Locking apparatus including key actuated movable locking bar for disk drive carriers

In a disk drive housing having at least two disk drive carrier bays in a disk drive carrier opening housing one or more corresponding disk drive carriers, a locking device for securing said disk drive carriers into said disk drive carrier bays, comprising:

• a moveable locking bar assembly located inside said disk drive housing and spanning the disk drive carrier bays, and comprising a substantially flat, rectangular-shaped locking bar and at least two locking pins projecting from and planar with said locking bar, one locking pin for each of said disk drive carrier bays, wherein said locking bar is moveable to either a locked or an unlocked position;
• two guides, one guide located at each end of said locking bar and each guide having a channel therein wherein each end of said locking bar is slideably disposed within the corresponding channel and said guides maintain said locking bar assembly in positional alignment during movement to either the locked or the unlocked position;
• a cam mechanism positioned for engaging and camming the locking bar assembly so as to move said locking bar assembly to either the locked position or the unlocked position;
• a key lock assembly attached to said disk drive housing and accessible from the exterior of said disk drive housing for actuating said cam mechanism;
• and
• a slot in each disk drive carrier wherein, when said locking bar assembly is in the locked position, said locking pins engage the slots of the corresponding disk drive carriers securing the disk drive carriers into the disk drive carrier bays.

In a disk drive housing having at least two disk drive carrier bays in a disk drive carrier opening housing one or more corresponding disk drive carriers, a locking device for securing said disk drive carriers into said disk drive carrier bays, comprising:

• a moveable locking bar assembly located inside said disk drive housing and spanning the disk drive carrier bays and comprising a substantially flat, rectangular-shaped locking bar and at least two locking pins projecting from and perpendicular of said locking bar, one locking pin for each of said disk drive carrier bays, wherein said locking bar is moveable to either a locked or an unlocked position;
• a cam mechanism positioned for engaging and camming the locking bar assembly so as to move said locking bar assembly to either the locked position or the unlocked position;
• a key lock assembly attached to said disk drive housing and accessible from the exterior of said disk drive housing for actuating said cam mechanism;
• and
• a slot in each disk drive carrier wherein, when said locking bar assembly is in the locked position, said locking pins engage the slots of the corresponding disk drive carriers securing the disk drive carriers into the disk drive carrier openings.

A computer system including a central processing unit, associated memory and associated input and output devices and including a housing unit having at least two disk drive carrier bays in a disk drive carrier opening housing one or more corresponding disk drive carriers and a locking device for securing said disk drive carriers into said disk drive carrier bays, said locking device comprising:

• a moveable locking bar assembly located inside said disk drive housing and spanning the disk drive carrier bays and comprising a locking bar and at least two locking pins projecting from said locking bar, one locking pin for each of said disk drive carrier bays, wherein said locking bar is moveable to either a locked or an unlocked position;
• a key lock assembly attached to said disk drive housing and accessible from the exterior of said disk drive housing;
• and
• a cam mechanism positioned for engaging and camming the locking bar assembly so as to move said locking bar assembly to either the locked position or the unlocked position, said cam mechanism actuated by said key lock assembly wherein, when said locking bar assembly is in the locked position, said locking pins engage the corresponding disk drive carriers securing the disk drive carriers into the disk drive carrier bays.