Disk drive unit

Claim 2

A disk drive unit (10) comprises: a disk drive housing (22); a circuit board (20) carrying drive electronics; and a relatively rigid chassis (26) for supporting said disk drive housing (22) and said circuit board (20), said chassis having front and rear ends; characterised by the interface connector (14) mounted generally at said rear end of said chassis (26) in a rearwardly facing orientation; a power connector plug (12); and mounting means (36) for securely mounting said power connector plug onto said chassis in a rear­wardly facing orientation and generally at said rear end of the chassis, whereby the disk drive unit can be slidably displaced in a rearward direction for slide fit coupling of said interface connector (14) and said power connector plug (12) with mating fittings (32, 28) of a computer system.

Claim 3

A disk drive unit (10) in combination with a computer system cabinet (16) having a forwardly open slot therein for slide-in reception of the disk drive unit, and a power fitting (28) and an interface fitting (32) securely mounted generally at the rear of said cabinet slot in forward facing orientation, said disk drive unit comprising: a relatively rigid chassis (26) having front and rear ends; a disk drive housing (22); a circuit board (20) having drive electronics thereon; and means for supporting said disk drive housing (22) and said circuit board (20) from said chassis (26) to define a generally compact package having an overall size and shape for sliding fit into said cabinet slot; characterised by an interface connector (14) secured generally at a rear margin of said package in a position for mating coupling with said interface fitting (32) when said package is slidably inserted into said cabinet slot; a power plug (12); and mounting means (36) for mounting said power connector plug generally at a rear margin of said package in a position for mating coupling with said power fitting (28) when said package is slidably inserted into said cabinet slot, said mounting means including means for isolating forces arising during coupling of said plug with said power fitting from said circuit board.

Claim 4

A disk drive unit (10) in combination with a computer system cabinet (16) having a forwardly open slot therein for slide-in reception of the disk drive unit, and a power fitting (28) and an interface fitting (32) securely mounted generally at the rear of said cabinet slot in forward facing orientation, said disk drive unit comprising: a relatively rigid chassis (26) having front and rear ends; a disk drive housing (22); a circuit board (20) having drive electronics thereon; and means for supporting said disk drive housing (22) and said circuit board (20) from said chassis (26) to define a generally compact package having an overall size and shape for sliding fit into said cabinet slot; characterised by an interface connector (14) secured generally at a rear margin of said package in a position for mating coupling with said interface fitting (32) when said package is slidably inserted into said cabinet slot; a power plug (12); and mounting means (36) for mounting said power connector plug generally at a rear margin of said package in a position for mating coupling with said power fitting (28) when said package is slidably inserted into said cabinet slot, said mounting means including means for isolating forces arising during coupling of said plug with said power fitting from said circuit board.

Claim 5

A disk drive unit as claimed in claim 1 or 2 characterised in that said mounting means comprises a mounting (36) secured onto said chassis (26).

Claim 6

A disk drive unit as claimed in claim 3 charac­terised in that said power connector plug (12) includes at least one outwardly projecting tab (46), said mounting bracket being shaped for seated reception of said power connector plug and has a slot (44) formed therein for receiving the or each said tab when said power connector plug is seated within said mounting bracket (36).

Claim 7

A disk drive unit as claimed in claim 3 or 4 characterised in that said disk drive housing (22) defines a back stop support surface (48) for said power connector plug (12) when the latter is mounted onto said chassis by said mounting bracket (36).

Claim 8

A disk drive unit as claimed in any preceding claim characterised in that said interface connector (14) is mounted onto a rear margin of said circuit board (20).

Claim 9

A disk drive unit as claimed in claim 6 charac­terised in that said interface connector (14) has a key (24) thereon for mating reception into a mating notch (25) formed in a rear margin of said circuit board (20).

Claim 10

A disk drive unit as claimed in any preceding claim characterised in that said power plug connector (12) is supported by said mounting means (36) at a position out of the plane of said circuit board (20).

