Enclosure and method of cooling same using ambient air

Abstract

An enclosure houses heat-producing equipment and includes an air conditioner, a fan, and at least one controller for controlling the air conditioner and the fan. The controller runs the air conditioner when a temperature of the interior is greater than or equal to an on temperature and turns the air conditioner off when the temperature of the interior is less than or equal to an off temperature. If the ambient temperature outside the enclosure is less than the off temperature and the air conditioner is off, the controller turns the fan on until the temperature of the interior is less than the off temperature by a first amount and then turns the fan off. Also a method for controlling the temperature of an enclosure using an air conditioner and a fan.

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS[0001]The present application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 61 / 436,550, filed Jan. 26, 2011, the entire contents of which are hereby incorporated by reference.FIELD OF THE INVENTION[0002]The present invention is directed to an enclosure suitable for housing heat-producing communications equipment and to a method of cooling same, and, more specifically, to an air conditioned enclosure having a fan for drawing ambient air into the enclosure and a controller configured to operate the fan under predetermined temperature and / or humidity conditions and to a method of cooling the enclosure with the fan.BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION[0003]It is often necessary to provide telecommunications equipment in outdoor locations at remote sites, near cell-phone towers, for example, and such equipment must be protected from the environment and maintained in a predetermined temperature range. Enclosures, which may be constructed from ...

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

[0005]This and other problems are addressed by embodiments of the present invention, a first aspect of which comprises a method of regulating the temperature of an enclosure housing heat-producing equipment. The method includes providing an air conditioner having a first state in which the air conditioner cools an interior of the enclosure and a second state in which the air conditioner does not cool the interior, providing a fan having a first condition in which the fan draws air into the interior and a second condition in which the fan does not draw air into the interior, and providing at least one controller for controlling the air conditioner and the fan. The method also includes detecting a temperature of the interior of the enclosure, placing the air conditioner in the first state and cooling the interior using the air conditioner when a temperature of the interior is greater than or equal to an “on” temperature and placing the air conditioner in the second state and ceasing to cool the interior using the air conditioner when the temperature of the interior is less than or equal to an “off” temperature, the off temperature being less than the on temperature by a predetermined value. The method also includes determining an ambient temperature outside the enclosure, detecting a shift of the air conditioner from the first state to the second state and based on the air conditioner shifting from the first state to the second state, if the ambient temperature is less than the off temperature, placing the fan in the first condition to draw air into the interior until the temperature of the interior is less than the off temperature by a first amount and, in response to the temperature of the interior becoming less than the off temperature by the first amount, placing the fan in the second condition.

[0006]Another aspect of the invention comprises a method of supplementing the cooling of an air conditioned enclosure cooled by an air conditioner, wherein the air conditioner has a controller for setting a maximum desired temperature for the enclosure, a first state in which the air conditioner cools an interior of the enclosure and a second state in which the air conditioner does not cool the interior. The method includes providing a fan having a first condition in which the fan draws air into the interior at a first rate and a second condition in which the fan does n

Problems solved by technology

Heavy cell phone use may persist into the evening, and the telecommunica

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