TWM611095U - Facilitated expansion card removal system and expansion card release apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

A release mechanism is disclosed that can facilitate safely and efficiently removing an expansion card from a computing device. The release mechanism can be installed on a motherboard around an expansion slot, and can include an opening that permits access to the expansion slot to allow an expansion card to be installed therein. When removal of the expansion card is desired, a handled of the release mechanism can be pulled, causing contact surfaces of the release mechanism to push the expansion card away from the expansion slot with even force, removing the need to tilt the expansion card.

Description

System convenient for disassembly of expansion card and expansion card release device

The present disclosure relates to a computing device, in particular to a system for removing an expansion card from a computer system.

In many computer systems, expansion cards are used for different purposes, such as supplementary processing (such as image processing), network interface, peripheral device interface, storage, and other purposes. A multi-purpose motherboard or base board can be easily and quickly configured for special purposes or use cases through additional expansion cards of a specific combination. In addition, the system can be quickly repurposed by simply disassembling and replacing existing expansion cards with new ones. In addition, the failure of the expansion card can be quickly remedied by removing or replacing the failed expansion card.

Many types of expansion card interfaces exist, such as the commonly used standard interface PCIe (Peripheral Component Interconnect Express). Although the expansion card interface may adopt different design parameters, the vertical expansion slot is an important design parameter. The vertical expansion slot allows the expansion card with edge connector to be installed and captured by the expansion slot, so that the expansion card is fixed perpendicular to the motherboard. The vertical expansion slot allows multiple expansion cards to be tightly spaced across the width of the motherboard. Configuration. In addition, the use of vertical expansion slots allows each expansion card to occupy a certain height on the edge of the motherboard, allowing viewing and/or viewing through the rack where the motherboard is located. Touching external ports or other interface components, for example, a network interface expansion card can include several stacked network ports.

Inserting and removing the expansion card is a common manual operation. Engineers and users can manually insert the expansion card into the expansion slot and manually remove the expansion card from the expansion slot. Users often tilt the expansion card relative to the expansion slot to disassemble the expansion card. Such an operation may damage the circuit board of the expansion card, damage the electrical contacts of the expansion card or the expansion slot, and damage the mechanical structure of the expansion slot.

Although the expansion card and expansion slot are designed to have a certain degree of mechanical strength, there is still a great risk of damaging the expansion card or expansion slot, especially during the process of disassembling the expansion card. Furthermore, as the demand for high-density servers increases, there is a demand for close-packed expansion slots. When the expansion card is installed in a densely packed expansion slot, the risk of damaging one or more expansion cards when the expansion card is removed is higher. If the expansion card is damaged, it needs to be repaired or replaced. If the expansion slot is damaged, considering the actual cost and the time of losing the server, the cost of repair or replacement may be extremely expensive.

The following embodiments and related terms are intended to broadly refer to all the main content of the present disclosure and the following claims. It should be understood that the statements of these terms should not be used to limit the subject matter described herein or limit the meaning or scope of the following claims. The scope of the embodiments covered by this disclosure is defined by the following claims and is not the content of the invention. The content of the present invention is a high-level overview of various aspects of the disclosure, and introduces some concepts, which are further described in the following embodiments. The content of the present invention is not intended to identify the owner of the claim The key or necessary features of the essential content are not intended to be used alone to determine the scope of the main content of the claim. It should be understood that the main content needs to refer to the entire specification of this disclosure, any or all drawings, and appropriate parts of each claim.

The disclosed embodiment includes a system for facilitating the removal of an expansion card. The system includes a motherboard having a surface, and an expansion slot coupled to the surface of the motherboard, the expansion slot being used to be perpendicular to A first direction of the surface of the motherboard receives an expansion card. The expansion card has contacts, and the contacts are used to electrically couple the expansion card received by the motherboard. The system also includes an expansion card release mechanism coupled to the motherboard. The expansion card release mechanism includes a set of contact surfaces, including a first contact surface disposed at a position relative to an expansion slot of a second contact surface. The expansion card release mechanism also includes a sliding member that moves in a second direction perpendicular to the first direction, wherein the movement of the sliding member in the second direction includes a third movement of the set of contact surfaces relative to the first direction. Direction of movement. The size of each contact surface in the set of contact surfaces is such that the movement of the set of contact surfaces in the third direction can provide force to push the received expansion card in the third direction.

