Patent ID: 7957133

Claim:
A method for distributing air flow in a chassis, comprising: disposing a first set of baffles within an intake volume defined by the chassis in a stepwise configuration, the chassis having a first wall, a second wall opposing the first wall, and a first side wall and a second side wall, the second side wall opposing the first side wall, the first side wall and the second side wall extending between the first wall and the second wall, a chassis cover on top of and extending between the first wall, the second wall, the first side wall, and the second side wall, a chassis base on bottom of and extending between the first wall, the second wall, the first side wall, and the second side wall, the chassis base opposing the chassis cover, relative to an air inlet defined by the first wall of the chassis, each baffle element of the first set of baffles extending along a length of the chassis between the first side wall and the second side wall and the each baffle element of the first set of baffles having a baffle face oriented substantially orthogonal to a direction of flow of an air stream through the air inlet; disposing a second set of baffles within an outtake volume defined by the chassis, the outtake volume opposing the intake volume, the second set of baffles having exactly three baffles, a first baffle element of the second set of baffles being positioned between the first wall of the chassis and the second wall of the chassis, a second baffle element of the second set of baffles being positioned between the first wall of the chassis and the first baffle element of the second set of baffles, and a third baffle element of the second set of baffles being positioned between the first baffle element of the second set of baffles and the second wall of the chassis; directing, by the first set of baffles, at least a portion of the air stream flowing from the air inlet along a first direction, the air inlet defined by the first wall of the chassis, to a second direction toward a circuit board disposed between the air inlet and an air outlet defined by the second wall of the chassis and disposed between the intake volume defined by the chassis and the outtake volume defined by the chassis, such that the air stream flows substantially parallel to a planar surface of the circuit board, the first direction being substantially orthogonal to each baffle face of the first set of baffles and the second direction being substantially orthogonal to the first direction; and dividing, by the second set of baffles, the air stream flowing in the second direction substantially parallel to the planar surface of the circuit board, into a plurality of air streams.