JP3446737B2 - Extension board mounting mechanism - Google Patents

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an expansion board mounting mechanism, and more particularly to a mounting mechanism suitable for mounting an expansion board that can be mounted / removed without turning off the main power of a computer.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A typical example is a PCI board (also called a PCI card) as an expansion board to be added later to a computer for adding new functions or enhancing existing functions. This PCI board is a PCI attached to the motherboard of the computer.
A connector terminal portion that can be inserted into and removed from the bus is formed along one end of the connector terminal portion. By inserting the connector terminal portion into the PCI bus, electrical connection is made with the motherboard, and the planned function is achieved. To be demonstrated.

Recently, the demand for continuous mobility of computers has been increasing, and there is a hot plug (HOT PLUG) system which allows the PCI board to be inserted and removed (inserted and removed) without turning off the main power supply of the computer. It is being adopted.

FIG. 4 shows such a hot plug PCI.
1 shows a board mounting mechanism 100. First, the PCI board 110 is provided with a connector terminal portion 112 at an edge portion corresponding to one long side of a rectangular board body 111. In addition, the PCI board 110 has a rectangular main body 111 at one edge of the board main body 111 corresponding to one short side.
A strip-shaped guide frame 113 that is perpendicular to the guide frame 113 is provided, and the lower end of the guide frame 113 is inserted into a slit (not shown) provided inside the computer.

The PCI board mounting mechanism 100 is a PCI bus 1 provided on a motherboard of a computer.
01 and the PCI board 1 via the PCI bus 101
A switch 102 capable of switching between energization of 10 and disconnection thereof by an external operation, and a switch operation unit 103 provided at the upper end of the guide frame 113 of the PCI board 110.
It has and.

The PCI bus 101 is a PCI board 110.
The connector terminal portion 112 is provided with an insertion port that can be inserted along the direction corresponding to the short side of the rectangle of the board body 111, and the PCI board 110 is held by such insertion.
At this time, the switch operating portion 103 is the operated portion 1 of the changeover switch 102 extended to the switch operating portion 103 side.
It contacts with 02a and is rotated. As a result, the changeover switch 102 causes the PCI via the PCI bus 101.
The board 110 is energized. In addition, the PCI board 11
When the 0 connector terminal portion 112 is pulled out from the PCI bus 101, the switch operating portion 103 separates from the operated portion 102a of the changeover switch 102, so that the operated portion 102
a returns to the original position and the power to the PCI board 110 is cut off.

[0007]

The object of the invention is to be Solved However, the above-mentioned slave
The conventional example had the following inconveniences. That is, the changeover switch 102 for turning ON / OFF the power supply to the PCI board 110.
Because switched for the first time to OFF after the movement of the drawing direction of the PCI board 110 has started for the PCI bus 101, is there at the start of the pull-out operation, still, PC
The I board 110 is energized. Innumerable circuits are formed on the board body 111 of the PCI board 110, and the board body 11 is in an energized state when pulled out.
If 1 is directly grasped, a short circuit may occur in the circuit and the circuit configuration may be destroyed.

Further, as shown in FIG. 4, the changeover switch 1
Since 02 is located above the board main body 111, there is an inconvenience that this interferes with effective use of the upper area of the PCI board 110.

[0009]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is an object of the present invention to provide a mechanism for mounting an expansion board, which is capable of improving the disadvantages of the conventional example and, in particular, preventing the damage of the expansion board and effectively utilizing the empty space in the computer. To that end.

[0010]

In order to achieve the above-mentioned object, the invention described in the present application provides an extension board mounting mechanism that can be inserted into and removed from a bus provided in a computer. A guard bar that covers the end of the inserted expansion board along the end of the extension board, and locking means that locks the guard bar inside the computer with the guard bar covering the end of the expansion board, e Bei a changeover switch off the energization by the release of their engagement with the locking of the guard bar to enable energization against expansion board
It is

The extension board has a connector terminal portion formed at one end thereof, and the connector terminal portion at the one end is inserted into the bus. After insertion, the end of the expansion board in the direction of removal, that is, the end opposite to the connector terminal of the expansion board, is covered with a guard bar, and in this state, the guard bar is locked by the locking means. Lock in the computer. On the other hand, the changeover switch is switched to the energized state by the guard bar or the locking means in accordance with the locking operation of the guard bar, and the expansion board is brought into a state in which it can exhibit its intended function by being powered.

