AU1501301A - Improved adjustable telescopic slide mounting bracket for rack mounted equipment - Google Patents

Description

AUSTRALIA

Patents Act 1990 COMPLETE SPECIFICATION STANDARD PATENT IMPROVED ADJUSTABLE TELESCOPIC SLIDE MOUNTING BRACKET FOR RACK MOUNTED EQUIPMENT The following statement is a full description of this invention, including the best method of performing it known to me: True Copy 1 IMPROVED ADJUSTABLE TELESCOPIC SLIDE MOUNTING BRACKET FOR RACK MOUNTED

EQUIPMENT

This invention relates to improvements in devices for the mounting or installation of computing equipment or computer communication equipment or of any other type or types of equipment that are installed into equipment racks or cabinets.

DEFINITIONS:

Cabinet. A freestanding and self-supporting enclosure for housing electrical and/or electronic equipment with dimensions as defined by international and/or national standards. It is usually fitted with doors and/or side panels, which may or may not be removable.

Mounting Flange. The surface of a cabinet or rack on which panels, subracks and equipment is mounted.

*eee Mounting Rail. A vertical member within a cabinet or rack which may or may not be adjustable and/or removable containing a mounting flange i Rack. An open structure for mounting electrical or electronic equipment with dimensions as defined by International and National Standards.

eeeee Rack Mounted. General description relating to equipment installed, installable or being installed within a rack or cabinet.

eeee For many computing and other applications, pieces of individual equipment are often mounted within an equipment rack or cabinet, these equipment racks and cabinets are commonly known as 19 inch practice or 6 foot equipment rack's or cabinet's or often just rack's or cabinet's. Installation of these sometimes bulky and or heavy pieces of equipment into these rack's or True Copy cabinet's is usually accomplished by a number of individuals and by utilising machine screws and washers through holes in front panel side flanges, that are either attached to, or form part of, the equipment, and then threaded holes or into captive caged machine nuts designed to affix and remain captive in square punched holes in a metal rail or mounting flange running vertically on either side of the rack or cabinet, at the front, and sometimes also at the rear of the rack or cabinet. Often this method of mounting requires two or more individuals to achieve and results in a more or less permanent equipment installation that cannot be easily un-installed, serviced, modified or maintained.

This common installation difficulty can be overcome to some extent with the use of a combination of existing available telescopic sliding mechanism devices and mounting brackets, however the method of fixing these telescopic sliding mechanism devices or brackets in place is not optimum and this invention seeks to improve the mounting bracket and therefore the installation of these telescopic sliding mechanisms, and thus the associated installed equipment, with a very flexible and yet low cost simple bracket device which utilises the existing fixing features of an existing multi-vendor and generally available caged machine nut in a new and novel way.

A common installation problem with existing similar types of telescopic slide mounting brackets is that they are very awkward for a single individual to install without help and can be a cause of injury to individual's by virtue of their operation and the unbalanced and awkward nature of the slide mount mechanism device and the fact that the slide mount mechanism may often .extend unexpectedly and unpredictably by a dimension of up to several times it's closed length, under it's own weight, when accidentally allowed to become in a vertical or non horizontal orientation.

This invention overcomes many of these installation difficulties by securing the body of the telescopic slide mechanism within a formed guiding channel, including, during installation, and at the same time allowing the entirety of the telescopic slide mechanism to be moved easily in a horizontal plane, backwards and forwards, to the desired mounting location, over a large distance or wide tolerance, by utilising a captive caged machine nut as a captive sliding nut within a horizontal slot cut-out in the side surface of the improved bracket. Once the desired mounting location is achieved a securing True Copy screw attached through mounting holes within the fixed outermost member of the telescopic slide mechanism may be tightened to secure the fixed outermost member of the telescopic slide mechanism into place against the side surface of the improved bracket within the rack or cabinet. During this assembly and adjustment phase the guiding channels formed within the improved mounting bracket effectively prevents the telescopic slide mechanism from rotating by dropping the unsecured end under it's own weight in a pivoting motion around the loose securing screw and causing possibly serious bodily injury and or damage to adjacent equipment from the uncontrolled falling mass of the slide mount mechanism or from the force of the unexpected extension of the inner members of the telescopic slide mechanism.

In a typical installation and or where a particular type of cabinet or rack's features permit, by virtue of their having or being fitted with rear vertical mounting rails or mounting flanges in addition to front vertical mounting rails or mounting flanges, a second identical bracket may be utilised at the rear of the telescopic slide mechanism and attached to the rear mounting flange and the telescopic slide mount mechanism in an identical or similar fashion to the front mounting bracket to further support the mass or improve the rigidity of heavier equipment by producing an effective 4 point mounting by accordingly having front and rear brackets fitted to the rack or cabinet (and to both left and right hand side telescopic slide mechanisms which are in turn attached or secured to either side of the installed equipment.