In some embodiments of the present disclosure, the expansion card release mechanism is disposed around the expansion slot. In some embodiments of the present disclosure, the expansion card release mechanism includes one or more offset devices for offsetting the set of contact surfaces to the first direction. In some embodiments of the present disclosure, the motherboard includes a set of holes adjacent to the expansion slot. In some embodiments of the present disclosure, the expansion card release mechanism includes a housing for coupling the expansion card release mechanism to the motherboard. In some embodiments of the present disclosure, the housing includes a set of hooks for engaging each hole in the set of holes adjacent to the expansion slot. Some of the disclosures in this In an embodiment, the sliding member includes a handle for sliding the sliding member in the second direction. In some embodiments of the present disclosure, the handle extends beyond the edge of the received expansion card in the second direction, so that the handle can be touched when the received expansion card is installed in the expansion slot. In some embodiments of the present disclosure, where the set of contact surfaces can provide a force in the third direction to push the received expansion card in the third direction, including providing an equal force on each of the set of contact surfaces. The contact surface. In some embodiments of the present disclosure, the expansion card release mechanism includes another housing separate from the housing of the expansion slot.

The disclosed embodiment includes an expansion card release device. The device includes a housing that can be positioned on a motherboard. The housing is configured to receive an expansion card in a first direction perpendicular to a surface of the motherboard. An expansion slot for the card. The housing further includes a first terminal and a second terminal separated by an opening, wherein the shape of the opening is used to enter the expansion slot. The expansion card release device may also include a set of contact surfaces, wherein the set of contact surfaces includes a first contact surface disposed on the first terminal of the casing, and a second contact surface disposed on the second terminal of the casing terminal. The expansion card release device may also include an actuator coupled to the set of contact surfaces for urging the set of contact surfaces to move in a second direction relative to the first direction, wherein each contact of the set of contact surfaces The size of the surface is such that the movement of the set of contact surfaces in the third direction can provide force to push the received expansion card in the third direction.

In some embodiments of the present disclosure, the actuator includes a sliding member, and the movement of the sliding member in the third direction perpendicular to the first direction includes movement of the set of contact surfaces in the second direction . In some embodiments of the present disclosure, the device It further includes one or more offset devices for offsetting the set of contact surfaces to the first direction. In some embodiments of the present disclosure, the housing includes a set of hooks for engaging a set of holes of the motherboard to fix the housing to the motherboard. In some embodiments of the present disclosure, the actuator includes a handle for activating the actuator, wherein the size of the handle is extended in the second direction beyond the edge of the received expansion card, so that The handle can be touched when the received expansion card is installed in the expansion slot. In some embodiments of the present disclosure, the set of contact surfaces can provide a force in the second direction to push the received expansion card to move in the second direction, including providing an equal force on each of the set of contact surfaces. The contact surface. In some embodiments of the present disclosure, the casing is separated from the other casing of the expansion slot.

Some embodiments of the present disclosure include a method including providing a motherboard with an expansion slot coupled to a surface of the motherboard. The method further includes installing an expansion card into the expansion slot, wherein installing the expansion card includes inserting the expansion card into the expansion slot in a first direction perpendicular to the surface of the motherboard. The method further includes using an expansion card release device to detach the expansion card from the expansion slot. Disassembling the expansion card with the expansion card release device includes providing a force to move the expansion card release device in a second direction perpendicular to the first direction. Removing the expansion card by the expansion card release device further includes moving a set of contact surfaces of the expansion card release mechanism in a third direction opposite to the first direction in response to the movement of the sliding member in the second direction. The size of each contact surface of the set of contact surfaces is such that the movement of the set of contact surfaces in the third direction can provide a force to push the received expansion card in the third direction.

In some embodiments of the present disclosure, providing the motherboard includes coupling the expansion card release device to the motherboard around the expansion slot. In some embodiments of the present disclosure, the sound In response to the movement of the slider in the second direction, moving the expansion card release mechanism in a third direction opposite to the first direction includes a set of contact surfaces that provide sufficient force to overcome one or more offset devices It is configured to offset the set of contact surfaces to the first direction. In some embodiments of the present disclosure, providing the motherboard includes coupling the expansion card release mechanism to the motherboard by inserting a set of hooks of the expansion card release mechanism into a set of holes of the motherboard. In some embodiments of the present disclosure, the sliding member includes a handle for sliding the sliding member in the second direction, wherein the handle extends beyond the edge of the received expansion card in the second direction, so that The handle can be touched when the received expansion card is installed in the expansion slot. In some embodiments of the present disclosure, the group of contact surfaces can provide a force in the third direction to push the received expansion card in the third direction, including providing an equal force on each of the group of contact surfaces. On the contact surface.