Further, when the expansion board is pulled out, the guard bar covers the end portion in the pulling-out direction, so that it is possible to prevent the circuit on the board of the expansion board from being directly touched, and to prevent the expansion board from being directly touched. Since the guard bar is located on the side of pulling out, the guard bar must be removed before pulling out the expansion board. Since the changeover switch cuts off the power supply to the expansion board in accordance with the operation of removing the guard bar, a short circuit does not occur even if the circuit on the board is touched when the expansion board is pulled out.

Here, the guard bar may cover a part of the end portion of the extension board in the removal direction, but it is preferable that the guard bar covers the entire end portion. Further, the guard bar may be configured to be locked by a locking means to any part of the structure of the computer on which the expansion board is mounted,
It may be configured to be mounted on the extension board via the locking means.

Further, in addition to the above structure, the guard bar has a flexible bending portion which is formed in a U shape or a V shape and which is a projection portion protruding from one end portion of the guard bar toward the bus side. The locking means is formed in a rectangular plate shape, and the locking means is provided between at least one end portion of the guard bar and a portion facing the one end portion, and a claw portion that can be released from the engagement state by bending of the bending portion of the guard bar. The changeover switch is provided with a claw receiving portion, and the changeover switch has an operated portion which is pressed by a pressing portion provided at the bus side end of the bending portion of the guard bar to be in the energizable state. It is provided at a position facing the pressing portion of the guard bar in the computer.

With this configuration, the same operation as described above is performed, and the operated portion is pressed by the pressing portion by the locking of the guard bar, and the changeover switch is switched to the energizable state. By removing the guard bar, the pressed state of the operated portion is released and the state is switched to the non-energized state.

Further, guard bars at a position opposing the pressing portion of the guard bar that includes a pressing portion on the bus side ends of the projections, in the switch computer provided with a projecting portion that is bent from one end to the bus side The configuration is such that it is provided. Therefore, the changeover switch is provided closer to the bus than the end of the extension board in the pull-out direction. Therefore, it is possible to effectively use the area where the extension board does not have a structure protruding in the removal direction side.

Further , the guard bar is formed in a flexible rectangular plate shape, and the locking means is provided between at least one end of the guard bar and a portion facing the one end.
Can be U-shaped or V-shaped on one end of the guard bar
The configuration is such that the claw portion and the claw receiving portion that can be released from the engaged state by the bending of the flexible bending portion are provided.

When locking the guard bar,
U-shaped or V -shaped flexible flexure formed at one end of the
When the guard bar is removed by bending the portion to lock the claw portion to the claw receiving portion, the bending portion is bent to separate the claw portion from the claw receiving portion. It should be noted that the claw portion is provided on either one of the opposing portions of the guard bar and the guard bar in the computer, and the claw receiving portion is provided on the other portion of the opposing portion of the guard bar and the guard bar.

In addition to having the same structure as the above-mentioned invention, the width in the direction perpendicular to both the longitudinal direction of the guard bar and the inserting direction of the expansion board is approximately equal to the interval of the buses arranged in parallel at uniform intervals. Set equal width.
In such a configuration, when each extension board is equipped with a guard bar, the guard bars are lined up at the ends of the extension boards in the removal direction without any gap.

The present invention is intended to achieve the above-mentioned object by each of the above-mentioned constitutions.

[0021]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT An embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS.
It will be described based on. FIG. 1 is a front view showing an embodiment of the present invention. 2 and 3 are perspective views showing the operation of the embodiment. This embodiment is a PCI as an expansion board.
The attachment mechanism 10 of the board 20 is shown.

