202 from the top wall 204, a first side 208 that extends between the top wall 204 and the bottom wall 206 and that is provided by a plurality of vertical supports 208a and 208b in the illustrated example, and a second side 210 that is located opposite the base 202 from the first side 208, that extends between the top wall 204 and the bottom wall 206, and that is provided by a plurality of vertical supports 210a and 210b in the illustrated example. In the illustrated embodiment, a power distribution bus bar 212a and power distribution bus bar support 212b are included on a rear of the base 202 and extend between the top wall 204, the bottom wall 206, the first side 208, and the second side 210, and one of skill in the art in possession of the present disclosure will appreciate how the power distribution bus bar 212a may be configured to be coupled to a powering device when that powering device is positioned in the rack 200, as well as to couple to powered devices (e.g., the server devices described herein) when those devices are positioned in the rack 200. A rack housing 214 is defined between the top wall 204, the bottom wall 206, the sides 208 and 210 (i.e., the vertical supports 208a/208b and 210a/210b), and the power distribution bus bar 212a and power distribution bus bar support 212b, with a rack housing entrance 214a defined by a “front” surface of the top wall 204, the bottom wall 206, and the vertical supports 208a and 210a that is located opposite the base 202 from the power distribution bus bar 212a and power distribution bus bar support 212b.

As illustrated, the base 202 of the rack 200 defines a rack width RW between the first side 208 and the second side 210 of the base 202. As described below, the rack width RW may be configured to house “21-inch” devices that one of skill in the art in possession of the present disclosure will recognize may be configured to be housed in racks like the ORv3 rack described above, but one of skill in the art in possession of the present disclosure will appreciate how the actually measurement of the width of such devices or racks may vary. In an embodiment, the devices that will be housed in the rack 200 may be provided by the IHS 100 discussed above with reference to FIG. 1, and/or may include some or all of the components of the IHS 100, and in specific examples may be provided by server devices, networking devices (e.g., switch devices), storage systems, and/or other rack-housed computing devices that would be apparent to one of skill in the art in possession of the present disclosure. However, while illustrated and discussed as being provided by particular computing devices, one of skill in the art in possession of the present disclosure will recognize that that rack 200 may be configured to house other devices while remaining within the scope of the present disclosure as well. As such, while a specific rack is illustrated and described herein, one of skill in the art in possession of the present disclosure will recognize that the multi-device rack width adapter system of the present disclosure may be utilized with a variety of racks while remaining within the scope of the present disclosure as well.

Referring now to FIG. 3, an embodiment of a side 300 of a rack is illustrated that may provide each of the first side 208 and the second side 210 of the rack 200 discussed above with reference to FIG. 2. In the illustrated embodiment, the side 300 of the rack illustrated in FIG. 3 includes a vertical support 302 that may provide either of the vertical supports 208a or 210a discussed above with reference to FIG. 2, and a vertical support 304 that may provide either of the vertical supports 208b or 210b discussed above with reference to FIG. 2, and one of skill in the art in possession of the present disclosure will appreciate how the portion of the side 300 that is visible in FIG. 3 and described below (i.e., located on the vertical supports 208a/208b or 210a/210b) faces the rack housing 214 discussed above with reference to FIG. 2.

In the illustrated embodiment, the vertical support 302 includes a cable management beam 302a that defines a plurality of cable management element mounting apertures 306a that one of skill in the art in possession of the present disclosure will appreciate are configured to mount respective cable management elements to the cable management beam 306 in order to allow for the routing of cables on the rack 200 as described in further detail below. The vertical support 302 also includes an adapter system mounting beam 308 that defines a plurality of adapter system mounting apertures 308a, and the vertical support 304 defines a plurality of adapter system mounting apertures 304a that, as discussed below, are configured to mount the multi-device rack width adapter system of the present disclosure to the rack 200. As will be appreciated by one of skill in the art in possession of the present disclosure, a pair of the sides 300 may provide the first side 208 and the second side 210 of the rack 200 discussed above with reference to FIG. 2 and may be used to mount respective multi-device rack width adapter subsystems in the rack housing 214 as described in further detail below.

As will be appreciated by one of skill in the art in possession of the present disclosure, the adapter system mounting apertures 308a on the adapter system mounting beam 308 of the vertical support 302 and the adapter system mounting apertures 304a on the vertical support 304 may be provided as defined by the ORv3 Base Specification discussed above, and thus may be configured to couple “21-inch” devices to the rack 200 discussed above with reference to FIG. 2. In other words, the multi-device rack width adapter system of the present disclosure may be configured to couple to a conventional rack like the ORv3 rack described above that is configured to house “21-inch” devices in order to adapt that conventional rack to house “19-inch” devices. However, while a specific rack 200 with sides 300 has been illustrated and described, one of skill in the art in possession of the present disclosure will recognize that racks utilized with the multi-device rack width adapter system of the present disclosure may include a variety of components and/or component configurations for providing conventional rack functionality, as well as the multi-device rack width adapter functionality discussed below, while remaining within the scope of the present disclosure as well.

Referring now to FIGS. 4A and 4B, an embodiment of a multi-device rack width adapter base 400 is illustrated that may be included in one of a pair of multi-device rack width adapter subsystems that provide the multi-device rack width adapter system of the present disclosure. In the illustrated embodiment, the multi-device rack width adapter base 400 includes a base 402 having a top edge 402a, a bottom edge 402b located opposite the base 402 from the top edge 402a, a front edge 402c that extends between the top edge 402a and the bottom edge 402b, a rear edge 402d that is located opposite the base 402 from the front edge 402c and that extends between the top edge 402a and the bottom edge 402b, and a pair of surfaces 402e and 402f that are located opposite the base 402 from each other and that each extend between the top edge 402a, the bottom edge 402b, the front edge 402c, and the rear edge 402d. Furthermore, the base 402 includes a plurality of rear rack mounting elements 402g in a spaced-apart orientation from each other between the top edge 402a and the bottom edge 402b of the base 402 and adjacent the rear edge 402d of the base 402, and a plurality of front rack mounting elements 402h in a spaced-apart orientation from each other between the top edge 402a and the bottom edge 402b of the base 402 and adjacent the front edge 402c of the base 402.

