1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates in general to the field of securing a chassis to a rail, and more particularly to a method and system for coupling an information handling system server chassis to a sliding rack rail.
2. Description of the Related Art
As the value and use of information continues to increase, individuals and businesses seek additional ways to process and store information. One option available to users is information handling systems. An information handling system generally processes, compiles, stores, and/or communicates information or data for business, personal, or other purposes thereby allowing users to take advantage of the value of the information. Because technology and information handling needs and requirements vary between different users or applications, information handling systems may also vary regarding what information is handled, how the information is handled, how much information is processed, stored, or communicated, and how quickly and efficiently the information may be processed, stored, or communicated. The variations in information handling systems allow for information handling systems to be general or configured for a specific user or specific use such as financial transaction processing, airline reservations, enterprise data storage, or global communications. In addition, information handling systems may include a variety of hardware and software components that may be configured to process, store, and communicate information and may include one or more computer systems, data storage systems, and networking systems.
As the amount of information created, handled and stored by businesses increases the number of information handling systems needed by businesses has also increased. Often, businesses concentrate information handling systems in special rooms or confined spaces having limited accessibility. For instance, a server room is often set aside at a central location of a business with server information handling systems assembled in equipment racks. In order to improve access to individual server components, each server information handling system is typically supported on a set of sliding rails that extend outward from the rack. Information handling system manufacturers generally attempt to fit as much information handling power as practical in a given rack with racks and support rails typically built to standardized sizes. However, as greater numbers of more powerful components are placed in a server rack, obtaining access to the components for replacement or maintenance becomes increasingly difficult. To reduce the difficulty of obtaining access to components, manufacturers have attempted to couple components to rack rails with a variety attachment devices, including post and slot arrangements that are locked in place with screws.
Although screws will securely couple a chassis to a rack rail, the use of tools and small screws around electronic equipment is undesirable due to the danger of electric shock and due to the general need for multiple technicians to secure the post and screws. Manufacturers have thus looked for tool-less attachment devices that do not have removable screws and that allow a chassis to be “drop-and-locked” to a rail for secure attachment of the chassis by a single technician. One difficulty with such tool-less devices for securing an information handling system chassis to server rack rails is that the small available space tends to call for small solutions that are easily overcome or broken with the application of relatively small amounts of force. Thus, users faced with complex mechanisms in reduced space easily break such attachment devices during removal or maintenance of the server information handling system component. Another difficulty is that racks come in a variety of standardized sizes so that different securing solutions are often used for different sized racks, chassis and rails. The use of different solutions tends to increase the confusion of users in the operation of securing devices and thus increases the likelihood of the use of excess force that will result in damage to the securing devices.
USPTO Backgrounds
USPTO Backgrounds