DE19937615A1 - Computer case - Google Patents

Abstract

The increasing spread of LCD / TFT flat monitors underlines the necessity to reduce the desk space requirement and thus also the still voluminous office computer system / work stations. In addition, with the usual PC housings, the rear external cable connections / connections are open, visible and often bothersome in terms of appearance and technology. DOLLAR A A universal, compact, easily accessible computer housing with foot, at the same time cable / air duct for the integration of standard components, which consists of two housing halves with a suitable component arrangement / grouping (in so-called mainboard / device Partial halves), which can be opened / closed against each other, closed, dismantled and also expanded. DOLLAR A 50% (half) volume savings and contact area of approx. DIN A4 size or smaller. DOLLAR A In addition to this basic housing, various expansion modules can be attached. DOLLAR A The fields of application are by no means limited to PC applications with Intel CPUs, but also extend to all other computer systems (RISC systems etc.); In this case, only the main part of the motherboard needs to be modified, whereas the part of the device can be retained with the standard storage media devices that are used in almost all computer systems. Effort and costs can be reduced.

Description

I. State of the art and task

As mobile computers become smaller, such as notebooks and the like. a., as well as increasing distribution the LCD / TFT flat monitors also become the standard office computers / workstations Desire and the demand for less space on the desk more and more clearly. A new standard like the so-called micro-ATX standard, which is reduced by reducing the number of slots standard 7 (seven) to 4 (four) and by reduced power supply dimensions (also their Performance) comes about, but brings with the usual computer cases due to the unchanged, previously usual arrangement and construction only little volume savings (approx. 15 to 20%). The advantages here are certainly in the cost savings instead of the volume savings constant scope of services.

The invention relates to universally applicable, compact computer housings of a different kind Construction and arrangement, without any restrictions or reductions, i. H. under Use of only standard components in the basic version up to 50% volume savings compared to previous standard computer cases possible Despite the compact dimensions, the housing is still very easily accessible. Beyond that the contact area is reduced to a space-saving A4 size for the desk.

One of the main criteria of the invention in the exemplary embodiments described here applies primarily that the widely used standard components and no special to be used for installation in the housing, although in principle no special components Show restriction.

In addition to these properties, there are various other relevant criteria and objectives - as described below - to track and implement.

• a) Extensive universality and flexibility for wide applications / uses
• b) compactness and accessibility, d. H. despite its compact dimensions, it must be a simple one Disassembly / opening of the housing and easy access to the component when Installation / removal may be possible
• c) Modular expansion options with additional modules if required
• d) Sufficient statics / stability of the housing
• e) Adequate heat dissipation from the inside of the housing
• f) Good shielding of electromagnetic radiation (EMC / CE conformity)  
• g) use of the housing base and housing cover as an integral unit, which can also include various other functions or devices; for example
  • - As a cable duct for extensive elimination of the disturbing visual impression
  • - as speaker boxes in the context of multi-media applications
  • - For an additional increase in EM shielding and noise reduction as well
  • - to accommodate devices for fresh air supply or heat dissipation
  • - etc. etc.

On the rear part of the usual PC case there are open external cable connections or Connections visible and optically as well as technically often disturbing, especially when the computer with the many open cable connections on the desk. The invention eliminates at the same time this disadvantage.

II. Subject of the Invention prolog

To provide a clear assignment of the invention described in the figures To be able to give objects (components, parts etc.) that are here in different Subchapters are mentioned, but are listed together in the figures these are subsequently cataloged and indexed in accordance with the subsection number; becomes a Item x in chap. II.Y described, the supposed object would with the Indication numbering marked according to the formula "Yxx" and not easy consecutively numbered to make it easier to follow the relation back and forth can

II.1 Basic housing

The invention solves the problem of compactness in such a way that - deviating from the previous, conventionally rigid designs and arrangements of the usual computer case - the computer case described here consists of two halves and groupings and arrangements, the components to be installed arranged in such a way that

• - the mainboard including the CPUs, RAM, all add-ons - Cards etc. on a part of the half (so-called mainboard part-half - more in Chapter II.3), while
• - All storage media devices (so-called drives) and the power supply on the other half (so-called half of the device - more in Chapter II.4)

be accommodated in order to use all available free spaces efficiently.  

Also deviating from the usual computer cases, all cable connections and I / O connections are no longer on the rear part of the case, but either on the side (in the case of a lying desktop version) or at the bottom in the case foot (in the case of a standing one) Tower version), whereby the housing foot can also serve as a cable duct for optical coverage as well as for other purposes (see Fig. 5 - Details in Chapter II.7).

In the exemplary embodiments shown here, each half of the housing consists - for the sake of simplicity - of three sides which can be formed

• - An L-shaped base plate and
• - A front or rear panel, which is on the vertical face of the above. L-shaped Base plate is detachably connected,

d. H. the half of the case is a three-sided "half" cuboid, so to speak, with the put together another "half" cuboid results in a completely closed cuboid.

P. S. Another version or design variant of the housing part half is conceivable and not only limited to the "three-sided" corner shape - as a "half" cuboid - such as an asymmetrical variant of "two-sided" and "four-sided" housing halves u. v. a .. However, in order not to unnecessarily complicate the matter, we will elaborate on the following examples only of the three-sided corner shape version of the partial housing halves with removable Front / back.

As in Fig. 1 u. 4 outlined and in Fig. 2 u. 3 shown in more detail, these two halves of the housing, which must be able to be opened, closed, and separated for accessibility, can be locked and separated on the diagonally opposite edges (A and C in Fig. 1, 2 or 4) of the L-shaped base plates connected as a whole by the connecting mechanisms (501, 502 - Fig. 4) attached to it, ie to form a compact, but accessible, completely closed housing, which is referred to here as the basic housing.

