Abstract:
A telecommunications equipment enclosure ( 10 ) that more effectively dissipates heat from electronic cards without transferring the heat to adjacent cards and without transferring the heat to air within an enclosed chamber surrounding the cards. The enclosure ( 10 ) includes a floor ( 12 ) and a plurality of card-receiving sleeves ( 14 ) attached to the floor ( 12 ). Each of the sleeves ( 14 ) defines a separate enclosed cell or holder that is configured for receiving and enclosing a single electronic card. The sleeves ( 14 ) are spaced apart to define a plurality of open air channels therebetween for convecting heat away from the sleeves ( 14 ) and the cards received therein while preventing heat from transferring from sleeve to sleeve.

Description:
RELATED APPLICATIONS  
       [0001]    This application claims priority benefit of provisional application titled “Telecommunications Enclosure With Individual, Separated Card Holders”, Serial No. 60/181,609, filed Feb. 10, 2000, which is hereby incorporated into the present application by reference. 
     
    
     
       BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
         [0002]    1. Field of the Invention  
           [0003]    The present invention relates to enclosures for protecting electronic cards such as telecommunications repeaters from exposure to harmful elements and for dissipating heat from the cards. More particularly, the invention relates to such an enclosure that permits heat to be conducted and convected from individual cards without transferring the heat to adjacent cards or to air in an enclosed chamber surrounding the cards.  
           [0004]    2. Description of the Prior Art  
           [0005]    Electronic cards such as telecommunications repeaters and other electronic equipment used in ISDN, (X)DSL, and T 1  communications services are typically housed in enclosures that are mounted to telephone poles or placed next to buildings or in manholes. The enclosures must be designed to protect the cards from natural elements such as sun, rain, snow, and fire, as well as damage from vandalism and attempted theft. Just as importantly, the enclosures must be designed to dissipate excess heat generated by the cards.  
           [0006]    One problem with prior art telecommunications enclosures is that heat generated from cards housed therein is transferred to other cards before it can be dissipated from the enclosure. This is because prior art enclosures typically include a plurality of card-receiving sleeves that are mounted side-by-side in a single, enclosed compartment. The cards therefore transfer heat to one another and convect heat to the air in the enclosed compartment. The heated air in turn tends to transfer heat back to the sleeves, or at least reduces the rate of heat transfer from the sleeves to the air.  
           [0007]    Another problem with prior art telecommunications enclosures is that they are large, bulky, and heavy and therefore difficult to maneuver and install in manholes and other structures where space is limited. A related problem is that prior art telecommunications enclosures must be manually held in place against a wall or other surface while it is being bolted or otherwise fastened thereto. Because of the excessive weight of prior art enclosures, this procedure is difficult and typically requires at least two persons to accomplish.  
           [0008]    Accordingly, there is a need for an improved enclosure for telecommunications equipment that overcomes the limitations of the prior art.  
         SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
         [0009]    The present invention solves the above-described problems and provides a distinct advance in the art of enclosures for telecommunications equipment. More particularly, the present invention provides a telecommunications equipment enclosure that more effectively dissipates heat from electronic cards without transferring the heat to adjacent cards. The enclosure has no common, enclosed chamber surrounding the cards; therefore, the cards do not transfer heat to such an enclosed chamber. The telecommunications enclosure of the present invention achieves the foregoing while maintaining a relatively small “footprint” (per card density) so that it can be easily maneuvered and installed even in cramped locations such as manholes. The enclosure also includes novel mounting structure that permits it to be more easily mounted in a manhole or other structure by a single person.  
           [0010]    One embodiment of the present invention broadly includes a floor and a plurality of card-receiving sleeves attached to the floor. Each of the sleeves defines a separate enclosed cell or holder that is configured for receiving and enclosing a single electronic card. The sleeves are attached to and spaced apart along the floor to define a plurality of open air channels therebetween for convecting heat away from the sleeves and the cards received therein while preventing heat from transferring from card to card. Because each sleeve serves as a separate enclosed cell or card holder, a larger chamber or enclosure for surrounding the sleeves is not required. Thus, heat that is convected from the sleeves is transferred directly to ambient air surrounding the sleeves and not to an enclosed chamber surrounding the sleeves. The elimination of a larger chamber or enclosure that surrounds the sleeves also reduces the overall size and weight of the enclosure so that it can be more easily maneuvered and installed.  
