Airflow structure for connector assembly - Patents.com

Abstract

The connector assembly may be formed to include a cage, with the connector disposed inside the cage and having air scoop structures on the cage's sidewalls. The air scoop structures are configured to redirect a portion of air flowing along the outside of the cage and redirect it inward past the surface of the inserted module, directing generated thermal energy away from the module. Separate air scoop structures may be formed on each sidewall and may include multiple individual air scoops arranged in a predetermined pattern and located proximate any thermal energy-generating areas of the inserted module. A sidewall offset may be included along each cage sidewall in the area of ​​the included connector to create a wider gap between the connector housing and the cage sidewall.

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] (CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS) This application claims priority to U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 63 / 108,451, filed November 2, 2020, which is incorporated by reference in its entirety.

[0002] FIELD OF THEINVENTION The present disclosure relates to the field of connector assemblies for protecting modules from electromagnetic interference (EMI), and more specifically, to structures for improving airflow through cage components of these connector assemblies. [Background technology]

[0003] Connector assemblies such as those shown in Figures 1 and 2 are known. The connector assembly includes a cage having walls defining ports, and a connector disposed within the cage having one or more card slots aligned with the ports. The connector assembly may be a stacked design as shown, may have two ports stacked vertically (with a corresponding card slot aligned with each port), or may be a single port design. In operation, a module is inserted into the port and mates with the connector. The cage helps support the module and also provides EMI shielding.

[0004] During high speed data transmission, modules are known to generate thermal energy, especially for modules considered active, such as electro-optical modules. Excessive thermal energy can be detrimental to the operation of electronic components provided within the module. The highest level of EMI protection is provided by a cage formed of continuous metal walls bonded to a ground plane, but the lack of ventilation holes in the cage walls prevents air movement and only exacerbates the buildup of thermal energy. Known prior art attempts to minimize the buildup of thermal energy include attaching riding heat sinks to the cage and / or attaching heat sinks to the exposed exterior surfaces of the module itself. Exhaust holes may be formed at the front and rear of the cage, but this area is typically not in close proximity to the thermal energy generating areas within the module. Summary of the Invention

[0005] The present disclosure describes an air scoop structure that may be incorporated into a standard cage of a connector assembly and used to redirect airflow from an exterior region of the cage to the interior of the cage, so that air passes over a surface of an inserted module and directs generated thermal energy away from the module. The disclosed cage with improved airflow may be defined as a cage and associated air scoop structure. The cage includes a pair of opposing side walls, a top wall, and typically a bottom wall that cooperatively define a port configured to receive and support an inserted module. A connector disposed within the cage includes a card slot aligned with the port such that the module is inserted and mated with the connector card slot. An air scoop structure is formed along an exterior surface of at least one side wall of the cage and oriented to redirect airflow into an interior volume of the cage such that air flows over at least one surface of an inserted module, thereby facilitating removal of thermal energy from the module.

[0006] In one embodiment, the air scoop structure may include multiple sets of air scoops formed along defined portions of the cage sidewalls. The air scoops may be positioned to be relatively close to identified thermal energy generating modules inserted within the cage. The number of individual air scoops and their placement pattern may vary.

[0007] Air scoop structures of various configurations according to the present disclosure may be used to create a path for air to be redirected inside the cage and past the inserted electronic components. For example, the air scoop structure may take the form of a protruding dimple that includes an opening for creating an air transfer channel. Other structures may include a combination of an air vent formed through the thickness of the cage sidewall material and an air capture element disposed over the air vent. Indeed, representative embodiments include the use of extended length air diverters attached to the exterior surface of prior art cage configurations that are formed to include EMI compliant air holes (i.e., relatively small holes that do not significantly degrade the required EMI shielding properties of the ground structure).

[0008] In addition to the cages described above, one embodiment of the disclosure relates to a connector assembly for housing a connector and providing an air flow path over a portion of a module when the module is inserted into the cage. In this embodiment, the connector assembly may include a cage and an air scoop structure, and the cage may include a pair of opposing side walls and a top wall that cooperatively define a port configured to receive and support an inserted module. In operation, a module may be inserted into the port such that the module mates with a connector disposed within the cage. The disclosed air scoop structure may be formed along an exterior surface of at least one side wall adjacent the port and oriented to redirect airflow into the interior of the cage to flow over at least one surface of the inserted module and facilitate removal of thermal energy from the module.

[0009] Yet another embodiment of the present disclosure may take the form of a connector assembly including a cage formed to define two separate ports, each port for receiving a separate module, in which the associated air scoop structure may include at least a first set of air scoops positioned adjacent the first port and a second set of air scoops positioned adjacent the second port to provide airflow across a module inserted into each port.

[0010] Alternate embodiments of the multi-port cage and connector assembly may further include a cage offset to which an additional exhaust mechanism is attached that allows air to flow between the cage wall and the connector.

[0011] Another connector assembly embodiment of the present disclosure may take the form of a cage similar to any of the other embodiments, with a connector disposed within the cage. This connector assembly embodiment exhibits improved exhaust ventilation by including an offset formed along each cage sidewall in the area where the connector is disposed, the offset creating a gap between the sidewall and the connector housing to improve airflow through the connector assembly. Alternatives to this embodiment may utilize any of the disclosed air scoop arrangements with sidewall offsets.

