Self-cooling chassis for communication devices

Abstract

A self-cooling chassis for a communication device. The chassis includes a top housing including a first set of input / output (I / O) connectors disposed along a top housing front surface. The top housing is configured to house at least one processor communicatively coupled to the first set of I / O connectors. The top housing has a top surface including a plurality of thermal fins configured to dissipate heat from the at least one processor. The top housing has a top housing opening. The chassis includes a bottom housing including a second set of I / O connectors disposed along a bottom housing front surface. The bottom housing houses I / O circuitry. The I / O circuitry communicatively couples the second set of I / O connectors to the at least one processor. The bottom housing has a bottom housing opening. The chassis includes guide pins configured to be inserted into the top housing opening and the bottom housing opening. The top housing and the bottom housing are configured to connect by aligning the top housing front surface with the bottom housing front surface and aligning the guide pins into the top housing opening and the bottom housing opening.

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] In some implementations, the present subject matter relates to telecommunications systems, and more particularly, to a self-cooled chassis for wireless communication devices in a wireless communication system. [Background technology]

[0002] In today's world, cellular networks provide on-demand communication capabilities to individuals and business entities. Typically, cellular networks are wireless networks that may be distributed over a terrestrial area referred to as a cell. Each such cell is served by at least one fixed location transceiver, referred to as a cell site or base station. Each cell may use a different set of frequencies than its neighboring cells to avoid interference and provide improved service within each cell. When cells are combined together, they provide radio coverage over a wide geographic area, thereby enabling a large number of mobile phones and / or other wireless devices or portable transceivers to communicate with each other and with fixed transceivers and phones anywhere in the network. Such communication is performed through the base stations and is accomplished even when the mobile transceiver is moving through two or more cells during transmission. Major wireless communication providers have deployed such cell sites worldwide, thereby enabling communicating mobile phones and mobile computing devices to connect to the public switched telephone network and the public Internet.

[0003] A mobile phone is a cellular telephone that can receive and / or originate telephone and / or data communications through a cell site or transmission tower by using radio waves to transfer signals to and from the mobile phone. Given the large number of mobile phone users, current mobile phone networks offer limited shared resources. In that regard, cell sites and handsets may change frequencies and use low-power transmitters to enable simultaneous use of the network by many callers with less interference. The coverage by a cell site may depend on a particular geographic location and / or the number of users that can potentially use the network. For example, in a city, a cell site may have a range of up to about 1 / 2 mile, while in a suburban area, the range may be as much as 5 miles, and in some areas, a user may receive signals from a cell site 25 miles away.

[0004] The following are some examples of digital cellular technologies used by communication providers: Global System for Mobile Communications ("GSM"), General Packet Radio Service ("GPRS"), cdmaOne, CDMA2000, Evolution Data Optimized ("EV-DO"), Enhanced Data Rates for GSM Evolution ("EDGE"), Universal Mobile Telecommunications System ("UMTS"), Digital Enhanced Cordless Telecommunications ("DECT"), Digital AMPS ("IS-136 / TDMA"), and Integrated Digital Enhanced Network ("iDEN"). Long Term Evolution, or 4G LTE, developed by the 3rd Generation Partnership Project ("3GPP") standards body, is a high-speed data wireless communications standard for mobile phones and data terminals. 5G standards are currently being developed and deployed. 3GPP cellular technologies such as LTE and 5G NR are evolutions of earlier generations of 3GPP technologies such as GSM / EDGE and UMTS / HSPA digital cellular technologies, and enable increased capacity and speeds through the use of different air interfaces along with improvements to the core network.

[0005] A cellular network may be divided into a radio access network and a core network. The radio access network (RAN) may include network functions capable of handling radio layer communication processing. The core network may include network functions capable of handling higher layer communication, e.g., Internet Protocol (IP), transport layer, and application layer. In some cases, the RAN function may be divided into a baseband unit function and a radio unit function, e.g., a radio unit connected to a baseband unit via a fronthaul network may be responsible for lower layer processing of the radio physical layer, and the baseband unit may be responsible for higher layer radio protocols, e.g., MAC, RLC, etc.

[0006] Currently, the distribution units are positioned inside a temperature-controlled cabinet to regulate the temperature of the distribution units. The temperature-controlled cabinet requires advanced electrical and mechanical features to optimize the cooling of the processors in the distribution units. The temperature-controlled cabinet typically includes air conditioners and air circulation units positioned to maintain the distribution units below a threshold temperature. In addition, the temperature-controlled cabinet limits the locations and positions where the distribution units can be located; that is, some locations cannot accommodate the installation of distribution units due to the physical and weight constraints of the temperature-controlled cabinet. Furthermore, the temperature-controlled cabinet consumes a large amount of energy to maintain a cool environment for the distribution units. As the ambient temperature increases or as more distribution units are added to the temperature-controlled cabinet, the large energy demand increases. Summary of the Invention

[0007] In some implementations, the subject matter relates to an apparatus, such as, for example, a self-cooled chassis for a communication device. The apparatus may include a top housing including a first set of input / output (I / O) connectors disposed along a top housing front surface. The top housing may be configured to house at least one processor communicatively coupled to the first set of I / O connectors. The top housing may have a top surface including a plurality of thermal fins configured to dissipate heat from the at least one processor. The top housing may have a top housing opening. The apparatus may also include a bottom housing including a second set of I / O connectors disposed along a bottom housing front surface. The bottom housing may be configured to house I / O circuitry. The I / O circuitry may be configured to communicatively couple the second set of I / O connectors to the at least one processor. The bottom housing may have a bottom housing opening. The apparatus may also include a guide pin configured to be inserted into the top housing opening and the bottom housing opening. The top and bottom housings can be configured to connect by aligning the top housing front face with the bottom housing front face and aligning the guide pins within the top and bottom housing openings.

[0008] In some implementations, the present subject matter may include one or more of the following optional features: The plurality of thermal fins may extend in a first direction across a top surface of the upper housing. The upper housing front surface may extend in a second direction perpendicular to the first direction.

[0009] In some implementations, the plurality of heat fins may include one or more two-phase heat fins, and the plurality of heat fins are configured to have a predetermined pitch extending along the top surface.

[0010] In some implementations, a first set of I / O connectors may be arranged in a linear pattern across the top housing front face and a second set of I / O connectors may be arranged in a linear pattern across the bottom housing front face, and the first set of I / O connectors and the second set of I / O connectors may be wireless signal access connectors.

[0011] In some implementations, the device may also include a solar shield configured to cover the multiple heat fins on the upper housing to mitigate solar radiation absorbed by the multiple heat fins, the solar shield including multiple ventilation slots to allow heat dissipation from the multiple heat fins.

[0012] In some implementations, the device may also include a lip coupled to at least one of the top housing or the bottom housing, the lip configured to removably couple to the mounting bar by sliding the lip over an edge of the mounting bar, and a handle coupled to at least one of the top housing or the bottom housing, the handle positioned on an opposite side of the at least one of the top housing or the bottom housing for removing the lip from the mounting bar.

[0013] In some implementations, the top and bottom housings can be configured to be fastened together and aligned with alignment fasteners coupled to at least one of the top or bottom housings, and the alignment fasteners can be configured to control the final linear alignment of the top and bottom housings.

[0014] In some implementations, the device may also include an embedded vapor chamber coupled to the top housing, the embedded vapor chamber configured to dissipate heat from the processor, and an O-ring removably coupled to at least one of the top housing and the bottom housing, the O-ring configured to form a seal between the top housing and the bottom housing, the seal being IP-65 compliant.

[0015] In some implementations, at least one of the at least one processor and the I / O circuitry may be included in a base station, including at least one of a gNodeB base station, an eNodeB base station, and any combination thereof. The base station may include at least one of one or more distributed units, one or more baseband units, one or more air interface units, one or more remote radio heads, and any combination thereof. The base station may be a base station operating in at least one of the following communication systems: a Long Term Evolution (LTE) communication system and a New Radio (NR) communication system.

[0016] In some implementations, the subject matter relates to a method for assembling a device, the method can include providing a top housing and a bottom housing, the top housing including a first set of input / output (I / O) connectors disposed along a top housing front surface, the top housing configured to house at least one processor communicatively coupled to the first set of I / O connectors, the top housing having a top surface including a plurality of thermal fins configured to dissipate heat from the at least one processor, the top housing including a first opening, the bottom housing including a second set of I / O connectors disposed along the bottom housing front surface, the bottom housing configured to house I / O circuitry, the I / O circuitry configured to communicatively couple the second set of I / O connectors to the processor, and the bottom housing including a second opening. The method can also include aligning a first opening of the top housing with a second opening of the bottom housing using a guide pin, where aligning the top housing with the bottom housing includes aligning a top housing front face with a bottom housing front face and aligning the top housing alignment fasteners with the bottom housing alignment openings. The method can further include controlling linear alignment of the top housing and the bottom housing through a connection between the top housing alignment fasteners and the bottom housing alignment openings.

[0017] In some implementations, the present subject matter may also include one or more of the following optional features: A recessed vapor chamber may be coupled to the upper housing, the recessed vapor chamber configured to dissipate heat from the processor. A solar shield configured to cover the plurality of heat fins to mitigate solar radiation absorbed by the plurality of heat fins may be coupled to the upper housing, the solar shield including a plurality of ventilation slots to allow heat dissipation from the plurality of heat fins.

[0018] In some implementations, the plurality of thermal fins may extend in a first direction across a top surface of the upper housing, with the upper housing front surface extending in a second direction perpendicular to the first direction.

[0019] In some implementations, the plurality of heat fins may include two-phase heat fins, the plurality of heat fins being configured to have a predetermined pitch extending along the top surface.

[0020] In some implementations, a first set of I / O connectors may be arranged in a linear pattern across the top housing front face and a second set of I / O connectors are arranged in a linear pattern across the bottom housing front face, and the first set of I / O connectors and the second set of I / O connectors are wireless signal access connectors.

[0021] In some implementations, an O-ring may be coupled to at least one of the top housing and the bottom housing, the O-ring configured to create a seal between the top housing and the bottom housing.

[0022] In some implementations, a lip may be coupled to at least one of the top housing or the bottom housing, the lip configured to be removably coupled to the mounting bar by sliding the lip over an edge of the mounting bar, and a handle may be coupled to at least one of the top housing or the bottom housing, the handle positioned on an opposite side of at least one of the top housing or the bottom housing for removing the lip from the mounting bar.

[0023] In some implementations, the present subject matter relates to a mounting device for mounting a housing to a vertical post. The mounting device may include a housing bracket configured to couple to the housing, the housing bracket having a first convex feature for receiving a proximal side of the vertical post, the housing bracket including at least two housing bracket openings, a distal bracket configured to couple to the housing bracket, the housing bracket having a second convex feature for receiving a distal side of the vertical post, the distal bracket including at least two distal bracket openings, and at least two rods configured to couple the at least two housing bracket openings and the at least two distal bracket openings.