Many available commercial telescopic slide mechanisms feature simple locking and ejector mechanisms to allow the inner sliding members to be easily withdrawn from the outer fixed members allowing them to then be "I attached, while seperated, to the equipment being installed and then allowing the equipment to be inserted or installed into the rack or cabinet by reinserting the left and right inner slide members back into the rack or cabinet attached outer fixed members and then allowing the equipment to be slid )easily into place thus in conjunction with the improved mounting bracket allowing for equipment installation to be potentially carried out easily and safely in it's entirety by a single individual.

True Copy In one form of the invention a simple punched and folded or stamped and formed metal bracket may utilise several square mounting holes in a suitable pattern in a front folded flange to accept existing standardised caged machine nuts of a type typically used for the purpose of attachment to the vertical mounting rails or mounting flanges of the rack or cabinet and may also utilise a long rectangular slot in the side face of the bracket that accepts another similar caged machine nut that, because of the standardised cage design and the direction and method of insertion of the caged nut into the slot and also the designed width of the slot, the said cage nut would remain retained securely within the slot and yet be able to slide along the entirety of the length of the slot and then by the action of tightening or un-tightening a securing screw which passes through a hole in the outer fixed member of the telescopic slide mechanism and into this said slideable caged machine nut the assembly may be locked into place or un-locked to achieve excellent strength, adjustability and yet simple installation by a single individual.

A guiding channel could be formed by simple folds along the top and bottom edges of the bracket sides which by virtue of their width and their location being above and below all or part of the fixed member or body of the telescopic slide mechanism would effectively prevent undesired vertical rotation of the slide mechanism under its own weight by pivoting on the untightened securing screw during installation. A further advantage of this guiding channel is that it acts to assist the bracket to accept a heavier or larger vertical load than could be accepted by the shear strength of the securing screw alone.

This form of the invention, could for instance, be manufactured of folded and punched sheet steel or of other metal and electroplated or painted to o achieve a finish suitable for the market and purposes to which it shall be put.

In another form of the invention the bracket may easily be moulded in a material such as reinforced plastic or other mouldable material or be of a welded construction or laid-up in fibreglass or made of other material's or combinations of materials being able to incorporate the shapes necessary to accomplish the form fit and function required and incorporate the necessary slots and holes to accept the before mentioned caged nuts and providing always that whichever material is chosen, the bracket shall be required to achieve a strength suitable for the mechanical purposes intended.

True Copy To assist with the understanding of this invention, reference will now be made to the accompanying drawings which show one example of the invention.

In the drawings: Figure 1. shows one example of a simple bracket according to this invention; Refering to Figure 1. it can be seen that the improved slide mounting bracket according to this invention comprises a constructed sheet steel folded bracket containing a number of square and round cut out holes of a suitable size and in a suitable pattern or spacing or arrangement in the front mounting flange to allow the bracket to be attached to the vertical mounting flanges of commercially available equipment racks or cabinets by utilising captive or caged machine nuts or other fastening methods. The adjustability of the improved slide mounting comes about because of the ability of the ooecaptive caged machine nut to slide along the length of the cut out slot in the side face of the improved bracket by utilising the two cage nut captivating flanges to form a simple slide mechanism in conjunction with the slot rather than their intended normal use as just a method of retention of the cage nut in a square profile rack or cabinet mounting rail or mounting flange equipment mounting hole.

Figure 2. shows more clearly how an unexpected and potentially dangerous pivoting action of the telescopic slide mechanism is effectively prevented according to this invention; This safety aspect of the improved design comes about because of the horizontal longitudinal channel that is created in the side face as a result of the top and bottom horizontal folds in the side face effectively forming a three sided channel, this formed channel acts to retain the telescopic slide mechanism (10) within a narrow range of vertical rotation and holds it essentially in the horizontal plane in order to effectively prevent the telsecopic slide mechanism device from pivoting in a vertical arc and rotating motion under it's own unbalanced weight around the pivoting point, being the securing screw that is used to install and hold the telescopic True Copy 6 slide mechanism in place against the inside face (12) of the improved bracket (13) even though the said securing screw may not yet be fully tightened, this feature of the invention and improved design further allows for wide adjustment of the final mounting position of the totality of the telescopic slide mechanism device relative to the improved mounting bracket and therefore also relative to the rack or cabinet mounting flange or front mounting face in the horizontal plane while at the same time limiting the risk of injury to individuals and or risk of damage to adjacent equipment from having the unbalanced telescopic slide mechanism rotate and fall down under it's own weight by pivoting on the said securing screw during installation. This invention with it's improved design effectively prevents this pivoting and vertical arc rotation effect of the telescopic slide mechanism which may be even more dangerous should the inner slide member(s) unexpectedly extend once the slide mechanism reaches a sufficiently non horizontal attitude or plane.