[0012] The above features and advantages, as well as others, will become apparent from the following detailed description and the accompanying drawings. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0013] The present disclosure is illustrated by way of example and not limitation in the accompanying drawings in which like reference numbers refer to similar elements.

[0014] [Figure 1] 1 shows a typical prior art cage assembly. [Diagram 2] 1 illustrates another typical prior art cage assembly. [Diagram 3]FIG. 1 is a perspective side view of a cage including an air scoop structure formed in an area of ​​the cage sidewall proximate a thermal energy generating area of ​​an inserted module. [Figure 4] FIG. 4 is an enlarged view of a portion of FIG. 3 showing a representative configuration of an air scoop structure including a vent covered by an air capture element. [Diagram 5] FIG. 13 is an enlarged side view of a cage sidewall showing another exemplary type of air scoop structure, in this case with a plurality of protruding dimples formed to contain openings for forming air transfer channels. [Figure 6] FIG. 5 is a simplified diagram of a top view of an exemplary cage illustrating two different geometries of the air capture element as shown in FIG. 4, in one case showing a non-overlapping arrangement with the vent holes and in another case showing an overlapping arrangement with the vent holes, where the overlapping arrangement may be configured to provide additional EMI shielding at certain frequencies. [Figure 7] FIG. 1 is a perspective side view of an exemplary cage configured to include a pair of stacking ports to support a stacking arrangement of modules, showing the inclusion of air scoop features on each cage sidewall adjacent both the upper and lower port locations. [Figure 8] FIG. 8 is a close-up view of an exemplary air scoop feature that may be used as part of the cage of FIG. [Figure 9] FIG. 1 is a simplified perspective view of a cage formed to include EMI compliant air holes but no air scoop. [Figure 10] FIG. 10 is a simplified perspective view of an exemplary cage formed to include the disclosed air scoop structure by modifying the prior art configuration of FIG. 9, in this case including providing air diverters across each group of EMI compliant air holes. [Figure 11] FIG. 11 is an enlarged view of an exemplary air diverter used in the arrangement of FIG. 10, particularly illustrating the use of a top plate of length L that extends across the entire arrangement of air holes. [Figure 12]FIG. 13 is a perspective side view of an exemplary cage configured to include an air diverter as shown in FIG. 10, showing that this exemplary embodiment includes a pair of ports for supporting modules, an air transfer channel formed between the two ports, and a heat sink disposed above the upper module to further facilitate removal of thermal energy from the device. [Figure 13] FIG. 13 is a simplified top view of the exemplary embodiment of FIG. 12, in this case showing an example of a staggered arrangement of air diverters on the side walls of the cage. [Figure 14] FIG. 13 is a simplified top view of the interlocking arrangement of cages including staggered air diverters of FIG. 12, illustrating the ability to increase diverter depth and / or decrease spacing between cages by staggering the position of the diverters. [Figure 15] FIG. 2 is a perspective side view of an exemplary cage including a raised pocket area formed along selected portions of the cage sidewall, with the disclosed air scoop structure formed within the pocket area. [Figure 16] FIG. 13 is a close-up view of one exemplary raised pocket area illustrating the use of protruding dimples and small vent holes to provide airflow in accordance with the principles of the present disclosure. [Figure 17] FIG. 17 is a close-up view of an alternative embodiment of the raised pocket area, in this case including an air scoop structure in the form of several air diverters, as well as a set of small vents similar to those in FIG. [Figure 18] 18(a) is a surface plot associated with the prior art cage of FIG. 9 and FIG. 18(b) is a surface plot associated with a cage formed as shown in FIG. 10, including temperature plots of the top surface of the cage showing improved heat transfer. [Figure 19A] FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of a module showing the locations where temperature values ​​can be taken. [Figure 19B] 19B is a table of data associated with temperatures taken at the points indicated in FIG. 19A providing a comparison of thermal performance between the prior art cage configuration and the cage configuration of FIG. 3. [Figure 20]FIG. 15 is a surface plot of airflow for a set of three cages arranged in an interlocking arrangement, with each cage configured to include staggered air diverters, as shown in FIG. [Figure 21] FIG. 16 is a surface plot of the airflow of a similar set of interlocking cages, in this case formed to include additional pockets with air diverters, as shown in FIG. [Figure 22] It includes a pair of airflow surface plots, where the surface plot in FIG. 22(a) is associated with a prior art connector assembly and shows the location of airflow obstructions (i.e., "choke points") at the location where the connector housing is essentially positioned against the cage sidewall, and the surface plot in FIG. 22(b) is associated with a connector assembly formed in accordance with the present disclosure and includes an offset in the cage sidewall in the area of ​​the connector housing to create a gap between the sidewall and the housing to improve airflow along the exhaust path. [Figure 23] FIG. 1 is an isometric side view of an exemplary connector assembly formed to include a sidewall offset, the offset being formed to include several vent holes. [Figure 24] FIG. 24 is another isometric side view of the connector assembly of FIG. 23, where the rear of the assembly is positioned at the front of the view. [Diagram 25] FIG. 24 is a cross-sectional view of the connector assembly of FIG. 23, particularly showing the individual components of the connector itself and the increased spacing between the connector housing and the cage provided by the sidewall offset. [Figure 26] FIG. 26 is an enlarged view of a portion of FIG. 25 showing additional gaps d created along each sidewall near the connector housing. [Figure 27] FIG. 13 is an isometric side view of another configuration of a cage formed to include a pair of sidewall offsets. [Figure 28] FIG. 28 is a rear view of the cage of FIG. 27 showing the offset d (typically measured in millimeters (mm)) that results from including a sidewall offset. [Figure 29]1 is a plot showing the thermal improvement associated with the bottom port in a stacked port arrangement as a function of gap size d. [Diagram 30] FIG. 13 is an isometric view of another connector assembly including a sidewall offset, in this case the offset is a solid plate (i.e., "closed" and has no side air holes). DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0015] Simplicity and clarity in both illustration and description are required to effectively enable a person skilled in the art to make, use, and best practice the embodiments disclosed herein in view of what is already known in the art. Those skilled in the art will appreciate that various modifications and changes may be made to the specific embodiments described herein without departing from the spirit and scope of the present disclosure. Thus, the specification and drawings should be considered as illustrative and representative, rather than restrictive or comprehensive, and all such modifications to the specific embodiments described herein are intended to be included within the scope of the present disclosure. Furthermore, it should be understood that the following detailed description describes representative embodiments and is not intended to be limited to the combination(s) expressly disclosed. Thus, unless otherwise indicated, features disclosed herein may be combined together to form additional combinations not otherwise described or shown for purposes of brevity. Furthermore, as used herein, the term "embodiment" or "representative" refers to examples included within the scope of the present disclosure.