[0024] In some implementations, the present subject matter may include one or more of the following optional features: the at least two rods may be threaded, a threaded mechanism is applied to the at least two rods to move the distal bracket closer to the housing bracket, the convex feature is positioned between the at least two housing bracket openings, and the second convex feature is positioned between the at least two distal bracket openings.

[0025] In some implementations, the housing bracket may be configured to couple to another housing bracket such that the housing may be positioned along another housing.

[0026] The details of one or more variations of the subject matter described herein are set forth in the accompanying drawings and the description below. Other features and advantages of the subject matter described herein will be apparent from the description and drawings, and from the claims.

[0027] The accompanying drawings, which are incorporated in and constitute a part of this specification, illustrate certain aspects of the subject matter disclosed herein and, together with the description, serve to explain some of the principles associated with the disclosed implementations. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0028] [Figure 1a] FIG. 1 illustrates an exemplary conventional Long Term Evolution ("LTE") communication system. [Figure 1b] FIG. 1b illustrates further details of the exemplary LTE system shown in FIG. 1a. [Figure 1c] FIG. 1b illustrates further details of the evolved packet core of the exemplary LTE system shown in FIG. 1a. [Figure 1d] FIG. 1b illustrates an exemplary evolved Node B for the exemplary LTE system shown in FIG. 1a. [Diagram 2] FIG. 2 shows further details of the evolved Node B shown in FIGS. 1a-1d. [Diagram 3] FIG. 1 illustrates an example virtual radio access network in accordance with some implementations of the present subject matter. [Figure 4] FIG. 1 illustrates an exemplary 3GPP split architecture for providing use of higher frequency bands to its users. [Figure 5a] FIG. 1 illustrates an exemplary 5G wireless communication system. [Figure 5b] A diagram showing an example layer architecture of a split gNB and / or a split ng-eNB (e.g., a next generation eNB that may be connected to 5GC). [Figure 5c] A diagram illustrating an exemplary functional division in the gNB architecture shown in Figures 5a-5b. [Figure 6] 1 is an exploded view of a top and bottom housing of an exemplary self-cooled chassis for a communications device in accordance with some implementations of the present subject matter. [Figure 7] 1 is an assembly view of a top and bottom housing of a self-cooled chassis for a communication device in accordance with some implementations of the present subject matter. [Figure 8] FIG. 2 is a bottom view of an upper housing containing processing circuitry according to some implementations of the present subject matter. [Figure 9] FIG. 2 is a bottom view of an upper housing including an embedded vapor chamber according to some implementations of the present subject matter. [Figure 10] 1 is an exploded view of an upper housing including at least one processor according to some implementations of the present subject matter. [Figure 11] 1 is an exemplary guide pin for coupling a top housing to a bottom housing, according to some implementations of the present subject matter. [Figure 12] 12A and 12B are guide pins and top and bottom housing interface connectors as shown in FIG. 11 according to some implementations of the present subject matter. [Figure 13] 1 is a perspective view of a self-cooled chassis of a communication unit including an exemplary solar shield coupled to the self-cooled chassis of a communication unit in accordance with some implementations of the present subject matter. FIG. [Figure 14] FIG. 2 is a side view of a plurality of self-cooled chassis coupled to a mounting bar in accordance with some implementations of the present subject matter. [Figure 15] 1 is a perspective view of an O-ring positioned between a top housing and a bottom housing according to some implementations of the present subject matter. FIG. [Figure 16] 1 is a perspective view of a mounting bracket for suspending a self-cooled chassis according to some implementations of the present subject matter. [Figure 17A] 1 is a side view of a single chassis mounting bracket configuration for suspending a self-cooled chassis according to some implementations of the present subject matter. [Figure 17B] FIG. 2 is a top view of a single chassis mounting bracket configuration for suspending a self-cooled chassis according to some implementations of the present subject matter. [Figure 18A] FIG. 2 is a side view of a dual chassis mounting bracket configuration for suspending two opposing self-cooled chassis according to some implementations of the present subject matter. [Figure 18B] A top view of a dual chassis mounting bracket configuration 1800 for suspending two opposing self-cooled chassis in accordance with some implementations of the present subject matter. [Figure 19A]1 is a side view of a single chassis side mounting bracket configuration for suspending a self-cooled chassis on a narrow side of the self-cooled chassis in accordance with some implementations of the present subject matter. [Figure 19B] A top view of a single chassis side mounting bracket configuration 1900 for suspending the self-cooled chassis 600 on a narrow side of the self-cooled chassis 600, according to some implementations of the present subject matter. [Figure 20A] A side view of a dual chassis side mounting bracket configuration 2000 for suspending two self-cooled chassis on the narrow sides of a self-cooled chassis according to some implementations of the present subject matter. [Figure 20B] A top view of a dual chassis side mounting bracket configuration 2000 for suspending two self-cooled chassis on the narrow sides of a self-cooled chassis according to some implementations of the present subject matter. [Figure 21A] A side view of a triple chassis side mounting bracket configuration 2100 for suspending three self-cooled chassis on the narrow sides of the three self-cooled chassis in accordance with some implementations of the present subject matter. [Figure 21B] A side view of a triple chassis side mounting bracket configuration 2100 for suspending three self-cooled chassis on the narrow sides of the three self-cooled chassis in accordance with some implementations of the present subject matter. [Figure 22A] A side view of a quadruple chassis side mounting bracket configuration 2200 for suspending two sets of a self-cooled chassis on the narrow sides of the self-cooled chassis in accordance with some implementations of the present subject matter. [Figure 22B] A top view of a quadruple chassis side mounting bracket configuration 2200 for suspending two sets of a self-cooled chassis on the narrow sides of the self-cooled chassis in accordance with some implementations of the present subject matter. [Diagram 23] FIG. 1 illustrates an exemplary system in accordance with some implementations of the present subject matter. [Figure 24] FIG. 1 illustrates an exemplary method according to some implementations of the present subject matter. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0029] The present subject matter may provide systems and methods that may be implemented in a wireless communication system, which may include a variety of wireless communication systems, including 5G New Radio (NR) communication systems, Long Term Evolution (LTE) communication systems, and the like.

[0030] In some implementations, the present subject matter relates to a self-cooled chassis for a communication unit or device (e.g., a baseband unit, a radio unit, a distributed unit, a remote unit, a centralized unit, and / or any other type of communication unit). The self-cooled chassis may include features and structures for dissipating heat from the communication device to prevent overheating. The communication device may easily overheat given the stringent processing requirements required by higher layer wireless protocols (e.g., MAC, RLC, etc.). Unlike conventional casings for communication devices, the self-cooled chassis of the present subject matter may eliminate the need for a temperature-regulated cabinet and energy costs associated with providing and / or regulating a temperate environment for the communication device. Additionally, the present subject matter may relate to a mounting bracket for mounting the self-cooled chassis. The mounting bracket may allow the self-cooled chassis to be mounted to and / or suspended from various locations (e.g., a pole, a tree, a mounting bar, etc.) that may previously have been inaccessible due to being housed within a temperature-regulated cabinet.

[0031] The systems and apparatus described herein solve technical problems associated with cooling distributed units in a RAN. Currently, distributed units are positioned inside a temperature-controlled cabinet to manage the temperature of the processors of the distributed units. Thus, if the distributed units are not placed inside a temperature-controlled cabinet, the processors will overheat and fail. Such failures can be detrimental to the functionality of the RAN since the distributed units process higher layer radio protocols and interface with radio units via a fronthaul network. Thus, previously, a temperature-controlled cabinet for the distributed units was required. Even then, the temperature-controlled cabinet has its own problems. For example, a temperature-controlled cabinet requires advanced electrical and mechanical features (e.g., air conditioning units, air circulation paths and devices) to optimize the cooling of the processors in the distributed units. Furthermore, the temperature-controlled cabinet consumes a large amount of energy to maintain a cool environment for the distributed units. The energy demand only increases as temperatures increase and as more distributed units are added.

[0032] The systems and processes presented herein overcome these technical and challenges present in the industry. In some implementations, the self-cooling chassis may include a top housing and a bottom housing. The top housing may include a processing circuit having a processor that may be communicatively coupled to a set of input / output (I / O) connectors. The bottom housing may include an input / output circuit that may be configured to communicatively couple another set of I / O connectors to the processor. The separation of the processing circuit and the I / O circuit may allow for improved heat dissipation from the processor and the communication device. In addition, the separation of the top housing and the bottom housing may allow for improved heat dissipation. The top housing may also include a top surface having a plurality of thermal fins configured to dissipate heat from the processor. The features and components of the self-cooling chassis may be arranged in a specific configuration to maintain the processor and I / O circuit at a low temperature without the need for a temperature-regulated cabinet.

[0033] The assembly technique for the top and bottom housings may allow for final linear alignment of the sensitive electronics and interfaces between the processing circuitry and the I / O circuitry. The top and bottom housings may be configured to connect by aligning the top housing front face with the bottom housing front face. Additionally, guide pins and alignment fasteners may be used to control the alignment of the interfaces between the processing circuitry and the I / O circuitry.

[0034] In some implementations, the heat fins may extend in one direction across the top surface of the upper housing, while the front side of the upper housing extends in a vertical direction. In an upright position, the self-cooling chassis may allow a natural convection path through the self-cooling chassis. That is, when the self-cooling chassis is in an upright position, heated air near the bottom ends of the heat fins may rise through an open path toward the top ends of the heat fins. This may allow heated air to exit through the top ends of the heat fins and allow cooler air to be naturally drawn in through the bottom ends of the heat fins without the use of a fan.

[0035] In some implementations, the self-cooled chassis may include a mounting bracket to optimize airflow through the multiple thermal fins. Existing distribution units cannot be mounted on trees or poles as freestanding units. However, the self-cooled chassis frees the distribution units from the temperature-regulated cabinet. This may allow the self-cooled chassis to be mounted in a variety of locations. For example, the self-cooled chassis may be mounted on a vertical column, pole, rack, or tree that was previously inaccessible. The mounting bracket may be coupled to the self-cooled chassis at the narrow end or the lengthwise end to minimize interference with the airflow in the self-cooled chassis.

[0036] Furthermore, the self-cooled chassis can be positioned in different environments and locations, which is an advantage over previous systems that need to be stored in a temperature-controlled cabinet. With the self-cooled chassis, infrastructure development is no longer limited to environments conducive to temperature-controlled cabinets. In addition, the self-cooled chassis can maintain the same performance as previous systems when processing higher layer wireless protocols and interfacing with communication devices over a fronthaul network. Furthermore, the energy consumption associated with temperature control of the self-cooled chassis is eliminated.