The PCI board 20 is provided with a connector terminal portion 22 which can be inserted into and removed from the PCI bus 11 attached to the motherboard B of the computer along one end thereof. 22 pcs
By being inserted into the I-bus 11, it is electrically connected to the mother board B and the expected function is exhibited.

Further, the PCI board 20 adopts a so-called hot plug method, and the PCI board 20 can be inserted / removed (inserted / removed) without turning off the main power source of the computer. Further, the PCI board 20 is provided with a connector terminal portion 22 on an edge portion corresponding to one long side of a rectangular board body 21. The PCI board 20 has a rectangular board body 21.
A strip-shaped guide frame 23 that is perpendicular to the plate surface of the board body 21 is provided at an edge portion corresponding to one short side of the one. The lower end of the guide frame 23 is inserted into a slit 13 of a mounting mechanism 10 which will be described later and is provided inside the computer. Further, the upper end portion of the guide frame 23 has a bent portion 23a bent in the horizontal direction with its plate surface facing upward, and the PCI board 2
0 is installed in the computer.

The PCI board 20 is mounted on the motherboard B by inserting the connector terminal portion 22 into the PCI bus 11 along the short side of the board body 21, and pulled out from the motherboard B by pulling in the opposite direction. It Less than,
The mounting direction is the mounting direction D, and the pulling direction is the pull-out direction U.

A plurality of PCI buses 11 are provided on the motherboard B and arranged in parallel at equal intervals so that a plurality of PCI boards 20 can be mounted. Along with this, a plurality of PCI board mounting mechanisms 10 are also provided.

Next, the PCI board mounting mechanism 10
Is a PCI bus 11 into which the PCI board 20 is inserted, and a PCI board 20 inserted into the PCI bus 11.
A guard bar 30 covering the end of the PCI board 20 along the removal direction U side, a locking means 40 for locking the guard bar 30 in a state of covering the end of the PCI board 20, and a locking of the guard bar 30. The switch board 12 allows the PCI board 20 to be energized and cuts off the power by releasing the lock, and the slit 13 in which the lower end of the guide frame 23 of the PCI board 20 can be inserted and removed.

The above-mentioned guard bar 30 is formed in the shape of a rectangular plate having flexibility, and is set to be slightly longer than the long side of the PCI board 20. Locking means 40 are provided at both ends of the guard bar 30 so that the guard bar 30 can be mounted on the inner wall surface of the computer case at a position where the PCI board 20 on the motherboard B entirely covers the end on the extraction side. .

The locking means 40 includes an insertion portion 41 provided at one end portion (left end portion) of the guard bar 30 and an engagement concave portion 42 for rotatably supporting the guard bar 30 within a certain range with the insertion portion 41 as a fulcrum. It has and. The insertion portion 41 has a spatula shape integrally extending with the guard bar 30 along the longitudinal direction thereof. On the other hand, the engagement recess 42 is provided inside the housing of the computer, and is gently supported by the engagement recess 41 in a state where the insertion portion 41 is inserted, so that the entire guard bar 30 can be rotated to some extent. (See Figure 3).

Further, the locking means 40 is formed integrally with the guard bar 30 at the other end (right end) of the guard bar 30, and is substantially C opened in the extending direction of the other end of the guard bar 30. It has a character-shaped claw portion 43 and an engagement protrusion 44 as a claw receiving portion provided inside the housing of the computer. These are structured to engage with each other in a state where the tip of the engaging projection 44 enters the opening of the claw portion 43.

The guard bar 30 has a semi-circular abutment portion 31 that abuts on the upper surface of the bent portion 23a of the guide frame 23 of the PCI board 20 in the vicinity of the insertion portion 41 at one end thereof and projects downward. Further, at the other end of the guard bar 30, a V-shaped bending portion 32 is provided near the claw portion 43 so as to allow the claw portion 43 to retract and move. This flexure 32
The folded-back portion projects toward the PCI bus 11 side, and by bending around the folded-back portion, the claw portion 43 can be retracted along the longitudinal direction of the guard bar 30. That is, when the bending portion 32 bends, the claw portion 43 is released from the engagement state with the engagement protrusion 44, and the guard bar is rotated upward with the insertion portion 41 side as a fulcrum to engage the insertion portion 41. By pulling out from the fitting recess 42, the guard bar 30 can be detached from the housing of the computer and removed from above the PCI board 20.

