KR101011006B1 - Connection module for expansion device - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention discloses a connection module for an expansion device. The present invention is a square tube type module case that can be inserted into at least one drive bay provided in the computer case, respectively fixed to the inner side of the module case, the interface unit of the expansion device is inserted, one end is the motherboard At least one side panel unit electrically connected to the main board by a connection module connection unit connected to the main unit and transmitting data between the main unit and the mainboard, and an expansion unit for fixing the expansion unit to the module case It is characterized by comprising a fixing part. Accordingly, the expansion device is inserted into the connection device for the expansion device that can be mounted in the drive bay disposed in the front of the computer main body, thereby providing an additional expansion slot, thereby eliminating the shortage of the expansion slot. In addition, the expansion module connection module can provide a variety of interfaces can reduce the cost loss of the user due to the interface difference.

Description

Connection module for expansion device

TECHNICAL FIELD The present invention relates to a connection module for an expansion device, and more particularly, to a connection module for an expansion device that can be mounted in a drive bay.

The computer is composed of a combination of devices that perform various functions, and the combination of the devices constituting the computer depends on the use or function of the computer.

The devices that make up a computer can be divided into basic devices and peripheral devices. A basic device is a device that allows a computer to perform basic operations. It is the central processing unit (CPU), motherboard, memory, hard disk drive, and power supply. And devices such as cases. In addition, the basic devices are generally mounted inside the case, and generally referred to as a computer having a basic device.

The peripheral device may be further classified into an input / output device and an additional device. Input / output devices are devices that support the user to use the computer. Generally, the input / output devices are provided outside the computer case and are connected to the main body of the computer by wired / wireless connection. A monitor, a keyboard, a mouse, a speaker And other devices. Additional devices are provided to the computer in various forms according to their respective functions and uses, and are provided inside or outside the computer case as devices that allow the computer to perform additional functions other than basic operations. An additional device mounted inside the computer case mainly has an expansion card type installed in an expansion slot provided on the motherboard, and typically includes a sound card, a LAN card, and a LAN card. Graphic card and the like. And optical disc driver (Optical Disc Driver) that drives optical discs such as CD-ROM, DVD-ROM, and additional devices such as video editing card and TV receiving card are mounted inside or outside the case according to each device's interface. It is provided and used in connection with a computer.

An expansion device is a device that a user adds to a computer as needed. Generally, all additional devices are included in the expansion device. One hard disk drive is included in the base unit, but a storage device such as an additional hard disk drive is included in the expansion unit because it is not an essential device constituting the computer.

FIG. 1 is a view for explaining a schematic structure of a general computer body, and FIG. 2 is a rear perspective view of the computer body of FIG.

Referring to FIGS. 1 and 2, a structure of a general computer main body 1 will be described. First, the computer case 10 should have sufficient space for the basic device and various additional devices to be disposed. It is designed to easily dissipate heat generated from various devices inside to the outside.

The computer case 10 is a 3.5-inch and 5.25-inch drive that can be mounted to the front of the drive unit, such as an optical disk drive 11, floppy disk drive (12) or hard disk drive (not shown) Drive bay, power button 13, reset button 14, and the like. In the rear part, various input / output ports (I / O ports) of the main board 20 are designed to protrude to the outside, and various expansion cards mounted in the expansion slots 23 and 24 of the main board 20 and the main board 20. Is provided with a slot panel 15 which is designed so that its connectors protrude outwards and which allows an expansion card to be fixed to the computer case 10, and a power supply 17 is arranged.

The CPU 21 and the memory 22 are mounted on a CPU socket and a memory socket respectively provided on the main board 20, and the main board 20 is disposed on one side of the inside of the computer case 10. . In addition, the expansion slots 23 and 24 provided in the motherboard 20 may be provided in various types according to the interface. In FIG. 1, for example, the PCI slot 23 and the PCI Express (PCI-E) slot 24 ) Is shown. Although not shown, the main board 20 includes a parallel advanced technology attachment (PATA) and a serial advanced technology attachment (PATA) corresponding to interfaces of a hard disk drive (not shown), a floppy disk drive 11, and an optical disk drive 12. A drive connector (not shown) is provided.

3 is a view illustrating an expansion card as an example of an expansion device mounted on the computer main body of FIG.

As shown in FIG. 3, the expansion card 30 includes various elements 32 including the chipset which performs predetermined functions on the printed circuit board 31, the expansion card 30, and the main board 20, respectively. The interface unit 33 is inserted into the expansion slots 23 and 24 of the motherboard 20 to transmit various data therebetween. In addition, a bracket 35 for fixing various connectors 34 and expansion cards 30 connected to an external device of the computer main body 1 to the slot panel 15 of the computer case 10 is provided.

As shown in FIGS. 1 to 3, in a general computer, when the expansion card 30 is mounted on the computer main body 1, an expansion unit 30 of the expansion card 30 is provided on the main board 20. The slots 23 and 24 had to be inserted into the corresponding expansion slots, and the bracket 35 had to be fixed to the slot panel 15 at the rear of the computer case 10. Therefore, when the expansion card is attached to or detached from the computer main body 1 or when the expansion card has an abnormality, the computer case 10 has to be removed, and various connectors 34 of the expansion card 30 are frequently connected to external devices. In the case of connecting or disconnecting, all the connectors are arranged in the rear part of the computer main body 1, which causes inconvenience.

In addition, in recent years, there are a number of areas that can be processed by software in recent years, and functions of expansion cards such as sound cards, LAN cards, and graphics cards provided as separate expansion cards are now available. Since most of the functions are implemented by a single chipset, there is a tendency to be integrated into the motherboard 20. In accordance with this change, the size of the computer main body 1, that is, the size of the computer case 10 is becoming smaller and slimmer. Accordingly, the expansion slot 30 capable of mounting the expansion card 30 on the main board 20 ( 23, 24) is gradually decreasing.

