Electronics cabinet cooling system
First Claim
1. A cabinet for housing operative telecommunications equipment in outdoor locations comprising:
- a) an enclosure for containing said operative telecommunications equipment, said enclosure adapted to be located outdoors;
b) an electronics subrack contained within said enclosure and adapted to hold one or more circuit modules during operation of said telecommunications equipment;
c) a duct for directing ambient air from outside said cabinet to said subrack, said duct including an inlet disposed adjacent a lower end of said cabinet and a subrack inlet plenum disposed adjacent to an underside of said electronics subrack, wherein said duct includes a heating chamber between said inlet and said subrack inlet plenum;
d) a subrack exit plenum including an outlet disposed adjacent an upper side of said electronics subrack; and
e) at least one fan for drawing ambient air into said inlet, through said duct into said subrack inlet plenum, through said electronics subrack into said subrack exit plenum, and through said outlet out of said enclosure.
4 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
A cabinet for housing telecommunications equipment in outdoor locations includes an enclosure for containing the telecommunications equipment. A subrack is mounted within the enclosure. A duct directs ambient air from outside the cabinet to the subrack. The duct includes an inlet disposed in a lower portion of the cabinet and a subrack inlet plenum disposed immediately below the subrack. A subrack exit plenum is disposed above the electronic subrack for exhausting air heated by the electronics equipment. A fan draws ambient air into the inlet through the duct into the subrack inlet plenum, through the electronic subrack into the subrack exit plenum, and out of the enclosure through the subrack exhaust plenum. A heater is provided for heating inlet air when ambient temperatures are low. The fan and heater are controlled by a thermal controller. At low ambient temperatures, the air flow is maintained constant by the fans and power to the heater is varied to maintain the subrack inlet temperature constant. At moderate temperatures, the heating element is turned off and the fan speed is varied up to the maximum fan speed. At high temperatures, the fans operate at full speed to maintain maximum air flow.
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Citations
30 Claims
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1. A cabinet for housing operative telecommunications equipment in outdoor locations comprising:
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a) an enclosure for containing said operative telecommunications equipment, said enclosure adapted to be located outdoors; b) an electronics subrack contained within said enclosure and adapted to hold one or more circuit modules during operation of said telecommunications equipment; c) a duct for directing ambient air from outside said cabinet to said subrack, said duct including an inlet disposed adjacent a lower end of said cabinet and a subrack inlet plenum disposed adjacent to an underside of said electronics subrack, wherein said duct includes a heating chamber between said inlet and said subrack inlet plenum; d) a subrack exit plenum including an outlet disposed adjacent an upper side of said electronics subrack; and e) at least one fan for drawing ambient air into said inlet, through said duct into said subrack inlet plenum, through said electronics subrack into said subrack exit plenum, and through said outlet out of said enclosure. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10)
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11. A cabinet for housing telecommunications equipment in outdoor locations comprising:
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a) an enclosure for containing said telecommunications equipment; b) an electronics subrack contained within said enclosure; c) an inlet opening disposed in a lower end of said cabinet below said subrack to allow ambient air to enter said enclosure; d) an outlet opening disposed in an upper portion of said cabinet above said subrack to expel air from said cabinet; e) at least one fan for drawing ambient air into said inlet, through said subrack and out of said outlet opening; f) a heating element for heating ambient air drawn in through said inlet before the air reaches said subrack; g) a thermal controller for controlling the operation of said heating element and said fan to maintain the temperature within said enclosure within a predetermined thermal envelope; h) wherein said thermal controller is operative to maintain air flow constant and vary power to said heating element at ambient temperatures in a low temperature mode, and shut off power to said heating element and to vary said air flow in a moderate temperature mode. - View Dependent Claims (12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17)
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18. A cabinet for housing operative telecommunications equipment in outdoor locations comprising:
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an enclosure for containing said operative telecommunications equipment, said enclosure adapted to be positioned outdoors; an electronics subrack contained within said enclosure and adapted to hold one or more circuit modules during operation of said telecommunications equipment; a duct for directing ambient air from outside said cabinet to said subrack, said duct extending through said enclosure from an air inlet disposed adjacent a lower end of said cabinet and a subrack inlet plenum disposed adjacent an underside of said electronics subrack, and defining a segregated air flow path within said enclosure; a heating chamber in said duct between said air inlet and said subrack inlet plenum; an exhaust extending from said subrack to an outlet in said enclosure; and at least one fan for drawing ambient air into said inlet, through said duct to said subrack, and exhausting air through said outlet in said enclosure. - View Dependent Claims (19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29)
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30. A cabinet for housing operative telecommunications equipment in outdoor locations comprising:
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an enclosure adapted to be positioned outdoors for containing said operative telecommunications equipment, said enclosure having an inlet and an outlet and defining an enclosed equipment space; an electronics subrack contained within said enclosure and adapted to hold one or more circuit modules during operation of said telecommunications equipment, said electronics subrack dividing said equipment space; a duct disposed within said enclosure for directing ambient air from outside said cabinet to said subrack, said duct extending through said equipment space from said inlet to said electronics subrack and defining a segregated air flow path within said equipment space; an exhaust extending from said subrack to an outlet in said enclosure; and at least one fan for drawing ambient air into said inlet, through said duct to said subrack, and exhausting air through said outlet in said enclosure.
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Specification