[0037] One or more aspects of the present subject matter may be incorporated into transmitter and / or receiver components of base stations (e.g., gNodeB, eNodeB, etc.) in such communication systems. The following is a general discussion of Long Term Evolution communication systems and 5G new wireless communication systems.

[0038] I. Long Term Evolution Communication System 1a-1c and 2 illustrate an exemplary conventional Long Term Evolution ("LTE") communication system 100 with its various components. The LTE system, or 4G LTE, as it is commercially known, is governed by a standard for high-speed data wireless communication for mobile telephones and data terminals. The standard is an evolution of GSM / EDGE ("Global System for Mobile Communications" / "Enhanced Data Rates for GSM Evolution") and UMTS / HSPA ("Universal Mobile Telecommunications System" / "High Speed ​​Packet Access") network technologies. The standard was developed by 3GPP ("3rd Generation Partnership Project").

[0039] As shown in FIG. 1a, the system 100 may include an Evolved Universal Terrestrial Radio Access Network ("EUTRAN") 102, an Evolved Packet Core ("EPC") 108, and a Packet Data Network ("PDN") 101, where the EUTRAN 102 and the EPC 108 provide communications between user equipment 104 and the PDN 101. The EUTRAN 102 may include multiple Evolved Node Bs ("eNodeB" or "ENODEB" or "enodeb" or "eNB") or base stations 106(a,b,c) (as shown in FIG. 1b) that provide communications capabilities to multiple user equipment 104(a,b,c). The user equipment 104 may be a mobile phone, a smartphone, a tablet, a personal computer, a personal digital assistant ("PDA"), a server, a data terminal, and / or any other type of user equipment, and / or any combination thereof. User equipment 104 may connect to the EPC 108 and ultimately to the PDN 101 via any eNodeB 106. Typically, user equipment 104 may connect to the nearest eNodeB 106 in terms of distance. In the LTE system 100, the EUTRAN 102 and the EPC 108 cooperate to provide connectivity, mobility, and services for user equipment 104.

[0040] Figure 1b shows further details of the network 100 shown in Figure 1a. As mentioned above, the EUTRAN 102 includes multiple eNodeBs 106, also known as cell sites. The eNodeBs 106 provide the radio functionality and perform important control functions including air link resource scheduling or radio resource management, active mode mobility or handover, and admission control for services. The eNodeBs 106 are responsible for selecting which mobility management entity (MME as shown in Figure 1c) will serve the user equipment 104, and protocol features such as header compression and encryption. The eNodeBs 106 that make up the EUTRAN 102 cooperate with each other for radio resource management and handover.

[0041] Communication between the user equipment 104 and the eNodeB 106 occurs over an air interface 122 (also known as an "LTE-Uu" interface). As shown in FIG. 1b, the air interface 122 provides communication between the user equipment 104b and the eNodeB 106a. The air interface 122 uses Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiple Access ("OFDMA") and Single Carrier Frequency Division Multiple Access ("SC-FDMA"), an OFDMA variant, on the downlink and uplink, respectively. OFDMA allows the use of multiple known antenna technologies, such as multiple-input multiple-output ("MIMO").

[0042] The air interface 122 uses various protocols, including radio resource control ("RRC") for signaling between the user equipment 104 and the eNodeB 106, and non-access stratum ("NAS") for signaling between the user equipment 104 and the MME (as shown in FIG. 1c). In addition to signaling, user traffic is transferred between the user equipment 104 and the eNodeB 106. Both signaling and traffic in the system 100 are carried by physical layer ("PHY") channels.

[0043] The multiple eNodeBs 106 may be interconnected with each other using X2 interfaces 130(a, b, c). As shown in FIG. 1a, the X2 interface 130a provides an interconnection between the eNodeBs 106a and 106b, the X2 interface 130b provides an interconnection between the eNodeBs 106a and 106c, and the X2 interface 130c provides an interconnection between the eNodeBs 106b and 106c. The X2 interfaces may be established between two eNodeBs to provide an exchange of signals, which may include information related to loading or interference as well as information related to handover. The eNodeBs 106 communicate with the evolved packet core 108 via the S1 interfaces 124(a, b, c). The S1 interface 124 can be split into two interfaces, one for the control plane (shown in FIG. 1c as control plane interface (S1-MME interface) 128) and the other for the user plane (shown in FIG. 1c as user plane interface (S1-U interface) 125).

[0044] The EPC 108 establishes and enforces quality of service ("QoS") for user services and allows the user equipment 104 to maintain a consistent Internet Protocol ("IP address") while moving. Note that each node in the network 100 has its own IP address. The EPC 108 is designed to interwork with legacy wireless networks. The EPC 108 is also designed to separate the control plane (i.e., signaling) and the user plane (i.e., traffic) in the core network architecture, which allows more flexibility in implementation and independent scalability of control and user data functions.

[0045] The EPC 108 architecture is dedicated to packet data and is shown in more detail in Figure 1c. The EPC 108 includes a Serving Gateway (S-GW) 110, a PDN Gateway (P-GW) 112, a Mobility Management Entity ("MME") 114, a Home Subscriber Server ("HSS") 116 (a subscriber database for the EPC 108), and a Policy Control and Charging Rules Function ("PCRF") 118. Some of these (such as the S-GW, P-GW, MME, and HSS) are often combined into nodes according to manufacturer implementations.

[0046] The S-GW 110 functions as an IP packet data router and is the bearer path anchor for user equipment in the EPC 108. Thus, when the user equipment moves from one eNodeB 106 to another eNodeB during mobility operation, the S-GW 110 remains the same and the bearer path towards the EUTRAN 102 is switched to communicate with the new eNodeB 106 serving the user equipment 104. If the user equipment 104 moves to the domain of another S-GW 110, the MME 114 will transfer all of the user equipment's bearer path to the new S-GW. The S-GW 110 establishes a bearer path for the user equipment to one or more P-GWs 112. When downstream data is received for an idle user equipment, the S-GW 110 buffers the downstream packets and requests the MME 114 to identify and re-establish the bearer path to and through the EUTRAN 102.

[0047] The P-GW 112 is a gateway between the EPC 108 (and user equipment 104 and EUTRAN 102) and the PDN 101 (shown in FIG. 1a). The P-GW 112 acts as a router for user traffic and performs functions on behalf of the user equipment. These include IP address allocation for the user equipment, packet filtering of downstream user traffic to ensure that it is placed on the appropriate bearer path, and enforcement of downstream QoS including data rate. Depending on the services the subscriber is using, there may be multiple user data bearer paths between the user equipment 104 and the P-GW 112. A subscriber may use services on PDNs served by different P-GWs, in which case the user equipment has at least one bearer path established to each P-GW 112. During handover of the user equipment from one eNodeB to another, if the S-GW 110 is also changing, the bearer path from the P-GW 112 is switched to the new S-GW.

[0048] The MME 114 manages the user equipment 104 in the EPC 108, including managing subscriber authentication, maintaining context for authenticated user equipment 104, establishing a data bearer path in the network for user traffic, and tracking the location of idle mobiles that have not detached from the network. In the case of an idle user equipment 104 that needs to be reconnected to the access network to receive downstream data, the MME 114 initiates paging to locate the user equipment and reestablishes the bearer path to and through the EUTRAN 102. The MME 114 for a particular user equipment 104 is selected by the eNodeB 106 where the user equipment 104 initiates system access. The MME is typically part of a collection of MMEs in the EPC 108 for load sharing and redundancy purposes. In establishing a data bearer path for a user, the MME 114 is responsible for selecting the P-GW 112 and the S-GW 110, which constitute the termination of the data path through the EPC 108.

[0049] The PCRF 118 is responsible for controlling policy control decision-making, as well as flow-based charging functionality within the Policy Control Enforcement Function ("PCEF") resident in the P-GW 110. The PCRF 118 provides QoS authorization (QoS Class Identifier ("QCI") and bitrate), which determines how a certain data flow is treated within the PCEF, ensuring that this is in accordance with the user's subscription profile.

[0050] As mentioned above, IP services 119 are provided by PDN 101 (as shown in FIG. 1a).

[0051] 1d shows an example structure of an eNodeB 106. The eNodeB 106 may include at least one remote radio head ("RRH") 132 (typically there may be three RRHs 132) and a baseband unit ("BBU") 134. The RRHs 132 may be connected to an antenna 136. The RRHs 132 and BBU 134 may be connected using an optical interface that conforms to the Common Public Radio Interface ("CPRI") / enhanced CPRI ("eCPRI") 142 standard specification, either using an RRH-specific custom control and user plane framing method or using an O-RAN alliance compliant control and user plane framing method. The operation of the eNodeB 106 can be characterized using the following standard parameters (and specifications): radio frequency band (Band 4, Band 9, Band 17, etc.), bandwidth (5, 10, 15, 20 MHz), access method (Downlink: OFDMA, Uplink: SC-OFDMA), antenna technology (Single-user and Multi-user MIMO, Uplink: Single-user and Multi-user MIMO), number of sectors (up to 6), maximum transmission speed (Downlink: 150 Mb / s, Uplink: 50 Mb / s), S1 / X2 interface (1000Base-SX, 1000Base-T), and mobile environment (up to 350 km / h). The BBU 134 can be responsible for digital baseband signal processing, S1 line termination, X2 line termination, call processing, and supervisory control processing. IP packets received from the EPC 108 (not shown in FIG. 1d) can be modulated into digital baseband signals and transmitted to the RRH 132. Conversely, digital baseband signals received from the RRH 132 may be demodulated into IP packets for transmission to the EPC 108.

[0052] The RRH 132 can transmit and receive wireless signals using an antenna 136. The RRH 132 can convert digital baseband signals from the BBU 134 (using a converter ("CONV") 140) to radio frequency ("RF") signals and power amplify them (using an amplifier ("AMP") 138) for transmission to the user equipment 104 (not shown in FIG. 1d). Conversely, RF signals received from the user equipment 104 are amplified (using AMP 138) and converted (using CONV 140) to digital baseband signals for transmission to the BBU 134.

[0053] FIG. 2 illustrates additional details of an exemplary eNodeB 106. The eNodeB 106 includes multiple layers: LTE Layer 1 202, LTE Layer 2 204, and LTE Layer 3 206. LTE Layer 1 includes the physical layer ("PHY"). LTE Layer 2 includes Medium Access Control ("MAC"), Radio Link Control ("RLC"), and Packet Data Convergence Protocol ("PDCP"). LTE Layer 3 includes various functions and protocols, including Radio Resource Control ("RRC"), dynamic resource allocation, eNodeB measurement configuration and provisioning, radio admission control, connection mobility control, and radio resource management ("RRM"). The RLC protocol is an automatic repeat request ("ARQ") fragmentation protocol used over the cellular air interface. The RRC protocol handles the LTE Layer 3 control plane signaling between the user equipment and the EUTRAN. The RRC includes functions for connection establishment and release, broadcast of system information, radio bearer establishment / reconfiguration and release, RRC connection mobility procedures, paging notification and release, and outer loop power control. The PDCP performs IP header compression and decompression, transfer of user data, and maintenance of sequence numbers of radio bearers. The BBU 134 shown in FIG. 1d may include LTE layers L1-L3.