Inside the computer casing, a changeover switch 12 is provided just below the bending portion 32 of the guard bar 30. The changeover switch 12 has a push button 12a as an operated part that is made energizable by a pressing operation. The push button 12a is arranged so that the lower end of the bending portion 32 just presses the push button 12a when the guard bar 30 is mounted inside the housing by the locking means 40. Therefore, guard bar 3
By installing 0 inside the chassis, the PCI board 20
Is energized via the PCI bus 11, and is continuously energized unless the guard bar 30 is removed.

As described above, a plurality of PCI buses 11 are provided in parallel on the mother board B at equal intervals, and accordingly, a plurality of PCI board mounting mechanisms 10 are also provided. As shown in FIG. 2, the guard bar 30 is set such that the width thereof in the direction orthogonal to the longitudinal direction (arrangement direction of the PCI buses 11) is substantially equal to the interval between the PCI buses 11. Therefore, each PCI board 20
If the guard bars 30 are provided above the above, the guard bars 30 are arranged with almost no space therebetween, and it becomes impossible to directly contact the PCI boards 20 from above.

The operation of using the PCI board mounting mechanism 10 configured as described above will be described with reference to FIGS. First, the PCI board 20 is attached to each PCI bus 11. At this point, the PCI board 20 is not energized from the motherboard B because the guard bar 30 is not mounted yet.

Then, the guard bar 30 is mounted above each PCI board 20 via the locking means 40.
In this attachment, first, the contact portion 3 of the guard bar 30
1 is placed on the bent portion 23a of the guide frame 23 of the PCI board 20, and the insertion portion 41 is inserted into the engagement recess 42 (see FIG. 3). Then, in this state, the guard bar 30 is rotated so that the claw portion 43 faces downward. Claw 43
Causes the bending portion 32 to bend in a direction in which the claw portion 43 retracts in a state in which is approaching the engagement protrusion 44. Then, the claw portion 43 is engaged with the engagement protrusion 44. As a result, the guard bar 30
Is mounted inside the computer housing. Guard bar 3
In the mounted state of 0, the folded portion of the bending portion 32 pushes the push button 12a of the changeover switch 12, so that the PC
The I board 20 is energized from the motherboard B. When the mounting of the guard bars 30 is completed, the guard bars 30 are lined up in close contact with each other.
The I-board 20 cannot be touched. Also the inner P
The CI board 20 is almost entirely surrounded and cannot be contacted from any direction.

Next, the PCI board 20 is attached to the mother board B.
When removing from the guard bar 30, the guard bar 30 is located on the U side in the pulling-out direction, and therefore must be removed from the guard bar 30 without fail. Contrary to when the guard bar 30 is mounted, first, the bending portion 32 is bent in the direction in which the claw portion 43 retracts from the engaging protrusion 44, and the mutual engagement state is released. And
As shown in FIG. 3, the end portion of the guard bar 30 on the claw portion 43 side is rotated upward. As a result, the bent portion of the bending portion 32 that pressed the push button 12a of the changeover switch 12 is removed, so that the power supply to the PCI board 20 is cut off.

Further, the insertion portion 41 is pulled out from the engagement recess 42 by pulling the guard bar 30 along the longitudinal direction toward the end portion on the side of the claw portion 43, and the guard bar 30 is completely removed from the housing of the computer. It will be in the state of being. Then, in such a state, the PCI board 20 is pulled in the pulling-out direction and pulled out from the PCI bus 11. At this time, when the guard bar 30 is rotated, the changeover switch 12 is turned off, and there is no possibility of causing a short circuit even if it directly contacts the PCI board 20.