Beyond this compact basic version, which is only a limited one for compromise reasons The number of devices that can be accommodated are - if required - modular extensions for additional ones Devices, devices or the like possible (for details see Chapter II.6).

As can be seen in Fig. 4, the top of the housing, which is covered by the removable housing cover ( 601 ), is intended for attaching various expansion modules ( 600 ); the housing base ( 700 ) also functions as a cable duct for EM shielding and for covering the visible external cable connections and connections. Both the housing cover and the housing foot can also accommodate other functions (see Fig. 5).

II.2 Housing halves

The two housing halves are always in the following embodiments Mainboard part half (chap. II.3) and device half (chap. II.4) differentiated and labeled.

Important note

In the exemplary embodiments when converting from inch dimensions to metric, the Result number always rounded up to avoid misjudgments.

II.3 Half of the mainboard

First and foremost, the dimensions of the largest possible mainboard to be installed determine the universality and flexibility of the basic version of the housing to be constructed here. Taking into account extensive universality and broad application options compromises must still be made between compactness and universality.

In order to enable the greatest possible universality of operations - already in the basic version - will be discussed later in Chap. II.4 on the basis of various case studies through considerations and compromises the optimal dimensions of the basic version to accommodate as many and as many as possible used, customary mainboard sizes determined.

P. S. The width of a standard ATX mainboard is standardized to 12 "/ 305 mm and only differs its length or depth, depending on the presence of the "onboard" integrated component and depending on Manufacturer layout can be different.

The rigidly shaped L-shaped base plate of the main half of the main board ( 300 ) (see Fig. 3 and 2) is used to hold the ATX main board including add-on cards with their mounting panels. The ATX mainboard ( 310 ) is fastened on the base side and recesses / openings including recess fastenings of the I / O slot covers ( 306 ) are accommodated on the vertical side for the purpose of any connection connections to the outside; these connections are already standardized on the ATX mainboard with the integrated standard I / O ports ( 304 ), the dimensions of the ATX opening cover ( 305 ) and the openings of the 7 (seven) slot slots are also standardized - / Outputs ( 306 ) of the AddOn cards ( 307 ).

The highest components on the mainboard - with the exception of the plug-in add-on cards ( 307 ) - are the PII / III CPUS ( 301 , 302 ) and the SDRAM memory modules ( 303 ), whose heights when determining the housing width are always to be considered.

The face perpendicular to the L-shaped base plate can be either front or Flashback of the case serve; however, this bezel should be for better accessibility always be removable as needed.

The design, dimensions and holes of the L-shaped mainboard motherboard must meet the usual norm of the so-called standard ATX and -BAT mainboard with 7 (seven) Slots slots and cutouts correspond and are not explained in more detail here.

P. S. Which material and type (whether folded sheets, extruded profiles etc.) should be used cannot be discussed here since this is not part of the subject matter of the invention.

II.4 Half of the device

The half of the device ( 400 ) (see Fig. 2 or 3) is constructed analogously to the half of the mainboard and also consists of an L-shaped base plate and a side perpendicular to it as a front or rear panel.

All storage media devices (so-called 5.25 "and 3.5" drives) are located on this part of the device. and the standard ATX power supply in PS2 format (standard dimensions approx. 150 × 150 × 85 mm).

In order to optimize space, the devices to be installed should be grouped according to the arrangements shown in Fig. 2:

• - The widest 5.25 "devices ( 401 , 402 ) are first attached to the locations of the L-corner
• - The narrower 3.5 "devices ( 403 to 405 ) are arranged one below the other and
• - Finally, the ATX power supply ( 406 ) then lies horizontally, with its lowest dimension height attached to the base plate.
• - Behind the above devices, there are still spaces on the base plate for the 3.5 "devices (9 in total) that are not accessible from the outside. These 3.5" devices with a 1 "height ( 407 to 415 ) should be flat on both sides of the L plate.

PS The 3.5 "devices ( 407 to 415 ) designated here as" not "accessible from the outside can, if necessary, also be designed as accessible through corresponding openings on the respective adjacent outside, ie at the rear or on the side.

The number of storage media devices, particularly the 5.25 "devices, is a result of Compromises and trade-offs between the largest possible motherboard sizes, which are used in wide applications and the acceptable size of the Base housing, d. H. between universality and compactness; in this regard are below the optimal basic dimensions are determined using a few case studies.  

Since the depth of the case has already been determined by the standard standard width (12 "/ 305 mm) of the ATX mainboard, only the calculations for the height and width of the case to be determined in the basic version are made in the following exemplary embodiments shown (see Fig. 2 and 3):

In the case of X times 5.25 "devices (1.7" height and 6 "width) and Y times 3.5" devices (1 "height and 4" width) as well as a standard ATX power supply in PS2 -Format (approx. 150 mm × 150 mm × 85 mm) the housing height (at first without considering other tolerances and the foot / cable duct height) is at least

H min = X x 1.7 "+ Y x 1" + 150 mm

As in the later chap. II.7 is shown, one needs for the optical coverage of all disturbing and visible external cable connections a so-called cable duct, which also serves as a base for the housing becomes. In addition to the basic height of the housing specified here, the height of the housing foot must be or the cable duct of 50 mm should be added.

example 1

In the case of only 1 × 5.25 "+ 2 × 3.5" externally accessible devices - as in Fig. 3 - according to the equation given above, a minimum housing height of H min = 1 × 1.7 "+ 2 × 1 "+ 150 mm = 3.7" + 150 mm = 244 mm required.

