Mounting apparatus for data storage device

1. Technical Field

The present disclosure relates to mounting apparatuses, and more particularly to a mounting apparatus for mounting data storage devices in an electronic device.

2. Description of Related Art

Data storage devices, such as hard disk drives, floppy disk drives, and optical drives are used in electronic devices such as computers and servers. These data storage devices may be mounted in a bracket of an electronic device with a plurality of screws. But space in the electronic device is limited, particularly for mini personal computers. It is difficult to remove the date storage devices from the small electronic device when they need to be repaired.

Therefore, there is room for improvement within the art.

Many aspects of the embodiments can be better understood with reference to the following drawings. The components in the drawings are not necessarily drawn to scale, the emphasis instead being placed upon clearly illustrating the principles of the embodiments. Moreover, in the drawings, like reference numerals designate corresponding parts throughout the several views.

FIG. 1 is an exploded and isometric view of a mounting apparatus for a data storage device in accordance with an embodiment.

FIG. 2 is an enlarged view of the encircled portion II of FIG. 1 .

FIG. 3 is an assembled view of the mounting apparatus of FIG. 1 .

FIG. 4 is another assembled view of the mounting apparatus of FIG. 1 .

FIG. 5 is an enlarged view of the encircled portion V of FIG. 4 .

The disclosure is illustrated by way of example and not by way of limitation in the figures of the accompanying drawings in which like references indicate similar elements. It should be noted that references to “an” or “one” embodiment in this disclosure are not necessarily to the same embodiment, and such references mean “at least one.”

Referring to FIG. 1 , a mounting apparatus in accordance with an embodiment supports two data storage devices 50 . The mounting apparatus includes an enclosure 10 , a mounting piece 20 and two drive brackets 30 . The two data storage devices 50 are secured in the two drive brackets 30 .

The enclosure 10 includes a bottom plate 11 . Four securing posts 112 protrude from the bottom plate 11 . Each securing post 112 defines a securing hole 1121 .

The mounting piece 20 includes a main body 21 . Opposite edges of the main body 21 extend upwardly to form a pair of first restricting pieces 23 . Opposite edges of the main body 21 extend downwardly to form a pair of second restricting pieces 25 . Four corners of the main body 21 extend downwardly and bend perpendicularly to form four supporting legs 27 . Each supporting leg 27 includes a connection portion 271 connected to the main body 21 and a stand piece 273 . The stand piece 273 defines a through hole 2731 . Each first restricting piece 23 includes a pair of first sliding members 231 . A positioning piece 233 is formed between the pair of first sliding members 231 . Each second restricting piece 25 includes a pair of second sliding members 251 . A stop piece 253 is formed between the pair of second sliding members 251 .

The drive bracket 30 includes a pair of side pieces 31 . The pair of side pieces 31 sandwiches the data storage device 50 therebetween. A handle 33 is pivotally mounted on the pair of side pieces 31 . Each side piece 31 includes a sliding piece 35 which slides on a top edge of the side piece 31 .

Referring to FIG. 2 , each side piece 31 defines a pair of sliding grooves 311 corresponding to the pair of first sliding members 231 or second sliding members 251 . Each sliding groove 311 includes a guiding portion 3110 and a restricting portion 3112 . The guiding portion 3110 extends to a bottom edge of the side piece 31 . A positioning slot 312 is defined between the pair of the sliding grooves 311 .

The handle 33 includes a pair of arms 332 pivotally connected to the pair of side pieces 31 . One end of each arm 332 , which is connected to the side piece 31 , includes a locking portion 336 . The locking portion 336 defines a cutout 331 . The other end of each arm 332 includes an abutting portion 333 (see FIG. 1 ). The handle 33 rotates on the drive bracket 30 between a first position (see FIG. 2 ) and a second position (see FIG. 4 ). At the first position, the cutout 331 is aligned to the guiding portion 3110 . At the second position, the cutout 331 is aligned to the restricting portion 3112 .

Referring to FIGS. 3 to 5 , in assembly of one drive bracket 30 , the handle 33 of the drive bracket 30 rotates to the first position. The drive bracket 30 is placed on a top side of the main body 21 and located between the pair of first restricting pieces 23 . The first sliding member 231 of the first restricting piece 23 slides in the guiding portion 3110 of the sliding groove 311 and the cutout 331 . The handle 33 rotates from the first position to the second position to move the drive bracket 30 . Simultaneously, the handle 33 drives the first sliding member 231 to slide from the guiding portion 3110 to the restricting portion 3112 of the sliding groove 311 . At the second position, the positioning piece 233 of the mounting piece 20 is located in the positioning slot 312 of the drive bracket 30 . The locking portion 336 of the handle 33 keeps the first sliding member 231 captive in the restricting portion 3112 . Then, the sliding piece 35 slides on the side piece 31 to press the abutting portion 333 of the handle 33 to prevent the handle 33 from rotating freely. Thereby, the drive bracket 30 is mounted on the top side of the mounting piece 20 .

A second or subsequent drive bracket 30 is mounted on a bottom side of the mounting piece 20 in the same way as the above drive bracket 30 .

Finally, the support legs 27 of the mounting piece 20 are placed on securing posts 112 of the bottom plate 11 of the enclosure 10 . The through holes 2731 of the support legs 27 are aligned to the securing holes 1121 . Four screws 70 are mounted in the through holes 2731 and the securing holes 1121 to secure the mounting piece 20 in the enclosure 10 .

To disassemble the drive bracket 30 , the screws 70 are detached from the through holes 2731 and the securing holes 1121 , to detach the mounting piece 20 from the enclosure 10 . Then, the sliding piece 35 slides on the side piece 31 to not press against the abutting portion 333 of the handle 33 . Then, the handle 33 is rotated to the second position to move the drive bracket 30 . Simultaneously, the handle 33 drives the first sliding member 231 to slide from the restricting portion 3112 to the guiding portion 3110 of the sliding groove 311 . Then, the first sliding member 231 can slide out of the guiding portion 3110 to detach the drive bracket 30 from the mounting piece 20 .

It is to be understood, however, that even though numerous characteristics and advantages of the embodiments have been set forth in the foregoing description, together with details of the structure and functions of the embodiments, the disclosure is illustrative only, and changes may be made in detail, especially in the matters of shape, size, and arrangement of parts within the principles of the present disclosure to the full extent indicated by the broad general meaning of the terms in which the appended claims are expressed.