JP2002324993A - Apparatus for electronic appliance - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To cool each electronic-circuit board 6 by a simple configuration even though no cooling fan is used. SOLUTION: In an apparatus for electronic appliances, there is provided each heat transfer plate 7 opposed to each electronic-circuit board 6 and for transferring the heat generated from the heat generating components included in each board 6. Also, there are formed integrally with at least one of the side plates of a housing 1 of the apparatus, guide rails 5 having guide grooves 4 for inserting thereinto and engaging therewith the end portions of the heat transfer plates 7. Consequently, each heat transfer plate 7 so transfers the heat generated from each electronic-circuit board 6 to the housing 1 via each guide rail 5, and so radiates the heat to the outside of the apparatus as to operate the housing 1 as a heat radiating plate. Also, by forming the guide rails 5 integrally with the housing 1, high cooling efficiency is obtained even though no cooling fan is used.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an electronic apparatus in which heat generated by an electronic circuit board is transmitted to a housing and radiated to the outside atmosphere of the machine, so that heat can be efficiently transferred to the housing. About.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, a structure in which an electronic circuit board is inserted into and fixed to a guide rail has been used in electronic equipment such as a desktop personal computer, and heat generated by a semiconductor element or the like incorporated in the electronic circuit board has been used. In general, heat from components is forcibly cooled by a cooling fan.

However, if the cooling fan is damaged or the power line of the cooling fan is broken, cooling cannot be performed, and there is a problem that the heat-generating components are overheated and broken, and the driving noise of the cooling fan is reduced. There was a big problem.

To solve this problem, although an electronic apparatus having a configuration that does not use a cooling fan has been proposed, in this configuration, it is difficult to sufficiently cool the heat-generating components. Cooling is performed by providing fins.

[0005]

However, in the case where a heat pipe is directly provided on a heat-generating component, it is very difficult to secure an installation space in the present situation where miniaturization of the apparatus is strongly required as in recent years. In the case where fins are provided, heat is radiated in the housing, so that there is a problem that a large cooling effect cannot be obtained in a place where the atmosphere in the housing is stagnant.

[0006] In particular, when the apparatus is placed outdoors or the like, a closed casing is used to prevent the substrate or the like from being exposed to the weather and dust. In this case, a fan or fin is used. There is a problem that cooling cannot be performed.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is an object of the present invention to provide an electronic apparatus capable of performing efficient cooling with a simple configuration without using a cooling fan in a closed casing.

[0008]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided an electronic circuit board provided with a housing for accommodating the electronic circuit board, the housing being provided facing the electronic circuit board. And a guide rail formed integrally with at least one of the side plates of the housing and having a guide groove into which an end of the heat transfer plate is inserted. The heat transfer plate transfers heat from the electronic circuit board to the housing via the guide rails and radiates heat to the outside of the machine, so that the housing acts as a heat sink and the guide rails are integrated with the housing. By being formed, the heat of the heat-generating components in the electronic circuit board can be efficiently transferred to the housing, so that high cooling efficiency can be obtained without using a cooling fan.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, when heat is transferred from the heat transfer plate to the housing via the guide rail, the thickness of the guide rail in the guide groove width direction according to the required amount of heat transfer is determined. It is characterized in that the depth of the guide groove is set so that a cooling amount according to the application can be obtained.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, a side plate of a housing integrally formed with a guide rail is formed by combining a plurality of side plate units, and at least one guide rail is integrally formed with each side plate unit. In addition, even if the number of electronic circuit boards fluctuates, it can be flexibly handled.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, when heat is transferred from the heat transfer plate to the housing via the guide rail, the thickness of the side plate unit is set according to the required heat transfer amount. It is characterized in that a cooling amount suitable for the application can be obtained.

The invention according to claim 5 is characterized in that the heat dissipation efficiency is enhanced by providing irregularities on the side plate of the housing which is in contact with the atmosphere outside the machine, so as to increase the thermal contact area with the atmosphere.

The invention according to claim 6 is characterized in that a heat pipe for transferring heat from the guide rail is provided on the outer surface of the housing integrally formed with the guide rail to enhance the cooling efficiency.

[0014]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing the inside of a housing 1 in an electronic apparatus applied to the description of the first embodiment of the present invention.

The housing 1 of the electronic device includes upper and lower side plates 2a,
A box composed of the left and right side plates 2b and the front and rear side plates 2c,
For example, the left and right side plates 2b are fixed to the upper and lower side plates 2a with bolts 3. The guide grooves 4 are formed in the upper and lower side plates 2a.
The guide rail 5 provided with is integrally formed.

In all of the embodiments described below, the case where the guide rails 5 are provided on the upper and lower side plates 2a will be described. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and the left and right side plates 2b and the front and rear side plates 2c are provided. Needless to say, it may be provided at Therefore, in the following description, the upper and lower side plates 2
a, the left and right side plates 2b and the front and rear side plates 2c are collectively referred to as side plates 2 as appropriate.

On the other hand, a heat transfer plate 7 is mounted on an electronic circuit board 6 having various functions as a unit, facing the component surface, and an end of the heat transfer plate 7 is formed in the guide groove 4 of the guide rail 5. It is designed to be inserted into.