           [0011]    These and other important aspects of the present invention are described more fully in the detailed description below. 
       
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING FIGURES  
       [0012]    A preferred embodiment of the present invention is described in detail below with reference to the attached drawing figures, wherein:  
         [0013]    [0013]FIG. 1 is an isometric view of a telecommunications enclosure constructed in accordance with a first preferred embodiment of the present invention;  
         [0014]    [0014]FIG. 2 is a side elevational view of the enclosure of FIG. 1;  
         [0015]    [0015]FIG. 3 is a top view of the enclosure with its lids removed;  
         [0016]    [0016]FIG. 4 is an end view of the enclosure taken from the right side of FIG. 1;  
         [0017]    [0017]FIG. 5 is an isometric view of a telecommunications enclosure constructed in accordance with a second preferred embodiment of the present invention;  
         [0018]    [0018]FIG. 6 is an isometric view of the enclosure of FIG. 5 shown with its lid open;  
         [0019]    [0019]FIG. 7 is an end view of the enclosure taken from the right side of FIG. 5;  
         [0020]    [0020]FIG. 8 is an end view of the enclosure taken from the left side of FIG. 5;  
         [0021]    [0021]FIG. 9 is a side elevational view of the enclosure of FIG. 5;  
         [0022]    [0022]FIG. 10 is a three-dimensional view of the enclosure of FIG. 5 illustrating attachment structure connected to the enclosure;  
         [0023]    [0023]FIG. 11 is a three-dimensional view of the enclosure of FIG. 5 showing its attachment structure engaged to a pair of spaced-apart rails;  
         [0024]    [0024]FIG. 12 is a three-dimensional view that it is taken from the rear side of the rails showing the attachment structure secured to the rails; and  
         [0025]    [0025]FIG. 13 is an isometric view of a telecommunications enclosure constructed in accordance with a third preferred embodiment of the present invention. 
     
    
       [0026]    The drawing figures do not limit the present invention to the specific embodiments disclosed and described herein. The drawings are not necessarily to scale, emphasis instead being placed upon clearly illustrating the principles of the invention.  
       DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS  
       [0027]    Referring to the drawings figures, a telecommunications enclosure  10  constructed in accordance with a first preferred embodiment of the invention is illustrated in FIGS.  1 - 4 . The telecommunications enclosure  10  is provided for housing electronic cards such as telecommunications repeater and doubler cards.  
         [0028]    The enclosure  10  broadly includes a floor  12 , a plurality of card-receiving sleeves  14  mounted to the floor, and a pair of lids  16 ,  18  for providing access to and covering the sleeves  14 . The enclosure  10  may be formed of any suitable material but is preferably injection molded of thermally conductive polymer composite materials or of die-cast metal materials, preferably aluminum alloy, having a high thermal conductivity rating and high corrosion resistance.  
         [0029]    In more detail, the floor  12  supports the sleeves  14  as illustrated and is preferably rectangular in shape. A printed circuit board having a plurality of connectors mounted thereon may be positioned between the floor  12  and a base  20  for making electrical contact with corresponding connectors on the cards placed within the sleeves  14 .  
         [0030]    The floor  12  is preferably mounted to a hollow base  20  that serves as a support for the floor  12  and as a conduit or cable tray for routing cables that are wired to the cards housed within the sleeves  14 . The outside surface of the sleeve may be smooth as shown or the surface area may be increased for improved heat dissipation. For example, fins could be added into the outside surface of the sleeve. The base  20  does not extend the entire length of the floor  12  so as to present an open area  22  beneath a portion of the floor for receiving the cabling. In an alternative embodiment, the base  20  may be replaced with an adaptor plate that is dimensioned to fit an existing industry standard splice box such as the Western Electric 819 splice box.  