[0054] One of the main functions of the eNodeB 106 is radio resource management, including scheduling of both uplink and downlink air interface resources for the user equipment 104, control of bearer resources, and admission control. As an agent for the EPC 108, the eNodeB 106 is responsible for forwarding paging messages used to locate the mobile when it is idle. The eNodeB 106 also communicates common control channel information over the air, header compression, encryption and decryption of over-the-air user data, and establishes handover reporting and trigger criteria. As mentioned above, the eNodeB 106 can cooperate with other eNodeBs 106 over the X2 interface for handover and interference management purposes. The eNodeB 106 communicates with the MME of the EPC over the S1-MME interface and with the S-GW using the S1-U interface. Additionally, the eNodeB 106 exchanges user data with the S-GW over the S1-U interface. The eNodeBs 106 and the EPC 108 have a many-to-many relationship to support load sharing and redundancy between MMEs and S-GWs. The eNodeB 106 selects an MME from a group of MMEs so that the load can be shared by multiple MMEs to avoid congestion.

[0055] II.5G NR Wireless Communication Network In some implementations, the subject matter relates to 5G New Radio ("NR") communication systems. 5G NR is the next telecommunications standard beyond the 4G / IMT-Advanced standard. 5G networks offer higher capacity than current 4G, allowing a larger number of mobile broadband users per unit area, and allowing consumption of more and / or unlimited amounts of data in gigabytes per month and per user. This may allow users to stream high definition media for hours per day using their mobile devices, even when Wi-Fi networks do not allow them to do so. 5G networks have improved support for device-to-device communication, lower cost, lower latency than 4G equipment, and lower battery consumption, etc. Such networks will have data rates of tens of megabits per second for many users, data rates of 100 Mb / s for metropolitan areas, 1 Gb / s simultaneously to users within a limited area (e.g., an office floor), many simultaneous connections for wireless sensor networks, increased spectral efficiency, improved coverage, increased signaling efficiency, 1-10 ms latency, and reduced latency compared to existing systems.

[0056] 3 illustrates an example virtual radio access network 300. The network 300 can provide communication between various components including base stations (e.g., eNodeB, gNodeB) 301, radio equipment 307, centralized unit 302, digital unit 304, and wireless device 306. The components in the system 300 can be communicatively coupled to a core using backhaul links 305. The centralized unit ("CU") 302 can be communicatively coupled to a distributed unit ("DU") 304 using a midhaul connection 308. The radio frequency ("RU") component 306 can be communicatively coupled to the DU 304 using a fronthaul connection 310.

[0057] In some implementations, the CU 302 can provide intelligent communication capabilities to one or more DU units 304. The units 302, 304 can include one or more base stations, macro base stations, micro base stations, remote radio heads, etc., and / or any combination thereof.

[0058] In a lower layer split architecture environment, the CPRI bandwidth requirement for NR may be several hundred Gb / s. CPRI compression may be implemented in the DU and RU (as shown in FIG. 3). In 5G communication systems, compressed CPRI over Ethernet frames is referred to as eCPRI and is the recommended fronthaul network. This architecture may enable standardization of fronthaul / midhaul, which may include upper layer splitting (e.g., option 2 or option 3-1 (upper / lower RLC split architecture)) and fronthaul using L1 split architecture (option 7).

[0059] In some implementations, the lower layer split architecture (e.g., option 7) may include receiver in uplink and joint processing across multiple transmission points (TPs) for both DL / UL and transport bandwidth and latency requirements to facilitate deployment. Additionally, the subject lower layer split architecture may include splitting between cell-level processing and user-level processing, which may include cell-level processing at the remote unit ("RU") and user-level processing at the DU. Additionally, using the subject lower layer split architecture, frequency domain samples may be transported over the Ethernet fronthaul and the frequency domain samples may be compressed for reduced fronthaul bandwidth.

[0060] 4 illustrates an example communication system 400 that may implement 5G technology and provide its users with use of higher frequency bands (e.g., greater than 10 GHz). The system 400 may include a macro cell 402 and small cells 404 and 406.

[0061] The mobile device 408 may be configured to communicate with one or more of the small cells 404, 406. The system 400 may enable splitting of the control plane (C-plane) and user plane (U-plane) between the macro cell 402 and the small cells 404, 406, with the C-plane and U-plane utilizing different frequency bands. Specifically, the small cells 404, 406 may be configured to utilize higher frequency bands when communicating with the mobile device 408. The macro cell 402 may utilize existing cellular bands for C-plane communications. The mobile device 408 may be communicatively coupled via a U-plane 412, where the small cells (e.g., the small cell 406) may provide higher data rates and more flexible / cost / energy-efficient operation. The macro cell 402 may maintain good connectivity and mobility via the C-plane 410. Additionally, in some cases, LTE and NR may be transmitted on the same frequency.

[0062] FIG. 5a illustrates an exemplary 5G wireless communication system 500 according to some implementations of the present subject matter. The system 500 may be configured to have a lower layer split architecture according to option 7-2. The system 500 may include a core network 502 (e.g., 5G Core) and one or more g Node Bs (or gNBs), where the gNB may have a centralized unit gNB-CU. The gNB-CU may be logically split into a control plane portion gNB-CU-CP 504 and one or more user plane portions gNB-CU-UP 506. The control plane portion 504 and the user plane portion 506 may be configured to be communicatively coupled using an E1 communication interface 514 (as defined in the 3GPP standard). The control plane portion 504 may be configured to be responsible for executing the RRC and PDCP protocols of the radio stack.

[0063] The control plane portion 504 and the user plane portion 506 of the centralized unit of the gNB may be configured to be communicatively coupled to one or more distributed units (DUs) 508, 510 according to an upper layer split architecture. The distributed units 508, 510 may be configured to execute the upper portions of the RLC, MAC and PHY layer protocols of the radio stack. The control plane portion 504 may be configured to be communicatively coupled to the distributed units 508, 510 using an F1-C communication interface 516, and the user plane portion 506 may be configured to be communicatively coupled to the distributed units 508, 510 using an F1-U communication interface 518. The distributed units 508, 510 may be coupled to one or more remote radio units (RUs) 512 via a fronthaul network 520 (which may include one or more switches, links, etc.), which communicate with one or more user equipment (not shown in FIG. 5a). The remote radio unit 512 may be configured to execute lower portions of the PHY layer protocol and provide antenna capability to the remote unit for communication with user equipment (similar to the description above in connection with Figures 1a-2).

[0064] Figure 5b illustrates an example layer architecture 530 for a split gNB. The architecture 530 can be implemented within the communications system 500 illustrated in Figure 5a, which can be configured as a virtualized disaggregated radio access network (RAN) architecture, whereby layers L1, L2, L3 and radio processing can be virtualized and disaggregated within centralized, distributed, and radio units. As illustrated in Figure 5b, the gNB-DU 508 can be communicatively coupled to a gNB-CU-CP control plane portion 504 (also illustrated in Figure 5a) and a gNB-CU-UP user plane portion 506. Each of the components 504, 506, 508 can be configured to include one or more layers.

[0065] The gNB-DU 508 may include RLC, MAC, and PHY layers, as well as various communication sublayers. These may include an F1 Application Protocol (F1-AP) sublayer, a GPRS Tunneling Protocol (GTPU) sublayer, a Stream Control Transmission Protocol (SCTP) sublayer, a User Datagram Protocol (UDP) sublayer, and an Internet Protocol (IP) sublayer. As mentioned above, the distributed unit 508 may be communicatively coupled to a control plane portion 504 of a centralized unit, which may also include the F1-AP, SCTP, and IP sublayers, as well as a Radio Resource Control and PDCP Control (PDCP-C) sublayer. Furthermore, the distributed unit 508 may also be communicatively coupled to a user plane portion 506 of the centralized unit of the gNB. The user plane portion 506 may include a Service Data Adaptation Protocol (SDAP), PDCP User (PDCP-U), GTPU, UDP, and IP sublayers.

[0066] FIG. 5c illustrates an example functional division in the gNB architecture illustrated in FIG. 5a-5b. As illustrated in FIG. 5c, the gNB-DU 508 may be communicatively coupled to the gNB-CU-CP 504 and the GNB-CU-UP 506 using an F1-C communication interface. The gNB-CU-CP 504 and the GNB-CU-UP 506 may be communicatively coupled using an E1 communication interface. The upper part of the PHY layer (or layer 1) may be performed by the gNB-DU 508, and the lower part of the PHY layer may be performed by the RU (not shown in FIG. 5c). As illustrated in FIG. 5c, the RRC and PDCP-C parts may be performed by the control plane part 504, and the SDAP and PDCP-U parts may be performed by the user plane part 506.

[0067] Some of the functions of the PHY layer in a 5G communication network may include error detection on transport channels and indication to higher layers, FEC encoding / decoding of transport channels, hybrid ARQ soft combining, rate matching of coded transport channels to physical channels, mapping of coded transport channels to physical channels, power weighting of physical channels, modulation and demodulation of physical channels, frequency and time synchronization, radio characteristic measurements and indication to higher layers, MIMO antenna processing, digital and analog beamforming, RF processing, and other functions.

[0068] The MAC sublayer of Layer 2 may perform beam management, random access procedures, mapping between logical channels and transport channels, concatenation of multiple MAC service data units (SDUs) belonging to one logical channel into a transport block (TB), multiplexing / demultiplexing of SDUs belonging to logical channels to / from a TB delivered to the physical layer on a transport channel, scheduling information reporting, error correction by HARQ, priority handling between logical channels of one UE, priority handling between UEs by dynamic scheduling, transport format selection, and other functions. The functions of the RLC sublayer may include forwarding of upper layer packet data units (PDUs), error correction by ARQ, reordering of data PDUs, duplication and protocol error detection, re-establishment, etc. The PDCP sublayer may be responsible for forwarding of user data, various functions during re-establishment procedures, retransmission of SDUs, discarding SDUs in the uplink, forwarding of control plane data, etc.

[0069] The RRC sublayer of Layer 3 may perform broadcasting of system information to the NAS and AS, establishment, maintenance, and release of RRC connections, security, establishment, configuration, maintenance, and release of point-to-point radio bearers, mobility functions, reporting, and other functions.

