JP2001291982A - Natural cooling closed type electronic apparatus case - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a natural cooling closed electronic apparatus case, where a closed structure comprising a cooling airflow path, as well as cooling by natural convection, without operating part such as fan, lead to high reliability, while internal heat is radiated directly to the outside air through a metal airflow path, so that the entire apparatus is kept at a low temperature. SOLUTION: There are provided an electronic apparatus case of a closed structure in which an electronic part such as board is housed, and a metal airflow path which is provided in the electronic apparatus case and comprises an air-intake hole and an exhaust hole at the lower part and the upper part, respectively. The electronic apparatus case is cooled by natural air cooling.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an electronic device of a natural air-cooled type which is installed indoors or outdoors and which has a metal air passage or an air passage integrated with a heat sink inside a housing to generate air inside the housing. The present invention relates to an electronic device housing capable of easily dissipating generated heat to the outside.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art FIG. 8 is a view showing a heat dissipation structure in a conventional electronic device. In the electronic device housing, natural air cooling in the closed electronic device housing 13 is desirable from the viewpoint of reliability.
On the other hand, in order to increase the heat radiation effect as the internal heat generation increases, cooling is performed by a naturally ventilated housing 15 provided with intake and exhaust holes and a forced air cooling housing 16 equipped with a cooling fan 17.

[0003] These housings have the following problems. When the amount of internal heat generated in the sealed electronic device housing 13 increases, there is a problem that heat is not sufficiently released to the outside mainly in the central portion of the device and the temperature of the entire device increases. FIG. 7 is a diagram showing a heat radiation path in a conventional sealed electronic device housing. As shown in the figure, in the sealed electronic device housing 13, heat was radiated by heat transfer by natural circulation flow and natural convection and radiation from the housing surface. In this case, the heat generating portion near the housing wall is easily cooled, but the heat generating portion near the center in the housing is adjacent to other heat generating portions (in a state close to heat insulation), so that heat radiation from the housing wall surface is not generated. Can't expect. As a result, there was a problem that heat was easily trapped in the center and upper part of the housing.

[0004] Although the natural ventilation housing 15 has a larger heat dissipation than the hermetically sealed electronic equipment housing 13, there is a possibility that reliability may be reduced due to dust entering.

Further, the forced air-cooling housing 16 provided with the cooling fan 17 is often employed in a housing having a large amount of heat generation. However, there is a problem in terms of equipment reliability due to the life and failure of the fan. there were.

As a conventional technique in such a field of electronic equipment, for example, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 57-130500 discloses an air passage between substrates in a small electronic equipment housing, and cooling air flowing through a fan between the air passages. It has been proposed to enhance the cooling effect.

[0007]

Since the conventional electronic device is configured as described above, there are the following problems. (1) From the viewpoint of reliability, an electronic device housing may have a closed housing structure and a housing structure without an internal fan. In that case, heat cannot be radiated using the outer wall of the housing inside the housing, particularly near the center, so that heat is trapped and there is a problem in that the temperature of the device becomes high. (2) In the case of electronic devices that generate a large amount of heat, heat may be dissipated by installing air intake / ventilation holes instead of sealing them in order to enhance the heat radiation effect. There was a risk that the properties would decrease. (3) In an electronic device that generates a large amount of heat, a cooling effect is enhanced by installing a fan in the housing and performing forced air cooling, but the temperature rise in the device due to a failure of a fan that is an operating component and the accompanying temperature rise. There was a risk of equipment malfunction. (4) In the case of adopting a structure in which the conventional heat sink is installed between the substrates in the housing, the air intake hole may be blocked depending on how the housing is placed, and the outside air required for cooling may not be sufficiently taken in.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made to solve the above problems, and has a sealed structure while having a cooling air passage, and has no moving parts such as a fan cooled by natural convection. It is an object of the present invention to provide a natural air-cooled hermetically sealed electronic device housing which is highly reliable and can keep the entire device at a low temperature by radiating internal heat directly to the outside air from a metal air passage. .

[0009]

An air-cooled hermetically sealed electronic device housing according to the present invention is provided in an electronic device housing having a hermetically sealed structure accommodating electronic components such as a substrate, and is provided in the electronic device housing. A metal air passage having an intake hole at a lower portion and an exhaust hole at an upper portion, and the electronic device housing is configured to be cooled by natural air cooling.

