U.S. patent application number 17/583367 was filed with the patent office on 2022-05-12 for electronic cabinet, and air inlet therefore.
The applicant listed for this patent is LOGISIG INC.. Invention is credited to Serge FOURNIER.
Application Number | 20220151089 17/583367 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 1000006098252 |
Filed Date | 2022-05-12 |
United States Patent
Application |
20220151089 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
FOURNIER; Serge |
May 12, 2022 |
ELECTRONIC CABINET, AND AIR INLET THEREFORE
Abstract
The electronic cabinet for enclosing electronic components
generally has a housing having a base and a cover being connected
to one another a plurality of lateral walls, one of the plurality
of lateral walls having a first opening; a lateral perforated plate
being mounted to the housing and extending over the first opening,
the lateral perforated plate having a plurality of perforations;
and a protector plate being mounted to the housing and extending
over the lateral perforated plate to cover the plurality of
perforations of the lateral perforated plate, the protector plate
defining at least one air inlet between the protector plate and the
lateral perforated plate.
Inventors: |
FOURNIER; Serge;
(Fossambault-sur-le-lac, CA) |
|
Applicant: |
Name |
City |
State |
Country |
Type |
LOGISIG INC. |
Quebec |
|
CA |
|
|
Family ID: |
1000006098252 |
Appl. No.: |
17/583367 |
Filed: |
January 25, 2022 |
Related U.S. Patent Documents
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Application
Number |
Filing Date |
Patent Number |
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17010144 |
Sep 2, 2020 |
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17583367 |
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15461692 |
Mar 17, 2017 |
10893627 |
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17010144 |
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Current U.S.
Class: |
1/1 |
Current CPC
Class: |
H05K 5/0213 20130101;
B01D 46/0005 20130101; B01D 2279/35 20130101; H05K 5/0217 20130101;
H05K 7/20009 20130101 |
International
Class: |
H05K 5/02 20060101
H05K005/02; B01D 46/00 20060101 B01D046/00 |
Foreign Application Data
Date |
Code |
Application Number |
Mar 18, 2016 |
CA |
2924437 |
Claims
1.-10. (canceled)
11. An air outlet module for an outdoor weather-resistant
electronic cabinet having an housing, the air outlet module
comprising: an enclosure being mountable to the housing and
comprising a bottom perforated plate characterized by a plurality
of perforations at a first end and a bottom air inlet at a second
end opposite the first end; and a filter element, including chicane
members, being mountable inside the enclosure.
12. (canceled)
13. The air outlet inlet module of claim 11 further wherein the
enclosure is receivable in a air outlet module opening, the
perforated plate being mountable to the housing via the
enclosure.
14. The air outlet module of claim 13 wherein the filter element
has a base which is removably receivable onto a base of the
enclosure.
15-21. (canceled)
22. The air outlet module of claim 11, wherein the filter element
extends within the enclosure between the perforations at the first
end and the bottom air inlet at the second end of the bottom
perforated plate.
Description
FIELD
[0001] The improvements generally relate to the field of electronic
cabinets and more particularly electronic cabinets having
ventilation systems.
BACKGROUND
[0002] A typical outdoor electronic cabinet generally has a
weather-resistant housing enclosing therein electronic components.
During use, the electronic components can generate heat inside the
housing of the electronic cabinet. For at least this reason, the
typical electronic cabinet can be arranged with a ventilation
system. In cases where the ventilation system involves natural
convection, the ventilation system typically includes a first
opening at a top of the housing and a second opening at a bottom of
the housing. When the electronic components heat the air inside the
housing, a natural convection flow from the bottom to the top of
the housing evacuates the heated air outside the housing via the
first opening while the evacuated air is replaced by unheated air
via the second opening of the ventilation system and thus cools the
inside of the housing.
[0003] To prevent natural precipitations of water and snow to enter
inside the housing via the ventilation system, the first and/or
second openings are generally provided with louvers. Although the
existing electronic cabinets were satisfactory to a certain degree,
there remains room for improvement, particularly when the
electronic cabinet is used outdoors.
SUMMARY
[0004] It was found that although such louvers were satisfactory to
prevent natural precipitations of water and snow to enter inside
the housing of the cabinet, such louvers were generally
unsatisfactory to prevent unnatural precipitations from entering
inside the housing. For instance, when an electronic cabinet is
located near a road, passage of vehicles (cars, trucks and snow
plow trucks) on the road can cause unnatural precipitations such as
accidental and violent projections of water, snow, slush and/or
particles towards the electronic cabinet. One need thus occurred
for protecting the electronic cabinet from such unnatural
precipitations while still allowing it to be satisfactorily
ventilated. There is thus provided an electronic cabinet which can
be weather resistant.
