Wireless access point equipment

Abstract

The invention relates to the field of natural heat dissipation, and discloses wireless access point equipment, which comprises a first shell, a mainboard, an antenna module and a second shell, the first shell and the second shell are matched to form an accommodating space; the mainboard and the antenna module are arranged in the accommodating space; the antenna module is electrically connected with the mainboard; the second shell is located on the side, away from the mainboard, of the antenna module The first shell is a metal shell, and the second shell is provided with a heat dissipation area. The first shell is a metal shell, and the mainboard can be in contact with the first shell to realize heat conduction, namely, the wireless access point equipment can be cooled through the first shell; the second shell is provided with a heat dissipation area, and heat dissipation of the mainboard and the antenna module can be achieved. Therefore, heat can be conducted to the environment through the first shell and can also be conducted to the environment through the second shell, and the heat dissipation problem of high-power equipment can be well solved.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to the technical field of natural heat dissipation, and in particular to a wireless access point device. Background Art

[0002] Wireless access point (AP) products with built-in smart antenna technology are basically fanless, using natural convection and radiation to transfer their own heat consumption to the environment. Natural convection is mainly determined by the buoyancy generated by the temperature gradient. When the surface temperature difference exceeds the critical value, the buoyancy can overcome the resistance of the viscosity, resulting in the overall flow of the surface air and improving its convective heat transfer coefficient. Therefore, heat dissipation will be significantly affected by the placement of the device and boundary conditions. For example, vertical placement will form a "chimney effect" to enhance convective heat transfer, which is better than laying it flat. At the same time, the presence of a wall or desktop will reduce the temperature difference between the surfaces and hinder air flow, affecting the heat dissipation of the device. On the other hand, for small AP devices, the net radiation to the outside is basically close to half of the total heat consumption. The key factors affecting the radiation include the surface temperature of the device, the surface emissivity and the radiation thermal resistance with the outside world. The surface radiation density of an object is equal to the emissivity * the fourth power of the temperature. The radiation thermal resistance includes the surface radiation thermal resistance and the space thermal resistance. Therefore, increasing the surface temperature and reducing the radiation thermal resistance are the main ideas for optimizing radiation heat dissipation (the area is limited by the volume of the device).

[0003] The most important function of AP equipment is to receive and send wireless signals, and the antenna is a necessary functional part. For AP equipment with better performance, the more RF chips are on the motherboard, the higher the power consumption, and the more antennas and coverage area are also increased. Since signal transmission will be shielded by metal media (Faraday cage effect), the top shell is usually made of plastic material, which has better performance in terms of structural molding, weight, cost, etc., but cannot conduct heat effectively, so the surface temperature is relatively low, and the above-mentioned natural convection and radiation heat dissipation performance is very poor; while the heat dissipation path of mainstream AP design relies on the bottom surface, using metal parts with better heat dissipation. Although the thermal conductivity is better, it still cannot meet the heat dissipation requirements of the entire AP equipment. Summary of the invention

[0004] The invention discloses a wireless access point device, which realizes heat dissipation and temperature reduction of the whole device through natural heat dissipation of two shells.

[0005] In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides the following technical solutions:

[0006] A wireless access point device comprises: a first housing, a mainboard, an antenna module and a second housing;

[0007] The first shell and the second shell cooperate to form a accommodating space; the mainboard and the antenna module are both arranged in the accommodating space; the antenna module is electrically connected to the mainboard; the second shell is located on the side of the antenna module away from the mainboard; the first shell is a metal shell, and the second shell has a heat dissipation area.

