Apparatus for cooling telecommunications equipment in a rack

Abstract

A rack contains a number of shelves arranged on top of each other, which carry, among other things, board magazines with printed circuit boards. An apparatus for cooling the aforesaid printed circuit boards containing telecommunications or electronic equipment in each rack is based on the principle that one or more shelves in the rack are integrated each with its own heat exchanger, which is equipped with cooling flanges and at least one tubular coil. The heat exchanger is connected to a cooler for a coolant. The heat exchanger covers the greater part of the horizontal plane of the shelf. Heat-transfer members with extensive heat-conducting contact surfaces are provided between the board magazines and the body of the shelf and between the latter and the heat exchangers. Each heat exchanger and the cooler are arranged to permit a high packing density of the aforesaid telecommunications equipment in the rack and to contribute towards removing heat emitted by the equipment by means of heat conduction via the aforesaid heat-transfer members. In one embodiment (FIG. 7), the total shelf cooling function provides for the aforesaid removal of heat unassisted. This heat removal is also provided for by natural convection at the hot and cold surfaces and by radiation. In a second embodiment (FIG. 1), the shelf cooling function is combined with a row cooling function (open or closed), air conditioner or similar installation.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.