         [0031]    The sleeves  14  are supported by and extend upwardly from the floor  12  and are each configured for receiving and enclosing one electronic card. The sleeves  14  are preferably generally rectangular in cross-section and may be designed to house either single-wide or double-wide repeater cards. Each sleeve  14  has a pair of spaced-apart side walls, a pair of spaced-apart end walls, an open bottom connected to the floor  12 , and an open top for receiving an electronic card. Each sleeve  14  is sized so that a card positioned therein will reside in close proximity or preferably firmly contact the inner walls of the sleeve  14  to encourage conduction of heat generated from the card to the inner walls.  
         [0032]    The sleeves  14  are preferably positioned on the floor  12  in a spaced, rectangular array of two rows, with twelve sleeves in each row, for a total of twenty-four sleeves. However, the enclosure  10  may be provided with any number of rows and/or sleeves  14  as a matter of design choice without departing from the scope of the present invention.  
         [0033]    As best illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 4, the rows of sleeves  14  are spaced apart to define a central, longitudinally-extending air channel or open space  24  between the rows. As best illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 3, the sleeves  14  within each row are also spaced apart to define a plurality of transversely-extending air channels or open areas  26  between the sleeves. The longitudinally-extending air channels  24  and the transversely-extending air channels  26  form a grid of air passageways that permit ambient air to pass by the side walls and end walls of all of the sleeves  14 . The ambient air convects heat from the sleeves  14  so that heat is not transferred from sleeve to sleeve or to an enclosed chamber surrounding the sleeves  14  as with prior art enclosures.  
         [0034]    The lids  16 , 18  provide access to the cards when open and cover the open tops of the sleeves  14  to protect the repeater cards from water and other elements when closed. The lids  16 , 18  are preferably hingedly mounted to a flange  28 , which is in turn attached to the open tops of the sleeves  14 . The lids  16 ,  18  may also be provided with locks or other fasteners to prevent unauthorized access to the cards within the enclosure  10 .  
         [0035]    FIGS.  5 - 9  illustrate a telecommunications enclosure  100  constructed in accordance with a second preferred embodiment of the present invention. The enclosure  100  broadly includes a hollow base  102 , floors  120  mounted to the base  102  and a plurality of card-receiving sleeves  106  mounted to the floors  120 , and a lid  108  that provides access to the cards and covers the open ends of the sleeves  106 . The enclosure  100  may be constructed of any suitable materials but is preferably formed primarily of injection-molded, thermally-conductive polymer composite materials or die-cast metal materials, preferably aluminum alloy, having a high thermal conductivity rating.  
         [0036]    In more detail, the base  102  is provided for routing cabling to the cards housed in the enclosure  100 . A wiring fastener or interface connector  110  is preferably mounted to the base  102  to allow cabling to be quickly connected and/or disconnected from the enclosure  100 . The interface connector  110  is disclosed in more detail in co-pending provisional patent application entitled “Segmented Telecommunications Enclosure,” Serial No. 60/221,234, filed Jul. 27, 2000, hereby incorporated into the present application by reference.  
         [0037]    Each floor  120  is preferably rectangular in shape and is mounted to the base  102  for supporting the card-receiving sleeves  106 . A printed circuit board having a plurality of connectors mounted thereon is positioned between the floors  120  and the base  102  for making electrical contact with corresponding card edges or connectors on the electronic cards placed in the sleeves  106 .  
         [0038]    The sleeves  106  are supported by and extend outwardly from the floors  120  and are each configured to house a single electronic card  107  such as a single-wide or a double-wide repeater card. Each sleeve  106  is preferably rectangular in cross section and includes a pair of spaced-apart side walls, a pair or spaced apart end walls, an open bottom connected to the floors  120 , and an open top that together form a separate cell or card holder for receiving an electronic card  107 . Each sleeve  106  is sized so that an electronic card  107  positioned therein will reside in close proximity or preferably firmly contact the inner walls of the sleeve  106  to encourage conduction of heat generated from the cards to the walls. Biasing mechanisms such as leaf springs may be positioned within each sleeve  106  for firmly biasing the electronic cards  107  against the inner walls of the sleeve  106  to improve conduction of heat from the cards  107  to the sleeves  106 .  