Alternatively, the following cases are taken into account when determining the housing width, namely

• - either the width of the 5.25 "device plus the maximum height of the components on the mainboard
• - or the height of the ATX power supply (85 mm) plus the height of the one standing vertically on the mainboard Pentium-II / III CPUs (approx. 80 mm above the mainboard);
• - As a special case, a reduction in the size of the power supply, e.g. B. Use of micro ATX power supply (approx. 70 mm height - instead of 85 mm for PS2 format) can also be considered.

In the first case, larger motherboards can be installed, but at the expense of the case width and in the second and in the special case, you get a narrower housing width (and thus smaller Contact surface), but only shallower motherboard depth, as the case examples below show:

Case 1 (see Fig. 2)

In this case, the highest components on the mainboard, which are below / to the side of the 5.25 "device with 6" / 153 mm width ( 401 , 402 ), are the standing SDRAM memory modules ( 303 ). If the height of the memory module was a maximum of 40 mm, the housing width would be approx. (6 "+ 40 mm + approx. 10 mm tolerance) = approx. 203 mm.

However, the entire housing height (minus 15 mm recess depth of the slot cover attachment) can be used to install the mainboard. According to the example above (only 1 × 5.25 "+ 2 × 3.5") and taking into account the I / O indentation depth ( 306 ) of 15 mm, an ATX mainboard with a depth of up to (244 mm - 15 mm ) = 229 mm can be used.

In this case, the housing dimensions are at least W × H × D = 203 mm × 244 mm × 320 mm.  

Case 2 (see Fig. 3)

The highest components, which are below the ATX power supply ( 406 ), are the vertical P-II / III CPUs ( 301 ) with their heat sinks and fans; the CPU height is approx. 80 mm above the mainboard. The housing width to be determined would then be (80 mm + 85 mm + 10 mm tolerance) = approx. 175 mm. This width can easily accommodate the 5.25 "device ( 402 ) with a width of 6" / 153 mm, but with the rest of only (175 mm - 153 mm) = 12 mm there is no more space for the ATX Motherboard.

In this case, the greatest possible ATX motherboard depth results from the dimensions of the power supply ( 406 ) plus the two 2 × 3.5 "devices ( 403 , 404 ) minus 15 mm indentation depth ( 306 ) and is therefore limited to a maximum (150 mm + 2 × 1 "- 15 mm) = approx. 186 mm limited.

In comparison to the first case, the housing dimensions here are W × H × D = 175 mm × 244 mm × 320 mm has a volume saving of approx. 13.8%, but at the expense of the maximum possible motherboard Depth from previously 229 mm to only 186 mm.

To achieve greater universality, since the often used, commercially available ATX mainboard depths 200 mm, it certainly makes more sense if the housing height by 16 mm to (244 mm + 16 mm) = 260 mm is enlarged so that all ATX mainboards to a depth of (186 mm + 16 mm) = 202 mm can be included; this increases the volume by only about 6.5%. More meaningful The dimensions are therefore W × H × D = 175 mm × 260 mm × 320 mm (without feet) or 175 mm × 310 mm × 320 mm (with feet).

Special case

Using power supplies with smaller dimensions, such as. B. Micro-ATX power supply with a reduced size of approx. 100 mm × 100 mm × 70 mm, the housing width can be reduced to approx. 165 mm and this gives the additional advantage that additional 2 × 3.5 "devices on the vacated space (between 404 and now reduced power supply 406 - see Fig. 3) of (150 mm - 100 mm) = 50 mm, ie approx. 2 × 1 ", so that a total of 4 × 3.5 "- instead of only 2 × 3.5" - accessible devices can be installed.

In addition to the inaccessible devices of only one layer (due to the smaller width) with 3 × 3.5 "( 411 , 412 , 413 ), the housing still has enough storage capacity for the devices to be installed, totaling 1 × 5.25" plus 7 × 3.5 "; this is certainly completely sufficient for normal applications, such as office applications etc., especially since the dimensions climb dimensions of W × H × D = 165 mm × 260 mm × 320 mm and thus also a reduced contact area that is smaller than A4 size is accepted.

Despite the base of the housing, the dimensions enlarged by 50 mm are W x H x D = 165 mm x 310 mm x 320 mm still small enough for any desk application.

If there is a need to install additional 5.25 "devices, additional expansion modules (see Fig. 4 and Chapter II.6) can still be installed later.

Example 2

In order to be able to give the housing the greatest possible universality for various uses, it is It makes more sense if to determine the optimal basic housing dimensions retrospectively from the most commonly used, common dimensions of the commercial ATX mainboaras is assumed.

P. S. In order not to unnecessarily enlarge the dimensions of the housing in the basic version, mainboards are with so-called full / over-size dimensions that are rarely used and only special market niches prove, not considered.

The majority of the ATX mainboards on the market with 12 "/ 305 mm standard width has different depths, from approx. 6.7 "/ 170 mm to approx. 11.5" / 293 mm, the most common be around 200 mm; with the selected maximum depth of 293 mm, various mainboard Versions with single / dual CPUs as well as with / without onboard integrated SCSI, LAN, sound etc. already considered.

Assuming this maximum value for the motherboard depth of 293 mm, one could provisionally determined minimum housing height of initially (293 mm + 15 mm) = 308 mm as Starting point can be chosen.

