Cooling a chassis by moving air through a midplane between two sets of channels oriented laterally relative to one another

摘要

Heat dissipating electronic components and circuitry in a communication chassis are cooled by moving air at least through a midplane, between two groups of channels that are perpendicularly oriented relative to one another. In an illustrative embodiment, channels of one group are oriented vertically while channels of another group are oriented horizontally. Each channel, regardless of whether it is vertical or horizontal, is defined by space in the chassis between adjacent circuit boards. Circuit boards on one side of the midplane are electrically connected to circuit boards on the other side of the midplane by orthogonal connectors on the midplane. The midplane additionally has openings that enable movement of air between vertically-oriented channels and horizontally-oriented channels. Circuit boards of the two orientations are cooled by increasing air pressure in vertically-oriented channels or by decreasing air pressure in horizontally-oriented channels or both, depending on the embodiment.

主权项

1. A shelf for use in a rack in a communication network, the shelf comprising:
a wall between a first volume and a second volume in the shelf, wherein the wall defines at least one opening between the first volume and the second volume; a pair of first circuit boards located in the first volume and separated from one another to define a first channel there between; a pair of second circuit boards located in the second volume and oriented perpendicular relative to the pair of first circuit boards, the pair of second circuit boards being separated from one another to define a second channel there between, the second channel being oriented perpendicular relative to the first channel; and at least one fan separated by a plenum from a first guide in a pair of first guides; wherein the pair of first guides define a plurality of first slots in the shelf, wherein the pair of first circuit boards are located in a pair of first slots among the plurality of first slots, and wherein the first guide defines another opening between the plenum and the first channel.