Cooling enclosure for maintaining commercial-off-the-shelf (COTS) equipment in vehicles

• US 7,724,516 B2
• Filed: 08/26/2005
• Issued: 05/25/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 08/26/2005
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: The Boeing Co.
• Original Assignee: The Boeing Co.
• Inventors: Leonard, Charles F., Harder, Daniel
• Primary Examiner(s): Gandhi; Jayprakash N
• Assistant Examiner(s): Thomas; Bradley H
• Application Number:
  US11/213,092
• Publication Number:
  US 20070236881A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,733 Days
• Field of Search: 361/689, 454/184
• US Class Current: 361/679.51
• CPC Class Codes: F28F 2009/222 Particular guide plates, baffles or deflectors, e.g. having particular orientation relative to an elongated casing or conduit
• CPC Class Codes: H05K 7/202 Air circulating in closed loop within enclosure wherein heat is removed through heat-exchangers

Abstract

Apparatus and methods for thermal conditioning equipment. In a preferred embodiment, an equipment enclosure comprises a body, a wall, a fluid port, and a fixture. The body defines an outer plenum and an inner chamber in the latter of which the fixture retains the equipment. The wall, which is between the outer plenum and the inner chamber, isolates the thermally conditioned first fluid from a second fluid in the inner chamber. Since the wall is thermally conductive it allows heat to be transferred between the outer plenum and the inner chamber. The fluid port is in communication with the outer plenum to allow the thermally conditioned first fluid to flow into the outer plenum. Baffle plates are also provided to distribute flow of the second fluid to the equipment.

Claims

1. An equipment enclosure for use in an environment wherein a thermal conditioning system supplies thermally conditioned air, the equipment enclosure comprising:

a body having an inner chamber and an outer plenum, the inner chamber forming part of a circulation path through which a fluid is circulatable in a closed loop within the enclosure, the outer plenum forming part of a flow path for the conditioned air through the enclosure;

an enclosure door and a baffle having one or more apertures therethrough, each aperture sized to match a corresponding inlet in a piece of equipment, the baffle configured to define a mixing plenum of the fluid circulation path upstream of the inner chamber and adjacent the door;

a pair of return ducts forming parts of the fluid circulation path outside the inner chamber to carry the fluid from downstream of the inner chamber to the mixing plenum; and

a thermally conductive wall of the return ducts configured to separate the fluid circulation path from the conditioned air flow path through the outer plenum while functioning as a heat exchanger between the fluid and the conditioned air.

2. The equipment enclosure of claim 1, the outer plenum comprising:

a first portion providing for flow of the conditioned air in a first direction relative to the enclosure; and

a second portion providing for flow of the conditioned air in a second direction relative to the enclosure, the second direction generally opposed to the first direction.

3. The equipment enclosure of claim 2, wherein the first portion of the outer plenum is configured to provide an upward flow path for the conditioned air, and the second portion of the outer plenum is configured to provide a downward flow path for the conditioned air.

4. The equipment enclosure of claim 2, wherein the first portion of the outer plenum is adjacent the second portion of the outer plenum.

5. The equipment enclosure of claim 1 further comprising an exhaust plenum downstream of the inner chamber, and at least one fan between the exhaust plenum and one of the return ducts.

6. The equipment enclosure of claim 1, one of the return ducts comprising a plurality of heat fins configured with the thermally conductive wall to conduct heat between the fluid and the conditioned air.

7. The equipment enclosure of claim 1, the body further configured to allow each of a plurality of pieces of equipment to regulate its own temperature and/or its own supply of the fluid independent of a flow rate of the conditioned air.

8. The equipment enclosure of claim 1, the baffle further comprising one or more baffle plates configurable to direct the fluid through the one or more apertures into the one or more corresponding inlets in equipment in the inner chamber while preventing substantially all flow of the fluid around the equipment other than into the one or more inlets.

9. The equipment enclosure of claim 1 further comprising a temperature controller adapted to sense the temperature of the fluid in the inner chamber and to adjust the flow of the conditioned air through the fluid port responsive to the temperature of the fluid.

10. The equipment enclosure of claim 9 further comprising a thermo-electric cold plate in the outer plenum, the temperature controller further adapted to operate the thermo-electric cold plate responsive to the temperature of the fluid whereby the temperature of the conditioned air can be adjusted.