The following number of devices could be placed on the part of the device (see Fig. 2) with this height:

The total height of (2 × 5.25 "+ 3 × 3.5" + ATX power supply) next to each other would have a place of approx. (2 × 1.7 "+ 3 × 1" + 150 mm) = 313 mm, i.e. H. it would be higher than that originally selected; therefore an increase in the minimum housing height by 7 mm to 315 mm (instead of 308 mm as originally selected) makes more sense.

Accordingly, the limit of the maximum possible motherboard depth increases to (293 mm + 7 mm) = 300 mm, which increases the universality and flexibility of the housing.

P. S. The older mainboard standard the so-called Baby-AT format (BAT abbreviated) with a standard width from 8.6 "/ 219 mm and depth up to max. 300 mm can also be used here, since both BAT- ATX mainboards have the same standard for the I / O / slots of the AddOn cards. The mainboard part half should therefore also have appropriate mounting holes for ATX and BAT mainboards. The possibility - also older BAT- Using motherboards - additionally increases the universality and flexibility of the case.

To determine the housing width, the calculation already shown above in case 1 must be consulted; the width determined there is equal to 205 mm. This results in a rounded basic dimension of W × H × D = 205 mm × 315 mm × 320 mm and with a housing base / cable duct of 50 mm height, the total housing height increases to (315 mm + 50 mm) = 365 mm, ie to a final basic dimension of W × H × D = 205 mm × 365 mm × 320 mm.

Alternative case

If the housing foot is included, another alternative option is offered, the Place ATX power supply protruding into the housing foot / cable duct.

By turning the power supply unit by 94 ° (clockwise) on the base plate, the fan opening, switch and power connector of the power supply unit are also turned 90 ° to the side. The part of the power supply unit protruding into the housing base by 50 mm contains the switch and the mains connection socket, so that the switch now facing away from the rear and the mains connection socket of the power supply unit are freely accessible, and the power supply cable to be inserted in it is now parallel to the housing floor lies and the initially necessary bend of this power cable is omitted (cf. the original position of the power supply unit 406 facing downwards towards the floor with the mains connection socket 701 and switch 702 - in FIG. 5).

For the fan opening of the power supply, which is now inside through 90 °, there is approx. 20-30 mm distance (to AGP graphics or to 3.5 "devices lying flat) for the air duct either directly to the outside in the side panel or further down in the base can lead to.

Other considerations regarding the power supply and heat dissipation are discussed later in Chap. II.8 dealt with in detail.

Since there are no more components on the underside of the power supply, the effectively gained space of 50 mm (equal to approx. 2 × 1 ") can be used for additional 2 × 3.5" devices, so that a total of 5 × 3.5 "accessible devices (instead of initially only 3 × 3.5") are possible. According to Fig. 2, there is free space for the two additional 3.5 "devices between the lowest 3.5" device ( 405 ) and the power supply unit ( 406 ) which is shifted down by 50 mm.

The maximum recording capacity is now 2 × 5.25 "plus (3 + 2 + 9) = 14 × 3.5" devices.

Optimized basic version

Fig. 2 shows a version of the complete basic version (W × H × D = 205 mm × 365 mm × 320 mm) with standard ATX power supply and ATX mainboard up to 300 mm deep, the arrangement and placement of the devices and of the mainboard and the accessibility of these components due to the fact that the two halves of the housing can be opened / separated.

Without the alternative case mentioned above, the following is shown in Fig. 2, on the device half ( 400 ):

• - 2 × 5.25 "( 401 , 402 ) and 3 × 3.5" ( 403 , 404 , 405 ) devices as well as the ATX power supply ( 406 ) as well
• - The three layers of flat 3 × (2 × 3.5 ") devices ( 407 to 412 ) and
• - Another 3 × 3.5 "devices ( 413 to 415 ) behind the two 5.25" devices ( 401 , 402 )

and on the motherboard part half (

300

):

• - ATX mainboard ( 310 ) with the associated CPUs ( 301 , 302 ), memory modules ( 303 ) etc.
• - Location of the onboard integrated I / O ports ( 304 ) with the opening panel ( 305 ) as well
• - Location of the (seven in total) AddOn cards ( 307 ) with the I / O slot outputs ( 306 )

Other variants of a minimal version with only 1 × 5.25 "device (see Fig. 3) can have the following dimensions (incl. Housing foot) and capacities:

• a) with standard ATX power supply and standard ATX mainboard (up to 200 mm depth) - W × H × D = 175 × 310 × 320 mm (max. 6 × or 8 × 3.5 "in the alternative case)
• b) with micro ATX power supply and standard ATX mainboard (up to 200 mm depth) - W × H × D = 165 × 310 × 320 mm (max. 8 × or 10 × 3.5 "in the alternative case)
• c) with micro ATX power supply and micro ATX mainboard (W × D = 240 mm × 200 mm) - W × H × D = 165 × 310 × 260 mm (max. 3 × or 5 × 3.5 "in the alternative case)

In addition to this capacity for a special system structure, such as CDROM servers, RAID systems, etc., there are also options for installing more devices beyond this basic version using expansion modules (see Fig. 4 - Details in Chapter II .6).

Conclusion

As shown in the exemplary embodiments, an optimal dimension size in the basic Version of W × H × D = 205 mm × 365 mm × 320 mm (housing base / cable duct included) already are sufficient to largely meet the demand for universality and compactness.

The base area or contact area of this basic housing of 205 mm × 320 mm corresponds is approximately a A4 size (210 mm × 297 mm) and a housing height of 365 mm also no higher than the usual display monitors on the desk.

