Abstract:
A chassis assembly for an information handling system or computer system is provided in which an outlet assembly coupled to the chassis includes a shelf that is positioned beyond the boundaries of the base of the chassis. The shelf includes an opening for allowing forced air to exit the interior of the information handling system.

Description:
TECHNICAL FIELD  
       [0001]     The present disclosure relates generally to the field of information handling systems, including computing systems, and, more particularly, to a chassis and a method for directing the flow of air through a chassis.  
       BACKGROUND  
       [0002]     As the value and use of information continues to increase, individuals and businesses continually seek additional ways to process and store information. One option available to users of information is an information handling system. An information handling system generally processes, compiles, stores, and/or communicates information or data for business, personal, or other purposes thereby allowing users to take advantage of the value of the information. Because technology and information handling needs and requirements vary between different users or applications, information handling systems may also vary with regard to the kind of information that is handled, how the information is handled, how much information is processed, stored, or communicated, and how quickly and efficiently the information may be processed, stored, or communicated. The variations in information handling systems allow for information handling systems to be general or configured for a specific user or specific use, including such uses as financial transaction processing, airline reservations, enterprise data storage, or global communications. In addition, information handling systems may include a variety of hardware and software components that may be configured to process, store, and communicate information and may include one or more computer systems, data storage systems, and networking systems.  
         [0003]     An information handling system may include a chassis, which serves as a frame or base for the physical components of the computer system. The components of the information handling system, including any printed circuit boards and power supplies, are positioned on or within the chassis. A cover may be coupled to the chassis to form a complete enclosure for the internal contents of the information handling system.  
         [0004]     A critical consideration in the operation of an information handling system is the cooling of the interior of the system. Components within the interior of the computer system generate heat, and this heat must be dissipated or evacuated from the interior of the computer system. Excessive heat within the interior of a computer can harm the operation of the components of the computer system. Complicating the dissipation of heat within a computer system is the desire for increasingly smaller chassis configurations in computer systems that, despite their size, are able to meet increasingly higher performance characteristics. In this environment, the chassis and interior of a computer system may be crowded with components, effectively reducing or eliminating the pathway for the flow of air for the purpose of heat dissipation within the interior computer system.  
       SUMMARY  
       [0005]     In accordance with the present disclosure, a chassis assembly for an information handling system or computer system is provided in which an outlet assembly coupled to the chassis includes a shelf that is positioned beyond the boundaries of the base of the chassis. The shelf includes an opening for allowing forced air to exit the interior of the information handling system. The plane of the shelf is generally parallel to the plane of the base of the chassis.  
         [0006]     A technical advantage of the chassis design disclosed herein is that the disclosed chassis design does not consume space within the computer system or the surface area of the base of the chassis. The information handling system that is associated with the chassis design is able to achieve improved air cooling characteristics of the design while not sacrificing valuable space within the interior of the computer system. Another technical advantage of the chassis design disclosed herein is that the design does not cause the associated information handling system or computer system to exceed the applicable height requirements for rack-mounted devices. As such, devices using the chassis design disclosed herein can be used with racks having standardized size constraints. Other technical advantages will be apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art in view of the following specification, claims, and drawings.  
     
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0007]     A more complete understanding of the present embodiments and advantages thereof may be acquired by referring to the following description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which like reference numbers indicate like features, and wherein:  
         [0008]      FIG. 1  is a pictorial view of a chassis assembly;  
         [0009]      FIG. 2  is a first pictorial view of an outlet assembly of a chassis assembly; and  
         [0010]      FIG. 3  is a second pictorial view of an outlet assembly of a chassis assembly.  
     
