DOCKING ASSEMBLY CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

[0001] This application claims priority to U.S. Provisional App. No. 61/112,611, filed

November 7, 2008, entitled "DOCKING ASSEMBLY," the contents of which are incorporated by reference in its entirety.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

[0002] The present invention relates to a docking assembly for use with a ventilated rack system by which air can be provided into a cage housed in the rack such as that disclosed in U.S. App. No. 11/871,942, filed October 12, 2007, entitled "VENTILATED RACK SYSTEM," the contents of which are incorporated by reference in its entirety. More specifically, the docking assembly preferably includes a tubular body having displaceable legs to secure the docking system onto a ventilation plenum of the ventilated rack system.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

[0003] Ventilated rack systems commonly available in the art are typically assembled by the manufacturer and shipped to the laboratory in an assembled format. In U.S. Patent Application No. 11/871,942 filed by the same assignee as the instant invention, a high density rack and cage assembly having air plenums that are capable of being shipped in a disassembled format and easily assembled at the laboratory facility is shown and described. The rack assembly includes air plenums that support a docking valve that engage the valve of a cage to supply air to each of the cages housed in the rack. However, a disadvantage of such an assembly is that the docking assembly needs to be welded and cannot be easily mounted to an air plenum to assure a proper air coupling with the cages supported thereby. Accordingly, a docking assembly that is easy to install and will prevent leakage of air from or to the cage is desirable,

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

[0004] A docking assembly for use in a ventilated rack system that includes components that can be assembled at a laboratory facility using relatively simple tools is provided. [0005] The docking assembly includes a tubular base having displaceable legs at a plenum end proximate to the plenum, which preferably secures the tubular base to a plenum. A cup and a spring are supported on the tubular base. The spring urges the cup toward the cage end, proximate a cage supported in the rack system, to maintain the cup in position against the cage to assure that the air is supplied to the cage.

[0006] Other objects and features of the present invention will become apparent from the following detailed description, considered in conjunction with the accompanying drawing figure. It is to be understood, however, that the drawings are designed solely for the purpose of illustration and not as a definition of the limits of the invention, for which reference should be made to the appended claims.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0007] The particular features and advantages of the invention as well as other objects will become apparent from the following description taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, in which:

[0008] FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a partially assembled rack system in accordance with an embodiment of the invention; [0009] FIG. 2 is a perspective view of an air plenum in accordance with an embodiment of the invention;

[0010] FIG. 3 is a partial perspective view of an air plenum and an air dock in accordance with an embodiment of the invention;

[0011] FIG. 4 is a perspective view of a docking assembly in accordance with an embodiment of the invention;

[0012] FIG. 5 is a front elevational view of the docking assembly of FIG. 4;

[0013] FIG. 6 is a top planar view of the docking assembly of FIG. 4;

[0014] FIG. 7 is a bottom planar view of the docking assembly of FIG. 4;

[0015] FIG. 8 is a perspective view of a cup of a docking assembly in accordance with an embodiment of the invention;

[0016] FIG. 9 is a top planar view of the cup of FIG. 8;

[0017] FIG. 10 is a cross-sectional view of the cup of FIG. 8;

[0018] FIG. 11 is a perspective view of a body of a docking assembly in accordance with an embodiment of the invention;

[0019] FIG. 12 is a cross-sectional view of the body of FIG. 11 ; and

[0020] FIG. 13 is a perspective view of a docking base of FIG. 4.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF EXEMPLARY EMBODIMENTS [0021] Certain exemplary embodiments of the present invention will now be described with reference to the drawings. In general, such embodiments as shown in FIGS. 1-13 relate to a docking assembly for a ventilated rack system having components that are particularly suited to being can be assembled by an end user, for example, at a laboratory rather than being pre- assembled by the manufacturer at the factory. Accordingly, the ventilated rack system also preferably includes a pressure based air handling unit, a relatively easily operated clean-out system, and adjustable canopies having selectively removable sides as disclosed in U.S. App. No. 11/871,942.

[0022] With reference to Figs. 1-3, an embodiment of a ventilated rack system as described in U.S. App. No. 11/871,942 may include a plurality of vertical plenum 310 arranged in parallel between side frames of the rack for supplying and removing air to and from rack. An air supply blower can provide HEPA filtered air through supply plenum 350, preferably extending horizontally proximate the top of rack, to an air supply channel 320 of vertical plenum 310 via an air supply port 322 (Fig. 1-2). The air can be provided through an air supply docking assembly 340 to cages in the rack.

