Electricity: electrical systems and devices – Housing or mounting assemblies with diverse electrical... – For electronic systems and devices
Reexamination Certificate
1999-11-11
2001-09-11
Picard, Leo P. (Department: 2835)
Electricity: electrical systems and devices
Housing or mounting assemblies with diverse electrical...
For electronic systems and devices
C361S695000, C361S689000, C165S122000, C454S184000, C312S236000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06288897
ABSTRACT:
FIELD OF APPLICATION AND PRIOR ART
The invention relates to a casing for an electrical device, particularly an electronic device or a computer, having a fan unit for producing an air flow in at least a part of the casing.
Normally heat builds up in electrical or electronic devices such as computers, as a result of components thereof and must be dissipated in order to avoid overheating. In particular, computer processors must be cooled in order to avoid malfunctions or damage. It is known to fit to a casing of the aforementioned type, generally to its rear wall, a fan unit, which is directed into the casing. As such fan units are generally internally screwed to the casing, replacement is only possible with considerable difficulty.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The problem of the invention is to provide a casing with a fan unit according to the preamble of claim
1
, in which the fitting of the fan unit is improved.
This problem is solved by the features of claim
1
. A fan unit insertable from the outside and secured in a casing recess within the casing or device can be easily and rapidly replaced, particularly without it being necessary to open or remove the entire casing. The inserted fan unit can at least substantially and in particular completely project into the casing or device. The fan unit can be located in a recess or a free space within the casing. The distance from further device components contained in the casing can differ as a function of the fan unit used and can in particular be very small.
Preferably the fan unit has at least one electromotive fan and preferably several fans. Several fans can be arranged in a group or at least two fans can be axially juxtaposed. In certain circumstances the fan unit can be detachably secured in the casing in a very simple manner. In the case of insertion from above into the casing, one possibility consists of a mounting support with stop action substantially solely on the basis of the weight of the fan unit. The fan unit is preferably lockable by a nonpositive connection, particularly by locking means. On inserting the fan unit into the casing said locking means can be automatically activated, particularly at the end of the insertion path.
Advantageously there is a locking nose on the casing and a corresponding locking receptacle on the fan unit, particularly in order to simplify a replacement off a defective locking receptacle on the accessible fan unit.
The fan unit is preferably detachable from the casing and is preferably completely detachable or separable. For the electrical supply of the fan unit it is possible to provide a plug connection in the casing and on the fan unit. Advantageously there is a plug coupling, particularly with contacts over which project an envelope, in the casing and a plug on the fan unit. According to ain embodiment the plug connection can be positioned laterally in the casing, preferably on a lateral face. It can in particular be substantially located at the beginning of an insertion path for the fain unit, in order for better centering of the plug connection. Preferably the plug coupling in the casing has some room to move for easier insertion of the plug on the fan unit. A plug connection can form part of the locking means for fixing the fan unit. It is also possible to construct a plug connection as part of guidance means for a positionally correct mounting of the fan unit in the casing.
In the vicinity of the recess the casing can have a guide device for the fan unit on insertion into the casing. The guide can be a system of guide rails and guide receptacles, the guide rails preferably being on the fan unit, e.g. in the form of elongated projections. Advantageously the lateral edge of the fan unit, particularly a fain or its casing, can be part of the guide rails, the casing being provided on the inside with a corresponding, preferably U-shaped guide receptacle.
The fan unit, particularly also the recess, can advantageously extend over a significant part of at least one extension direction of the casing and preferably perpendicular both to the insertion direction and also to the axial direction of the fan or the air flow produced. In this way an air flow can be produced, which moves substantially through the entire casing or its cross-section. The fan unit can in particular extend over a plane perpendicular to the axial direction and takes up a main part of cross-section. It preferably takes up about 80% of the width and about the same of the height. It is possible to install at least one separate channel in the casing running in its longitudinal direction. In one such channel under the fan unit a power unit or several power units can be accommodated. Such a channel can take up less than the entire length of the casing, for example start near the fan unit. The channel in this case can advantageously be made up of a sheet material with special characteristics regarding EMR (electromagnetic resistability) requirements. In this way it is possible to protect the rest of the casing from the electromagnetic radiation of the power unit. The power unit can be provided with its own ventilation, especially an in-built air fan. A preferred place for a power unit is near or on the back side of the casing.
The aeration for the casing and for the power unit can be partly together along the same path. Especially an aeration stream can enter the casing on the front side, then be parted and run on one hand through the fan unit and on the other hand enter the separate channel under the fan unit with the power unit. So the aeration stream is drawn in together by the fan unit and the in-built air fan of the poser unit, wherein it is blown through separately.
On at least one side of the fan unit a further channel can be provided in the casing. This channel preferably is a cable channel with electrical cables running through it. Such cables could be connector cables for disk drives or the like as well as power cables, for example for the fan unit. In such a channel the cables can be securely and orderly mounted and packed, and with such a separate channel there is no risk of injuring a cable. Preferably the cables are multi-cord cables. In one embodiment such multi-cord cables are originally flat connector cables with the single cords being separated after fixing the plug connection to its ends. Such a cable can be easily wound around corners or through small holes.
When the fan unit is inserted the recess in the casing can be at least partly and in particular completely sealed in the insertion area, so that a casing with inserted fan unit appears sealed from the outside.
The casing is advantageously substantially parallelepipedic, particularly flat and elongated in one direction. Along the elongated extension the recess can be located roughly centrally in the casing, advantageously in the area where most of the heal is evolved. Preferably the casing has a front panel and the fan unit air flow runs substantially from said front panel to the opposite back of the casing. In particularly preferred manner, at least on the back and in particular also on the front, there are air openings, preferably also on other lateral faces of the casing, especially in areas with the greatest heat evolution of the device.
According to an embodiment the casing can be a casing module of a computer, particularly a so-called 19″ slide-in module for a larger computer, e.g. a medium-s zed to large computer. Such computers can comprise several casing modules of the aforementioned type with different dimensions, particularly with regards to the height. Preferably a casing module of the presently described type has data carrier or disk drives and/or processors, which in particular have a high, lasting cooling air requirement.
The fan unit can be placed e.g. roughly in the middle of the longitudinal direction of the casing. Clearly, the chosen location of the fan unit will depend on the arrangement of the computer units and parts in the casing. Cooling air can be drawn in through the front side, especially through ventilation openings in the
Fritschle Claus
Heesen Klaus
Fritschle Simone
Lea-Edmonds Lisa
Picard Leo P.
Quarles & Brady LLP
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