[0005] In accordance with one aspect, there is provided an
electronic cabinet for enclosing electronic components, the
electronic cabinet comprising: a housing having a base and a cover
being connected to one another a plurality of lateral walls, one of
the plurality of lateral walls having a first opening; a lateral
perforated plate being mounted to the housing and extending over
the first opening, the lateral perforated plate having a plurality
of perforations; and a protector plate being mounted to the housing
and extending over the lateral perforated plate to cover the
plurality of perforations of the lateral perforated plate, the
protector plate defining at least one air inlet between the
protector plate and the lateral perforated plate.
[0006] In accordance with another aspect, there is provided an air
inlet module for an electronic cabinet having an air inlet module
opening, the air inlet module comprising: a lateral perforated
plate being mountable to the housing at the air inlet module
opening and being sized and shaped to cover the air inlet module
opening, the lateral perforated plate having a plurality of
perforations; and a protector plate being outwardly mountable to
the housing and being sized and shaped to extend over the lateral
perforated plate to cover the plurality of perforations of the
lateral perforated plate, the protector plate defining at least one
air inlet between the protector plate and the lateral perforated
plate when the protector plate and the lateral perforated plate are
mounted to the housing of the electronic cabinet.
[0007] Many further features and combinations thereof concerning
the present improvements will appear to those skilled in the art
following a reading of the instant disclosure.
DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES
[0008] In the figures,
[0009] FIG. 1 is a rear elevation view of an example of an
electronic cabinet including a ventilation system having an air
inlet module and an air outlet module;
[0010] FIGS. 2A to 2F represent different views of the air inlet
module of FIG. 1;
[0011] FIGS. 3A to 3F represent different views of the air outlet
module of FIG. 1;
[0012] FIG. 4 is an oblique view of an example of an air inlet
module having a protector plate and a filter element;
[0013] FIG. 5 is an exploded view of the air inlet module of FIG.
4;
[0014] FIGS. 6A to 6E represent different views of another example
of an air inlet module having a protector plate and a filter
element;
[0015] FIG. 7 is an enlarged view of a side elevation view of the
air inlet module of FIGS. 6A to 6E;
[0016] FIGS. 8A to 8C are oblique views of the air inlet module of
FIGS. 6A to 6E;
[0017] FIG. 9 is an oblique view of the air inlet module of FIGS.
6A to 6E mounted to a housing of an electronic cabinet taken from
the interior of the electronic cabinet;
[0018] FIG. 10 is an oblique view of the air inlet module of FIGS.
6A to 6E mounted to a housing of an electronic cabinet taken from
the exterior of the electronic cabinet;
[0019] FIG. 11 is an oblique view, taken from the bottom, of an
example of an electronic cabinet having an air outlet module in
accordance with another embodiment;
[0020] FIG. 12 is a sectional and oblique view, taken from above,
of the electronic cabinet of FIG. 11; and
[0021] FIGS. 13A to 13F represent different views of the air outlet
module of FIG. 11.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
[0022] FIG. 1 shows an example of an electronic cabinet 10, in
accordance with an embodiment. The electronic cabinet 10 has a
housing 12 generally having a base 14, lateral walls 16 (including
a back wall 18 and a front door 20 with a door handle) connected to
the base 14 and a cover 22 connected to the lateral walls 16.
[0023] As depicted, the housing 12 encloses electronic components
24 inside the housing 12. The electronic components 24 can convert
electrical energy into thermal energy which generally heats the air
inside the housing 12 during use. To evacuate the heated air
outside the housing 12, and thus prevent failures of some of the
electronic components 24, the electronic cabinet 10 has a
ventilation system 26 having an air inlet module 28 and an air
outlet module 30.
[0024] To take advantage of natural convection, the air inlet
module 28 is generally provided in a bottom portion 32 of the
housing 12 whereas the air outlet module 30 is generally provided
in a top portion 34 of the housing 12. Therefore, the heated air,
which tends to go up due to its lower density (compared with
unheated air), is evacuated via the air outlet module 30 provided
at the top portion 34 while unheated/cooler air can enter inside
the housing 12 via the air inlet module 28 provided at the bottom
32 of the housing 12 and thus cools the interior of the housing 12.
