Circuit card retainer assembly
AssigneeKeystone Electronics Packaging, Inc.
InventorKevin G. O'Brien
Life of this patent
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Abstract
The invention is a retainer assembly that, upon being attached to a panel and placed in a slot in a housing, provides a smooth and continuous surface that allows the panel to slide freely in and out of the housing. The panel can be firmly retained within the housing slot by expanding the width of the retainer assembly. The retainer assembly provides a more uniform heat transfer surface when abutted against the housing slot. The retainer assembly is self-contained to prevent the individual components from becoming dispersed if the assembly is damaged or disassembled. Additionally, retainer assembly provides a mechanism to prevent it from accidentally disassembling.
Claims20
A retainer assembly adapted to attach to a panel wherein the panel is reversibly mountable within a housing slot, the retainer assembly comprising:
- a) an elongated guide rail, the guide rail comprising a slot abutment wall having a continuous external surface and an opposed internal surface;
- b) an expansion assembly comprising a forward wall and a rearward wall, the forward wall being spaced apart from the rearward wall by a width, the forward wall being disposed proximate to the internal surface of the guide rail;
- c) the rearward wall of the expansion assembly including means for attaching the rear wall in abutment with a panel;
- and
- d) an expansion actuator for alternatively expanding and contracting the width between the forward wall and the rearward wall of the expansion assembly;
- whereby, when the retainer assembly is attached to a panel with the rearward wall of the expansion assembly disposed in abutment with the panel and when the panel is disposed within a housing slot with the external surface of the guide rail disposed proximate to the housing slot, the panel can be firmly retained within the housing slot by expanding the width between the forward wall and the rearward wall of the expansion assembly until the external surface of the slot abutment wall of the guide rail is pressed tightly against the housing slot.
A retainer assembly adapted to attach to a panel that reversibly mounts within a housing slot, the retainer assembly comprising:
- a) an elongated guide rail, the guide rail having a slot abutment wall and two opposing side walls attached thereto so as to make the guide rail substantially U-shaped in cross-section, the slot abutment wall having a continuous external surface and an opposed internal surface;
- b) an expansion assembly having a variable width, the expansion assembly adapted to apply force to the internal surface of the slot abutment wall, the expansion assembly comprising slidably engaging wedged block components, each block component being substantially rectangular in cross-section and disposed at least in-part within the substantially U-shaped guide rail, each block component having a forward face and a spaced apart rearward face, the forward face being disposed proximal to the internal surface of the slot abutment wall;
- c) the rearward face of at least one block component including means for attachment to a panel;
- and
- d) an expansion actuator in operable connection with the expansion assembly that, when engaged, causes at least two wedged block components to slide together such that the forward faces of two block components and the rearward faces of at least two block components are discontinuous and the width of the expansion assembly is increased;
- whereby when the retainer assembly is attached to a panel disposed within a housing slot, the width of the expansion assembly can be increased in response to the expansion actuator so as to force the slot abutment wall of the guide rail away from the panel and firmly retain the panel within the slot of the housing.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.