         [0039]    The number of cards  107  that must be housed in a protective enclosure varies from application to application. Therefore, the enclosure  100  is preferably formed in sections or modules, each containing a plurality of individual sleeves  106 , so that any number of modules may be coupled together to hold any desired number of cards  107 . For example, the preferred enclosure illustrated in FIGS.  5 - 9  includes three sleeve modules  112 , 114 , 116 ; however, any number of sleeve modules may be provided as a matter of design choice.  
         [0040]    Each sleeve module  112 , 114 , 116  preferably includes four rows of card-receiving sleeves  106 . Each module also includes a row of protection card-receiving chambers  118  between the rows of card-receiving sleeves  106 . Each row of sleeves  106  and chambers  118  includes two individual sleeves or chambers. Thus, each sleeve module  112 ,  114 , 116  preferably includes a total of eight card-receiving sleeves  106  and two protection card-receiving chambers  118 .  
         [0041]    Protection cards  119  inserted in the chambers  118  protect the electronic cards  107  received within the sleeves  106  from power surges caused by lightning and other disturbances. The protection cards  119  and their associated test pins may be inserted and removed from the chambers  118  independently without first disconnecting the cards  107  positioned in the sleeves  106 . This allows the protection cards  119  to be quickly and easily serviced without disrupting the function of the cards  107  positioned within the sleeves  106 .  
         [0042]    Each sleeve module  112 , 114 , 116  includes one of the floors  120  attached to the open bottoms of the sleeves  106  and a top flange  122  attached to the open tops of the sleeves  106 . The floors  120  and top flanges  122  protect the cards  107  received within the sleeves  106  in case the enclosure  100  is dropped or struck  
         [0043]    When the enclosure  100  is provided with two or more sleeve modules  112 ,  114 ,  116  as illustrated, the modules  112 , 114 , 116  are aligned on the base  102  so that the four spaced-apart rows of sleeves  106  and the single row of protection card chambers  118  are in alignment along the length of the enclosure  100 . As best illustrated in FIGS. 7 and 8, the aligned rows of sleeves  106  and protection card chambers  118  define a plurality of longitudinally-extending air channels  124  that extend the entire length of the enclosure  100 .  
         [0044]    When three sleeve modules  112 , 114 ,  116  are mounted to the base  102  as illustrated, the aligned rows of sleeves each include six spaced-apart sleeves  106  that define a plurality of transversely-extending air channels  126  therebetween that intersect the longitudinally-extending air channels  124  as best illustrated in FIG. 9. The air channels  124 , 126  form a grid of air passageways that permit ambient air to pass by the side walls and the end walls of all of the sleeves  106  and the protection card chambers  118 . Ambient air in the air channels  124 , 126  convect heat from the sleeves  106  and the protection card chambers  118  so that heat is not transferred from sleeve to sleeve or to ambient air in an enclosed chamber as with prior art telecommunications enclosures.  
         [0045]    As best illustrated in FIGS. 6 and 11, the lid  108  is attached to the top flanges  122  of the sleeve modules  112 ,  114 ,  116  by a plurality of “floating” hinges  128 . Compressible gaskets  130  are preferably positioned between the lid  108  and the top flanges  122  to provide a seal therebetween when the lid  108  is closed. The hinges  128  retain the lid  108  on the sleeve modules  112 , 114 , 116  but do not compress the gaskets  130  when the lid  108  is closed. The hinges  128  may be mounted to internally threaded posts  132  on either side of the enclosure  100  making the door swing reversible with screws or other fasteners and may be quickly disconnected therefrom by simply removing the screws.  
         [0046]    The lid  108  includes a plurality of tubular bores  134  that are in alignment (when the lid  108  is closed) with a plurality of internally-threaded screw holes  136  formed in the top flanges  122  of the sleeve modules  112 , 114 ,  116  as illustrated in FIG. 6. Screws, bolts, or other fasteners may be inserted through the tubular bores  134  and threaded into the holes  136  to securely fasten the lid  108  to the sleeve modules  112 ,  114 , 116  and to compress the gaskets  130  between the lid  108  and the top flange  122 . Because the gaskets  130  are compressed by the fasteners extending through the bores  134  and into the holes  136 , but not the hinges  128 , a more uniform seal may be established around the entire perimeter of the lid  108 .  