[0016] FIG. 3 illustrates components of a representative cage 10 of a connector assembly formed in accordance with the present disclosure to facilitate airflow through the cage while still providing the level of EMI shielding required to support GHz transmission speeds. While only the cage 10 is illustrated, the corresponding connector assembly includes a connector such as the connector shown in FIG. 2. The cage 10 is illustrated as having a top wall 12 and a pair of side walls 14, 16 joined to form an inverted U-shaped cage having a partially enclosed interior volume. A rear wall 18 may be included and may "wrap" the side walls 14, 16 for stability. The side walls 14, 16 may include tail portions 20 in the form of compliant pins that are received within vias or other openings on an associated circuit board 1 (which may be formed by any desired type of structure) to connect the cage 10 to a ground circuit on the circuit board 1. An opening 22 in the top wall 12 may be included and used to allow for placement of a heat sink that may be located above a module disposed within the interior volume of the cage 10. In the embodiment of FIG. 3, the partially enclosed interior volume of cage 10 is configured to include upper and lower ports 30A and 30B, and a separate module may be inserted within each port.

[0017] To facilitate airflow through the cage 10, multiple air scoops are added to the side walls 14, 16 and are used to redirect air flowing along the exterior of the cage 10 to interior areas near inserted modules. Airflow that would otherwise flow over the cage surfaces is redirected by forcing collection openings ("scoops") directly into the airflow normally routed between the cages, redirecting a portion of that airflow into the cage to pass over selected heat generating surfaces within the cage. The redirected airflow path along the surfaces of the thermal energy generating modules serves to effectively cool the modules and direct thermal energy away from their vicinity. The thermal energy transfer path may include a heat sink located on the top surface of the cage 10, exhaust holes formed in the back wall 18, or any other suitable arrangement known in the art. In the particular configuration shown in FIG. 3, multiple air scoops 40 are shown formed in selected areas of the side walls 14, 16 that are likely to be in close proximity to the inserted modules (not shown). The air scoops 40 are oriented such that their open faces 46 (shown in detail, for example, in FIG. 4 ) are positioned in a direction that captures the flow of ambient air (or other gas) within the local environment of the cage 10. Based on this orientation, the air scoops 40 may thus be used to redirect air flowing across the exterior surfaces of the side walls 14, 16, redirecting the air flow inwardly to facilitate thermal energy transfer from the inserted modules, and then directing it outwardly through a heat sink and / or exhaust (if included). It has been found that locating the air scoops 40 in proximity to the thermal energy generating portions of the inserted modules may be preferred for efficient thermal energy transfer from the modules.

[0018] In the exemplary embodiment shown in FIG. 3, a first group of air scoops 40a may be positioned along an upper region of the side wall 14 adjacent a module that is inserted into the upper port 30A of the cage 10. A second group of air scoops 40b may be positioned along a lower region of the side wall 14 adjacent another module that is inserted into the lower port 30B. Similarly, a third group of air scoops 40c may be positioned along the opposing side wall 16 in the region of the upper port 30A. Although not apparent in the view of FIG. 3, a fourth group of air scoops 40d may be positioned along the side wall 16 in the region of the lower port 30B.