In the illustrated embodiment, a rear device coupling flange 404 extends substantially perpendicularly from the rear edge 402d of the base 402 along the length of the base 402, and defines a plurality of device coupling apertures 404a along its length. Similarly, a front device coupling flange 406 extends substantially perpendicularly from the front edge 402d of the base 402 along a length of the base 402, and defines a plurality of device coupling apertures 406a along its length. As will be appreciated by one of skill in the art in possession of the present disclosure, the rear device coupling flange 404 and the front device coupling flange 406, as well as the respective device coupling apertures 404a and 406a defined thereon, may be dimensioned similarly as provided on the conventional 19-inch EIA-310-D racks described above (e.g., including the conventional 19 inch width rack “square hole” mounting aperture configuration illustrated in FIG. 4A).

In one example, the “depth” of the multi-device rack width adapter base 400 as measured between the rear device coupling flange 404 and the front device coupling flange 406 may be provided to mount particular depth adapter rails to the multi-device rack width adapter base 400 that may be configured to couple to devices having a variety of depths. Furthermore, the rear device coupling flange 404 and the front device coupling flange 406 may be dimensioned such that, when a pair of the multi-device rack width adapter bases 400 are mounted to the rack 200 discussed above and adapter rails are mounted to the rear device coupling flange 404 and the front device coupling flange 406, “19-inch” devices may be coupled those adapter rails. As such, the device coupling apertures 404a and 406a defined by the rear device coupling flange 404 and the front device coupling flange 406 may be dimensioned to mount to a variety of adapter rails that would be apparent to one of skill in the art in possession of the present disclosure.

In the illustrated embodiment, a rack connection subsystem 408 may be included on the base 402 adjacent the front edge 402c, and one of skill in the art in possession of the present disclosure will appreciate how the rack connection subsystem 408 may include any of a variety of rack connection elements that are configured to engage the rack 200 discussed above with reference to FIG. 2 in order to connect the multi-device rack width adapter base 400 to the rack 200, as well as a handle 408a that may be configured to actuate the rack connection elements to allow the multi-device rack width adapter base 400 to be disconnected from the rack 200 following its connected to the rack 200 using the rack connection elements.

With reference to FIGS. 5A, 5B, and 5C, an embodiment of single-device adapter rails 500 are illustrated mounted to the multi-device rack width adapter base 400 discussed above with reference to FIGS. 4A and 4B in order to provide a multi-device rack width adapter subsystem 502. One of skill in the art in possession of the present disclosure will recognize that the single-device adapter rails 500 are illustrated herein as being provided by IRU adapter rails, but will recognize that 2RU (or larger) adapter rails (or combinations of different sized adapter rails) may be provided on the multi-device rack width adapter subsystem 502 while remaining within the scope of the present disclosure as well.

As will be appreciated by one of skill in the art in possession of the present disclosure, each of the ten single-device adapter rails 500 illustrated in FIGS. 5A-5C may be mounted to the multi-device rack width adapter base 400 using a subset of the device coupling apertures 404a and 406a on the rear device coupling flange 404 and the front device coupling flange 406, respectively (e.g., via a “snap-fit” or other toolless engagement of that single-device adapter rail 500 and the subset of the device coupling apertures 404a and 406a on the rear device coupling flange 404 and the front device coupling flange 406). Furthermore, FIG. 5C illustrates how any of the single-device adapter rails 500 may be removed from the multi-device rack width adapter base 400 separately (e.g., by disengaging the “snap-fit” or other toolless engagement of that single-device adapter rail 500 and the subset of the device coupling apertures 404a and 406a on the rear device coupling flange 404 and the front device coupling flange 406).

As will be appreciated by one of skill in the art in possession of the present disclosure, each of the single-device adapter rails 500 illustrated in FIGS. 5A and 5B may be configured to receive a corresponding device rail that may be mounted to a device, discussed in further detail below. With reference to FIG. 5D, to provide a specific example that is discussed in further detail below, a multi-device rack width adapter system provider may provide pairs of the multi-device rack width adapter subsystems 502 to a user, with each of the plurality of single-device adapter rails 500 (e.g., 10 single-device adapter rails) mounted thereto and provided by proprietary adapter rails that are configured to receive proprietary device rails mounted to devices. As will be appreciated by one of skill in the art in possession of the present disclosure, this allows the user to mount any pair of the multi-device rack width adapter subsystems 502 to the rack 200 discussed above with reference to FIG. 2 to immediately enable devices having the proprietary device rails discussed above to be coupled to that rack 200, while also allowing the user to remove any one pair of corresponding single-device adapter rails 500 on the respective pair of the multi-device rack width adapter subsystems 502 and replace them with another pair of adapter rails that are configured to receive another type of device rails mounted to a device if desired.

However, while the multi-device rack width adapter base 400 is illustrated and primary described herein as utilizing the single-device adapter rails 500 described above, other embodiments of the present disclosure may provide multi-device adapter rail systems that include a plurality of adapter rails that are each configured to receive a corresponding device rail that may be mounted to a device. For example, with reference to FIG. 6, a multi-device adapter rail system 600 is illustrated mounted to the multi-device rack width adapter base 400 to provide a multi-device rack width adapter subsystem 602, with that multi-device adapter rail system 600 including ten adapter rails 600a that are each configured to receive a corresponding device rail that may be mounted to a device. As will be appreciated by one of skill in the art in possession of the present disclosure, the multi-device adapter rail system 600 may be mounted to the multi-device rack width adapter base 400 using any number of the device coupling apertures 404a and 406a on the rear device coupling flange 404 and the front device coupling flange 406, respectively (e.g., via a “snap-fit” or other toolless engagement of that multi-device adapter rail system 600 and the subset of the device coupling apertures 404a and 406a on the rear device coupling flange 404 and the front device coupling flange 406).

As will also be appreciated by one of skill in the art in possession of the present disclosure, each of the adapter rails 600a illustrated in FIG. 6 may be configured to receive a corresponding device rail that may be mounted to a device. Similarly as described above, a multi-device rack width adapter system provider may provide pairs of the multi-device rack width adapter subsystems 602 to a user, with the multi-device adapter rail system 600 mounted thereto as illustrated in FIG. 6 and provided by proprietary adapter rails that are configured to receive proprietary device rails mounted to devices. As will be appreciated by one of skill in the art in possession of the present disclosure, this allows the user to mount any pair of the multi-device rack width adapter subsystems 602 to the rack 200 discussed above with reference to FIG. 2 to immediately enable devices having the proprietary device rails discussed above to be coupled to that rack 200. However, one of skill in the art in possession of the present disclosure will appreciate how the adapter rail systems 600 on each multi-device rack width adapter subsystem 602 must be removed and replaced with pairs of adapter rails (and in some cases, one or more of the single-device adapter rails 500 discussed above) if devices with different types of device rails must be coupled to the rack 200.

