JP5409585B2 - Electronic equipment - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to an electronic device, and more particularly to a cooling structure for an electronic device.

  In the network field, switches and routers are widely used as network communication devices that perform data transfer. In general, a network communication device such as a switch or a router includes a circuit board unit having an interface function for data transfer in a network, a circuit board unit having a control function for controlling data transfer, and the like. The unit is removable. Signal exchange and power feeding between the circuit board units in a state where the circuit board unit is installed in the apparatus are executed via a relay circuit board (so-called back board) arranged in the apparatus. In installing the network communication device, it is generally mounted on a 19-inch standard rack.

  The electronic device of Non-Patent Document 1 has a configuration as shown in FIG. In this electronic device, the circuit board unit is mounted in a horizontal state, and the circuit board unit is forcibly cooled by a detachable cooling unit, and the flow of the cooling air generally adopts a side intake / exhaust structure. For this reason, when mounted in a rack, when an appropriate space cannot be secured between the side air intake / exhaust surface of the electronic device and the side plate of the rack, the pressure is increased, and the flow in the electronic device is reduced to reduce the cooling. Problems such as inefficiency, or air that has been exhausted due to a rise in temperature as it passes through the circuit board unit circulates to the intake side of the equipment, causing the intake side temperature to gradually rise. May cause damage due to cooling. In particular, in an electronic device in which a semiconductor element having a high calorific value is mounted in order to realize high performance, there is a high possibility that the above problem will occur. In addition, it is in a very advantageous state from the viewpoints of mounting density and performance of external interface functions, device mounting density, and expandability.

  As measures for improving the electronic device, there are cases where a mounting structure as shown in FIG. 4b of Non-Patent Document 2 and FIG. 4c of Non-Patent Document 3 is adopted. In the case of the system of FIG. 4b, the circuit board unit is mounted in the vertical direction, and air is sucked in from the lower part of the front surface and exhausted from the upper part of the rear surface. Further, in this mounting structure, it is possible to dispose an air filter for dust prevention in the air intake portion at the lower part of the front surface, and there is a merit in terms of component reliability. However, because the rack width limits the width of the device, this limits the number of circuit board units that can be mounted, and draws out cables for external interface above and below the circuit board units. Since an area for processing is required, there is a demerit that the apparatus is considerably increased in size as compared with the above state.

  On the other hand, in the structure in which the cooling air is guided straight from the front surface to the rear surface as in the case of the method of FIG. 4c, it is necessary to provide an air intake portion on the front surface side, and a ventilation port is provided in the relay circuit board inside the electronic device. However, it is not easy to provide a large number of connectors for the interface with the outside on the front, or in the circuit board for relay inside the electronic device, considering the wiring properties for performance. Since the cooling performance cannot be easily improved by this, it is limited to the case where the performance is relatively low and the calorific value is small. In addition, it is common to place a unit product that integrates the power supply unit and the cooling unit on the rear side, but the air heated through the circuit board unit enters this integrated unit, so the power supply part The cooling conditions are severe. In addition, there is an interface connector near the intake section on the front side, and an interface cable from the outside is connected to this, so that an air filter for dust prevention cannot be arranged in the intake section.

  4a to 4c are simplified for the purpose of explaining the cooling mechanism, and the details may differ from the products described in the non-patent literature. However, the basic cooling mechanism is as shown in FIGS.

  In recent years, there has been a growing demand for improvement in processing performance in network communication devices, and there is a high demand for adopting a front-rear intake / exhaust airflow structure in terms of the environment in which the devices are installed. In addition, in order to improve the reliability of parts, there is a high demand for mounting an air filter for improving dust resistance.

ALAXALA Networks Corporation AX6700S (http://www.alaxala.com/jp/products/AX6700S/index.html) Cisco Cisco Nexus 7000 Series (http://www.cisco.com/web/JP/product/hs/switches/nexus7000/index.html) Cisco ASR 1000 Series (http://www.cisco.com/web/JP/product/hs/routers/asr1000/prodlit/data_sheet_c78-450070.html)

  Adopting a structure where the circuit board unit is mounted vertically in order to adopt a front / rear intake / exhaust system and a structure that enables the arrangement of the air filter leads to an increase in the size of the device and a disadvantage in terms of expandability. It is. In addition, the structure that allows cooling air to flow straight from the front to the rear provides a lot of external interface functions on the front and the wiring reliability for improving the transmission characteristics between circuit board units. It becomes a severe state in terms of sex.

  Furthermore, in this mounting structure, an external interface connector is disposed in the vicinity of the intake portion, and a cable is connected thereto, so that an air filter cannot be disposed.

