Slot bracket
A slot bracket (also slot cover ) is an elongated piece of sheet metal or, more rarely, plastic , which in computer cases is used to cover the gap in the case at the slots of the expansion cards .
The slot bracket was an important innovation of the original IBM PC compared to the Apple II , from which the slot concept was otherwise largely copied; With the Apple, external interfaces still had to be connected to the internal expansion cards by means of a cable, which was then pulled out through openings on the rear of the housing.
A typical expansion card has, on the one hand, an internal hardware interface such as ISA , PCI or AGP , through which it is connected to the motherboard, and, on the other hand, interfaces with which it offers external connections such as VGA , USB , FireWire or similar. These interfaces are located on the slot bracket, which is usually attached to the housing on the back with a form fit. In the past, it was fastened almost exclusively with screws ; In newer housings, knurled screws or clamping devices are also increasingly used , which enable the cards to be replaced more quickly and without tools.
If there is no expansion card in a slot, a simple slot bracket without connectors is attached to the gap in the housing so that optimal air circulation within the computer is maintained and adequate shielding is ensured.
There are also slot brackets only with connectors that are connected to the mainboard or a plug-in card by cable. This method is often used to equip the PC with more connections than can fit on the ATX panel .