JPH0322074B2 - - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to an electronic device having a plurality of electronics modules and configured to cool the plurality of electronics modules by a cooling plate through which a refrigerant flows.

There are various methods for cooling this type of electronic equipment, one of which is to use a heat transfer plate to conduct heat generated by the many various electronic components in the electronics module that is the component of the electronic equipment. There is a method in which heat is radiated to a refrigerant flowing through a cooling plate installed close to the heat transfer plate. In this type of cooling method, the refrigerant flows in a completely independent sealed flow path, so there is no risk of the refrigerant coming into direct contact with electronic components, and the electronics modules are individually hermetically mounted through heat transfer plates, allowing them to be isolated from the outside environment. Since it is possible to shield electronic components from the air, the reliability of the equipment is less likely to be impaired even under special environments, and is particularly advantageous for electronic equipment mounted on ships and aircraft. However, in conventional equipment of this type, a major factor determining the cooling performance is the contact thermal resistance between the electronics module and the cooling plate, and in order to improve cooling efficiency, it is necessary to reduce the contact thermal resistance. Due to necessity, for example, a compound with good thermal conductivity was interposed between the electronics module and the cooling plate, and the electronics module was fastened to the cooling plate with screws, so it was difficult to attach and remove the electronics module when replacing or maintaining it. There was a problem that it was not easy and the work was time-consuming.

On the other hand, if the electronics module is designed to be attached and detached independently of the cooling plate in order to improve maintenance workability, a small gap will inevitably be created between the electronics module and the cooling plate. The intervening air layer increases the contact thermal resistance, resulting in poor cooling efficiency, and the problem is that incidental equipment such as a secondary heat exchanger for the refrigerant becomes bulky.

The present invention solves the above-mentioned problems and proposes an electronic device in which the electronics module can be easily attached and detached and has good cooling efficiency.

For convenience of explanation, the details of the present invention will be explained using an active electronic scanning antenna as an example. Due to the structure of an active electronic scanning antenna, hundreds to thousands of electronic modules containing various electronic components are arranged densely at a predetermined pitch in a housing that also serves as a heat transfer plate. A large amount of heat is concentrated in the module group. Therefore, in order to protect the electronic components in the electronics module and obtain stable characteristics, it is necessary to efficiently remove the heat generated by the electronic components. This will be explained below using figures.

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an example of a cooling section of the electronics module group using a cooling plate through which a coolant flows in an active electronic scanning antenna. In FIG. 1, reference numeral 1 denotes a frame, which is connected to support plates 2 and 3. Reference numeral 4 denotes an electronics module having various electronic components in a housing serving as a heat transfer plate, which are arranged in layers using holes 5 provided at a predetermined pitch in the support plate 2 as guides, and are arranged in layers in the direction of arrow a. It is attached and detached from the support plate 2 side, and after being fitted with the connector 6, it is fixed to the support plate 2 with screws or the like. Further, between each layer of the electronics module 4, a cooling plate 7 through which a coolant flows is installed with a slight gap between the electronics module 4, and the heat generated by the electronic components in the electronics module 4 is reduced. Heat is radiated to the refrigerant flowing inside the cooling plate 7 via the casing as a heat transfer plate and the cooling plate 7.

2, 3, and 4 show an example of the configuration of the cooling plate 7 shown in FIG. 1, which is a feature of the present invention. In FIGS. 2, 3, and 4, reference numeral 4 denotes an electronics module to be cooled, and the cooling plate 7 is composed of a thin flat plate 7a with grooves 8 through which the coolant flows and an extremely thin flat plate 7b of uniform thickness. It is constructed by joining.

Therefore, a rectangular cross-section channel 9 surrounded by thin flat plates as shown in FIG. 3 is formed in the cooling plate 7, and the coolant flows inside this channel in the direction of the arrow shown in FIG. . When the electronics module 4 is installed or removed, the supply of refrigerant is stopped and there is no flow as shown in Figure 3, so the internal pressure inside the cooling plate is low and the flow path 9 maintains a rectangular cross section, so that the electronics module A slight gap 10 is created between the cooling plate 4 and the cooling plate 7 to facilitate attachment and detachment. However, when the refrigerant begins to flow into the flow path 9 after the electronics module 4 is inserted, the internal pressure within the cooling plate 7 increases, and as mentioned earlier, the flow path 9 is surrounded by an extremely thin flat plate. , as shown in FIG. 4, due to the increase in internal pressure, two flat plates 7a and 7b
expands and its surface comes into close contact with the electronics module 4, thereby reducing the air layer between the electronics module 4 and the cooling plate 7 and reducing the contact thermal resistance.

In this way, the cooling plate 7 maintains the gap 10 between the electronics module 4 and the cooling plate 7 when the electronics module 4 is attached or detached, without impairing the ease of attachment or detachment, and reduces the gap 10 during operation. , heat generated by electronic components within the electronics module 4 can be efficiently radiated. In addition, in the example shown in FIG. 2, the channels 9 in the cooling plate 7 run along the longitudinal direction for each electronics module 4, so there is little variation in the temperature of the coolant flowing in each channel 9. , it is possible to reduce temperature variations among the electronic components in each electronics module 4 and to stabilize the characteristics.