[0023] Reference is made to FIGS. 4-12 wherein an embodiment of a docking assembly

800 for connecting to an aperture 340a in the plenum 310 for supplying air from the plenum 310 into cages is depicted. The docking assembly 800 is preferably insertable into a corresponding docking aperture 340a of the plenum 310 (FIG. 3) until properly positioned. Preferably, the docking assembly 800 can snap into place when inserted a sufficient distance into the docking aperture 340a.

[0024] As shown in FIGS. 4-7, the docking assembly 800 can include a tubular body 830 having legs 836, a cup 810 having a cup aperture 812, and a docking base 860 having a base aperture 862. The docking assembly 800 has a plenum end 833 and a cage end 831. The cup 810, the tubular body 830, the docking base 860, and the spring 890 are arranged coaxially. The cup 810 is supported on the tubular body 830 and is slidably engaged with the tubular body 830. The spring 890 surrounds the tubular body 830. The docking base 860 is slidably engaged with the tubular body 830 proximate the plenum end 833.

[0025] The tubular body 830 has apertures 870, a body channel 834, and a retaining mechanism as further described below. Tubular body 830 can also have a circular cross-section with an outer diameter smaller than the inside diameter of the cup 810. The tubular body 830 is aligned coaxially with the cup 810 and the docking base 860.

[0026] With reference to FIGS. 6-7, the tubular body 830 includes a plurality of apertures

870, a body channel 834, an outwardly extending flange 832 . The apertures 870 are sized, shaped and arranged to be in fluid connection with the apertures 340a in the plenum 310 to provide controlled airflow to the cage. As shown in FIGS. 11-12, the body channel 834 of the tubular body 830 extends through the length of the tubular body 830. As shown in FIGS. 4-7, the body channel 834 can be aligned with the cup aperture 812. The outwardly extending flange 832 is disposed on the perimeter of the tubular body 830 proximate the cage end 831. [0027] The tubular body 830 also includes a retaining mechanism for connecting the docking assembly 800 to an aperture 340a in the plenum 310 and retaining the docking assembly 800 in position. In the embodiment shown in FIG. 11, the tubular body includes a plurality of deflectable extended legs 836 extending toward the plenum end 833. Legs 836 are constructed and arranged to be inserted into the docking aperture 340a of the plenum 310. Preferably, the extended legs 836 are flexible and are displaceable inward into the body channel 834 and are normally disposed outward away from the body channel 834. Accordingly, as the legs 836 are inserted into the docking aperture 340a, the legs 836 are displaced (bent) by pressure toward each other. The portions of the legs 836 that have been inserted through the docking aperture 340a will then return to the normal non-deflected position and away from each other to secure the body to the plenum.

[0028] Referring to FIG. 12, each leg 836 can include a foot 838 extending outward, away from the axis of the tubular body 830. Therefore, the cross-section of the leg 836 can be greater proximate the foot 838. The foot 838 can include an angled insertion surface 838a and an abutment surface 838b. As the legs 836 are inserted into the docking aperture 340a, the plenum wall 310a defining the docking aperture 340a contacts the angled insertion surface 838a of the foot 838. The legs 836 are displaced inward until the feet 836 can be inserted through the docking aperture 340a. Once inserted, the legs 836 return to their position, more preferably, until the outer wall of the leg 836 contacts the portion of the plenum wall 31 Oa that defines the docking aperture 340a.

[0029] The tubular body 830 can further include a stopping element for preventing the displacement of the docking base 860 beyond a certain distance from the foot 838 when the tubular body 830 is engaged with the docking base 860. Referring to the embodiment shown in FIGS. 11-12, the stopping element can include a stopping surface 840 extending outward from the outer wall of the tubular body 830 proximate the legs 836. Preferably, the tubular body 830 has a wider portion 842 and a narrower portion 844 wherein the legs 836 are within the narrower portion 844. The stopping surface 840 can be provided where the wider portion 842 and the narrower portion 844 meet. The diameter of the wider portion 842 is greater than the inner diameter of the base aperture 862 of the docking base 860, thus preventing the displacement of the docking base 860 past the stopping surface 840. It is to be understood that alternate stopping elements are contemplated. For example, rather than providing a wider portion 842 and a narrower portion 844 having a stopping surface 840, the tubular body 830 can have a single diameter or a gradual change in diameter without a defined stopping surface, wherein the stopping element can include one or more bumps or other mechanism to prevent the docking base 860 from being displaced beyond a specified distance.

