GB2224068A

GB2224068A - Equipment mounting

Info

Publication number: GB2224068A
Application number: GB8824582A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Graham Furness
Original assignee: STC PLC
Current assignee: STC PLC
Priority date: 1988-10-20
Filing date: 1988-10-20
Publication date: 1990-04-25
Also published as: GB8824582D0

Abstract

A means for mounting an equipment to a support plate comprises a bracket (1), which engages the equipment (10, 12) and the support plate (5), and a resilient member 11 which is compressed when the screw (8) is tightened. A plurality of such means can be used to support one equipment by appropriate choice of the spacing of the brackets and resilient members and tightening of the screws by appropriate extents, strain on the equipment can be limited. The mounting enables equipment designed for table top use to be mounted with normally rack mounted equipment and possibly with vertically mounted rack/cabinet equipment. <IMAGE>

Description

EQUIPMENT MOUNTING This invention relates to equipment mounting and in particular to means for use in mounting equipment.

The majority of switching/computer peripheral equipments are designed for use on a table top and as such are normally boxed structures. They are wider and deeper than they are high and are stable structures which can be slid around rather than toppled over. These peripheral equipments may have feet which, if they are resilient, can serve as handling shock obsorbers. Feet can also provide an air passage gap between the equipment and the table top. In some signalling equipments there is a requirement that peripheral equipments be nerged with normally vertically mounted rack equipments.

It is an object of the present invention to provide means whereby such peripheral equipments can be mounted together with horizontally and vertically mounted rack/cabinet equipments.

According to one aspect of the present invention there is provided a means for mounting an equipment to a support plate including a bracket having a first portion which is adapted to engage the equipment and a second portion including an element which is adapted to engage a recess in the support plate, screw means for securing the bracket to the support plate with the element engaged in the recess, and a resilient member which is compressed during securement of the bracket to the support plate and serves to limit strain in the second portion.

According to another aspect of the present invention there is provided a method of mounting an equipment to a support plate including the use of a plurality of mounting means according to the preceding paragraph with the brackets thereof spaced apart and positioned at appropriate parts of the equipment, each bracket being associated with a respective resilient member, and including the steps of positioning the brackets and resilient members at predetermined positions and distances apart and tightening each said screw member by a predetermined amount whereby to achieve a predetermined mounting condition for the equipment Embodiment of the invention will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:: Fig. 1 illustrates a view of a bracket of an embodiment of mounting means; Fig. 2 illustrates partially in section a side view of a peripheral equipment, having a lip, mounted to a support plate by a bracket according to Fig. 1 engaging the lip and a securing screw; Fig. 3 shows a view of a mounted equipment indicating the relative positions of the brackets engaging the lips and resilient feet; Fig. 4 illustrates a side view of a variant of bracket with a compressive portion bonded thereto for use with peripheral equipment without resilient feet;; Fig 5 illustrates a side view, partially sectional, of one method of mounting a peripheral equipment without a lip using a bracket according to Fig. 1 and a securing screwy Fig. 6 illustrates a side view, partially sectioned, of another method of mounting a peripheral equipment without a lip using a bracket according to Fig. 1 and a securing screw; Fig. 7 illustrates a

of a variant of bracket with a slotted tongue, and Fig. 8 illustrates a view of a variant of the bracket of Fig. 1.

The basic mounting bracket 1 illustrated in Fig. 1 is usable in the mounting of various peripheral equipment structures, although it may be modified for particular applications as will be apparent from the following. The bracket 1 includes a tongue portion 2 by which the equipment is engaged, a foot portion 3 which is bifurcated, as illustrated, for mating with locating holes 4 (only one of which is visible in Fig. 2) provided in a support plate 5 (Big.2) and an intermediate portion 6 having a threaded hole 7 in which a screw 8 (Fig.2) is introduced, following insertion through hole 9 in the support plate, for securing the bracket and equipment to the support plate 5.

The support plate is typically of aluminium and the bracket 1 is typically of aluminium also and cut from sheet metal and bent to the required shape. The shape is such that there are three basic bends, two bends to provide the tongue portion 2 which engages the equipment and one bend to provide the foot portion 3 as is clearly evident in Fig. 2. The hole 7 may be ex4tuded to induce in effect a 150% thread in the particularly ductile host material (aluminium) and thus compensate for the flexural weakness of the bracket material. The three holes (two holes 4 and one hole 9) are located at the corners of a triangb?.

