Thiagarajan Natarajan

US Patent:

6347043, Feb 12, 2002

Filed:

Apr 19, 2000

Appl. No.:

09/551926

Inventors:

Thiagarajan Natarajan - Fremont CA
Peter Heffernan - Southampton, GB
Alan Beck - Crestwick, GB

Assignee:

Sun Microsystems, Inc. - Palo Alto CA

International Classification:

H05K 700

US Classification:

361799, 361753, 361801, 361825, 3122231, 206719, 174 51

Abstract:

A system (e. g. , a power supply) is presented which allows a user to electrically couple a common ground electrical potential of a circuit (e. g. , a power supply circuit return) to, or electrically isolate the common ground electrical potential from, an earth grounded chassis, without having to open the chassis. The system may include a metal bolt and nut, wherein the nut is coupled to an electrically conductive bracket. The bracket is mounted upon a printed circuit board and electrically coupled to the common ground electrical potential. When an insulating bushing is installed in a hole in the chassis adjacent to the bracket, and a threaded shaft of the bolt extends through aligned holes in the insulating bushing, an insulating member positioned between the bracket and the chassis, and the bracket, and the threaded shaft engages the nut, the bolt holds the insulating bushing in place, and the bracket is electrically isolated from the chassis. When the insulating bushing is replaced with a conductive washer, the bolt and the conductive washer form a conductive electrical path between the bracket and the chassis. Components of the described system may be employed in systems having multiple cabinets (or complex cabinet systems) to achieve a single point of grounding.