WO2005112203A1

WO2005112203A1 - Heat releasing communication box

Info

Publication number: WO2005112203A1
Application number: PCT/KR2004/001904
Authority: WO
Inventors: Hyunseung Hong
Original assignee: Sensegate Ltd.
Priority date: 2004-05-14
Filing date: 2004-07-29
Publication date: 2005-11-24
Also published as: KR20050108865A; KR100574706B1

Abstract

Is disclosed a communication box for naturally releasing heat generated from a power-consuming unit without using a fan. The communication box comprises a box body buried in a wall of an office or a home and having an open part opposite to a bottom which is buried in the wall; and a door for covering the open part of the box body to prevent an electric and electronic equipment installed in the box body from being exposed to a room air of the office or the home, wherein at least one power-consuming unit is mounted on an inner surface of the door, the inner surface facing the bottom of the box body.

Description

Description HEAT RELEASING COMMUNICATION BOX Technical Field

[1] This invention relates to architecture of a communication box, and more particularly to architecture of a communication box for releasing heat generated by a communication system installed in a wall- uried-in communication box, which accommodates communication cable ends, such as Unshielded Twisted Pair (UTP) cables. Background Art

[2] More and more homes or offices have wall jacks for phones or data. UTP cables connect these wall jacks to a premises communication box where, typically, a patch panel is located. A patch panel is a hardware unit, which provides cross-connection between cables, for example, between a cable leading to the telephone company's equipment and a cable leading to a premises wall jack.

[3] In a home or a small office, the communication box is often buried in the wall, in order to save space and to provide a more organized look. And the door of the communication box is typically made of plastic or other materials which do not transmit heat to and from the inner space of the communication box.

[4] When there are only a patch panel or a television signal splitter, both of which do not use power and do not generate heat, a traditional wall-buried- in communication box suffices.

[5] However, these days, there is an increasing need to have simultaneous data communication connectivity via multiple wall jacks in a home or an office. Thus there is an increasing need to deploy a communication device in the communication box, such as a switch or a Network Address Translation router or any other premises gateway. These devices consume power and generate heat. Especially when fiber optic cable is used for Wide Area Network (WAN) connection, the change between optical signals to electronic signals generates heat from about 10W power consumption.

[6] Typically there is little air circulation between the inner space of a communication box and the air in the room where the communication box is installed. Even with perforation on the door of the communication box, there is little increase in air circulation since hot air moves upward, not side along.

[7] Also since the communication box is typically installed in the home or the small office, where there can be a child or a most careless user, it is not appropriate to use grill door which will permit dust or water come into the communication box.

[8] The first difficulty lies in the fact that, in the home or the small office, it would be noisy and costly to install a fan on the door of the communication box. Thus it is crucial to find out a way to release the heat without using a fan.

[9] The second difficulty lies in the fact that since the door of the communication box does not provide any user interface such as LED's or a reset button, he or she has to open the door in order to check the status of the communication device or the cable connection in the communication box.

[10] The third difficulty lies in the fact that the inner space of the communication box tends to get more bustling and more unorganized because of the communication device: cables leading to the ISP (Internet Service Provider) and the telephone company, cables leading to multiple wall jacks, a patch panel for voice, a splitter for terrestrial TV broadcast, another splitter for cable TV, possibly a modem for data communication and a communication device such as a switch or a NAT router. And for cost control and good look, it is not desirable to enlarge the communication box; typically the size of a communication box is around 300x400x12 mm, where 12 is the depth. Disclosure of Invention Technical Problem

[11] It is an object of the present invention to provide a communication box for naturally releasing heat generated from a power-consuming unit without using a fan. Technical Solution