In another example, with reference to FIG. 7, a multi-device adapter rail system 700 is illustrated being mounted to the multi-device rack width adapter base 400 to provide a multi-device rack width adapter subsystem 702, with that multi-device adapter rail system 700 including eight adapter rails 700a that are each configured to receive a corresponding device rail that may be mounted to a device. As will be appreciated by one of skill in the art in possession of the present disclosure, the multi-device adapter rail system 700 may be mounted to the multi-device rack width adapter base 400 using any number of the device coupling apertures 404a and 406a on the rear device coupling flange 404 and the front device coupling flange 406, respectively (e.g., via a “snap-fit” or other toolless engagement of that multi-device adapter rail system 700 and the subset of the device coupling apertures 404a and 406a on the rear device coupling flange 404 and the front device coupling flange 406).

As will be appreciated by one of skill in the art in possession of the present disclosure, each of the adapter rails 700a illustrated in FIG. 7 may be configured to receive a corresponding device rail that may be mounted to a device. Similarly as described above, a multi-device rack width adapter system provider may provide pairs of the multi-device rack width adapter subsystems 702 to a user, with the multi-device adapter rail system 700 mounted thereto and provided by proprietary adapter rails that are configured to receive proprietary device rails mounted to devices. As will be appreciated by one of skill in the art in possession of the present disclosure, this allows the user to mount any pair of the multi-device rack width adapter subsystems 702 to the rack 200 discussed above with reference to FIG. 2 to immediately enable devices having the proprietary device rails discussed above to be coupled to that rack 200, while also allowing the user to provide two pairs of adapter rails if devices with different types of device rails must be coupled to the rack 200 (or the single-device adapter rails 500 discussed above if additional devices with the corresponding proprietary device rails are to-be coupled to the rack). However, while a multi-device adapter rail system 700 that leaves two adapter rails mounting spaces on the multi-device rack width adapter base 400 to allow different types of adapter rails to be mounted to the multi-device rack width adapter base 400 has been illustrated and described, one of skill in the art in possession of the present disclosure will appreciate how adapter rail systems may be provided with any number of adapter rails while remaining within the scope of the present disclosure.

As such, while several examples of the provisioning of adapter rails on the multi-device rack width adapter base 400 have been illustrated and described, one of skill in the art in possession of the present disclosure will appreciate how any of a variety of adapter rails and/or adapter rail systems may be configured for a desired use (e.g., the coupling of some number of devices to a rack with proprietary devices rails, some number of devices to a rack with non-proprietary devices rails, etc.) and provided with the multi-device rack width adapter base 400 in order to enable that desired use while remaining within the scope of the present disclosure.

Referring now to FIG. 8, an embodiment of a method 800 for adapting a width of a rack to house devices is illustrated. As discussed below, the systems and methods of the present disclosure provide a multi-device rack width adapter system that mounts to a rack having a rack housing with a first housing width, that defines device housings having a second housing width that is smaller than the first housing width, and that is configured to coupled multiple devices to the rack in those device housings. For example, the multi-device rack-width-adapted rack system of the present disclosure may include a multi-device rack width adapter system mounted to a rack having first and second sides defining a rack housing having a first housing width. The multi-device rack width adapter system includes a first multi-device rack width adapter subsystem in the rack housing mounted to the first side of the rack, a second multi-device rack width adapter subsystem in the rack housing mounted to the second side of the rack, and pairs of device coupling elements that each include a first device coupling element on the first multi-device rack width adapter subsystem and a second device coupling element on the second multi-device rack width adapter subsystem. Each pair of device coupling elements may couple a respective second device to the rack in a second device housing defined by that pair of device coupling elements with a second housing width that is smaller than the first housing width. As such, multiple devices that are configured to mount to relatively smaller width racks may be quickly and easily coupled to relatively larger width racks.

The method 800 begins at block 802 where one or more pairs of multi-device rack width adapter subsystems are mounted to a rack with a rack housing having a first housing width to defined device housings having a second housing width. With reference to FIG. 9, in an embodiment of block 802, a pair of the multi-device rack width adapter bases 400 discussed above with reference to FIGS. 4A and 4B may be positioned adjacent the rack mounting entrance 214a of the rack 200 such that a first of the pair of multi-device rack width adapter bases 400 is located adjacent the first side 208 of the rack 200, and a second of the pair of multi-device rack width adapter bases 400 is located adjacent the second side 210 of the rack 200. Each of the pair of multi-device rack width adapter bases 400 may then be moved in a direction A through the rack housing entrance 214a and into the rack housing 214, and may be mounted to the first side 208 and the second side 210 of the rack 200, respectively, in order to, for example, provide conventional EIA-310-D 19-inch width rack “square hole” mounting aperture to be provided in a 21-inch ORv3 rack.

One of skill in the art in possession of the present disclosure will recognize that the pair of multi-device rack width adapter bases 400 are illustrated in FIG. 9 as being coupled to the rack 200 without any adapter rails, but as discussed above the multi-device rack width adapter bases 400 may be coupled to the rack 200 as the multi-device rack width adapter subsystems 502 that may include any (and in some cases all) of the single-device adapter rails 500 discussed above with reference to FIGS. 5A-5D, as multi-device rack width adapter subsystems 602 that may include the multi-device adapter rail system 600 discussed above with reference to FIG. 6, as multi-device rack width adapter subsystems 702 that may include the multi-device adapter rail system 700 discussed above with reference to FIG. 7, and/or as any other multi-device rack width adapter subsystems that one of skill in the art in possession of the present disclosure would recognize as being provided according to the teachings of the present disclosure.