[0070] III. Self-cooling chassis for communication devices 6 is an exploded view of a self-cooled chassis 600 for a communication device that may be implemented in a wireless communication system according to some implementations of the present subject matter. The self-cooled chassis 600 may include a top housing 610, a bottom housing 630, a first set of input / output (I / O) connectors 612, a second set of I / O connectors 632, a number of thermal fins 614, top housing alignment fasteners 622, bottom housing alignment openings 642, and I / O circuitry 636. The top housing 610 and the bottom housing 630 may be configured to mate with each other.

[0071] The top housing 610 includes a first set of I / O connectors 612 on a front surface of the top housing 610. The first set of I / O connectors 612 may be arranged in a linear pattern along the front surface of the top housing 610. Alternatively, or in addition, the first set of I / O connectors 612 may be arranged in a staggered or checkered pattern along the front surface of the top housing 610. The first set of I / O connectors 612 may be wireless signal access connectors. The first set of I / O connectors 612 may be configured to receive or transmit signals between the communication device and a receiving unit, a gNodeB base station, an eNodeB base station, or any combination thereof. The first set of I / O connectors 612 may be communicatively coupled to the processor 1021 in the processing circuit 820 (not shown in FIG. 6 ).

[0072] The upper housing 610 may include a plurality of heat fins 614 disposed on an upper surface of the upper housing 610. The plurality of heat fins 614 may be configured to dissipate heat from the processor 1021. The plurality of heat fins 614 may be opposed to one another. The plurality of heat fins 614 may extend in the same direction across the upper surface of the upper housing 610. For example, the plurality of heat fins 614 may extend in a direction perpendicular to the direction in which the front surface of the upper housing 610 extends. In another example, the plurality of heat fins 614 may extend in a direction parallel to the direction in which the front surface of the upper housing 610 extends. The plurality of heat fins 614 may be two-phase heat fins, and the plurality of heat fins 614 may be configured to have a predetermined pitch extending along the upper surface of the upper housing 610. In some implementations, the fins may be two-phase press-fit fins.

[0073] In some implementations, the heat fins 614 can form a convection path when the self-cooled chassis 600 is in an upright position. Heated air near the bottom of the heat fins 614 can rise through an open path toward the top of the heat fins 614. The heated air can exit through the top of the heat fins 614, and cooler air can be drawn in through the bottom of the heat fins 614 without the use of a fan.

[0074] The top housing 610 may include top housing alignment fasteners 622. The top housing alignment fasteners 622 and the bottom housing alignment openings 642 may fasten the top housing 610 to the bottom housing 630. The top housing alignment fasteners 622 may be located at an edge or corner of the top housing 610. The top housing alignment fasteners 622 of the top housing 610 may have a downward protrusion that is received in the bottom housing alignment openings 642 of the bottom housing 630. The top housing alignment fasteners 622 may be configured to align the top housing 610 with the bottom housing 630. The top housing alignment fasteners 622 may enable linear alignment of the top housing 610 and the bottom housing 630 through a connection between the top housing alignment fasteners 622 and the bottom housing alignment openings 642. The top housing alignment fasteners 622 may be configured to allow control of the final linear alignment of the top housing 610 and the bottom housing 630. Following final linear alignment, the top housing alignment fasteners 622 can be inserted into the bottom housing alignment openings 642 to secure the top housing 610 to the bottom housing 630.

[0075] 6, the bottom housing 630 may include a second set of I / O connectors 632 on the front side of the top housing 610. The second set of I / O connectors 632 may be arranged in a linear pattern along the front side of the bottom housing 630. Alternatively, the second set of I / O connectors 632 may be arranged in a staggered or checkered pattern along the front side of the bottom housing 630. The second set of I / O connectors 632 may be wireless signal access connectors. The second set of I / O connectors 632 may be configured to receive or transmit signals between the communication device and a receiving unit, a gNodeB base station, an eNodeB base station, or any combination thereof. The second set of I / O connectors 632 may be communicatively coupled to the processor 1021 in the processing circuit 820 (not shown in FIG. 6).

[0076] The bottom housing 630 may include a bottom housing alignment opening 642. The bottom housing alignment opening 642 may be located at an edge or corner of the bottom housing 630. The bottom housing alignment opening 642 in the bottom housing 630 may be configured to receive a downward protrusion from the top housing alignment fastener 622 in the top housing 610. The bottom housing alignment opening 642 may be configured to align the bottom housing 630 with the top housing 610. The bottom housing alignment opening 642 may allow for linear alignment of the bottom housing 630 and the top housing 610 through a connection between the top housing alignment fastener 622 and the bottom housing alignment opening 642. The bottom housing alignment opening 642 may be configured to allow control of the final linear alignment of the top housing 610 and the bottom housing 630.

[0077] Bottom housing 630 may include input / output (I / O) circuitry 636. The I / O circuitry 636 may be communicatively coupled to a second set of high speed connectors 632. The second set of I / O connectors 632, which in turn couples the I / O circuitry 636 to processing circuitry 820 (not shown in FIG. 6) in top housing 610, may be coupled to processor 1021 (not shown in FIG. 6).

[0078] 7 is an assembly view of a top housing 610 and a bottom housing 630 of a self-cooled chassis for a communication device according to some implementations of the present subject matter. The top housing 610 and the bottom housing 630 may be coupled together to form the self-cooled chassis 600. A method of assembling the device may include providing the top housing 610 and the bottom housing 630, aligning a front surface of the top housing with a front surface of the bottom housing, and controlling the linear alignment of the top housing 610 and the bottom housing 630 via the top housing alignment fasteners 622 and the bottom housing alignment openings 642.

[0079] The top housing 610 may be aligned with the bottom housing 630. The top housing 610 may include a first set of I / O connectors 612 disposed along a front surface of the top housing 610. The top housing 610 may have a top surface including a plurality of thermal fins 614 configured to dissipate heat from the processor. The bottom housing 630 may include a second set of I / O connectors 632 disposed along a front surface of the bottom housing 630. The bottom housing 630 may be configured to house input / output (I / O) circuitry 636. The I / O circuitry 636 is configured to communicatively couple the second set of I / O connectors 632 to the processor.

[0080] Aligning the top housing 610 with the bottom housing 630 can include aligning a front surface of the top housing 610 with a front surface of the bottom housing 630. The linear alignment of the top housing 610 and the bottom housing 630 can be controlled by a connection between the top housing alignment connector and the bottom housing alignment connector.

[0081] The self-cooled chassis 600 formed from the top housing 610 and the bottom housing 630 can overcome problems with preventing overheating and aligning the first set of I / O connectors 612 with the second set of I / O connectors 632. The self-cooled chassis 600 can help control the temperature and prevent overheating of the communication device, which may easily heat up given its responsibilities of processing higher layer wireless protocols (e.g., MAC, RLC, etc.). The self-cooled chassis 600 is particularly important for eliminating the need for temperature-regulated cabinets and reducing or eliminating the energy costs associated with providing a temperate environment for the communication device.

[0082] 8 is a bottom view of the top housing 610 including a processing circuit 820, according to some implementations of the present subject matter. The top housing 610 may include the processing circuit 820. The processing circuit 820 may be communicatively coupled to a first set of I / O connectors 612. The first set of I / O connectors 612 may be coupled to one side of the processing circuit 820. The processing circuit 820 may be communicatively coupled to a second set of I / O connectors 632 upon coupling the top housing 610 to the bottom housing 630. The processing circuit 820 may include a processor 1021 (not shown in FIG. 8). The processor 1021 may be communicatively coupled to a set of high-speed connectors.

[0083] The processing circuitry 820 may include a top side and a bottom side. The top side includes a processor 1021 (not shown in FIG. 8 ) communicatively coupled to a first set of I / O connectors 612. The bottom side may include interface circuitry for interfacing with the I / O circuitry 636. For example, the interface circuitry of the processing circuitry 820 may include a set of connector pads configured to receive connection pins of the I / O circuitry 636 of the bottom housing 630. Alternatively, the interface circuitry of the processing circuitry 820 may include connection pins configured to connect to the connector pads of the I / O circuitry 636 of the bottom housing 630.

[0084] 9 is a bottom view of the upper housing 610 including the embedded vapor chamber 625 according to some implementations of the present subject matter. The embedded vapor chamber 625 can be configured to dissipate heat from the processor 1021. The embedded vapor chamber 625 can be positioned directly above the processor 1021. The embedded vapor chamber 625 can be positioned between the top of the upper housing 610 and the processor 1021. In some implementations, the embedded vapor chamber 625 can extend in the same direction as the front of the upper housing 610. In some implementations, the embedded vapor chamber 625 can include a notch to receive the processor 1021.

[0085] 10 is an exploded view of an upper housing including a processor 1021, according to some implementations of the present subject matter. The processor 1021 may be coupled to a top surface of the processing circuitry 820. In some implementations, the processor 1021 may be located in the center of the processing circuitry 820 to maximize heat dissipation.

[0086] The components of the self-cooled chassis 600 may be arranged in a specific configuration to keep the processor 1021 and the I / O circuitry 636 cool without the need for a temperature-regulated cabinet. In another embodiment, the self-cooled chassis 600 may include a plurality of heat fins 614 extending in one direction across the top surface of the upper housing 610 and the front surface of the upper housing 610 extending in a vertical direction. The self-cooled chassis 600 may be positioned in different environments and locations. This is advantageous over previous systems because the communication device may be freestanding and not tethered to a temperature-regulated cabinet.

[0087] 11 is an exemplary guide pin 1150 for coupling the top housing 610 to the bottom housing 630 according to some implementations of the present subject matter. The guide pin 1150 can include two ends, one end for insertion into an opening in the top housing 610 and the other end for insertion into an opening in the bottom housing 630. In some implementations, the guide pin 1150 can be thicker at one end than the other end. In some implementations, the guide pin 1150 can have a different shape at one end than the other end. For example, the guide pin 1150 can be rectangular at one end and cylindrical at the other end.

[0088] 12 is a guide pin and top and bottom housing interface connectors shown in FIG. 11 according to some implementations of the present subject matter. The top housing 610 can include a top housing opening 1217, and the bottom housing 630 can include a bottom housing opening 1237. The guide pin 1150 can enable the top housing 610 to be aligned with the bottom housing 630 using the top housing opening 1217 and the bottom housing opening 1237. The processing circuit 820 in the top housing 610 can have a processing side high speed connector 1210. The I / O circuit 636 in the bottom housing 630 can have an I / O side high speed connector 1230. The guide pin 1150 can also enable alignment of the processing side high speed connector 1210 and the I / O side high speed connector 1230.