Figure 3. shows more clearly how a pair of the improved telescopic slide mounting brackets may be used on the front and rear of the telescopic slide mechanism; The weight carrying capability and rigidity of the installed equipment utilising the improved design, providing that the rack or cabinet is, or can be, .*"fitted with rear mounting rails or mounting flanges in addition to front mounting rails or mounting flanges, can be further increased if the improved brackets according to this invention are fitted at both the front and the rear of the slide mounting mechanism devices and attached to the front and rear mounting rails or mounting flanges and as well to the left and right sides of the rack or cabinet and to the left and right sides of the installed equipment, S* this approach would provide an effective four point mounting to the equipment and further, because of the improvements in the design afforded by the slotted adjustment mechanism, a very wide range of adjustment and **fitment can be tolerated in the horizontal front to rear positioning of the telescopic slide mount mechanism and in addition because each and both of the front and rear brackets feature the adjustment slot and cage nut mounting a wide range of mechanical variability can be tolerated in the actual distance between the front mounting rail or mounting flange and the rear mounting rail or mounting flange of the equipment rack or cabinet.

True Copy It will be realised that the improved telecopic slide mounting bracket device according to this invention is not restricted to the configuration shown in the example, but may utilise any combination of shapes and or manufacturing methods or materials provided that the essential qualities of adjustment of positioning utilising a slot and a caged nut and a channel to hold a telescopic slide mechanism during and after installation are incorporated and that the strength of the improved mounting bracket device must be suitable for the purposes intended.

The present invention thus enjoys several advantages. For example, all of the space saving efficiency advantages of a rack or cabinet equipment mounting system utilising slide mount mechanism devices are retained while in addition the equipment can be easily installed and or uninstalled, safely, by a single individual.

It is understood that variations may be made in the foregoing without departing from the scope of the present invention. For example, the rack or cabinet mounting bracket system and methods of the present invention are not limited to use with computer or computer communications equipment but are equally applicable to other rack or cabinet mounted equipment of any type.

It is understood that other modifications, changes and substitutions are intended in the foregoing disclosure and in some instances some features of the invention will be employed without a corresponding use of other features. Accordingly, it is appropriate that the appended claims be construed broadly and in a manner consistent with the scope of the invention.

°oo.o True Copy

Claims (9)

1. An improved mounting bracket for the installation of computer or computer communication equipment or of other non specified rack or cabinet mounted or mountable equipment of any type installed or installable in a rack or cabinet by utilising telescopic slide mounting mechanism devices.

2. An improved telescopic slide mechanism mounting bracket as described in claim further comprising a slot and a caged nut device allowing a wide range of fitment tolerance and mounting variability and adjustment.

3. An improved telescopic slide mechanism mounting bracket as described in claim further comprising a slot and a caged nut device allowing a wide range of fitment distance between front and rear vertical mounting rails or mounting flanges within an equipment rack or cabinet. .eoe°

4. An improved telescopic slide mechanism mounting bracket as described in claim further comprising a horizontal channel to assist in the ease of installation by retaining the slide mounting mechanism device in a generally horizontal axis during installation and adjustment.

An improved telescopic slide mechanism mounting bracket as described in claim further comprising a horizontal channel to assist in the ease of installation by a single indiviual.

6. An improved telescopic slide mechanism mounting bracket as described in claim further comprising a horizontal channel to assist ~in installation by reducing the danger of injury to individuals during installation.

7. An improved telescopic slide mechanism mounting bracket as described in claim further comprising a horizontal channel to assist in installation by reducing the risk of damage to adjacent equipment during installation. True Copy

8. An improved telescopic slide mechanism mounting bracket as described in claim further comprising a horizontal channel to assist in controlling the unexpected extension of the sliding members of the telescopic slide mechanism device during installation by holding the telescopic slide mechanism device in a more or less horizontal plane during the assembly and installation process.

9. An improved telescopic slide mechanism mounting bracket as described in claim further comprising a horizontal channel to assist in controlling the unexpected and possibly dangerous rotation of the telescopic slide mechanism device during installation by pivoting on the screw used to secure or fasten the telescopic slide mechanism device to the said mounting bracket during the assembly and installation process. O.An improved telescopic slide mounting bracket substantially as herein described with reference to the accompanying drawings. JOHN HENRY DRAIN (Name of Applicant(s)) 13 JANUARY 2001 (Date) True Copy