For example, with reference to FIGS. 10A, 10B, and 10C, the multi-device rack width adapter subsystems 502 provided by the multi-device rack width adapter bases 400 discussed above with reference to FIG. 9 and including all of the single-device adapter rails 500 discussed above with reference to FIGS. 5A-5D are illustrated mounted to the rack 200. With reference first to FIG. 10A, one of skill in the art in possession of the present disclosure will appreciate how the movement of the multi-device rack width adapter subsystem 502 into the rack housing 214 and adjacent the side 210 of the rack 200 allows at least some of the rear rack mounting elements 402g on the multi-device rack width adapter subsystem 502 to engage the adapter system mounting apertures 304a on the vertical support 304 of the side wall 202, and at least some of the front rack mounting elements 402h on the multi-device rack width adapter subsystem 502 to engage the adapter system mounting apertures 308a on the adapter system mounting beam 308 in the vertical support 302 of the side wall 202. Furthermore, one of skill in the art in possession of the present disclosure will appreciate how the multi-device rack width adapter subsystem 502 may then be secured to the side 210 of the rack 200 (e.g., via a “snap-fit” or other toolless engagement of that multi-device rack width adapter subsystem 502 and the side 210 of the rack 200, engagement of the rack connection subsystem 408 on the multi-device rack width adapter base 400 with the vertical support 302 adjacent the rack housing entrance 214a, and/or the engagement of other securing features that would be apparent to one of skill in the art in possession of the present disclosure).

With reference now to FIG. 10B, a plurality of pairs of multi-device rack width adapter subsystems 502, which each include all of the single-device adapter rails 500 discussed above with reference to FIGS. 5A-5D, are illustrated mounted to the rack 200, and one of skill in the art in possession of the present disclosure will appreciate how each of the multi-device rack width adapter subsystems 502 may be secured to the side wall 208 or 210 similarly as described above. Furthermore, as illustrated, different pairs of the multi-device rack width adapter subsystems 502 may be separated in the rack 200 to allow for the mounting of “21-inch” devices that correspond to the rack width RW (e.g., via rack rails on the rack 200 and the device rails on the device similarly as described above), with FIG. 10B illustrating a single such device positioned in a Rack Unit (RU) that was left open via the spacing of multi-device rack width adapter subsystems 502 on different multi-device rack width adapter systems 504. However, while a single RU has been illustrated and described as housing a “21-inch” device, as can be seen in FIG. 10B multiple RUs may be left open via the spacing of multi-device rack width adapter subsystems 502 on different multi-device rack width adapter systems 504 (e.g., the three “21-inch” 1RU spaces and one “21-inch” 2RU space illustrated in FIG. 10B) while remaining within the scope of the present disclosure as well.

With reference to FIG. 10C, a multi-device rack width adapter system 504 mounted to the rack 202 is illustrated that is provided by a pair of multi-device rack width adapter subsystems 502 mounted to the side walls 208 and 210, respectively, of the rack 202. As can be seen, the multi-device rack width adapter subsystem 504 is provided in the rack housing 214 with the rack width RW, and single-device adapter rails 500 on the pair of multi-device rack width adapter subsystems 502 provide a device housing having a device housing width DW that is less than the rack width RW (e.g., a device housing width DW of 19 inches that is configured to house “19-inch” devices vs. a rack housing width RW of 21 inches that is configured to house “21-inch” devices).

However, while the multi-device rack width adapter system 504 including the single-device adapter rails 500 is illustrated and described as being mounted to the rack 200, one of skill in the art in possession of the present disclosure with recognize how multi-device rack width adapter systems utilizing the multi-device rack width adapter subsystems 602 including the multi-device adapter rail system 600 discussed above with reference to FIG. 6, multi-device rack width adapter systems utilizing the multi-device rack width adapter subsystems 702 including the multi-device adapter rail system 700 discussed above with reference to FIG. 7, and/or any other multi-device rack width adapter systems provided according to the teachings of the present disclosure, may be mounted to the rack 200 in a similar manner while remaining within the scope of the present disclosure as well.

The method 800 then proceeds to block 804 where one or more pairs of device coupling elements on respective multi-device rack width adapter subsystems engage devices to couple the devices to the rack. With reference to FIG. 11, in an embodiment of block 804, each of a plurality of devices 1100 may be coupled to the rack 202 via respective pairs of device coupling elements provided by the single-device adapter rails 500 mounted on the respective multi-device rack width adapter subsystems 502 coupled to each of the first side 208 and the second side 210 of the rack 200. As described above, each device 1100 may include a pair of device rails (not illustrated in FIG. 11) on its opposing sides that each engage one of the pair of single-device adapter rails 500 discussed above to couple that device 1100 to the rack 200. As such, a plurality of devices 1100 that are configured to be housed in the device width DW (e.g., 19-inches) may be coupled to a rack 200 having a rack width RW (e.g., 21 inches) that is greater than the device width DW.

As discussed above, in specific examples, each of the multi-device rack width adapter systems 504 may be provided to a user with its pair of multi-device rack width adapter subsystems 502 having all ten single-device adapter rails 500 mounted thereto, which allows the user to quickly and easily mount those multi-device rack width adapter systems 504 to the rack 200, as well as quickly and easily couple devices that include corresponding device rails (which may be provided to the user with those device rails mounted thereto) to the rack 200 via those multi-device rack width adapter systems 504. As such, the time and effort needed to provide multiple devices having the device width DW in a rack having the rack width RW is substantially reduced relative to conventional rack width adapter systems that require a user to configure each 1RU device housing in the rack to adapt it for a smaller device.

The method 800 then proceeds to decision block 806 where the method 800 proceeds depending on whether one or more devices that are to-be coupled to the rack require second device coupling elements. As will be appreciated by one of skill in the art in possession of the present disclosure, in some situations a user may wish to couple a device to the rack 200 using device coupling elements that are different than those that are currently provided on the multi-device rack width adapter system 504. For example, as described above, each of the plurality of single-device adapter rails 500 may be provided by proprietary adapter rails that are configured to receive proprietary device rails mounted to devices, and a user adapting the rack width of the rack 200 to house devices having the device width DW may wish to couple those devices to the rack 200 using adapter rails/device rails other than those proprietary adapter rails/proprietary device rails. As such, at decision block 806, the method 800 may proceed depending on whether any of the device coupling elements on the multi-device rack width adapter system 504 must be replaced with other device coupling elements in order to couple a device to the rack 200. If, at decision block 806, no devices are to-be coupled to the rack that require second device coupling elements, the method 800 returns to decision block 806. As such, the method 800 may loop until device(s) are to-be coupled to the rack 200 that require the current adapter rails on the multi-device rack width adapter system 504 to be replaced.

