JP2002246774A - Method for cooling - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a method for cooling capable of cooling a housing interior of an electronic equipment, while preventing the infiltration of refuse, such as dust or the like and suppressing noise. SOLUTION: The method for cooling comprises a step of cooling the interior of the housing 1 of the electronic equipment, such as a computer, a network equipment or the like; steps of sealing the housing 1 from its periphery, providing a heat radiating means 2 at an outside of the housing 1, circulating air in the housing 1 by fans 5a to 5d disposed in the housing 1, and radiating from the means 2, while preventing infiltration of the refuse.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a cooling method for cooling the inside of a housing of an electronic device such as a computer or a network device, and more particularly, to cooling the inside of the housing while preventing intrusion of dust such as dust. In addition, the present invention relates to a cooling method for reducing noise.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, with the development of semiconductor technology, integration of transistors has progressed, and high value-added components are often mounted in a small volume. On the other hand, the reduction in power consumption of transistors is behind that of high integration, and the heat generation density of electronic devices having many functions is increasing.

[0003] In general, electronic components are susceptible to heat and dust and are prone to breakdown. Therefore, in order to obtain a long life for electronic devices,
Electronic components are kept below a certain temperature to prevent dust from entering the equipment. For electronic devices with low heat generation density, natural cooling by radiation or natural convection is sufficient,
When the heat generation density is increased, it is necessary to cool using a forced cooling device such as a fan, a blower, a water cooler, or a Peltier device.

[0004] As a conventional cooling method, the inside of the housing is cooled by creating an air flow that blows through the inside of the housing using an air suction port provided on the side surface of the housing and a fan provided inside the housing. The method is often used.

For example, as shown in FIG. 5, air inlets 51a and 51b are formed on the side surface of a housing 50, and a fan 52a is formed on a side surface of the housing 50 so as to face the air inlets 51a and 51b. , 52b to cool the inside of the housing 50 by creating air flows A50a and A50b flowing in one direction inside the housing 50.

As shown in FIG. 6, air suction ports 61a to 61d are formed on both sides of the housing 60, and fans 62a and 62b are mounted on the back surface inside the housing 60, and the inside of the housing 60 is formed on both sides. A60a, A flow of air flowing from
There is also a method of cooling the inside of the housing 60 by making the 60b. As a dustproof measure, there is known a measure to prevent dust from entering by installing air filters 62a and 62b inside the housing 60 at a position slightly away from the air suction ports 61a to 61d.

[0007]

However, according to the conventional cooling method, since the air suction port is formed in the housing of the electronic device, dust and dust are scattered from the outside of the housing unless an air filter is mounted inside the housing. There is a problem that dust and other dust enter. If dust enters the housing, the electronic device may be damaged.

[0008] There are two reasons dust has an adverse effect on electronic equipment. One is that there is a risk of causing poor contact or poor insulation. In a connector, a relay, or the like, a portion with mechanical contact is likely to cause a contact failure, and dust absorbs moisture in an electronic component, resulting in insulation failure. Dust also easily occurs in optical sensors and magnetic heads due to dust.

Another reason is that the temperature inside the electronic device becomes high due to the deterioration of the heat radiation performance. Dust is a kind of heat insulating material, and the deposited dust significantly lowers the heat transfer coefficient on the surface of the electronic component, causing malfunction. Further, in forced air cooling, dust easily accumulates near the fan, and as a result, the ventilation opening is blocked, the temperature inside the housing increases, and the electronic device may be damaged.

Recently, the above-described air filter has been used to prevent dust from entering the electronic device. However, the air filter has a large ventilation resistance, and when installed, increases the load on the fan. That is, heat generated by the fan increases. Also, the air filter must be mounted at a certain distance from the air inlet. If the air filter is close to the air suction port, the wind speed passing through the filter is high, the pressure loss increases, and a sufficient amount of air cannot be supplied to the inside of the housing. In addition, since only a part of the air filter is used for dust collection, clogging is likely to occur.