[0019] FIG. 4 is an enlarged view of an air scoop 40a formed in a portion of the sidewall 14 adjacent the upper port 30A region of the cage 10. Arrows are included to illustrate the redirection of airflow from the exterior of the sidewall 14 to its interior due to the presence of the air scoop. In the embodiment shown in FIG. 4, each air scoop 40 includes an air vent 42 formed as an opening through the thickness of the sidewall 14. An air capture member 44 is disposed over the air vent 42, with an open face 46 of the air capture member 44 oriented such that a portion of the air flowing along the cage 10 is redirected and directed toward the enclosed interior volume of the cage 10. The number of individual air scoops included in each set is considered a matter of design choice, as is the particular distribution pattern of the air scoops on the surface of the sidewall 14.

[0020] The particular configuration of the air scoop 40 as shown in FIG. 4 is believed to be but one embodiment of an air scoop structure formed in accordance with the present disclosure. For example, FIG. 5 shows a plurality of protruding dimples 50 that may be used as disclosed air flow structures and included on the cage sidewalls 14, 16 to redirect air flow in a manner similar to the air scoop 40. Each dimple 50 includes an opening 52 formed through a portion of the rounded protrusion to provide an air channel into the associated cage. The dimples 50 may be formed using well-known machining operations on the conductive sheet material used to form the sidewalls 14, 16, with the location and size of the openings 52 controlled in a similar process. Again, the size, number and pattern of the protruding dimples 50 used in any particular cage is believed to be an application specific design choice.

[0021] It is also possible to configure the disclosed air scoop structures to provide additional degrees of EMI filtering at certain frequencies. Reference is made to FIG. 6 to illustrate this concept. In particular, FIG. 6 is a top view of the cage 10, shown in simplified schematic form, with the air scoop 40 not shown to scale. In this example, a first air scoop 40-1 is formed in the side wall 14 and a second air scoop 40-2 is formed in the side wall 16. The air scoop 40-1 is shown as having a simple non-overlapping geometry between the air trapping member 44-1 and the vent 42-1. The non-overlapping geometry is defined by a gap g between the leading edge 44e1 of the air trapping member 44-1 and the leading edge 42e1 of the vent 42-1. The presence of this exposed air hole may somewhat reduce the strength of the EMI shielding, as is known in the art. In contrast, the air scoop 40-2 as formed on the sidewall 16 is configured to exhibit an overlapping geometry. Here, the leading edge 44e-2 of the air capture member 44-2 extends to overlap the leading edge 42e-2 of the vent hole 42-2 by an amount d. The overlap distance d establishes a waveguide cutoff filter formed by the conductive boundary sheet metal surface 16 and the conductive scoop surface 44-2. The attenuation level of the overlapping scoop filter is increased in proportion to the overlap distance d. The lower cutoff frequency of the overlapping scoop filter is set by the maximum opening size of the scoop aperture. In this manner, the cutoff frequency occurs when the maximum height or width of the aperture or scoop aperture is approximately equal to one-half wavelength of the incident electromagnetic field. The vent 42-2 thus helps to define and create an EMI filter defined by the overlap d in combination with the surface area created by the air capture member 44-2.

[0022] FIG. 7 is an isometric side view of another representative cage 10A, which includes an air scoop structure formed in accordance with the present disclosure to promote airflow through the cage to improve thermal energy transfer from inserted modules. Similar to the cage 10 of FIG. 3, the cage 10A includes a top wall 12, side walls 14, 16, and (possibly) a back wall 18. Additionally, the cage 10A includes a base wall 19 that is connected to the other walls to form an enclosure having an open face 24. The base wall 19 may also include a tail portion 20 that extends into a ground structure on a supporting substrate (such as a circuit board, not shown). Similar to the cage 10, the cage 10A may be formed to support a stack of modules, in this case shown as including an upper port 30A and a lower port 30B. In this particular embodiment, the cage 10A may be formed to include an air transfer channel structure 32 disposed between the upper port 30A and the lower port 30B. The channel structure 32 may include various types of thermal channels known in the art to assist air flow from the open face 24 toward the rear wall 18 along the interface between the upper and lower ports 30A, 30B.

[0023] The arrangement of FIG. 7 may also include a gasket 34 that surrounds the open face 24 and provides additional EMI protection when the cage 10A is attached to a circuit board and a bevel or cover plate (not shown) is attached to the cage 10A. In this side view of the cage 10A, the possible locations of a set of air scoops 40c formed in the sidewall 16 and potentially located in the upper portion of the sidewall 16 adjacent to a module that may be located in the upper port 30A are evident. An additional set of air scoops 40d are similarly formed in the lower portion of the sidewall 16 and positioned to direct airflow toward the lower port 30B. The scoops 40 shown in FIG. 7 are shown enlarged in FIG. 8 and may be formed as shown in FIG. 4, with vent holes 42 and air trapping members 44, with open faces 46 of the air trapping members 44 positioned to collect air passing along the exterior surface of the sidewall 16 and direct the air toward the port 30 to flow along the inserted module and direct thermal energy away from the module. If desired, scoop features such as protruding dimples 50, or any other suitable type of air flow redirecting element may be used as alternative air flow structures.

