US20070228248A1

US20070228248A1 - Supporting member

Info

Publication number: US20070228248A1
Application number: US11/395,064
Authority: US
Inventors: Linger Lin
Original assignee: Inventec Corp
Current assignee: Inventec Corp
Priority date: 2006-03-30
Filing date: 2006-03-30
Publication date: 2007-10-04

Abstract

A supporting member is proposed, for being coupled to a placement surface with at least an opening so as to support a component-to-be-carried on the placement surface. The supporting member includes a main body; at least a fitting portion formed on the main body, for being fit into the component-to-be-carried; and a coupling portion formed at one end of the main body, for being coupling to the opening of the placement surface via a coupling member, so as to support the component-to-be-carried on the placement surface.

Description

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to supporting members, and more particularly, to a supporting member for coupling to a placement surface to support a component-to-be-carried.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

When placing a motherboard into a server or a personal computer, the motherboard needs to be secured to a metallic carrier board of a casing. In order to avoid the electric short circuit, the motherboard has to be lifted up to avoid being contacted by the carrier board. For that very reason, a supporting column has become one of the commonly used lifting devices.
Referring to FIG. 1, a conventional supporting column 1 formed with a plurality of annular grooves 11 is employed for coupling to a component with at least an opening (not shown) such as a motherboard, a frame structure or an expansion circuit card. The bottom of the supporting column 1 is formed with an annular groove 12 to couple the carrier board 13 with an open hole 130, so as to fix the supporting column 1 on the carrier board 13.
However, the supporting column 1 is fixed to the carrier board 13 by pressing and deforming the supporting column 1 in order to fit into the open hole 130, and thus the location of the supporting column cannot be changed once it is assembled. Accordingly, with arrangement as such, different models of motherboards cannot be fitted into a standard casing (made for a particular model of a motherboard) and the carrier board thereof, and therefore the casing will need to be redesigned. Moreover, as pressing or pushing the supporting column 1 into the open hole 130 often requires some specific tools in order to generate sufficient forces, performing such arrangement will further increase the complexity and the cost of assembly.
Therefore, to provide solutions for the foregoing drawbacks exiting in the prior art has become extremely important in the industry.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

In light of the above prior-art drawbacks, an objective of the present invention is to provide a supporting member that can be fixed to the placement surface.
Another objective of the present invention is to provide a supporting member that can be switched to any hole of the placement surface according to user's demand.
A further objective of the present invention is to provide a supporting member that can be fixed to and removed from the placement surface effortlessly. A further objective of the present invention is to provide a supporting member that can be fixed to and removed from the placement surface rapidly.
In accordance with the above and other objectives, the present invention proposes a supporting member for being coupled to a placement surface with at least an opening so as to support a component-to-be-carried on the placement surface. The supporting member comprises a main body; at least a fitting portion formed on the main body, for being fit into the component-to-be-carried; and a coupling portion formed at one end of the main body, for being coupling to the opening of the placement surface via a coupling member, so as to support the component-to-be-carried on the placement surface.
The main body may comprise a plurality of stacked fitting portions positioned in intervals. Preferably, the stacked fitting portions may have different surface areas, wherein the surface area of an overlying one of the stacked fitting portions is smaller than that of an underlying one of the stacked fitting portions. The top end of the main body may be formed with a smooth round surface to facilitate the coupling process of the component-to-be-carried and the main body. The component-to-be-carried may be at least one of a board-like object, a motherboard, a frame structure and an expansion circuit board and is set up parallel to the placement surface. The placement surface may be a carrier board of a server or a computer device, or any other placement surface that requires a space formed between the carrier board and a component-to-be-carried. The fitting portion may be formed with an annular recess circling around the main body; and the coupling portion may be a screw hole formed at the bottom of the main body, wherein a corresponding coupling member may be a screw. The coupling member may also be a skew-screw, and the corresponding opening of the placement surface may be a pyramid-shaped hole, so as to allow the coupling member to be completely fitted into the placement surface after fastened to the coupling portion.
As the conventional supporting column is pressed, pushed or pulled with strong forces applied during assembling or disassembling, arrangement as such would be inconvenient and the location of the supporting column would not be able to change. Unlike the conventional techniques, the present invention employs the coupling member to secure the supporting member, so that the supporting member could be re-located according to user's demand. As a result, the cost of production or the cost of research and development for the placement surface of the carrier board of the casing could be reduced.
Furthermore, the assembly and disassembly processes for the conventional supporting column are arduous and time-consuming; however, the assembly and removal process for the supporting member of the present invention to be fixed on the placement surface could be achieved rapidly and effortlessly, and therefore the component-to-be-carried such as a motherboard and their locations could be changed instantly.
Accordingly, the supporting member of the present invention of solves the drawbacks from the prior art, and thereby has a high industrial value.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a schematic view of a conventional supporting column;
FIGS. 2A and 2B are schematic views of a supporting member fabricated according to an exemplary preferred embodiment of the present invention; and
FIG. 3 is a schematic view of a supporting member of the present invention secured between a placement surface and a component-to-be-carried such as a board-like object, according to an exemplary preferred embodiment of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