And in order to improve the performance of the expansion card 30, as the ISA interface was replaced with the PCI interface through the coexistence period of the PCI interface with the PCI interface for some time, the present PCI interface has some coexistence period with the PCI-E interface. It is being replaced by the PCI-E interface, and as the interface of the expansion card is diversified to improve the transmission speed between the computer main body 1 and the expansion card 30, the problem of insufficient number of expansion slots becomes more serious. . The shortage of expansion slots due to the diversification of expansion card interfaces prevents users from using existing expansion cards owned by the user, causing additional cost loss.

Meanwhile, in a conventional computer, an optical disk along with a hard disk is mainly used as a mass storage medium. Accordingly, the drive bay was considered in the design of the computer case 10 to mount as many optical disc drives as possible, even though the size of the computer main body 1 was reduced in size and slim.

However, as the fields of computer use become more diverse, various expansion cards that perform their own functions in each field have emerged, while the use of optical discs has emerged due to the emergence of terabyte large capacity hard disks and the rapid development of the Internet. The frequency is getting lower. As a result, the number of expansion slots in the computer main body is insufficient and drive bays are not utilized, thereby reducing space efficiency.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a connection module for an expansion device that can be mounted in a drive bay.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a computer having a connection module for an expansion device.

Connection module for an expansion device of the present invention for achieving the above object is fixed to each of the inner side of the module case, the module case of the square tube form that can be inserted into at least one drive bay provided in the computer case, expansion At least one side panel portion having an interface portion of the device inserted therein, the one end being electrically connected to the motherboard by a connection module connection portion for transferring data between the expansion device and the motherboard, and And an expansion device fixing portion for fixing the expansion device to the module case, wherein the expansion device is an expansion card.

To achieve the above object, the side panel portion has a structure corresponding to a side panel having a smaller size than an inner side surface of the module case, and an interface portion of the expansion device, and an interface portion of the expansion device is inserted therein to be electrically connected to the expansion device. At least one module expansion slot connected to the at least one module expansion slot and corresponding to each of the at least one module expansion slot, wherein the module expansion slot and the connection module connection unit are electrically connected to each other to electrically connect the expansion device and the main board. And at least one interface terminal for connecting.

In order to achieve the above object, the side panel unit adds a data converter inserted between the module expansion slot and the interface terminal to convert data when the data transmission method of the expansion device and the data transmission method of the main board are different from each other. It is characterized by further comprising.

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At least one guide rail fixed to the upper surface or the lower surface of the module case, the movable device fixing portion for achieving the above object, at least one fixed to the printed circuit board of the expansion card And a stopper fixing screw inserted into the board stopper and fixed to the guide rail to fix the board stopper to the guide rail.

An expansion device fixing part for achieving the above object is disposed on the inner upper surface or the lower surface of the module case, characterized in that it comprises a bracket fixing portion for fixing the bracket of the expansion card.

An expansion device for achieving the above object is characterized in that the storage device.

The module case for achieving the above object is characterized by having an upper case constituting the upper surface and one side of the module case, and a lower case constituting the lower surface and the other side of the module case.

When the module case for achieving the above object is mounted in a plurality of the drive bay, characterized in that it further comprises an additional side case on each side between the upper case and the lower case.

Connection module for an expansion device for achieving the above object is characterized in that it further comprises a front case fixed to the front of the module case, and a rear case fixed to the rear of the module case.

Therefore, the expansion module connection module of the present invention allows the expansion module such as an expansion card or a storage device to be inserted into the expansion device connection module that can be mounted in a drive bay disposed at the front of the computer main body to provide an additional expansion slot. Therefore, the lack of expansion slots is eliminated. In addition, the expansion module connection module can provide a variety of interfaces to reduce the user's cost loss due to the interface difference, and the connector and various control units of the expansion card can be arranged in front of the computer main body Make it easy to connect or operate from the front. In addition, since the expansion card and the storage device are mounted on the side of the connection module, heat dissipation means may be provided on the rear surface of the connection module to facilitate heat dissipation.

Hereinafter, a connection module for an expansion device of the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a connection module for an expansion device (hereinafter referred to as a connection module) according to the present invention, and FIG. 5 is a diagram showing an example in which an expansion card is mounted among the expansion devices in FIG. 4.

4 and 5, the connection module 100 of the present invention will be described. As shown in FIG. 4, the connection module 100 of the present invention includes an upper case 110-1 and a lower case 110-. 2), the side panels (120-1, 120-2), the front case 130 and the rear case 140 is composed of. The upper case 110-1 and the lower case 110-2 have exactly the same size and configuration. That is, since the upper case 110-1 and the lower case 110-2 are the same case, each case is not manufactured separately, but one case is manufactured, and the case is disposed when the connection module 100 is coupled. It is divided into an upper case 110-1 or a lower case 110-2.

The upper case 110-1 and the lower case 110-2 respectively include a first surface 111 for covering an upper surface or a lower surface of the connection module and a second surface for covering one side of both sides of the connection module. It has a two-stage cover structure formed by the surface (112).

At least one guide rail 113 may be disposed on the first surface 111 of the upper case 110-1 and the lower case 110-2. The guide rail 113 may move freely along the guide rail 113, and a board stopper 114 for fixing the printed circuit board 31 of the expansion card 30 is disposed, and the board stopper is disposed. A stopper fixing screw 115 is inserted into the board stopper 114 for fixing 114 to a specific position of the guide rail 113. Since the guide rail 113 has a cross section similar to that of lying H sideways as shown, the board stopper 114 can only move on the guide rail 113, and the guide rail ( 113 may be fixed at a specific position on the screen. The guide rail 113 has a guide rail screw hole 113-1 at the side thereof and is fixed to the second surface 112 of the upper case 110-1 and the lower case 110-2.

The guide rail 113, the board stopper 114, and the stopper fixing screw 115 are all board boards for fixing the expansion card 30 to the connection module 100 when the expansion card 30 is used as the expansion device. Government.