Claim 11

A disk drive unit as claimed in any preceding claim characterised by including a plurality of shock mounts (18) for resiliently supporting said disk drive housing (22) from said chassis (26), each of said shock mounts comprising generally cup-shaped outer and inner blocks (52, 58) for mounting respectively to said disk drive housing and said chassis, and a resilient cup-­shaped buffer member (56) nested between said outer and inner blocks and supported therebetween by nested reception of said buffer member (56) into said outer block (52) and by nested reception of said inner block (58) into said buffer member (56).

Claim 12

A disk drive unit as claimed in any preceding claim characterised by including circuit board mounting means for mounting said circuit board (20) to said disk drive housing (22), said circuit board mounting means including a plurality of mounting screws (61, 62, 63) passed through ports (66) formed in said circuit board and fastened into bosses (64) on said disk drive housing (22), at least some of said ports (66) being over-sized and lined with a respective spacer bushing (68) to permit at least some freedom of movement permitting the circuit board (20) to float in its own plane to accommodate thermal size shift during normal operation of the disk drive unit.

Claim 13

A disk drive unit as claimed in claim 10 charac­terised in that each of said spacer bushings (68) includes a radially enlarged flange (70) at one end thereof interposed between the end of the associated boss (64) on the disk drive housing (22) and the circuit board (20), and an opposite axial end projecting through and at least slightly beyond the respective port (66).

Claim 14

A shock mount for connecting a disk drive housing (22) to a relatively rigid chassis (26), said shock mount being characterised by comprising: a generally cup-shaped outer block (52) and including means (53) for connection to one of said disk drive housing (22) and said chassis (26); a generally cup-shaped resilient buffer member (56) shaped for nested reception into said outer block (52); and an inner block (58) shaped for nesting reception into said buffer member (56) and including means (59) for connection to the other of said disk drive housing (22) and said chassis (26), whereby said resilient buffer member (56) provides a shock and vibration damping buffer between said outer and inner blocks (52,58).

Claim 15

A shock mount for connecting a disk drive housing (22) to a relatively rigid chassis (26), said shock mount being characterised by comprising: a generally cup-shaped outer block (52) and including means (53) for connection to one of said disk drive housing (22) and said chassis (26); a generally cup-shaped resilient buffer member (56) shaped for nested reception into said outer block (52); and an inner block (58) shaped for nesting reception into said buffer member (56) and including means (59) for connection to the other of said disk drive housing (22) and said chassis (26), whereby said resilient buffer member (56) provides a shock and vibration damping buffer between said outer and inner blocks (52,58).

Claim 16

A mounting arrangement for mounting a circuit board (20) from a disk drive housing (22) characterised by comprising a plurality of ports (66) formed in said circuit board (20); a plurality of fastener receiving boss members (64) on said disk drive housing (22); a plurality of fasteners (61, 62, 63) passed respectively through said ports (66) into said boss member (64), at least some of said ports in said circuit board (20) being over-sized to permit lateral shift of the circuit board generally in the plane of the circuit board relative to said disk drive housing; and a plurality of spacer bushings (68) seated within said over-sized ports (66) for passage therethrough of the associated fasteners (61, 62, 63), said spacer bushings (68) providing means for spacing said boss members (64) and said fasteners (61, 62, 63) from said circuit board (20).

Claim 17

A mounting arrangement for mounting a circuit board (20) from a disk drive housing (22) characterised by comprising a plurality of ports (66) formed in said circuit board (20); a plurality of fastener receiving boss members (64) on said disk drive housing (22); a plurality of fasteners (61, 62, 63) passed respectively through said ports (66) into said boss member (64), at least some of said ports in said circuit board (20) being over-sized to permit lateral shift of the circuit board generally in the plane of the circuit board relative to said disk drive housing; and a plurality of spacer bushings (68) seated within said over-sized ports (66) for passage therethrough of the associated fasteners (61, 62, 63), said spacer bushings (68) providing means for spacing said boss members (64) and said fasteners (61, 62, 63) from said circuit board (20).

Claim 18

A mounting arrangement as claimed in claim 13 characterised in that each of said spacer bushings (68) includes a radially enlarged flange (70) at one end thereof interposed between the end of the associated boss (64) on the disk drive housing (22) and the circuit board (20), and an opposite axial end projecting through and at least slightly beyond the respective port (66).