100, 200, 300, 400: computing equipment

102, 202, 302, 402, 602, 702: motherboard

104,304,604,704: expansion slot

106,206,306,406: Expansion card

108,408: Interface

110: rear panel

112: Interface port

114,214: panel lip

116,118: pinch point

120,220,420,440,668,862,864: direction

210: Panel

222: Chassis

224: Backplane

226: Expansion card location

228: Panel fixing parts

230,330,430,530,630,730,830: release mechanism

232,332,432,532,732,832: handle

334,434,534,634,734: shell

336,436: contact surface

438: receiving surface

442,552,736,852: contact elements

444,544,844: sliding parts

446: Slope

448: output mechanism

466: front end

536: top surface

550,850: Offset element

554,556,654,656: hook

658: hole

760: open

900: flow chart

902,904,906,908,910,912: steps

Figure 1 shows a side view of a conventional expansion card removed from the expansion slot of the motherboard.

FIG. 2 shows an isometric projection view of the computing device with multiple expansion cards according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

FIG. 3 is a close-up view of a computing device having an expansion slot and an expansion card releasing mechanism according to an embodiment of the disclosure.

FIG. 4 shows a combined side view and an expanded side view of the expansion card during removal from the motherboard equipped with the expansion card release mechanism according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

FIG. 5 is an exploded view of the expansion card releasing mechanism disclosed according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

FIG. 6 shows a combined isometric view and an enlarged side view when the expansion card release mechanism is installed on the motherboard according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

FIG. 7 is an isometric view of an expansion card release mechanism installed on a motherboard according to an embodiment of the disclosure.

FIG. 8 shows a combined test diagram and an expanded cross-sectional view of the expansion card releasing mechanism according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

FIG. 9 is a flowchart of the process of using the expansion card release mechanism according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

The disclosed embodiment is related to a release mechanism for safely and efficiently removing the expansion card from the computing device. The release mechanism can be installed around an expansion slot of a motherboard, and can include an opening that allows access to the expansion slot for installing expansion cards therein. When the expansion card needs to be disassembled, a handle of the release mechanism can be pulled up, which causes the contact surface of the release mechanism to push the expansion card away from the expansion slot with equal force, so there is no need to tilt the expansion card.

The expansion card is, for example, a PCIe (Peripheral Component Interconnect Express) card, which is usually used to expand the functions of a computing device, such as a server or a home computer. The expansion card is installed in the expansion slot by inserting the expansion card interface (such as golden finger interface or others) into the expansion slot. Therefore, the electrical contacts of the expansion card abut against the electrical contacts of the expansion slot to provide electrical coupling between the expansion card and the motherboard (such as the motherboard) of the computer device. The term motherboard used in this disclosure may be the motherboard of a computing device. Used in this disclosure The term motherboard used can appropriately refer to any printed circuit board (PCB) that includes an expansion slot in which an expansion card can be installed.

When installed, some expansion cards provide an external-facing interface through openings in the computer equipment casing. For example, an expansion card for a display card can provide one or more video ports (for example, an HDMI (High Definition Multimedia Interface) port) in the interface panel facing outward from the back of the case. Such an interface panel is usually located at the first terminal (for example, the back end) of the expansion card. The expansion card includes a flat or substantially flat printed circuit board (PCB) with at least two opposite terminals (for example: front and rear) and two related flat or substantially flat sides (for example: first Side and second side).

Generally speaking, the direction of the expansion slot allows the expansion card to be installed in a direction perpendicular to the plane or surface of the motherboard. Traditionally, before completely removing the interface from the expansion slot, it is necessary to tilt the expansion card to remove one end of the expansion card interface from the expansion slot to remove the expansion card installed in the expansion slot. This tilting technique is often used because The user only needs to operate the opposite end of the expansion card, which is usually easier to reach than the side of the expansion card. Unfortunately, such tilting techniques can damage expansion cards and/or expansion slots, which can result in considerable repair or replacement costs and undesirable downtime.

With the emergence of new computing requirements, especially those related to 5G wireless, high-density computing devices are required. Generally speaking, such devices leave little space between expansion cards and adjacent components (for example: other expansion cards, power supplies, cabinet walls, fan modules, ventilation ducts, or other original computing devices). . Therefore, when the free space near the expansion card decreases, the ability to reach and grab the expansion card will be limited. As a result, the expansion card needs to be removed using tilting technology, which leads to undesirable damage, cost, and downtime.