[12] A communication box for accomplishing the object of the present invention comprises; a box body and a door. The box body is buried in a wall of an office or a home and has an open part opposite to a bottom which is buried in the wall. The door for covering the open part of the box body prevents an electric and electronic equipment installed in the box body from being exposed to a room air of the office or the home. Wherein at least one power-consuming unit is mounted on an inner surface of the door and the inner surface faces the bottom of the box body. The door farther has a LED case formed on the inner surface thereof; a plurality of LEDs installed in the LED case and cabled to one of at least one power-consuming unit; and a cut- through window for showing a status of the plurality of LEDs. Wherein the LED case comprises a reset button which can be operated from outside of the door and which is cabled to one of at least one power-consuming unit. The power-consuming unit has either a heat-conductive bottom fastened to the inner surface of the door or an open bottom. If the power-consuming unit has the open bottom, the door fanctions as the bottom of the power-consuming unit. Also, the power-consuming unit is covered with a case in which a grid is formed so as to protect the power-consuming unit and conduct heat from the power-consuming unit to the inner surface.

[13] The door of the communication box is made of aluminum or other metal with high heat conductivity. In addition, the door has a plurality of bolts for fastening the power- consuming unit on the inner surface thereof and a power multi-tab mounted on the inner surface thereof. Alternatively, a communication box comprises: a box body buried in a wall of an office or a home and having an open part opposite to a bottom which is buried in the wall; and a door for covering the open part of the box body to prevent an electric and electronic equipment installed in the box body from being exposed to a room air of the office or the home, wherein the door has at least one cut- through window, through which a case is inserted, and wherein a power-consuming unit is mounted in the case so that the power-consuming unit is partially exposed to the room air. Description of Drawings

[14] A more detailed understanding of the invention is provided by the following description of preferred exemplary embodiments to be understood in conjunction with the accompanying drawing wherein:

[15] Fig. 1 is a sketch of a communication box with a door in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention;

[16] Fig. 2 is a drawing illustrating the invented door of the communication box door wherein a communication device and other power consuming devices are mounted on the inner surface of the door;

[17] Fig. 3 is a drawing of a device or a power adapter whose case bottom is the door of the communication box itself;

[18] Fig. 4 is a drawing of a power multi-tab which may be mounted on the inner surface of the door of the communication box; and

[19] Fig. 5 and 6 are drawings of another embodiment where one side of the power- consuming devices is exposed through the door to a room air. Mode for Invention

[20] A more complete appreciation of the invention and many of the attendant advantages thereof can be better appreciated by reference to the following detailed description and the accompanying drawings.

[21] Capitalization is used in this disclosure to improve readability. When a series of words is to be capitalized, the first occurring fall text is followed by capitalized abbreviation in parentheses and afterwards, only the capitalized abbreviations will be used.

[22] A communication box of the present invention typically comprises a box body 10 and a cover 20. The box body 10 is buried in a wall 18 and has an open part 17 opposite to a bottom 11, which is buried in the wall 18. The cover 20 is comprised of a frame 21 and a door 22. The frame 22 is anchored to the box body 10 by bolts and holds the door 22, and the door 22 covers the open part 17 of the box body 10 and protects the cables, patch panel, splitters, and the communication devices installed in the box body 10.

[23] The box body 10 is comprised of the bottom 11 and four sides 12a, 12b, 12c and 12d. On the bottom 11, typically, a voice patch panel 14 and a power socket 15 are mounted. UTP cables 16 run through the holes 13 on the side 12a. A few of UTP cables 16 are connected to WAN or to the telephone company and others are connected to the wall jacks in the premises.

[24] In accordance with the present invention, the door 22 of the cover 20 is made of aluminum or other metal with high heat conductivity. When the door 22 closes the open part 17 of the box body 10, devices, cables and other units installed in the communication box are protected and also, the communication box gives a neat, organized look. The door 22 has a lock 28 and hinges 25, which fasten the door 22 to the frame 21. The hinges 25 can be horizontally attached, as is shown in Fig. 1, or vertically attached.

[25] Typically the box body 10 is buried in the wall 18. Thus, when the door 22 is closed, the communication box is completely isolated from the air circulation of the room. As the power-consuming unit in the communication box generates heat, the temperature in the box body 10 goes up. The high ambient temperature makes the devices including the power-consuming unit in the box body 10 fail or the lifetime of the devices in the box body 10 much shorter.

