Cisco Technology, Inc.

Gary McLeod

William Frank Edwards

Van Van Nguyen

Dina Birrell

Bill H Fong

I-Chyau Li

An apparatus having a first panel and a second panel that may form part of a network enclosure. The first panel is connected to the second panel. A nut has a first portion and a second portion extending outwardly from the first portion. The second portion of the nut is trapped between the first panel and the second panel. There may also be a joining plate of a field replaceable unit fixable to the network enclosure by at least one bolt engaging the nut.

Entrapped nut

A system includes a circuit board module having a device mounting section. The system further includes a small form factor transceiver and a form factor converter. The form factor converter is configured to concurrently connect to (i) the circuit board module and (ii) the small form factor transceiver. The form factor converter includes an exterior portion defining a large form factor (e.g., the standard X2 form factor) to fit within the device mounting section of the circuit board module when the form factor converter connects to the circuit board module, and an interior portion defining a small form factor (e.g., the standard SFP form factor) location to receive at least a portion of the small form factor transceiver when the form factor converter connects to the small form factor transceiver.

Coupling a small form factor transceiver to a circuit board module using a form factor converter

An electronic equipment assembly includes a shelf having a front section configured to support a front set of circuit boards and a rear section configured to support a rear set of circuit boards. The electronic equipment assembly further includes a midplane disposed within the shelf between the front section and the rear section. The midplane is configured to directly connect to the front set of circuit boards and to the rear set of circuit boards. The electronic equipment assembly further includes a fan subsystem disposed within the shelf. The fan subsystem is configured to generate an air stream through the front and rear sections with air flow of the air stream being faster through the front section past the front set of circuit boards relative to the rear section past the rear set of circuit boards.

Techniques for cooling multiple sets of circuit boards connected by a midplane

Techniques for accommodating chassis tolerances use joiners which enable outer side panels for a front card cage to reference a front side of a midplane, and outer side panels for a rear card cage to reference a rear side of the midplane. The joiners couple the outer side panels together in a rigid but accommodating manner regardless of variations in midplane board thickness. Accordingly, both the front and rear card cages are capable of accurately and consistently referencing from the midplane sides. Not only do these techniques solve registration drawbacks which exist in conventional midplane installation approaches involving the bolting of midplanes to the middles of pre-constructed frames, these techniques further enable accurate direct connection of other components such as a power supply subsystem (e.g., to the midplane front side) and a fan assembly (e.g., to the midplane rear side) thus alleviating the need for burdensome cables.

Techniques for accommodating variations in chassis tolerances

In a computerized device requiring a relatively large amount of power during operation (e.g., between approximately 10 kW to 15 kW) at a relatively large current (e.g., between approximately 200 and 300 amperes), an electrical conductor or power distribution assembly having a substantially flat, planar geometry electrically couples a power supply, via bus bars, to a midplane of the computerized device. The substantially flat planar geometry of the power distribution assembly minimizes conduction and radiation of electromagnetic interference (EMI) by the electrical conductor during operation of the computerized device.

Methods and apparatus for distributing power in a computerized device

A heat sink apparatus includes a heat sink having a plurality of circuit board component contact portions and a plurality of fin portions extending from the contact portions. The circuit board component contact portions of the heat sink conform to a surface of the circuit board component when coupled to the circuit board component, thereby providing a thermal coupling between the fin portions of the heat sink and the associated circuit board component. The heat sink apparatus also includes a retainer, such as a double buckling beam retainer, that secures the heat sink to the circuit board component. The retainer causes the circuit board component contact portions of the heat sink conform to the surface of the circuit board component, thereby providing thermal contact between the heat sink and circuit board component contact portions and alleviating the need for a base portion associated with the heat sink, as in conventional mechanisms. The retainer attaches to retainer clips in communication with the circuit board, thereby allowing removal of the heat sink from the circuit board component. The retainer clips include surface mount clips that attach directly to the surface of the circuit board or horseshoe clips that mount to the circuit board using fasteners located within openings having a diameter between 0.00160 inches and 0.0500 inches. Such clips utilize a relatively small circuit board area and thereby do not substantially affect the area available for electronic components and traces on the circuit board.

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Flagstaff, AZ, United States of America

Gary McLeod