In addition to eliminating the visible, optically disturbing external cable connections, this compact and quasi universal basic version with W × H × D = 205 mm × 365 mm × 320 mm can be removed

• - Both all commercially available ATX / BAT mainboards to a depth of 300 mm
• - as well as a total of 2 × 5.25 "plus a maximum of 14 × 3.5" devices.

Such recording capacity corresponds to the capacity of a conventional big tower housing (with W × H × D = approx. 190 mm × 630 mm × 430 mm). Not just one will be compared to this Volume savings of over 50%, but also acceptable for desk use Support area of approx. A4 size reached.  

A compact computer workstation with a small footprint - as shown here - and - combined with modern space-saving TFT flat monitors - is for everyone Desk inserts an ideal prerequisite.

The variety of previous housing shapes with a predefined size (mini, midi, big tower, etc.) is therefore no longer applicable, since the basic housing can be flexibly and modularly expanded or enlarged (see Fig. 4); diversity reduction also saves costs in many ways.

II.5 Link mechanism

In order to meet the criteria for easy accessibility with this compact housing, the two housing halves mentioned above - device and mainboard part halves - must be easy to open and close against each other (see Fig. 1, 2 and 4).

There are various options for realizing this requirement: a simple hinge Mechanism in the form of hooked sheet metal hooks in a sheet metal slot and the closing by directly screwing the two halves of the housing together, for example the above Also serve the purpose, but you can only open it in one direction.

A more flexible solution is the use of e.g. B. commercially available hinge strips for various purposes are already offered on the market. Such hinge connection mechanisms can e.g. B. also in the case of housing manufacture as part of the base plates be designed and integrated.

P. S. Which type, shape and construction of these connection mechanisms the above required Properties fulfilled, is left to each individual housing manufacturer and is not Object of this invention; it will only be one of the many feasible solutions here shown as an embodiment.

Each half of the housing ( 300 , 400 ) is equipped with these hinge strips ( 501 , 502 ) at the edges to be connected diagonally (A and C in Fig. 4), whereby either both wing sides of the movable hinged hinge strips must be screwed to the half of the housing , or be designed so that only one of the two sides of the wing is attached by screwing, while the other is firmly connected to the respective half of the housing (e.g. by welding); the two halves of the housing can hereby be opened, closed and also separated.

The housing base ( 700 ), which can be opened for accessibility, as shown in Fig. 4, can e.g. B. on the edge B (the motherboard part half) with the hinge strip ( 503 ) and accordingly on the edge D (the device part half) with the hinge strip ( 504 ) the intended expansion module ( 600 ) is attached.

However, the edge B is only suitable if the housing foot can be opened laterally; but if that If the direction of opening to the front / back is desired, another direction perpendicular to edge B must be used Edge on the bottom of the housing.

Accordingly, it also applies to the attachment and folding direction of the following chapter expansion modules mentioned on the top of the housing.

II.6 Extension modules

For even more universality - such as B. Build CDROM servers or RAID systems with exchangeable hard drive removable frames in 5.25 "dimensions etc. - must be able to give additional expansion options beyond the basic version are planned.

So that the expansion modules - flexibly as required - can be attached directly to the top of the basic housing (see Fig. 4), the upper housing cover ( 601 ) must be designed to be removable; because the intended devices should be hidden under the removable housing cover:

• - Suitable attachment / fastening mechanism (e.g. 504) for the expansion modules
• - Existing openings for flat cable connections and power supplies for the devices.

Without expansion, the existing openings and the fastening mechanism are always invisibly covered by the removable cover ( 601 ); in the case of extensions, this cover is removed and, after the desired extension modules ( 600 ) have been attached, it can be used again as the cover of the top module (see Fig. 4 - right).

Due to the uniformity, the dimensions of the expansion modules should be the width and depth of the Assume housing, however, the height can be varied as desired.

PS Which design and unit height the respective expansion module has, whether only intended for one or several 5.25 "devices, is left to each manufacturer and is not the subject of the invention; this also applies to the design and construction of the required here Attachment / mounting mechanisms ( 504 ).

II.7 Covering the external cable connections and connections

In contrast to the conventional computer housings, all cable connections and connections that lead to the outside are no longer at the back as usual, but either

• - on the side in the case of DeskTop (horizontal version) or
• - below in the case of tower (standing version).

II.7.a cable duct

To the disruptive visual impression due to the open and visible outdoor cables to be able to largely eliminate connections - as with the usual PC housings - these must be covered.

In addition, since a cover for the external connections also covers the (electromagnetic) EM shielding can improve, the cover should if possible an EM Have conductivity; this cover is either made entirely of metal or made of other material with conductive coating that makes electrical contact with the has remaining housing to realize.

With the cable duct cover, you pursue various objectives at the same time

• - Better optical design thanks to invisible cable connections
• - improved EM shielding as well
• - Reduced fan noise, since the cover is also an air duct
• - etc. etc.

The construction of this invention enables many functions to be combined integral unit.

II.7.b housing foot

In the case of a standing tower version, in which all external cable connections and connections are on the underside of the housing, the cable duct can also be the housing base ( 700 ) as well as for the integration of e.g. B. loudspeaker box can be used and designed accordingly (see Fig. 4 and 5).

As can be seen from Fig. 2, 3 or 5, almost all I / O connections ( 305 , 306 ) to be covered belong to the mainboard part half; the only exception is the mains connection ( 701 ) of the power supply unit ( 416 ) located on the half of the device. However, all cable connections - in the closed housing state - are without exception on the underside of the housing, namely in the housing base, which is both a cable duct and an air duct.

Taking into account the indentation depth of the I / O port location of 15 mm a selected height for a housing foot of 50 mm - d. H. effective 65 mm - be sufficient to accommodate all leads with their bends can.

