JPH0126559B2 - - Google Patents

Description

[Detailed description of the invention] (1) Technical field of the invention The present invention relates to submarine repeater units.

(2) Technical background When a submarine cable is laid across the ocean, submarine repeater units are installed at appropriate distances to energize attenuated signals. Such a submarine repeater unit has a substantially hollow cylindrical pressure-resistant casing, and a circuit unit for performing the above-mentioned functions is housed in this pressure-tight casing in a watertight manner. Such a circuit unit is fixed in a hollow cylindrical protector on a support plate extending in the axial direction of the protector, and this support plate is attached to an end face plate covering an end face of the protector. A large number of wires, optical fibers, etc. are connected between each circuit unit and between each cable main line.

(3) Problems with the prior art When assembling the conventional submarine repeater unit as described above, when the assembled circuit units are inserted into the cylindrical protector, each unit hits the protector wall, or There were also problems such as the wires connecting the units getting caught or bent. Furthermore, once installed, submarine repeater units are required to perform their functions permanently;
In order to prevent performance deterioration, it is required to dissipate the heat generated from the circuit unit as quickly as possible. Regarding this point, in the conventional structure, the heat generated from the circuit is conducted to the end plate via the support plate extending in the axial direction mentioned above, and is dissipated from the surface of the protector. This is becoming a serious problem as the scale of submarine cables is expected to increase even further in the future. In particular, when optical fibers are used, the characteristics and lifespan of the optical component are greatly affected by the heat dissipation characteristics. Furthermore, optical fibers are more vulnerable to external forces than copper wire materials, and need to be protected from small bends and compression.

(4) Purpose of the Invention The present invention was made to solve the above-mentioned problems, and its purpose is to provide a submarine repeater unit that has excellent heat dissipation characteristics and has a structure that does not damage the wire during assembly.

(5) Structure of the Invention The submarine repeater unit according to the present invention is a submarine repeater unit in which a plurality of circuit units are housed watertight in a housing, in which the plurality of circuit units are fixedly assembled together. The present invention is characterized in that it is a circuit unit assembly, and a protector consisting of a plurality of elements having excellent thermal conductivity is disposed around the outer periphery of the assembly, corresponding to the contour shape of the assembly.

(6) Embodiments of the invention Examples of the invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a vertical sectional view showing the schematic structure of a submarine repeater unit. 1 indicates a cylindrical pressure-resistant housing.
Two transverse walls 2 and 3 are arranged with an interval in the pressure casing 1, and these two transverse walls 2 and 3 keep the inside of the pressure casing watertight. The transverse walls 2, 3 are provided with holes 2', 3', respectively, through which submarine cables are connected to the respective circuit units in the submarine repeater unit 1. These holes 2', 3' are properly sealed in advance by passing cables through the transverse walls 2, 3, and after connecting to the circuit unit side, the transverse walls 2, 3 are hermetically fixed by welding or the like.

In the watertight space between the transverse walls 2 and 3, a plurality of circuit units 4, 5,
6 and 7 are inserted. For example, in an optical submarine repeater, these circuit units include an optical to electrical conversion circuit, a main amplifier circuit, an electrical to optical conversion circuit, a monitoring circuit, a power supply circuit, and the like. These circuit units are interconnected by wires and optical fibers 8.

The circuit units 4, 5, 6, and 7 are assembled and fixed to a support plate 9 extending in the axial direction of the pressure-resistant housing 1. This assembly is inserted into a substantially cylindrical protector 10, and both ends of the protector 10 and both ends of the support plate 9 are fixed to the end plate 11 by, for example, welding. The above assembly is supported in the pressure-resistant housing 1 by a cushioning material 12 and a ring 13.

2 and 3 are cross-sectional views taken along the line A--A in FIG. 1, and in order to simply explain the structure of the present invention, FIG. Third
The drawings are for comparison based on the configuration of the present invention. In these figures, the pressure-resistant housing 1, the buffer material 12, and the ring 13 are omitted.

The protector in Fig. 2 is a hollow cylindrical cylinder 1.
0'. Single structure cylindrical cylinder 1
0', a circuit unit 4' fixed to a support plate 9;
It can be seen that 5', 6, and 7 have been inserted. As mentioned above, the circuit unit assembly or assembly fixed to the support plate 9 is inserted longitudinally into the protective cylindrical cylinder 10', and this assembly is arranged so as to extend normally in the axial direction. , great care must be taken when inserting an assembly having an uneven surface profile into the cylindrical cylinder 10'. Since the wire 8 connects each circuit unit, care must be taken not to bend or bend the wire.
Furthermore, the heat generated from the circuit unit is not directly conducted to the peripheral wall of the cylindrical cylinder 10', but is dissipated from the peripheral wall of the cylindrical cylinder 10' via the support plate 9 and the end plate 11, so that efficient heat radiation is achieved. I can't say that.

In FIG. 3, the cross-sectional arrangement of the circuit unit 4'' is different from the arrangement in FIG. Naturally, furthermore, this is not limited to a particular arrangement, but should be set by the design conditions of the submarine repeater unit.It should be noted that the present invention shown in FIG. A circuit unit protector 10'' for a submarine repeater unit according to the invention is composed of a plurality of elements.
The protector 10'', which is made up of a plurality of elements, is arranged around the outer periphery of the circuit unit assembly so as to correspond to its contour shape, that is, so that the inner surface shape of the protector 10'' complements the uneven shape of the assembly. Ru. The outer periphery of the protector 10'' shown in this embodiment forms a generally cylindrical surface when each element is screwed together with an adjacent circuit unit, so that the assembly is shown in FIG. Alternatively, the assembly may be further inserted into a cylindrical cylinder and supported by the buffer 12 and ring 13.

Since the inner surface shape of the protective body 10'' shown in FIG. If you make the 10″ out of a material with excellent thermal conductivity,
Heat generated in the circuit unit 4'' is directly conducted to the protector 10'' and radiated from its surface. Therefore,
Heat dissipation from the circuit unit 4'' itself is promoted, and the original performance of the circuit unit 4'' is maintained for a long time.

Since the protector 10'' is also made up of multiple elements, when attaching it to the circuit unit assembly, be careful not to bend or compress the wire or optical fiber 8 while checking the outline of the circuit unit assembly. It is possible to install them one by one with care.

(7) Effects of the Invention As explained above, according to the present invention, parts are not damaged during assembly work, and heat dissipation of the circuit unit can be promoted, and a durable submarine structure with excellent performance can be constructed. A repeater unit can be obtained.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

Figure 1 is a schematic vertical cross-sectional view of the submarine repeater unit.
FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of a conventional circuit unit protector and circuit unit, and FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view of a protector and circuit unit according to the present invention. DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1...Pressure housing, 4, 5, 6, 7... Circuit unit, 8... Wire, 9... Plate, 10... Protector, 11... End plate.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. In a submarine repeater unit in which a plurality of circuit units are housed watertight in a housing, the plurality of circuit units are fixedly assembled together to form a circuit unit aggregate, and the outer periphery of the aggregate is A submarine repeater unit characterized by having a protective body made of a plurality of elements with excellent thermal conductivity arranged in accordance with its contour shape.