US20040217073A1 - System and method for utilizing a tool-less rail in a rack - Google Patents

Abstract

A rail system is described for use in a rack. The rail system comprises a rail having a self-locking mechanism to lock the rail to a rack. Additionally, the rail comprises a length adjustment mechanism that enables selective length adjustments based on the depth of the rack.

Description

BACKGROUND
• Racks are used for the mounting of multiple servers and often use four vertical support members that define the corners of the rack. Rails are mounted in pairs between the front supports and the back supports. A server is mounted to each pair of rails by, for example, slides. The pairs of rails can be placed at numerous vertical locations to receive servers in a vertical arrangement.[0001]
• Rails tend to be bulky items that are rather limited in their adaptability for use in a variety of rack systems. For example, many rails are fixed in length, and they cannot be used for the mounting of cable management systems, such as cable arms. Additionally, many rails require additional components, such as fasteners, by which each rail is attached to the rack. Thus, the attachment and detachment of rails in a rack system can be time consuming, and the rails have limited adaptability with respect to their use in racks of differing depths and with cable management systems.[0002]
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
• Certain embodiments of the invention will hereafter be described with reference to the accompanying drawings, wherein like reference numerals denote like elements, and:[0003]
• FIG. 1 is a side view of a rack system according to certain embodiments of the present invention;[0004]
• FIG. 2 is an isometric view of an embodiment of a rail that can be used in the rack system illustrated in FIG. 1;[0005]
• FIG. 3 is isometric view of an embodiment of a first end of the rail illustrated in FIG. 2;[0006]
• FIG. 4 is an isometric inside view of an embodiment of a second end of the rail illustrated in FIG. 2;[0007]
• FIG. 5 is a side view of the rail illustrated in FIG. 2 in a contracted state; and[0008]
• FIG. 6 is a side view similar to FIG. 5 with the rail in an expanded state.[0009]
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
• Referring generally to FIG. 1, a[0010]system10 is illustrated as representative of embodiments of the present invention.System10 comprises arack12, a plurality ofrails14 andelectronic devices16 mounted onrails14.Electronic devices16 may comprise a variety of devices, including servers, computers, computer related equipment, telecommunications equipment and other electronic devices that may be mounted inrack12. Additionally,system10 may comprisecable management systems18 mounted to selectedrails14.
• Rack[0011]12 may be designed in a variety of configurations, depending on the particular application and the size, type and utilization ofelectronic devices16. By way of example,rack12 may have a pair of rearvertical supports20 and a pair of corresponding frontvertical supports22. Arail14 may be coupled between each rearvertical support20 and corresponding frontvertical support22. Thus, at a given level alongrack12, a pair ofrails14 may be used to support a givenelectronic device16.
• Depending on the type of[0012]electronic device16,cable management system18 may be coupled to a rear of at least one of therails14 used to support that particular electronic device. An example of acable management system18 comprises a cable arm used to generally maintain cables coupled to a givenelectronic device16 at a location to the rear of the device. Additionally, slides (not shown) can be utilized withrails14 to enable sliding motion of eachelectronic device16. The sliding motion facilitates movement of the device between a position withinrack12 and an extended position for performing service or other operations on the device.
• Referring generally to FIG. 2, an embodiment of one of the[0013]rails14 is illustrated. In this embodiment,rail14 comprises afirst end24 and asecond end26 disposed generally on an opposite longitudinal end of the rail fromfirst end24.First end24 andsecond end26 are connected via arail structure28. By way of example,first end24 may be selectively coupled to one of the frontvertical supports22, andsecond end26 may be coupled to the corresponding rearvertical support20 such thatrail structure28 extends between the frontvertical support22 and the rearvertical support20.
• [0014]Rail14 further comprises a self-locking mechanism30 that automatically locksrail14 tovertical supports20,22 whenrail14 is attached intorack12. Self-locking mechanism30 comprises at least one self-lock32. By way of example, the self-locking mechanism30 may comprise a pair of self-locks32 with a self-lock32 disposed at each of thefirst end24 and thesecond end26.
• Although self-[0015]locks32 may have various configurations, an embodiment of the self-lock32 is illustrated in FIGS. 2 and 3. In this embodiment, self-lock32 comprises apin34 that is biased to extend through a rail end, e.g.,first end24 orsecond end26. Eachpin34 is positioned to engagerack12 via a rack recess or an opening, such as a conventional square hole that may be formed in each vertical support ofrack12.
• Each[0016]pin34 may be coupled to aslide bar36 that is slidingly coupled torail structure28. For example, eachslide bar36 may be captively and slideably held by mountingpins38 extending fromrail structure28.Mounting pins38 may be slideably received in acorresponding slot40 formed in eachslide bar36.
• Additionally, each[0017]pin34 may be biased towards a lock position by a spring member42, as illustrated in FIG. 3. By way of example, spring member42 may be captured between astructural portion44 ofslide bar36 andrail structure28 to move theslide bar36 andpin34 to the position in whichpin34 extends through therail end24,26, as best illustrated in FIG. 3.
• A[0018]handle46 may be coupled to slidebar36 to facilitate retraction ofpin34 against the bias of spring42 during detachment ofrail14 fromrack12. However, during installation, thepin34 may automatically be pushed to a retracted position by abutment with therack12 untilpin34 passes into an appropriate opening in the vertical support. At this stage, spring42biases pin34 to its extended, locked position, as illustrated in FIG. 3.
• Although[0019]first end24 andsecond end26 may be formed in a variety of configurations, one example is illustrated in FIGS. 3 and 4. As illustrated in FIG. 3,first end24 may comprise abracket48 from which engagement features50 extend for engagement withrack12. In the embodiment illustrated, a pair of engagement features50 extend frombracket48 in the form ofdownturned tabs52 sized and positioned to move through conventional rectangular rack holes for engagement with the rack. However, a variety of other rack engagement features and brackets may be utilized depending on the desired design of the overall rack and rail system. Furthermore,bracket48 may comprise anopening54 through whichpin34 extends.
• Similarly,[0020]second end26 comprises abracket56 connected torail structure28.Second end26 further comprises anengagement feature58 that may comprise a pair ofdownturned tabs60 similar totabs52 offirst end24. Furthermore,bracket56 may have anopening62 through which a self-lockingpin34 extends.
• With further reference to FIG. 4,[0021]rail14 may further comprise a cablearm attachment bracket64. Cablearm attachment bracket64 is designed to permit connection of acable management system18 to rail14 rather than to one of the rearvertical supports20 ofrack12.Bracket64 may be designed in a variety of configurations depending on the design of a corresponding cable management arm. However, the example illustrated in FIG. 4 comprises anexternal frame66 that substantially defines aninterior region68 for slideably receiving a cable arm mount or other cable management system mounting feature.
• Referring generally to FIGS. 5 and 6,[0022]rail14 further comprises alength adjustment mechanism70 that enables the extension and contraction ofrail14 to accommodate racks of differing depths. For example, the longitudinal length ofrail14 may be adjusted between a contracted state, as illustrated in FIG. 5, and an extended state, as illustrated in FIG. 6. Although otherlength adjustment mechanism70 may be utilized, one embodiment comprises aslide bracket72 slideably mounted on aslide base member74. In this embodiment,slide bracket72 andslide base member74 are combined intorail structure28, andfirst end24 is affixed toslide base member74 whilesecond end26 is affixed to slidebracket72.
• By way of example,[0023]slide bracket72 may be slideably mounted toslide base member74 via a plurality ofpins76 that extend through a corresponding groove78.Pins76 haveoversized heads80 that prevent inadvertent separation ofslide bracket72 andslide base member74. Asfirst end24 andsecond end26 are moved towards or away from one another, pins76 translate along groove78. By way of further example, groove78 may be formed longitudinally alongslide bracket72, and pins76 may extend through groove78 to slidebase member74 to which they are connected.
• Accordingly, each of the[0024]rails14 may be tool-lessly attached to or detached from a variety of racks of differing depths. The self-lockingmechanism30 enables the automatic locking of a givenrail14 at a desired location within therack12, and handles46 permit the simple, tool-less unlocking and detachment of the rail from the rack. Furthermore, cablearm attachment bracket64 enables the attachment of a cable arm or other type of cable management system directly to a givenrail14. It should be understood, however, that the embodiments described herein have been provided to enhance the understanding of the reader, but those embodiments should not be construed as limiting the invention as set forth in the claims.