As it will be understood by the skilled reader, the air inlet and
outlet modules 28 and 30 are not limited to the bottom and top
portions 32 and 34 shown in FIG. 1. Any other suitably location can
be used.
[0025] In this embodiment, the air inlet and outlet modules 28 and
30 are removably mounted to the housing 12 in order to be replaced
when worn and/or broken, for instance. More specifically, in this
example, the door 20 (or any lateral wall) has an air inlet module
opening 36 which receives the air inlet module 28 and the back wall
18 (or any lateral wall) has an air outlet module opening 38 which
receives the air outlet module 30. In this example, the air inlet
and outlet modules 28 and 30 are mounted to the housing 12 via
fasteners (bolt and nuts, screws, weld lines, adhesive, etc). These
fasteners are provided inside the housing 12 to be inaccessible
from the exterior of the housing 12.
[0026] FIGS. 2A to 2F show different views of the air inlet module
28. These views include a front elevation view A, a top elevation
view B, a bottom elevation view C, a side elevation view D, an
oblique view taken from below E and an oblique view taken from
above F. As it can be seen, the air inlet module 28 has a frame 40
which can be received in the air inlet module opening 36 of the
housing 12 of the electronic cabinet 10 (see FIG. 1). The frame 40
has a lateral plate which is perforated with a plurality of
perforations 41 (referred to as the "lateral perforated plate 42")
and a top plate which is perforated with a plurality of
perforations 43 (referred to as the "top perforated plate 44"). The
lateral perforated plate is sized and shaped to cover the air inlet
module opening and extend over the air inlet module opening from
the interior or from the exterior.
[0027] The perforations 41, 43 are sized and shaped to prevent
objects or animals to enter inside the housing of the electronic
cabinet while still allowing air to enter therein. It is noted that
once the air has entered via the lateral perforated plate 42, it
can access the interior of the housing of the electronic cabinet
via the top perforated plate 44. In this example, the perforations
41,43 of the plates 42,44 are provided in a rectangular array of
through holes. Other suitable perforations can be used.
[0028] FIGS. 3A to 3F shows different views of air outlet module
30. These views include a front elevation view A, a top elevation
view B, a bottom elevation view C, a side elevation view D, an
oblique taken from below E and an oblique view taken above F. As it
can be seen, the air outlet module 30 has an enclosure 46 which can
be received in the air outlet module opening 38 of the housing 12
of the electronic cabinet 10 (see FIG. 1). When received therein,
the enclosure 46 has a lateral plate which is perforated with a
plurality of perforations 45 (referred to as "the lateral
perforated plate 48") and a bottom air inlet 51 which is configured
to face towards the interior of the housing of the electronic
cabinet when mounted thereto.
[0029] There again, the perforations 45 are sized and shaped to
prevent objects or small animals from entering inside the housing
of the electronic cabinet while still allowing air flow through.
Still in this example, the perforations 45 are provided in a
rectangular array of through holes.
[0030] FIG. 4 shows another example of an air inlet module 28, in
accordance with another embodiment. Broadly described, the air
inlet module 28 has a frame 40 which is receivable in the air inlet
module opening 36 of the housing 12 of the electronic cabinet 10
(see FIG. 1) and mountable thereto via, for instance, bore holes
and fasteners. The air inlet module 28 has a lateral perforated
plate 42 mounted to the frame 40, a protector plate 50 mounted to
lateral perforated plate 42 (or directly mounted to the frame 40)
and a filter element 52 mounted to the frame 40. The protector
plate 50 is sized and shaped to extend over the lateral perforated
plate to cover the plurality of perforations of the lateral
perforated plate. The filter element 52 extends over the air inlet
module opening 36 to filter air and/or to prevent precipitations
from entering inside the housing of the electronic cabinet.
[0031] FIG. 5 shows an exploded view of the air inlet module 28
showing the frame 40, the lateral perforated plate 42, the
protector plate 50 and the filter element 52.
[0032] For instance, the frame 40 has a base 54, a back wall 56
being connected to the base 54 and extending upwardly therefrom,
and two walls 58 connected at least to the base 54 and extending
upwardly therefrom. The two walls 58 extend upwardly farther than
the back wall 56 does in this embodiment. As shown, the base 54 has
a forward horizontal edge 60 having a bottom flange 62 extending
downwardly and outwardly from the forward horizontal edge 60. The
two walls 58 each have a forward vertical edge 64 having a side
flange 66 extending laterally and outwardly from a respective one
of the two forward vertical edges 64. The flanges 62 and 66 each
have one or more bore hole 68 used to mount the frame 40 of the air
inlet module 28 to the housing 12 of the electronic cabinet 10
using fasteners (not shown).
