Rotatable antenna apparatus
First Claim
1. A rotatable antenna apparatus comprising:
- a fixed unit for attachment of the apparatus to an external structure;
a rotatable unit mounted on the fixed unit and comprising an antenna assembly and processing circuitry coupled to the antenna assembly for performing signal processing operations;
a thermally conductive shaft connected to the rotatable unit and located for rotation within the fixed unit;
a thermally conductive coupling structure to conduct heat from one or more heating generating components of the processing circuitry into the thermally conductive shaft; and
a heat sink formed within the fixed unit and thermally coupled to the thermally conductive shaft.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A rotatable antenna apparatus has a fixed unit for attachment of the apparatus to an external structure, and a rotatable unit mounted on the fixed unit for rotation relative to the fixed unit. The rotatable unit comprises both an antenna assembly and processing circuitry coupled to the antenna assembly for performing signal processing operations. The apparatus further includes a thermally conductive shaft connected to the rotatable unit and located for rotation within the fixed unit, and a thermally conductive coupling structure to conduct heat from one or more heat generating components of the processing circuitry into the thermally conductive shaft. A heat sink within the fixed unit is thermally coupled to the thermally conductive shaft to draw heat away from the thermally conductive shaft. This provides an efficient mechanism for removing heat from the rotatable unit, whilst still allowing the rotatable unit to be sealed against external environmental conditions.
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Citations
14 Claims
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1. A rotatable antenna apparatus comprising:
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a fixed unit for attachment of the apparatus to an external structure; a rotatable unit mounted on the fixed unit and comprising an antenna assembly and processing circuitry coupled to the antenna assembly for performing signal processing operations; a thermally conductive shaft connected to the rotatable unit and located for rotation within the fixed unit; a thermally conductive coupling structure to conduct heat from one or more heating generating components of the processing circuitry into the thermally conductive shaft; and a heat sink formed within the fixed unit and thermally coupled to the thermally conductive shaft. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13)
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14. A rotatable antenna apparatus comprising:
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fixed means for attachment of the apparatus to an external structure; rotatable means for mounting on the fixed means and comprising an antenna means and processing means coupled to the antenna means for performing signal processing operations; a thermally conductive shaft means connected to the rotatable means and located for rotation within the fixed means; a thermally conductive coupling means for conducting heat from one or more heating generating components of the processing means into the thermally conductive shaft means; and heat sink means within the fixed means for thermal coupling to the thermally conductive shaft means.
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Specification