Claims (22)

What is claimed is:

1. A system, comprising:

a rack; and

a plurality of rails that are tool-lessly attachable to and detachable from the rack, each rail comprising:

a self-locking mechanism to lock the rail to its rack; and

a length adjustment mechanism to enable selective length adjustments based on the depth of the rack.

2. The system as recited inclaim 1, wherein each rail further comprises a cable arm attachment bracket.

3. The system as recited inclaim 1, further comprising a cable arm coupled to at least one rail of its plurality of rails.

4. The system as recited inclaim 1, further comprising an electronic device mounted in the rack.

5. The system as recited inclaim 1, wherein the self-locking mechanism comprises a biased pin.

6. The system as recited inclaim 1, wherein the self-locking mechanism comprises a pair of opposed, biased pins.

7. The system as recited inclaim 1, wherein the length adjustment mechanism comprises a slide bracket.

8. The system as recited inclaim 7, wherein the slide bracket is slideably mounted on a plurality of pins.

9. The system as recited inclaim 7, wherein each rail further comprises at least one handle connected to the self-locking mechanism to enable selective release of the rail from the rack.

10. A system comprising:

a rail having an end that is selectively extensible and a self-lock disposed on the end.

11. The system, as recited inclaim 10, wherein the rail further comprises a cable arm attachment bracket.

12. The system, as recited inclaim 10, wherein the rail further comprises a second self-lock.

13. The system, as recited inclaim 10, wherein the self-lock comprises a biased pin.

14. The system, as recited inclaim 10, wherein the rail further comprises at least one handle connected to the self-lock.

15. A method, comprising:

forming a rail with at least one extensible member to enable mounting of the rail in racks of differing depths;

deploying a self-locking mechanism on the rail with a self-lock on each opposed longitudinal end of the rail; and

coupling at least one handle to the self-lock to enable tool-less detachment of the rail from a rack.

16. The method as recited inclaim 15, wherein deploying comprises spring biasing the self-locking mechanism toward a locked position.

17. The method as recited inclaim 15, wherein forming comprises forming the extensible member as a slide bracket.

18. The method as recited inclaim 15, further comprising mounting the rail in a rack.

19. A rail system comprising:

means for providing selective adjustment to the length of a rail;

means for automatically locking the rail in a rack; and

means for tool-lessly releasing the rail from a rack.

20. The rail system as recited inclaim 19, wherein the means for providing comprises a slide bracket.

21. The rail system as recited inclaim 19, wherein the means for automatically locking comprises a spring-biased pin.

22. The rail system as recited inclaim 19, wherein the means for tool-lessly releasing comprises at least one handle coupled to the spring-based pin.

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