         [0047]    As best illustrated in FIG. 6, the inside face of the lid  108  includes a plurality of intersecting ribs  138  that increase the rigidity and strength of the lid  108 . The ribs  138  also serve to bias the electronic cards  107  into the sleeves  106  when the lid  108  is closed. Biasing mechanisms  140  such as leaf springs may be mounted to the tops of the cards and compressed by the ribs  138  when the lid  108  is closed to further facilitate biasing of the cards into the sleeves  106 .  
         [0048]    Enclosures such as the ones disclosed in the present application are typically bolted or otherwise fastened to a wall or other structure. To do so, the enclosures must be manually held in place while they are being attached to the wall or other structure. Those skilled in the art will appreciate that this operation is very difficult, especially in manholes, and typically requires at least two persons to perform. FIGS.  10 - 12  illustrate a novel mounting structure that permits an installer to more easily mount the enclosure  100  to a wall or other surface of a manhole or other structure. As best illustrated in FIGS. 10 and 11, the mounting structure includes a pair of mounting brackets  142 , a plurality of specially-designed bolts  144 , and a pair of elongated mounting rails  146 . The mounting brackets  142  are somewhat U-shaped and each present an elongated bight section  148  and a pair of depending spaced-apart legs  150 . The bight section  148  is bolted or otherwise fastened to the bottom of the enclosure base  102 . The legs  150  extend outwardly from the enclosure base  102  and each includes an internally-threaded, fastener-receiving opening  152 .  
         [0049]    The bolts  144  each include a pair of spaced-apart, threaded sections  154 ,  156  separated by a reduced diameter groove  158 . The threaded sections  154 ,  156  have a diameter approximately equal to the diameter of the fastener-receiving openings  152  and the groove  158  has a reduced diameter. One bolt  144  is threaded through each of the fastener-receiving openings  152  in the bracket legs  150  so that the first threaded section  154  is threaded within the opening and the second threaded section  156  and reduced diameter groove  158  extend from the back side of the brackets  142 .  
         [0050]    The mounting rails  146  are generally U-shaped in cross section and each include a plurality of longitudinally-spaced T-shaped mounting slots  147 . Each of the slots  147  includes an enlarged upper area (top of the T) and a relatively smaller width lower area (bottom of the T).  
         [0051]    The rails  146  are bolted or otherwise secured to a standoff bracket (not shown) which is in turn bolted or otherwise secured to a wall or surface of a manhole or other structure as illustrated in FIGS. 11 and 12. The rails can be mounted either vertically or horizontally. For vertical mounting, the enclosure  100  with brackets  142  and bolts  144  fixed thereto may be mounted to the rails  146  by inserting the protruding ends of the bolts  144  into the upper areas of four of the T-slots and then lowering the enclosure  100  until the grooves of the bolts  144  rest in the lower sections of the T-slots. At this point, the threaded sections  156  of the bolts  144  extend through the back side of the rails  146  so that they can receive nuts  157  as illustrated in FIG. 12 to securely fasten the enclosure  100  to the rails  146 .  
         [0052]    The above-described mounting procedure allows a single installer to maneuver the enclosure  100  into a manhole or other structure and then mount the enclosure to rails on the wall of the manhole without having to support the weight of the enclosure while securing it to the rails. This significantly simplifies and eases the installation of the enclosure and reduces operator strain and injury.  
         [0053]    This mounting configuration orients the cards  107  in the enclosure  100  horizontally for optimal heat transfer from the cards  107  and sleeves  106 . However, the enclosure  100  may also be mounted so that the cards  107  are oriented vertically or at an angle.  
         [0054]    [0054]FIG. 13 illustrates a third preferred embodiment of the present invention. The upper portion  1000  of FIG. 13 illustrates the enclosure fitted for an existing industry standard splice box such as the Western Electric  819  case  1002 .  
         [0055]    Although the invention has been described with reference to the preferred embodiment illustrated in the attached drawing figures, it is noted that equivalents may be employed and substitutions made herein without departing from the scope of the invention as recited in the claims.  
         [0056]    Having thus described the preferred embodiment of the invention, what is claimed as new and desired to be protected by Letters Patent includes the following: