Multiple printed circuit board heat transfer guide plates
AssigneeTellabs Bedford, Inc.
InventorsDavid M. Austin, Daniel J. Calanni, Lawrence M. Giacoma, Jay H. Dorval
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A mechanical set of plates is able to simultaneously and quickly removably secure and remove one or more printed circuit boards (PCBs) in an enclosure in one single motion, and act as a heat sink to conduct heat away from the PCBs. The PCBs are removably secured through a clamping mechanism that may be a screw type or cam lever action by clamping down on the exposed card edges, thus allowing thermal transfer to begin on all cards. The apparatus may be used with any enclosure requiring thermal transfer from PCBs to the enclosure, including cages and enclosures that may or may not use forced airflow (fans or blowers) for heat dissipation.
Claims23
An apparatus for securing at least one electronic module in a holder, the apparatus comprising:
- a stationary guide plate including a plurality of stationary boundaries;
- a movable guide plate including a plurality of movable boundaries, each movable boundary being positioned opposite a respective stationary boundary of the stationary guide plate, a plurality of channels being formed by a respective stationary and a movable boundary, the channels serving to guide at least one electronic module into position in the holder;
- and
- a clamping mechanism configured to enable repositioning of the movable guide plate in a manner where the widths of the plurality of channels substantially simultaneously increase or decrease for removably securing an electronic module in a holder.
A method for securing at least one electronic module in a holder, the method comprising:
- using a stationary guide plate providing a plurality of stationary boundaries;
- using a movable guide plate providing a plurality of movable boundaries, each movable boundary being opposite a respective stationary boundary of the stationary guide plate;
- and
- forming channels between respective pairs of movable boundaries and stationary boundaries, the channels enabling at least one electronic module to be guided into position in the holder, and widths of the channels being substantially simultaneously increasable or decreasable by positioning the movable boundaries.
A system for securing at least one electronic module in a holder, the system comprising:
- stationary guide plate means for providing a plurality of stationary boundaries;
- movable guide plate means for providing a plurality of movable boundaries, each movable boundary being opposite its respective stationary boundary of the stationary guide plate;
- means for guiding the at least one electronic module into position in the holder in a plurality of channels formed by the pairs of stationary and movable boundary pairs;
- and
- means for positioning the movable boundaries in a manner where widths of the plurality of channels are substantially simultaneously increased or decreased.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.