Three-piece universal rail kit for mounting a device to a rack

Abstract

A universal rail mounting kit for mounting a rack-mountable computing device within a computer rack is provided. The universal rail mounting kit includes a rack-mountable sliding rail configured to be attached to the computer rack, a device-mountable receiving rail configured to be attached to the rack-mountable computing device and configured to receive the rack-mountable sliding rail when the rack-mountable computing device is installed in the computer rack, and a device-mountable securing rail configured to be attached to the rack-mountable computing device and configured to secure the rack-mountable computing device to the computer rack after the device-mountable receiving rail has received the rack-mountable sliding rail.

1 . A universal rail mounting kit for mounting a rack-mountable computing device within a computer rack, the universal rail mounting kit comprising:
 a rack-mountable sliding rail configured to be attached to the computer rack;   a device-mountable receiving rail configured to be attached to the rack-mountable computing device and configured to receive the rack-mountable sliding rail when the rack-mountable computing device is installed in the computer rack; and   a device-mountable securing rail configured to be attached to the rack-mountable computing device and configured to secure the rack-mountable computing device to the computer rack after the device-mountable receiving rail has received the rack-mountable sliding rail.   
     
     
         2 . The universal rail mounting kit of  claim 1 , wherein the rack-mountable sliding rail has an “L” shaped structure comprising a distal end, a proximal end, a first leg located at the distal end and a second leg extending from the distal end to the proximal end, the first leg being shorter than the second leg. 
     
     
         3 . The universal rail mounting kit of  claim 2 , wherein the first leg of the rack-mountable sliding rail is configured to be mounted to a pillar of the computer rack. 
     
     
         4 . The universal rail mounting kit of  claim 3 , wherein the first leg includes at least one via hole for receiving a mounting component that attaches the first leg to the pillar of the computer rack. 
     
     
         5 . The universal rail mounting kit of  claim 3 , wherein the second leg of the rack-mountable sliding rail is configured to extend along a side of the rack-mountable computing device when the first leg of the rack-mountable sliding rail is mounted to the pillar of the computer rack and the rack-mountable computing device is installed within the computer rack. 
     
     
         6 . The universal rail mounting kit of  claim 3 , wherein the second leg, at the proximal end of the rack-mountable sliding rail, includes a rounded portion to provide guidance to the device-mountable receiving rail as the rack-mountable computing device is installed within the computer rack. 
     
     
         7 . The universal rail mounting kit of  claim 6 , wherein the second leg, at the proximal end of the rack-mountable sliding rail, is further tapered from the rounded portion to provide further guidance to the device-mountable receiving rail as the rack-mountable computing device is installed within the computer rack. 
     
     
         8 . The universal rail mounting kit of  claim 3 ,
 wherein the first leg has a first end connected to the second leg and a second end opposing the first end, and   wherein the second leg, at the proximal end of the rack-mountable sliding rail, is angled in a direction towards the second end of the first leg to provide guidance to the device-mountable receiving rail as the rack-mountable computing device is installed within the computer rack.   
     
     
         9 . The universal rail mounting kit of  claim 2 ,
 wherein the device-mountable receiving rail includes a distal end, a proximal end, a top side and a bottom side,   wherein the top side forms a “U” shaped curved region configured to curve away from a side of the rack-mountable computing device and to form a top-side track extending along a portion of a length of the device-mountable receiving rail, and   wherein the bottom side forms a “U” shaped curved region configured to curve away from the side of the rack-mountable computing device and to form a bottom-side track extending along a portion of a length of the device-mountable receiving rail.   
     
     
         10 . The universal rail mounting kit of  claim 9 ,
 wherein the second leg of the rack-mountable sliding rail includes a top side extending along a portion of a length thereof and a bottom side extending along a portion of a length thereof,   wherein the top-side track of the device-mountable receiving rail is configured to receive a top side of the second leg of the rack-mountable sliding rail, and wherein the bottom-side track of the device-mountable receiving rail is configured to receive a bottom side of the second leg of the rack-mountable sliding rail.   
     
     
         11 . The universal rail mounting kit of  claim 9 , wherein at least one of the “U” shaped curved region of the top side of the device-mountable receiving rail and the “U” shaped curved region of the bottom side of the device-mountable receiving rail includes one or more openings adjacent to one or more via holes of the device-mountable receiving rail to allow for insertion and removal of mounting components. 
     