[0033] In this example, the lateral perforated plate 42 is mounted
to the frame 40 of the air inlet module 28. For instance, the
lateral perforated plate 42 has a bottom edge 70 having one or more
bore hole 68 which is fastenable to the one or more bore hole 68 of
the bottom flange 62 of the frame 40 of the air inlet module 28.
During use, these bore holes 68 can be fastened to one another
using one or more fastener. As it can be seen, the lateral
perforated plate 42 has two lateral edges 72 each having a side
flange 74 extending outwardly from a respective one of the two
lateral edges 72 of the lateral perforated plate 40. Each of these
side flanges 74 have one or more bore hole 76.
[0034] In this embodiment, the protector plate 50 is mounted to the
lateral perforated plate 42. For instance, the protector plate 50
has a top edge 78 having a top flange 80 extending inwardly from
the top edge 78 and two lateral edges 82 each having a side flange
84 extending inwardly from a respective one of the two lateral
edges 82 of the protector plate 50. It can also have a bottom edge
86 having a bottom flange (not shown in FIG. 5) extending inwardly
from the bottom edge 86. Each of the side flanges 84 of the
protector plate 50 have one or more bore hole 76 used to mount the
protector plate 50 to the lateral perforated plate 42 using
fasteners. It is understood that the top flange 80 and the bottom
flange of the protector plate 50 are sized and shape to allow air
to pass between the protector plate 50 and the lateral perforated
plate 42 when mounted to one another.
[0035] As shown, the filter element 52 can be received onto the
base 54 of the frame 40 of the air inlet module 28 so as to filter
the air that is to enter inside the housing of the electronic
cabinet. The filter element 52 shown in this embodiment is formed
with chicane members so as to prevent harsher or mechanically
induced precipitations from damaging the electronic components of
the electronic cabinet.
[0036] The chicane members of the filter element may include a back
wall connected to the base of the filter element and extending
upwardly therefrom, a first wall connected to the back wall and
extending forwardly and downwardly from a top edge of the back
wall, a second wall connected the first wall and extending
downwardly and inwardly from a forward edge of the first wall, a
third wall connected to the second wall and extending upwardly and
inwardly from an inward edge of the second wall, at least the first
and third walls each having a plurality of perforations. For
instance, in this embodiment, the filter element 52 has a base 88
to be received on the base 54 of the frame 40, a back wall 90
connected to the base 88 and extending upwardly from the base 88, a
first wall 92 connected to the back wall 90 and extending forwardly
and downwardly from a top edge 94 of the back wall 90, a second
wall 96 connected the first wall 92 and extending downwardly and
inwardly from a forward edge 98 of the first wall 92, a third wall
100 connected to the second wall 96 and extending upwardly and
inwardly from an inward edge 102 of the second wall 96. As shown,
the first and third walls 92 and 100 are perforated with
corresponding rectangular arrays of perforations 103, 104 for
instance. This embodiment of the filter element 52 is not
limitative as it can have any other suitable configuration.
[0037] FIGS. 6A to 6E shows different views of another example of
the air inlet module 28. These views include a front elevation view
A, a top elevation view B, a bottom elevation view C (not to scale
relative to the other views), a side elevation view D and a
sectional view E taken along lines A-A. As it can be seen, in this
embodiment, the air inlet module 28 can be received in the air
inlet module opening 36 of the housing 12 of the electronic cabinet
10 (see FIG. 1). In this embodiment, the air inlet module 28 has a
lateral perforated plate 42 directly mountable to the housing of
the electronic cabinet, a protector plate 50 outwardly mounted to
the lateral perforated plate 42, a filter element 52 inwardly
mountable to the housing of the electronic cabinet and over the air
inlet module opening 36 (see FIG. 1).
[0038] As best seen in the side elevation view D of the air inlet
module 28, the protector plate 50 has a bottom edge 86 having a
bottom flange 106 extending inwardly from the bottom edge 86 and a
top edge 78 having a top flange 80 extending inwardly from the top
edge 78. However, the bottom and top flanges 106, 80 do not reach
the lateral perforated plate 42 such that they define a respective
one of a bottom air inlet 108 and a top air inlet 110. A spacing
between an edge of the bottom flange 106 and the lateral perforated
plate 42 defining the bottom air inlet 108 and a spacing between an
edge of the top flange 80 and the lateral perforated plate 42
defining the top air inlet 110.
