Personal Computer Local Area Network Book Package

Personal Computer Local Area Network Book Package

      A method for packaging Local Area Network (LAN) (or other)
Peripheral Computer Interconnect (PCI) bus cards in "book" type
electronics enclosure.  The PCI card is attached to a converter card,
which attaches to a midrange or mainframe computer backplane bus.

      The Figure shows a book package for an IBM*AS/400* computer.
It is composed of a Bus Converter card (2) which is connected via a
PCI Edge Connector (3) to a PCI card (1).  The PCI card can have any
length up to 9 inches long which meets the half length and three
quarters length criteria, and can have any height up to 4.8 inches
high.  Full length PCI cards may be packaged in an extended AS/400
book package.

      The Bus Converter card (2) connects to the backplane bus via
connector (4).  The book consists of side covers (15), connector
plate (18), Tail stock (11), top and bottom latch/guides (16), spring
clips (17), stand-off/pivots (14), and screws (12).  There are
stand-offs related to both the pivots and to the screws to insure
that the cards do not come in contact with the side covers to prevent
shorts occurring from the component pins.
  *  Trademark of IBM Corp.