  Such a problem is not limited to a network communication device such as a switch or a router, but is a problem common to an electronic device having a plurality of removable circuit board units.

  The present invention has been made to solve at least a part of the above-described problems. In an electronic apparatus having a plurality of circuit board units, a front / rear intake / exhaust type structure is adopted to improve the processing speed of the apparatus and improve the interface function. An object is to provide a technology capable of ensuring cooling reliability and component reliability while suppressing the height of the apparatus while maximizing the mounting.

In order to solve at least a part of the above problem, in the present invention, a network device,
A plurality of circuit boards, a relay circuit board for connecting the plurality of circuit boards, a cooling fan, a power supply unit, and a wind direction adjusting component are incorporated, and the plurality of circuit boards are provided in front of the relay circuit board. Connecting, arranging the power supply unit on the back side of the relay circuit board, and arranging the cooling fan between the plurality of circuit boards on the front side of the network device or above and below the wind direction adjusting component When viewed from the front of the network device, the network device is provided with an inclination on either the left or right side behind the cooling fan.

  In the present invention, by adopting the above-mentioned means, the circuit board unit and the power supply unit are horizontally arranged facing each other, so that the number of cards is increased or decreased in the vertical direction to make an electronic device with high expandability and a certain level. Coexistence of cooling performance can be realized.

An example of an explanatory view schematically showing a configuration of an electronic device in an embodiment of the present invention from the front side An example of an explanatory view schematically showing the configuration of an electronic device in an embodiment of the present invention from the rear side FIG. 1 is an explanatory diagram illustrating a plan view of a configuration of a circuit board unit, a relay circuit board, and a power supply unit of an electronic device according to an embodiment of the present invention. An example of the explanatory view which shows the composition of the cooling unit of an electronic device in the example of the present invention, and a wind direction control board in a plane An example of explanatory drawing which shows the state which looked at the whole structure of each unit of the electronic device in the Example of this invention from the side An example of an explanatory view schematically showing a modified example from the rear side when focusing on the expandability of an electronic device in an embodiment of the present invention An example of an explanatory diagram showing a state in which an electronic device adopting a side intake / exhaust method in the prior art is mounted on a rack An example of an explanatory view showing a mounting structure of an electronic device adopting a structure in which a circuit board unit is vertically mounted in the prior art An example of an explanatory view showing a mounting structure of an electronic device adopting a structure in which air is allowed to flow straight from the front surface to the rear surface in the prior art

  Embodiments of the present invention will be described based on examples and modifications.

  1 and 2 are diagrams schematically showing a configuration of an electronic device 100 according to an embodiment of the present invention. The electronic device 100 functions as a network communication device that transfers data (for example, called a frame or a packet) in a computer network.

  FIG. 1 a shows a front perspective view of the electronic device 100, and FIG. 1 b shows a rear perspective view. As shown in FIGS. 1a and 1b, an electronic device 100 includes a plurality of circuit board units 120, a relay circuit board 130, a plurality of power supply units 140, and a plurality of detachable cooling units in a housing 110. 150, detachable airflow direction adjusting plates 155 and 156, and a detachable air filter 170.

  1A and 1B also show components of the electronic device 100 that are actually installed inside the housing 110 and are not visible from the outside. In addition, the cooling unit 150 has a case unit structure whose entire surface is covered with a sheet metal, and mesh-shaped holes are formed on the surface through which air is passed. Invisible components are also shown. Further, the air filter 170 attached to the front side of the cooling unit 150 on the front side is shown in a removed state.

  The circuit board unit 120 is configured by a circuit board on which a semiconductor element is mounted, and realizes various functions for data processing. The electronic device 100 of the present embodiment has a plurality of circuit board units 120, and the circuit board unit 120a having the external interface connector 122 mounted on the front side performs processing such as interface control with the outside. The circuit board unit 120b arranged on the upper part of the circuit board unit 120a does not have the external interface connector 122 on the front surface side, and the circuit board unit 120, the power supply unit 140, and the cooling unit 150 in the electronic device 100 are connected to each other. System control function between.

  Further, the circuit board unit 120c disposed below the circuit board unit 120a does not have the external interface connector 122 on the front side, and has a crossbar switch function of each circuit board unit 120 inside the electronic device 100. ing. Note that the number of the circuit board units 120 is not limited to the number in the drawing.