Further, in the conventional cooling method, since an air suction port is formed in the housing, when a device that generates noise such as a fan or a blower is used, the noise generated by the fan motor is transmitted from the air suction port to the outside. There is a problem that it is difficult to suppress noise due to leakage.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is an object of the present invention to provide a cooling method capable of cooling the inside of a housing of an electronic device while preventing intrusion of dust such as dust and dirt, and further suppressing noise.

[0013]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made to achieve the above object, and the invention of claim 1 cools the inside of a housing of an electronic device such as an electronic computer or a network device. In the cooling method, the housing is hermetically sealed from the surroundings, and a heat radiation means is provided outside the housing,
This is a cooling method in which air inside the housing is circulated by a fan disposed inside the housing, and heat is radiated from the heat radiating means while preventing intrusion of dust.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided the cooling method according to the first aspect, wherein air inside the housing is collected around the heat radiating means provided outside the housing, and the heat inside the housing is released to the outside.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, there is provided the cooling method according to the first or second aspect, wherein a fan is disposed inside the sealed housing to suppress noise caused by the fan.

[0016]

Preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

FIG. 1 is a plan perspective view of a housing to which a cooling method according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention is applied.

As shown in FIG. 1, a housing 1 is a container having a rectangular cross section, and is mainly used for electronic devices such as a computer and a network device, and has a large number of electronic components mounted therein. According to the present invention, when the housing 1 is sealed from the surroundings, and the electronic components generate heat due to the use of the electronic device and the temperature inside the housing 1 rises, the electronic components are normally placed inside the housing 1. It is a method of cooling to an appropriate temperature that can be operated.

A heat radiating means 2 for radiating heat inside the housing 1 to the outside is provided outside the housing 1. This heat radiation means 2
Is attached to a position on the front side of the right side surface 1r of the housing 1. As the heat radiating means 2, for example, heat sinks 2a and 2b made of aluminum or copper and provided with a large number of fins for increasing a heat radiating area are used.

Heat sinks 2a, 2b
Is used, the inner heat sink 2a is attached to the right inner surface of the housing 1 so that the fins 3a, 3b. On the other hand, the outer heat sink 2b
May be attached to the right outside surface of the housing 1 so as to be symmetrical with the inner heat sink 2a with the right side surface 1r of the housing 1 interposed therebetween. That is, the fins 4a of the outer heat sink 2b,
4b project from the right outside surface of the housing 1.

The housing 1 is provided with fans 5a to 5d for sending air from the back to the front. Each fan 5a
Are arranged at predetermined distances from the four corners 6a to 6d inside the housing 1 so that air can be taken in from the back.

The front of the fan 5a is on the back 1 of the housing 1.
It is arranged on the right side 1r side inside the housing 1 so as to face b. The front of the fan 5b is the left side 11 of the housing 1.
Is arranged on the back surface 1b side inside the housing 1 so as to face the. The fan 5c is arranged on the left side 11 of the housing 1 such that the front faces the front 1f of the housing 1. The fan 5d is arranged on the front 1f side inside the housing 1 such that the front faces the right side 1r of the housing 1.

A cylindrical object 7 is arranged in the center of the inside of the housing 1 to prevent heat from accumulating in the center of the housing 1 and
The air inside the housing 1 is easily circulated by the four fans 5a to 5d.

The operation of the present invention will be described.

When an electronic device is used, the electronic components mounted on the housing 1 generate heat and the temperature inside the housing 1 rises. At this time, the fans 5a to 5d are operated. First, fan 5
a sends out the air inside the housing 1 from the front 1f side of the housing 1 to the back surface 1b along the right side surface 1r of the housing 1 to create an air flow A10a. Similarly, fan 5b
Sends out the air sent from the fan 5a along the back surface 1b of the housing 1 to create an air flow A10b. The fan 5c sends out the air sent from the fan 5b along the left side surface 11 of the housing 1 to flow the air A10c.
make. The fan 5d sends out the air sent from the fan 5c along the front surface 1f of the housing 1 to create an air flow A10d, and the fins 3 of the inner heat sink 2a.
a, 3b...

