1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates, in general, to computers and, more particularly, to a disk drive mounting structure for computers and a method for mounting a disk drive to a computer chassis.
2. Description of the Background Art
Generally, every kind of computer has one or more disk drives each of which is a physical unit that holds, spins, reads and writes magnetic disks or CD-ROMs (Compact Disc-Read Only Memory). Each of the disk drives is mounted to the chassis of the computer. Currently, generally used disk drives are floppy disk drives, DVD (Digital Versatile Disc) drives or CD-ROM drives. Each of the disk drives includes a housing combined with the chassis and contains drive elements.
To mount such a disk drive, there have been employed two techniques. One technique is a mounting technique using screws that are respectively and fixedly inserted into the disk drive through mounting holes formed on the side surface of a drive bay. However, according to this conventional technique, since various kinds of disk drives supplied by different manufacturers do not have uniform sizes or uniform allowances, many problems occur. That is, when the disk drive has a size smaller than a size allowed by the chassis, a gap around the disk drive is greater than desired, by that deteriorating the appearance of the computer. In addition, since the drive bays are fixed to the chassis of the computer and the sizes of the drive bays may be different, these cause the gap to be widened further. Furthermore, this technique using a plurality of screws requires excessive time and labor and additional parts.
The other technique is a mounting technique utilizing intermediate brackets and drive rails fixed to the disk drive. According to this technique, the disk drive, to which brackets and drive rails are fixed, is slid into a chassis from the front of the chassis and is fixed by means of snaps or screws. In a case where laterally fixed rails are used, it is difficult to situate the rails at a proper position. In addition, when the brackets or rails are fixed to the side of the disk drive, a mounting gap is generated as described above, thereby causing the disk drive to be moved to the left and to the right. Furthermore, when the disk drive, to which brackets and drive rails are fixed, is fixed to the chassis, there should be provided front and rear allowances sufficient for compensating the mounting gap and the movements of the drive brackets and the drive bays.
In brief, according to the conventional techniques, the mounting and separation of a disk drive is difficult, the supply and control of mounting parts are difficult due to the excessive quantity of the parts, the manufacturing cost is expensive due to the excessive quantity of the parts, and the reliability of the product is deteriorated due to a great mounting gap.
An exemplar of the art, Babb et al. (U.S. Pat. No. 5,332,306, Computer Disk Drive Mounting Apparatus, Jul. 26, 1994) discloses a disk drive mounting arrangement allowing for two adjacent bays. Hanson (U.S. Pat. No. 5,122,914, Disk Drive System with Transportable Carrier and Mounting Assembly, Jun. 16, 1992) and Hanson (U.S. Pat. No. 5,327,308, Disk Drive System with Transportable Carrier and Mounting Assembly, Jul. 5, 1994) disclose an arrangement that provides for quick removal and quick installation of a disk drive unit. Schmitt (U.S. Pat. No. 5,668,696, Carrier-Based Mounting Structure for Computer Peripheral Chassis, Sept. 16, 1997) discloses a structure and technique for removably mounting a chassis within a bay in a computer housing. O'Sullivan et al. (U.S. Pat. No. 6,050,658, Carrier for an Electronic Device, Apr. 18, 2000) shows a computer case design for mounting multiple electronic devices such as disk drives. Johnson (U.S. Pat. No. 6,040,980, Disk Drive to Chassis Mounting Apparatus and Method, Mar. 21, 2000) discloses a mounting structure for disk drives without the use of tools or conventional fasteners. Jung (U.S. Pat. No. 5,808,864, Personal Computer with Disk Drive Mounting Structure, Sep. 15, 1998) discloses a mounting structure for disk drive that minimizes the necessary mounting space. Jeong (U.S. Pat. No. 5,572,402, Hard Disk Drive Mounting Assembly for a Computer, Nov. 5, 1996) discloses a structure allowing for quick insertion of a hard disk drive using slides and rail hooks.
I have found that conventional art does not properly show a structure that allows for easy mounting and separation of a disk drive while reducing the mounting gap between the disk drive and the chassis.