In order to provide easy access due to the fact that it can be opened and closed (see Fig. 4), the base of the housing - at least at one of the edges - should be provided with a hinge mechanism ( 503 ) or other opening mechanisms so that access to those inside is possible at all times Cable connections can be guaranteed. It is free and is up to everyone which folding direction the housing foot should take, whether it can be folded to the side or to the front / back.

An exemplary embodiment of the housing base is shown in Fig. 5, whereby the integration of the loudspeaker (see Chapter II.7.c below) and an inclination of the entire computer housing (as a result of the considerations made in Chapter II.8) are already increasing see is. In this embodiment, the housing foot has the shape of an oblique section of a half-hollow cylinder, so that the contact surface forms a "triangle", so to speak; Smaller mid / high-range loudspeakers can be attached to the side cylinder surfaces and the "triangle" shape of the foot should enable the direction of their stereo radiation to be directed separately, sideways and to some extent to the front. As in Chap. II.7.c justified, only a woofer is used here.

A (triangular) plane formed by 3 (instead of 4) points as a support surface has certain advantages, such as the easy adjustability of the angle of inclination over only one point, e.g. B. using a single adjusting screw at the front support point (705 - Fig. 5). The relevant meaning of the angle of inclination will be described later in Chap. II.8 shown.

P. S. Each individual chooses the design and shape for the housing base left and is not the subject of the invention; it will only be here the available options are shown.

II.7.c loudspeaker box

In the multi-media and internet applications that have been widespread recently - whereby not only picture but also sound is an important aspect - is a loudspeaker (Sound reproduction device) part of the computer system; most of the speaker Unfortunately, boxes are still separated from the computer system as a separate extra part Except for the so-called multi-media monitors, which contain integrated loudspeakers.  

Each extra part - separate speaker boxes standing next to the computer system - requires additional space on the desk; the reduction achieved the support surface of the new computer case would be separated by extra boxes severely impaired.

It is therefore obvious that the present housing foot (W × H × D = 205 × 50 × 320 mm) Volume size with approx. 3 liters is sufficiently large, at the same time as an integrated loudspeaker Use boxes as with multi-media monitors.

P. S. An acceptable sound - especially with low tones - requires a sufficient minimum Volume size as a soundboard and compared to the high frequencies is the low frequency source poorly localized by the human ear.

For most applications - with the exception of high-quality music playback - it is sufficient if only one bass speaker is integrated in the base of the housing (see note above). As Fig. 5 shows, z. B. as a woofer a flat / oval speaker version ( 711 ) with a diameter less than 200 mm foot width, which is attached at an angle, and two or more small speakers (whose diameter is less than 50 mm foot height) as a mid / tweeter of both stereo -Channels can be integrated laterally.

An alternative option is to attach the loudspeakers (as well as other devices, such as an Internet camera, microphone, etc. for a video conference) in the housing cover (601 - Fig. 4) as an expansion special module (see Chap II.6). An advantage could be used in this case, since the larger content of the entire computer housing - connected to the interior of the housing due to the existing cable openings - can be used as a resonance volume.

P. S. How this is to be designed is not the subject of the invention; only the existing construction possibilities indicated.

II.7.d air duct

The additional function of the housing foot (see Fig. 5) as a channel for fresh air supply and also for heat dissipation from the immediate power supply unit is described at the end of the following chap. II.8 treated. The top of the housing (see Fig. 4), which is intended for expansion modules (Section II.6), also offers numerous design options for various heat dissipation devices.

In addition, the shielding effect of the housing foot / air duct enables reduced fan noise development.  

II.8 heat dissipation process

Although with the standard components with the greatest heat developments, such as Power supplies and CPUs, already provided with their own fan blowers and also for the temperatures of the CPUs and mainboard as well as for the speed speeds the fan has already integrated monitoring sensors on today's mainboard and with appropriate electronics control and monitor software (value / alarm display etc.) is the important physical aspect of good heat dissipation nevertheless not to be neglected, especially with the compact design here Computer case. Therefore, this aspect is examined again in more detail here analyzed; The aim is to find a better solution.

Computer components with the greatest heat development are generally those CPU, the power supply and the mainboard as well as the built-in add-on cards; across from components such as floppies, hard disks, CDROMs etc. can be neglected.

There are two versions of the standard ATX power supplies available

• - the inside suction and the outside or
• - The version that exhausts and can be blown inside.

As already mentioned in Chap. II.4 mentioned, the CPUs (single / dual) and the ATX power supply are arranged one above the other so that the power supply fan

• - either the warm indoor air leads outside via the power pack, d. H. the power supply is cooled with warmer CPU air
• - or blows inwards onto the heat sink of the CPU, d. H. the CPUs are cooled with warmer PSU air.

Both versions - though not optimal - seem to be suitable for this warmth development problem, although in both cases warmer air (with less Temperature gradient) is used for cooling because of the individual Equipping the CPUs and the power supply with their own fan blowers is essential larger convection current or a higher exchange rate of air matter takes place.

Nevertheless, further analyzes and considerations for optimizing the Heat dissipation inside the housing:  

CPU cooler

On closer inspection, the usual standard version of a free-standing CPU Cooler not the most effective function, since its fan generates the warm air generated in the Interior has only partly circulated, due to the short present Distance between inlet and outlet the warm air deflected by the heat sink is sucked in again immediately.

This has the consequence that the higher temperature difference necessary for good cooling is always reduced; d. that is, this freestanding, open type is created a constant "heat short circuit", so to speak.