The fans 5a to 5d installed inside the housing 1 receive warm air, change the direction of the air flow, and circulate the air inside the housing 1, so that the inside of the housing 1 has a half-clock. A circulating air flow is created. Heat inside the casing 1 is collected toward the inner heat sink 2a by the air flows A10a to A10d, absorbed by the inner heat sink 2a, and radiated to the outside of the casing 1 from the fins 4a, 4b. Is done. Thus, the inside of the housing 1 is
It can be cooled to an appropriate temperature at which the electronic component can operate normally.

In this embodiment, since the cylinder 7 is arranged at the center of the inside of the housing 1, it is possible to more efficiently circulate the air inside the housing 1 and collect heat in the inner heat sink 2a. The collected heat can be radiated from the outer heat sink 2b.

As described above, according to the present invention, the inside of the housing of the electronic device can be cooled while preventing intrusion of dust such as dust. In addition, since the fan is arranged inside the sealed housing, the noise of the fan does not leak from the air suction port as in the conventional example, and the noise can be suppressed.

Further, since the housing is sealed, it is possible to prevent dust and dirt, which may cause a failure of the electronic device, from entering. Reliability is improved. While circulating the air inside the sealed housing, the heat inside the housing is collected toward the heat radiating means for releasing the heat to the outside of the housing, so that the inside of the housing can be efficiently cooled.

Although the material of the housing 1 is not specified in the present embodiment, the housing 1 is made of, for example, plastic, aluminum, iron, or the like. When the casing 1 is formed of aluminum or iron, the casing 1 itself can be regarded as a radiator, so that the effects of the present invention can be more remarkably exhibited.

Next, a second embodiment of the present invention will be described.

FIG. 2 is a plan perspective view of a housing to which a cooling method according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention is applied.

As shown in FIG. 2, fans 23a to 23d are arranged at four corners 22a to 22d inside the sealed casing 21. The fan 23a is disposed on the right side 21r side inside the housing 21, and the front thereof is
The direction is slightly changed to the left side 21l side of the housing 21 with respect to. Similarly, the fans 23b and 23c
It is arranged on the inner back surface 21b side and on the left side surface 211 side inside the housing 21, respectively.
Of the housing 21 and the right side 1r of the housing 21. The front faces of the fans 23a and 23c do not face each other. The fan 23d is disposed on the front surface 21f inside the housing 1 so that the front surface faces the right side surface 21r of the housing 21.

These fans 23a to 23c are examples in which the directions of the fans 5a to 5c in FIG. 1 are changed and arranged inside the housing 21, and the fans 23a to 23c are provided without a cylinder at the center of the housing 21. d creates air flow A20a-d,
1 circulates inside. Other configurations of the second embodiment are the same as those of the embodiment of FIG.

The feature of the second embodiment is that the fan 23a
By circulating the warm air near the center of the housing 21 instead of taking in warm air from the back of ｄd, there is no need to install a cylinder at the center of the housing 21. In the second embodiment, the same effects as those in the embodiment of FIG. 1 can be obtained. The same applies to other embodiments described below.

Next, a third embodiment of the present invention will be described.

FIG. 3 is a plan perspective view of a housing to which a cooling method according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention is applied.

As shown in FIG. 3, the heat radiating means 2 is attached to the central portion of the front (or side) 31f of the sealed housing 31, and the rear surface 31b inside the housing 31 is arranged so that the front faces the heat radiating means 2. The fan 32a is disposed in the air flow device 30 to create an air flow A30a toward the heat radiation means 2.

