of the HDD and a surface of an adjacent HDD, the system comprising:
a set of foam strips coupled to the first surface of the HDD, wherein:
each foam strip in the set of foam strips comprises an acoustically absorptive material configured for absorbing acoustic energy when in an uncompressed state;
each foam strip in the set of foam strips has a foam strip thickness equal to the gap, wherein each foam strip in the set of foam strips is in an uncompressed state when the HDD is installed in the bay;
each foam strip in the set of foam strips comprises a foam strip length extending from a first edge of the first surface of the HDD to a second edge of the first surface of the HDD;
a first foam strip of the set of foam strips, a second foam strip of the set of foam strips, the first surface of the HDD and the second surface define an airflow path, wherein the first foam strip is separated from the second foam strip by an airflow path width configured to enable airflow in the gap to cool the HDD;
each of the first foam strip and the second foam strip comprise a foam strip width greater than the foam strip thickness such that the acoustically absorptive material absorbs acoustic energy propagating through the airflow path based on the foam strip width and foam strip length; and

a vibration energy damping material coupled to each of the foam strips at one or more areas, the vibration energy damping material differing from the acoustically absorptive material of the foam strips, the thickness of the areas of the foam strips that have the vibration energy damping material coupled thereto is greater than the gap between the first surface of the HDD and the surface of the adjacent HDD.

2. The system of claim 1 , wherein the set of foam strips are directly adhered to the HDD.

3. The system of claim 1 , wherein each foam strip in the set of foam strips comprises a protective layer.

4. The system of claim 3 , wherein the protective layer comprises mylar.

5. The system of claim 1 , wherein each foam strip in the set of foam strips comprises a foam strip length greater than a length of the first surface of the HDD, wherein each foam strip in the set of foam strips forms a rounded edge.

6. The system of claim 1 , further comprising a frame coupled to the HDD, wherein each foam strip in the set of foam strips is coupled to the frame.

7. The system of claim 6 , wherein the frame is coupled to a HDD carrier.

8. A chassis for an information handling system, the chassis comprising:
a hard disc drive (HDD);
a bay for installing the HDD, wherein the HDD is positioned in the bay with a gap between a first surface of the HDD and a second surface comprising one of an inner surface of a wall of the chassis or a surface of an adjacent HDD; and
a set of foam strips coupled to the first surface of the HDD, wherein:
each foam strip in the set of foam strips comprises an acoustically absorptive material configured for absorbing acoustic energy when in an uncompressed state;
each foam strip in the set of foam strips has a foam strip thickness equal to the gap, wherein each foam strip in the set of foam strips is in an uncompressed state when the HDD is installed in the bay;
each foam strip in the set of foam strips comprises a foam strip length extending from a first edge of the first surface of the HDD to a second edge of the first surface of the HDD;
a first foam strip of the set of foam strips, a second foam strip of the set of foam strips, the first surface of the HDD and the second surface define an airflow path, wherein the first foam strip is separated from the second foam strip by an airflow path width configured to enable airflow in the gap to cool the HDD; and
each of the first foam strip and the second foam strip comprise a foam strip width greater than the foam strip thickness such that the acoustically absorptive material absorbs acoustic energy propagating through the airflow path based on the foam strip width and foam strip length; and

a vibration energy damping material coupled to each of the foam strips at one or more areas, the vibration energy damping material differing from the acoustically absorptive material of the foam strips, the thickness of the areas of the foam strips that have the vibration energy damping material coupled thereto is greater than the gap between the first surface of the HDD and the surface of the adjacent HDD.

9. The chassis of claim 8 , wherein:
operation of a component in the information handling system generates acoustic energy at a component frequency; and
the acoustically absorptive material is configured for acoustic energy absorption at the component frequency.

10. The chassis of claim 8 , further comprising a tray configured for slidable insertion in the bay, wherein each foam strip in the set of foam strips is coupled to the tray.

11. The chassis of claim 10 , wherein a center portion of the tray comprises vents.

12. The chassis of claim 8 , wherein the set of foam strips are directly adhered to the HDD.

13. The chassis of claim 8 , wherein each foam strip in the set of foam strips comprises a protective layer.

14. The chassis of claim 13 , wherein the protective layer comprises mylar.

15. The chassis of claim 8 , wherein each foam strip in the set of foam strips comprises a foam strip length greater than a length of the first surface of the HDD, wherein each foam strip in the set of foam strips forms a rounded edge.

16. The chassis of claim 8 , further comprising a frame coupled to the HDD, wherein each foam strip in the set of foam strips is coupled to the frame.

17. The chassis of claim 16 , wherein the frame is coupled to a HDD carrier.

Assignees

• Dell Products Lp

Inventors

• Doglio Jean Marie
• Koutsavdis Evangelos Konstantinos
• Peterson Chris E
• Waters Paul Allen

Classifications

• G11B33/08

  Insulation or absorption of undesired vibrations or sounds · CPC title

• B32B27/065

  of foam · CPC title

• B32B27/36

  comprising polyesters · CPC title

• B32B5/18

  characterised by features of a layer {of} foamed material · CPC title

• B32B2307/102

  Insulating · CPC title