DEVICE FOR CIRCUIT BOARD INSERTION-EXTRACTION
An apparatus for facilitating the insertion and extraction of a PC board into and from a card cage, comprising a mounting body, an engager, and an actuator. The apparatus can be provided as a ring-shaped mounting body having a clearance hole therethrough. The apparatus is slidably and rotatably mounted on a cylindrical rod through the clearance hole such that the apparatus is slidably rotatable along the length of the cylindrical rod. In operation, the engager is positioned in physical contact with the PC board in a notch in the board such that when a force is applied to the actuator, the engager is effected to urge the board to move in the direction of the force.
This application is a divisional application of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/897,129 filed on Jul. 21, 2004 entitled “Device for Circuit Board Insertion and Extraction,” which is incorporated herein by reference and which was a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/777,369 filed on Feb. 5, 2001 entitled “Circuit Board Insertion Extraction,” which issued as U.S. Pat. No. 6,802,117.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTIONPrinted circuit (PC) boards or cards are well known and widely used in various electrical applications. Typically, a PC board comprises a flat rectangular sheet of insulating material, such as glass-fibre reinforced resin, with a number of circuit components mounted thereon and electrical contacts along one edge of the board. It is common to assemble a plurality of PC boards in a closely-spaced parallel relationship in an electronic chassis or card cage, which removably supports the PC boards in parallel slots. A card cage generally contains a backplane having a plurality of electric connectors and card guides or tracks for PC boards to be inserted into the card cage. Inserting a PC board into a card cage along a card guide so that the board's electrical contacts mate with a connector in the backplane of the card cage seats a PC board into the backplane. A plurality of PC boards becomes interconnected in a card cage when each PC board is fully seated into the backplane of the card cage.
Seating a PC board into and extracting it from a card cage can be difficult because of the tight board-to-board spacing. It is hard to apply the right amount of force in the typically small space available for grasping with a human hand. In addition, because of the small space, the force applied may deviate from the straight linearity, which may impose bending stresses on the board and cause damage to the board.
Various devices have been developed to assist insertion and extraction of PC boards into and from card cages. Many of these devices are developed only for insertion or extraction, but not both. U.S. Pat. No. 4,403,408 to Koppensteiner, et al. describes such a device. For those that are capable of assisting both the insertion and extraction of a PC board into and from a card cage, it is very often required to mount the device onto the PC board. An example of such a device is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,506,758 to Cromwell. The mounting of a board inserter or extractor onto the board increases the width of the board, which renders fewer boards capable of being assembled in a card cage. Furthermore, these devices are not cost efficient because every board would require its own inserter or extractor.
Accordingly, there exists a need for a simple and low cost device for facilitating the insertion and extraction of a PC board into and from a card cage. The device should also be capable of facilitating the insertion and extraction of PC boards without being attached to the boards.
FIELD OF THE INVENTIONThis invention relates to apparatuses for facilitating the insertion and extraction of circuit boards into and from a card cage.
BRIEF SUMMARYThe present invention provides an apparatus for facilitating the insertion and extraction of circuit boards into and from a card cage.
Generally, a PC board insertion and extraction apparatus in accordance with the present invention comprises a mounting body, an engager, and an actuator. Preferably, the apparatus is rotatably mounted on a stationary object relative to the PC board such that the required insertion or extraction leverage is provided. In operation, the engager is positioned in physical contact with the PC board in a notch in the board such that when a force is applied to the actuator, the engager is effected to urge the board to move in the direction of the force. To insert a PC board into a card cage, therefore, the engager is positioned at least partially in a notch in the PC board, and a forward force is applied to the actuator toward the card cage, effecting the engager to urge the board into the card cage. The PC board is extracted from the card cage when an opposite force is applied to the actuator.
In one embodiment, the PC board insertion and extraction apparatus has a ring-shaped mounting body having a clearance hole therethrough. The apparatus is slidably and rotatably mountable on a cylindrical rod through the clearance hole such that the apparatus is slidably rotatable along the length of the cylindrical rod.
In a second embodiment, the mounting body is in the shape of the letter “C,” and has a clearance hole therethrough and an opening. The apparatus is slidably and rotatably mountable on a cylindrical rod through the clearance hole. Preferably, a support having an extension is mounted on the rood. The extension can be mounted on a front edge of the card cage, or on an assembly rack, or it can be extended downward to the ground. The apparatus is slidable along the length of the rod by using the opening of the mounting body to slide the apparatus through the support.
In a third embodiment, the PC board insertion and extraction device includes a first mounting arc, a second mounting arc, an engager, an actuator, and an interlocking mechanism. The interlocking mechanism interconnects and interlocks the mounting arcs, forming a ring-shaped mounting body having a clearance hole therethrough. The device is slidably and rotatably mountable on a cylindrical rod through the clearance hole. The device may be removed from the cylindrical rod by unlocking the interlocking mechanism and separating the mounting arcs.
In still another embodiments similar to the one immediately above, the mounting arcs interlock to form a “C” shaped mounting body having a clearance hole therethrough and an opening. This device operates similar to the device in the second and third embodiments.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
In accordance with the present invention, a device for facilitating the insertion and extraction of a PC board into and from a card cage generally comprises three parts: a mounting body, an engager, and an actuator. Preferably, the engager and the actuator are each integrally connected to the mounting body. The mounting body rotatably secures the device on a stationary object relative to the PC board such that the required insertion or extraction leverage is provided. In operation, the engager is positioned in physical contact with the PC board in a notch in the board such that when a force is applied to the actuator, the engager is effected to urge the board to move in the same direction of the force. To insert a PC board into a card cage, therefore, the engager is positioned at least partially in a notch in the PC board, and a forward force is applied to the actuator toward the card cage, effecting the engager to urge the board into the card cage. The PC board is easily extracted from the card cage when an opposite force is applied to the actuator, pulling the actuator and, thus, the engager and the board away from the card cage.