On both sides of the heat radiating means 2, the fans 32 are arranged such that the front faces the rear face 31 b of the housing 31.
b, 32c are arranged. The fans 32b and 32c
Air flow A along both sides 311 and 31r of the housing 31
30b and A30c are made.

Further, on both sides of the back surface 31b of the housing 31,
The curved portions 34a and 34b are formed so that warm air does not collect inside the housing 31.

In the third embodiment, a clockwise air flow is generated on the left side inside the housing 31 and a counterclockwise air flow is generated on the right side inside the housing 31.
The air inside the housing 31 can be circulated. Thereby, the heat inside the housing 31 can be collected by the heat radiating means 2 and radiated to the outside. It is more effective to set the discharge pressure of the fan 32a higher than that of the fans 32b and 32c.

Next, a fourth embodiment of the present invention will be described.

FIG. 4 is a front perspective view of a housing to which a cooling method according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention is applied.

As shown in FIG. 4, the heat radiating means 2 is attached to the central portion of the right side surface 41r of the closed casing 41, and a fan 42a is provided at the central portion of the casing 41 so that the front faces the heat radiating means 2. Air flow A4 toward the heat dissipating means 2
0a.

The fans 42 are arranged above and below the heat radiating means 2 so that the front faces each face the left side face 42 l of the housing 41.
b, 43c. The fans 42b and 42c
Air flow A along upper and lower surfaces 41u and 41d of the housing 41
Make 40b and A40c.

The left side surface 42 of the upper surface 41u of the housing 31
A curved surface portion 44 is formed on the side 1 so that warm air does not collect above the inside of the housing 41.

The fans 42b and 42c are examples in which the fans 32b and 32c arranged on both sides of the radiator 2 of FIG. In the figure, the case 41
As an example of an electronic component mounted on the substrate 45, a device in which an LSI heat sink 47 is attached to an LSI 46 provided on a substrate 45 is illustrated.

When the electronic device is used, the fan 42a
Activate ~ c. At this time, the LSI 46 generates heat, and the heat is radiated to the inside of the housing 41 by the LSI heat sink 47, and the temperature inside the housing 41 rises.

In the fourth embodiment, a counterclockwise air flow occurs on the upper side inside the housing 41,
A clockwise air flow is generated below the inside,
The air inside the housing 41 can be circulated. Thus, the heat inside the housing 41 can be collected by the heat radiating means 2 and radiated to the outside, so that the inside of the housing 41 can be cooled to a temperature optimum for the operation of the LSI 46.
The fourth embodiment is suitable for a tower type housing.

[0050]

As is apparent from the above description,
According to the present invention, the following excellent effects are exhibited.

(1) Since the intrusion of dust and dirt, which are the causes of the failure of the electronic equipment, can be prevented, the life of the electronic equipment and electronic components can be extended, and the reliability of the electronic equipment can be improved.

(2) While circulating the flow of air inside the closed casing, heat is collected inside the casing toward the heat radiating means for releasing heat to the outside of the casing, so that the inside of the casing is efficiently cooled. be able to.

(3) By arranging the fan inside the sealed housing, noise from the fan can be reduced.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective plan view showing a preferred embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a perspective plan view showing a second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a perspective plan view showing a third embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a front perspective view showing a fourth embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a schematic view showing an example of a conventional cooling method.

FIG. 6 is a schematic view showing another example of a conventional cooling method.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Housing 2 Heat dissipation means 5a-d fan

Claims (3)

[Claims] In a cooling method for cooling the inside of a housing of an electronic device such as a computer or a network device, the housing is hermetically sealed from the surroundings, and a radiating means is provided outside the housing, and A cooling method characterized by circulating air inside a housing with an arranged fan to radiate heat from a radiator while preventing dust from entering. 2. The air inside the housing is collected around the heat radiating means provided outside the housing, and the heat inside the housing is released to the outside.
The described cooling method. 3. The cooling method according to claim 1, wherein a fan is arranged inside the sealed housing to suppress noise caused by the fan.