US-12621950-B2 - Lockable computing device with movable lever

Abstract

A computing device include a chassis, a mounting ear, a lever, and a locking unit. The chassis holds one or more electronic devices and is insertable into a rack, such as a server rack. The mounting ear is coupled to the chassis. The lever is rotatably coupled to the mounting ear and is rotatable between a first position and a second position. In the first position, the lever engages the rack to prevent the chassis from being removed. In the second position, the lever disengages the rack and allows the chassis to be removed. The locking unit is coupled to the mounting ear and transitions between locked and unlocked states. In the locked state, the locking unit secures the lever in the first position. In the unlocked state, the lever is movable from the first position to the second position.

Inventors

• Yaw-Tzorng Tsorng
• Ming-Lung Wang
• Hung-Wei Chen
• Yu-Cheng Chang
• Pei-Jung Hsieh

Assignees

• QUANTA COMPUTER INC.

Dates

Publication Date

20260505

Application Date

20231030

Claims (16)

1. 1 . A computing device, the computing device comprising: a chassis configured to hold one or more electronic devices, the chassis being insertable into a rack; a mounting ear coupled to the chassis; a lever rotatably coupled to the mounting ear, the lever being rotatable between a first position and a second position, the lever configured to engage the rack when in the first position and to disengage the rack when in the second position, the chassis being prevented from being removed from the rack when the lever is in the first position, the chassis being allowed to be removed from the rack when the lever is in the second position; a locking unit coupled to and positioned above the mounting ear, the locking unit transitioning from a locked state to an unlocked state in response to a user force and automatically transitioning from the unlocked state to the locked state in response to the user force being removed, the lever being secured in the first position when the locking unit is in the locked state, the lever being movable from the first position to the second position when the locking unit is in the unlocked state, the locking unit including a housing coupled to the mounting ear and including a window for internal accessibility, a locking pin having a flared head at one end, the locking pin being movable and disposed at least partially within the housing, the locking pin being in a locked position when the locking unit is in the locked state and in an unlocked position when the locking unit is in the unlocked state, a mounting flange extending about a periphery of the locking pin, a sliding member that is slidably coupled to the locking pin, the locking pin passing completely through a hole of the sliding member, the flared head extending from one end of the sliding member, the locking pin extending from an opposite end of the sliding member, the sliding member having an angled surface that contacts the flared head of the locking pin when the locking unit transitions to the unlocked state, the flared head protruding through the sliding member, the contact between the angled surface and the flared head moving the locking pin from the locked position to the unlocked position, the sliding member further having an end that is accessible to a user through the window of the housing, contact of the user with the sliding member causing the sliding member to slide toward the flared head of the locking pin, and a baseplate mounted with the locking pin, the sliding member being slidably fixed between the locking pin and the baseplate, the baseplate being insertable and positioned between the sliding member and a bottom surface of the housing; and a mounting pin via which the lever is rotatably coupled to the mounting ear, the mounting pin extending through a first mounting pin aperture in the lever and into a second mounting pin aperture in the mounting ear, the lever being rotatable about the mounting pin between the first position and the second position, the mounting pin having a first end that extends into the second mounting pin aperture in the mounting ear, the mounting pin further having a second end that extends into a third mounting pin aperture of the locking unit such that the lever is further rotatably coupled to the locking unit.
2. 2 . The computing device of claim 1 , further comprising a torsion spring through which the mounting pin extends, the torsion spring biasing the lever toward the second position.
3. 3 . The computing device of claim 2 , wherein the torsion spring includes a first leg contacting the mounting ear and a second leg contacting the lever, the lever in the first position pressing the second leg toward the first leg to compress the torsion spring.
4. 4 . The computing device of claim 2 , wherein in response to the lever being in the first position and the locking unit transitioning to the unlocked state, the torsion spring causes the lever to automatically move from the first position to the second position.
5. 5 . The computing device of claim 1 , wherein the locking pin in the locked position extends into a locking pin aperture defined in the lever to secure the lever in the first position.
6. 6 . The computing device of claim 5 , wherein in response to the lever being in the first position and the locking pin moving to the unlocked position, the locking pin retracts at least partially into the housing and out of the locking pin aperture of the lever to allow the lever to move to the second position.