Some aspects and features of the present disclosure are related to a release mechanism that can be installed on the motherboard, such as adjacent to or around the expansion slot, to facilitate safe and efficient release of the expansion card. The release device may include an actuator, such as a handle, which can be actuated (e.g., pulled, pushed, pressed, or rotated) to cause the contact surface (e.g., mechanical contact surface) of the release mechanism to push the expansion card away from the expansion slot. The term "contact surface" used in this disclosure may refer to a surface or part of a surface that is engaged with an expansion card to provide force to the expansion card. In some embodiments of the present disclosure, the contact surface can contact the expansion card at positions on opposite sides of the expansion slot. In some embodiments of the present disclosure, each contact surface can be configured to provide the same force on the expansion card, thereby pushing the expansion card away from the expansion slot in the same manner without tilting the expansion card. In some embodiments of the present disclosure, the contact surface can be configured to tilt at or at least 10°, 9°, 8°, 7°, 6°, 5°, 4°, 3°, 2° or 1°. Push the expansion card away from the expansion slot.

Each contact surface can be positioned to contact a receiving surface of the expansion card. The receiving surface can be any surface suitable for expansion cards, but is usually the bottom edge of the printed circuit board of the expansion card. In some embodiments of the present disclosure, the shape of the contact surface may be consistent with the bottom edge of the expansion card. For example, the contact surface may include a ridge whose width is slightly larger than the width of the printed circuit board of the expansion card, allowing When the contact surface provides force to the expansion card, install the expansion card in the spine.

In some embodiments of the present disclosure, the contact surface may be a separate element, which can be simultaneously operated by the actuation of an actuator (for example, pulling a handle). In some embodiments of the present disclosure, the contact surface may be a single continuous element located at a separate location.

In some embodiments of the present disclosure, the actuator may be or may be coupled to a sliding member located in the housing of the release mechanism, and the sliding member may linearly move between the first position and the second position. In the first position, the slider can allow the contact surface to fall, retract or otherwise increase the distance between the contact surface and the expansion card. In the second position, the sliding member can cause the contact surface to extend or move in other ways so that the contact surface provides force to the expansion card, so that the expansion card is away from the expansion slot. In an embodiment of the present disclosure, the contact surface may be an exposed surface of the contact element, which may include one or more inclined surfaces that interact with one or more inclined surfaces of the sliding member to keep the contact surface away from the main board (for example, : Towards the expansion card).

In some embodiments of the present disclosure, one or more offset mechanisms may be used to push the contact surface (for example, the contact element) to retract or move toward the motherboard. In such an embodiment, the force provided to the actuator (e.g., handle or slider) is sufficient to overcome the biasing force of the biasing mechanism, thereby moving the contact surface away from the motherboard.

In some embodiments of the present disclosure, the release mechanism can provide sufficient force to the expansion card to completely remove the expansion card from the expansion slot, although not all embodiments have this requirement. In some embodiments of the present disclosure, the release mechanism can provide sufficient force to remove the expansion card from the expansion slot.

In some embodiments of the present disclosure, the actuator (for example, the handle) of the release mechanism may be positioned beyond the edge (for example: the front edge) of the expansion card during installation. in In some embodiments of the present disclosure, the release mechanism may have different sizes, allowing the required size to be selected according to a specific purpose (for example, a specific expansion card), so as to be installed on the motherboard before the expansion card is installed.

In some embodiments of the present disclosure, the release mechanism is detachably coupled to the motherboard, for example, a detachable hook designed to engage with a hole (such as an opening, hole or cutout) on the motherboard by using a releasable hook. Other coupling techniques can be used to secure the release device to the motherboard. Generally speaking, the release mechanism can be designed to fit around the expansion slot. In such an embodiment, the release mechanism can have a shape including an opening through which the expansion slot can be accessed. However, in some embodiments, the release mechanism can be installed near the expansion slot without surrounding the expansion slot.

In some embodiments of the present disclosure, the disclosed release mechanism can be integrated into the housing of the expansion slot. In such an embodiment, the expansion slot may be slightly larger than the conventional expansion slot, including the previously disclosed method for disassembling the expansion slot. The contact surface of the card.

The release device in this disclosure discloses a single expansion slot for reference for illustrative purposes. However, in some embodiments, one housing may contain multiple release mechanisms and multiple expansion card openings. Therefore, installing one housing on the motherboard can provide release mechanisms for multiple expansion slots.