[0024] Further in accordance with the present disclosure, existing cages may be modified to incorporate the disclosed air scoop structures to improve thermal energy transfer from inserted modules. FIG. 9 is a simplified diagram of a cage configuration 50, in this case formed to include a top wall 52 (with an opening 53 for placing a heat sink), a pair of side walls 54, 56, and a base wall 58, prior to installation of the scoop, the combination defining a partially enclosed interior volume that may be used to house one or more modules. Thermal management in this arrangement is provided by a set of EMI compliant air holes 60 formed along each side wall 54 and 56. Three sets of air holes 60a, 60b, 60c are shown in FIG. 9 arranged in a linear arrangement. The inclusion of the air holes 60 (which may be formed by stamping notches in the conductive material used to form the cage configuration 50) may allow some ambient thermal energy to "escape," but no dynamic flow is created that may facilitate further thermal energy transfer.

[0025] FIG. 10 illustrates a cage 70 that modifies the structure illustrated in FIG. 9 to provide dynamic airflow capabilities. As illustrated, the cage 70 is formed to include a set of air diverters 72 located above the EMI compliant air holes 60 such that passing air can be captured and directed from the exterior of the cage configuration 70 to a partially enclosed interior volume area in a manner similar to that described above. In one embodiment, the air diverters 72 may be attached to the sides of the cage by any desired technique, such as spot welding, using adhesives, or other techniques to attach the air diverters to the cage to improve the thermal properties of the cage. In an exemplary embodiment, the individual air diverters 72i may be sized to span across a linear set of air holes 60, allowing airflow to be efficiently redirected from the exterior of the cage 70 through the entire set of air holes 60. As illustrated in FIG. 11, the exemplary air diverter 72 may be formed to include a top plate 71, side plates 73 and 75, and a rear plate 77. As mentioned above, the top plate 71 may have a length L sufficient to span the entire set of air holes 60, as shown in a straight-line configuration (see FIG. 9). So long as the air diverter 72 includes an open face 74, any airflow passing along the cage sidewall may be captured by the air diverter 72 and directed through the air holes 60 to provide dynamic thermal energy transfer.

[0026] The particular embodiment shown in FIG. 10 is based on the design shown in FIG. 9, with air diverters 72 mounted to side walls 52, 54 and positioned such that separate air scoops 72i are positioned over associated linear sets of air holes 60. Looking at both FIG. 9 and FIG. 10, a first air diverter 72a is mounted to side wall 56 and positioned to straddle the first set of air holes 60a. Similarly, a second air diverter 72b is mounted to side wall 56 over the second set of air holes 60b, and a third air diverter 72c is mounted over air hole 60c. Although not shown in this figure, additional sets of air diverters 72d, 72e, and 72f can be mounted to opposing side walls 52 and positioned over similar sets of air holes 60. Thus, the cage can have one or both sides adapted to improve thermal performance.

[0027] FIG. 12 illustrates a particular embodiment of a cage 70A including an air diverter 72 as described above. In this embodiment, the cage 70A is formed to include upper and lower ports 30A and 30B separated by an air transfer channel 32. Also illustrated here is an exemplary heat sink structure 80 that may be disposed within an opening 53 in the top wall 52 of the cage 70A to provide an efficient thermal energy transfer path for the structure. FIG. 13 is a top view of the arrangement of FIG. 12 and illustrates an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure in which the location of the air holes 60 / diverters 72 may be "staggered" (i.e., offset) along one sidewall relative to the other to enhance airflow through the cage and allow similar cages to be mounted adjacent to one another without a diverter from one cage interfering with a diverter in a second adjacent cage. In particular, air diverter 72d (formed along sidewall 54) is shown positioned such that it is offset relative to the location of air diverter 72a along sidewall 56. It should be understood that the underlying air holes 60d and 60a are similarly offset. Similarly, air diverter 72e is offset relative to air diverter 72b. As can be appreciated, for a particular distance between two adjacent cages, the use of staggered air diverters 72 allows for the use of deeper diverters that capture more airflow than shallower elements. FIG. 14 is a top view of a set of three such cages 70A-1, 70A-2, and 70A-3 arranged in a side-by-side arrangement. Such side-by-side arrangements of cages are well known in the art and are commonly used in boxes (such as switches and servers) where an increased number of connectors are useful. By staggering the location of the air diverters 72 on the opposing side walls 54, 56 of each cage, the air diverters on one cage are also offset from the air diverters on the side walls of an adjacent cage, such that the cages themselves may be positioned relatively close to one another without their respective air scoop structures physically touching. Additionally, as discussed above, the staggered arrangement allows for the utilization of relatively deep diverters 72.Referring to FIG. 14, assuming adjacent cages are separated by a distance x, the diverters 72 may be formed to have a height slightly greater than x / 2 (as long as their positions are staggered).

