Patent ID: 6362417
Filing Date: 2002-03-26
Classification: H05K

Abstract:
A method of making an electromagnetic interference (EMI) shielded vent panel for disposition over a corresponding opening formed within a surface of an electronics enclosure, the opening having a predefined outer margin and said method comprising the steps of:(a) providing an electrically-conductive medium having an outer periphery and extending along a transverse axis intermediate a pair of faces defining a thickness dimension therebetween, said medium have a plurality of ventilation passageways extending through said thickness direction generally along said transverse axis; (b) supporting the thickness dimension of the outer periphery of said medium within an electrically-conductive frame having a perimeter defining a closed geometry configured to circumscribe the opening of the electronics enclosure, said frame having a generally C-shaped cross-sectional profile including an elongate end wall having an interior surface and an exterior surface, and a pair of oppositely-disposed side walls extending from the interior surface of said end wall, each of said side walls having an outer surface and an inner surface spaced-apart a first predetermined distance from the inner surface of the other of said side walls, the outer periphery of said medium being received intermediate the inner surfaces of said side walls such that each of said walls extends over a corresponding edge portion of the faces of said medium, with the outer surface of one of said side walls being disposable about the opening of the enclosure in electrically-conductive adjacency with the surface thereof; (c) disposing an electrically-conductive gasket intermediate the inner surface of a first one of said side walls and the edge portion of a first one of the faces of said medium, said gasket extending along substantially the entire perimeter of said frame and being deflectable between the inner surface of said first one of said side walls and the edge portion of said first one of the faces of said medium; and (d) compressing said frame to space the inner surface of each of said side walls thereof a second predetermined distance from the inner surface of the other of said side walls deflecting said gasket into a collasped orientation effective to provide substantially continuous electrical contact between said frame and said medium.