[0030] FIGS. 8-10 illustrate an embodiment of the cup 810, which can have a tubular shape having a cup aperture 812 for receiving the tubular body 830. The cup 810 is supported on the tubular body 830 proximate the cage end 831 and is slideably displaceable along the axis of the tubular body 830. The cup 810 also includes an inner lip 814 or other element/member extending inward into the cup aperture 812. The inner lip 814 of the cup 810 contacts the outwardly extending flange 832 of the tubular body 830 (Fig. 11-12) to prevent the cup 810 from being displaced in direction H past the flange 832.

[0031] The cup 810 can also include an outer lip 816 extending radially outward from the cup aperture 812. Preferably, the outer lip 816 is located proximate the cage end 831. When a cage (not shown) is connected to the docking assembly 800, the outer Hp 816 preferably contacts the wall of the cage. As the cage is pushed toward the plenum 310 in direction I, the wall of the cage can push the cup 810 via the outer lip 816 toward the plenum 310 in direction I against the biasing force of the spring 890, forcing the spring 890 to contact, and thus increasing the force exerted by the spring 890.

[0032] As shown in FIG. 13, the docking base 860 includes a base aperture 862, a base abutment wall 864, and a base abutment surface 865. The tubular body 830 may be at least partially placed through the base aperture 862 of the docking base 860 and be slideably engaged therewith. The stopping surface 840 of the tubular body 830 prevents the docking base 860 from moving too far upwards toward the cage end 831 of the docking assembly 800. [0033] A spring 890 is provided between the cup 810 and the docking base 860 to urge the cup 810 away from the docking base 860. The spring 890, as shown in FIG. 4-5 is provided outside the tubular body 830, and more preferably surrounds the tubular body 830. Spring 890 contacts the base abutment wall 864 to apply a force, which urges the cup 830 away from the plenum wall and toward the cage.

[0034] In accordance with an exemplary embodiment, the tubular body is inserted, at least partially, into the docking aperture 340a in the plenum wall 310a until a locking mechanism secures the tubular body 830 in place with respect to the plenum wall 310a. The docking assembly 800 can preferably be mounted onto the plenum 310 by inserting the legs 836 in the direction I into the docking aperture 340a of the plenum 310. The legs 836 can be displaced inward until the foot 838 clears the plenum wall 310a. Thereafter, the legs 836 can be displaced outward such that the foot 838 extends beyond the diameter of the docking aperture 340a and substantially prevents the legs 836 from being withdrawn in direction H. [0035] The abutment surface 865 of the docking base 860 contacts the outside of the plenum wall 310a while the abutment surface 838b of the foot 838 of the tubular body 830 contacts the inner surface of the plenum wall 310a. Thus, the docking base 860 is secured to the plenum. The base abutment wall 864 is wider than the docking aperture 340a, which facilitates sealing the docking aperture 340a to prevent leakage of air from between the docking assembly 800 and the vertical plenum 310. The docking base 860 preferably prevents the tubular body 830 from being inserted too far into the docking aperture 340a. [0036] The spring 890 simultaneously urges the docking base 860 toward the plenum wall 31 Oa until the base abutment surface 865 contacts the plenum wall 31 Oa. Preferably, no additional steps are necessary to secure the docking assembly 800 or to seal the connection between the docking assembly 800 and the plenum 310. Therefore, the installation of the docking assembly 800 onto the plenum 310 is relatively simple.

[0037] Thus, while there have been shown and described and pointed out novel features of the present invention as applied to preferred embodiments thereof, it will be understood that various omissions and substitutions and changes in the form and details of the disclosed invention may be made by those skilled in the art without departing from the spirit of the invention. For example, the position of the various plenums, valves, and apertures as well as the arrangements thereof, can be changed without deviating from the scope of the invention as a matter of application specific to design choice. Additionally, other alterations can be made, as a way of non-limiting example, the number of shelves, compartments on the rack, or the number of cages that can be housed in each compartment, etc. as a matter of application specific to design choice, without deviating from the scope of the invention. It is the intention, therefore, to be limited only as indicated by the scope of the claims appended hereto.

[0038] It is also to be understood that the following claims are intended to cover all of the generic and specific features of the invention herein described and all statements of the scope of the invention which, as a matter of language, might be said to fall there between.