Two fixing rails 116 are formed on the second surface 112 of the upper case 110-1 and the lower case 110-2, and the opposite case 110-1 is formed on each of the fixing rails 116. A second case screw hole 117-2 for fixing 110-2 is formed. In addition, a first case screw hole 117-1 corresponding to the second case screw hole 117-2 is formed in the first surface 111. In addition, the second surface 112 is formed with a panel fixing screw hole 118-1 and a guide screw hole 118-2 for fixing the side panels 120-1 and 120-2 and the guide rail 113. . The panel fixing screw holes 118-1 are for fixing the corresponding side panels 120-1 and 120-2, respectively, so as to freely adjust the position where the expansion card 30 is disposed in the connection module 100. The second surface 112 is formed in plural. That is, the side panels 120-1 and 120-2 may be freely fixed to the second surfaces 112 of the upper or lower cases 110-1 and 110-2. Although the panel fixing screw holes 118-1 are formed in FIG. 4 so that there are two positions where the side panels 120-1 and 120-2 can be fixed, an additional panel fixing screw in the second surface 112 is formed. It is obvious that the hole 118-1 can be formed. The guide screw hole 118-2 is formed at a position where the guide rail 113 is to be mounted in correspondence with the guide rail screw hole 113-1 when the guide rail 113 is mounted on the connection module 100. do. In the above, the panel fixing screw holes 118-1 and the guide screw holes 118-2 have been described separately, but a part of the panel fixing screw holes 118-1 may be used as the guide screw holes 118-2. It may be. The panel fixing screw holes in which the screws are not fixed among the panel fixing screw holes 118-1 discharge heat generated from the expansion card 30 mounted inside the connection module 100 to the outside of the connection module 100. It is utilized as a heat radiating means for doing so.

In addition, a third case screw hole 117-3 for fixing the front case 130 and the rear case 140 to the upper and lower cases 110-1 and 110-2 on the front and the rear of the fixing rail 116, respectively. ) Is formed.

The side panels 120-1 and 120-2 have panel screw holes 123 corresponding to the panel fixing screw holes 118-1 of the upper case 110-1 or the lower case 110-2. The second surface 112 of each of the upper case 110-1 or the lower case 110-2 is fixed at a predetermined interval. The side panels 120-1 and 120-2 have module expansion slots 121 so as to be electrically connected to the interface part 33 of the expansion card 30 on one surface thereof. The module expansion slot 121 is configured to correspond to a specific interface such as PCI, PCI-E, and SATA, and is the same slot as the expansion slots 23 and 24 of the motherboard 20. Although the module expansion slot 121 may be configured to correspond to the same interface, it is preferable that each of the side panels 120-1 and 120-2 is configured to correspond to different interfaces. In addition, the module expansion slot 121 may be formed at different heights of the side panels 120-1 and 120-2 in consideration of a case in which a plurality of expansion cards 30 are mounted above and below the connection module 100. Or, it is preferable to be disposed in a plurality in a different position on one side panel (120-1, 120-2). That is, the module expansion slot 121 may be disposed on both sides of the side panels 120-1 and 120-2, and may be freely disposed in the vertical or horizontal direction on the same surface. In addition, the size of the side panels 120-1 and 120-2 is reduced, so that the side panels 120-1 and 120-2 are formed on the second surface of the upper case 110-1 or the lower case 110-2. It may be arranged only in part of 112). When the size of the side panels 120-1 and 120-2 is reduced in this way, the plurality of side panels 120-1 and 120-2 for each of the second surfaces 112 of the cases 110-1 and 110-2 are provided. Since it may be provided, one connection module 100 may be provided with side panels of various interfaces. At this time, in order to reduce the size of the side panels 120-1 and 120-2 so that the plurality of side panels are mounted on the second surface 112, the additional panel fixing screw holes 118-1 are provided in the upper case 110-. 1) or the second surface 112 of the lower case 110-2. In addition, when the sizes of the side panels 120-1 and 120-2 are reduced, heat dissipation through the panel fixing screw holes 118-1 arranged at regular intervals becomes easier. Since the interface unit 33 of the expansion card 30 is inserted into the module expansion slot 121 of the side panels 120-1 and 120-2, the positions of the side panels 120-1 and 120-2 are moved. Since the position of the expansion card 30 in the connection module 100 is moved, the user can adjust the position of the expansion card 30. That is, the connector 34 and the bracket 35 of the expansion card may protrude to the front portion of the connection module 100 or may not protrude.

The side panels 120-1 and 120-2 also have interface terminals 122 electrically connected to the module expansion slot 121 on the other side thereof and to the connection module connection terminal 160 of the connection cable 161. do. The interface terminal 122 is preferably disposed on the same plane as the module expansion slot 121 in terms of flow of electrical signals, but may be disposed on the other surface to facilitate connection with the connection module connection terminal 160. Since the interface terminal 122 is disposed on the other surface of the side panels 120-1 and 120-2, the side panels 120-1 and 120-2 are connected to the upper case 110-1 or the lower case 110-2. It should be fixed at predetermined intervals from each second surface 112. However, when the interface terminal 122 is disposed on the same plane as the module expansion slot 121, the side panels 120-1 and 120-2 may be disposed in the upper case 110-1 or the lower case 110-2. The two surfaces 112 may be fixed without being spaced apart. When each of the side panels 120-1 and 120-2 includes a plurality of module expansion slots 121, the plurality of interface terminals 122 correspond to the number of the module expansion slots 121. It may be provided at (120-1, 120-2). In this case, the plurality of module expansion slots 121 and corresponding interface terminals 122 having different interfaces may be arranged side by side up and down on one side panel 120-1, 120-2. Alternatively, the module expansion slot 121 and the interface terminal 122 may be disposed in opposite directions on the same surface, or may be disposed on different surfaces of the side panels 120-1 and 120-2.