[0010] In addition, a metal heat sink integrated with the metal air passage is provided.

Further, the heat sink is constituted by a separated type heat sink having two fins.

Further, the heat sink is constituted by an integrated heat sink having a shape in which opposed fins are connected.

Further, a metal air passage and a heat-generating component are closely adhered to each other with a heat-conductive rubber or the like.

Further, the heat sink has a fin shape in which the fin length is constant and the fin pitch becomes wider toward the center of the heat sink.

Further, the heat sink has a fin shape in which the fin pitch is constant and the fin length is shortened at the center of the heat sink.

Further, a ventilation path is provided at an end of the heat sink.

[0017]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Embodiment 1 Hereinafter, a first embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 shows the first embodiment, and is a perspective view showing a heat dissipation structure of an electronic device housing. In the figure, reference numeral 1 denotes an electronic device housing, 2 denotes an air passage in a metal housing, 3 denotes an intake hole provided at a lower portion of the electronic device housing 1, and 4 denotes an exhaust hole. The cooling air intake holes 3 are also provided on the side surfaces of the electronic device housing 1 so that air can be taken in even when the electronic device housing 1 is directly installed on the floor or the ground.

The air passage 2 in the housing is provided between substrates (not shown), and both sides of the air passage 2 in the housing have a closed structure of the substrate.
This is an electronic device housing having a hermetically sealed structure in which heat is radiated and cooled through the air passage 2 in the housing. The electronic device housing 1 is of a cooling structure that is installed outdoors or indoors and cools by natural air cooling.

According to the above-described embodiment, the metal casing air passage 2 is formed inside the electronic equipment casing 1, and the internal heat is radiated from the casing internal air path 2 directly to the outside air, thereby allowing the electronic equipment to emit heat. The whole equipment can be kept at low temperature.

Further, since the substrate has a hermetically sealed structure while having the air passage 2 in the housing, there is no problem that the reliability of the device is reduced due to dust from the ventilation holes in the conventional natural ventilation housing.

Furthermore, since the electronic device housing 1 is cooled by natural convection and does not have an operating portion such as a fan, there is no malfunction due to a high fan temperature due to a fan life and a failure, and reliability is improved.

Embodiment 2 FIG. Hereinafter, a second embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. 2 and 3 show the second embodiment. FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view and an exploded perspective view of an electronic device housing, and FIG. 3 shows a heat radiation path in the electronic device housing. FIG.
As shown in FIG. 1, the electronic device housing of FIG. 1 has a structure in which the air passage 2 in the housing and a metal heat sink 5 are integrated to further improve the heat radiation effect.

As shown in FIG. 3, the air passage 2 in the housing is installed inside the housing 1 of the electronic equipment and the substrate 6 has a hermetically sealed structure, so that the heat generating portion at the center of the housing can also be connected to the housing wall. The heat can be directly radiated to the outside air, and the advantage of reliability due to sealing is not impaired. Further, by providing the heat sink 5 integrated with the air passage 2 in the housing, the cooling performance is further improved.

Further, the substrate 6 on which the heating element is mounted and the heat sink 5 are brought into close contact with each other with a thermally conductive rubber or the like, so that
The uniformity of the heat-generating substrate 6 and effective heat radiation from the heat sink 5 and the air passage 2 in the housing to the outside air can be achieved.

According to the above-described embodiment, the air passage 2 in the housing
Since the heat sink 5 and the heat sink 5 have an integrated structure, the cooling effect is further improved as compared with the first embodiment.

Embodiment 3 FIG. Hereinafter, a third embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 4 shows the third embodiment, and is a plan view and an exploded perspective view of a heat sink.
In the figure, reference numeral 7 denotes a separated heat sink,
The structure of No. 0 is a normal groove type fin 2 type. The separate heat sink 7 is installed in the air passage 2 in the housing or has an integrated structure with the air passage 2 in the housing.

In addition, the separation type heat sink 7 can be provided with a ventilation path 9 at an end of the separation type heat sink 7 so that air can be taken in from the suction hole 3 on the side surface of the electronic device housing 1 shown in FIG. .