[0028] Another embodiment of a cage configured to improve airflow along an inserted module is shown in FIG. 15. As shown, a cage 90 is formed to include a set of raised pockets 92 incorporated within the structure of side walls 94, 96. A first pair of pockets 92a, 92b is shown formed along side wall 94, and a second pair of pockets 92c, 92d is formed along the opposing side wall 96. Here, each pocket 92 comprises a raised elongated portion of the respective side wall, preferably along a portion of the side wall adjacent the inserted module, that serves to slightly increase the interior volume enclosed by the cage 90. A plurality of air scoop structures 98 are formed along the exterior surface region of each raised pocket 92 to redirect airflow from the exterior to the interior of the cage 90 in the same manner as described above. The inclusion of raised pocket 92 creates an outwardly protruding pocket edge 92e, shown in FIG. 16 as having a height h above the remainder of the sidewall exterior surface, increasing the volume of “scooped” air and therefore the efficiency of thermal energy transfer from the inserted module.

[0029] 16 and 17 show various representative configurations of air scoop structures 98 that may be included on the exterior surface of the pocket 92 (it being understood that any suitable type of air scoop structure design may be used). For example, FIG. 16 shows a set of air scoop structures 98a shaped similarly to the protruding dimples 50 as shown in FIG. 5. In this particular embodiment of FIG. 16, an additional set of relatively small vent holes 98b are shown formed along the leading edge 92e of the pocket 92a. These vent holes may be used to further increase the volume of air redirected from the exterior to the interior of the associated cage. With reference to FIG. 17, the raised pocket 92b is shown as including an air scoop structure with small vent holes 98b and a pair of extended air diverters 98c similar to the diverters 72 described above in connection with FIG. 10. If desired, the pocket 92 may also include a rear vent to allow air to flow out of the pocket 92.

[0030] With respect to performance data, Figs. 18(a) and 18(b) include a pair of heat maps showing temperature distribution across the top surface of the cage. The heat map in Fig. 18(a) is associated with a prior art connector assembly, with temperatures at selected locations across its surface of over 135°C. In comparison, the heat map in Fig. 18(b) is associated with a cage configured to include the airflow structure of Fig. 7 (e.g., a diverter added above a set of sidewall air holes). From a comparison of these heat maps, it is clear that improved airflow reduces temperatures over these same surface areas. Data for these heat maps is included in Table I of Fig. 19.

[0031] It has been found that a staggered configuration of air diverters associated with a set of interlocking cages, as shown in Figure 14, shows an improvement in thermal performance of the lower port 30B by 0.6°C. Figure 20 is an illustration of the airflow through this embodiment of Figure 14, and in particular shows the difference in air velocity (m / s) created by the inclusion of a staggered arrangement of air diverters.

[0032] As discussed above in connection with Figure 15, the incorporation of dimples has been found to further improve the thermal performance of the cage. Figure 21 is a diagram of the airflow through the embodiment of Figure 15 (similar in configuration to the embodiment of Figure 20), the difference being the incorporation of the dimple shape. By adding the dimples along with the scoops, the thermal performance of the upper port 30A is increased by an additional 0.3°C, and the thermal performance of the lower port 30B is increased by 0.7°C.

[0033] While the various scoop configurations described above provide improved thermal performance as evidenced by the results shown in Figures 19B-21, providing port cooling to the bottom ports in a stacked arrangement remains a significant challenge. In particular, the lack of spacing between the cage sidewalls and the connector housing has been found to block airflow beyond this point.

[0034] According to another embodiment of the present disclosure, the sidewalls of the cage in the area of ​​the connector housing are modified to include one or more offsets that extend the width of the cage slightly (e.g., by a few mm) at this location to increase the internal spacing between the connector housing and the sidewalls.

[0035] FIG. 22 includes a pair of airflow velocity maps showing the improvement associated with the use of offsets. FIG. 22(a) illustrates the airflow from the port inlet, along the connector assembly, through the connector, and then out along the back wall. A pair of "choke points" C are shown as being created in the area where the connector housing is essentially adjacent to the cage sidewall. Thus, the presence of these choke points impedes airflow. FIG. 22(b) illustrates the airflow improvement found by including a pair of offsets 100 along the cage sidewall near the connector housing. As explained in more detail below, the offsets 100 (which may be formed to include vent holes) extend slightly the width of the cage in the area of ​​the connector housing (each offset adds a gap of "d" on each side).

[0036] 23 and 24 are isometric side views of an exemplary connector assembly formed to include a pair of offsets 100, with FIG. 23 showing a side view of the connector portion 220 of the assembly facing back and FIG. 24 showing a side view of the connector portion 220 facing forward. The connector assembly includes a cage 200 formed in the manner described above and is defined as having a pair of opposing side walls 210, 212. A pair of ports 214A, 214B each receive an associated module. A rear wall 216 (through which an associated connector is placed in position within the connector assembly) is shown as including several vent holes to allow some air flow, however, without including the offsets 100, pinch points between the connector housing and the side walls 210, 212 (not apparent in this view) remain an issue.

[0037] Therefore, further in accordance with the present disclosure, it is proposed to supplement the above-described cage configuration with a sidewall offset 100 that functions to increase the spacing between the sidewalls 210, 212 and the connector housing. In some embodiments, the offset 100 may be formed to include a vent 110 and an opening 112 to provide an additional path for exhaust air to travel through the connector assembly.

