Integrated card rail and cooling module for embedded computing systems

A flow-through card rail module comprising:

• a base plate defining a first major face and a second major face opposite the first major face;
• an end wall formed on a first end of the base plate;
• a pair of side walls formed on the sides of the base plate and extending from the first end and terminating at a marginal region of the base plate;
• a plurality of guide rails formed on the first major face and extending from the first end to the marginal region of the base plate, each guide rail having a first section of a cooling passage formed therein which extends from a fluid inlet formed through the end wall to a fluid outlet, wherein adjacent guide rails define a card channel therebetween which is configured to receive a circuit card, wherein adjacent guide rails define a card channel therebetween which is configured to receive a circuit card;
• a corrugated structure formed on the second major face including an outer face having a plurality of ridges and furrows and a plurality of elongated cells, each elongated cell having a second section of the cooling passage formed therein which extends from the fluid inlet to the fluid outlet;
• and
• a plurality of internal walls subdividing the first and second sections of the cooling passage to form a honeycombed cross-section in the guide rails and elongated cells;
• wherein the flow-through card rail module is configured to receive a cooling fluid at the fluid inlet, direct the cooling fluid through the cooling passages, and exhaust the cooling fluid at the fluid outlet.

A circuit module chassis assembly for an embedded computing system comprising:

• a chassis assembly supporting a card rail module including a pair of card rails arranged in a spaced facing relationship and configured to support a circuit card therebetween;
• a power supply electrically coupled to the card rail module and configured to power the circuit card;
• and
• a cooling system operable to draw a cooling fluid through the card rail module,
• wherein each of the pair of the card rails comprises a flow-through card rail module having:
• a base plate defining a first major face and a second major face opposite the first major face;
• a plurality of elongated guide rails formed on the first major face and extending from a first end of the base plate toward a second end opposite the first end, a first section of a cooling passage formed in each elongated guide rail from a fluid inlet to a fluid outlet and passes through the base plate from the first major face to the second major face, wherein adjacent guide rails define a card channel therebetween for receiving the circuit card;
• a corrugated structure formed on the second major face including a plurality of elongated cells extending from the first end toward the second end of the base plate, each elongated cell having a second section of the cooling passage which extends from the fluid inlet to the fluid outlet, wherein the fluid inlet is in communication with the cooling system;
• wherein the flow-through card rail module receives the cooling fluid from the cooling system at the fluid inlet, directs the cooling fluid through the cooling passages, and exhausts the cooling fluid at the fluid outlet.