The bending portion 32 of the guard bar 30 is not limited to the V-shape, but may be formed in a substantially U-shape or in a shape (for example, a bellows shape) suitable for bending. Also, the guard bar 30
Is made of a material having sufficient flexibility, the flexible portion 32 is omitted, and instead, a protruding portion that simply protrudes downward is provided in front of the claw portion 43, and a push button is provided at the lower end thereof. A pressing portion that presses may be provided.

[0038]

According to the present invention, a guard bar is provided to cover the end of the mounted expansion board in the removal direction, and such a guard bar turns on the changeover switch for energizing the expansion board at the time of mounting the guard bar. Since the changeover switch is turned off by removing it, the extension board is prevented from being touched from the pull-out direction when the guard bar is attached, and the occurrence of a short circuit is effectively prevented. Also, when removing the expansion board, you must always remove it from the guard bar,
The power to the expansion board will be cut off by removing the guard bar, so when removing the expansion board,
It is possible to effectively prevent the occurrence of a short circuit .

[0039] Furthermore, providing a protrusion protruding to the bus side to the guard bar, since a structure for pressing the changeover switch by the pressing portion of the tip, the insertion direction than pulling out direction end portion of the expansion board over switch It is possible to dispose the space closer to the end portion, and it is possible to eliminate the configuration that projects around the space on the extraction board side of the expansion board, and to effectively use the space.

Further, the locking means has a claw portion and a claw receiving portion, and a U-shaped or V-shaped protruding portion formed on the guard bar.
The flexible part is made to have flexibility .
Thus, the guard bar can be attached / detached only by the operation of bending the bending portion of the guard bar , and the entire work of attaching / detaching the extension board can be easily performed. In particular, by disposing the claw portion and the bending portion at one end of the guard bar, it is possible to more easily attach and detach the guard bar.
Become

Further, by setting the width of the guard bar to be approximately equal to the interval between the buses arranged side by side, by mounting the guard bar corresponding to each expansion board, the pull-out direction side of each expansion board can be separated by a plurality of guard bars. It is possible to cover without any gap, and it is possible to effectively prevent the short circuit of the expansion board.

Since the present invention is constructed and functions as described above, it becomes possible to provide an unprecedented excellent extension board mounting mechanism.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a front view showing an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing a mounted state of the guard bar disclosed in FIG.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing a detached state of the guard bar disclosed in FIG.

FIG. 4 is a front view showing a conventional example.

[Explanation of symbols]

10 PCI board mounting mechanism 11 PCI bus 12 Changeover switch 12a Push button (operated part) 20 PCI board (expansion board) 30 guard bar 32 flexure 40 Locking means 43 Claw 44 Engagement protrusion (claw receiving part)

Claims (2)

(57) [Claims] 1. A bus provided in a computer
The mounting mechanism of the expansion board that can be inserted and removed freely
hand, End of the expansion board inserted in the bus in the direction of removal
Along with the guard bar that covers the end and this guard bar
Put the guard bar in an arrangement that covers the end of the expansion board.
Locking means for locking in the computer and the guard bar
When the expansion board can be energized by locking the
Both have a changeover switch that turns off the power when the lock is released.
Equipmente, The guard bar is U-shaped or V-shaped and
From the protruding part that protrudes from one end of the bar to the bus side
Is formed in the shape of a rectangular plate having a flexible bending portion, The locking means includes at least one end of the guard bar.
The gar is provided between the one end and a portion facing the one end.
Claw part that can be released from the engaged state by bending the bending part of the dover
And a nail receiver, The changeover switch is in the locked state of the guard bar.
On the bus side end of the flexure of the guard bar.
The object to be energized by being pressed by the obtained pressing part
The guard bar in the computer having an operation unit
It is provided at a position facing the pressing part of
An extension board mounting mechanism. 2. The width of the guard bar in a direction perpendicular to both the longitudinal direction and the insertion direction of the expansion board is set to be substantially equal to the interval of the buses arranged in parallel at a uniform interval. The mounting mechanism for an expansion board according to claim 1 , wherein the mounting mechanism is an extension board.