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION  
       [0011]     For purposes of this disclosure, an information handling system may include any instrumentality or aggregate of instrumentalities operable to compute, classify, process, transmit, receive, retrieve, originate, switch, store, display, manifest, detect, record, reproduce, handle, or utilize any form of information, intelligence, or data for business, scientific, control, or other purposes. For example, an information handling system may be a person computer, a network storage device, or any other suitable device and may vary in size, shape, performance, functionality, and price. The information handling system may include random access memory (RAM), one or more processing resources such as a central processing unit (CPU) or hardware or software control logic, ROM, and/or other types of nonvolatile memory. Additional components of the information handling system may include one or more disk storage drives, one or more network ports for communication with external devices as well as various input and output (I/O) devices, such as a keyboard, a mouse, and a video display. The information handling system may also include one or more buses operable to transmit communications between the various hardware components. An information handling system may include a chassis assembly.  
         [0012]     Shown in  FIG. 1  is a chassis assembly, which is indicated generally at  10 , for a computer system or other information handling system. Chassis assembly  10  includes a base  12  that is bounded by a sides  13 , a front plate  15 , and a rear edge  17 . Chassis assembly  10  includes a number of partition elements  14  that serve the purpose of separating the surface area of the base of the chassis assembly into defined regions. Separating the surface area of base  12  into regions establishes boundaries for the placement of components of the computer system within the chassis of the computer system. The manufacture of a computer system involves the placement of components within the chassis. The chassis is coupled to an upper cover and a lower cover to form an enclosure for the components of the computer system.  
         [0013]     Rack-mounted devices, including server systems, have predefined size limitations or characteristics. These characteristics define limitations to the shape or dimensions of rack-mounted devices so that devices of different manufacturers may fit within racks having a standardized shape. One standard of measurement for rack-mounted devices is the height of the device. The height of a 1U rack-mounted device is 1.75″; the height of a 2U device is 3.50″; the height of a 3U device is 5.25″; the height of a 4U device is 7.00″ and so on. The chassis of  FIG. 1  is a chassis for a 1U rack-mounted device.  
         [0014]     The flow of air through the interior of the chassis is indicated by the larger arrow, which will be referred to herein as the air flow indicator. The air flow is created and directed by one or more fans (not shown) in the interior of the computer system and positioned within the chassis. The fans create a flow of air through the interior of the computer system. The air flow absorbs heat from the interior of the computer system. The heated air then exits the interior of the computer system. In the chassis of the example of  FIG. 1 , air enters the chassis though an air flow inlet  16  and exists the chassis through an air flow outlet assembly  18 . It should be recognized that a flow of air through the interior of the computer system could be caused by an element or condition other than one or more fans positioned in the interior of the computer system.  
         [0015]      FIG. 2  is a closer view of the air flow outlet assembly  18  in the rear of chassis assembly  10 . A lower rear plate  20  is coupled to base  12  of the chassis assembly. Formed in lower rear plate  20  are a number of openings for data and power connections to components housed within the computer system. A shelf  22  is coupled to lower rear plate  20  and is arranged so that the plane of shelf  22  is generally parallel to the plane of base  12 . The height of shelf  22 , which is defined as the distance between the plane of shelf  22  and the plane of base  12 , is roughly half of the height of sides  13 . Coupled to shelf  22  is an upper rear plate  25 , the plane of which is generally parallel to the plane of lower rear plate  20 . Upper rear plate  25  extends to the height of sides  13  of the chassis assembly so that, when an upper cover and a lower cover (not shown) are placed around chassis assembly  10 , an enclosure is formed. The intersection of lower rear plate  20  and base  12  forms a portion of the rear edge  17  of chassis assembly  10 . Shelf  22  extends a distance beyond the rear edge  17  such that shelf  22  is not above base  12  of the chassis assembly. Shelf of  FIG. 2  extends for only a portion of the length of rear edge  17 .  
         [0016]     Formed within shelf  22  are a number of air flow openings  24 . The plurality of air flow openings  24  are formed in the shape of a lattice to allow the flow of air while prevent objects from entering the interior of the computer system. A pathway for the flow of air though the air flow openings  24  of shelf  22  is shown in  FIG. 2 . The flow of air is indicated by the air flow indicator. As indicated in  FIG. 2 , the arrangement of air flow outlet assembly  18  permits air to flow out of the rear of the chassis, while preserving the space within the interior of the chassis. The air flow openings of shelf  22  are generally not positioned above the base of the chassis. To provide for the flow of air through the rear of the chassis assembly, a shelf  22  is extended outward a distance beyond the rear edge of the chassis assembly. Shelf  22 , which is elevated a distance between the base of the chassis assembly and the height of the sides of the chassis assembly, includes a number of air flow openings  24  for the passage of air. The shelf is arranged in the chassis such that the shelf does not consume space in the interior of the chassis.  
         [0017]     Shown in  FIG. 3  is another view of the air flow outlet assembly  18  in the rear of chassis assembly  10 . The flow of air of  FIG. 3  is indicated by the air flow indicator. As indicated with respect to  FIG. 2 , air flow outlet assembly  18  includes a shelf  22  that includes a number of air flow openings  24 . As can be seen from  FIGS. 2 and 3 , shelf  22  is sufficiently higher than base  12  that shelf  22  does not interfere with those data and power connections coupled to the computer system through lower rear plate  20 . Similarly, the flow of air through the air flow openings  24  is not obstructed by presence of any data or power connections.  
         [0018]     The structure of the chassis described herein provides for increased cooling within the interior of the chassis without consuming additional space within the interior of the chassis. Although the height of a rack-mounted is bounded by a standardized height requirement, a chassis, and is associated rack-mounted device, do not have a fixed length. The design of the chassis described herein extends a shelf a short distance beyond the rear edge of the base of the chassis to provide for a locations of air flow outlets that are easily reached by the air flow that is traversing the interior of the computer system. Although the placement of shelf a short distance beyond the rear edge of the base of the chassis does extend the length of the chassis assembly, the increased length is not significant in terms of operation or physical configuration and improves the operational capability of the associated computer system.  
         [0019]     Although the chassis and the method for directing air flow through a chassis has been described herein with reference to a computer system, it should be recognized that chassis and method disclosed herein may be used with varieties of information handling systems other than computer systems. Although the chassis design disclosed herein has been described with respect to a 1U rack-mounted device, the chassis design disclosed herein has equal applicability to rack-mounted devices of heights other than the 1.75″ height of a 1U device. Although this specification often speaks of various surfaces (base, sides, walls, shelves) being coupled to one another, it should be recognized that the chassis described herein could be formed of a single sheet of metal or other material. As such, surface may be formed by manipulating a single piece of material to form multiple surfaces that are said to be coupled to one another, as the term coupled is used in this disclosure. Although the present disclosure has been described in detail, it should be understood that various changes, substitutions, and alterations can be made hereto without departing from the spirit and the scope of the invention as defined by the appended claims.