7. 7 . The computing device of claim 6 , wherein the baseplate is coupled to the mounting ear, the locking pin being mounted within a locking pin aperture of the baseplate such that the locking pin is axially movable within the locking pin aperture of the baseplate between the locked position and the unlocked position.
8. 8 . The computing device of claim 7 , wherein the sliding member slides toward the locking pin to transition the locking unit from the locked state to the unlocked state.
9. 9 . The computing device of claim 7 , wherein the locking pin extends through a hollow interior of the sliding member, and wherein the angled surface of the sliding member is disposed adjacent to the flared head of the locking pin.
10. 10 . The computing device of claim 6 , wherein the locking unit includes a biasing spring through which the locking pin extends, the biasing spring biasing the locking pin toward the locked position.
11. 11 . The computing device of claim 6 , wherein the lever includes an angled surface formed about a periphery of the locking pin aperture of the lever, and wherein in response to the lever moving from the second position to the first position, contact between the angled surface of the lever and the locking pin causes the locking pin to move to the unlocked position.
12. 12 . The computing device of claim 6 , wherein the lever includes an angled surface formed about a periphery of the locking pin aperture of the lever, and wherein in response to the chassis being removed from the rack, contact between the angled surface of the lever and the locking pin causes the lever to rotate past the second position.
13. 13 . A computing system comprising: a rack; an attachment plate coupled to the rack; and a computing device including: a chassis configured to hold one or more electronic devices, the chassis being insertable into the rack; a mounting ear coupled to the chassis; a lever rotatably coupled to the mounting ear, the lever being rotatable between a first position and a second position, the lever engaging the attachment plate when in the first position and disengaging the attachment plate when in the second position, the chassis being prevented from being removed from the rack when the lever is in the first position, the chassis being allowed to be removed from the rack when the lever is in the second position; and a locking unit coupled to and positioned above the mounting ear, the locking unit transitioning from a locked state to an unlocked state in response to a user force and automatically transitioning from the unlocked state to the locked state in response to the user force being removed, the lever being secured in the first position when the locking unit is in the locked state, the lever being movable from the first position to the second position when the locking unit is in the unlocked state, the locking unit including: a housing including a window for internal accessibility, a locking pin having a flared head at one end, a mounting flange extending about a periphery of the locking pin, a sliding member that is slidably coupled to the locking pin, the locking pin passing completely through a hole of the sliding member, the flared head extending from one end of the sliding member, the locking pin extending from an opposite end of the sliding member, the sliding member having an angled surface that contacts the flared head of the locking pin when the locking unit transitions to the unlocked state, the flared head protruding through the sliding member, the contact between the angled surface and the flared head moving the locking pin from a locked position to an unlocked position, the sliding member further having an end that is accessible to a user through the window of the housing, contact of the user with the sliding member causing the sliding member to slide toward the flared head of the locking pin, and a baseplate mounted with the locking pin, the sliding member being slidably fixed between the locking pin and the baseplate, the baseplate being insertable and positioned between the sliding member and a bottom surface of the housing; and a mounting pin via which the lever is rotatably coupled to the mounting ear, the mounting pin extending through a first mounting pin aperture in the lever and into a second mounting pin aperture in the mounting ear, the lever being rotatable about the mounting pin between the first position and the second position, the mounting pin having a first end that extends into the second mounting pin aperture in the mounting ear, the mounting pin further having a second end that extends into a third mounting pin aperture of the locking unit such that the lever is further rotatably coupled to the locking unit.
14. 14 . The computing system of claim 13 , wherein the lever includes a hook formed at an end thereof, the hook extending through an opening in the attachment plate when the lever is in the first position to prevent the chassis from being removed from the rack.
15. 15 . The computing system of claim 14 , wherein the hook of the lever is removed from the opening in the attachment plate as the lever moves from the first position to the second position to allow the chassis to be removed from the rack.
16. 16 . The computing system of claim 14 , wherein the lever further includes a stopping tab formed at the end of the lever adjacent to the hook, the stopping tab contacting the attachment plate as the lever moves away from the first position to prevent further movement of the lever and to define the second position of the lever.