[0038] FIG. 25 is a cross-sectional view of the isometric side view of FIG. 23 to better illustrate the placement of connector portion 220 within cage 200, as well as the relationship between offsets 100-1, 100-2 and connector portion 220. In particular, offsets 100-1, 100-2 are shown disposed along cage side walls 210, 212, respectively, and function to widen cage 200 in the area in which connector housing 222 is disposed. In particular, offset 100-1 is disposed to increase the gap spacing between side 224 of connector housing 222 and cage side wall 210. Similarly, offset 100-2 is disposed to increase the gap spacing between side 226 of connector housing 222 and cage side wall 212. FIG. 26 is an enlarged view of a portion of FIG. 25 to better illustrate the relative positions of sides 224, 226 of connector housing 222 and offsets 100-100-2. It should be understood that the offsets 100 may be attached to the cage (by adhesive or spot welding or other desired attachment technique) to cover openings created in a pair of original cage side walls, or the cage side walls may be manufactured from the beginning to include these offsets at appropriate locations along the length of the cage assembly.

[0039] FIG. 27 is an isometric side view of a cage 200A (showing the rear wall 216 toward the front of the view) formed to include an offset 100A. Similar to the arrangements described above, the offset 100A may be added to the cage 200A after assembly of the cage 200A or may be formed directly into the side walls 210, 212 during manufacture. Again, vent holes 110, 112 may be included within the offset 100A to provide additional paths for exhaust air to flow. FIG. 28 is an end view of the cage 200A, and in particular, in this view, shows the amount of offset "d" provided by the addition of the offset. In fact, it has been found that the thermal performance of the lower port region of the connector assembly increases with increasing offset dimensions. FIG. 29 includes a plot of the thermal performance improvement as a function of "d" at three key locations where thermal performance is typically monitored (i.e., the "nose", the "hot spot", and the "heat sink base"). As can be appreciated, increasing "d" allows for increased performance, but is of course limited by the desire to place adjacent cages closer together to ensure there is a sufficient density of connections. As a result, it is rarely desirable to have d greater than 1.5 mm, and in many embodiments, d may be in the range of 0.5-1.5 mm. As a result, the offset can be configured to provide a 0.5 mm gap between the cage and the internal connector, or to provide an offset that provides a 1.0 mm gap or a 1.5 mm gap or even greater.

[0040] FIG. 30 includes an isometric side view of a connector assembly including a cage 200B and a connector portion 220 (associated module 300 is shown inserted in this view). In this embodiment, a pair of offsets 100B are included to increase the gap spacing between the internal structure of the connector portion 220 and the side walls 210, 212 of the cage 200B. In contrast to the embodiment of FIG. 27, the offsets 100B are formed as solid plates without vents on the sides and may include only optional openings 112 as shown. The provision of offsets 100B provides the desired increase in spacing between the connector portion 220 and the cage side walls 210, 212, and the use of solid plates is believed to improve the EMI shielding capabilities of the structure. Thus, depending on the particular application, it may be preferable to use solid offsets (e.g., in very high frequency operation). The tradeoff between the use of vents (as well as their dimensions, placement, etc.) and the use of solid plates is believed to be a design choice.

[0041] It can be seen that the cage assembly of the present disclosure provides thermal energy dissipation for the enclosed modules by airflow through the scoop features formed on the sidewalls of the cage configuration. Additionally, heat dissipation can be improved by lowering the choke point between the connector and the cage using an offset. Of course, both features can be combined as desired.

[0042] For example, the connector assembly may include a cage with scoops and offsets. In such an embodiment, the scoops may be on one or both sides of the cage and may be staggered as needed. The offsets may be vented or solid locations and may be on one or both sides of the cage. Depending on the connector assembly design, scoops may be provided only on the lower ports to help normalize the performance of the lower ports compared to the upper ports, or may be provided on the upper and lower ports. Of course, another way to balance performance is to use more scoop features on the lower ports than the upper ports.

[0043] While preferred embodiments of the present disclosure have been shown and described, it is anticipated that those skilled in the art may devise various modifications thereto without departing from the spirit and scope of the foregoing description and the appended claims.

[0044] The disclosure provided herein describes features in terms of preferred and exemplary embodiments thereof, and many other embodiments, modifications, and variations within the scope and spirit of the appended claims will occur to those skilled in the art from a consideration of the present disclosure.

[0045] It will be understood that the foregoing description provides examples of electrical connector assemblies of the present disclosure. However, it is contemplated that other implementations of the present disclosure may differ in detail from the foregoing examples. Any reference to the present disclosure or its examples is intended to refer to the specific example described at the time, and is not intended to imply any limitation on the scope of the disclosure more generally. The recitation of ranges of values ​​herein is intended merely to serve as a shorthand method of referring individually to each separate value falling within the range, unless otherwise stated herein, and each separate value is incorporated into the specification as if it were individually set forth herein.

[0046] Accordingly, this disclosure includes all modifications and equivalents of the subject matter recited in the claims appended hereto as permitted by applicable law. Moreover, any combination of the above-described elements in all possible variations thereof is encompassed by this disclosure unless otherwise indicated herein or otherwise clearly contradicted by context. Moreover, the advantages described herein may not be applicable to all embodiments encompassed by the claims.

