Rack enclosure

An air distribution system for use in a rack that holds rack-mounted equipment, the system comprising:

• an air distribution unit including a housing defining an interior chamber, at least one intake vent defined in a front panel of the housing and configured to provide fluid communication between the interior chamber and an area external to the housing, and at least one exhaust vent defined in a side panel of the housing, the housing being configured to be disposed in the rack and to direct air from the interior chamber substantially laterally through the at least one exhaust vent when coupled to the rack;
• at least one fan coupled to and disposed within the housing and configured to draw air from the area external to the housing through the at least one intake vent, and to force the drawn-in air out of the air distribution unit through the at least one exhaust vent;
• and
• a baffle plate configured to connect along a rear vertical rail of the rack and further configured to extend from the rear vertical rail to a rear portion of one or more components of the rack-mounted equipment, the baffle plate being disposed to inhibit flow of exhaust air from an area at the back of the rack to an area along a side of the rack.

A modular air distribution unit for use in a rack that holds rack-mounted equipment, the rack-mounted equipment having side air intake vents, the air distribution unit comprising:

• a housing;
• a fan connected to the housing and configured to draw air from a first region external to the housing into a second region internal to the housing and to force the air from the second region into a third region internal to the housing in which the fan is disposed;
• and
• means for directing the air forced into the third region laterally through at least one side exhaust vent defined in the housing and adjacent the side air intake vents of the rack-mounted equipment.

An equipment enclosure comprising:

• an enclosed housing including a top panel, a bottom panel, a first side panel, a second side panel, a front panel having formed therein a number of openings to allow air to flow through the openings into an interior of the enclosed housing, and a rear panel having formed therein a number of openings to allow exhaust air to vent from within the interior to an area external to the enclosed housing;
• an internal frame centered in the interior and spaced from the first side panel and the second side panel and coupled to the top panel and the first and the second side panels to allow mounting of equipment in an equipment area formed by the internal frame;
• and
• an air distribution unit mounted to the internal frame within the equipment area defining an interior chamber, the air distribution unit having at least a first intake vent disposed in fluid communication with the chamber and the openings of the front panel and at least a first fan disposed in the chamber, the first fan being in fluid communication with the at least first intake vent and at least a first side exhaust vent disposed in fluid communication with the chamber, the first fan being further disposed and configured to draw air from the openings of the front panel through the at least first intake vent into the chamber, and to force drawn-in air from the chamber through the at least first side exhaust vent to an area external to the air distribution unit defined between one of the internal frame and the first side panel and the internal frame and the second side panel.

A method of cooling equipment components disposed in a rack, the components being disposed above one another in the rack and including fans to draw air from first sides of the components through the components and to expel the drawn-in air from opposite second sides of the components to achieve side-to-side airflow, the method comprising:

• drawing air from a first region external to and near a front of the rack with at least one fan disposed in an air path defined by one or more walls disposed within an internal chamber of a rack-mounted air distribution unit housing, the at least one fan and the air path configured to guide the drawn-in air along the air path and to force the drawn-in air from the air path to a side region along a side of the rack;
• guiding the air into the front of the rack and into a second region along the air path;
• and
• forcing the drawn-in air with the at least one fan laterally from the second region to the side region along the side of the rack to provide cooling air from which the equipment components may draw to achieve side-to-side airflow.