If at decision block 806, devices are to-be coupled to the rack that require second device coupling elements, the method 800 proceeds to block 808 where one or more pairs of first device coupling elements on respective multi-device rack width adapter subsystems are replaced with respective pairs of second device coupling elements. As discussed above with reference to FIG. 5C, any of the single-device adapter rails 500 may be separately removed from the multi-device rack width adapter base 400. As such, in an embodiment of block 808 and in the event a device is to-be coupled to the rack 200 that requires adapter rails that are different to than the single-device adapter rails 500 (e.g., the device rails on that device are not compatible with the single-device adapter rails 500), the single-device adapter rails 500 on the respective multi-device rack width adapter subsystems 502 mounted to the first side 208 and the second side 210 of the rack 200 that define the device housing in which that device will be housed may be removed from those multi-device rack width adapter subsystems 502, and replaced with the required adapter rails (e.g., adapter rails that are compatible with the device rails on the device that is to-be coupled to the rack 200).

For example, FIG. 12 illustrates how five of the ten single-device adapter rails 500 may be removed from each pair of multi-device rack width adapter subsystems 502 that provide a multi-device rack width adapter system 504, while FIG. 13 illustrates how all ten single-device adapter rails 500 may be removed from each pair of multi-device rack width adapter subsystems 502 that provide a multi-device rack width adapter system 504. While not illustrated or described in detail, one of skill in the art in possession of the present disclosure will appreciate how other adapter rails (or the adapter rail systems 600 or 700 described above) may then be mounted to the multi-device rack width adapter subsystems 502 that provide a multi-device rack width adapter system 504 (e.g., via the conventional 19-inch width rack “square hole” mounting apertures described above) and used to couple devices to the rack 200 similarly as described above.

While not illustrated or described in detail, one of skill in the art in possession of the present disclosure will appreciate how cable management elements may be mounted to the cable management beams 306a on the vertical supports 208a and 210 via the cable management element mounting apertures 306a defined thereon, and may be used to route cables along the front and sides 208 and 210 of the rack 200.

Thus, systems and methods have been described that provide a multi-device rack width adapter system that mounts to a rack having a rack housing with a first housing width, that defines device housings having a second housing width that is smaller than the first housing width, and that is configured to coupled multiple devices to the rack in those device housings. For example, the multi-device rack-width-adapted rack system of the present disclosure may include a multi-device rack width adapter system mounted to a rack having first and second sides defining a rack housing having a first housing width. The multi-device rack width adapter system includes a first multi-device rack width adapter subsystem in the rack housing mounted to the first side of the rack, a second multi-device rack width adapter subsystem in the rack housing mounted to the second side of the rack, and pairs of device coupling elements that each include a first device coupling element on the first multi-device rack width adapter subsystem and a second device coupling element on the second multi-device rack width adapter subsystem. Each pair of device coupling elements may couple a respective second device to the rack in a second device housing defined by that pair of device coupling elements with a second housing width that is smaller than the first housing width. As such, multiple devices that are configured to mount to relatively smaller width racks may be quickly and easily coupled to relatively larger width racks.

However, as described above, racks like the 21-inch ORv3 rack described above may be configured to allow power supply systems (e.g., Power Supply Units (PSUs)) that have been traditionally included in server devices to be replaced with a powering device (also referred to as a “power shelf device”) that is housed in the rack and coupled to those server devices. For example, the power distribution bus bar 212a on the rack 200/ORv3 rack, which is located at the rear of that rack and extends centrally with regard to the width of that rack and along the height of that rack, may be connected to the powering device housed in the rack, and 21-inch server devices may be configured with a power system that replaces conventional PSUs in those server devices and docks with that power distribution bus bar 212a when the server device is positioned in the rack 200/ORv3 rack in order to allow the server device receive power from the powering device via the power distribution bus bar 212a.

Furthermore, as also discussed above, most conventional 19-inch server devices include power systems that are not centrally located along their width, and many conventional 19-inch server devices are provided with different depths, and thus the inventors of the present disclosure have recognized that the provisioning of those conventional 19-inch server devices in the 21-inch rack 200/ORv3 rack using the multi-device rack width adapter techniques described above will require a variety of different power adaptation techniques in order to receive power via power distribution bus bar 212a. Furthermore, as also discussed above, conventional 19-inch server devices often include networking components (e.g., a Network Interface Controller (NIC)) centrally located along their width that the power distribution bus bar 212a will block access to when those 19-inch server devices are positioned in the rack 200/ORv3 rack using the multi-device rack width adapter techniques described above. As such, the inventors of the present disclosure have developed a power distribution bus bar system for the multi-device rack width adapter system of the present disclosure that addresses the issues discussed above.

With reference to FIG. 14, an embodiment of a power system 1400 is illustrated that may be provided in devices coupled to the rack 200 via the multi-device rack width adapter system of the present disclosure. In the illustrated embodiment, the power system 1400 includes a chassis 1402 that houses or otherwise supports the components of the power system 1400, only some of which illustrated and described below. The chassis 1402 includes a top surface 1402a, a bottom surface 1402b that is located opposite the top surface 1402a, a front surface 1042c that extends between the top surface 1402a and the bottom surface 1402b, and rear surface 1402d extends between the top surface 1402a and the bottom surface 1402b and that is located opposite the chassis 1402 from the front surface 1402c, and a pair of side surfaces 1402e and 1402f that are extend between the top surface 1402a, the bottom surface 1402b, the front surface 1402c, the rear surface 1402d, and that are located opposite the chassis 1402 from each other.

A handle 1404 extends from the front surface 1402c of the chassis 1402 immediately adjacent the side surface 1402e, and a bus bar clip connector 1406 extends from the front surface 1402c of the chassis 1402 adjacent the handle 1404. As will be appreciated by one of skill in the art in possession of the present disclosure, the top surface 1402a, the bottom surface 1402b, the front surface 1402c, the rear surface 1402d, and the side surfaces 1402e and 1402f define a chassis housing that houses power system components that are coupled to the bus bar clip connector 1406 and that are configured to receive power via the bus bar clip connector 1406 from the power distribution bus bar system provided according to the teachings of the present disclosure, as well as use that power to power a device in which the power system 1400 is located.