  In the circuit board unit 120a, the external interface connector 122 is mounted over the entire area on the front side, and therefore, an intake port for taking in air for cooling cannot be easily provided on the front side. On the other hand, since the circuit board units 120b and 120c do not have an external interface connector on the front side, it is possible to provide a mesh-shaped ventilation port for taking in cooling air in this portion. However, the circuit board units 120b and 120c It is necessary to make the flow uniform, and there is no intake port on the front side that takes in air for cooling. These circuit board units 120 are configured to be insertable / removable along slots (not shown) formed in the housing 110. Thereby, the function expansion of the electronic device 100 can be achieved. In FIG. 1a, the lowermost circuit board unit 120 is removed and the remaining circuit board unit 120 is installed in the electronic device.

  The power supply unit 140 is installed on the rear side of the housing 110, and supplies power to the circuit board unit 120 and the cooling unit 150 via the relay circuit board 130, and controls the second circuit board unit 120. Exchange signals. The installation location of the power supply unit 140 is not limited to FIGS. 1a and 1b. For example, the arrangement of the uppermost cooling unit 150b and the power supply unit 140 therebelow may be exchanged. In this case, the front cooling unit 150a and the wind direction adjusting plates 155 and 156 also move to the lower stage.

  The cooling unit 150 configured with a fan for forcing the cooling air to flow is disposed in the upper and lower areas of the housing 110 and cools the circuit board unit 120 and the power supply unit 140. Further, the cooling unit 150 has a structure and an arrangement that can be independently maintained. Note that an air filter 170 is disposed in front of the cooling unit 150a on the front side, and has a structure and an arrangement that can be maintained independently. The front cooling unit 150a is maintained after the air filter 170 is removed.

  The air direction adjusting plates 155 and 156 are for adjusting the direction of the cooling air of the cooling unit 150. Referring to FIG. 1a, the wind direction adjusting plate 155 partitions the device diagonally. Further, the wind direction adjusting plate 156 is divided for each individual fan. Thereby, it can be seen that the cooling air of the cooling unit 150a on the front side of the apparatus flows to the right side when the inside of the apparatus is viewed from the front.

  Further, the air direction adjusting plates 155 and 156 partition the passage of the cooling air so as to go around the side surface inside the apparatus. Thereby, the cooling air of the cooling unit 150a on the front side of the apparatus flows almost evenly into the right side surface of the apparatus.

  Further, the passage of the cooling air of the cooling unit 150b on the rear side of the apparatus is similarly partitioned, and the air direction adjusting plates 155 and 156 are arranged so as to go around to the left side when viewed from the front of the apparatus.

  By doing so, the cooling air from the front of the apparatus passes through the right side of the apparatus, sews between the circuit boards 120, and exhausts from the place where the cooling unit 150b on the back of the apparatus is located via the left side of the apparatus. Is done. By arranging the wind direction adjusting plates 155 and 156 in this way, the entire apparatus can be cooled throughout. The arrangement of the wind direction adjusting plates 155 and 156 does not necessarily have to be as shown in FIG. 1, and it is not necessary to evenly divide the fans. What is necessary is just to arrange | position so that it may come out from the apparatus front surface via the apparatus side surface.

  The air filter 170 is attached to one of the cooling fans 150 on the front side or the back side of the apparatus for intake. Thereby, dust can be prevented from entering the apparatus, and the reliability of the apparatus can be improved. The arrangement of the cooling unit 150 and the wind direction adjusting plates 155 and 156 as shown in FIG. 1 makes it possible to attach the air filter 170 even in a horizontal apparatus configuration that has been difficult in the past.

  FIG. 2 a shows a plan view of the circuit board unit 120, the relay circuit board 130, and the power supply unit 140 on which the external interface connector 122 is mounted. Hereinafter, an example will be described based on the circuit board unit 120a. As shown in FIG. 2a, the circuit board unit 120a has a board unit side connector 124 for connection to the relay circuit board 130 and an external interface connector 122 for connection to an external interface. The external interface connector 122 is disposed on the front side edge of the circuit board unit 120a.

  On the other hand, the board unit side connector 124 is disposed at the rear edge of the circuit board unit 120a and is connected to the relay circuit board side connector 134. In the left and right areas of the circuit board unit 120a and the power supply unit 140, the right side is the ventilation path 128 for the cooling air sent from the cooling unit 150 on the front side, and the left side is the circuit board unit 120a and the power supply unit 140. The cooling air that has flowed through the airflow path 128 is directed to the rear cooling unit 150. The ventilation path 128 is separated by a wind direction adjusting plate 126.