As described above, the heat transfer plate 7 is attached to the electronic circuit board 6, and the heat transfer plate 7 is inserted into the guide groove 4 formed integrally with the housing 1 to generate the heat transfer plate 7. The heat is transferred to the housing 1 via the heat transfer plate 7 and the guide rail 5 and can be dissipated to the outside of the machine, so that a high cooling capacity can be obtained without providing a cooling fan.

In particular, since the guide rails 5 and the housing 1 are integrally formed, the heat of the heat transfer plate 7 can be efficiently transmitted to the housing 1 and a large cooling effect can be obtained.

As the material of the housing 1 and the guide rails 5, it is possible to use a metal having high thermal conductivity such as aluminum, copper, magnesium or the like. Etc. are preferred.

As a method of manufacturing the side plate 2 integrally formed with the guide rail 5, cutting, die casting, casting, pressing, extrusion, and the like can be performed, and the method is selected in consideration of the production amount, cost, and the like. It is possible.

For example, in the case of mass-produced products, die-casting, casting, pressing, extrusion, etc., which have excellent productivity, may be used. For small lot products or prototypes, cutting, etc., may be used.

In general, when the electronic circuit board 6 is inserted into the guide rail 5 and incorporated into the housing 1, the electronic circuit device is not removed much after that. In such cases, maintenance and inspection are frequently performed, and at that time, removal may be performed.

When the electronic circuit board 6 is frequently removed as described above, the contact portion between the heat transfer plate 7 and the guide groove 4 is worn or damaged. It is expected that heat transfer will not be sufficient.

Such a problem can be dealt with by applying a hard coating to a portion where the heat transfer plate 7 and the guide groove 4 are in contact with each other.

As such a coating material, for example, a diamond-like coating having a hardness of 8000 or more in Vickers hardness Hv and having excellent wear resistance and excellent thermal conductivity is preferable.

Next, a second embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. Note that the same components as those of the first embodiment are denoted by the same reference numerals, and description thereof will be omitted as appropriate.

In the design of electronic equipment, it is assumed that the number of electronic circuit boards 6 increases or decreases due to various circumstances.
In such a case, if the housing 1 is designed each time, there is a problem that the design cost and the manufacturing cost increase.

Therefore, in the present embodiment, as shown in FIG. 2, the side plate 2 is constituted by a plurality of side plate units, and one or more guide rails 5 are integrally formed on each side plate unit 2.

In the guide rail 5 into which the electronic circuit board 6 which needs to increase the amount of heat radiation, for example, because a component which generates a large amount of heat is assembled,
A guide groove 4 having a depth h, a thickness w (thickness in the width direction of the guide groove 4) and a side plate thickness z larger than usual is prepared in advance, and is appropriately selected and assembled according to design requirements. Is preferred.

Since the depth h of the guide groove 4 defines an area for transferring heat between the heat transfer plate 7 and the guide rail 5, the deeper the guide groove 4 is, the deeper the depth h is from the heat transfer plate 7. It is possible to conduct heat efficiently to the guide rail 5.

Similarly, the wall thickness w depends on the side plate 2 and the guide rail 5.
The heat transfer area between the guide rail 5 and the side plate 2 becomes more efficient when the wall thickness is larger.

On the other hand, even if the thickness z of the side plate 2 is increased, the contact area with the outside atmosphere does not increase. Even when the heat from the circuit board 6 increases rapidly, it is possible to sufficiently maintain the cooling capacity.

With this configuration, it is possible to easily and inexpensively deal with the increase and decrease of the electronic circuit board 6 and efficiently transmit the heat of the heat-generating component to the side plate 2 via the guide rail 5. Then, heat can be dissipated outside the machine.

Next, a third embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. Note that the same components as those of the first and second embodiments are denoted by the same reference numerals, and description thereof will be omitted as appropriate.

The heat from the electronic circuit board 6 is sequentially transferred to the heat transfer plate 7, the guide rail 5, and the side plate 2 to be radiated to the outside atmosphere. At this time, the heat radiated from the side plate 2 to the outside atmosphere is efficiently dissipated. It is important to improve the cooling efficiency in order to improve the cooling efficiency.

Therefore, in the present embodiment, the amount of heat radiation from the side plate 2 to the outside atmosphere is increased. FIG. 3 shows a case where the upper and lower side plates and the left and right side plates are integrally formed.

With such a structure, when the upper and lower side plates 2a and the left and right side plates 2b are fixed by the bolts 3 as in the case 1 shown in FIG. 1, for example, the upper and lower side plates 2a and the left and right side plates are Although the state of thermal contact with the second side plate 2b may be changed, heat radiation from the left and right side plates 2b may not be sufficiently performed. However, such integral contact as in the present embodiment can prevent such poor thermal contact, thereby being efficient. It becomes possible to perform cooling.

As shown in FIGS. 4 to 6, irregularities 8 may be provided on the side plate 2 to enhance the heat radiation from the side plate 2 to the outside atmosphere. 4 shows the case where the fins 8a are formed on the side plate 2, FIG. 5 shows the case where the pyramidal projections 8b are formed on the side plate 2, and FIG. 6 shows the case where the columnar projections 8c are formed.