For example, the power system 1400 may be provided by a Direct Current to Direct Current (DC-DC) power system that is configured to replace a conventional PSU in a server device in order to allow PSU functionality to be performed by a powering device in a rack that also houses that server device, with the power system 1400 configured to receive power from that powering device and use it to power its server device (i.e., eliminating the need for a conventional PSU and/or conventional PSU components in that server device). However, while a specific power system 1400 has been illustrated and described, one of skill in the art in possession of the present disclosure will appreciate how a variety of power systems may be utilized with the power distribution bus bar of the present disclosure while remaining within its scope as well.

With reference to FIG. 15, an embodiment of a device is illustrated that may be used with the multi-device rack width adapter system and power distribution bus bar system of the present disclosure. In the illustrated example, the device is provided by a server device 1500 that includes a chassis 1502 that houses the components of the server device 1500, only some of which are illustrated and described below, but one of skill in the art in possession of the present disclosure will appreciate how other types of devices (e.g., networking devices such as switch devices, storage systems, etc.) will fall within the scope of the present disclosure as well. In the illustrated embodiment, the chassis 1502 includes a depth D1 that, in the examples provided below, is described as providing a “full depth” server device, but that may include any of a variety of server device depths that would be apparent to one of skill in the art in possession of the present disclosure. As illustrated, a pair of the power systems 1400 discussed above with reference to FIG. 14 may be provided in the chassis 1502 of the server device 1500, and as discussed above the power systems 1400 may be configured to be provided in conventional PSU housings on the server device 1500 in order to allow PSU functionality to be performed by a powering device in a rack that also houses the server device 1500, with the power systems 1400 simply receiving that power from that powering device via the power distribution bus bar of the present disclosure and using it to power the server device 1500 (i.e., eliminating the need for a conventional PSU and/or conventional PSU components in the server device 1500).

As will be appreciated by one of skill in the art in possession of the present disclosure, the server device 1500 is illustrated and described below as including a pair of redundant power systems 1400 such that, in the event the one of those power systems 1400 being used to power the server device 1500 becomes unavailable, the other of those power systems 1400 may be used to power the server device 1500. However, one of skill in the art in possession of the present disclosure will appreciate how the server device 1500 may only include one of the power systems 1400 illustrated in FIG. 15 such as, for example, in a situation in which the power redundancy discussed above is not provided for the server device 1500, in a situation in which that power system 1400 provides that power redundancy via its coupling to redundant power sources that may be provided by the powering device(s) in the rack described below, and/or in other situations that would be apparent to one of skill in the art in possession of the present disclosure.

With reference to FIG. 16, an embodiment of another device is illustrated that may be used with the multi-device rack width adapter system and power distribution bus bar system of the present disclosure. In the illustrated example, the device is provided by a server device 1600 that includes a chassis 1602 that houses the components of the server device 1600, only some of which are illustrated and described below, but one of skill in the art in possession of the present disclosure will appreciate how other types of devices (e.g., networking devices such as switch devices, storage systems, etc.) will fall within the scope of the present disclosure as well. In the illustrated embodiment, the chassis 1602 includes a depth D2 that, in the examples provided below, is described as providing a “¾ depth” server device, but that may include any of a variety of server device depths that would be apparent to one of skill in the art in possession of the present disclosure. As illustrated, a pair of the power systems 1400 discussed above with reference to FIG. 14 may be provided in the chassis 1602 of the server device 1600, and as discussed above the power systems 1400 may be configured to be provided in conventional PSU housings on the server device 1600 in order to allow PSU functionality to be performed by a powering device in a rack that also houses the server device 1600, with the power systems 1400 simply receiving that power from that powering device via the power distribution bus bar of the present disclosure and using it to power the server device 1600 (i.e., eliminating the need for a conventional PSU and/or conventional PSU components in the server device 1600).

As will be appreciated by one of skill in the art in possession of the present disclosure, the server device 1600 is illustrated and described as including a pair of redundant power systems 1400 such that, in the event the one of those power systems 1400 being used to power the server device 1600 becomes unavailable, the other of those power systems 1400 may be used to power the server device 1600. However, one of skill in the art in possession of the present disclosure will appreciate how the server device 1600 may only include one of the power systems 1400 illustrated in FIG. 16 such as, for example, in a situation in which the power redundancy discussed above is not provided for the server device 1600, in a situation in which that power system 1400 provides that power redundancy via its coupling to redundant power sources provided by the powering device(s) in the rack described below, and/or in other situations that would be apparent to one of skill in the art in possession of the present disclosure.

With reference to FIGS. 17A and 17B, an embodiment of a multi-device rack width adapter subsystem 1700 is illustrated that includes the power distribution bus bar system of the present disclosure provided on the multi-device rack width adapter subsystem 502 discussed above with reference to FIGS. 5A, 5B, and 5C, and thus similar elements have been provided with the same element numbers. Furthermore, while only a single multi-device rack width adapter subsystem 1700 including the power distribution bus bar system of the present disclosure is illustrated and described in FIGS. 17A and 17B, any pair of the multi-device rack width adapter subsystems 1700 may each be provided with a respective power distribution bus bar system according to the teachings of the present disclosure as illustrated and described in further detail below.

As can be seen in FIGS. 17A and 17B, the power distribution bus bar system of the present disclosure includes a power distribution bus bar support 1702 that is coupled to the top edge 402a of the multi-device rack width adapter base 400, and a power distribution bus bar support 1704 that is coupled to the bottom edge 402b of the multi-device rack width adapter base 400, and one of skill in the art in possession of the present disclosure will appreciate how the base 402 of the multi-device rack width adapter base 400 may include a variety of power distribution bus bar support coupling elements (e.g., an example of which is visible in FIG. 4A extending from the rear device coupling flange 404 immediately adjacent the top edge 402a and the bottom edge 402b of the base 402, respectively) for coupling the power distribution bus bar supports 1702 and 1704 to the multi-device rack width adapter base 400.

As illustrated in FIG. 17A, the power distribution bus bar system of the present disclosure includes a power distribution bus bar 1706 that is mounted to the power distribution bus bar supports 1702 and 1704, and one of skill in the art in possession of the present disclosure will appreciate how the power distribution bus bar 1706 may include a variety of power components for directly docking to the devices as described in further detail below, coupling (e.g., cabling) to the powering device in the rack as described in further detail below, and/or for providing any of the other powering functionality that would be apparent to one of skill in the art in possession of the present disclosure.