A simple solution to the problem of reducing this "heat short circuit" is one Extending the distance between the fan inlet and outlet, and around it avoid, there must be a complete separation, which is associated with greater effort is.

A possible reduction could e.g. B. by an additional, extended air duct done, which is placed tightly on the inlet opening of the CPU fan and directly with the CPU heat sink is screwed; for the suction point of this air duct the following cases should be considered.

With ATX power supply unit that exhausts inside

The suction point of this extra CPU air duct should be as close as possible to the closest one Open outside wall; in this case the front panel. Here the fan Noise development can be disadvantageous because the front panel is directly in front of the user.

A strong noise is usually caused by strong air turbulence and is often amplified by resonances; therefore this aspect should be considered in the design are always observed.

The location between the CPU mounting bracket and should also be considered the immediate AGP graphics card, which has a spatial distance of approx. 15-20 mm. In this case, the fresh air coming in and drawn in from the housing foot can cool the AGP graphics card at the same time if the duct wall is an open U-shape designed and attached with the U opening to the graphics card.

Any noise generated by the shielding effect of the housing Feet are largely reduced.  

With ATX power supply that can be blown inside

In this case, the suction point of the extra CPU channel can be directly in front of the inflatable Power supply fans are attached so that an increase in air duct flow for CPU cooling arises because the two fan blowers (of the CPU and power supply) mutually reinforce their effects in the transportation of air matter; furthermore is there is a certain redundancy if one of the two fans fails.

P. S. What type and shape of fresh air ducts and fastening mechanisms on the CPU fan / cooler to be used is left to each manufacturer and is not Subject of the invention.

Position of the electronics boards inside the housing

In the following, the different positions of the electronics boards inside the Housing considered and analyzed:

In the case of desktop execution, the conditions are exactly as in the usual ones Standard PC cases - mainboard board horizontal and all add-on cards perpendicular to it; as the analysis of hot air convection at the end of this chapter shows this constellation is disadvantageous.

However, in the case of the tower version of the computer case described here
all electronic boards - ie all add-on cards and mainboards - without exception in a vertical position (see Fig. 2 or 3);
This constellation is very advantageous due to the so-called "chimney effect".

P. S. The so-called "heat accumulation" is nothing other than the formation of locally static heat gradient Stratification without the possibility of dynamic exchange of the air matter (e.g. through blocked supply or discharge); on the other hand, the so-called "chimney effect" is - viewed locally - still a thermal gradient stratification, but here is a constant, dynamic Exchange of air matter instead. Any horizontal, parallel to the thermal gradient layer lying surface therefore always favors heat build-up, if for any reason the dynamic exchange of air matter is hindered.

Although in this case all the important electronic boards are already in a vertical position Location, both the fresh air supply and the heat dissipation be guaranteed:  

At the lowest point (see Fig. 5 and 3) of the housing, i.e. on the main half of the mainboard, where all I / O connections are led out and covered by the housing base / cable duct, additional air supply openings (such as perforations , Slots or the like). The places in question are the various places between the I / O slot covers ( 801 ), above the AddOn cards ( 802 ), above the ATX I / O cover ( 803 ) and below the mainboard ( 804 ).

In the usual computer housings, the gaps ( 801 ) between the add-on cards to be installed must always be sealed with the I / O blinds leading to the outside due to EM shielding; however, these gaps form a so-called "dead water" point for air flow, ie a potential heat accumulation point, due to the sealing.

In the case shown in this invention, however, the EM shielding is already ensured by the case foot / cable duct, so that these otherwise sealed points between the I / O slot covers (801- Fig. 5. in the form of parallel, elongated slots ) can be left open for the fresh air supply coming from the housing base; As a result, the vertical AddOn cards can be evenly supplied with fresh air in this housing, because old gaps delimited by the AddOn cards, mainboard and devices above them now form vertical air channels with air supply openings at the bottom, such as a fireplace.

At the highest point of the housing, which is covered by the housing cover (601 - Fig. 4), appropriate air discharge devices should be provided.

As in Chap. II.6 mentioned, the detachable housing cover ( 601 ) at the highest point of the housing serves not only for the purpose of optically covering the connection mechanisms located there, but also at the same time for EM shielding of the recessed openings for cable feedthroughs of the expansion modules. These existing opening connections allow and facilitate the implementation and attachment of various air discharge devices in the housing cover, since warm air can rise up through this opening.

The warm air with the highest temperature will be the highest in these Collect the lid space, d. H. Collection container for the rising warm air, and can via air discharge devices attached there, such as perforations with passive or active cooling units etc. can be discharged directly to the outside. A special one Cooling unit such as large-volume heat exchanger or the like, if necessary, can be used as Expansion module can also be attached.  

Location of the entire computer case including contents

Another consideration is how heat dissipation can be improved the appropriate location of the computer case with all the content in it.

A rotation or inclined inclination of the entire housing including the contents, which here, for. B. is easy to implement with an inclined housing foot (see Fig. 5), provides - viewed from various aspects - additional advantages in heat dissipation, as will be analyzed and justified below.

A dynamic movement of warm air (so-called convection) that has arisen automatically, is only due to the differences in air density, i.e. H. through the temperature / density gradient caused.

The various electronic parts / components always generate during operation Energy / heat with higher temperatures than the ambient air and the existing ones Temperature differences only allow heat conduction / release to the ambient air. Because air density depends on temperature and warmer air (with lower density and higher temperature) always moves vertically upwards, the vertically emerging Warm air convection current can pass as freely as possible.

