US 9,961,018 B2Granted

Cableless connection apparatus and method for communication between chassis

AssigneeIntel Corporation

InventorsMatthew J. Adiletta, Aaron Gorius, Myles Wilde, Hugh Wilkinson, Amit Y. Kumar

Life of this patent

Estimating the term…

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Abstract

Apparatus and methods for cableless connection of components within chassis and between separate chassis. Pairs of Extremely High Frequency (EHF) transceiver chips supporting very short length millimeter-wave wireless communication links are configured to pass radio frequency signals through holes in one or more metal layers in separate chassis and/or frames, enabling components in the separate chassis to communicate without requiring cables between the chassis. Various configurations are disclosed, including multiple configurations for server chassis, storage chassis and arrays, and network/switch chassis. The EHF-based wireless links support link bandwidths of up to 6 gigabits per second, and may be aggregated to facilitate multi-lane links.

Claims9

Dependent claims

An apparatus, comprising:

a first chassis, configured to be installed in a first slot in a standardized 19 inch rack and including a sheet metal base in which a first plurality of holes are formed and having a backplane mounted therein parallel to the sheet metal base, the backplane including a first plurality of extremely high frequency (EHF) transceiver chips mounted to its underside, each EHF transceiver chip disposed proximate to a respective hole in the sheet metal base;
and
a second chassis, configured to be installed in a second slot in the rack beneath the first slot and including a plurality of blades or modules, wherein at least a portion of the blades or modules includes an EHF transceiver chip that is configured to communicate with a respective EHF transceiver chip in the first plurality of EHF transceiver chips when the first and second chassis are installed in the rack to implement a plurality of millimeter-wave wireless links facilitated by respective pairs of EHF transceiver chips, wherein radio frequency signals for each millimeter-wave wireless link pass through a respective hole in the sheet metal base of the first chassis.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.

Facts

Application: 15/262,276Filed 12 Sep 2016 · continuation
Priority: 3 Apr 2014
Published: US 2016/0380923 A129 Dec 2016
Granted: 1 May 2018
Term ends: Not estimatedThe source records don’t support an estimate.

Classification7 codes

H04L 67/10
Protocols: in which an application is distributed across nodes in the network
H04B 1/40
Transceivers, i.e. devices in which transmitter and receiver form a structural unit and in which at least one part is used for functions of…: circuits
H04L 49/35
Packet switching elements: switches specially adapted for specific applications
H05K 7/1492
Cabinets therefor, e.g. chassis or racks or mechanical interfaces between blades and support structures: having electrical distribution…

Family

Application14/244,475Parent of this continuation · filed 3 Apr 2014
US 2016/0380923 A1Pre-grant publication · published 29 Dec 2016
US 9,450,635 B2Parent of this continuation
US 2015/0288410 A1Published application
US 9,961,018 B2This patent

From the US filing history. Foreign family members aren’t listed.