In addition, the interface between the module expansion slot 121 and the interface terminal 122 may be set differently. The interface terminal 122 electrically connects the module expansion slot 121 and the connection module connection terminal 160 to allow the expansion card 30 and the main board 20 to transmit and receive data with each other. Therefore, the data transmission method of the interface terminal 122 can be transmitted by the transmission method of the same interface as the interface of the expansion card (30). However, when the interface of the module expansion slot 121 is PCI-E, there is no problem in data transmission through the connection module connection unit consisting of the connection module connection terminal 160 and the connection module connection cable 161, but the expansion card 30 If the interface uses a parallel data transmission method such as ISA or PCI, the longer the data transmission distance, the greater the chance of data error. In addition, the PCI-E, SATA, USB interface is basically designed as an interface capable of supporting external devices, but since the PCI interface is an interface developed only for the expansion card mounted on the motherboard 20, In order to receive PCI data, the motherboard 20 must use one of the expansion slots 23 for the PCI interface. Therefore, when the module expansion slot 121 is a slot for the PCI interface, it is preferable to further include a data converter between the module expansion slot 121 and the interface terminal 122 for converting PCI data into PCI-E or USB data. Do. However, the data converter does not necessarily have to be provided between the module expansion slot 121 and the interface terminal 122. In some cases, the data converter is provided in a separate card form so as to provide an external (eg, mainboard) interface of the connection module 100. And between the connection module connection cable).

In addition, in the case of some expansion cards 30, the power consumption is so large that a separate power may need to be supplied. In this case, the side panels 120-1 and 120-2 may further include power supply terminals. In some cases, the power supply terminal may be configured to be integrally included in the interface terminal 122.

The front case 130 should be considered with respect to the surface material as the only part displayed outside of the computer body 1 when the connection module 100 is mounted to the computer body 1, and preferably the It can be provided in various colors to ensure design and uniformity. In other words, the optical disc drive 11 may have a front case of various colors or provide a separate bezel. In addition, the front case 130 may be separately manufactured and provided to correspond to the connector 34 of the expansion card when the connection module 100 is provided for a specific expansion card instead of the universal expansion card 30. . That is, a connector hole may be formed. In addition, if a wireless receiving terminal (not shown) such as an infrared ray or an RF is disposed on the expansion card 30 together with the connector 34, the transparent or translucent wireless signal may be transmitted to smoothly receive the wireless signal. It may be made of a material that can be. In addition, in order to couple the front case 130 to the upper and lower cases 110-1 and 110-2 on both sides of the front case 130, the front screw corresponding to the position of the third case screw hole 117-3. The hole 131 is formed.

In some cases, in order to facilitate the detachment of the front case 130, the third case screw holes 117-3 provided in the upper and lower cases 110-1 and 110-2 are replaced with general holes without screw tabs. In response to this, a protrusion (not shown) is formed in the front case 130 instead of the front screw hole 131 so that the front case 130 can be easily attached or detached as needed during use without a separate screw fastening or releasing operation. Do it.

In terms of improving ease of use, a hinge having a protrusion formed on one side thereof is more preferably inserted into the screw hole 117-3 of the lower case 110-2, and then the other side of the hinge is placed on the front case. Inserted into the hinge fixing groove formed at the bottom of the 130 to be locked at the same time, it is also possible to use the method to open and close the front case if necessary.

The rear case 140 has a rear screw hole corresponding to the position of the third case screw hole 117-3 on both sides such that the rear case 140 may be coupled to the upper and lower cases 110-1 and 110-2 like the front case. 141 is formed. The first terminal may connect the connection module connection terminal 160 and the power connection terminal (not shown) to the interface terminal 122 and the power supply terminal (not shown) of each of the side panels 120-1 and 120-2. Grooves 142 are formed. In addition, some of the connectors 34 of the expansion card 30 may be connected to a device such as a motherboard 20 inside the computer body 1, or a connector of the expansion card 30 may be connected through the rear of the computer body 1. A second terminal groove 143 is additionally provided in preparation for the case where it is connected to the 34. For example, in the case of the sound card of the expansion card may be connected to the motherboard 20 and a separate audio cable. In this case, the second terminal groove 143 is necessary on the rear surface. In addition, in the case of a TV reception card, if the antenna cable is connected to the expansion card 30 to the front of the computer main body 1, it may cause inconvenience to the user. Therefore, the antenna terminal of the TV receiving card can be arranged opposite to the bracket 35, and the antenna cable can be configured to be connected to the antenna terminal of the expansion card through the inside of the computer main body 1. That is, the second terminal grooves 143 of the rear case 140 are extra grooves formed in order to correspond to the characteristics of each expansion card because the types of the expansion card 30 are very diverse. In addition, the second terminal groove 143 may be used for the expansion card 30 separately manufactured to correspond to the connection module 100 of the present invention. As in the case of the front case 130, it is obvious that the rear case 140 having the second terminal grooves 143 of various types may be manufactured for the specific expansion card 30. In addition, the second terminal groove 143 may be used when the expansion card 30 is mounted to the connection module 100 in reverse. That is, the expansion card 30 may be disposed so that the connector 34 and the bracket 35 of the expansion card 30 face the inside of the computer body 1. The second terminal groove 153 is provided to the user in a basically blocked form, and when the user decides to use the second terminal groove 143 to directly use the second terminal groove 143, the user directly opens the second terminal groove 143. It is formed in such a way that the gap is engraved in a dotted line in advance in a portion of the rear case 140 to be formed. In addition, although not shown, the rear case 140 may be provided with a heat dissipation hole for dissipating heat generated from the expansion card 30 to the outside of the connection module, or a heat dissipation means such as a fan may be additionally installed. Of course, the heat released through the rear case 140 is discharged into the computer body 10. However, as described above, the computer case 10 is designed to easily dissipate heat to the outside, and generally includes additional heat dissipation means.

