Patent ID: 7878888

Claim:
An enclosure comprising: a housing having an interior; a rack disposed within the interior of the housing, the rack being configured to support rack-mounted equipment; a front plenum disposed along a front of the rack in the interior of the housing; a side plenum disposed along a side of the rack in the interior of the housing; and an air distribution unit for use in the equipment rack, the air distribution unit comprising: an air distribution unit housing defining an interior chamber and configured to be supported by the rack; at least one air intake vent defined along a front panel of the air distribution unit housing, the at least one air intake vent being disposed and being configured to provide fluid communication between the interior chamber and the front plenum; at least one exhaust air vent defined along a side panel of the air distribution unit housing and being disposed at a substantially perpendicular orientation relative to the at least one air intake vent, the at least one exhaust air vent being further disposed and being configured to provide fluid communication between the interior chamber and the side plenum; and at least one fan disposed within the interior chamber and configured to draw in air through the at least one air intake vent into its interior chamber and to vent the air from its interior chamber out through the at least one exhaust air vent, wherein the side plenum is configured with at least one opening to receive the air from the air distribution unit and to deliver the air from the side plenum to the rack mounted equipment, and wherein the air passes across the rack mounted equipment and enters a plenum on an opposite side from the side plenum.