[0008] In the above-mentioned wireless access point device, the mainboard and the antenna module are located in the accommodation space formed by the first shell and the second shell. The first shell is a metal shell, and the mainboard can contact the first shell to achieve heat conduction, that is, the wireless access point device can dissipate heat through the first shell; the second shell has a heat dissipation area, which can also achieve heat dissipation of the mainboard and the antenna module. Exemplarily, the thermal conductivity of the heat dissipation area is relatively high, and when the antenna module contacts the heat dissipation area of ​​the second shell, the heat conduction can be enhanced; the heat dissipation capacity of the heat dissipation area is relatively high, which can enhance the radiation of heat, and the heat of the antenna module can be radiated and dissipated through the heat dissipation area of ​​the second shell. Therefore, the heat of the wireless access point device provided by the embodiment of the present invention can be conducted to the environment through the first shell, and can also be conducted to the environment through the second shell, which can well solve the heat dissipation problem of high-power equipment.

[0009] In some embodiments, the second shell is infrared-transmitting glass.

[0010] In some embodiments, the antenna module includes a metal plate and a radiation plate; a heat-conductive material is filled between the metal plate and the mainboard, the radiation plate is located on the side of the metal plate away from the mainboard, and the radiation plate protrudes from the surface of the metal plate.

[0011] In some embodiments, a surface of the metal plate facing away from the main board has an oxide layer.

[0012] In some embodiments, the second shell is at least partially doped with a heat-conducting medium to form the heat dissipation area; and the antenna module is in contact with and connected to the heat dissipation area of ​​the second shell.

[0013] In some embodiments, the thermal conductivity of the heat-conducting medium is between 1-5 W / (m·K); and / or,

[0014] The heat conducting medium is heat conducting plastic.

[0015] In some embodiments, a heat conducting plate is further disposed between the mainboard and the second shell, the heat conducting plate is in contact with the second shell, and the orthographic projection of the heat conducting plate on the second shell is located in the heat dissipation area;

[0016] A heat conducting material is filled between the heat conducting plate and the main board.

[0017] In some embodiments, the heat conducting plate is made of metal.

[0018] In some embodiments, the second shell, the antenna module and the heat conducting plate are integrated into an integrated functional component by using a plastic-coated aluminum process. The integrated functional component is installed on the mainboard through a connector and is locked to the first shell.

[0019] In some embodiments, the integrated functional component is mounted on the mainboard via a spring pin connector, and the spring pin connector is electrically connected to the antenna module. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0020] Figure 1 A schematic diagram of the structure of a wireless access point device provided by an embodiment of the first aspect of the present invention;

[0021] Figure 2 A schematic structural diagram of a wireless access point device provided in accordance with an embodiment of the second aspect of the present invention.

[0022] Icon: 100 - first shell; 200 - main board; 300 - antenna module; 400 - second shell; 410 - infrared transparent glass; 310 - metal plate; 320 - radiation plate; 311 - oxide layer; 500 - thermal conductive material; 600 - thermal conductive plate. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0023] First, the application scenario of the present invention is introduced: the heat dissipation path of mainstream AP equipment design relies on the bottom surface and uses metal parts with better heat dissipation. Although the thermal conductivity is better, it has the following disadvantages:

[0024] 1. When the AP device is mounted on the ceiling or wall, the bottom surface will hinder the natural convection of air, increase the thermal resistance between the device and the environment, and the upper limit of the AP device's heat dissipation will be lower than the theoretical limit of natural heat dissipation;

[0025] 2. When the AP device is connected from the bottom side, the optical module relies on the die-cast bottom shell to dissipate heat, and most of the heat of the whole machine is dissipated through the bottom of the bottom surface. Therefore, the temperature of the optical module can easily exceed the shell temperature limit, which becomes the short board of the system heat dissipation. The shell temperature can be understood as the temperature of the upper surface of the chip in the optical module, and the shell temperature limit can be understood as the maximum shell temperature, such as the maximum shell temperature of commercial optical modules is 70℃, or the maximum shell temperature of industrial optical modules is 85℃.

[0026] In summary, in the context of significant improvements in the performance and power consumption of WIFI7 products in the future, in order to further improve its power density, it is necessary to optimize the heat transfer on the top surface of the AP device, especially in the direction of antenna integration design. Using the antenna and the casing (i.e. the top surface) for heat dissipation is an important idea to solve its heat dissipation problem.