The bracket fixing part 150 may be mounted on the first surface 111 of the upper case 110-1 or the lower case 110-2 as required by the user. As described above, the connection module 100 of the present invention includes a board fixing part for fixing the expansion card 30. Since the board stopper 114 of the expansion board fixing part fixes the printed circuit board 31 of the expansion card 30, the expansion card 30 is connected even in a state where the bracket 35 is removed from the expansion card 30. It can be fixed to the module (100). Therefore, the user can fix the expansion card 30 even if the user removes the bracket 35 of the expansion card 30 by necessity (for example, the length of the expansion card or the external protrusion of the bracket). However, if the bracket 35 is provided on the expansion card 30, only the bracket 35 may be fixed, and the expansion card 30 may be fixed to the connection module 100. That is, the board fixing part may be removed from the connection module 100. The bracket fixing part 150 is provided to fix the bracket 35 of the expansion card 30 like the slot panel 15 of the computer case 10 and the bracket screw hole 151 for fixing the bracket 35. ). The bracket fixing part 150 is an expansion card fixing part for fixing the expansion card 30 to the connection module 100 together with the board fixing part.

The connection module connection terminal 160 and the connection module connection cable 161, which are connected to the interface terminals 122 of the side panels 120-1 and 120-2, are expansion module mounted on the connection module 100 as connection module connection portions. The 30 and the main board 20 are electrically connected to each other to give and receive data.

In the above description, the connection module 100 may include various screw holes such as guide rail screw holes 113-1, first to third case screw holes 117-1 to 117-3, and panel fixing screw holes 118-1. Although it is described as fixing each screw hole by using each screw, it is apparent that other types of fixing means other than the screw and the screw hole can be used.

5 shows a state in which one expansion card is mounted in the connection module. In addition, the installed expansion card is shown as an example of a TV reception card.

As described above, the expansion card 30 is generally inserted into the expansion slots 23 and 24 of the main board 20, and the bracket 35 is fixed to the slot panel 15 of the computer case 10. Therefore, the width and height of the expansion card 30 may be represented by the width and height of the bracket 35 rather than the size of the printed circuit board 31 of the expansion card 30. That is, even if the size of the printed circuit board 31 is small, the bracket 35 has a size that can be fixed to the slot panel 15, the size of the bracket 35, that is, the width (about 125mm) of the bracket 35 It is smaller than the width (about 148 mm) of the drive bay at the front of the connection module 100. The height of the bracket 35 (about 18 mm) is about half the height of the drive bay (about 42 mm). However, the depth of the expansion card 30, that is, the length of the printed circuit board of the expansion card 30 varies greatly. However, since the depth of the expansion card 35 should be able to be inserted into the expansion slots 23 and 24 of the motherboard 20, the interface unit 33 of the expansion card 30, at least in the slot panel 15 It should be greater than the sum of the distances to (23, 24) and the lengths of the expansion slots (23, 24).

Since the expansion module 30 is to be inserted, the connection module 100 should be larger than the size of the expansion card 30 and should be sized to be mounted in the 3.5 inch or 5.25 inch drive bay of the computer case 10. However, since the width of the 3.5-inch drive bay is narrower than the width of the bracket 35, the connection module 100 has the same front size as the optical disk drive 11 so that it can be mounted in the 5.25-inch drive bay. Similarly to the expansion card 30, the size of the optical disk drive 11 is also specified only in the width and height of the front portion, and the depth is not specified. Therefore, the width (W) and the height (H) of the front part of the connection module 100 mounted in the drive bay of the computer case 10 should be the same as the optical disc drive. However, the depth D of the connection module 100 is not specified. However, the expansion module 30 should be mounted on the connection module 100, and the depth D of the connection module 100 may vary depending on the fact that the depth of the expansion card 30 is very different according to the expansion card. It must be decided.

Hereinafter, a method of attaching the expansion card 30 to the connection module 100 will be described with reference to FIG. 5.

First, the user may use either the board fixing part or the bracket fixing part 150 as a fixing means for fixing the expansion card 30 to the connection module 100, or may use both the board fixing part and the bracket fixing part 150. You must decide. The board fixing part and the bracket fixing part 150 are optional, and one or both of them may fix the expansion card. Since the size of the expansion card 30 is smaller than the size of the bracket as described above, even if the bracket fixing part 150 is attached to the upper and lower cases 110-1 and 110-2, the position of the expansion card 30 is increased. Can be freely arranged in the connection module 100. However, in order to fix the expansion card 30 using the bracket fixing part 150, the expansion card 30 should be provided with the bracket 35, and the bracket 35 is disposed inside the connection module 100. The only restriction is that it can be used.

In addition, the user selects the number of expansion cards 30 to be mounted in the connection module 100 and the mounting position and direction. That is, when the plurality of expansion cards 30 are mounted in the connection module 100, expansion cards must be mounted in the upper and lower cases 110-1 and 110-2. However, when only one expansion card 30 is mounted, the expansion card 30 may be mounted by selecting the upper case 110-1 or the lower case 110-2. In addition, whether the connector 34 and the bracket 35 of the expansion card 30 are directed to the front part of the connection module 100, to the rear part, to be mounted to protrude outwards, or to be inserted therein. Choose whether or not.

In FIG. 5, one expansion card 30 is mounted in the lower case 110-2. In addition, the use of both the expansion card fixing part and the bracket fixing part 150 has been exemplified. Since the board fixing part is used, the guide rail 113 is first fixed to the second surface 112 of the lower case 110-2. As described above, the positions of the guide rail screw holes 113-1 and the guide screw holes 118-2 of the second surface are matched, and the guide rails 113 are attached to the lower case 110-2 by using screws. Fix it. Then, the board stopper 114 is mounted on the guide rail 113. In addition, the bracket fixing part 150 is fixed to the first surface 111 of the lower case 110-2.

In the expansion card 30, the interface unit 33 is inserted into the module expansion slot 121 of one of the side panels 120-1 and 120-2. The side panel 120 is fixed to the second surface 112 of the lower case 110-2 together with the expansion card 30. Here, a predetermined number (four in FIG. 5) of the panel screw holes 123 of the side panel 120-1 and the plurality of panel fixing screw holes 118-1 of the lower case 110-2 are matched to each other. Fix using. The position and orientation of the expansion card 30 is also determined at this time. In FIG. 5, the two side panels 120-1 and 120-2 have different sizes. That is, the side panel 120-1 is small in size and is mounted on a portion (lower) of the second surface 112 of the upper case 110-1 or the lower case 110-2. Since the side panel 120-1 is small in size, additional side panels 120-1 may be mounted on the same surface. In contrast, the side panel 120-2 is relatively large and only one side panel 120-2 may be mounted on the second surface 112 of the upper case 110-1 or the lower case 110-2. Can be.