     
         12 . The universal rail mounting kit of  claim 2 ,
 wherein the device-mountable securing rail has an “L” shaped structure comprising a distal end, a proximal end, a first leg located at the proximal end and a second leg extending from the proximal end to the distal end, the first leg being shorter than the second leg,   wherein the second leg of the device-mountable securing rail is configured to be mounted to and extend along a side of the rack-mountable computing device, and   wherein, upon insertion of the second leg of the rack-mountable sliding rail into the device-mountable receiving rail, the first leg of the device-mountable securing rail is configured to be mounted to another pillar of the computer rack.   
     
     
         13 . The universal rail mounting kit of  claim 12 , wherein second leg is stepwise tapered towards the proximal end of the device-mountable securing rail to provide a reduced a height of the second leg at the proximal end of the device-mountable securing rail in comparison to a height of the second leg at the distal end of the device-mountable securing rail. 
     
     
         14 . The universal rail mounting kit of  claim 1 ,
 wherein the device-mountable securing rail includes two or more via holes for receiving mounting components that attach the device-mountable securing rail to a side portion of the rack-mountable computing device, and   wherein the two or more via holes are located in positions that allow the device-mountable securing rail to be attached to rack-mountable computing devices provided from multiple manufacturers.   
     
     
         15 . The universal rail mounting kit of  claim 14 ,
 wherein the device-mountable securing rail includes one or more receiving holes configured to receive one or more protrusions located on the side portion of the rack-mountable computing device, and   wherein the one or more receiving holes are located in positions that allow the device-mountable securing rail to be attached to rack-mountable computing devices provided from multiple manufacturers.   
     
     
         16 . The universal rail mounting kit of  claim 15 , wherein the multiple manufacturers include two or more of Cisco®, Juniper Networks® and Nvidia®. 
     
     
         17 . The universal rail mounting kit of  claim 1 ,
 wherein the device-mountable receiving rail includes two or more via holes for receiving mounting components that attach the device-mountable receiving rail to a side portion of the rack-mountable computing device, and   wherein the two or more via holes are located in positions that allow the device-mountable receiving rail to be attached to rack-mountable computing devices provided from multiple manufacturers.   
     
     
         18 . The universal rail mounting kit of  claim 17 ,
 wherein the device-mountable receiving rail includes one or more receiving holes configured to receive one or more protrusions located on the side portion of the rack-mountable computing device, and   wherein the one or more receiving holes are located in positions that allow the device-mountable receiving rail to be attached to rack-mountable computing devices provided from multiple manufacturers.   
     
     
         19 . The universal rail mounting kit of  claim 1 ,
 wherein the rack-mountable sliding rail, the device-mountable receiving rail and the device-mountable securing rail are configured to attach to a left side of the rack-mountable computing device, and   wherein the universal rail mounting kit includes a complementary second set of components including another rack-mountable sliding rail, another device-mountable receiving rail and another device-mountable securing rail, which are configured to attach to a right side of the rack-mountable computing device.   
     
     
         20 . A method of installing a rack-mountable computing device within a computer rack using a universal rail mounting kit,
 wherein the universal rail mounting kit comprises:
 a rack-mountable sliding rail configured to be attached to the computer rack; 
 a device-mountable receiving rail configured to be attached to the rack-mountable computing device and configured to receive the rack-mountable sliding rail when the rack-mountable computing device is installed in the computer rack; and 
 a device-mountable securing rail configured to be attached to the rack-mountable computing device and configured to secure the rack-mountable computing device to the computer rack after the device-mountable receiving rail has received the rack-mountable sliding rail, and wherein the method comprises: 
 attaching the rack-mountable sliding rail to a pillar of the computer rack; 
 attaching the device-mountable receiving rail to a distal portion of a side of the rack-mountable computing device; 
 attaching the device-mountable securing rail to a proximal portion of the side of the rack-mountable computing device; 
 installing the rack-mountable computing device within the computer rack by sliding the device-mountable receiving rail attached to the rack-mountable computing device to receive rack-mountable sliding rail; and 
   securing a portion of the device-mountable securing rail to another pillar of the computer rack.