JP2003179429A - Array antenna system - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an array antenna system capable of cooling effectively and maintaining effectively a transmitting and receiving module mounted in a flat state. <P>SOLUTION: In an array antenna system, an antenna element 2 having a transmitting and receiving module 1 is arranged in a two-dimensional way and stored in a frame. A cooling air path 1a is mounted on all the transmitting and receiving modules 1. The cooling air taken from a cooling air intake opening 3a at a lower part of a frame 3 is made to flow in all the radiating cooling air path 1a in parallel and blown outside the frame 3 through the ducts 6 and 7 jointed to the exit of the radiating cooling air path 1a of each transmitting and receiving module. At the same time, the ducts 6 and 7 are provided on the rear side of the transmitting and receiving module 1. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2003,JPO

Description

Description: BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an array antenna device (hereinafter, referred to as an antenna device), and particularly to a cooling structure thereof. 2. Description of the Related Art FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view of a conventional air-cooled antenna device.
3 is a housing for housing the transmitting and receiving module 1, and 3a is a housing 3
The cooling air inlet 3b provided at the lower part of the housing 3
A cooling air outlet 4 provided at the upper part of the air blower is a blower for discharging the cooling air. In the above-described antenna device, a cooling air is taken in from an inlet 3a by a blower 4 provided in a housing 3, and each transmitting / receiving module 1 is cooled in series and then discharged from an outlet 3b. . The flow of the cooling air at this time is indicated by arrows. [0004] In the cooling structure of the antenna device, the temperature of the cooling air rises due to the heat released from the transmitting / receiving module 1 and the cooling function is reduced. As a result, the flow of the cooling air is reduced. There is a problem that the transmitting / receiving module 1 located downstream is not sufficiently cooled. At the same time, there is a demand that the cooling structure should not interfere with maintenance and inspection of the antenna. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made to solve the above problems, and provides an antenna device having a cooling structure capable of uniformly cooling a plurality of transmission / reception modules and easily performing maintenance and inspection of the antenna. It is aimed at. [0006] An array antenna device according to the present invention has a configuration in which antenna elements having transmission / reception modules are two-dimensionally arranged and accommodated in a housing. A cooling air passage for heat radiation is provided in the cooling module, and cooling air taken in from a cooling air inlet provided in a lower portion of the housing is flown in parallel to the cooling air passage for all heat radiation, and the cooled air is transmitted to each of the transmitting and receiving modules. And is discharged to the outside of the housing through a duct connected to the outlet of the cooling air passage for heat radiation, and the duct is arranged on the back side of the transmission / reception module. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS First Embodiment 1 is a side sectional view of an antenna device according to the present invention, FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing one of the transmission / reception modules and a ventilation duct, FIG. 3 is an enlarged perspective view showing one of the transmission / reception modules, and FIG. A of 1
It is an expanded sectional view seen from line A. 1 to 4, reference numeral 2 denotes an antenna element, 1 denotes a transmitting / receiving module provided integrally with the antenna element 2, and 3 denotes a housing for accommodating a large number of transmitting / receiving modules 1. A large number of antenna elements 2 and transmission / reception modules 1 are arranged two-dimensionally, that is, two-dimensionally in a housing 3 to constitute an array antenna device. In the description, the surface of the transmitting / receiving module on which the antenna element 2 is provided is referred to as the front surface of the transmitting / receiving module, and the surface opposite to the surface of the transmitting / receiving module on which the antenna element 2 is provided is referred to as the back surface of the transmitting / receiving module. . The transmission / reception module 1 has, for example, a rectangular parallelepiped shape in which a heat-generating component is housed. The transmission / reception module of the present invention has a cooling air passage 1a for heat radiation on a side surface thereof as shown in FIG. 2 or FIG. Is provided. The cooling air passage 1 a is provided with a vertically long cooling air intake window 1 b in the side direction of the transmission / reception module 1, and a cooling air outlet 1 on the back side of the transmission / reception module 1.