Of course, these are only examples, and if the contact area between the side plate 2 and the outside atmosphere increases, such irregularities 8
It is needless to say that the present invention is not limited to this.

Thus, the radiation efficiency to the outside atmosphere can be improved without changing the configuration of the guide rails 5 and the like, and large cooling can be performed.

Further, as shown in FIG. 7, a heat pipe 9 is provided on the side plate 2 on which the guide rail 5 is provided.
The heat transferred from the guide rail 5 to the side plate 2 may be transferred to the heat radiating plate 10 provided at the end of the housing 1.

The heat pipe 9 is a sealed pipe in which a working fluid is sealed. The working fluid absorbs heat and evaporates (in the present invention, the area of the side plate 2 corresponding to the guide rail 5), and a low temperature portion (the present invention). In this case, heat is transferred by repeating a cycle of cooling and condensing by the heat radiating plate 10).

Accordingly, the heat of the guide rail 5 is transferred to the heat radiating plate 10 by the heat pipe 9 and the temperature of the side plate 2 is lowered. Since the heat of the heat transfer plate 7 is heat from the electronic circuit board 6, it is possible to suppress the temperature rise of the heat-generating components in the electronic circuit board 6.

[0045]

As described above, according to the present invention,
Even when the cooling fan is not used, the heat generated from the electronic circuit board can be efficiently transmitted to the housing and radiated to the outside atmosphere, so that the heat-generating components incorporated in the electronic circuit board And so on, that is, the cooling thereof can be performed efficiently.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing the inside of a housing of an electronic apparatus applied to the description of a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing the inside of a housing of an electronic apparatus applied to the description of a second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing the inside of a housing of an electronic apparatus applied to the description of a third embodiment of the present invention, in which the housing is integrally formed.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing the inside of a housing in an electronic apparatus applied to the description of a third embodiment of the present invention, in which fins are formed on the outer surface of the housing.

FIG. 5 is a perspective view showing the inside of a housing in an electronic apparatus applied to the description of the third embodiment of the present invention, in which a pyramid-shaped protrusion is formed on the outer surface of the housing.

FIG. 6 is a perspective view showing the inside of a housing of an electronic apparatus applied to the description of the third embodiment of the present invention, in which a columnar projection is formed on the outer surface of the housing.

FIG. 7 is a perspective view showing the inside of a housing of an electronic apparatus applied to the description of the third embodiment of the present invention, in which a heat pipe is provided on the outer surface of the housing.

[Explanation of symbols]

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... housing | casing, 2 ... side plate, 2c ... front and rear side plate, 2b ... left and right side plate, 2a ... upper and lower side plate, 4 ... guide groove, 5 ... guide rail, 6 ... electronic circuit board, 7 ... heat transfer plate, 8 ... unevenness, 9 ...
Heat pipe, 10 ... heat sink

 ──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continuing on the front page (72) Inventor Masayuki Ishikawa 2-4, Suehirocho, Tsurumi-ku, Yokohama-shi, Kanagawa Prefecture Inside the Toshiba Keihin Works Co., Ltd. (72) Inventor Mitsuo Motoki 1-Toshibacho, Fuchu-shi, Tokyo Toshiba Fuchu Office (72) Inventor Yuji Minami 1 Toshiba-cho, Fuchu-shi, Tokyo Toshiba Corporation Fuchu Office F-term (reference) 5E322 AA11 DB08 EA05 5E348 AA08 AA14 CC02 CC03 CC08 EE17 EE21 EE25 EE38 EE39

Claims (6)

[Claims] A housing for housing an electronic circuit board; a heat transfer plate provided to face the electronic circuit board for transferring heat of a heat-generating component in the electronic circuit board; A guide rail formed integrally with one of the side plates and having a guide groove into which an end of the heat transfer plate is inserted, wherein the heat transfer plate guides heat from the electronic circuit board. An electronic device, wherein the heat is transmitted to a housing via a rail to radiate heat to the outside of the device. 2. When the heat transfer from the heat transfer plate to the housing via the guide rail is performed, the thickness of the guide rail in the width direction of the guide groove and the thickness of the guide groove in accordance with a required heat transfer amount. The electronic apparatus according to claim 1, wherein a depth is set. 3. The side plate of the housing integrally formed with the guide rails is formed by combining a plurality of side plate units, and each side plate unit is integrally formed with one or more of the guide rails. The electronic device according to claim 1 or 2, wherein 4. The thickness of the side plate unit is set according to a required heat transfer amount when heat is transferred from the heat transfer plate to the housing via a guide rail. Item 3. The electronic apparatus according to Item 3. 5. A side plate of the housing, which is in contact with the outside atmosphere,
The electronic device according to claim 1, further comprising an unevenness that increases a thermal contact area with the atmosphere. 6. The heat pipe according to claim 1, wherein a heat pipe for transferring heat from the guide rail is provided on an outer surface of the housing integrally formed with the guide rail. Electronic equipment.