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Techniques for distributing airflow for cooling an electronic device are described. Vanes positioned immediately after a set of cooling fans direct airflow over a plurality of components within the device. For example, the vanes may be designed to segment the net fan blade travel area into equal sec

Techniques for distributing airflow for cooling an electronic device are described. Vanes positioned immediately after a set of cooling fans direct airflow over a plurality of components within the device. For example, the vanes may be designed to segment the net fan blade travel area into equal sections--one section per component--to accomplish balanced airflow distribution. Components requiring cooling include cards, e.g., printed circuit boards and the like. A plurality of cards may form slots between the cards and the vanes may divide the airflow equally among the slots to provide consistent cooling for each of the cards. Embodiments of the invention may be directed to distributing cooling airflows within a computing device, e.g., a network router or a server.

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The invention claimed is: 1. An electronic device comprising: one or more fans that contribute to an airflow through the electronic device; and a plurality of vanes adjacent to a downstream side of the one or more fans, wherein the plurality of vanes direct the airflow in more than one direction ov

The invention claimed is: 1. An electronic device comprising: one or more fans that contribute to an airflow through the electronic device; and a plurality of vanes adjacent to a downstream side of the one or more fans, wherein the plurality of vanes direct the airflow in more than one direction over a plurality of components in the electronic device, wherein each of the plurality of vanes include pivot points located at an upstream side of the vanes, and wherein, at the upstream side, the plurality of vanes are spaced to divide the airflow into a plurality of substantially equal sections. 2. The electronic device of claim 1, wherein the plurality of components include printed circuit boards that are arranged to form slots through which the airflow passes. 3. The electronic device of claim 2, wherein the vanes direct exactly one of the substantially equal sections to each of the slots. 4. The electronic device of claim 1, wherein the upstream side of the plurality of vanes adjacent to the one or more fans divides a net fan blade travel area of the one or more fans into substantially equal sections. 5. The electronic device of claim 1, further comprising a filter immediately following the plurality of vanes relative to the airflow, wherein the airflow passes through the filter before passing over the plurality of components. 6. The electronic device of claim 1, wherein exactly one of the plurality of substantially equal sections is directed over each one of the plurality of components. 7. The electronic device of claim 1, wherein a side of the plurality of vanes adjacent to the one or more fans divides a net fan blade travel area of the one or more fans into substantially equal sections to divide the airflow into the plurality of substantially equal sections. 8. The electronic device of claim 1, wherein each of the plurality of vanes extends in a common direction. 9. The electronic device of claim 1, wherein the vanes are part of a vane tray, the fans are part of a fan tray, and the vane tray and the fan tray have a common length and a common width. 10. The electronic device of claim 1, wherein the one or more fans is a first set of one or more fans, further comprising: an air inlet; a filter; a second set of one or more fans after the plurality of components in the airflow, wherein the second set of one or more fans contributes to the airflow; and an air outlet, wherein a air of the airflow enters the electronic device at the air inlet, then passes over the first set of one or more fans, then is directed by the plurality of vanes, then passes through the filter, then passes over the components, then passes over the second set of one or more fans, and lastly exits the electronic device at the air outlet. 11. The electronic device of claim 1, wherein the airflow functions to cool the components. 12. The electronic device of claim 1, wherein the electronic device is a network router. 13. The electronic device of claim 1, wherein the vanes may be positioned to change the distribution of the airflow of the plurality of components. 14. The electronic device of claim 1, wherein upstream sides the plurality of vanes adjacent to the one or more fans are spaced at unequal intervals to divide the airflow into a plurality of substantially equal sections. 15. A vane tray comprising: a frame sized to fit within an electronic device; and a plurality of vanes within the frame, wherein when in the presence of an airflow, the plurality of vanes serve to direct the airflow in more than one direction over a plurality of components in the electronic device, wherein each of the plurality of vanes include pivot points located at an upstream side of the vanes, and wherein, at the upstream side, the plurality of vanes are spaced to divide the airflow into a plurality of substantially equal sections. 16. The vane tray of claim 15, wherein the vanes may be positioned to change the distribution of the airflow of the plurality of components. 17. The vane tray of claim 15, wherein the vanes are spaced at unequal intervals. 18. The vane tray of claim 17, wherein the vanes extend in a common direction. 19. The vane tray of claim 15, wherein the vanes are straight. 20. A method comprising: providing vanes within an electronic device to divide a net fan blade travel area of a cooling fan into a plurality of approximately equally-sized sections, wherein at an upstream side adjacent to the cooling fan, the vanes and are spaced at unequal intervals to divide the net fan blade travel area into the approximately equally-sized sections; and pivoting the vanes about the pivot points located at the upstream side of the vanes to allocate airflow from each of the sections of the net fan blade travel area to components of the electronic device. 21. The method of claim 20, wherein positioning vanes requires replacing a vane tray of the electronic device. 22. The method of claim 20, wherein allocating airflow to a component consists of directing airflow to a slot adjacent to the component. 23. A vane tray comprising: a frame sized to fit within an electronic device; and a plurality of vanes at fixed spacing and angles within the frame, wherein when in the presence of an airflow, the plurality of vanes serve to direct the airflow in more than one direction over a plurality of components in the electronic device, and wherein the plurality of vanes are arranged to divide the airflow into a plurality of substantially equal sections and direct each of the plurality of substantially equal sections over separate components of the electronic device, wherein upstream sides of the vanes are spaced at unequal intervals to divide the airflow into a plurality of substantially equal sections.