Referring to FIGS. 2A and 2B, which are schematic views of an exemplary preferred embodiment of a supporting member of the present invention. The supporting member 2 of the present invention comprises a main body 20 with a top end 201 and a bottom end 202, at least a fitting portion 203 formed between the top and bottom ends, and a coupling portion 204 formed in the main body 20 and extended to the bottom end 202.
Further, referring to FIG. 3, which is a schematic view illustrating an application employing the supporting member of the present invention. The fitting portion 203 may be fitted into a component-to-be-carried 3 such as a board-shaped object, and a surface of the bottom end 202 may be deposited on a placement surface 4. The coupling portion 204 may be linked to the opening 40 and coupled to the coupling member 5 correspondingly, so as to secure the supporting member 2 on the placement surface 4.
Furthermore, the material of the main body 20 may be selected from flexible insulating materials. The component-to-be-carried 3 may be at least one of a motherboard, a frame structure and an expansion circuit board, and is set up parallel to the placement surface 4. The top end 201 of the main body 20 may form a smooth round surface for passing through and fitting into the component-to-be-carried 3 smoothly and effortlessly. The placement surface 4 may be a surface of a carrier board for a server or a computer device, or any other placement surface that requires a space formed between the carrier board and a component-to-be-carried. The fitting portion 203 is an annular recess circling around the main body 20 and fitted to a hole 30 of the component-to-be-carried 3.
The coupling member 5 may be a bolt; the opening 40 may be any hole; and the coupling portion 204 may be a screw hole. Further, the opening 40 may also be a pyramid-shaped or cone-shape hole that could match to the head of the bolt, so as to allow the coupling member 5 to be completely fitted into the placement surface 4 after fastened to the coupling portion 204.
It should be noted that practical applications of the coupling portion 203 and the coupling member 5 should not be limited to the preferred embodiment of the present invention. For example, the coupling member 5 could be a plug with a flexible protrusion or a tendon, and the coupling portion 204 could be a hole with corresponding cavity and shape for coupling. As the combination of the components could be implemented in various ways and forms, and most of them are well known in prior art, it therefore requires no further description hereinafter. For that very reason, the present invention only describes the fastening structures that could produce an excellent coupling effect and be made or purchased easily.
Furthermore, the fitting portion 203 of the supporting member 2 could have one layer, two layers or multiple layers. Single layer could only lift up one component; and multiple layers allow additional components to be added thereon, after one of the layers is fitted to the component-to-be-carried 3. Generally, a fitting portion with two layers is most commonly used.
In prior art, a supporting column is pressed, pushed or pulled with strong forces applied during assembling or disassembling, however such installation method also damages the components. Comparing to the prior art, the present invention employs the coupling member 5 to secure the supporting member 2, so that the supporting member 2 would not be damage during assembling or disassembling and thereby prolong the life of the supporting member 2.
Moreover, the assembly and disassembly processes for the conventional supporting column are arduous and time-consuming; however, the assembly and removal process for the supporting member 2 of the present invention to be fixed on the placement surface 4 could be achieved rapidly and effortlessly, and therefore the component-to-be-carried such as a motherboard and their locations could be changed instantly.
Accordingly, the supporting member the present invention solves the drawbacks existing in the prior art, and therefore has a high industrial value.
The present invention has been described using exemplary preferred embodiments above, however, it is to be understood that the scope of the present invention is not limited to the disclosed embodiments. On the contrary, it is intended to cover various modifications and similar changes. The scope of the claims, therefore, should be accorded the broadest interpretation so as to encompass all such modifications and similar arrangements.

Claims

1. A supporting member for being coupled to a placement surface with at least an opening so as to support a component-to-be-carried on the placement surface, comprising:

a main body;

at least a fitting portion formed on the main body, for being fit into the component-to-be-carried; and

a coupling portion formed at one end of the main body, for being coupling to the opening of the placement surface via a coupling member, so as to support the component-to-be-carried on the placement surface.

2. The supporting member of claim 1, wherein the main body is formed with a plurality of stacked fitting portions positioned in intervals.

3. The supporting member of claim 2, wherein the stacked fitting portions have different surface areas, wherein the surface area of an overlying one of the stacked fitting portions is smaller than that of an underlying one of the stacked fitting portions.

4. The supporting member of claim 1, wherein the fitting portion is an annular recess surrounding an outer surface of the main body.

5. The supporting member of claim 1, wherein the coupling portion is a screw hole formed at a bottom surface of the main body, and the coupling member is a bolt.

6. The supporting member of claim 1, wherein the coupling member a skew-head screw, and the opening of the placement surface is a pyramid-shaped hole, such that the coupling member after being coupled to the coupling portion is flush with the placement surface.

7. The supporting member of claim 1, wherein the component-to-be-carried is at least one of a board-shaped object, a motherboard, a frame structure and an expansion circuit board.

8. The supporting member of claim 1, wherein the placement surface is a surface of a carrier board of a server case.

9. The supporting member of claim 1, wherein a top end of the main body comprise a smooth round surface.

10. The supporting member of claim 1, wherein an outer surface of the main body comprises a supporting surface.