DOCKING ASSEMBLY
A docking assembly for a ventilated cage and rack system that can facilitate installation and reduce leakage of air is provided. The docking assembly is connectable to air plena of the rack system and includes a cup, and a tubular body having a docking base. The tubular body is constructed and arranged to be slideably displaceable between the cup and the docking base when the tubular body is aligned coaxially with the cup and docking base. A spring may also be provided outside and surrounding the tubular body. The tubular body includes a plurality of displaceable legs. The legs are preferably urged outward in the absence of pressure and may be displaced inward, toward each other, for insertion into a docking aperture of a plenum. Once inserted, the legs return to their normal, non-displaced position to secure the docking assembly to the plenum.
This application claims priority to U.S. Provisional App. No. 61/112,611, filed Nov. 7, 2008, entitled “DOCKING ASSEMBLY,” the contents of which are incorporated by reference in its entirety.
FIELD OF THE INVENTIONThe present invention relates to a docking assembly for use with a ventilated rack system by which air can be provided into a cage housed in the rack such as that disclosed in U.S. application Ser. No. 11/871,942, filed Oct. 12, 2007, entitled “VENTILATED RACK SYSTEM,” the contents of which are incorporated by reference in its entirety. More specifically, the docking assembly preferably includes a tubular body having displaceable legs to secure the docking system onto a ventilation plenum of the ventilated rack system.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTIONVentilated rack systems commonly available in the art are typically assembled by the manufacturer and shipped to the laboratory in an assembled format. In U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/871,942 filed by the same assignee as the instant invention, a high density rack and cage assembly having air plenums that are capable of being shipped in a disassembled format and easily assembled at the laboratory facility is shown and described. The rack assembly includes air plenums that support a docking valve that engage the valve of a cage to supply air to each of the cages housed in the rack. However, a disadvantage of such an assembly is that the docking assembly needs to be welded and cannot be easily mounted to an air plenum to assure a proper air coupling with the cages supported thereby. Accordingly, a docking assembly that is easy to install and will prevent leakage of air from or to the cage is desirable.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTIONA docking assembly for use in a ventilated rack system that includes components that can be assembled at a laboratory facility using relatively simple tools is provided.
The docking assembly includes a tubular base having displaceable legs at a plenum end proximate to the plenum, which preferably secures the tubular base to a plenum. A cup and a spring are supported on the tubular base. The spring urges the cup toward the cage end, proximate a cage supported in the rack system, to maintain the cup in position against the cage to assure that the air is supplied to the cage.
Other objects and features of the present invention will become apparent from the following detailed description, considered in conjunction with the accompanying drawing figure. It is to be understood, however, that the drawings are designed solely for the purpose of illustration and not as a definition of the limits of the invention, for which reference should be made to the appended claims.
The particular features and advantages of the invention as well as other objects will become apparent from the following description taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, in which:
Certain exemplary embodiments of the present invention will now be described with reference to the drawings. In general, such embodiments as shown in
With reference to
Reference is made to
As shown in
The tubular body 830 has apertures 870, a body channel 834, and a retaining mechanism as further described below. Tubular body 830 can also have a circular cross-section with an outer diameter smaller than the inside diameter of the cup 810. The tubular body 830 is aligned coaxially with the cup 810 and the docking base 860.
With reference to
The tubular body 830 also includes a retaining mechanism for connecting the docking assembly 800 to an aperture 340a in the plenum 310 and retaining the docking assembly 800 in position. In the embodiment shown in
Referring to
The tubular body 830 can further include a stopping element for preventing the displacement of the docking base 860 beyond a certain distance from the foot 838 when the tubular body 830 is engaged with the docking base 860. Referring to the embodiment shown in
The cup 810 can also include an outer lip 816 extending radially outward from the cup aperture 812. Preferably, the outer lip 816 is located proximate the cage end 831. When a cage (not shown) is connected to the docking assembly 800, the outer lip 816 preferably contacts the wall of the cage. As the cage is pushed toward the plenum 310 in direction I, the wall of the cage can push the cup 810 via the outer lip 816 toward the plenum 310 in direction I against the biasing force of the spring 890, forcing the spring 890 to contact, and thus increasing the force exerted by the spring 890.
As shown in
A spring 890 is provided between the cup 810 and the docking base 860 to urge the cup 810 away from the docking base 860. The spring 890, as shown in
In accordance with an exemplary embodiment, the tubular body is inserted, at least partially, into the docking aperture 340a in the plenum wall 310a until a locking mechanism secures the tubular body 830 in place with respect to the plenum wall 310a. The docking assembly 800 can preferably be mounted onto the plenum 310 by inserting the legs 836 in the direction I into the docking aperture 340a of the plenum 310. The legs 836 can be displaced inward until the foot 838 clears the plenum wall 310a. Thereafter, the legs 836 can be displaced outward such that the foot 838 extends beyond the diameter of the docking aperture 340a and substantially prevents the legs 836 from being withdrawn in direction H.
The abutment surface 865 of the docking base 860 contacts the outside of the plenum wall 310a while the abutment surface 838b of the foot 838 of the tubular body 830 contacts the inner surface of the plenum wall 310a. Thus, the docking base 860 is secured to the plenum. The base abutment wall 864 is wider than the docking aperture 340a, which facilitates sealing the docking aperture 340a to prevent leakage of air from between the docking assembly 800 and the vertical plenum 310. The docking base 860 preferably prevents the tubular body 830 from being inserted too far into the docking aperture 340a.