[26] Perforation of the door 22 does not suffice for air circulation between the body box 10 and the room, since the perforation is horizontal but the heated air moves vertically. On the other hand, a grid-type door would be very vulnerable with regard to user's carelessness or water splash or dust. Fan is costly and noisy and difficult to maintain.

[27] The door 22 in accordance with the present invention is made of material having high heat-conductivity. Since various devices and the power adapter are mounted on the inner surface 22b facing the wall 18, the door 22 releases the heat to the room air. The power-consuming unit 33 such as the device or the power adapter either has a heat-conductive bottom (for example metal) which contacts tightly to the inner surface 22b of the door 22.

[28] The power-consuming unit 33 may be: a communication device such as a switch or a NAT router or any other residential gateway; an optic-electronic conversion transmission module; a power adapter. The power-consuming unit 33 consumes power and generates heat. The case 23 for covering the power-consuming unit 33 has a bottom made of highly heat-conductive metal, which is tightly fastened to the inner surface 22b of the door 22 and contacts tightly the inner surface 22b so that heat from the power-consuming unit 33 can be conducted to the door 22. Alternatively the case 23 may have an open bottom so that the door 22 itself fanctions as a bottom of the case 23 for the power-consuming unit 33, as is shown in Fig. 3.

[29] Referring to Fig. 2 and Fig. 3, the inner surface 22b of the door 22 has a plurality of bolts 32 which will be inserted to a plurality of holes 23c serving as nuts. These bolts 32 go through the fastening holes 23c in the sleeves 23b of the case 23. In a case body 23a of the case 23 covering the power-consuming unit 33, there are formed a grid 23d to protect electrical and electronic equipment such as the power-consuming unit 33 which may be assembled on a Printed Circuit Board (PCB). That is, the grid 23d is to protect the assembled PCB in mounting or dismounting the power consuming unit 33 on the inner surface 22b of the door 22. Also, the grid 23d lets the heated air in the case 23 circulate freely and conduct the heat to the inner surface 22b of the door 22

[30] As we have discussed, the invented structured door 22 very effectively releases heat from the power-consuming unit 33. The door 22 of the communication box may also provide LED interface to the user. Referring to Fig. 2, an LED case 24 in which a plurality of LEDs are installed, is attached to the outer surface 22a of the door 22, the outer surface 22a contacting with the room air. Alternatively, the LED case 24 can be mounted on the inner surface 22b and the door 22 has a cut-through window for the LED case 24. In any case, the LEDs in the LED case 24 are cabled to the communication device. The LED case 24 can also provide a reset button which is cabled to the communication device. Thus, a user do not have to open the door 22 and spend efforts to figure out the messy cables and connections, in order to check the status of the devices in the box body and reset it or to check the status of cable connection.

[31] The invented door 22 may have a power multi-tab 34 mounted on the inner surface 22b thereof. Referring to Fig. 2 and Fig. 3b, the mounted power multi-tab 34 is comprised of: the main body 34a; sleeves for fasting 34e; an AC inlet 34d; multiple AC outlets 34b; a fase 34c to protect the power-consuming units from electrical surge 34c. The sleeves 34e have a plurality of holes 34f for receiving the bolts 32 formed on the inner surface 22b. This door-mounted multi-tab 34 is especially useful when there are multiple units which need power supply.

[32] In Figs. 1, 2, 3, and 4, we have discussed an exemplary embodiment where the power-consuming units are mounted on the inner surface 22b; in this embodiment, the door 22 may provide a cut-through window only for the LED case 24.