The equipment mounted in Fig. 2 includes a lip 10, which is engaged by the tongue portion 2 of the bracket, and a resilient foot 11 of compressive material. The screw 8 is tightened in order to lock on to the lip 10 and to compress the foot 11. The equipment is then securely mounted to the support plate at this point. Typically a piece of equipment is mounted at each of four corners thereof to the support plate as illustrated in Fig. 3 and there is a resilient foot 11 in the vicinity of each bracket 1. The compression of theresilient foot 11 serves to limit the strain on the foot portion 3 of the bracket.By adjusting the relative distances between the brackets and the resilient feet 11, and the amount of compression of the foot 11, hog or sag or even neutral bending can be induced in either the base 12 of the equipment or the support plate 5. ThSs strain on the equipment due to the mounting on a support plate can be deliberately avoided, which is particularly advantageous if the equipment has a housing of plastics material. The arrangement illustrated in Fig. 3 induces a neutral effect left to right and a hog across the span top to bottom. In the case of equipment without resilient feet 11, equivalent separate resilient elements can be provided and secured to either the base 12 or the plate 5.Furthermore a variant of the bracket may include an integral compressive element 11' as illustrated in Fig. 4, in particular a compressive element bonded to the intermediate portion 6 adjacent to the foot portion 3.

Whereas the brackets so far described engage lips of the peripheral equipment to be mounted this is not the only possibility. Figs. 5 and 6 illustrate two variants. In Fig. 5 the tongue portion 2 of the bracket is disposed inside of the case of the peripheral equipment, having been passed through a slot 13 provided in the base 14 of the equipment. In Fig. 6 the tongue portion 2 extends into the case of the equipment, having entered therein via a slot 15 provided in the side 16 of the equipment. As an alternative to a slot in the case side or bottom, two holes may be provided and the tongue portion 2 of the bracket bifurcated as illustrated in Fig. 7. It will be appreciated that the fixing bracket of Fig. S is within the footprint of the equipment, which may be advantageous in certain applications, whezas those of Figs. 2, 4 and 6 extend beyond the equipment footprint.

The flexural strength of the tongue 2 is turned to suit the requirements of the peripheral equipment and the bracket may be shaped as indicated in Fig. 8 in order to adapt it to particular requirement, the shape illustrated in Fig. 8 providing.................

The bracket means of fixing the peripheral equipment to the support plate described above are such that the equipment (and support plate) can be mounted horizontally or vertically in rack or cabinet type equipment.

Claims

CLAIMS:

1. Means for mounting an equipment to a support plate including a bracket having a first portion which is adapted to engage the equipment and a second portion including an element which is adapted to engage a recess in the support plate, screw means for securing the bracket to the support plate with the element engaged in the recess, and a resilient member which is compressed during securement of the bracket to the support plate and serves to limit strain in the second portion.

2. Means as claimed in claim 1 wherein the first portion is a tongue adapted to engage an external lip of the equipment.

3. Means as claimed in claim 1 wherein the first portion is a tongue adapted to extend into the interior of the equipment via a corresponding aperture in an equipment wall.

4. Means as claimed in claim 3 wherein the tongue is bifurcated and there is a corresponding aperture in the equipment wall for each bifurcation.

5. Means as claimed in claim 3 or claim 4 wherein the aperture/apertures are in a base wall br a side wall of the equipment.

6. Means as claimed in any of the preceding claims wherein the second portion is bifurcated and there are two said elements each of which engages a respective recess in the support plate.

7. Means as claimed in any one of the preceding claims wherein the resilient member is compressed by a resilient foot of the equipment.

8. Means as claimed in any one of the claims 1 to 6 wherein the resilient member comprises an element disposed between the equipment and the support.

9. Means as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 6 wherein the resilient member comprises an element bonded to the bracket.

10. Means as claimed in any one of the preceding claims wherein the bracket is of a ductile material and a hole therein for the screw is extruded to induce a 150% thread to compensate for the flexural weakness of the ductile material.

11. A method of mounting an equipment to a support plate including the use of a plurality of mounting means according to any one of the preceding claims with the brackets thereof spaced apart and positioned at appropriate parts of the equipment, each bracket being associated with a respective resilient member, and including the steps of positioning the brackets and resilient members at predetermined positions and distances apart and tightening each said screw member by a predetermined amount whereby to achieve a predetermined mounting condition for the equipment.

12. A method as claimed in claim 11 wherein the positioning and tightening serves to limit strain on the equipment.

13. A method as claimed in claim 12 wherein hog, sag or neutral bending is induced in either the support place or a base wall of the equipment.

14. Means for mounting an equipment to a support plate substantially as herein described with reference to and as illustrated in the accompanying drawings.

15. A method of mounting an equipment to a support plate substantially as herein described with reference to and as illustrated in the accompanying drawings.