The spring 890 simultaneously urges the docking base 860 toward the plenum wall 310a until the base abutment surface 865 contacts the plenum wall 310a. Preferably, no additional steps are necessary to secure the docking assembly 800 or to seal the connection between the docking assembly 800 and the plenum 310. Therefore, the installation of the docking assembly 800 onto the plenum 310 is relatively simple.
Thus, while there have been shown and described and pointed out novel features of the present invention as applied to preferred embodiments thereof, it will be understood that various omissions and substitutions and changes in the form and details of the disclosed invention may be made by those skilled in the art without departing from the spirit of the invention. For example, the position of the various plenums, valves, and apertures as well as the arrangements thereof, can be changed without deviating from the scope of the invention as a matter of application specific to design choice. Additionally, other alterations can be made, as a way of non-limiting example, the number of shelves, compartments on the rack, or the number of cages that can be housed in each compartment, etc. as a matter of application specific to design choice, without deviating from the scope of the invention. It is the intention, therefore, to be limited only as indicated by the scope of the claims appended hereto.
It is also to be understood that the following claims are intended to cover all of the generic and specific features of the invention herein described and all statements of the scope of the invention which, as a matter of language, might be said to fall there between.
Claims
1. A docking assembly for use in connection with a plenum of a ventilated rack for in situ assembly in or proximate a laboratory and a cage supported thereon, the docking assembly comprising:
- a tubular body constructed and arranged to permit air to flow between the vertical plenum and the cage, the tubular body having one or more legs extending therefrom, wherein: each leg is displaceable from a normal position by pressure and is constructed and arranged to be inserted into the vertical plenum; and each leg has a foot constructed and arranged to abut the inner surface of the wall of the plenum to prevent the removal of the legs from within the plenum; and
- a docking base constructed and arranged to retain the wall of the plenum between the docking base and the foot, the docking base having a base aperture capable of receiving and slideably engaging the tubular body.
2. The docking assembly of claim 1 wherein each leg has a foot extending outward, the foot including:
- an angled surface to facilitate insertion into a plenum; and
- an abutment surface to contact an inner wall of the plenum.
3. The docking assembly of claim 1 wherein the tubular body further includes at least one aperture, the at least one aperture shaped and arranged to provide controlled airflow in accordance with a predetermined criteria.
4. The docking assembly of claim 1 wherein the tubular body further includes a body channel extending through the length of the tubular body.
5. The docking assembly of claim 1, wherein the docking assembly further includes a spring constructed and arranged to fit around the tubular body and to urge the docking base toward the plenum when a cage is supported in the ventilated rack.
6. The docking assembly of claim 1, wherein the docking assembly further includes a cup having a tubular shape, the cup including:
- a cup aperture constructed and arranged to receive and slideably engage the tubular body;
- an inner member extending inward in the cup aperture; and
- an outer lip.
7. The docking assembly of claim 6 wherein the tubular body further includes an outwardly extending flange constructed and arranged to contact the inner member of the cup to prevent the cup from being displaced past the outwardly extending flange.
8. The docking assembly of claim 1, wherein the tubular body further includes a stopping surface disposed above the legs to prevent the docking base from sliding past the stopping surface.
9. A docking assembly comprising:
- a tubular body constructed and arranged to permit the through flow of air, the tubular body having one or more legs extending therefrom, wherein: each leg is displaceable from a normal position by pressure; and each leg has a foot; and
- a docking base constructed and arranged having a base aperture capable of receiving and slideably engaging the tubular body.
10. The docking assembly of claim 9 wherein each leg has a foot extending outward, the foot including:
- an angled surface; and
- an abutment surface.
11. The docking assembly of claim 9 wherein the tubular body further includes at least one aperture, the at least one aperture shaped and arranged to provide controlled airflow in accordance with a predetermined criteria.
12. The docking assembly of claim 9 wherein the tubular body further includes a body channel extending through the length of the tubular body.
13. The docking assembly of claim 9, wherein the docking assembly further includes a spring constructed and arranged to fit around the tubular body and to urge the docking base toward the plenum when a cage is supported in the ventilated rack.
14. The docking assembly of claim 9, wherein the docking assembly further includes a cup having a tubular shape, the cup including:
- a cup aperture constructed and arranged to receive and slideably engage the tubular body;
- an inner member extending inward in the cup aperture; and
- an outer lip.
15. The docking assembly of claim 9, wherein the tubular body further includes an outwardly extending flange constructed and arranged to contact the inner member of the cup to prevent the cup from being displaced past the outwardly extending flange.
16. The docking assembly of claim 9, wherein the tubular body further includes a stopping surface disposed above the legs to prevent the docking base from sliding past the stopping surface.
Type: Application
Filed: Nov 5, 2009
Publication Date: May 13, 2010
Inventors: George S. Gabriel (Seaford, DE), Rodney Gerringer (Forest Hill, MD), Lynn Irwin (Seaford, DE), Dale Murray (Elkton, MD), Arlene Murray (Elkton, MD), Edward K. Eldreth (Port Deposit, MD)
Application Number: 12/613,479
International Classification: A47B 47/00 (20060101); A47B 91/00 (20060101);