[0089] The top housing 610 may include a top housing opening 1217 positioned at an edge or corner of the top housing 610. The top housing opening 1217 may extend through a portion of the top housing 610 and may not be visible when the top housing 610 and the bottom housing 630 are coupled together. The top housing opening 1217 may be positioned along the top housing 610 to align with the bottom housing opening 1237 of the bottom housing 630. The guide pin 1150 may be configured to fit inside the top housing opening 1217. In some implementations, the top housing opening 1217 may be configured to receive one end of the guide pin 1150. In some implementations, the top housing opening 1217 may be configured to receive both ends of the guide pin 1150.

[0090] The bottom housing 630 may include a bottom housing opening 1237 positioned at an edge or corner of the bottom housing 630. The bottom housing opening 1237 may extend through a portion of the bottom housing 630 and may not be visible when the top housing 610 and the bottom housing 630 are coupled together. The bottom housing opening 1237 may be disposed along the bottom housing 630 to align with the bottom housing opening 1237. The guide pin 1150 may be configured to fit inside the bottom housing opening 1237. In some implementations, the bottom housing opening 1237 may be configured to receive one end of the guide pin 1150. In some implementations, the bottom housing opening 1237 may be configured to receive both ends of the guide pin 1150. The guide pin 1150 may be applied to align the bottom housing opening 1237 with the top housing opening 1217.

[0091] The guide pin 1150 may be applied to align the top housing opening 1217 of the top housing 610 with the bottom housing opening 1237. The guide pin 1150 may be inserted into the top housing opening 1217 and the bottom housing opening 1237. In some implementations, a thicker end of the guide pin 1150 may be inserted into the bottom housing opening 1237. The top housing opening 1217 may be controlled by the guide pin 1150 to align the top housing 610 with the bottom housing 630. Aligning the first opening of the top housing 610 with the second opening of the bottom housing 630 using the guide pin 1150 may include aligning the top housing front surface with the bottom housing front surface. In addition, the top housing opening 1217 may be controlled with the guide pin 1150 to align the processing circuit 820 with the I / O circuit 636.

[0092] The processing circuit 820 may include a processing side high speed connector 1210 for interfacing the processing circuit 820 with the I / O circuit 636. For example, the processing side high speed connector 1210 of the top housing 610 may include a set of connector pads configured to receive connection pins of the I / O circuit 636 of the bottom housing 630. Alternatively, the processing side high speed connector 1210 may include connection pins configured to connect to connector pads of the I / O circuit 636 of the bottom housing 630. The I / O circuit 636 may include an I / O side high speed connector 1230 for interfacing with the processing circuit 820. For example, the I / O side high speed connector 1230 may include a set of connector pads configured to receive connection pins of the processing circuit 820 in the top housing 610. Alternatively, the I / O side high speed connector 1230 may include connection pins configured to connect to connector pads of the processing circuit 820 of the top housing 610.

[0093] The guide pins 1150 may also enable alignment of the processing side high speed connector 1210 and the I / O side high speed connector 1230. The guide pins 1150 may enable alignment of connection pins on the processing side high speed connector 1210 with connection pads on the I / O side high speed connector 1230. Additionally and / or alternatively, the guide pins 1150 may enable alignment of connection pads on the processing side high speed connector 1210 with connection pins on the I / O side high speed connector 1230. In some embodiments, a guide pin may be positioned at each corner of the top housing 610 and / or bottom housing 630 to enable precise alignment of the processing side high speed connector 1210 and the I / O side high speed connector 1230.

[0094] 13 is a perspective view of a communication unit's self-cooled chassis 600 including an exemplary solar shield 1310 coupled to the communication unit's self-cooled chassis 600, in accordance with some implementations of the present subject matter. The solar shield may include a number of ventilation slots 1315.

[0095] The solar shield 1310 may be configured to couple to the ends of the thermal fins 614 on the opposite side of the top surface of the upper housing 610. The solar shield 1310 may be configured to cover the thermal fins 614 on the upper housing 610 to mitigate solar radiation absorbed by the thermal fins 614 while increasing air intake through the thermal fins 614. In some implementations, the solar shield 1310 may include a lip 1320 that extends over the side of the fins to couple to the fins. In some implementations, the solar shield 1310 exposes the far ends of the thermal fins 614 through which the thermal fins 614 extend. The solar shield 1310 allows the self-cooled chassis 600 to be stacked side by side with other self-cooled chassis 600 while maintaining the self-cooled chassis 600 below a thermal threshold.

[0096] The solar shield 1310 may include a plurality of ventilation slots 1315 to allow heat dissipation from the plurality of heat fins 614. In some implementations, the plurality of ventilation slots 1315 may extend in a direction perpendicular to the direction in which the plurality of heat fins 614 extend. In some implementations, the plurality of ventilation slots 1315 may extend in a direction parallel to the direction in which the front surface of the upper housing 610 extends. The plurality of ventilation slots 1315 may have a rectangular pattern and may extend in a straight line across the face of the solar shield 1310. The plurality of ventilation slots 1315 may include a plurality of ventilation slots extending along the same line. The ventilation slots above and below the plurality of ventilation slots may be staggered or offset from the plurality of ventilation slots extending along the same line.

[0097] 14 is a side view of multiple self-cooled chassis coupled to a mounting bar 1420 according to some implementations of the present subject matter. The self-cooled chassis 600 may include a handle 1410 and an overhang 1415 for coupling the self-cooled chassis to the mounting bar 1420. In some implementations, the self-cooled chassis 600 may be configured to couple to the mounting bar 1420 with the overhang 1415. The self-cooled chassis 600 may be suspended from the mounting bar 1420 using the overhang 1415 positioned on a side of the self-cooled chassis 600. The overhang 1415 may be configured to removably couple to the mounting bar 1420 by sliding the overhang 1415 over an edge of the mounting bar 1420. In some implementations, the self-cooled chassis 600 may be configured to be removed from the mounting bar 1420 by lifting the self-cooled chassis 600. For example, the handle 1410 may be coupled to the top housing 610 or the bottom housing 630. The handle 1410 may be positioned opposite the overhang 1415 to remove the overhang 1415 from the mounting bar 1420.

[0098] 15 is a perspective view of an O-ring 1510 positioned between the top and bottom housings according to some implementations of the present subject matter. The O-ring 1510 may be configured to form a seal between the top and bottom housings 610 and 630. The O-ring 1510 may be removably coupled to at least one of the top and bottom housings 610 and 630. The O-ring 1510 may be inserted into grooves in the top and bottom housings 610 and 630. The grooves may extend around the top and bottom housings 610 and 630 to prevent moisture and debris from entering the self-cooled chassis 600. The compressed O-ring 1510 may qualify for IP-65 or IP-67 compliance for the self-cooled chassis 600.

[0099] 16 is a perspective view of a mounting bracket 1600 for suspending the self-cooled chassis 600, according to some implementations of the present subject matter. The mounting bracket 1600 may include a housing bracket 1610 configured to couple to the self-cooled chassis 600 and a distal bracket 1630 configured to couple to the housing bracket 1610. The housing bracket 1610 and the distal bracket 1630 may apply pressure to a vertical post to secure the self-cooled chassis 600 to the vertical post.

[0100] The housing bracket 1610 may include a convex feature to receive the proximal side of the vertical post. The convex feature may be shaped to create a pressure point against the vertical post. For example, the housing bracket 1610 may include two convex features to create two pressure points against the vertical post. The convex features may extend from the side of the housing bracket 1610 to the center of the housing bracket 1610. The two convex features may have a semicircular shape. The two convex features may curve outward from the side of the housing bracket 1610 to contact the vertical post. The convex feature may be positioned between at least two housing bracket openings. In some implementations, the convex feature may be formed from a compressible material.

[0101] The housing bracket 1610 may include two housing bracket apertures 1622. The two housing bracket apertures 1622 may be positioned on sides of a convex shaped feature. The two housing bracket apertures 1622 may extend through the housing bracket 1610 and may be positioned on sides of the housing bracket 1610. The housing bracket apertures 1622 may be configured to receive a rod 1650. The rod 1650 may be configured to attach to the housing bracket 1610 with a threaded nut. The rod 1650 may be configured to couple the distal bracket 1630 to the housing bracket 1610.

[0102] The distal bracket 1630 may include a convex feature to receive the distal side of a vertical post. The convex feature may be shaped to create a pressure point against the vertical post. For example, the distal bracket 1630 may include two convex shapes to create two pressure points against the vertical post. The convex shapes may extend from the side of the distal bracket 1630 to the center of the distal bracket 1630. The two convex shapes may have a semicircular shape. The two convex shapes may curve outward from the side of the distal bracket 1630 and contact against the vertical post. In some implementations, the convex feature may be formed from a compressible material. In some implementations, the distal bracket 1630 may be replaced with banding that wraps around a pole or tree without the need for a rod. The banding can be directly bonded to the housing bracket 1610 on the side.

[0103] The housing bracket 1610 may include two distal bracket openings 1635. The two distal bracket openings 1635 may extend through the distal bracket 1630 or may be positioned on sides of the distal bracket 1630. The distal bracket openings 1635 may be configured to receive a rod 1650. The rod 1650 may be configured to attach to the distal bracket 1630 with a threaded nut. The rod 1650 may be configured to couple the housing bracket 1610 to the distal bracket 1630.

[0104] The rod 1650 may be threaded. A thread mechanism (e.g., a threaded nut) can be applied to the rod 1650 to move the distal bracket 1630 closer to the housing bracket 1610. The length of the rod 1650 may be longer than the diameter or width of the vertical post.

[0105] 17A is a side view of a single chassis mounting bracket configuration 1700 for suspending the self-cooled chassis 600, according to some implementations of the present subject matter. The single chassis mounting bracket configuration may include a mounting bracket 1600. A housing bracket 1610 of the mounting bracket 1600 may be configured to couple to a bottom side of the bottom housing 630. In some implementations, the housing bracket 1610 of the mounting bracket 1600 may be configured to couple to an opposite side of the solar shield 1310.

[0106] FIG. 17B is a top view of a single chassis mounting bracket configuration 1700 for suspending a self-cooled chassis 600 in accordance with some implementations of the present subject matter.

[0107] 18A is a side view of a dual chassis mounting bracket configuration 1800 for suspending two opposing self-cooled chassis according to some implementations of the present subject matter. The dual chassis mounting bracket configuration 1800 may include a housing bracket 1610 and an opposing housing bracket 1615. In some implementations, the distal bracket 1630 of the mounting bracket 1600 may be replaced with the opposing housing bracket 1615 for mounting a second self-cooled chassis 601. The housing bracket 1610 may be coupled to the self-cooled chassis 600, and the opposing housing bracket 1615 may be coupled to the second self-cooled chassis 601 on the opposite side of the housing bracket 1610.

