Hydraulic card retainer

A system for retaining a circuit card assembly (CCA), comprising:

• a circuit card assembly (CCA);
• a chassis in support of the CCA;
• a card cage comprising a plurality of rails forming a plurality of channels, the card cage operable to receive the CCA and the chassis within one of the channels;
• and
• a self-contained hydraulic card retainer operable with the chassis and the CCA, wherein the self-contained hydraulic card retainer comprises a non-circulating volume of fluid contained within a tube section, and an actuator operable to apply a compressive force to the fluid and expand the tube section to apply a retaining force between the CCA and the chassis and one of the rails of the card cage to retain the CCA and the chassis within the card cage.

A method of retaining a circuit card assembly within a card cage, the method comprising:

• obtaining a card cage having a plurality of rails forming respective channels;
• obtaining a circuit card assembly (CCA) as supported by a chassis;
• positioning a hydraulic card retainer about the CCA and the chassis, such that the hydraulic card retainer is in contact with the CCA, the hydraulic card retainer comprising a tube section and a volume of fluid contained within the tube section;
• inserting the CCA and the chassis within one of the channels, the hydraulic card retainer being adjacent at least one rail;
• applying a compression force to the volume of fluid, such that the tube section is caused to expand and apply a retaining force between the CCA and the at least one rail thereby retaining the CCA and the chassis within the card cage.