Electrical connector retaining assembly for facilitating removable mounting of a rigid disk drive

Claim 1

An electrical innerconnection assembly for removably mounting a rigid disk drive within a housing comprising: a. a bulkhead bracket fixed secured within a rigid disk drive housing, the bulhead bracket having a planar face oriented to be parallel to a panel containing electrical innerconnect means of a rigid disk drive when said disk drive is in an operative position in said housing and said electrical innerconnect means are electrically connected to electrical connector members, and a shelf projecting perpendicularly from said face to provide support for said electrical connector members, said electrical connector members having strip like cables connected thereto, said electrical connector members abutting said planar face and said shelf and oriented to face said panel of said disk drive positioned to receive said electrical innerconnect means of said rigid disk drive, and guide pin members fixed in parallel spaced-apart relationship and projecting perpendicularly from said shelf; and b. a retaining rail removably mounted on the bulkhead bracket to secure said electrical connector members in place on the bulkhead bracket against said shelf and said planar face, with said strip-like cables held between the retaining rail and said planar face, the surface of the retaining rail adjacent said planar face of the bulkhead bracket has spaced-apart slots to receive said strip-like cables between the retaining rail and said planar face such that said strip-like cables are held flush against said planar face, the widths of said slots corresponding to the widths of said strip-like cables such that the lateral movement of the strip-like cables is restricted, guide bores formed through said retaining rail at spaced-apart locations similar to the spaced-apart relationship of said guide pin members to receive said repective guide pin members so that the retaining rail may be slidably positioned on said guide pin members adjacent said planar face of the bulkhead bracket, whereby said storage disk unit is readily removable from the bulkhead bracket by disengaging the unit from said electrical connector member.