[0047] Although benefits, advantages, and solutions have been described above with respect to particular embodiments of the invention, it should be understood that such benefits, advantages, and solutions, as well as any element or elements that cause or may cause such benefit, advantage, or solution to be more pronounced, should not be construed as a critical, necessary, or essential feature or element of any or all claims appended to or resulting from this disclosure.

Claims

1. 1. A connector assembly comprising: a cage formed of an electrically conductive material, the cage including first and second side walls and a top wall that cooperate to define a port configured to receive and support an inserted module, the cage further including an opening through which the module may be inserted into or removed from the port; a connector disposed within the cage, the connector including a card slot aligned with the port; an air scoop structure formed along an exterior surface of the first sidewall, the air scoop structure oriented to redirect airflow into the port to create airflow over at least one surface of an inserted module during operation to facilitate removal of thermal energy from the inserted module; a raised pocket area formed along a first side wall of the cage, the air scoop structure being formed on an exterior surface of the raised pocket area.

2. The connector assembly of claim 1 , wherein the second side wall includes an air scoop structure.

3. The connector assembly of claim 2 , wherein each air scoop structure is positioned to align with a position of an inserted module so as to be proximate to a thermal energy generating portion.

4. 4. The connector assembly of claim 3, wherein the location of the air scoop structure on the first side wall is staggered relative to the location of the air scoop structure on the second side wall.

5. 2. The connector assembly of claim 1, wherein the air scoop structure comprises a protruding dimple including an opening formed through a thickness of the first side wall, the opening of the protruding dimple being oriented to capture air flowing across an outer surface of the first side wall.

6. The connector assembly of claim 5 , wherein the air scoop structure comprises a plurality of protruding dimples arranged in a pattern on the first side wall of the cage.

7. The air scoop structure, a vent hole formed through a thickness of the first side wall; 2. The connector assembly of claim 1, further comprising an air trapping member disposed over the vent hole and positioned to redirect a portion of the external air flow through the vent hole and into the port.

8. The connector assembly of claim 7 , wherein a front edge of the air trapping member is positioned to overlap a front edge of the vent.

9. The connector assembly of claim 7 , wherein a leading edge of the air trapping member is disposed in a non-overlapping configuration with a leading edge of the vent.

10. The air scoop structure, a plurality of air holes arranged in a predetermined arrangement along a portion of the first side wall; 2. The connector assembly of claim 1, further comprising: an air diverter disposed across the plurality of air holes and configured to redirect a portion of the external air flow through the plurality of air holes and into the port.

11. the plurality of air holes are disposed in a linear vertical arrangement along a first side wall of the cage; 11. The connector assembly of claim 10, wherein the air diverter comprises a combination of a top plate, a pair of opposing side edge plates, and a back plate forming an open surface over the plurality of air holes, the top plate including a length sufficient to span an entire linear vertical arrangement of the plurality of air holes.

12. The connector assembly of claim 10 , wherein the air diverter comprises a separate component attached to an exterior surface of a side wall of the cage.

13. The connector assembly of claim 12 , wherein the air diverter is welded to an exterior surface of a side wall of the cage.

14. The connector assembly of claim 1 , wherein the raised pocket area further comprises one or more vent holes formed along a raised front edge of the raised pocket area to capture additional external airflow.

15. 2. The connector assembly of claim 1, wherein the connector includes an outer surface disposed adjacent an inner surface of one of the first and second side walls, and the cage further includes a cage offset formed along the outer surface of the first side wall, the cage offset extending outwardly relative to the first side wall to create a gap between the first side wall and the outer surface of the connector.

16. 1. A connector assembly comprising: a cage including a first side wall, a second side wall opposite the first side wall, and a top wall that cooperate to define an internal port configured to receive and support an inserted module, the cage further including an opening through which the module may be inserted into or removed from the internal port; a connector disposed within the cage, the connector including a card slot aligned with the port therein for engaging an inserted module; an air scoop structure formed along an exterior surface of at least one side wall adjacent a port in the interior and oriented to redirect airflow into the interior of the cage to flow across at least one surface of an inserted module and facilitate removal of thermal energy from the connector assembly; the air scoop structure comprising a plurality of air holes arranged in a predetermined arrangement along a portion of the side wall, and an air diverter arranged across the plurality of air holes and configured to redirect a portion of the external air flow through the plurality of air holes and into the internal port.

17. 1. A connector assembly comprising: a cage including a plurality of walls that cooperate to define a first port and a second port, the first and second ports configured to receive and support an inserted module, the cage further including an opening through which the first and second ports can be accessed; a connector disposed within the cage, the connector including a card slot aligned with each of the ports; an air scoop structure formed along an exterior surface of the first sidewall, the air scoop structure including a first set of air scoops positioned at a first location adjacent the first port and oriented to redirect airflow toward the first port in which an inserted module is located, and a second set of air scoops positioned at a second location adjacent the second port and oriented to redirect airflow toward the second port in which an inserted module is located; a raised pocket area formed along the first sidewall, the air scoop structure being formed on an exterior surface of the raised pocket area.

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