Radial fin heat sink for remote radio heads and the like

• US 10,028,333 B2
• Filed: 08/18/2015
• Issued: 07/17/2018
• Est. Priority Date: 09/03/2014
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: CommScope Technologies, LLC (CommScope Holding Company, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: CommScope Technologies, LLC (CommScope Holding Company, Inc.)
• Inventors: Gu, Qiyun, Xu, YongJie, Patel, Sammit
• Primary Examiner(s): Hoffberg, Robert J
• Assistant Examiner(s): DANG, HUNG Q
• Application Number:
  US14/829,028
• Publication Number:
  US 20160066476A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,064 Days
• CPC Class Codes: F28F 3/02 Elements or assemblies thereof with means for increasing heat-transfer area, e.g. with fins, with recesses, with corrugations F28F3/08 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 23/3675 characterised by the shape of the housing
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 88/08 Access point devices
• CPC Class Codes: H05K 7/20127 Natural convection
• CPC Class Codes: H05K 7/20409 Outer radiating structures on heat dissipating housings, e.g. fins integrated with the housing

Abstract

In one embodiment, an apparatus includes three remote radio heads (RRHs) mounted on a pole using one or more triangular brackets, each RRH connected to a corresponding antenna. Each RRH includes an electronics module, a heat sink mounted on the electronics module, and a cover attached to the heat sink. The heat sink comprises a base, a plurality of attached forward-facing fins, and a pair of backward-facing fins. Each forward-facing fin and backward-facing fin comprises a proximal end attached to the base and an opposite distal end. The proximal ends of the plurality of forward-facing fins are collinear. The distal ends of the plurality of forward-facing fins and the backward-facing fins define an arc of an ellipse.

Claims

1. An apparatus comprising a heat sink for an electronics module, wherein:

the heat sink comprises a base, a plurality of forward-facing fins, and a plurality of backward-facing fins;

a first side of the base is substantially planar and adapted for mounting to the electronics module;

each forward-facing fin comprises (i) a proximal end attached to a second side of the base and (ii) an opposite distal end;

each backward-facing fin comprises (i) a proximal end attached to the second side of base and (ii) an opposite distal end;

the proximal ends of the plurality of forward-facing fins are collinear; and

the distal ends of the plurality of forward-facing fins define an arc of an ellipse;

the distal ends of the plurality of backward-facing fins define extensions of the arc of the ellipse defined by the plurality of forward-facing fins;

wherein the second side of the base is substantially planar and parallel to the first side;

wherein each of the forward-facing fins is not parallel with at least one immediately adjacent forward-facing fin;

wherein a first forward-facing fin of the plurality of forward-facing fins is located farther from a center line of the first side of the base than a second forward-facing fin of the plurality of forward-facing fins,

wherein the first forward-facing fin has a greater angle measurement between the first forward-facing fin and a line perpendicular to the first side of the base than the second forward-facing fin and the line perpendicular to the first side of the base; and

wherein the first forward-facing fin of the plurality of forward-facing fins has a shorter length, measured from the proximal end of the first forward-facing fin to the distal end of the first forward-facing fin, than a length of the second forward-facing fin, measured from the proximal end of the second forward-facing fin to the distal end of the second forward-facing fin.

2. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the ellipse is a circle.

3. The apparatus of claim 2, wherein a measure of the arc is between 90 and 120 degrees.

6. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein:

the apparatus comprises the electronics module;

the first side of the heat sink is mounted to the electronics module;

the apparatus further comprises a cover;

the cover comprises a plate having a curvature and adapted to fit over the heat sink;

the curvature of the cover corresponds to the arc defined by the distal ends of the plurality of forward-facing fins;

the cover is removably attached over the heat sink; and

the ellipse is a circle.

7. The apparatus of claim 6, wherein:

the electronics module, heat sink, and cover form a remote radio head (RRH) sub-assembly; and

the apparatus further comprises a bracket adapted to mount the RRH sub-assembly to a pole.

8. The apparatus of claim 7, wherein the bracket is further adapted to mount two additional instances of the RRH sub-assembly to the pole, such that the three covers form an open segmented circular cylinder.

4. An apparatus comprising a heat sink for an electronics module, wherein:

the heat sink comprises a base and a plurality of forward-facing fins and a plurality of backward-facing fins;

a first side of the base is substantially planar and adapted for mounting to the electronics module;

each forward-facing fin comprises (i) a proximal end attached to a substantially planar second side of the base and (ii) an opposite distal end;

each backward-facing fin comprises (i) a proximal end attached to the second side of base and (ii) an opposite distal end;

the proximal ends of the plurality of forward-facing fins are collinear,

the distal ends of the plurality of forward-facing fins define an arc of an ellipse; and

the first side of the base and the second side of the base are parallel;

the apparatus further comprising a cover, wherein;

the cover comprises a plate having a curvature and adapted to fit over the heat sink, the cover further comprising at least one of a plurality of hooks and/or a plurality of a plurality of bayonets;

the curvature of the cover corresponds to the are defined by the distal ends of the plurality of forward-facing fins;

the backward-facing fins comprise a plurality of apertures corresponding to the plurality of hooks and/or the plurality of bayonets and adapted to receive the plurality of hooks and/or the plurality of bayonets; and

the cover is removably attached over the heat sink.

5. The apparatus of claim 4, wherein the cover comprises both hooks and bayonets.

9. A remote radio head subassembly, comprising:

an electronics module comprising one or more input/output ports for connecting the remote radio head subassembly to a base band unit and/or an antenna;

a heat sink comprising a base, a plurality of forward-facing fins, and a plurality of backward-facing fins;

a first substantially planar-side of the base mounted to the electronics module;

each forward-facing fin comprising (i) a proximal end attached to a second substantially planar side of the base and (ii) an opposite distal end;

each backward-facing fin comprising (i) a proximal end attached to the second side of base and (ii) an opposite distal end;

the proximal ends of the plurality of forward-facing fins being collinear;

each of the forward-facing fins is not parallel with at least one immediately adjacent forward-facing fin;

the distal ends of the plurality of forward-facing fins defining an arc of an ellipse; and

the distal ends of the plurality of backward-facing fins defining extensions of the are of the ellipse.

10. A plurality of remote radio head subassemblies as defined in claim 9 mounted to a pole to form a cylindrical remote radio head.