11. The equipment enclosure of claim 1 further comprising a pair of valves in communication with the inner chamber and the thermal conditioning system to allow the conditioned air to circulate from the thermal conditioning system through the inner chamber and return to the thermal conditioning system.

12. The equipment enclosure of claim 1 further comprising a water vapor source in communication with the inner chamber whereby the humidity in the inner chamber can be adjusted.

13. The equipment enclosure of claim 1 wherein the fluid circulation path is bifurcated through the return ducts, and the conditioned air flow path is bifurcated through the outer plenum.

14. A method of thermally conditioning equipment in an environment where a thermal conditioning system supplies thermally conditioned air, the method comprising:

enclosing one or more pieces of equipment in an inner chamber of an enclosure, the enclosure having a flow path for the conditioned air and a circulation path for a fluid, the fluid circulation path including the inner chamber, a pair of return ducts downstream of the inner chamber, and a mixing plenum downstream of the return ducts, the mixing plenum formed between a door of the enclosure and a substantially vertical baffle directing substantially horizontal entry of the fluid through one or more apertures of the baffle into one or more inlets in the equipment in the inner chamber, the one or more apertures aligned with the one or more inlets, the conditioned air flow path including an outer plenum of the enclosure, the outer plenum adjacent to the return ducts;

circulating the fluid in a closed loop through the mixing plenum, inner chamber and return ducts to exchange heat between the equipment and the fluid; and

substantially vertically circulating the conditioned air upwardly through a first portion of the outer plenum and downwardly through a second portion of the outer plenum and past a thermally conductive wall of the return ducts to exchange heat through the wall between the fluid and the conditioned air in the outer plenum.

15. The method of claim 14 further comprising humidifying the fluid, the humidifying performed using a water vapor source in communication with the inner chamber.

16. The method of claim 14 further comprising moving the fluid from an exhaust plenum downstream of the inner chamber to the return ducts, the moving performed using at least one fan downstream of the exhaust plenum.

17. The method of claim 14 further comprising circulating the fluid through a plurality of heat fins of the return ducts to exchange heat between the fluid and the conditioned air.

18. The method of claim 14 further comprising arranging a plurality of plates of the baffle to direct the fluid from the mixing plenum into an inlet in a piece of equipment in the inner chamber and to prevent substantially all flow of the fluid around the piece of equipment other than into the inlet.

19. The method of claim 14 further comprising circulating the fluid in the inner chamber through the equipment.

20. The method of claim 19 further comprising mixing the fluid to an isothermal state in the mixing plenum before circulating the fluid through the equipment.

21. The method of claim 14 wherein the inner chamber is generally surrounded on at least two sides by the outer plenum, the method further comprising directing the fluid in the fluid circulation path around the sides of the inner chamber to exchange heat with the conditioned air in the outer plenum.

22. The method of claim 14 further comprising allowing each of the one or more pieces of equipment to regulate temperature and/or flow of the fluid through itself independent of a flow rate of the conditioned air.

23. An equipment enclosure for use in an environment wherein a thermal conditioning system supplies thermally conditioned air, the equipment enclosure comprising:

a body having an inner chamber and an outer plenum at least partially surrounding the inner chamber, the chamber forming part of a circulation path through which a fluid is circulatable in a closed loop within the enclosure, the outer plenum forming part of a flow path for the conditioned air through the enclosure;

a front door of the enclosure and a baffle facing the door at a front of the inner chamber, the door and baffle defining a mixing plenum of the fluid circulation path upstream of the inner chamber, the baffle having one or more apertures configured to direct the fluid from the mixing plenum into one or more corresponding equipment inlets while the baffle restricts the fluid from flowing elsewhere in the inner chamber;

an exhaust plenum in the body rearward of the inner chamber;

one or more fans configured to circulate the fluid from the exhaust plenum to the mixing plenum;

one or more return ducts in the fluid circulation path outside the inner chamber to carry the fluid circulated through the exhaust plenum to the mixing plenum; and

a thermally conductive wall of the one or more return ducts that separates the fluid circulation path from the conditioned air flow path through the outer plenum while functioning as a heat exchanger between the fluid and the conditioned air.