The bracket 35 of the expansion card 30 is fixed to the bracket fixing part 150. In addition, the board stopper 114 is fixed to the specific position of the guide rail 113 by the stopper fixing screw 115 and at the same time to secure the printed circuit board 31 of the expansion card (30).

Thereafter, the upper case 110-1 and the lower case 110-2 are combined. At this time, by fixing the first and second case screw holes (118-1, 118-2) of the upper and lower cases (110-1, 110-2) using a screw, the upper case (110-1) and the lower case ( 110-2) are combined.

The expansion card 30 is mounted on the connection module 100 such that the various connectors 34 and the brackets 35 of the expansion card 30 face the rear part of the connection module 100 or protrude outward even if they face the front part. In this case, the front case 130 is mounted on the front portion of the connection module 100. The front case 130 is not necessarily mounted, and if the front case 130 is not mounted, the size of the bracket 35 is smaller than the front part of the connection module 100, and thus the remaining space of the front part of the connection module 100 is limited. Can also be used as a vent for heat dissipation. However, in this case, foreign matters such as dust may flow into the expansion card 30 from the outside, which is not preferable in appearance. Therefore, it is preferable that the front case 130 is mounted on the connection module 100, and the front case 130 moves the front screw hole 131 to the front part of the upper and lower cases 110-1 and 110-2. After coinciding with the third case screw hole (117-3) formed in the fixed by using a screw.

The rear case 140 extends so that the various connectors 34 and the brackets 35 of the expansion card 30 face the front of the connection module 100 or protrude to the rear side as opposed to the front case 130. When the card 30 is mounted in the connection module 100, the card 30 is mounted in the rear portion of the connection module 100. However, in some cases, the rear case 140 may not be mounted on the connection module 100 in consideration of the depth of the expansion card 30 or the heat dissipation. That is, when the rear side of the connection module 100 is empty, the expansion card 30 may not be mounted due to the size of the expansion card 30, or the expansion card 30 may be caused due to heat generated from the expansion card 30. It can also prevent the case of damage. The rear case 140 matches the positions of the rear screw holes 141 with the third case screw holes 117-3 formed at the rear portions of the upper and lower cases 110-1 and 110-2, and then uses the screws. Is fixed. Before attaching the rear case 140 to the connection module 100, the user needs the second terminal groove 143 when the expansion card 30 requires an additional signal transmission line except for a slot or has a connector at the rear side. Is used to form the second terminal groove 143. As described above, the second terminal groove 143 is not formed in advance, but a certain type of gap is engraved so that the user can easily form the second terminal groove 143 as necessary.

FIG. 6 is a diagram showing an example of a computer to which the connection module of FIG. 5 is mounted, and the configuration of the computer main body 1 is the same as that of the computer main body 1 of FIG.

As described above, the connection module 100 of the present invention is mounted in one of a plurality of drive bays provided in the front part of the computer case 10 of the computer main body 10, such as an optical disk drive. The drive bay of the computer case 10 is basically formed with a screw hole for fixing the optical disk drive. Therefore, the connection module 100 may be mounted on the computer case 10 by combining the panel fixing screw hole 118-1 of the connection module 100 and the screw hole of the drive bay using a screw. In the connection module 100, the interface terminals 122 of the side panels 120-1 and 120-2 are connected to the connection module connection terminal 160. The connection module connection terminal 160 is electrically connected to the main board 20 through the connection module connection cable 161.

When the connector 34 of the expansion card 30 is disposed in the front portion of the connection module 100 in the present invention, the expansion card 30 mounted on the connection module 100 is externally connected through the front portion of the computer body 1. Is connected with the device. Of course, it is preferable that spaces and aesthetics be provided with connectors for connecting to external devices at the rear of the computer main body, and in general, monitors, keyboards, and mice connected to the computer main body through the rear connector should always be used. It is preferable to mount the rear part since the devices. However, some of the devices provided by the expansion card 30 may not always be mounted to the computer body. That is, it can be attached to or detached from the computer main body according to the needs of the user. In this case, conventionally, since the connector 34 of the expansion card 30 is arranged in the rear part of the computer main body 1, the operation of connecting the connector 34 and an external device was not easy. In contrast, the connection module 100 of the present invention has an advantage that the connector 34 of the expansion card 30 is disposed at the front of the computer main body 1 so that it can be easily connected to an external device. In addition, when the expansion card 30 needs to receive a radio signal such as an infrared signal from the outside through a remote control such as a TV reception card, since the expansion card 30 is conventionally disposed at the rear of the computer main body 1, A wireless signal receiving module had to be provided. However, in the present invention, if the expansion card 30 is provided with a wireless signal receiver along with the connector 34, a separate wireless signal receiver module is not necessary.

In the above, the connection module 100 is described as being mounted in one of a plurality of drive bays provided in the computer case 10. Therefore, the size of the connection module 100 is limited, and it has been described that only two expansion cards can be mounted in the connection module 100. However, the connection module 100 is not necessarily mounted only in one drive bay. That is, the connection module 100 may be mounted over a plurality of drive bays. When using the connection module 100 to be mounted in a plurality of drive bays, the connection module 100 of the present invention may further include an additional side case (not shown). The additional side case has the same size as the second side 112 of the upper and lower cases 110-1 and 110-2, and the first side 111 and the lower case 110-of the upper case 110-1. 2) between the second surface 112, and between the second surface 112 of the upper case 110-1 and the first surface 111 of the lower case 110-2. And additional side case fixing means for fixing the upper and lower cases 110-1 and 110-2 and adjacent additional side cases. It also has a panel fixing screw hole 118-1 for fixing the side panel. Therefore, if the connection module 100 has one additional side case on each side, the connection module 100 has the size of two drive bays, it is possible to mount up to four expansion cards. That is, the number of expansion cards 30 that can be mounted in the connection module 100 also increases in response to the number of additional side cases added to the connection module 100. The number of additional side cases that the connection module 100 may have is not limited, but the connection module 100 should not be larger than the total size of the drive bay provided in the computer case 10.