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS This application claims priority from and the benefit of U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 63/528,862, filed on Jul. 25, 2023, titled “One-Piece Labor-Saving Structure Commonly Used in Various Server System for Mounting Ear and Lever,” which is hereby incorporated by reference herein in its entirety. FIELD OF THE INVENTION The present disclosure relates generally to a computing device that can be inserted into a rack, and more specifically, to a computing device with a movable handle that can lock the computing device in a rack. BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Rack-mount computing devices (e.g., rack-mount server units) include chasses that can be inserted into a rack. These computing devices often include a lever structure that enables the chassis to be easily inserted into and removed from the rack, and can lock the chassis within the rack. However, these lever systems are often bulky and occupy space within and/or in the front of the chassis, and may reduce the number of electronic devices (e.g., hard disks, expansion cards, etc.) that can be placed on or in the chassis. Thus, new systems and devices are needed for mounting such computing devices within the rack. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The term embodiment and like terms, e.g., implementation, configuration, aspect, example, and option, are intended to refer broadly to all the subject matter of this disclosure and the claims below. Statements containing these terms should be understood not to limit the subject matter described herein or to limit the meaning or scope of the claims below. Embodiments of the present disclosure covered herein are defined by the claims below, not this summary. This summary is a high-level overview of various aspects of the disclosure and introduces some of the concepts that are further described in the Detailed Description section below. This summary is not intended to identify key or essential features of the claimed subject matter. This summary is also not intended to be used in isolation to determine the scope of the claimed subject matter. The subject matter should be understood by reference to appropriate portions of the entire specification of this disclosure, any or all drawings, and each claim. In a first implementation, the present disclosure is directed to a computing device that includes a chassis, a mounting ear, a lever, and a locking unit. The chassis is configured to hold one or more electronic devices and is insertable into a rack. The mounting ear is coupled to the chassis. The lever is rotatably coupled to the mounting ear, and is rotatable between a first position and a second position. The lever is configured to engage the rack when in the first position and to disengage the rack when in the second position. The chassis is prevented from being removed from the rack when the lever is in the first position. The chassis is allowed to be removed from the rack when the lever is in the second position. The locking unit is coupled to the mounting ear and is configured to transition from a locked state to an unlocked state in response to a user force, and to automatically transition from the unlocked state to the locked state in response to the user force being removed. The lever is secured in the first position when the locking unit is in the locked state. The lever is movable from the first position to the second position when the locking unit is in the unlocked state. In some aspects of the first implementation, the lever is rotatably coupled to the mounting ear via a mounting pin. The mounting pin extends through a mounting pin aperture in the lever and into a mounting pin aperture in the mounting ear. The lever is rotatable about the mounting pin between the first position and the second position. In some aspects of the first implementation, the computing device further includes a torsion spring through which the mounting pin extends. The torsion spring biases the lever toward the second position. In some aspects of the first implementation, the torsion spring includes a first leg contacting the mounting ear and a second leg contacting the lever. In the first position, the lever presses the second leg toward the first leg to compress the torsion spring. In some aspects of the first implementation, in response to the lever being in the first position and the locking unit transitioning to the locked state, the torsion spring causes the lever to automatically move from the first position to the second position. In some aspects of the first implementation, a first end of the mounting pin extends into the mounting pin aperture in the mounting ear and a second end of the mounting pin extends into a mounting pin aperture of the locking unit, such that the lever is further rotatably coupled to the locking unit. In some aspects of the first implementation, the locking unit includes a housing coupled to the mounting ear, and a movable locking pin disposed at least partial