[0039] FIG. 7 shows an enlarged view of the side elevation view E
of the air inlet module 28 of FIGS. 6A to 6E but mounted to the
housing 12 of the electronic cabinet. As illustrated, air can
follow an air path 112 which passes through the bottom air inlet
108, then through the perforations 41 of the lateral perforated
plate 42 and then through the filter element 52 prior to entering
inside the housing of the electronic cabinet. As shown, the
protector plate 50 can shield the perforations from
horizontally-oriented projections of ice or water 114.
[0040] FIGS. 8A to 8C show oblique views of the air inlet module 28
of FIGS. 6A to 6E. The top air inlet 110 is best seen in inset E
whereas both insets E and F show that the side flanges 84 of the
protector plate 50 extend over the side flanges 74 of the lateral
perforated plate 42 in order to potentially prevent water, snow,
slush and/or particles from entering inside the air inlet module
28.
[0041] FIG. 9 shows an oblique view of the air inlet module 28 of
FIGS. 6A to 6E taken from the inside of the housing 12 of the
electronic cabinet. The air inlet module opening 36 is outwardly
covered by the lateral perforated plate 42 and its array of
perforations 41 can be seen. In this view, there are provided
filter element receiving guides 116 for receiving the filter
element 42. In this embodiment, the filter element receiving guides
116 includes two vertical guides (only the guide 116a is shown)
inwardly mounted along two side edges 118 of the air inlet module
opening 36 of the housing 12 of the electronic cabinet and one
horizontal guide 116b inwardly mounted along a bottom edge 120 of
the air inlet module opening 36 of the housing 12 of the electronic
cabinet. In this configuration, the filter element 52 is slidably
engageable to the housing 12 of the electronic cabinet via the
filter element receiving guides 116. In another embodiment, the
filter element can be fastened to the housing of the electronic
cabinet or alternately be snapingly engaged thereto depending on
the application.
[0042] FIG. 10 shows an oblique view of the air inlet module 28 of
FIGS. 6A to 6E taken from the outside of the housing 12 of the
electronic cabinet. The lateral perforated plate 42 is mounted to
the housing 12 of the electronic cabinet via bore hole(s) and
fastener(s) 122. The side flanges 84 of the protector plate 50 are
fastened to the side flanges 74 of the lateral perforated plate 42
via bore holes and fasteners 124. The top air inlet 110 is well
seen in this view.
[0043] FIG. 11 shows an oblique view, taken from the outside and
from below, of another example of an electronic cabinet 10 having
another example of an air outlet module 30. As shown, the
electronic cabinet 10 has a housing 12 having lateral walls 16
including a door 20 hinged to one of the lateral walls 16 and a
cover 22 connected to the lateral walls 16. As shown, the air
outlet module 30 is provided proximate to the cover 22 of the
housing 12 of the electronic cabinet 10 in this example.
[0044] As shown, the door 20 is recessed relative to the cover 22
of the housing 12 thus defining a spacing 130 between the door 20
and the cover 22. The recessed portion of the cover 22 has a bottom
perforated plate 132 facing downwardly to evacuate the heated air
from inside the housing 12 of the electronic cabinet 10 during
use.
[0045] FIG. 12 is an oblique and sectional view of a top portion of
the electronic cabinet 10 shown in FIG. 11. One can see the cover
22 of the housing 12 and a section of the air outlet module 30. In
this example, the air outlet module 30 has an enclosure 46
mountable to the interior of the electronic cabinet 10. The
enclosure 46 has the bottom perforated plate 132 wherein the
perforations are provided at a first end 132a and a bottom air
inlet 134 provided in the form of a hole at second end 132b,
opposite the first end 132a, of the bottom perforated plate 132. In
this embodiment, the enclosure 46 has two chicane members 136
mounted inside the enclosure 46 to create the air path 138. The
enclosure 46 can have one or more than two chicane members.
[0046] FIGS. 13A to 13F shows different views of the air outlet
module 30 of FIG. 11. These views include a front elevation view A,
a top elevation view B, a bottom elevation view C, two oblique
views D and E and a side elevation view F (not to scale) taken
along lines C-C. In this example, the air outlet module 30 has an
air blower 140 mounted inside the enclosure 46 and over the bottom
air inlet 134 to blow air from the interior of the housing of the
electronic cabinet to the outside thereof via the bottom perforated
plate 132 along the air path 138.
[0047] As can be understood, the examples described above and
illustrated are intended to be exemplary only. The filter element
of the air inlet module is optional. The scope is indicated by the
appended claims.
* * * * *