In the embodiment illustrated in FIGS. 17A and 17B, the power distribution bus bar system is provided in an orientation A that is illustrated and described below as a “full depth” orientation, but one of skill in the art in possession of the present disclosure will appreciate how the power distribution bus bar system may be provided by a variety of other depth orientations while remaining within the scope of the present disclosure as well. Furthermore, FIGS. 17C and 17D illustrated how, in some embodiments, the power distribution bus bar supports 1702 and 1704 may be moveably coupled to the multi-device rack width adapter base 400 in order to allow the power distribution bus bar system to be moved relative to the multi-device rack width adapter base 400 and in a direction B such that it is provided in an orientation C that is illustrated and described below as a “¾ depth” orientation, but that may be provided by a variety of other depth orientations while remaining within the scope of the present disclosure as well.

As such, one of skill in the art in possession of the present disclosure will appreciate how the power distribution bus bar supports 1702 and 1704 may be moveably coupled to the multi-device rack width adapter base 400 in a variety of manners that allow for a plurality of different relative positions of the power distribution bus bar system relative to the multi-device rack width adapter base 400 (e.g., a plurality of discrete relative positions, continuously adjustable relative positions between a “maximum/full depth” and a “minimum depth, etc.).

Furthermore, while not illustrated or described in detail, one of skill in the art in possession of the present disclosure will appreciate how the power distribution bus bar supports 1702 and 1704 may be moveably coupled to the multi-device rack width adapter base 400 (or the power distribution bus bar 1706 may be movably coupled to the power distribution bus bar supports 1702 and 1704) in order to allow the power distribution bus bar system to move perpendicularly to the direction B illustrated in FIGS. 17C and 17D. As such, while the power distribution bus bar system is described herein as primarily adjustable along a portion of a “depth” defined by either of a pair of multi-device rack width adapter subsystems 502, the power distribution bus bar system may also be adjustable along a portion of a “width” defined between a pair of multi-device rack width adapter subsystems 502 while remaining within the scope of the present disclosure as well. However, while a specific example of the multi-device rack width adapter subsystem of the present disclosure including the power distribution bus bar system of the present disclosure has been illustrated and described, one of skill in the art in possession of the present disclosure will appreciate how multi-device rack width adapter subsystem may be provided according to the teachings of the present disclosure with the power distribution bus bar system provided according to the teachings of the present disclosure in a variety of manners that will fall within the scope of the present disclosure as well.

With reference to FIG. 18, an embodiment of a method 1800 for adapting a width of a rack to house devices is illustrated. As described below, the systems and methods of the present disclosure provide power distribution bus bar(s) on a multi-device rack width adapter system in order to allow devices having a first width to be coupled to a rack having a second width that is larger than the first width and to be powered by a powering device housed in that rack. For example, the multi-device rack-width-adapted rack system of the present disclosure may include a multi-device rack width adapter system mounted to a rack having first and second sides defining a rack housing having a first housing width. The multi-device rack width adapter system includes pairs of device coupling elements that each couple a respective device to the rack in a device housing defined by that pair of device coupling elements with a second housing width that is smaller than the first housing width. A power distribution bus bar is mounted to the multi-device rack width adapter system, coupled to a powering device in the rack, and operates to directly dock with each respective device that is coupled to the rack by one of the plurality of pairs of device coupling elements and transmit power from the powering device to that respective device. As such, the issues discussed above with powering relatively smaller width devices coupled to a relatively larger width rack via an adapter system are eliminated.

The method 1800 begins at block 1802 where one or more pairs of multi-device rack width adapter subsystems are mounted to a rack with a rack housing having a first housing width to defined device housings having a second housing width. In an embodiment, at block 1802, pairs of the multi-device rack width adapter subsystem 1700 discussed above with reference to FIGS. 17A-17D may be coupled to the rack 200 discussed above with reference to FIGS. 2A and 2B in a substantially similar manner as described above with reference to block 802 of the method 800. For example, FIG. 19 (as well as FIG. 10B) illustrates how pairs of the multi-device rack width adapter subsystem 1700 may be mounted to opposite sides of the rack 200, with the specific example illustrating how a powering device 1900 may be coupled to the rack 200 between different pairs of the multi-device rack width adapter subsystem 1700, and one of skill in the art in possession of the present disclosure will appreciate how the powering device 1900 may be coupled to any of the power distribution bus bars 1706 on any of the multi-device rack width adapter subsystems 1700 via a cable (e.g., a cable extending from the top or bottom of that power distribution bus bar 1706 depending on which is closer to the powering device 1900), and/or using any other power coupling techniques known in the art.

As such, one of skill in the art in possession of the present disclosure will appreciate how FIG. 19 illustrates a specific example in which a 21-inch powering device is coupled to the rack 200, while respective pairs of the multi-device rack width adapter subsystem 1700 are mounted to the rack 200 as described above with reference to block 802 of the method 800 on opposite sides of the 21-inch powering device in order to each allow 19-inch devices to be coupled to the rack 200. However, while a specific example of the configuration of the multi-device rack width adapter subsystems 1700 in the rack 200 is illustrated, one of skill in the art in possession of the present disclosure will appreciate how different configurations of the multi-device rack width adapter subsystems 1700 in the rack 200 will fall within the scope of the present disclosure as well.

The method 1800 then proceeds to block 1804 where power distribution bus bar(s) on a pair of multi-device rack width adapter subsystems are adjusted for a width of devices to-be coupled to the rack via that pair of multi-device rack width adapter subsystems. In an embodiment, at block 1804, power distribution bus bar system(s) on any pair of multi-device rack width adapter subsystems 1700 mounted to the rack 200 to provide a multi-device rack width adapter system in the rack 200 may be configured to directly dock with “full-depth” devices when those “full-depth” devices are positioned in the rack 200. For example, with reference to FIG. 20, at block 1804 the power distribution bus bar system(s) provided on that pair of multi-device rack width adapter subsystems 1700 may be provided in the orientation A discussed above with reference to FIGS. 17A and 17B (e.g., the “full depth” orientation), which one of skill in the art in possession of the present disclosure will appreciate may allow “full depth” devices to be coupled to the rack 200 via that pair of multi-device rack width adapter subsystems 1700 and powered via those the corresponding power distribution bus bar(s) 1706. However, while a “full depth” orientation of the power distribution bus bar system(s) provided on a pair of multi-device rack width adapter subsystems 1700 is illustrated and described, one of skill in the art in possession of the present disclosure will appreciate how the power distribution bus bar system(s) may be provided on a pair of multi-device rack width adapter subsystems 1700 in other depth orientations at block 1804 while remaining within the scope of the present disclosure as well.