[0108] 18B is a top view of a dual chassis mounting bracket configuration 1800 for suspending two opposing self-cooled chassis in accordance with some implementations of the present subject matter. The dual chassis mounting bracket configuration 1800 can be scaled to include additional side housing brackets and additional opposing housing brackets.

[0109] 19A is a side view of a single chassis side mounting bracket configuration 1900 for suspending the self-cooled chassis 600 on a narrow side of the self-cooled chassis 600 in accordance with some implementations of the present subject matter. The single chassis side mounting bracket configuration 1900 may include a housing bracket 1610 configured to couple to the narrow side of the self-cooled chassis 600. In some implementations, the housing bracket 1610 of the mounting bracket 1600 may be configured to couple to a side of the self-cooled chassis opposite the handle 1410. The distal bracket 1630 may be configured to couple the housing bracket 1610 to a vertical post.

[0110] 19B is a top view of a single chassis side mounting bracket configuration 1900 for suspending the self-cooled chassis 600 on a narrow side of the self-cooled chassis 600, in accordance with some implementations of the present subject matter. The single chassis side mounting bracket configuration 1900 can be scaled to include additional side housing brackets and additional opposing housing brackets.

[0111] 20A is a side view of a dual chassis side mounting bracket configuration 2000 for suspending two self-cooled chassis on the narrow side of the self-cooled chassis according to some implementations of the present subject matter. The dual chassis side mounting bracket configuration 2000 may include a housing bracket 1610, a side housing bracket 1611, and a distal bracket 1630. In some implementations, the housing bracket 1610 may be configured to couple to the side housing bracket 1611 such that the self-cooled chassis 600 may be positioned side-by-side with the second self-cooled chassis 601. In some implementations, the housing bracket 1610 may be configured to couple to the side housing bracket 1611 when the housing bracket 1610 and the side housing bracket 1611 are coupled to the narrow ends of the self-cooled chassis 600 and the second self-cooled chassis 601, respectively. The distal bracket 1630 may be configured to couple the housing bracket 1610 and the side housing bracket 1611 to a vertical post.

[0112] 20B is a top view of a dual chassis side mounting bracket configuration 2000 for suspending two self-cooled chassis on the narrow sides of a self-cooled chassis, according to some implementations of the present subject matter. The dual chassis side mounting bracket configuration 2000 can be scaled to include additional side housing brackets and additional opposing housing brackets.

[0113] 21A is a side view of a triple chassis side mounting bracket configuration 2100 for suspending three self-cooled chassis on the narrow sides of the three self-cooled chassis according to some implementations of the present subject matter. The triple chassis side mounting bracket configuration 2100 may include a housing bracket 1610, a side housing bracket 1611, a second side housing bracket 1612, and a distal bracket 1630. In some implementations, the housing bracket 1610 may be configured to couple to the side housing bracket 1611 such that the self-cooled chassis 600 may be positioned alongside the second self-cooled chassis 601. Additionally, in some implementations, the housing bracket 1610 may be configured to couple to the side housing bracket 1611 and the second side housing bracket 1612 such that the self-cooled chassis 600 may be positioned alongside the second self-cooled chassis 601 and the third self-cooled chassis 602, respectively. The housing bracket 1610 , the side housing bracket 1611 , and the second side housing bracket 1612 are configured to couple to a vertical post using a distal bracket 1630 .

[0114] 21B is a side view of a triple chassis side mounting bracket configuration 2100 for suspending three self-cooled chassis on the narrow sides of the three self-cooled chassis in accordance with some implementations of the present subject matter. The triple chassis side mounting bracket configuration 2100 can be scaled to include additional side housing brackets and additional opposing housing brackets.

[0115] 22A is a side view of a quadruple chassis side mounting bracket configuration 2200 for suspending two pairs of self-cooled chassis on the narrow sides of the self-cooled chassis according to some embodiments of the present subject matter. The quadruple chassis side mounting bracket configuration 2200 includes a housing bracket 1610, a side housing bracket 1611, an opposing housing bracket 1615, and a second side opposing housing bracket 1616. In some implementations, the distal bracket 1630 of the mounting bracket 1600 may be replaced with the opposing housing bracket 1615 for mounting a third self-cooled chassis 602. The housing bracket 1610 may be coupled to the side housing bracket 1611 to support the self-cooled chassis 600 and the second self-cooled chassis 601. The opposing housing bracket 1615 may be coupled to the second side opposing housing bracket 1616. The opposing housing bracket 1615 can support the third self-cooled chassis 602 and the second side opposing housing bracket 1616 can support the fourth self-cooled chassis 603 .

[0116] 22B is a top view of a quadruple chassis side mounting bracket configuration 2200 for suspending two pairs of self-cooled chassis on the narrow sides of a self-cooled chassis, according to some implementations of the present subject matter. The quadruple chassis side mounting bracket configuration 2200 can be scaled to include additional side housing brackets and additional opposing housing brackets. The number of self-cooled chassis that can be mounted by the scaled bracket configuration or any bracket configuration is unlimited. The only constraint limiting the number of self-cooled chassis that can be suspended by the mounting configuration is the weight and suspension limitations of the vertical columns.

[0117] FIG. 23 illustrates an exemplary system according to some implementations of the present subject matter.

[0118] In some implementations, the subject matter may be configured to be implemented in a system 2300, as shown in FIG. 23. The system 2300 may include one or more of a processor 2310, a memory 2320, a storage device 2330, and an input / output device 2340. Each of the components 2310, 2320, 2330, and 2340 may be interconnected using a system bus connection 2350. The at least one processor 2310 may be configured to process instructions for execution within the system. In some implementations, the at least one processor 2310 may be a single-threaded processor. In alternative implementations, the at least one processor 2310 may be a multi-threaded processor. The at least one processor 2310 may be further configured to process instructions stored in the memory 2320 or the storage device 2330, including receiving or transmitting information through the input / output device 2340. The memory 2320 may store information within the system 2300. In some implementations, the memory 2320 may be a computer-readable medium. In alternative implementations, the memory 2320 may be a volatile memory unit. In further implementations, the memory 2320 may be a non-volatile memory unit. The storage device 2330 may provide mass storage for the system 2300. In some implementations, the storage device 2330 may be a computer-readable medium. In alternative implementations, the storage device 2330 may be a floppy disk device, a hard disk device, an optical disk device, a tape device, a non-volatile solid-state memory, or any other type of storage device. The input / output device 2340 may be configured to provide input / output operations for the system 2300. In some implementations, the input / output device 2340 may include a keyboard and / or a pointing device. In alternative implementations, the input / output device 2340 may include a display unit for displaying a graphical user interface.

[0119] 24 illustrates an example method 1100 for assembling the self-cooled chassis 600 in accordance with some implementations of the present subject matter. Assembling the self-cooled chassis 600 may include blind mating the top housing 610 to the bottom housing 630. Additionally, assembling the self-cooled chassis 600 may include mating the processing circuitry 820 with the first set of I / O connectors 612 and mating the I / O circuitry 636 with the second set of I / O connectors 632.

[0120] At 2402, a top housing 610 and a bottom housing 630 are provided. The top housing 610 may include a first set of I / O connectors 612 disposed along a front surface of the top housing 610. The top housing 610 may be configured to house a processor 1021 communicatively coupled to the first set of I / O connectors 612. The top housing 610 may have a top surface including a plurality of thermal fins 614 configured to dissipate heat from the at least one processor. The top housing 610 may include a top housing opening 1217. The bottom housing 630 may include a second set of I / O connectors 632 disposed along a front surface of the bottom housing 630. The bottom housing 630 may be configured to house input / output (I / O) circuitry 636. The I / O circuitry 636 may be configured to communicatively couple the second set of I / O connectors 632 to the processor 1021. The bottom housing 630 may include a bottom housing opening 1237 .

[0121] At 2404, the top housing opening 1217 of the top housing 610 may be aligned with the bottom housing opening 1237 of the bottom housing 630 using guide pins 1150. Aligning the top housing 610 with the bottom housing 630 may include aligning the top housing front face with the bottom housing front face and aligning the top housing alignment fasteners 622 with the bottom housing alignment openings 642.

[0122] At 2406 , the linear alignment of the top housing 610 and bottom housing 630 is controlled using the top housing alignment fasteners 622 and the bottom housing alignment openings 642 .

[0123] In some implementations, the present subject matter may include one or more of the following optional features. In some variations, the embedded vapor chamber 625 may be coupled to the upper housing 610, and the embedded vapor chamber 625 may be configured to dissipate heat from the at least one processor. In some variations, the solar shield 1310 may be configured to cover the plurality of heat fins 614 and may be coupled to the upper housing 610 to mitigate solar radiation absorbed by the plurality of heat fins 614. The solar shield 1310 may include a plurality of ventilation slots 1315 to allow heat dissipation from the plurality of heat fins 614. The plurality of heat fins 614 may extend in a first direction across a top surface of the upper housing 610. The front surface of the upper housing 610 may extend in a second direction orthogonal to the first direction. The plurality of heat fins 614 may include two-phase heat fins, and the plurality of heat fins 614 may be configured to have a predetermined pitch extending along the top surface.

[0124] In some variations, the first set of input / output (I / O) connectors 612 and the second set of I / O connectors 632 may be arranged in a linear pattern across the front of the top housing 610. The first set of I / O connectors 612 and the second set of I / O connectors 632 may be wireless signal access connectors. An O-ring 1510 may be coupled to at least one of the top housing 610 and the bottom housing 630. The O-ring 1510 may be configured to form a seal between the top housing 610 and the bottom housing 630. In some variations, an overhang 1415 may be coupled to at least one of the top housing 610 or the bottom housing 630. The overhang 1415 may be configured to removably couple to the mounting bar 1420 by sliding the overhang 1415 over an edge of the mounting bar 1420. In some variations, the handle 1410 may be coupled to at least one of the top housing 610 or the bottom housing 630. The handles 1410 may be positioned on opposite sides of at least one of the top housing 610 or the bottom housing 630 for removing the overhang 1415 from the mounting bar 1420 .

[0125] The systems and methods disclosed herein can be embodied in a variety of forms, including, for example, a data processor such as a computer, including a database, digital electronic circuitry, firmware, software, or combinations thereof. Moreover, the above features and other aspects and principles of the implementations of the present disclosure can be implemented in a variety of environments. Such environments and associated applications may be specially constructed to perform the various processes and operations according to the disclosed implementations, or they may include general-purpose computers or computing platforms selectively activated or reconfigured by code to provide the required functionality. The processes disclosed herein are not inherently related to any particular computer, network, architecture, environment, or other apparatus, but may be implemented by any suitable combination of hardware, software, and / or firmware. For example, various general-purpose machines may be used with programs written in accordance with the teachings of the disclosed implementations, or it may be more convenient to construct a specialized apparatus or system to perform the required methods and techniques.