The release mechanism in this disclosure can be used for any suitable expansion card and expansion slot. However, based on the shape and conventional use of the PCIe card, certain aspects in this disclosure are particularly suitable for use with the PCIe card and PCIe slot.

These illustrative examples are intended to introduce the general topics discussed, and are not intended to limit the scope of the concepts disclosed in this disclosure. The following paragraphs describe various Additional features and examples, where similar numbers indicate similar elements. The directional description is used to describe the illustrative embodiment, but is the same as the illustrative embodiment and should not be used to limit the present disclosure. The components included in the illustrations herein may not be drawn to scale.

Figure 1 is a side view of the conventional expansion card 106 when it is removed from the expansion slot 106 of the motherboard 102. The expansion card 106 may include a rear panel 110 exposing the interface port 112, and the rear panel 110 may include a panel lip 114 It is used to help fix the expansion card 106 to the chassis in an institutional way. For the purpose of illustration, the expansion slot 104 is shown in a cross-sectional view, and only the part of the expansion slot 104 behind the expansion card 106 is shown.

During the traditional detachment of the expansion card 106 from the expansion slot 104, the expansion card 106 is tilted in the direction 120, usually grabbing one side of the expansion card 106 or grabbing the front and rear ends (for example, the respective grabbing Figure 1 The left and right sides of the expansion card 106). In such a tilting action, there is a considerable risk that the interface 108 in the expansion card 106 may be damaged or be damaged by the expansion slot 104, and the damage usually occurs at the pinch point 116 or the pinch point 118.

Figure 2 is an axonometric projection view of a computing device 200 with multiple expansion cards 206. According to some embodiments of the disclosure, the computing device 200 displays six half-heights-half length, nine full-heights-full length, and five full-heights- Full-length expansion cards, although any size and any number of expansion cards 206 can be used. The expansion card 206 may be similar to the expansion card 106 in Figure 1. The motherboard 202 can be similar to the motherboard 102 in Figure 1, although an expansion card release mechanism 230 is added.

The motherboard 202 can have multiple expansion card positions 226. Each expansion card position 226 includes an expansion slot and an expansion card release mechanism 230. As shown in Figure 2, each expansion card position 226 is installed in a corresponding Expansion card 206 for expansion slot. Some of the disclosures in this In the embodiment, each expansion card can be fixed on the casing 222 at the rear of the casing 222, but such a requirement is not always required. As shown in Figure 2, each expansion card 206 includes a panel 210 that is fixed to the chassis at the panel lip 214 through panel fixing components 228 (for example: screws, bolts, clamps, or other suitable components) 222.

As further disclosed in this disclosure, when the expansion card 206 needs to be removed, the user can operate the handle 232 of the release mechanism 230 of the expansion card 206 to move the expansion card 206 in the direction 220 (for example, away from the upward direction of the motherboard 202). Or normal direction).

FIG. 3 is a close-up view of a computing device 300 having an expansion slot 304 and an expansion card release mechanism 330 according to an embodiment of the disclosure. As shown in FIG. 3, some expansion slots 304 are empty, and one of the expansion cards 306 is not installed in the expansion slot 304.

Each release mechanism 330 may include a housing 334 coupling the release mechanism 330 to the motherboard 302, and the housing 334 may include an opening sufficient to allow access to the expansion slot 304. The release mechanism 330 may include a handle 332 for urging the contact surface 336. When the handle 332 is pulled, the contact surface 336 is extended away from the motherboard, thus providing a force to push the expansion card 306 away from the motherboard 302, thereby disengaging the expansion card 306.槽304. Although FIG. 3 shows that the handle 332 is pulled, the release mechanism 330 can use other manually operable (for example, manually actuated) actuators to force the contact surface 336 to provide a force to push the expansion card 306 away from the motherboard 302.

FIG. 4 is a combined side view and an expanded side view of the expansion card 406 during removal from the motherboard 402 equipped with the expansion card release mechanism 430 according to the embodiment of the present disclosure. The expansion card 406 may be similar to the expansion card 206 in FIG. 2, the main board 402 may be similar to the main board 202 in FIG. 2, and the release mechanism 430 may be similar to the release mechanism 230 in the second way. The expansion card 406 shows that the contact surface 436 has caused the expansion card 406 to be located in the expansion slot (not shown) Part of the disassembled state except for the purpose of illustration). In addition, for the purpose of illustration, the housing 434 is in a cross-sectional form to expose the internal workings of the release mechanism 430.

