Drive carrier and method therefor
AssigneeSanmina Corporation
InventorsCharles C. Hill, Franz Michael Schuette
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
One feature pertains to a scissor-based carrier assembly for a mass storage device used in a storage computer system. The carrier assembly has fixed and moving parts allowing the carrier to change from a retracted state to insert or remove the mass storage device into or from a storage enclosure to an extended state to couple the mass storage device with a connector of the storage computer system.
Claims18
A computer system having an enclosure configured to accept a plurality of mass storage devices, comprising:
- a carrier assembly, assembled with one of the mass storage devices, adapted to actuate between a retracted state to an extended state;
- and
- a scissor mechanism, secured to the carrier assembly, which actuates the carrier assembly between the retracted and the extended state;
- wherein the retracted state is used to insert the carrier assembly into the enclosure, and
- wherein the extended state is used to engage the mass storage device with a connector of the computer system.
A method for inserting a mass storage device into a storage enclosure, the method comprising:
- installing the mass storage device in a carrier assembly;
- actuating a scissor mechanism on the carrier assembly from a flat configuration to a folded configuration to change the state of the carrier assembly from an extended state to a retracted state;
- inserting the carrier assembly into a drive slot in the storage enclosure;
- actuating the scissor mechanism from the folded configuration to the flat configuration to change the state of the carrier assembly from the retracted state to the extended state.
A method for removing a mass storage device from a storage enclosure, the method comprising the following steps:
- actuating a scissor mechanism on a carrier assembly securing the mass storage device in a drive slot of the storage enclosure from a flat configuration to a folded configuration to change the state of the carrier assembly from an extended state to a retracted state;
- and
- removing the carrier assembly from the drive slot.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.