  FIG. 2b shows a plan view of the area of the cooling unit 150, the wind direction adjusting plate 155, and the wind direction adjusting plate 156 in the upper part of the casing 110 in the electronic device 100, and FIG. 2c shows the entire configuration of each unit. The figure of the state seen from the side is shown. As shown in FIG. 2 b, the cooling unit 150 has a structure in which a plurality of fans for forcibly flowing cooling air are arranged in a case type unit in parallel. The cooling unit 150 includes a housing 110. Are arranged in parallel on the front side and the rear side. In addition, the direction of the air flow of the cooling unit 150 is a direction in which the cooling unit 150 on the front side enters from the outer surface side and the direction in which the cooling unit 150 on the rear surface side discharges to the outer surface side. Power supply and control to the cooling unit 150 are executed by the power supply unit 140 and the second circuit board unit 120 via the relay circuit board 130 and the relay cable 135.

  Further, in this area, a wind direction adjusting plate 155 and a wind direction adjusting plate 156 arranged in an obliquely rightward direction from the left side of the front surface are installed. The airflow direction adjusting plate 155 is arranged to separate the intake side cooling unit 150 and the exhaust side cooling unit 150 and has a structure that guides cooling air to the area of the left vent 158 in cooperation with the airflow direction adjusting plate 156. Take.

  The cooling air forcibly sent from the cooling unit 150 on the front side is guided to the right side by the air direction adjusting plate 155 and the air direction adjusting plate 156, and the circuit board unit 120 passes through the area of the right end ventilation port 158 through the vertical direction. It is sent to the power supply unit 140, and the circuit board unit 120 and the power supply unit 140 are cooled. The cooling air sent to the circuit board unit 120 and the power supply unit 140 flows in the left lateral direction when viewed from the front side, and the cooling air that comes out on the left end flows through the area of the vent hole 158 on the left end through the vertical direction, The air is guided to the rear surface side by the adjusting plate 156 and is pulled and exhausted by the cooling unit 150 disposed on the rear surface side.

  FIG. 2 c shows a side cross-sectional view of the electronic device 100. According to FIG. 2 c, the airflow direction adjusting plate 126 is separated in the area of the ventilation path 128 at the left and right ends of the housing 110, and the front half and the rear half of the circuit board unit 120, and the power supply unit 140. The air blowing is performed stably.

  2B is a diagram of the upper part of the housing 110, but the lower part has an upside-down configuration.

  As described above, in the electronic device 100 according to the present embodiment, the circuit board unit 120 and the power supply unit 140 are horizontally arranged facing each other, whereby the height of the electronic device 100 can be minimized and the circuit board can be minimized. By increasing or decreasing the number of units 120 and power supply units 140 in the vertical direction, an electronic device with high expandability can be obtained.

  On the other hand, since the cooling units 150 arranged in the upper and lower areas of the electronic device 100 can be arranged independently, the maintainability is improved and the space for arranging the fans in two rows can be secured. The degree of freedom of improvement is high, and since two sets are arranged on the front and rear surfaces, fault tolerance in the case of one set failure is also improved. Further, since the air filter 170 for dust prevention can be disposed on the front surface of the cooling unit 150, the component reliability of the electronic device 100, the circuit board unit 120, the power supply unit 140, and the cooling unit 150 can be improved.

  Furthermore, by installing the wind direction adjusting plate 155, it is possible to suppress the heated exhaust air from the circuit board unit 120 and the power supply unit 140 from flowing into the intake side, and to prevent the intake side temperature from rising. This leads to improved reliability of the circuit board unit 120 and the power supply unit 140. Furthermore, since the flow of the cooling air can be changed from the front surface to the rear surface of the electronic device 100, the influence of the cooling air of other electronic devices can be minimized even when mounted on a 19-inch standard rack. be able to.

  Further, the cooling air sucked from the front surface of the electronic device 100 is guided to the circuit board unit 120 and the power supply unit 140 by the air direction adjusting plate 156, and the flowing cooling air is made uniform, so that the circuit board unit 120 and the power supply unit 140 are Since the cooling can be efficiently performed, the cooling reliability can be improved and the thickness of the circuit board unit 120 can be minimized.

In addition, since the cooling air for the electronic device 100 can be sent uniformly and efficiently to the circuit board unit 120 and the power supply unit 140, the cooling reliability can be improved even when a high-heat-generating semiconductor element is mounted to improve the performance. It is possible to realize a front / rear airflow structure while securing the airflow, and further, it is possible to mount the air filter 170, which contributes to improvement of component reliability, and it is possible to suppress the height of the apparatus. Is not limited to the above-described examples and embodiments, and can be implemented in various modes without departing from the scope of the invention. For example, the following modifications are possible.

  In the above embodiment, the cooling unit 150, the airflow direction adjusting plate 155, and the airflow direction adjusting plate 156 are arranged in the upper and lower stages of the electronic device 100, but may be the lower stage, the middle stage, the middle stage, and the upper stage. Or it is good also as an upper stage, a middle stage, and a lower stage.