7 is a diagram for explaining another example of the board fixing part.

If the additional side case is added to the connection module 100 as described above, a large number of expansion cards 30 can be additionally installed. However, two basic expansion cards that can be basically mounted on the connection module 100 may be fixed to the connection module by using an expansion card fixing unit such as a board fixing unit or a bracket fixing unit 150, but an additional expansion card may be added. There is no fixing means which can be fixed to the connection module 100. In order to solve this problem, the board fixing part of FIG. 7 is considered to fix not only the basic expansion card but also an additional expansion card.

In FIG. 7, the first stopper 114-1 and the second stopper 114-2 disposed on the lowermost end of the guide rail 113 and the board stopper 114 are disposed. It is the same structure as the board stopper 114 of FIG. 4 and FIG. That is, it is a board stopper 114 for fixing the printed circuit board 31 of the basic expansion card. The third and fourth stoppers 114-3 and 114-4 are board stoppers for fixing the printed circuit board 31 of the additional expansion card. Each stopper 114-1 to 114-4 is formed to be inclined to be in contact with the expansion card so as to stably fix the printed circuit board 31 of the base and expansion cards. The printed circuit board 31 may be fixed in a more stable manner. Further, each stopper 114-1 to 114-4 is formed of an insulator such as plastic so as not to be shorted to a circuit line formed on the printed circuit board 31. The first stopper 114-1 may be formed separately to correspond to the guide rail 113, but the remaining second to fourth stoppers 114-2 to 114-4 may be formed in the same shape.

The stopper fixing screw 115 may be provided in various lengths in consideration of the number of additional expansion boards as fixing means for fixing the board stoppers 114-1 to 114-4 to the guide rails 113.

And the stopper adjustment unit 170 is for adjusting the height of the stoppers (114-3, 114-4) for the additional expansion card. When additional expansion cards are mounted, the spacing between the printed circuit boards 31 of each expansion card is generally specified so that the stopper 114-3 is at a different height than the other stoppers 114-2 and 114-4. It can also be configured. However, the spacing between the printed circuit boards 31 may not always be constant. Therefore, the stopper adjusting unit 170 is provided to adjust the gap between the stoppers in response to the gap between the printed circuit board 31 of the expansion card. In FIG. 7, only one stopper adjusting unit 170 is illustrated, but it is apparent that a plurality of stopper adjusting units 170 may be provided. In addition, a plurality of the stopper adjusting unit 170 may be thinned. When the thickness of the stopper adjusting unit 170 is reduced to a plurality of layers, the positions of the stoppers 114-1 to 114-4 can be more precisely adjusted.

In the above, the upper and lower cases 110-1 and 110-2 of the connection module 100 have been described in a two-stage cover structure having a first surface 111 and a second surface 112, respectively. 111 and the second surface 112 may be separated. In addition, in the above description, the connection module 100 includes upper and lower cases 110-1 and 110-2 so that a user can easily mount the expansion card. However, in some cases, the upper and lower cases 110-1 are provided. It is obvious that the module case may be configured as a square tube form without being divided into 110-2). That is, as long as the connection module 100 has an appearance that can be mounted in the drive bay of the computer case 10, the case of the connection module 100 may be configured in various forms.

In the above, only the mounting of the expansion card 30 as an example of the expansion device in the connection module 100 has been described. Recently, however, small storage devices such as notebook hard disk drives and solid state disks (SSDs) are commercially available, and these storage devices are much smaller than conventional desktop hard disks. Therefore, even when both sides of the storage device face the front and rear of the connection module 100, the storage device may be mounted inside the connection module 100. That is, the storage device may be horizontally mounted in the connection module 100. Therefore, a storage device other than the expansion card 30 may be mounted in the connection module 100 of the present invention in which the side panels 120-1 and 120-2 have the module expansion slot 121. In the case of mounting the storage device to the connection module 100, the module expansion slot 121 of the side panels 120-1 and 120-2 is formed as a slot having a PATA and a SATA interface corresponding to the interface of the storage device. . In addition, since the storage device is small in size as described above, a total of four storage devices may be mounted in the lower front part and the rear part and the upper front part and the rear part of the connection module 100 mounted in one drive bay. In some cases, the expansion card 30 and the storage device may be mounted together in the connection module 100. In the case of mounting the storage device to the connection module 100, the expansion card fixing portion of the corresponding position narrows the space in which the storage device is to be mounted and should be removed. In order to fix the storage device to the connection module 100, an additional fixing means is required. Storage devices typically have screw holes on both sides and bottom surfaces for securing the storage devices to the drive bays of the computer case 10. Generally, when fixing the storage device to the computer case 10, the screw holes on both sides are used instead of the screw holes on the bottom surface. However, the connection module 100 of the present invention is provided with a module expansion slot 121 in the side panel, the storage device is disposed in the horizontal direction can not use the screw holes provided on both sides. Therefore, the connection module 100 of the present invention has additional storage corresponding to the lower screw holes of the storage device on the first surface 111 of the upper and lower cases 110-1 and 110-2 when the storage device is mounted. Device fixing screw holes (not shown) may be provided. That is, the lower screw hole of the storage device and the storage device fixing screw hole may be matched, and the hard disk may be mounted to the connection module 100 using the screw. The storage device retaining screw holes and the expansion card retainer are both expansion device retainers. As described above, since the connection module 100 of the present invention can easily dissipate heat to the computer case 10 through the side part and the rear part, even when the storage device is mounted on the connection module 100, storage due to heat generation. Damage to the device can be minimized.

