Fan Mounting Chassis with Diagonal Fixation for High Density Cooling
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Solution Overview
Problem
Electronic equipment housings are typically custom-designed and difficult to repair or retrofit, making it challenging to replace or add fan components after manufacturing, leading to unnecessary disposal of equipment.
Innovation Solution
A reconfigurable fan mounting chassis with a planar surface featuring projections or knobs, allowing fan modules to be easily removed and replaced without tools, secured with accessible devices, and formed from the same material as the chassis, eliminating the need for additional components like pins or screws, enabling diagonal fixation for increased fan assembly density and space for cable routing.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If electronic equipment housings are custom designed with integrated fan mounting, then the housing provides structural support and cooling functionality, but the housing becomes difficult to repair or retrofit when fan components fail
Solution Approach 1:
The housing is segmented into a main housing body and separate fan mounting features. The fan mounting features are distinct elements that can be independently removed or replaced, allowing fan components to be replaced without replacing the entire housing structure.
Solution Approach 2:
The fan mounting features are extracted as separate, removable elements from the housing. This extraction allows fans to be easily removed and replaced by simply detaching the mounting features, while the housing itself remains intact and reusable.
2Strength
If traditional fan mounting methods use pins or screws, then the fan is securely fixed to the housing, but additional components increase assembly complexity and cost
Solution Approach 1:
The fan mounting feature merges multiple functions into a single integrated element: it provides structural support, secures the fan through built-in retention mechanisms, and enables easy removal. This eliminates the need for separate pins, screws, or clips that would otherwise be required.
Solution Approach 2:
The fan mounting feature is designed to be self-contained with built-in retention mechanisms that automatically secure the fan when installed. The feature performs its own fixation function without requiring additional fastening components or complex assembly steps.
3Productivity
If fan mounting features are placed in standard positions, then the housing layout is simple, but the number of fans that can be installed in a given space is limited
Solution Approach 1:
The fan mounting features utilize diagonal positioning across the housing surface, effectively using two-dimensional space more efficiently. By arranging features diagonally rather than in simple grid patterns, the design maximizes the number of fans that can be installed within the available housing area.
4Ease of manufacture
If the housing is designed as a single custom-molded piece, then manufacturing is simplified, but retrofitting or reconfiguration is not possible
Solution Approach 1:
The housing design segments the mounting features as distinct elements within the molded structure, allowing these features to be independently removed or reconfigured. This segmentation enables field retrofitting and adaptation while maintaining the simplicity of the overall molded housing production.
Solution Approach 2:
The fan mounting features are designed with universal applicability, allowing the same housing design to accommodate different fan types or configurations. The standardized feature design enables the housing to serve multiple functions and be reconfigured for different applications without requiring custom manufacturing.
Data Source
AI summary
An assembly that includes a planar surface, a plurality of first features disposed on the planar surface and a plurality of second features disposed on the planar surface. Each second feature is associated with one of the first features and a fan module coupled to one of the first features and the associated second feature.