Expansion card mounting assembly

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9791900-B1
Application number	US-201615083197-A
Country	US
Kind code	B1
Filing date	Mar 28, 2016
Priority date	Mar 28, 2016
Publication date	Oct 17, 2017
Grant date	Oct 17, 2017

Abstract

An expansion card mounting assembly includes a mounting structure and a circuit board coupled to the mounting structure. Expansion cards are mounted on a top side and a bottom side of the circuit board and secured at opposite ends by a moveable plate of the expansion card mounting assembly. The mounting structure includes an opening along a length of the expansion cards that allows air to flow over the expansion cards in multiple directions including a vertical direction. The moveable plate and mounting structure are configured to allow a position of the moveable plate on the mounting structure to be adjusted to mount expansion cards having different lengths in the expansion card mounting assembly.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. An expansion card mounting assembly comprising:
a mounting structure;
a printed circuit board (PCB) coupled to the mounting structure, wherein the PCB comprises multiple expansion card connectors on a first side of the PCB and multiple expansion card connectors on a second side of the PCB;
expansion cards mounted in the expansion card connectors on the first side of the PCB and expansion cards mounted in the expansion card connectors on the second side of the PCB; and
a moveable plate coupled to the mounting structure at an end of the mounting structure opposite of an end of the mounting structure configured to couple with the PCB, wherein the moveable plate is configured to secure opposite ends of the expansion cards that are opposite from ends of the expansion cards coupled with the expansion card connectors of the PCB,
wherein the expansion card mounting assembly comprises multiple levels including the expansion cards mounted on the first side of the PCB at a first level of the expansion card mounting assembly, and including the expansion cards mounted on the second side of the PCB at a second level of the expansion card mounting assembly,
wherein the mounting structure is configured to support the PCB and support the expansion cards at the first level of the expansion card mounting assembly and support the expansion cards at the second level of the expansion card mounting assembly, and
wherein the mounting structure comprises an opening between the first level and the second level of the expansion card mounting assembly along a length of the expansion cards, wherein the opening is configured to permit airflow between the expansion cards mounted on the first side of the PCB and the expansion cards mounted on the second side of the PCB.

2. The expansion card mounting assembly of claim 1 , wherein the expansion cards have a form factor that is in accordance with a peripheral component interconnect (PCI) M.2 standard.

3. The expansion card mounting assembly of claim 2 , wherein
the mounting structure and the moveable plate are configured to adjust a position of the moveable plate on the mounting structure to secure expansion cards having different lengths.

4. The expansion card mounting assembly of claim 3 , wherein respective lengths of the expansion cards mounted in the expansion card mounting assembly at a given time are a same length.

5. A device comprising: a mounting structure configured to: couple with a circuit board at a first end of the mounting structure, and support the circuit board, an expansion card mounted on a first side of the circuit board, an expansion card mounted on a second side of the circuit board, wherein each of the expansion card mounted on the first side and the expansion card mounted on the second side extends, parallel to the circuit board, between the circuit board and a second end of the mounting structure that is opposite the first end of the mounting structure, and wherein the mounting structure comprises an opening configured to permit airflow between the expansion card mounted on the first side of the circuit board coupled to the mounting structure and the expansion card mounted on the second side of the circuit board coupled to the mounting structure.

6. The device of claim 5 further comprising: a moveable plate coupled to the mounting structure at the second end of the mounting structure, wherein the moveable plate is configured to secure ends of expansion cards opposite to ends of the expansion cards that are coupled with the circuit board.

7. The device of claim 6 , wherein the mounting structure and the moveable plate are configured to secure expansion cards of a same length at a given time.

8. The device of claim 6 , wherein the mounting structure and the moveable plate are configured to secure a first expansion card having a longer length and, at the same time, secure a second expansion card having a shorter length.

9. The device of claim 6 , further comprising:
the circuit board, wherein the circuit board is coupled to the mounting structure; and
the expansion cards, wherein the expansion cards are mounted in expansion card connectors of the circuit board.

10. The device of claim 5 , wherein the mounting structure is configured to support expansion cards with a form factor that meets a peripheral component interconnect (PCI) M.2 standard.

11. The device of claim 5 , wherein the mounting structure further comprises legs or rails configured to elevate a body of the mounting structure above a motherboard or chassis.

12. The device of claim 5 , wherein the mounting structure is configured to stack above or below another expansion card mounting structure in a common chassis.

13. The device of claim 5 , wherein the mounting structure is configured to be independently inserted into or removed from a computer system chassis, independent of other devices mounted in the computer system chassis.

14. A device comprising:
a mounting structure, wherein the mounting structure is configured to couple with a circuit board and configured to support the circuit board and an expansion card coupled to the circuit board at an end of the expansion card; and
a moveable plate coupled to the mounting structure,
wherein the moveable plate and the mounting structure are configured to adjust a location of the moveable plate on the mounting structure to secure an other end of the expansion card, and
wherein the circuit board has multiple expansion cards coupled at first ends to the circuit board on a first side of the circuit board and multiple expansion cards coupled at first ends to the circuit board on a second side of the circuit board that is opposite the first side with respect to a plane defined by the circuit board.

15. The device of claim 14 , wherein:
the first side of the circuit board is a top side of the circuit board,
the second side of the circuit board is a bottom side of the circuit board,
the moveable plate comprises retaining mechanisms on a top side of the moveable plate and retaining mechanisms on a bottom side of the moveable plate, and
the retaining mechanisms are configured to secure other ends of multiple expansion cards on a top side of the moveable plate and to secure other ends of multiple expansion cards on a bottom side of the moveable plate.

16. The device of claim 15 , further comprising an opening in the mounting structure between a portion of the mounting structure configured to couple with the circuit board and the moveable plate, wherein the opening is configured to permit airflow between expansion cards on a top side of a circuit board coupled to the mounting structure and expansion cards on a bottom side of a circuit board coupled to the mounting structure.

17. The device of claim 14 , wherein the moveable plate and the mounting structure are configured to secure a first expansion card having a first length mounted in a first position and, at the same time, secure a second expansion card having a second length in a second position, wherein the first length and the second length are different lengths.

18. The device of claim 14 , wherein the moveable plate is further configured to secure expansion cards that are coupled to the circuit board at ends of the expansion cards via expansion card connectors arranged on the circuit board in a staggered arrangement or that are arranged in an off-set arrangement, wherein in the off-set arrangement expansion cards at a first level of the expansion card mounting assembly are off-set from expansion cards at another level of the expans

Assignees

• Amazon Tech Inc

Inventors

• Beall Christopher Strickland
• Gutierrez Felipe Enrique Ortega
• Giroux Brandyn David
• Frink Darin Lee
• Harland Jason Alexander
• Rivnay Roey
• Wishman Max Jesse
• Lee Yangtzu Lee Andrew

Classifications

• G06F1/185 Primary

  Mounting of expansion boards · CPC title

• H05K7/1417

  having securing means for mounting boards, plates or wiring boards (H05K7/1461 takes precedence) · CPC title

• H05K7/20727

  within server blades for removing heat from heat source · CPC title