Equipment enclosure kit and assembly method

{
  "publication_number": "US8033406B2",
  "country": "US",
  "kind": "B2",
  "title": "Equipment enclosure kit and assembly method",
  "abstract": "An equipment enclosure for housing electronic components includes a front assembly having a front frame, the front assembly defining a front of the enclosure, and a rear assembly having a rear frame. The enclosure further includes at least two side brace members, each side brace member having a first end and a second, opposite end. A first connector is configured to releasably connect the first end of one of the side brace members to the front frame. A second connector is configured to releasably connect the second end of the one of the side brace members to the rear frame. Other embodiments and methods are further disclosed.",
  "claims": [
    "1. An enclosure for housing electronic components, the enclosure comprising: a frame assembly comprising a front frame defining a front of the enclosure, a rear frame, and a plurality of side brace members connecting the front frame and the rear frame, and including a first pair of side brace members being positioned on one side of the front and rear frames and a second pair of side brace members being positioned on an opposite side of the front and rear frames; at least one mounting flange releasably mounted on at least one side brace member of one of the first and second pairs of side brace members; and at least one clamping assembly to releasably clamp the at least one mounting flange to the at least one side brace member, wherein the at least one side brace member includes teeth formed along a length of the at least one side brace member, and wherein the clamping assembly comprises a clamping bracket having teeth formed along at least one edge of the clamping bracket, the teeth of the clamping bracket being adapted to mesh with teeth formed in the at least one side brace member to clamp the at least one mounting flange to the at least one side brace member.",
    "2. The enclosure of claim 1, wherein the clamping assembly further comprises a latch member connected to the clamping bracket, the latch member and the clamping bracket being positioned within a vertical slot formed in the at least one mounting flange and moveable between a non-clamping position in which the teeth of the clamping bracket are spaced from the teeth of the at least one side brace member and a clamping position in which the teeth of the clamping bracket mesh with the teeth of the at least one side brace member.",
    "3. An enclosure for housing electronic components, the enclosure comprising: a frame assembly comprising a front frame defining a front of the enclosure, a rear frame, and a plurality of side brace members connecting the front frame and the rear frame, and including a first pair of side brace members being positioned on one side of the front and rear frames and a second pair of side brace members being positioned on an opposite side of the front and rear frames; at least one mounting flange releasably mounted on at least one side brace member of one of the first and second pairs of side brace members; at least one clamping assembly to releasably clamp the at least one mounting flange to the at least one side brace member; and a positioning system to position the at least one mounting flange within the enclosure, wherein the positioning system comprises at least two openings formed in the at least one mounting flange, and at least two different, alternating symbols which form a line of symbols along one of the first and second pairs of side brace members, the symbols and openings being constructed and arranged to show one symbol through one opening to indicate the position of the at least one mounting flange along the one of the first and second pairs of side brace members.",
    "4. The enclosure of claim 3, wherein the positioning system comprises three openings and three different symbols, the symbols and openings being constructed and arranged to show a different symbol through a different opening when moving the at least one mounting flange an incremental distance along a length of the one of the first and second pairs of side brace members.",
    "5. An enclosure for housing electronic components, the enclosure comprising: a frame assembly comprising a front frame defining a front of the enclosure, a rear frame, and a plurality of side brace members connecting the front frame and the rear frame, and including a first pair of side brace members being positioned on one side of the front and rear frames and a second pair of side brace members being positioned on an opposite side of the front and rear frames; at least one mounting flange releasably mounted on at least one side brace member of one of the first and second pairs of side brace members; at least one clamping assembly to releasably clamp the at least one mounting flange to the at least one side brace member; and at least one cable organizer releasably mounted on at least one side brace member of one of the first and second pairs of side brace members within an interior region of the enclosure, the cable organizer being adapted to support and tie-off cables, wherein the at least one cable organizer comprises a clamping assembly to releasably clamp the cable organizer to the at least one side brace member, wherein the clamping assembly comprises a clamping bracket having teeth formed along at least one edge of the clamping bracket, the teeth of the clamping bracket being adapted to mesh with teeth formed in the at least one side brace member to clamp the at least one cable organizer to the at least one side brace member, and a fastener connected to the clamping bracket, the fastener and the clamping bracket being positioned within a vertical slot formed in the cable organizer and moveable between a non-clamping position in which the teeth of the clamping bracket are spaced from the teeth of the at least one side brace member and a clamping position in which the teeth of the clamping bracket mesh with the teeth of the at least one side brace member.",
    "6. An enclosure for housing electronic components, the enclosure comprising: a frame assembly comprising a front frame defining a front of the enclosure, a rear frame, and a plurality of side brace members connecting the front frame and the rear frame, and including a first pair of side brace members being positioned on one side of the front and rear frames and a second pair of side brace members being positioned on an opposite side of the front and rear frames; at least one mounting flange releasably mounted on at least one side brace member of one of the first and second pairs of side brace members; and a positioning system to position the at least one mounting flange within the enclosure, wherein the positioning system comprises at least two different, alternating symbols which form a line of symbols along the at least one side brace member, the symbols being constructed and arranged to enable the positioning of the at least one mounting flange along the at least one side brace member.",
