Arrangement for shielding electronic components and providing power thereto

• US 4,977,329 A
• Filed: 05/23/1988
• Issued: 12/11/1990
• Est. Priority Date: 05/23/1988
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Hughes Electronics Corporation (AT&T, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Hughes Aircraft Company (Rtx Corporation)
• Inventors: Hancock, Donald J., Robson, Ronald R., Eckhardt, Wilfred O., Williamson, Weldon S.
• Primary Examiner(s): Nelms, David C.
• Assistant Examiner(s): Allen, Stephone B.
• Application Number:
  US07/197,237
• Time in Patent Office: 932 Days
• Field of Search: 250/227, 250/551, 250/239, 357/19, 455/606, 455/607, 455/612, 455/617, 307/311
• US Class Current: 250/551
• CPC Class Codes: H05K 9/0018 with provisions to reduce aperture leakages in walls, e.g. terminals, connectors, cables
• CPC Class Codes: H10N 30/40 with electrical input and electrical output, e.g. functioning as transformers

Abstract

Disclosed herein is an arrangement for shielding individual electronic units from undesired microwave or millimeter wave radiation while providing a means of transferring input and output signals and operating power through the shield wall. A metal box encapsulates an electronic unit. Input and output signals are fed into and transferred from the electronics unit through the shield wall using optical links and photo transmitting and receiving components. Power is transferred through the shield box wall using piezo crystals secured to the outside and inside of the shield box wall and a dielectric rod connected between the two piezo crystals through a hole in the wall. Electrical energy therefore can be transferred into mechanical energy transferred through the box wall to the piezo crystal within where it is received and transferred back into electrical energy. Accordingly, metal feedthroughs are not needed, eliminating any paths for radiation to enter the shield box.

Claims

1. An arrangement for separately shielding individual electronics units and transferring input and output signals and power therebetween, comprising:

a first metallic box encapsulating one electronics unit;

a second metallic box encapsulating another electronics unit;

means for transferring control and output signals between the electronics units without providing a path for undesired microwave and millimeter wave radiation to enter the boxes;

means for optically coupling and transferring energy from one electronics unit to another electronics unit to supply power to the other electronics unit.

2. A shielding arrangement as defined in claim 1 wherein said means for transferring input and output signals includes fiber optic guides between said first and second metallic boxes, a waveguide having a diameter such that the cutoff wavelength of the waveguide is below the shortest wavelength of any undesired microwave or millimeter wave radiation, with at least the fiber optic guide for transferring the input signal passing through said waveguide, and light emitting means and light receiving means located within said metallic boxes and optically coupled to said fiber optic guides for converting and transmitting said signals through said fiber optic guides.

3. A shielding arrangement as defined in claim 2 wherein said light emitting means are light emitting diodes and said light receiving means are photodiodes.

4. An arrangement for shielding electronic components from undesired microwave or millimeter wave radiation, comprising:

a metallic enclosure for housing said electronic components;

at least one light emitting diode located outside said metallic enclosure for generating a light signal based on a predetermined electric signal;

at least one photodiode located within said metallic enclosure for converting light energy to electrical current output for empowering said electronic components;

at least on fiber optic guide for receiving said light signal from said light emitting diode and transferring said light signal through said metallic enclosure to said photodiode, and

a waveguide through which said at least one fiber optic guide extends, said waveguide extending through a wall of said metallic enclosure, and having a cutoff wavelength lower than the shortest wavelength of any undesired microwave or millimeter wave radiation.

5. The shielding arrangement defined in claim 4 further comprising:

at least one light emitting diode located within said metallic enclosure for generating another light signal based on another predetermined electrical signal;

at least one photodiode located outside said metallic enclosure;

at least one optical waveguide for receiving said another light signal from said light emitting diode and transferring said another light signal through said metallic enclosure to said photodiode located outside said metallic enclosure.

6. The shielding arrangement defined in claim 5 further including another metallic enclosure for housing said light emitting diode and said photodiode located outside said metallic enclosure.

7. The shielding arrangement defined in claim 5 further including means for transferring mechanical energy from outside said metallic enclosure to within said metallic enclosure.

8. A device for shielding electrical components from undesired electromagnetic radiation and transferring input and output signals thereto and therefrom without electrical feedthroughs, comprising:

an electrically conductive housing encapsulating the electronical components, said housing having inner and outer surfaces;

means for optically transferring input and output signals into and out of said housing; and

means for transferring energy to the electrical components through said housing.

9. A shielding device as defined in claim 8 wherein optical transfer means includes optical fibers extending through said metallic housing, light emitting diodes for converting electrical input and output signals into optical signals which transmitted into and out of said housing by said optical fibers, and photodiodes for receiving optical signals transmitted through said optical fiber and converting said signals back into electrical signals.