Note that in this example, grooves were provided on one side of the two flat plates constituting the cooling plate, and the other plates were flat plates of uniform thickness. It goes without saying that the pattern of the flow paths can be changed according to the heat generation distribution within the electronics module, and is not limited to the above example.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing another embodiment of the cooling plate, which is a feature of the present invention. Similarly to FIG. It is a flat plate. Flat plate 7a
As shown in FIG. 2, a flow path 8 is provided in the cooling plate 7 and a flat plate 7b of uniform thickness is bonded to form a flow path 9 with a rectangular cross section inside the cooling plate 7.
a, 7b are provided with a convex portion 11 along the longitudinal direction of each electronics module 4 on the side facing the electronics module 4, and the electronics module 4 is provided with a convex portion 11 along the longitudinal direction.
A recess 12 is provided to engage with the recess 1 . Therefore, during cooling, the two flat plates 7a and 7b expand due to an increase in the internal pressure within the cooling plate 7, reducing the gap between the electronics module 4 and the cooling plate 7 and reducing the contact thermal resistance, as well as increasing the distance between the convex portion 11 and the concave portion. 12 increases the heat transfer area between the electronics module 4 and the cooling plate 7, so that heat radiation from the electronics module 4 to the cooling plate 7 becomes more efficient.

FIGS. 6 and 7 show still another embodiment of the cooling plate which is a feature of the present invention. Figure 2,
Similarly to FIG. 5, reference numeral 4 denotes an electronics module to be cooled, and two flat plates 7a and 7b constitute a cooling plate 7 having a rectangular cross-sectional flow path 9 therein. A thermally conductive resin such as a silicone rubber sheet 13 is pasted on the surface facing the electronics module 4. Therefore, during cooling, as the refrigerant flows inside the cooling plate, as shown in FIG. It is sandwiched between the electronics module 4 and the cooling plate 7 and contracts slightly, and the surface of the cooling plate comes into contact with the electronics module 4 via the silicone rubber sheet 13.

Therefore, the silicon rubber sheet 13 alleviates variations in contact thermal resistance due to the surface roughness of the contact surface between the housing of the electronics module 4 and the cooling plate, and also reduces the variation in the contact thermal resistance caused by the surface roughness of the contact surface between the housing of the electronics module 4 and the cooling plate. The silicone rubber sheet 13 reduces variations in contact thermal resistance due to differences in internal pressure rise between parts and fluctuations in refrigerant supply source pressure through its contraction, making heat dissipation from the electronics module 4 to the cooling plate 7 effective, uniform, and stable. It can be done.

Therefore, as shown in FIG. 1, the electronic equipment according to the present invention, in which the cooling plate through which the refrigerant flows inside the electronic equipment shown in the above three embodiments is installed so as to be in contact with the electronics module that requires cooling, is an electronics module. It has the characteristics that the Yule can be easily attached and detached, and that the heat generated by the electronic components in the electronics module can be efficiently removed.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram showing an embodiment of an electronic device according to the present invention, FIGS. 2, 3, and 4 are diagrams showing an embodiment of a cooling plate that is a feature of the present invention, and FIG. FIGS. 6 and 7 are diagrams showing still other embodiments of the cooling plate that is a feature of the present invention, in which 1 is a frame; , 3 is a support plate, 4 is an electronics module, 5 is a hole, 6 is a connector,
7 is a cooling plate, 7a and 7b are thin flat plates, 8 is a channel groove, 9 is a channel, 10 is a gap, 11 is a convex portion, 12 is a concave portion, and 13 is a silicon rubber sheet. In the drawings, the same or corresponding parts are designated by the same reference numerals.

Claims (1)

[Scope of Claims] 1. In an electronic device configured by combining a plurality of electronics modules, each or every several electronics modules have an internal refrigerant flow path depending on the arrangement of the electronics modules, and , faces the electronics module, and expands so as to be in close contact with the electronics module due to an increase in the internal pressure of the flow path due to the supply of refrigerant, while the internal pressure of the flow path decreases due to the stoppage of the refrigerant supply. A panel-shaped cooling plate made of a thin plate having a cooling plate outer skin that contracts and restores itself so as to form a gap between the electronics module and the electronics module so that the electronics module can be attached and detached is placed between the electronics module surface and a predetermined gap. An electronic device characterized in that it is installed with a handle. 2. The electronic device according to claim 1, wherein the outer skin of the cooling plate is provided with an uneven portion, and the electronics module is provided with an uneven portion that engages with the uneven portion. 3. The electronic device according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that a thermally conductive resin is interposed between the surfaces of the electronics module and the cooling plate that are in contact with each other.