[0126] The systems and methods disclosed herein can be implemented as a computer program product, i.e., a computer program tangibly embodied in an information carrier, e.g., a machine-readable storage device or a propagated signal, for execution by or to control the operation of a data processing apparatus, e.g., a programmable processor, a computer, or multiple computers. The computer program can be written in any type of programming language, including compiled or interpreted languages, and can be deployed in any form, including as a stand-alone program or as a module, component, subroutine, or other unit suitable for use in a computing environment. The computer program can be deployed to be executed on one computer or on multiple computers at one site or distributed across multiple sites and interconnected by a communication network.

[0127] As used herein, the term "user" may refer to any entity, including a person or a computer.

[0128] Although ordinal numbers such as first, second, etc. may relate to order in some circumstances, as used in this document, ordinal numbers do not necessarily imply order. For example, ordinal numbers may be used simply to distinguish one item from another. For example, distinguishing a first event from a second event need not imply any chronological order or fixed frame of reference (just as a first event in one paragraph of a description may differ from a first event in another paragraph of the description).

[0129] The foregoing description is intended to illustrate, but not to limit, the scope of the invention, which is defined by the appended claims. Other implementations are within the scope of the following claims.

[0130] These computer programs, which may also be referred to as programs, software, software applications, applications, components, or codes, include machine instructions for a programmable processor and may be implemented in a high-level procedural and / or object-oriented programming language and / or in assembly / machine language. As used herein, the term "machine-readable medium" refers to any computer program product, apparatus, and / or device used to provide machine instructions and / or data to a programmable processor, including a machine-readable medium that receives machine instructions as a machine-readable signal, such as, for example, a magnetic disk, optical disk, memory, and programmable logic device (PLD). The term "machine-readable signal" refers to any signal used to provide machine instructions and / or data to a programmable processor. A machine-readable medium may store such machine instructions non-transiently, such as, for example, a non-transient solid-state memory or a magnetic hard drive or any equivalent storage medium. A machine-readable medium may alternatively or additionally store such machine instructions temporarily, such as, for example, a processor cache or other random access memory associated with one or more physical processor cores.

[0131] To provide for interaction with a user, the subject matter described herein can be implemented on a computer having a display device, such as, for example, a cathode ray tube (CRT) or liquid crystal display (LCD) monitor, for displaying information to a user, and a keyboard and pointing device, such as, for example, a mouse or trackball, by which the user can provide input to the computer. Other types of devices can also be used to provide interaction with a user. For example, feedback provided to the user can be any form of sensory feedback, such as, for example, visual feedback, auditory feedback, or tactile feedback, and input from the user can be received in any form, including, but not limited to, acoustic, speech, or tactile input.

[0132] The subject matter described herein may be implemented in a computing system that includes back-end components, such as, for example, one or more data servers, or that includes middleware components, such as, for example, one or more application servers, or that includes front-end components, such as, for example, one or more client computers having a graphical user interface or web browser through which a user can interact with an implementation of the subject matter described herein, or any combination of such back-end, middleware, or front-end components. The components of the system may be interconnected by any form or medium of digital data communication, such as, for example, a communications network. Examples of communications networks include, but are not limited to, a local area network ("LAN"), a wide area network ("WAN"), and the Internet.

[0133] A computing system may include clients and servers. Clients and servers are generally, but not exclusively, remote from each other and typically interact through a communication network. The relationship of client and server arises by virtue of computer programs running on the respective computers and having a client-server relationship to each other.

[0134] The implementations described in the foregoing description do not necessarily represent all implementations consistent with the subject matter described herein. Instead, they are merely some examples consistent with aspects related to the subject matter described. Although some variations have been described in detail above, other modifications or additions are possible. In particular, further features and / or variations may be provided in addition to those described herein. For example, the implementations described above may be directed to various combinations and subcombinations of the disclosed features and / or combinations and subcombinations of multiple additional features disclosed above. In addition, the logic flow depicted in the accompanying drawings and / or described herein does not necessarily require the particular order depicted, or sequential order, to achieve desirable results. Other implementations may be within the scope of the following claims.

Claims

1. An apparatus comprising: an upper housing including a first set of input / output (I / O) connectors disposed along a front surface of the upper housing, the upper housing configured to accommodate at least one processor communicatively coupled to the first set of I / O connectors, the upper housing having a top surface including a plurality of thermal fins configured to dissipate heat from the at least one processor, the upper housing having an upper housing opening; a bottom housing including a second set of I / O connectors disposed along a bottom housing front surface, the bottom housing configured to accommodate I / O circuitry, the I / O circuitry configured to communicatively couple the second set of I / O connectors to the at least one processor, the bottom housing having a bottom housing opening; a guide pin configured to be inserted into the top housing opening and the bottom housing opening; the top and bottom housings are configured to connect by aligning the top housing front face with the bottom housing front face and aligning the guide pins with the top and bottom housing openings.

2. 2. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the plurality of heat fins extend in a first direction across the top surface of the upper housing and the upper housing front surface extends in a second direction perpendicular to the first direction.

3. 3. The apparatus of claim 1 or 2, wherein the plurality of heat fins comprises one or more dual phase heat fins, the plurality of heat fins being configured to have a predetermined pitch extending along the top surface.

4. 4. The device of claim 1, wherein the first set of I / O connectors are arranged in a linear pattern across the top housing front face and the second set of I / O connectors are arranged in the linear pattern across the bottom housing front face, and the first set of I / O connectors and the second set of I / O connectors are wireless signal access connectors.

5. 5. The apparatus of claim 1, further comprising a solar shield configured to cover the plurality of heat fins on the upper housing to reduce solar radiation absorbed by the plurality of heat fins, the solar shield including a plurality of ventilation slots to allow heat dissipation from the plurality of heat fins.

6. a lip coupled to at least one of the top housing or the bottom housing, the lip configured to be removably coupled to the mounting bar by sliding the lip over an edge of the mounting bar; and a handle coupled to at least one of the top housing or the bottom housing, the handle positioned on an opposite side of the at least one of the top housing or the bottom housing for removing the lip from the mounting bar; and The apparatus of any one of claims 1 to 5, further comprising:

7. the top housing and the bottom housing are configured to be fastened together and aligned with alignment fasteners coupled to the at least one of the top housing or the bottom housing; The apparatus of any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein the alignment fasteners are configured to control the final linear alignment of the top and bottom housings.

8. a recessed vapor chamber coupled to the upper housing, the recessed vapor chamber configured to dissipate heat from the processor; 8. The apparatus of claim 1, further comprising: an O-ring removably coupled to at least one of the top housing and the bottom housing, the O-ring configured to form a seal between the top housing and the bottom housing, the seal being IP-65 compliant.

9. The apparatus of any one of claims 1 to 8, wherein the at least one processor and the at least one of the I / O circuitry are included in a base station including at least one of a gNodeB base station, an eNodeB base station, and any combination thereof.

10. 10. The apparatus of claim 9, wherein the base station comprises at least one of one or more distributed units, one or more baseband units, one or more air interface units, one or more remote radio heads, and any combination thereof.

11. 10. The apparatus of claim 8, wherein the base station is a base station operating in at least one of a Long Term Evolution (LTE) communication system and a New Radio (NR) communication system.

12. 1. A method for assembling a device, the method comprising: providing a top housing and a bottom housing, the top housing including a first set of input / output (I / O) connectors disposed along a top housing front surface, the top housing configured to house at least one processor communicatively coupled to the first set of I / O connectors, the top housing having a top surface including a plurality of thermal fins configured to dissipate heat from the at least one processor, the top housing including a first opening, the bottom housing including a second set of I / O connectors disposed along a bottom housing front surface, the bottom housing configured to house I / O circuitry, the I / O circuitry configured to communicatively couple the second set of I / O connectors to the processor, and the bottom housing including a second opening; aligning the first opening of the top housing with the second opening of the bottom housing using a guide pin, wherein the aligning the top housing with the bottom housing includes aligning the top housing front face with the bottom housing front face and aligning the top housing alignment fasteners with the bottom housing alignment openings; controlling linear alignment of the top housing and the bottom housing through connections of the top housing alignment fasteners and the bottom housing alignment openings; A method comprising:

13. The method of claim 12 , wherein a recessed vapor chamber is coupled to the upper housing, the recessed vapor chamber configured to dissipate heat from the processor.

14. 14. The method of claim 13, wherein a solar shield configured to cover the plurality of heat fins to mitigate solar radiation absorbed by the plurality of heat fins is coupled to the upper housing, the solar shield including a plurality of ventilation slots to allow heat dissipation from the plurality of heat fins.

15. 15. The method of claim 12, wherein the plurality of heat fins extend in a first direction across the top surface of the upper housing, and the upper housing front surface extends in a second direction perpendicular to the first direction.

16. The method of any one of claims 12 to 15, wherein the plurality of heat fins comprises two-phase heat fins, the plurality of heat fins being configured to have a predetermined pitch extending along the top surface.

17. 17. The method of claim 12, wherein the first set of I / O connectors are arranged in a linear pattern across the top housing front face and the second set of I / O connectors are arranged in the linear pattern across the bottom housing front face, and the first set of I / O connectors and the second set of I / O connectors are wireless signal access connectors.

18. 18. The method of any one of claims 12 to 17, wherein an O-ring is coupled to at least one of the top housing and the bottom housing, the O-ring configured to form a seal between the top housing and the bottom housing.

19. a lip is coupled to at least one of the top housing or the bottom housing, the lip configured to be removably coupled to the mounting bar by sliding the lip over an edge of the mounting bar; 19. The method of any one of claims 12 to 18, wherein a handle is coupled to at least one of the top housing or the bottom housing, the handle being positioned on an opposite side of at least one of the top housing or the bottom housing for removing the lip from the mounting bar.

20. 1. A mounting device for mounting a housing to a vertical post, said mounting device comprising: a housing bracket configured to couple to the housing, the housing bracket having a first convex feature for receiving a proximal side of the vertical post, the housing bracket including at least two housing bracket openings; a distal bracket configured to couple to the housing bracket, the distal bracket having a second convex feature for receiving a distal side of the vertical post, the distal bracket including at least two distal bracket openings; at least two rods configured to couple the at least two housing bracket openings and the at least two distal bracket openings.

21. 21. The mounting device of claim 20, wherein the at least two rods are threaded and a threaded mechanism is applied to the at least two rods to move the distal bracket closer to the housing bracket, the convex feature being positioned between the at least two housing bracket openings and the second convex feature being positioned between the at least two distal bracket openings.

22. 22. The mounting device of claim 20 or 21, wherein the housing bracket is configured to couple to another housing bracket such that the housing can be positioned alongside another housing.

Images