Ventilation – Electronic cabinet
Reexamination Certificate
1999-06-07
2001-10-16
Joyce, Harold (Department: 3749)
Ventilation
Electronic cabinet
C361S695000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06302781
ABSTRACT:
TECHNICAL FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention is directed, in general, to cooling for electronics and, more specifically, to a fan-mounting faceplate for a chassis and methods of manufacturing and assembling the same into a fan-cooled electronics enclosure.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
One or more DC cooling fans are often employed in power conversion systems to remove heat generated by electronic devices. Cooling fans play an important role in overall system reliability and lifetime.
In most power conversion applications, commercially available cooling fans (e.g., the Beta V, manufactured by Nidec America Corporation of Torrington, Conn.) are included in chassis or power conversion modules manufactured by original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) The fan is often a square box fan with mounting holes located in the four corners of the box. The fan is equipped with an electrical pigtail to accomplish the necessary electrical interconnection to the power conversion module. Typical fan mounting methods involve four machine screws with an equal number of hexagonal nuts (“hex-nuts”), and perhaps lock washers, holding the fan to the frame or cabinet of the power conversion module. Thus to hold a single fan in place, eight, and possibly twelve, hardware parts are required. Often, the required service life of the electronic equipment is greater than the service life of the fan, so field fan replacement is part of routine maintenance. Of course, physical installation of the fan involves properly locating the fan housing in relation to the power conversion module cabinet or chassis, and manually routing the machine screws through mount holes in the fan housing and matching holes in the chassis cabinet. Lock washers must then be placed on the exposed machine screws and the hex-nuts threaded on the machine screws. The installer must then tighten the hex-nuts in place, usually with a screwdriver and a nut driver. As a consequence, multiple parts are required to install a single fan unit, in addition to the labor required to install, align and tighten the machine screws and nuts. When considering applications such as the telecommunications industry, where hundreds of thousands of fans are required to cool power conversion units, the total part count required and cost is obviously very significant.
Accordingly, what is needed in the art is a simpler method of securely mounting a cooling fan in a power conversion cabinet that minimizes part count and installation labor.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
To address the above-discussed deficiencies of the prior art, the present invention provides a faceplate for a chassis composed of a moldable material (which may be metal) and various methods of fabricating and assembling the faceplate into a fan-cooled electronics enclosure. In one embodiment, the faceplate includes: (1) a chassis mount adapted to cooperate with a corresponding first faceplate mount on the chassis to register the faceplate with respect to the chassis, (2) a fan mount adapted to cooperate with a corresponding second faceplate mount on a fan (which, in an embodiment to be illustrated and described, is a box fan) to register the faceplate with respect to the chassis and (3) a grille proximate the fan mount, the chassis mount and the fan mount cooperating to affix the fan to the chassis when the faceplate is mounted to the chassis.
The present invention therefore introduces the broad concept of molding a fan mount into the faceplate of an electronics enclosure thereby to avoid the need to provide a separate, typically multi part, fan mount.
In one embodiment of the present invention, the fan mount comprises a plurality of posts and the second faceplate mount comprises a corresponding plurality of recesses in a housing of the fan. In an embodiment to be illustrated and described, the fan mount comprises a plurality of posts. The chassis mount and the fan mount cooperate to affix the fan to the chassis only when the faceplate is mounted to the chassis. Thus, in this embodiment, the posts merely register the fan with respect to the faceplate; they to not secure the fan to the faceplate. The fan is secured when the faceplate is joined to the chassis. Of course, some applications may benefit from a fan mount that includes positive retention features, such as snaps, or plastic features, etc., that can secure the fan to the faceplate.
In one embodiment of the present invention, the fan mount includes a keying feature that cooperates with a feature on the fan to orient the fan with respect to the faceplate. The keying feature can be employed further to ensure that the airflow generated by the fan is oriented correctly. of course, the key is not necessary to the present invention.
In one embodiment of the present invention, the grille is composed of the moldable material and is integral with the faceplate. In an embodiment to be illustrated and described, the grille comprises a plurality of vanes that advantageously present minimal interference to airflow and a barrier to manual fan blade contact. Of course, the grille may be a separate piece and is not, in fact, necessary to the present invention.
In one embodiment of the present invention, a handle is hingedly coupled to the faceplate to allow the handle to be deployed and stowed. The handle, while not necessary to the present invention, is advantageous when the electronics enclosure forms a module designed to be inserted into, and removed from, an electronics rack. The handle, if provided, may alternatively be fixed with respect to the faceplate.
The foregoing has outlined, rather broadly, preferred and alternative features of the present invention so that those skilled in the art may better understand the detailed description of the invention that follows. Additional features of the invention will be described hereinafter that form the subject of the claims of the invention. Those skilled in the art should appreciate that they can readily use the disclosed conception and specific embodiment as a basis for designing or modifying other structures for carrying out the same purposes of the present invention. Those skilled in the art should also realize that such equivalent constructions do not depart from the spirit and scope of the invention in its broadest form.
REFERENCES:
patent: 4517880 (1985-05-01), Buckner et al.
patent: 5707282 (1998-01-01), Clements et al.
patent: 5713790 (1998-02-01), Lin
patent: 5788566 (1998-08-01), McAnally et al.
patent: 5927386 (1999-07-01), Lin
patent: 6075698 (2000-06-01), Hogan et al.
Ayres John W.
Byrne Vincent M.
Fontana Edward C.
Stein Steven C.
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