c is provided. Reference numeral 6 denotes a branch duct having a large number of intake ports 5 corresponding to the arrangement of the transmission / reception module 1, and reference numeral 7 denotes a collective duct that collects the branch ducts 6. The collecting duct 7 is provided with an exhaust port substantially at the center. The branch duct 6 and the collecting duct 7 are provided in the housing 3, and each transmitting / receiving module 1 is connected to the outlet 1 of the cooling air passage 1 a for heat radiation.
c is mounted on the housing 3 so as to match the intake port 5 of the branch duct 6. Therefore, the branch duct 6 and the collecting duct (these two ducts are collectively called a duct) are installed in the direction of the outlet 1a of the transmitting / receiving module 1, that is, on the back side of the transmitting / receiving module 1. Reference numeral 3a denotes a cooling air inlet provided at a lower portion of the housing 3, and 3b denotes a housing 3 corresponding to an outlet of the collecting duct 7.
The cooling air outlet 4 provided at the upper part of the air blower is a blower provided at the cooling air outlet 3b. Reference numeral 11 denotes a power supply unit connected to the transmission / reception module 1. Next, the operation will be described. A plurality of transmission / reception modules 1 integrated with the antenna element 2 are mounted two-dimensionally, that is, in a planar manner in the housing 3. The cooling air sucked into the housing 3 from the cooling air inlet 3a by the driving of the blower 4 is simultaneously supplied in parallel to the heat-radiating cooling air passages 1a of all the transmitting / receiving modules 1 connected to the branch duct 6, The passage 1a enters the cooling air intake window 1b of the cooling air passage 1a, cools the transmission / reception module 1, and flows from the rear outlet 1c through the intake port 5, the branch duct 6, and the collecting duct 7 of the branch duct 6. The air is sucked out by the blower 4 and discharged out of the housing 3 through the cooling air discharge port 3b. When the transmission / reception module 1 is inspected or replaced, the transmission / reception module 1 is pulled out from the front surface, that is, from the antenna element 2 side, but the branch duct 6 is installed on the back side of the transmission / reception module 1. Therefore, the duct does not hinder inspection and replacement of the transmission / reception module. As described above, according to the first aspect of the present invention, a cooling air passage for heat radiation is provided in each transmitting / receiving module, and all the transmitting / receiving modules arranged in a plane are simultaneously cooled in parallel. Therefore, it is possible to uniformly cool all the transmitting and receiving modules with cooling air of the same temperature,
Since a cooling structure such as an exhaust duct is provided on the back side of the transmission / reception module, there is no hindrance to maintenance and inspection of the transmission / reception module.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a sectional side view showing an antenna device according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing a transmitting / receiving module, a branch duct, and a collecting duct according to the first embodiment. FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing a transmitting / receiving module according to the first embodiment. FIG. 4 is a sectional view taken along line AA of FIG. 1; FIG. 5 is a sectional side view showing a conventional antenna device. [Description of Signs] 1 transmitting / receiving module, 1a cooling air passage for heat radiation, 1b cooling air intake window,
1c cooling air outlet, 2 antenna elements,
3 housing, 3a cooling air intake,
3b cooling air outlet, 4 blower,
5 branch duct inlet, 6 branch duct, 7 collecting duct, 11
Power supply.

Claims (1)

Claims 1. In an array antenna device in which antenna elements having transmission / reception modules are two-dimensionally arranged and housed in a housing, cooling air passages for heat radiation are provided in all transmission / reception modules. Cooling air taken in from a cooling air inlet provided in a lower portion of the housing is flown in parallel to the cooling air passage for total heat radiation, and the cooled air is discharged from the cooling air passage for heat radiation of each transmitting / receiving module. While discharging through the duct connected to the outside of the housing,
An array antenna device, wherein the duct is arranged on the back side of the transmitting / receiving module.