  FIG. 3 is a rear perspective view of the electronic device 100 in this state. As shown in FIG. 3, the electronic device 100 includes a plurality of electronic devices 100 before and after the upper, middle, and lower stages inside the housing 110. Cooling unit 150, wind direction adjusting plate 155, and air direction adjusting plate 156.

  In the upper and lower stages, the state is the same as in FIGS. 1a and 1b, but in the middle stage, as shown in FIG. 3, by opening the ventilation port 138 in an arbitrary part of the relay circuit board 130, the upper stage, The same cooling air flow as in the lower stage can be realized.

  Note that FIG. 3 also shows components of the electronic device 100 that are actually installed inside the housing 110 and are not visible from the outside. The power supply unit 140 in the upper stage is omitted. FIG. 3 shows a state of the relay circuit board 130 installed in the electronic apparatus 100 with the middle cooling unit 150 removed.

  In the above embodiment, the cooling unit 150 is provided on the intake side and the exhaust side of the electronic device 100. However, the cooling unit 150 may be arranged in two stages in series on the intake side and may not be provided on the exhaust side. Or vice versa. Further, the air may be sucked by the cooling unit 150 on the back and exhausted by the cooling unit on the front.

  Moreover, in the said Example, although the hole is not opened in the wind direction adjustment board 156, you may provide multiple holes for air volume adjustment.

  Moreover, in the said Example, although the structure of the wind direction adjustment function was comprised with the wind direction adjustment board 155 and the several wind direction adjustment board 156, it is good also only with the wind direction adjustment board 155. FIG.

  In the above embodiment, the fan of the cooling unit 150 is an axial fan, but it may be a centrifugal blower fan.

  In the above embodiment, the front side is the circuit board unit 120 and the rear side is the power supply unit 140, but it may be reversed.

  In the above embodiment, the front side is the intake side and the rear side is the exhaust side, and the cooling airflow of the circuit board unit 120 and the power supply unit 140 is the flow from the right side to the left side, but the flow may be reversed. Absent. Further, the cooling air is sent from the right side of the circuit board unit 120 and the power supply unit 140 with the front side as the intake side. However, the arrangement of the air direction adjusting plate 155 and the air direction adjusting plate 156 may be changed so as to be sent from the left side. Absent.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 100 ... Electronic device 110 ... Housing 120 ... Circuit board unit 122 ... External interface connector 124 ... Circuit board unit side connector 126 ... Airflow direction adjusting plate 128 ... Ventilation path 130- ..Relay circuit boards
134 ... Relay circuit board side connector 135 ... Relay cable 138 ... Ventilation opening 140 ... Power supply unit 150 ... Cooling unit 155 ... Wind direction adjusting plate 156 ... Wind direction adjusting plate 158 ... Ventilation port 170 ... Air filter 200 ... Rack 201 ... Rack side plate

Claims (9)

A network device,
Multiple circuit boards,
A circuit board for relay connecting the plurality of circuit boards;
A cooling fan;
A power supply unit;
Built-in wind direction adjustment parts,
Connecting the plurality of circuit boards to the front surface of the relay circuit board;
Placing the power supply unit on the back of the circuit board for relay,
The cooling fan is disposed on the front surface of the network device, either between or above and below the plurality of circuit boards,
The network device, wherein the wind direction adjusting component is disposed with an inclination on either the left or right side of the cooling fan when viewed from the front of the network device. The network device according to claim 1, wherein
A network device, wherein a plurality of the wind direction adjusting parts can be installed. The network device according to claim 2, wherein
The network device according to claim 1, wherein the wind direction adjusting component can be arranged so as to wrap around an inner side surface of the network device. The network device according to claim 3, wherein
The wind direction adjusting component is configured to cause the cooling fan disposed on the front surface of the network device to circulate to the inner side surface of the device and discharge the air from the opposite device inner side surface to the rear exhaust port. A network device, wherein the network device is disposed behind the cooling fan as viewed from above and on the left and right sides of the inner side of the network device. The network device according to any one of claims 1 to 4,
The network device according to claim 1, wherein the wind direction adjusting component is detachable. A network device according to any one of claims 1 to 5,
A network device, wherein a filter can be installed in front of the cooling fan. The network device according to any one of claims 1 to 6,
The network device according to claim 1, wherein the cooling fan can be arranged behind the relay circuit board as viewed from the front of the network device. A network device according to any one of claims 1 to 7,
The network device, wherein the cooling fan is detachable. A network device according to any one of claims 1 to 8,
A network device, wherein a plurality of cooling fans can be installed.

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