Housing for circuit cards

A housing for a plurality of electronic circuit cards comprising:

• a shell having opposing first and second walls and a third wall substantially perpendicular to the first and second walls and interconnecting the first and second walls;
• a single door adapted to selectively close the shell, the door located opposite the third wall when closing the shell;
• a first shelf having opposing first and second edges respectively frictionally engaging the first and second walls and that thermally couple the first shelf to the shell, the first shelf also having a plurality of slots disposed on a surface of the first shelf;
• a second shelf having opposing first and second edges respectively in direct contact with the first and second walls and that thermally couple the second shelf to the shell, the second shelf having a plurality of slots disposed on a surface of the second shelf;
• wherein the first and second shelves define a space therebetween for containing the plurality of electronic circuit cards, wherein each of the slots of the first shelf respectively align with each of the slots of the second shelf to form a plurality of aligned pairs of slots, each of the aligned pairs of slots for receiving each of the plurality of electronic circuit cards;
• a backplane disposed on the third wall, the backplane electrically connectable to each of a plurality of electronic circuit cards;
• and
• wherein the second shelf is removably attached to the shell to enable the backplane to be installed or removed via the single door.

An electronic module comprising:

• a housing comprising:
• a shell,
• a single door adapted to selectively close the shell;
• a first shelf disposed within the shell so that first and second edges of the first shelf frictionally engage the shell and that thermally couple the first shelf to the shell, the first shelf also having a plurality of slots disposed on a surface of the first shelf,
• a backplane disposed within the shell, and
• a second shelf disposed within the shell so that first and second edges of the second shelf directly contact the shell and that thermally couple the second shelf to the shell, the second shelf having a plurality of slots disposed on a surface of the second shelf, wherein the second shelf is removably attached to the shell to enable the backplane to be installed or removed via the single door;
• and
• a plurality of electronic circuit cards disposed between the first and second shelves such that opposing edges of each of the plurality of electronic circuit cards respectively reside in one of the plurality of slots disposed on the surfaces of the first and second shelves, wherein each of the plurality of electronic circuit cards is electrically connected to the backplane and secured to the first and second shelves.

A method for manufacturing a housing for electronic circuit cards, the method comprising:

• forming a shell having an opening;
• forming a single door;
• pivotally attaching the single door to the shell adjacent the opening such that the door selectively covers the opening to selectively close the shell;
• disposing a first shelf within the shell so that opposing first and second edges of the first shelf frictionally engage the shell and that thermally couple the first shelf to the shell;
• attaching the first shelf to the shell;
• disposing a backplane within the shell;
• disposing a second shelf within the shell so as to form a space between the first and second shelves for containing the electronic circuit cards;
• and
• removably attaching the second shelf to the shell so that opposing first and second edges of the second shelf directly contact the shell and that thermally couple the second shelf to the shell, wherein removable attachment of the second shelf enables the backplane to be installed or removed through the opening.

A method for manufacturing an electronic module, the method comprising:

• forming a shell having an opening;
• forming a single door;
• pivotally attaching the single door to the shell adjacent the opening such that the door selectively covers the opening to selectively close the shell;
• disposing a first shelf within the shell so that opposing first and second edges of the first shelf frictionally engage the shell and that thermally couple the first shelf to the shell;
• attaching the first shelf to the shell;
• disposing a backplane within the shell;
• removably attaching a second shelf to the shell so that opposing first and second edges of the second shelf directly contact the shell and that thermally couple the second shelf to the shell, wherein removable attachment of the second shelf enables the backplane to be installed or removed through the opening;
• inserting each of a plurality of electronic circuit cards into one of a plurality of slots disposed on a surface of the first shelf and one of a plurality of slots disposed on a surface of the second shelf so that each of the plurality of electronic circuit cards is located between the first and second shelves, wherein the surfaces of the first and second shelves are substantially parallel to each other and face each other;
• and
• electrically connecting each of the plurality of electronic circuit cards to the backplane.

A method for removing a backplane from an electronic module, the method comprising:

• opening a single door of a housing of the electronic module to uncover an opening in a shell of the housing;
• disconnecting each of a plurality of electronic circuit cards of the electronic module from the backplane, wherein the plurality of electronic circuit cards are located between a first shelf thermally coupled to the shell by direct contact with the shell and a second shelf thermally coupled to the shell by frictional engagement with the shell, wherein the first shelf is removably attached to the shell;
• removing each of the plurality of electronic circuit cards from the electronic module through the opening;
• detaching the first shelf from the shell;
• removing the first shelf from the electronic module through the opening;
• detaching the backplane from the shell;
• and
• removing the backplane from the module through the opening.

A method for installing a backplane in an electronic module, the method comprising:

• passing the backplane through an opening in a shell of a housing of the electronic module;
• attaching the backplane to the shell;
• passing a first shelf through the opening;
• removably attaching the first shelf to the shell so that the first shelf makes direct contact with the shell and that thermally couple the first shelf to the shell;
• passing a plurality of electronic circuit cards through the opening;
• inserting each of the plurality of electronic circuit cards between the first shelf and a second shelf that is thermally coupled to the shell by frictional engagement with the shell;
• electrically connecting each of the plurality of electronic circuit cards to the backplane;
• and
• closing the opening using a single door of the housing.