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Closed loop cooling housing for printed circuit card-mounted, sealed heat exchanger

  • US 5,825,621 A
  • Filed: 08/22/1997
  • Issued: 10/20/1998
  • Est. Priority Date: 06/12/1997
  • Status: Expired due to Term
First Claim
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1. A sealed housing enclosure for securely retaining and cooling a plurality of printed circuit boards comprising:

  • a chassis having a cavity between sidewalls that contain a plurality of card-guide slots, and receive and guide edges of said printed circuit boards for insertion into electrical connectors at a first portion of said chassis, so that said printed circuit boards are retained in said chassis;

    an internal cooling fluid supply/exhaust plenum at a second portion of said chassis spaced apart from said first portion thereof by said cavity therebetween, and including an internal cooling fluid supply chamber, to which an internal cooling fluid for cooling circuit components of said printed circuit boards is supplied, said internal cooling fluid supply chamber having a plurality of internal cooling fluid supply slots, and an internal cooling fluid exhaust chamber adjacent to said internal cooling fluid supply chamber and from which said internal cooling fluid having cooled said circuit components of said printed circuit boards is removed, said internal cooling fluid exhaust chamber having a plurality of internal cooling fluid removal slots adjacent to said plurality of internal cooling fluid supply slots;

    a plurality of first thermally conductive heat exchangers, a respective first thermally conductive heat exchanger of said plurality of first thermally conductive heat exchangers being in thermally conductive engagement with a first side of a respective printed circuit board of said plurality of circuit boards, so as to draw heat away from and thereby cool said circuit components mounted to a second side of said respective printed circuit board, and includes an internal cooling fluid inlet port at a first side of said first thermally conductive heat exchanger, and being joined in sealing engagement with a respective internal cooling fluid supply slot of said plurality of internal cooling fluid supply slots of said internal cooling fluid supply chamber of said internal cooling fluid supply/exhaust plenum, and through which said internal cooling fluid is introduced from said internal cooling fluid supply/exhaust plenum, and an internal cooling fluid outlet port adjacent to said internal cooling fluid inlet port at said first side of said first thermally conductive heat exchanger, and joined in sealing engagement with a respective internal cooling fluid removal slot of said plurality of internal cooling fluid removal slots of said internal cooling fluid exhaust chamber of said internal cooling fluid supply/exhaust plenum, and through which said internal cooling fluid is exhausted from said first thermally conductive heat exchanger into said internal cooling fluid supply/exhaust plenum;

    a plurality of second thermally conductive heat exchangers mounted externally of said chassis and over which an external cooling fluid external of said housing passes; and

    a sealed, internal cooling fluid recirculation structure coupled with said internal cooling fluid supply/exhaust plenum, and containing third thermally conductive heat exchangers that are convectively coupled with said internal cooling fluid and are conductively coupled to said second thermally conductive heat exchangers supported externally of said chassis, said sealed, internal cooling fluid recirculation structure recirculating said internal cooling fluid through said internal cooling fluid supply/exhaust plenum, and thereby through said internal cooling fluid flow chambers of said first thermally conductive heat exchangers of said printed circuit cards, so that said internal cooling fluid is cooled by said second thermally conductive heat exchangers supported externally of said chassis.

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