In the following description of the present invention and the operation of the embodiments, like numerals are used to designate like parts in the figures.
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The PC board insertion and extraction device 10 can be constructed and manufactured using a variety of metals and plastics. For metal construction, stainless steel is preferred, although other metals such as aluminum or copper may also be used. The device can be cast-molded or machined. Plastic construction is most preferred, however, because it is most cost-effective. Preferably, injection molding is utilized to construct a plastic insertion and extraction device so that mass production may be effected at low cost.
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Device 40 is designed mainly for large card cages, although it may be used for small card cages as well. Because a large card cage would require a long cylindrical rod 18, the cylindrical rod 18 may sag in its mid portion over time due to gravity. To prevent this potential problem, a support 50 having an extension 52 is preferably mounted to the mid portion of cylindrical rod 18 as shown in
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The present invention herein has been described with reference to particular embodiments for the purpose of illustrating the principles and application of the present invention. Accordingly, any and all modifications, variations or equivalent arrangements which may occur to those skilled in the art are to be considered to be within the spirit and scope of the present invention as defined by the appended claims.
Claims
1. A device for inserting and extracting printed circuit (PC) boards, comprising:
- a mounting body having a clearance hole therethrough, a first connection point and a second connection point;
- an engager attached to the mounting body at the first connection point;
- an actuator attached to the mounting body at the second connection point; and
- a cylindrical rod, wherein the mounting body is rotatably mounted on the cylindrical rod and is slidable along the length of the rod, and wherein there is a minimum spacing between the first and second connection points.
2. The device of claim 1, wherein the engager is configured to engage with a notch provided in each of a plurality of PC boards for transmitting insertion and extraction forces to the each PC board.
3. The device of claim 2, wherein a minimum spacing is provided between the first connection point and the second connection point, the minimum spacing calculated to prevent jamming of the actuator into the PC boards during insertion and extraction of the PC boards.
4. The device of claim 1, wherein the engager is configured to engage with a PC board selected from a plurality of PC boards such that a first force applied to the actuator causes the selected PC board to mate with a connector and a second force applied to the actuator disengages contacts of the selected PC board from the connector.
5. The device of claim 4, wherein each of the plurality of PC boards includes a notch for transmitting the first and second forces to the each PC board and wherein a PC board is selected when the engager engages the notch in the selected PC board.
6. The device of claim 1, wherein the engager and the actuator are integrally connected to the mounting body.
7. The device of claim 6, wherein the mounting body is “C” shaped.
8. The device of claim 6, wherein the mounting body is ring-shaped.
9. An electric system comprising:
- a chassis including: a plurality of card guides and a backplane having a plurality of electric receiving connectors, the chassis having two side walls and an open front; and
- a cylindrical rod having two ends, each end mounted to a side wall near the open front.
10. The system of claim 9, further comprising a plurality of printed circuit (PC) boards, each PC board comprising a front edge, a side edge perpendicular to the front edge, and a notch formed in the board near the front edge and the side edge.
11. The system of claim 9 and further comprising
- a mounting body having a clearance hole therethrough; and
- an engager attached to the mounting body, wherein
- the mounting body is slidably coupled to the cylindrical rod through the clearance hole and the mounting body is slidably rotatable along the length of the rod.
12. The system of claim 11 and further comprising an actuator attached to the mounting body, wherein the actuator is configured to receive extraction and insertion forces.
13. The system of claim 12 and further comprising a plurality of printed circuit (PC) boards each PC board having a front edge, a side edge perpendicular to the front edge, and a notch formed in the board near the front edge and the side edge for engaging with the engager.
14. The system of claim 13 wherein the mounting body is configured to transmit the extraction and insertion forces to the selected PC board when the engager is engaged with the notch of the selected PC board.
15. The system of claim 12, wherein the engager is configured to engage with a selected one of a plurality of PC boards such that a first force applied to the actuator causes the selected PC board to mate with a corresponding one of the electric receiving connectors and a second force applied to the actuator disengages contacts of the selected PC board from the corresponding one of the electric receiving connectors.
16. The system of claim 12, wherein the mounting body comprises:
- a first mounting arc, and
- a second mounting arc interconnected with the first mounting arc, wherein the first and second arcs form the mounting body.
17. The system of claim 16, wherein a spacing is provided between respective points of attachment of the engager and the actuator to prevent jamming of the actuator into a PC board during insertion and extraction of the PC board.
18. The system of claim 16, wherein the engager is configured to engage with a selected one of a plurality of PC boards wherein a first force applied to the actuator urges the selected PC board into the chassis until contacts of the selected PC board mate with a corresponding one of the electric receiving connectors.
19. The system of claim 18, wherein a second force applied to the actuator causes the contacts to disengage from the corresponding one of the electric receiving connectors and urges the selected PC board from the chassis.
20. The system of claim 16, wherein the engager and the actuator are attached to the first mounting arc.
21. The system of claim 16, wherein the engager is attached to the first mounting arc and the actuator is attached to the second mounting arc.
Type: Application
Filed: Jun 14, 2007
Publication Date: Oct 11, 2007
Applicant: TELLABS PETALUMA, INC. Delaware corporation (Petaluma, CA)
Inventor: George Dalisay (Hollywood, FL)
Application Number: 11/763,419
International Classification: B23P 19/04 (20060101);