In another embodiment, at block 1804, power distribution bus bar system(s) on any pair of multi-device rack width adapter subsystems 1700 mounted to the rack 200 to provide a multi-device rack width adapter system in the rack 200 may be configured to directly dock with “¾-depth” devices when those “¾-depth” devices are positioned in the rack 200. As such, with reference to FIGS. 21A and 21B, at block 1804 the power distribution bus bar system(s) provided on that pair of multi-device rack width adapter subsystems 1700 may be provided in the orientation B (e.g., the “¾ depth” orientation) discussed above with reference to FIGS. 17C and 17D, which one of skill in the art in possession of the present disclosure will appreciate allows “¾ depth” devices to be coupled to the rack 200 via that pair of multi-device rack width adapter subsystems 1700 and powered via those the corresponding power distribution bus bar(s) 1706. However, while a “¾ depth” orientation of the power distribution bus bar system(s) provided on a pair of multi-device rack width adapter subsystems 1700 is illustrated and described, one of skill in the art in possession of the present disclosure will appreciate how the power distribution bus bar system(s) may be provided on a pair of multi-device rack width adapter subsystems 1700 in other depth orientations at block 1804 while remaining within the scope of the present disclosure as well.

As such, one of skill in the art in possession of the present disclosure will appreciate how the movable coupling of the power distribution bus bar system(s) provided on the pair of multi-device rack width adapter subsystems 1700 may be configurable in a plurality of discrete depth orientations (e.g., the “full depth” orientation discussed above, the “¾ depth” orientation discussed above, a “half depth” orientation, and/or any other depth orientations that may be provided for use with devices of corresponding depths. However, one of skill in the art in possession of the present disclosure will appreciate how the movable coupling of the power distribution bus bar(s) 1706 provided on the pair of multi-device rack width adapter subsystems 1700 may be continuously configurable in any depth orientation (e.g., between the “maximum/full depth” orientation discussed above and the minimum depth orientation available/required) to allow devices of any depth to be utilized with the power distribution bus bar system(s) provided on the pair of multi-device rack width adapter subsystems 1700.

Furthermore, as discussed above, while the power distribution bus bar(s) 1706 in the power distribution bus bar system(s) are illustrated and described as being moveable along a depth defined by the pair of multi-device rack width adapter subsystems 1700, those power distribution bus bar(s) 1706 may also be configured to be moveable along a width defined between the pair of multi-device rack width adapter subsystems 1700 in order to adjust their location to align with power systems in the devices that will be coupled the rack 200 via the pair of multi-device rack width adapter subsystems 1700 while remaining within the scope of the present disclosure as well. As such, moveable couplings may be provided between the power distribution bus bar 1706 and the power distribution bus bar supports 1702 and 1704, between the power distribution bus bar supports 1702 and 1704 and the multi-device rack width adapter base 400, and/or at any other location that one of skill in the art in possession of the present disclosure would appreciate would provide the adjustability of the power distribution bus bar(s) 1706 along the width defined between the pair of multi-device rack width adapter subsystems 1700.

The method 1800 then proceeds to block 1806 where one or more pairs of device coupling elements on respective multi-device rack width adapter subsystems engage devices to couple the devices to the rack. In an embodiment, at block 1806, pairs of device coupling elements on any pair of the multi-device rack width adapter subsystem 1700 discussed above with reference to FIGS. 17A-17D may engage respective devices to couple those devices to the rack 200 discussed above with reference to FIGS. 2A and 2B in a substantially similar manner as described above with reference to block 804 of the method 800. As such, any of the server devices 1500 and/or 1600 discussed below may have their device rails engaged with the adapter rails on a pair of the multi-device rack width adapter subsystems 1700 and then may be moved into the rack 200 similarly as described above.

The method 1800 then proceeds to block 1808 where the power distribution bus bar(s) on the pair of multi-device rack width adapter subsystems directly dock with devices coupled the rack and transmit power to those devices. With references to FIGS. 22A and 22B, in an embodiment of block 1808, a plurality of the server devices 1500 (e.g., “full depth” server devices) discussed above with reference to FIG. 15 are illustrated coupled to pairs of the multi-device rack width adapter subsystems 1700 of FIG. 20 with their power distribution bus bar(s) 1706 in the orientation A (e.g., the “full depth” orientation), and as can be seen in FIGS. 22A and 22B, the continued movement of those server devices 1500 into the rack 200 via those multi-device rack width adapter subsystems 1700 at block 1806 will cause the bus bar clip connector 1406 on the power system(s) 1400 to directly dock with the power distribution bus bar(s) 1706 on the power distribution bus bar system(s) in order to allow those server devices 1500 to receive power via the power distribution bus bar(s) 1706 from the powering device 1900 (e.g., via a cable connected to the powering device 1900 and the power distribution bus bar(s) 1706).

Similarly, with references to FIG. 23, in an embodiment of block 1808, the server device 1600 (e.g., a “¾ depth” server device) discussed above with reference to FIG. 16 is illustrated coupled to pairs of the multi-device rack width adapter subsystems 1700 of FIGS. 21A and 21B with their power distribution bus bar(s) 1706 in the orientation B (e.g., the “¾ depth” orientation), and as can be seen in FIG. 23, the continued movement of the server device 1600 into the rack 200 via those multi-device rack width adapter subsystems 1700 will cause the bus bar clip connector 1406 on the power system(s) 1400 to directly dock with the power distribution bus bar(s) 1706 in order to allow the server device 1600 to receive power via the power distribution bus bar(s) 1706 from the powering device 1900 (e.g., via a cable connected to the powering device 1900 and the power distribution bus bar(s) 1706). Furthermore, while only a single server device 1600 is illustrated coupled to the pairs of the multi-device rack width adapter subsystems