Device for circuit board insertion-extraction

Abstract

An apparatus for facilitating the insertion and extraction of a PC board into and from a card cage, comprising a mounting body, an engager, and an actuator. The apparatus can be provided as a ring-shaped mounting body having a clearance hole therethrough. The apparatus is slidably and rotatably mounted on a cylindrical rod through the clearance hole such that the apparatus is slidably rotatable along the length of the cylindrical rod. In operation, the engager is positioned in physical contact with the PC board in a notch in the board such that when a force is applied to the actuator, the engager is effected to urge the board to move in the direction of the force.

1 . A device for inserting and extracting printed circuit (PC) boards, comprising: 
 a mounting body having a clearance hole therethrough, a first connection point and a second connection point;    an engager attached to the mounting body at the first connection point;    an actuator attached to the mounting body at the second connection point; and    a cylindrical rod, wherein the mounting body is rotatably mounted on the cylindrical rod and is slidable along the length of the rod, and wherein there is a minimum spacing between the first and second connection points.    
   
   
       2 . The device of  claim 1 , wherein the engager is configured to engage with a notch provided in each of a plurality of PC boards for transmitting insertion and extraction forces to the each PC board.  
   
   
       3 . The device of  claim 2 , wherein a minimum spacing is provided between the first connection point and the second connection point, the minimum spacing calculated to prevent jamming of the actuator into the PC boards during insertion and extraction of the PC boards.  
   
   
       4 . The device of  claim 1 , wherein the engager is configured to engage with a PC board selected from a plurality of PC boards such that a first force applied to the actuator causes the selected PC board to mate with a connector and a second force applied to the actuator disengages contacts of the selected PC board from the connector.  
   
   
       5 . The device of  claim 4 , wherein each of the plurality of PC boards includes a notch for transmitting the first and second forces to the each PC board and wherein a PC board is selected when the engager engages the notch in the selected PC board.  
   
   
       6 . The device of  claim 1 , wherein the engager and the actuator are integrally connected to the mounting body.  
   
   
       7 . The device of  claim 6 , wherein the mounting body is “C” shaped.  
   
   
       8 . The device of  claim 6 , wherein the mounting body is ring-shaped.  
   
   
       9 . An electric system comprising: 
 a chassis including: 
 a plurality of card guides and  
 a backplane having a plurality of electric receiving connectors, the chassis having two side walls and an open front; and  
   a cylindrical rod having two ends, each end mounted to a side wall near the open front.    
   
   
       10 . The system of  claim 9 , further comprising a plurality of printed circuit (PC) boards, each PC board comprising a front edge, a side edge perpendicular to the front edge, and a notch formed in the board near the front edge and the side edge.  
   
   
       11 . The system of  claim 9  and further comprising 
 a mounting body having a clearance hole therethrough; and    an engager attached to the mounting body, wherein    the mounting body is slidably coupled to the cylindrical rod through the clearance hole and the mounting body is slidably rotatable along the length of the rod.    
   
   
       12 . The system of  claim 11  and further comprising an actuator attached to the mounting body, wherein the actuator is configured to receive extraction and insertion forces.  
   
   
       13 . The system of  claim 12  and further comprising a plurality of printed circuit (PC) boards each PC board having a front edge, a side edge perpendicular to the front edge, and a notch formed in the board near the front edge and the side edge for engaging with the engager.  
   
   
       14 . The system of  claim 13  wherein the mounting body is configured to transmit the extraction and insertion forces to the selected PC board when the engager is engaged with the notch of the selected PC board.  
   
   
       15 . The system of  claim 12 , wherein the engager is configured to engage with a selected one of a plurality of PC boards such that a first force applied to the actuator causes the selected PC board to mate with a corresponding one of the electric receiving connectors and a second force applied to the actuator disengages contacts of the selected PC board from the corresponding one of the electric receiving connectors.  
   
   
       16 . The system of  claim 12 , wherein the mounting body comprises: 
 a first mounting arc, and    a second mounting arc interconnected with the first mounting arc, wherein the first and second arcs form the mounting body.    
   
   
       17 . The system of  claim 16 , wherein a spacing is provided between respective points of attachment of the engager and the actuator to prevent jamming of the actuator into a PC board during insertion and extraction of the PC board.  
   
   
       18 . The system of  claim 16 , wherein the engager is configured to engage with a selected one of a plurality of PC boards wherein a first force applied to the actuator urges the selected PC board into the chassis until contacts of the selected PC board mate with a corresponding one of the electric receiving connectors.  
   
   
       19 . The system of  claim 18 , wherein a second force applied to the actuator causes the contacts to disengage from the corresponding one of the electric receiving connectors and urges the selected PC board from the chassis.  
   
   
       20 . The system of  claim 16 , wherein the engager and the actuator are attached to the first mounting arc.  
   
   
       21 . The system of  claim 16 , wherein the engager is attached to the first mounting arc and the actuator is attached to the second mounting arc.