The release device 430 shows a housing 434 coupled to the motherboard 402. The handle 432 slides in the direction 440, which causes the contact surface 436 to move in the direction 420, and then pushes the expansion card 406 upward in the direction opposite to the receiving surface 438. As a result, the expansion card 406 moves in the direction 420.

As shown in the side view, the output mechanism 448 converts the actuation of the handle 432 in the direction 440 or converts other movement of another actuator (for example, the operation of a knob) to move the contact surface 436 in the direction 420. As shown in FIG. 4, the movement of the handle 432 in the direction 440 can cause the sliding member 444 to push the inclined surface 446 thereof in a direction relative to the contact element 442, thereby causing the contact surface 436 of the contact element 442 to move in the direction 420. Other output mechanisms 448 can be used to convert the actuation of an actuator (for example, the handle 432) into a movement of the contact surface 436 in the direction 420.

As shown in FIG. 4, the two contact surfaces 436 are disposed on opposite sides of the expansion slot to contact the receiving surface 438 of the expansion card 406 on the opposite side of the interface 408. In some embodiments of the present disclosure, the release mechanism 430 may be configured to provide the same force to the receiving surface 438 of the expansion card 406, thereby causing the expansion card 406 to be pushed in the direction 420 with minimal or no tilt.

FIG. 5 is an exploded view of the expansion card releasing device 530 according to an embodiment of the disclosure. The release device 530 may be similar to the release device 230 in FIG. 2.

The release mechanism may include a housing 534 with hooks 554, 556. The hooks 554, 556 are designed to couple the housing 534 to the motherboard, although other coupling mechanisms may be use. The housing 534 may include an opening through which the expansion slot can be accessed, or the expansion card interface can be inserted through the opening to install the expansion card into the expansion slot surrounded by the release mechanism 530.

The release device 530 may include a sliding member 544 coupled to the handle 532, and the sliding member 544 may linearly move in the forward or rearward direction in response to the force provided on the handle 532 in the forward or backward direction (for example: Fig. 5 (Shown to the left or right).

The movement of the handle 532 in the forward direction (for example: the left side as shown in Figure 5) can cause the inclined surface of the sliding member 544 to push against the contact element 552, thereby pushing the contact element 552 out of the top of the housing 534 and/or further beyond the housing The top of body 534. The top surface 536 of the contact element 552 can provide force to the expansion card to keep the expansion card away from the contact surface of the expansion slot.

In some embodiments of the present disclosure, the release device 530 may include a biasing element 550 (for example, a spring) to allow the contact element 552 to enter a retracted position (for example, downward as shown in FIG. 5). In some embodiments of the present disclosure, the offset element 550 may be configured between the housing 534 and part of the contact element 552.

Other designs of release device 530 can be used.

FIG. 6 is a combined isometric and unfolded side view of the expansion card release mechanism 630 shown in the embodiment of the present disclosure when it is installed on the motherboard 602. FIG. The main board 602 may include a set of holes 658 adjacent to the expansion slot 604. The release mechanism 630 and the main board 602 may be similar to the release mechanism 230 and the main board 202 shown in FIG. 2 respectively.

The release device 630 may include a housing 634 having a first set of hooks 656 and a second set of hooks 654. The first set of hooks 656 includes a hole 658 of a zigzag shape to engage the motherboard 602. The second set of hooks 654 may include a bevel and a lip. When passing through the bevel and the lip, They can be movably engaged with the holes 658 of the main board 602 (for example, clamped therein). During the installation of the release device 630, the first set of hooks 656 can be first placed in the corresponding holes 658 of the motherboard 602, and then the housing 634 can be rotated downward in the direction 668 until the second set of hooks 654 are pushed. After entering the corresponding hole 658, the second set of hooks 654 will releasably engage the motherboard 602.

Other techniques can be used to removably or permanently couple the release device 630 to the motherboard 602. In some embodiments of the present disclosure, the release mechanism 630 may be integrated into other hardware of the motherboard or coupled to the motherboard, for example, coupled to the expansion slot 604 itself.

FIG. 7 is an isometric view of the expansion card release mechanism 730 installed on the motherboard 702 according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. The release device 730 and the main board 702 may be particularly similar to the release device 230 and the main board 202 in FIG. 2. For illustrative purposes, the expansion card release mechanism 730 is shown as transparent.