A horizontal surface that is parallel to the gradient layers and therefore perpendicular to the flow direction creates the greatest flow resistance and rather favors a static density gradient without material exchange (so-called heat build-up) as a slanted surface that is not parallel to gradient layers.

For this reason, there is an inclined position of all those inside the housing, both Electronics boards as well as devices are always more advantageous than the usual position of a vertical standing computer case, with many of the devices and components - predominantly or even partially - lie horizontally.

Although in the case shown here all add-on cards and mainboard Already standing vertically, some components and devices are still horizontal. An oblique inclination or rotation of the entire housing to the rear - z. B. by a sloping housing foot - allows a position that all the equipment inside and components always form an angle to the horizontal plane, d. H. also to the Layers of heat / density gradients.  

In addition, there is a slight inclination of the computer when operating the devices to the rear - as with monitors - more ergonomic and always more pleasant for them User.

An oblique inclination of the entire housing is the best compromise and that Solution to ergonomics and optimal heat convection inside the housing enable.

Suggestions and comments

It is certainly useful and desirable if computer power supplies are also in Standard standard width of the 5.25 "devices are manufactured; 5.25" UPS would also make sense. Today's technology already enables even smaller 3.5 "standard widths.

Such commercially available, standardized 5.25 "power supplies - instead of in PS2 format - would be an ideal prerequisite for many of the problem solutions to be pursued here, such as B.

• - Great uniformity in the attachment and arrangement of all devices
• - direct installation of the power supply at the top, any 5.25 "device locations, also in the expansion modules
• - Ease of service in the event of defects
• - The free space of the PS2 power supply unit would be freely available for additional devices
• - etc. etc.

III. Others

The use of this housing is by no means only based on the design described here examples and applications with Intel / AMD / IBM CPUs etc. limited, but also for all other computer mainboards with RISC, PowerPC, Alpha CPUs and v. a. applicable; in this case only the half of the mainboard of the case needs to be modified the part of the device can be retained, as this is only commercially available includes standardized standard storage media devices found in almost all computer systems always find use. This can save effort and costs.  

Fig. 1 Schematic structure of the basic housing

Fig. 2 Arrangement of the device half (and motherboard half)

Fig. 3 Arrangement of the motherboard part half (and device part half)

Fig. 4 Schematic structure of the tower-style housing

Fig. 5 Exemplary embodiment of a housing foot as an integral unit

Claims (4)

1.Universal, compact, but easily accessible computer case, the basic structure of which consists of two housing halves in the form of two L-shaped base plates and two vertical plates as a front / rear panel, which, when put together, result in a completely closed cuboid housing , characterized in that

• a) All storage media devices and power supply are arranged in one half of the housing (so-called half of the device), while the computer mainboard including CPU / s, RAM memory and all associated add-on cards in the other half of the housing (so-called mainboard -Part of the half) and grouped accordingly;
• b) the two halves of the housing can be opened, closed and dismantled against each other by the connection mechanisms of any type attached to their diagonally opposite edges and, in addition, in the case of a tower version, on the underside of the housing with the housing foot, at the same time cable duct, air duct among other things and can be expanded on the top with various expansion modules.

2. Designs of a computer housing and arrangement method for the integration of commercially available standard computer components according to claim 1, characterized in that

• a) all required, commercially available standard components are distributed and arranged in the two halves of the housing in such a way that an optimized basic version with the dimensions W × H × D = approx. 205 mm × 365 mm × 320 mm (incl. cable duct / Housing foot) enables the following capacities on the mainboard part half ( 300 ):

• - All standard ATX (/ BAT) mainboards ( 310 ) up to 300 mm deep, with the associated CPU / s ( 301 , 302 ), memory modules ( 303 ) and integrated I / O ports ( 304 ) with their Opening aperture ( 305 ), where
• - All 7 (seven) standard add-on cards ( 307 ) with I / O slot outputs ( 306 ) are fully available on the device half ( 400 ):
• - 2 × 5.25 "( 401 , 402 ) and 3 × 3.5" devices ( 403 , 404 , 405 ) as well as the power supply unit ( 406 ) in PS2 format as well as the three layers of the 3 × (2 × 3.5 ") devices ( 407 to 412 ) and another 3 × 3.5" devices ( 413 to 415 ) behind the two 5.25 "devices;
• - When placing the power supply ( 406 ) protruding into the housing foot / cable channel space for 2 (two) further 3.5 "devices is free, so that a total of 2 × 5.25" plus 14 × 3.5 "devices possible are

b. According to the arrangement procedure, the housing dimension size (with feet) in the minimal versions with only one 5.25 "device and use of

• - Standard ATX power supply and standard ATX mainboard (up to 200 mm depth) on W × H × D = approx. 175 × 310 × 320 mm and max. 8 × 3.5 "devices
• - Micro ATX power supply and standard ATX mainboard (up to 200 mm depth) on W × H × D = approx. 165 × 310 × 320 mm and max. 10 × 3.5 "devices
• - Micro ATX power supply and micro ATX mainboard (W × D = 240 mm × 200 mm) on W × H × D = approx. 165 × 310 × 260 mm and max. 5 × 3.5 "devices are reduced in size and at the same time space-saving surface area smaller than A4 size is made possible
  • a) housing base ( 700 ) and housing cover ( 601 ) can also be used to integrate various other functions and devices
  • b) in addition to the basic version of the housing, which for reasons of compromise can only contain a limited size and number of standard components, various expansion modules ( 600 ) can be attached as required.

3. An inclined computer case, characterized in that all electronic boards and devices in it for the purpose of better Heat dissipation an angular, non-parallel position to the heat / Have density gradient layers inside the housing.