Embodiment 4 Hereinafter, a fourth embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 5 shows the fourth embodiment, and is a plan view and an exploded perspective view of a heat sink.
In the figure, reference numeral 8 denotes an integrated heat sink having a shape in which fins 10 facing each other are connected.

Further, the integrated heat sink 7 may be provided with a ventilation path 9 at an end of the integrated heat sink 7 so that air can be taken in from the intake hole 3 on the side surface of the electronic device housing 1 shown in FIG. .

The designer can select the separated heat sink or the integrated heat sink according to the mounting conditions of the device.

Embodiment 5 Hereinafter, a fifth embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 6 shows the fifth embodiment, and shows the fin shape of the heat sink. Generally, air is less likely to pass between the fins at the center of the heat sink 5 due to pressure loss resistance (proportional to the fin length 11 and inversely proportional to the fin pitch 12) between the fins.
As a shape to improve it, the fin length 11 is constant,
A fin shape A in which the fin pitch 12 becomes wider toward the center of the heat sink or a fin shape B in which the fin pitch 12 is constant and the fin length 11 becomes shorter in the center of the heat sink can be selected.

[0032]

According to the present invention, a metal air passage is formed inside the housing, and the heat generated inside is radiated directly from the metal air passage to the outside air, so that the entire apparatus can be kept at a low temperature. Further, the cooling effect is further improved by taking the integrated structure of the air passage and the heat sink. In addition, since the housing has a hermetic structure while having a cooling air passage, there is no problem that the reliability of the device is reduced due to dust from the ventilation holes in the conventional natural ventilation housing. Furthermore, since the housing is cooled by natural convection and does not have an operating part such as a fan, there is no failure due to the life of the fan or malfunction due to high temperature of the device, thereby improving reliability.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a heat radiation structure of an electronic device housing according to a first embodiment.

FIG. 2 shows the second embodiment, and is a cross-sectional view and an exploded perspective view of an electronic device housing.

FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating the second embodiment and is a diagram illustrating a heat radiation path in an electronic device housing;

FIG. 4 shows the third embodiment, and is a plan view and an exploded perspective view of a heat sink.

FIG. 5 shows the fourth embodiment, and is a plan view and an exploded perspective view of a heat sink.

FIG. 6 shows the fifth embodiment and is a diagram showing a fin shape of the heat sink.

FIG. 7 is a diagram showing a heat radiation path in a conventional sealed electronic device housing.

FIG. 8 is a diagram showing a heat dissipation structure in a conventional electronic device.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 electronic equipment housing, 2 air passage in housing, 3 intake holes, 4
Exhaust hole, 5 heat sink, 6 substrate, 7 separate heat sink, 8 integrated heat sink, 9 ventilation path, 10
Fin, 11 Fin length, 12 Fin pitch.

Claims (8)

[Claims] An electronic device housing having a sealed structure accommodating electronic components such as a substrate, and a metal air passage provided in the electronic device housing and having an intake hole at a lower portion and an exhaust hole at an upper portion. A natural air-cooled hermetically sealed electronic device housing, wherein the electronic device housing is cooled by natural air cooling. 2. The natural air-cooled hermetically sealed electronic device housing according to claim 1, further comprising a metal heat sink integrated with the metal air passage. 3. The natural air-cooled hermetically sealed electronic device housing according to claim 2, wherein the heat sink is constituted by a separated heat sink having two grooved fins. 4. The natural air-cooled hermetically sealed electronic device housing according to claim 2, wherein said heat sink is constituted by an integrated heat sink having a shape in which opposed fins are connected. 5. The natural air-cooled hermetically sealed electronic device casing according to claim 1, wherein the metal air passage and the heat-generating component are brought into close contact with each other with a thermally conductive rubber or the like. 6. The air-cooled hermetically sealed electronic device housing according to claim 2, wherein the heat sink has a fin shape in which a fin length is constant and a fin pitch becomes wider toward a center portion of the heat sink. 7. The air-cooled hermetically sealed electronic device case according to claim 2, wherein the heat sink has a fin shape in which a fin pitch is constant and a fin length is shortened at a center portion of the heat sink. 8. The air-cooled hermetically sealed electronic device housing according to claim 3, wherein an air passage is provided at an end portion of the heat sink.