[33] There can be other embodiments where the door of the communication box is provided with an aperture through which the power-consuming unit is exposed to the room air for heat conduction. Some of such exposing embodiments are shown Fig. 5 and Fig.6. In Fig 5, a case 43 is inserted to the aperture(cut-through window) prepared in a door 42 and a power-consuming unit 53 is mounted in the case 43, so the power- consuming unit 53 is partially exposed through the door 42. Bolts 45 on the inner surface 42b of the door 42 are holding the case 43. Since the power-consuming unit 53 and the case 43 are exposed to the room air, heat generated by the power-consuming unit 53 is conducted from the power-consuming unit 43 to the room air and the door 42 of the present invention cools the power-consuming unit 43. In Fig. 6, a face, that is, the bottom face of the power-consuming unit 53 or the case 43 is exposed to the room air, but the face is on the same level with the outer surface 42a of the door 42.

[34] The invented structured door may also have a hole through which cables go when an additional communication device is installed adjacent to the communication box and when there is not enough room to accommodate it in the communication box. For example, a user can hang a Digital Subscriber Line (DSL) modem on the outer surface 22a, 42a of the door 22, 42 and pull the WAN cable and a power cable from the communication box and connect them to the modem, through the hole; these cables are inputs for the modem. And the user can connect the output voice cable to the voice patch panel in the communication box; he can connect the output data cable to the communication device in the communication box.

[35] The structured door of the communication box has the following benefits.

[36] First, the door releases heat by conduction. The door does not use a fan. Fans are costly and very difficult to maintain, especially when they are installed in numerous small homes or offices.

[37] Second, the door provides a very convenient LED and/or reset interface to the user. He or she does not have to open the communication box to reset the device therein or to check the status of the device or the cable connection. [38] Third, the door virtually doubles the size of the inner space of the communication box, where there tend to be a space competition as more and more communication devices are deployed.

[39] While the present invention has been shown and described with reference to certain preferred embodiments thereof, it will be understood by those skilled in the art that various changes in form and details may be made therein without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as defined by the appended claims.

Claims

[1] A communication box comprising: a box body buried in a wall of an office or a home and having an open part opposite to a bottom which is buried in said wall; and a door for covering said open part of said box body to prevent an electric and electronic equipment installed in said box body from being exposed to a room air of said office or said home, wherein at least one power-consuming unit is mounted on an inner surface of said door, said inner surface facing said bottom of said box body.

[2] The communication box i n accordance with claim 1, further comprising a LED case formed on said inner surface of said door; a plurality of LEDs installed in said LED case and cabled to one of said at least one power-consuming unit; and a cut-through window for showing a status of said plurality of LEDs.

[3] The communication box i n accordance with claim 2, wherein said LED case comprises a reset button which can be operated from outside of said door and which is cabled to said one of said at least one power-consuming unit.

[4] The communication box i n accordance with claim 1, wherein said power- consuming unit is one selected from a group comprised of a residential gateway, a power adapter, a Power Line Communication (PLC) modem, a LED case and an optic-electronic conversion module.

[5] The communication box i n accordance with claim 1, wherein said power- consuming unit has a heat-conductive bottom fastened to said inner surface of said door.

[6] The communication box i n accordance with claim 1, wherein said power- consuming unit has an open bottom and said door fanctions as the bottom of said power-consuming unit.

[7] The communication box in accordance with any one of claim 1 through claim 6, wherein said power-consuming unit is covered with a case in which a grid is formed so as to protect said power-consuming unit and conduct heat from said power-consuming unit to said inner surface.

[8] The communication box in accordance with any one of claim 1 through claim 7, wherein said door has a plurality of bolts for fastening said power-consuming unit on said inner surface thereof.

[9] The communication box in accordance with any one of claim 1 through claim 7, wherein said door has a power multi-tab mounted on said inner surface thereof. [10] A communication box comprising : a box body buried in a wall of an office or a home and having an open part opposite to a bottom which is buried in said wall; and a door for covering said open part of said box body to prevent an electric and electronic equipment installed in said box body from being exposed to a room air of said office or said home, wherein said door has at least one cut-through window, through which a case is inserted, and wherein a power-consuming unit is mounted in said case so that said power-consuming unit is partially exposed to said room air.