Loading patent…
AssigneeHewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P.
InventorsPaul E. Westphall, Robert J. Hastings, Daniel T. Thompson
Estimating the term…
A self-locking mechanism usable in conjunction with a printed circuit assembly (PCA). The self-locking mechanism generally comprises a central actuator, a pair of sliding members on either side of the actuator and one rotating lock member associated with each sliding member. The actuator, sliding members and rotating members preferably are mounted to a top edge of a vertically-mounted circuit board thereby forming the printed circuit assembly. The printed circuit assembly can only be removed from its host system after the actuator is turned to an unlocked position and then the sliding members are slid toward the actuator thereby causing the rotating lock members to disengage from their locked position. Turning the actuator also causes a signal to be asserted to the host system to disable power to the PCA. Upon installing the PCA, no power is provided to the PCA until it has been fully installed and the actuator locked.
A locking mechanism adapted to lock a printed circuit assembly in place, comprising:
The locking mechanism of claim 3 wherein said sliding members are adapted to slide toward the actuator when the actuator is rotated to unlock the sliding members.
A printed circuit assembly (PCA), comprising:
The PCA of claim 9 wherein said rotating lock members are locked in place until said actuator is turned and said sliding members are slid toward said actuator along the top edge.
A printed circuit assembly (PCA), comprising:
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.