The housing 734 of the release device 730 may be movably coupled to the main board 702, for example, refer to the disclosure of FIG. 6. The housing 734 may include an opening 760 through which the expansion slot 704 can be accessed. When the expansion card needs to be detached from the expansion slot 704, the handle 732 of the release device 730 can be pulled up to move the contact surface 736 away from the motherboard 702, thereby providing force to the expansion card to push the expansion card away from the expansion slot 704 and /Or keep it away from the expansion slot 704.

FIG. 8 is a combined side view and extended cross-sectional view of the expansion card release device 830 according to the embodiment of the present disclosure. The expansion card release device may be similar to the expansion card release device 230 in FIG. 2.

The release device 830 shown in Figure 8 is such that the force is provided behind the handle 832, and the offset element 850 can push the contact element in the direction 862 (for example, toward the motherboard or downward as shown in Figure 8) 852. Due to the interaction of the inclined surfaces between the contact element 852 and the slider 844, the movement of the contact element 852 in the direction 862 will cause the slider 844 and the handle 832 to move in the direction 864.

Therefore, after the handle 832 is pulled to remove the expansion card, the handle 832 can be released to return the handle 832, the sliding member 844, and the contact element 852 to the retracted position. When in the retracted position, the handle 832 can be pushed to move the slider 844 in the opposite direction 864, thereby causing the handle 832, the slider 844, and the contact element 852 to move to the extended position.

FIG. 9 is a flowchart of step 900 of using the expansion card releasing mechanism according to an embodiment of the disclosure. Step 900 can be used in the release mechanism 230, the motherboard 202, and the expansion card 206 in FIG. 2.

In block 902, a motherboard is provided. Providing the motherboard may include providing one or more expansion slots. The one or more expansion slots are positioned perpendicular to the surface of the motherboard (for example, a flat surface or an expansion slot position). On its upper surface) to receive the expansion card. In some embodiments of the present disclosure, providing a motherboard may include providing a motherboard that has been coupled to an expansion card release mechanism. In some embodiments of the present disclosure, providing the motherboard in block 902 may further include installing one or more expansion card release mechanisms in block 904. Installing the expansion card release mechanism in block 904 may optionally include making holes on the motherboard, although in some embodiments, the motherboard may be pre-produced to contain the appropriate holes. Installing the expansion card release mechanism in block 904 may include inserting the hook of the release device into the hole of the motherboard to movably couple the release device to the motherboard.

At block 906, an expansion card may be installed in the expansion slot. In some embodiments of the present disclosure, installing the expansion card into the expansion slot may include inserting an interface of the expansion card into the expansion slot in a direction perpendicular to the surface of the motherboard as described in block 902. For example, this installation of the expansion card The direction of may be the opposite direction of the direction 420 in FIG. 4.

At block 908, the expansion card can be detached from the expansion slot. Removing the expansion card in block 908 may include providing force to the sliding member of the expansion card release mechanism in block 910 and moving a set of contact surfaces to push the expansion card into the expansion slot in block 912.

In block 910, providing force to the slider may include operating a handle of the release mechanism. Providing force to the sliding member may include moving the sliding member in a direction parallel to the expansion slot. Providing a force to the sliding member in block 910 may cause the sliding member to move in a direction perpendicular to the direction in which the expansion card is installed, such as the direction 440 in FIG. 4.

In block 912, moving the contact surface may be in response to providing force to the slider in block 910. When the sliding member moves in a direction perpendicular to the installation direction of the expansion card, the sliding member causes the contact surface to move in a direction opposite to the installation direction of the expansion card. For example, providing a force to the slider in block 910 may cause the set of contact surfaces to move in block 912 in the direction 420 in FIG. 4. In some embodiments of the present disclosure, moving the set of contact surfaces in block 912 includes providing an equal force on the expansion card via each contact surface in the set of contact surfaces. .

The foregoing description of the embodiments is only for the purpose of illustration and description, including the illustrated embodiments, and is not intended to be exhaustive or limited to the precise form disclosed. For those skilled in the art, its various modifications, adaptations and uses will be obvious.

Although the present disclosure has been illustrated and described in one or more embodiments, equivalent changes and modifications will be known to those skilled in the art after reading and understanding this specification and drawings. In addition, although the specific features of the present invention may be disclosed for only one of the several embodiments, the specific features can be combined with one or more of the other embodiments according to any given or specific application desired and advantageous. Combination of other features.

