Panel and drive cage assembly

[0002] 1. Field of the Invention

[0003] The present invention relates to a panel and drive cage assembly, and particularly to a panel and drive cage assembly having means for enhancing grounding of the drive cage mounted thereto.

[0004] 2. The Related Art

[0005] A panel and drive cage assembly includes a drive cage for receiving and retaining a data storage device such as a floppy disk drive (FDD), a hard disk drive (HDD) or a compact disc-read only memory (CD-ROM) drive. The data storage device can easily produce electromagnetic interference which can reduce the stability of the computer system. To counter this problem, a drive cage such as those disclosed in Taiwan Patent Application Nos. 84213528, 85218324, 81213379 and 84201628, and U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,031,070; 5,600,538; 5,164,886 and 5,175,670 is required to quickly ground for preventing the electromagnetic interference coming from the data storage device.

[0006] A conventional panel and drive cage assembly forms a plurality of fingers connected between a drive cage and a front panel to provide grounding paths, thereby enhancing grounding. However, attaching the fingers to the front panel is complicated and time consuming.

[0007] Thus, it is desired to have a panel and drive cage assembly having a drive cage which facilitates grounding and assembly.

[0008] Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide a panel and drive cage assembly comprising a drive cage having means for facilitating grounding.

[0009] Another object of the present invention is to provide a panel and drive cage assembly comprising a drive cage having a simplified assembly.

[0010] To fulfill the objects mentioned above, a panel and drive cage assembly in accordance with the present invention comprises a panel and a drive cage attached to the panel. The panel defines an opening therein and forms a plurality of fingers about the opening. The drive cage forms a plurality of protrusions proximate side edges thereof to extend through the opening and contact the corresponding fingers of the panel for enhancing grounding.

[0011] Other objects and advantages of the present invention will be understood from the following description of a preferred embodiment thereof with reference to the accompanying drawings, wherein:

[0012] FIG. 1 is an exploded view of a panel and drive cage assembly in accordance with the present invention;

[0013] FIG. 2 is an enlarged sectional view taken along line II—II of FIG. 1;

[0014] FIG. 3 is an enlarged sectional view taken along line III—III of FIG. 1;

[0015] FIG. 4 is an assembled view of FIG. 1; and

[0016] FIG. 5 is an enlarged sectional view taken along line V—V of FIG. 4.

[0017] Referring to FIGS. 1-3, a panel and drive cage assembly 2 in accordance with the present invention comprises a panel 4 and a drive cage 6 attached to the panel 4. The panel 4 defines a rectangular opening 8 for providing access to the drive cage 6. The panel 4 forms four flanges 10 extending forwardly and inclinedly from four edges of the opening 8, and a plurality of fingers 12 extends straightly forwardly from a front end of each of the flanges 10 for contacting the drive cage 6 thereby enhancing grounding. A pair of apertures 14 is defined in the panel 4 proximate the opening 8.

[0018] The drive cage 6 includes a top board 16, a bottom board 18 and a pair of side walls 20 connected between the top and bottom boards 16, 18 to define a receiving space 22 for receiving a data storage device therein (not shown). The top board 16 forms a stepped portion 24 for abutting against the panel 4. Each side wall 20 forms a transverse tab 28 for abutting against the panel 4. Each tab 28 defines a hole 30 corresponding to the aperture 14 of the panel 4 for extension of a fastener (not shown) to securely fix the drive cage 6 to the panel 4. A plurality of protrusions 32, 34, 36 extends from the stepped portion 24 of the top board 16, the bottom board 18 and the side walls 20 proximate a side edge thereof for contacting the corresponding fingers 12 of the panel 4 thereby enhancing grounding.

[0019] Referring to FIGS. 1, 4 and 5, in assembly, the drive cage 6 is inserted into the opening 8 of the panel 4 with the stepped portion 24 and the tabs 28 abutting against the panel 4. The protrusions 32, 34, 36 of the drive cage 6 contact the corresponding fingers 12 of the panel 4 thereby enhancing grounding. Thus, it is easy to assemble the drive cage 6 to the panel 4.

[0020] It will be understood that the present invention may be embodied in other forms without departing from the spirit thereof. The present example and embodiment, therefore, is to be considered in all respects as illustrative and not restrictive, and the invention is not to be limited to the details given herein.