Electronics enclosure for power electronics with passive thermal management
First Claim
1. An electronics enclosure for a power electronic unit with passive thermal management comprising:
- a modular electronic unit comprising circuit modules mounted on a substantially planar thermally conductive substrate, the circuit modules being arranged vertically above one another, and each circuit module having an associated thermal control module in thermal contact with the circuit module,a plurality of the circuit modules being higher power modules comprising power components, and the thermal control module associated with each of the higher power modules comprising a heat pipe assembly;
the thermal control module associated with each other circuit module comprising a conventional heatsink; and
,the heatpipe assemblies of the thermal control modules being arranged one above the other with cooling fins of the heatpipe assemblies arranged vertically, to provide for air flow vertically by natural convection through fins of the heatpipe assemblies and over the conventional heatsink.
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Accused Products
Abstract
An electronics enclosure is provided with passive thermal management for a high power electronic units, for example a power amplifier for wireless telecommunications, the enclosure being suitable for mast head mounted units, or remotely located units exposed to a wide range of weather conditions. The use of heat pipes in place of a conventional heat sink provides for natural convection cooling and eliminates the need for fans. Appropriate selection of materials, using copper and aluminum respectively, for the construction of heat pipe and cooling fin assemblies provides a significant reduction in weight and volume is achieved relative to know units having conventional heatsinks and forced air convection cooling. Since the heat pipe efficiency decreases at low temperature, the power amplifier self heats the unit in cold weather and eliminates the need for heaters. This further reduces the power consumption and the size of the unit.
61 Citations
12 Claims
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1. An electronics enclosure for a power electronic unit with passive thermal management comprising:
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a modular electronic unit comprising circuit modules mounted on a substantially planar thermally conductive substrate, the circuit modules being arranged vertically above one another, and each circuit module having an associated thermal control module in thermal contact with the circuit module, a plurality of the circuit modules being higher power modules comprising power components, and the thermal control module associated with each of the higher power modules comprising a heat pipe assembly; the thermal control module associated with each other circuit module comprising a conventional heatsink; and
,the heatpipe assemblies of the thermal control modules being arranged one above the other with cooling fins of the heatpipe assemblies arranged vertically, to provide for air flow vertically by natural convection through fins of the heatpipe assemblies and over the conventional heatsink. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12)
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Specification