Dual Depth Chassis with Segmented Faraday Cages
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional Faraday cage designs in networking hardware chassis are limited to specific card sizes, requiring new chassis for different sized cards, leading to frequent obsolescence and increased costs as technology evolves, necessitating a solution to support different depth cards within the same chassis.
Innovation Solution
A method and system that allows a chassis to accommodate dual depth cards with associated Faraday cages, enabling hot-swappable fans and gasket configurations to form different Faraday cages, supporting both existing and future card depths, thereby extending the chassis' life span and enabling additional functionality without replacing the entire system.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If conventional Faraday cage designs are used to cover cards of the same physical size, then EMI protection is effective for current card configurations, but the chassis cannot support future larger sized cards without requiring an entirely new chassis
Solution Approach 1:
The Faraday cage is segmented into multiple independent depth configurations. The chassis contains separate Faraday cage structures for different card depths (e.g., 6-inch and 12-inch cards), allowing selective activation based on the installed card type. This segmentation enables the single chassis to adapt to different card sizes over time, extending its operational life without requiring replacement.
Solution Approach 2:
The Faraday cage configuration is made dynamic and adjustable rather than fixed. The system can reconfigure which Faraday cage structure is active based on the card depth installed in the chassis. This dynamic adaptability allows the chassis to support evolving card technologies with different physical dimensions, preventing obsolescence.
2Productivity
If the chassis is designed to support only current sized cards, then the Faraday cage can be optimized for current EMI protection requirements, but additional functionality and capacity cannot be added in the future
Solution Approach 1:
The chassis is designed with universal support for multiple card types and depths through inclusion of multiple Faraday cage configurations. The same chassis can accommodate both current and future card technologies, providing multi-functionality across different operational scenarios. This universality allows operators to add functionality and capacity over time without acquiring new hardware.
Solution Approach 2:
The chassis is pre-configured with multiple Faraday cage structures during manufacturing, preparing it in advance for future card depth requirements. This preliminary action ensures that when larger cards are needed, the EMI protection infrastructure is already in place and simply needs to be activated, avoiding the need for retrofits or new chassis acquisitions.
3Reliability
If operators purchase new chassis every couple of years to support different sized cards, then the chassis always has optimized EMI protection for current cards, but the costs become significant and obsolescence occurs frequently
Solution Approach 1:
Multiple Faraday cage configurations are merged into a single chassis unit, combining the EMI protection capabilities for different card depths into one integrated system. This merging eliminates the need to purchase separate chassis for different card types, reducing both the frequency of upgrades and the associated costs while maintaining reliable EMI protection for whatever card configuration is currently installed.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
Enables the chassis to support different depth cards, reducing the need for frequent upgrades, extending the life span of the hardware, and allowing for increased functionality and capacity by accommodating larger cards with additional cooling and components, transforming a single-shelf system into a multi-shelf configuration.
Implementation Method 1
A Faraday cage is an enclosure formed by a conductive material or a mesh of the conductive material, used to block electrical fields. Faraday cages are important and required for the chassis to reduce or prevent Electromagnetic Interference (EMI).
Implementation Method 2
one of a first set of fans and a second set of fans disposed to the chassis section
Data Source
AI summary
A chassis arrangement includes different depth cards with associated Faraday cages. The chassis arrangement provides support for a first set of cards at a first depth and with a first set of fans, the chassis forming a Faraday cage with either set of cards. The second depth can be greater than the first depth, providing additional space for components to support additional functionality. Changing the first set of fans with the second set of fans and upgrading the first set of cards to the second set of cards is performed in-service, extending a life span of the chassis through in-service upgrades to multiple chassis configurations.