Handle protects CPCI boards in 19in units

Schroff's HLS (High Leverage Self-locking) handle fully complies with the IEEE 1101.10 standard and is suitable for the insertion and extraction of all 19" plug-in units.

The insertion and extraction of boards from a CPCI system can cause enormous stresses and strains on the handles being used to insert or remove a CPCI plug-in unit.

For its part, Schroff, Europe's leading manufacturer of electronic enclosures, has developed a revolutionary new handle, the HLS which uses a patented moving pivot to make the insertion and extraction of a CPCI board easier and more reliable.

Schroff's HLS (High Leverage Self-locking) handle fully complies with the IEEE 1101.10 standard and is suitable for the insertion and extraction of all 19" plug-in units.

The HLS handle is based on a patented design which alters the pivot point of the lever to increase leverage; enabling users to insert and remove boards with far less force.

A typical 6U CPCI board will have insertion/extraction forces acting on the backplane and subrack of near 500N.

The HLS effectively allows users to exert this kind of force but without the same level of effort.

While an ejector handle lock secures the plug-in unit in place, a conventional collar-type mounting screw can also be used for added security.

And an identification field can be used for clear labelling of a plug-in unit.

For live insertion applications, an optional microswitch is available for signalling the completion of an insertion or start of an extraction process.

The microswitch is used to alert control software to activate or deactivate a board whenever it is inserted into or removed from the system.

Providing an electronic connect/disconnect mechanism enables a user to remove or replace a defective board within the system while it continues to run; a necessary function in high-availability and redundant systems.

CPCI combines the advantages of proven PC technology with the robustness of 19" systems.

The PCI bus, as used in many offices today, has been coupled with a rugged subrack to produce a low cost, reliable alternative to VME.

Basing CPCI on standard PC technology ensures hardware and software is both well supported competitively priced.

Over the next few years, it is predicted that CPCI will become the de-facto microcomputer packaging systems standard in telecommunications, network and data systems, automation and control, traffic and medical systems around the world.

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