While the foregoing has been described with reference to preferred embodiments of the present invention, those skilled in the art will be able to variously modify and change the present invention without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as set forth in the claims below. It will be appreciated.

1 is a view for explaining a schematic structure of a general computer main body.

FIG. 2 is a rear perspective view of the computer body of FIG.

3 is a view showing an expansion card as an example of the expansion device mounted on the computer main body of FIG.

4 is a view showing a connection module according to the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating an example in which an expansion card is mounted among the expansion devices in the connection module of FIG. 4.

6 is a diagram illustrating an example of a computer to which the connection module of FIG. 5 is mounted.

7 is a diagram for explaining another example of the board fixing part.

Claims (31)

A module case having a square tube shape that can be inserted into at least one drive bay provided in the computer case; Fixed to one inner side of the module case, the interface unit of the expansion device is inserted, and one end is electrically connected to the main board by a connection module connection part connected to the main board, and between the expansion device and the main board At least one side panel unit for transmitting data; And An expansion device fixing part for fixing the expansion device to the module case, And said expansion device is an expansion card. According to claim 1, wherein the side panel portion A side panel having a size smaller than an inner side of the module case; At least one module expansion slot having a structure corresponding to an interface part of the expansion device, wherein the interface part of the expansion device is inserted and electrically connected to the expansion device; And The at least one module expansion slot corresponding to each of the at least one module expansion slot, and the module expansion slot and the connection module connection part are electrically connected to each other and include at least one interface terminal electrically connecting the expansion device and the main board. A connection module for an expansion device, characterized in that. The method of claim 2, wherein the side panel portion Connection module for an expansion device, characterized in that at least two are fixed to one inner side of the module case. The method of claim 2, wherein the side panel portion And at least one expansion slot further in a horizontal direction. The method of claim 2, wherein the side panel portion And at least one expansion slot further in the vertical direction. The method of claim 2, wherein the side panel portion And further comprising a data converter inserted between the module expansion slot and the interface terminal and converting data when the data transmission method of the expansion device and the data transmission method of the main board are different from each other. Connection module for the device. 7. The apparatus of claim 6, wherein the data converter is If the data transmission method of the expansion device is PCI, the expansion module connection module, characterized in that for converting to PCI-E, SATA or USB. The method of claim 2, wherein the side panel portion And a power supply terminal for supplying a power supply voltage to the expansion device. The method of claim 2, wherein the side panel portion And fixing means for fixing the side panel to the module case. delete The method of claim 1, wherein the expansion device fixing unit At least one guide rail fixed to an upper surface or a lower surface of the module case; At least one board stopper that is movable along the guide rail and fixes the printed circuit board of the expansion card; And And a stopper fixing screw inserted into the board stopper to fix the board stopper to the guide rail. The method of claim 11, wherein the at least one board stopper And a portion in contact with the printed circuit board of the expansion card has an inclined tooth shape and is formed of an insulator. The method of claim 12, wherein each of the at least one board stopper A first stopper having a lower portion corresponding to a cross-sectional shape of the guide rail to move on the guide rail; And And a second stopper positioned above the first stopper and having a second stopper fixed to the stopper fixing screw to fix the printed circuit board of the expansion card. . The method of claim 1, wherein the expansion device fixing unit And a bracket fixing part disposed on an inner upper surface or a lower surface of the module case and fixing the bracket of the expansion card. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the expansion device is Connection module for an expansion device, characterized in that the storage device. The method of claim 15, wherein the expansion device fixing portion And a hard disk fixing screw hole corresponding to a screw hole formed under the storage device on upper and lower surfaces of the module case. The method of claim 1, wherein the module case An upper case constituting an upper surface and one side of the module case; And And a lower case constituting the lower face and the other side of the module case. The method of claim 17, wherein the module case When mounted in a plurality of the drive bay, the connection module for expansion device further comprises an additional side case each on both sides between the upper case and the lower case. The method of claim 1, wherein the module case Fixing each of the at least one side panel portion to one side of the module case, and further comprising a panel fixing and heat dissipation means on both sides for dissipating heat generated from the expansion card to the inside of the computer case A connection module for an expansion device, characterized in that. The method of claim 1, wherein the module case An upper case constituting an upper surface of the module case; A lower case constituting a lower surface of the module case; And And two side cases each constituting both sides of the module case. The method of claim 1, wherein the expansion module connection module A front case fixed to the front of the module case; And Connection module for an expansion device further comprises a rear case fixed to the rear of the module case. The method of claim 21, wherein the front case Connection module for an expansion device, characterized in that formed of a transparent or translucent material to easily receive a wireless signal applied from the outside. The method of claim 21, wherein the module case And a front case fixing hole for fixing the front case to the front upper or lower edge. The method of claim 23, wherein the front case And a front case fixing protrusion formed at a position corresponding to the front case fixing hole and inserted into the front case fixing hole to fix the front case to the front of the module case. Connection module. The method of claim 21, wherein the module case And a module hinge for fixing the front case to the upper or lower front side. The method of claim 25, wherein the front case And a front hinge further coupled to the module hinge to fix the front case to the module case. The method of claim 21, wherein the front case And a connector hole is formed so that the connector of the expansion card can protrude to the outside. The method of claim 21, wherein the rear case A first terminal groove allowing the interface terminal of the side panel portion to connect with the connection module connecting portion; And And a second terminal groove for allowing the additional cable to enter the connection module for the expansion device when the expansion card is connected to the external device through an additional cable. The method of claim 28, wherein the second terminal groove Connection module for an expansion device, characterized in that provided in the dotted line-shaped gap in a portion of the rear case so that the user can be formed as needed. The method of claim 21, wherein the rear case And heat dissipation means for dissipating heat generated by the expansion card into the computer case. The method of claim 1, wherein the connection module connection portion A connection module connection terminal connected to the interface portion of the side panel portion; And And a connection module connection cable having the connection module connection terminal connected to one end and the other end electrically connected to the main board.

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