Although various embodiments of the present invention have been described, it should be understood that they are given by way of example only and not limitation. Without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention, various changes can be made to the disclosed embodiments based on the disclosure of the present disclosure. Therefore, the breadth and scope of the present invention should not be limited by any of the above-mentioned embodiments.

The terms used herein are only for the purpose of describing specific embodiments and are not intended to limit the present invention. As used herein, the singular forms of "a," "an," and "the" are also intended to include plural forms, unless the context clearly dictates otherwise. In addition, the terms "including", "having", "containing" or variants thereof used in the embodiments and/or claims are intended to be covered in a similar manner as the term "including".

Unless otherwise defined, all terms (including technical and scientific terms) used herein have the same meanings as those commonly understood by those skilled in the art. In addition, terms such as those defined in commonly used dictionaries should be interpreted as having meaning consistent with their meaning in the relevant field, and unless explicitly defined as such, they will not be used in an idealized or overly formal sense here. To explain.

702: Motherboard

704: Expansion Slot

730: release mechanism

732: Handle

734: Shell

736: contact element

760: open

Claims (10)

A system for facilitating the disassembly of an expansion card, the system comprising: a main board having a surface and an expansion slot coupled to the surface of the main board; A first direction receives an expansion card, the expansion slot has a plurality of contacts, the contacts are used to electrically couple the expansion card received by the motherboard; and an expansion card release mechanism is coupled to the motherboard , The expansion card release mechanism includes: a set of contact surfaces, wherein the set of contact surfaces includes a first contact surface, the first contact surface is disposed at a position relative to an expansion slot of a second contact surface; and a sliding member A movement in a second direction perpendicular to the first direction, wherein the movement of the slider in the second direction includes movement of the set of contact surfaces in a third direction relative to the first direction, wherein the set of contact surfaces The size of each contact surface is such that the movement of the group of contact surfaces in the third direction can provide a force to push the received expansion card in the third direction. The system according to claim 1, wherein the expansion card release mechanism is disposed around the expansion slot, and the expansion card release mechanism further includes one or more offset devices for offsetting the set of contact surfaces to the first A direction; and a first housing and a second housing separate from the first housing. The system according to claim 1, wherein the motherboard includes a set of holes adjacent to the expansion slot, and wherein the first housing is used for coupling the expansion card release mechanism to the motherboard, wherein the first housing A set of hooks is included, and the set of hooks is used to engage each hole in the set of holes adjacent to the expansion slot. The system of claim 1, wherein the sliding member includes a handle for sliding the sliding member in the second direction, wherein the handle extends in the second direction beyond the edge of the received expansion card, The handle can be touched when the received expansion card is installed in the expansion slot. The system of claim 1, wherein the set of contact surfaces can provide force in the third direction to push the received movement of the expansion card in the third direction, including providing equal force on each of the set of contact surfaces. The contact surface. An expansion card release device, comprising: a first housing capable of being positioned on a motherboard, the first housing having a device for receiving an expansion card in a first direction perpendicular to a surface of the motherboard Expansion slot, the first housing further includes a first terminal and a second terminal separated by an opening, wherein the shape of the opening is used to enter the expansion slot; a set of contact surfaces, wherein the set of contact surfaces includes a first A contact surface is arranged on the first terminal of the first housing, and a second contact surface is arranged on the second terminal of the first housing. An actuator is coupled to the set of contact surfaces for urging The group of contact surfaces moves in a second direction relative to the first direction, wherein the size of each contact surface of the group of contact surfaces is such that the movement of the group of contact surfaces in the third direction can provide force to Push the received expansion card in the third direction. The device according to claim 6, wherein the actuator includes a sliding member, and movement of the sliding member in the third direction perpendicular to the first direction includes movement of the set of contact surfaces in the second direction; as well as A handle for activating the actuator, wherein the size of the handle is to extend beyond the edge of the received expansion card in the second direction, so that when the received expansion card is installed in the expansion The handle can be touched when grooved. The device according to claim 6, which further includes one or more offset devices for offsetting the set of contact surfaces to the first direction, and wherein the first housing includes a set of hooks, and the set of hooks is used A set of holes for joining the main board to fix the first housing to the main board. The device according to claim 8, wherein the set of contact surfaces is provided with a force in the second direction to push the received movement of the expansion card in the second direction includes providing an equal force on the set of contact surfaces On each of the contact surfaces. The device according to claim 8, wherein the first housing is separated from a second housing of the expansion slot.

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