    "7. The enclosure of claim 6, wherein the positioning system further comprises at least two openings formed in the at least one mounting flange.",
    "8. The enclosure of claim 7, wherein the positioning system comprises three openings and three different symbols, the symbols and openings being constructed and arranged to show a different symbol through a different opening when moving the at least one mounting flange an incremental distance along a length of the at least one side brace member.",
    "9. An enclosure for housing electronic components, the enclosure comprising: a frame assembly comprising a front frame defining a front of the enclosure, a rear frame, and a plurality of side brace members connecting the front frame and the rear frame, and including a first pair of side brace members being positioned on one side of the front and rear frames and a second pair of side brace members being positioned on an opposite side of the front and rear frames; at least one mounting flange releasably mounted on at least one side brace member of one of the first and second pairs of side brace members; and clamping means to releasably clamp the at least one mounting flange to the at least one side brace member, wherein the at least one side brace member includes teeth formed along a length of the at least one side brace member, and wherein the clamping means comprises a clamping bracket having teeth formed along at least one edge of the clamping bracket, the teeth of the clamping bracket being adapted to mesh with teeth formed in the at least one side brace member to clamp the at least one mounting flange to the at least one side brace member.",
    "10. The enclosure of claim 9, wherein the clamping means further comprises a latch member connected to the clamping bracket, the latch member and the clamping bracket being positioned within a slot formed in the at least one mounting flange and moveable between a non-clamping position in which the teeth of the clamping bracket are spaced from the teeth of the at least one side brace member and a clamping position in which the teeth of the clamping bracket mesh with the teeth of the at least one side brace member.",
    "11. The enclosure of claim 10, further comprising a viewing slot formed in the at least one mounting flange to view whether the latch member and clamping bracket are in the non-clamping position or the clamping position.",
    "12. An enclosure for housing electronic components, the enclosure comprising: a frame assembly comprising a front frame defining a front of the enclosure, a rear frame, and a plurality of side brace members connecting the front frame and the rear frame, and including a first pair of side brace members being positioned on one side of the front and rear frames and a second pair of side brace members being positioned on an opposite side of the front and rear frames; at least one mounting flange releasably mounted on at least one side brace member of one of the first and second pairs of side brace members; and positioning means to position the at least one mounting flange within the enclosure, wherein the positioning means comprises at least two openings formed in the at least one mounting flange, and at least two different, alternating symbols which form a line of symbols along a side brace member of one of the first and second pairs of the side brace members, the symbols and openings being constructed and arranged to show one symbol through one opening to indicate the position of the at least one mounting flange along the side brace member.",
    "13. The enclosure of claim 12, wherein the positioning means comprises three openings and three different symbols, the symbols and openings being constructed and arranged to show a different symbol through a different opening when moving the at least one mounting flange an incremental distance along a length of the one of the side brace member."
  ],
  "description_excerpt": "1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to racks and enclosures, and more particularly to racks and enclosures used to house data processing, networking and telecommunications equipment. 2. Discussion of Related Art Equipment enclosures for electronic equipment, such as data processing, networking and telecommunications equipment have been in use for years. Over the years, a number of different standards have been developed to enable equipment manufacturers to design rack mountable equipment that can be mounted in standard racks manufactured by different manufacturers. One such standard is the Electronic Industries Association's EIA-310-D standard which defines parameters for what has become an industry standard nineteen inch rack. Nineteen inch racks are used extensively in data centers and other facilities. With the proliferation of the Internet, it is not uncommon for a data center to contain hundreds of these racks. Further, with the ever decreasing size of computer equipment, and in particular, computer servers, the number of electrical connectors mounted in each rack has been increasing, raising additional power distribution, cooling and cable distribution concerns at the rack level. With these increasing concerns, there is a need for equipment racks that are flexible enough to satisfy a variety of different requirements, capable of meeting industry standards, and sufficiently simple in design to be cost effective, given the quantities of these racks that may be used in a facility.",
  "cpc": [
    "H05K 7/1488",
    "F16B 2200/50",
    "F16B 7/044",
    "G06F 1/181",
    "G06F 1/183",
    "H01R 11/01",
    "H05K 5/0226",
    "H05K 7/183",
    "Y10T 403/4602",
    "Y10T 403/595"
  ],
  "ipc": [
    "A47B 57/00"
  ],
  "assignees": [
    "AMERICAN POWER CONV CORP"
  ],
  "inventors": [
    "MATTLIN JEFFREY LEE",
    "BERGESCH JOSEPH H",
    "THOMAS KEVIN NEIL",
    "SMITH PAUL THOMAS",
    "SPITAELS JAMES S",
    "BRYAN DANIEL"
  ],
  "filing_date": "2007-11-12",
  "publication_date": "2011-10-11",
  "grant_date": "2011-10-11",
  "priority_date": "2004-11-17",
  "application_number": "US-93852807-A",
  "family_id": "36385118",
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}