[0027] Based on the above application scenario, an embodiment of the present invention provides a wireless access point device.

[0028] The following will be combined with the drawings in the embodiments of the present invention to clearly and completely describe the technical solutions in the embodiments of the present invention. Obviously, the described embodiments are only part of the embodiments of the present invention, not all of the embodiments. Based on the embodiments of the present invention, all other embodiments obtained by ordinary technicians in this field without creative work are within the scope of protection of the present invention.

[0029] like Figure 1 to Figure 2 As shown, an embodiment of the present invention provides a wireless access point device, including: a first shell 100, a mainboard 200, an antenna module 300 and a second shell 400; the first shell 100 and the second shell 400 cooperate to form a receiving space; the mainboard 200 and the antenna module 300 are both arranged in the receiving space; the antenna module 300 is electrically connected to the mainboard 200; the second shell 400 is located on the side of the antenna module 300 away from the mainboard 200; the first shell 100 is a metal shell, and the second shell 400 has a heat dissipation area.

[0030] In the above wireless access point device, the mainboard 200 and the antenna module 300 are located in the accommodation space formed by the first shell 100 and the second shell 400. The first shell 100 is a metal shell. The mainboard 200 can contact the first shell 100 to achieve heat conduction, that is, the wireless access point device can dissipate heat through the first shell 100; the second shell 400 has a heat dissipation area, which can also achieve heat dissipation of the mainboard 200 and the antenna module 300. Exemplarily, the heat conductivity of the heat dissipation area is relatively high, and when the antenna module 300 contacts the heat dissipation area of ​​the second shell 400, heat conduction can be achieved; or, the heat dissipation area has a strong transmittance to the infrared band, which can enhance the heat radiation, and the heat of the antenna module can be radiated and dissipated through the heat dissipation area of ​​the second shell. Therefore, the heat of the wireless access point device provided by the embodiment of the present invention can be conducted to the environment through the first shell 100 and the second shell 400, which can well solve the heat dissipation problem of high-power equipment.

[0031] It is understandable that when the wireless access point device has multiple mainboards 200, some mainboards 200 can transfer heat to the first housing 100 to achieve heat dissipation, and some mainboards 200 can also transfer or radiate heat to the second housing 400 to achieve heat dissipation.

[0032] In some embodiments, the first housing 100 is a die-cast housing, and a heat dissipation structure such as heat dissipation teeth, heat sinks, or a fan is disposed on a side of the die-cast housing facing away from the mainboard 200.

[0033] It should be noted that, in the AP equipment in the relevant technical solution, the heat is mainly transferred to the environment through the bottom shell. When the power consumption of the equipment increases further, the usual practice is to increase the heat dissipation area of ​​the equipment, including increasing the length and width or the heat dissipation structure outside the bottom shell. However, when the wall is installed, the convection and radiation heat dissipation of the bottom shell are limited, and the marginal benefits of increasing the heat dissipation area decrease, and the increase in the heat dissipation area will also lead to a significant increase in costs. The design considering the optimization of natural heat dissipation on the top surface is limited to the functional structure optimization of the internal shielding / heat dissipation plate and the antenna, including:

[0034] 1. Integrated shielding and heat dissipation design; for example, integrating the functions of the shielding / heat dissipation plate and the antenna reflector. Since the metal material has good temperature uniformity, it can increase the internal convection and radiation area. However, the antenna radiation plate still exists as an independent structural component, and the heat cannot be transferred to the outer casing through a low thermal resistance path.

[0035] 2. Integrated antenna design: Structural optimization of the antenna array and heat sink is performed to reduce the thermal resistance of the heat conduction path, reduce interference to the antenna signal, and improve the heat dissipation of the antenna itself.

[0036] The wireless access point device provided in the embodiment of the present invention increases the overall convection and radiation capabilities of the device by optimizing the natural heat dissipation of the second housing, namely the top surface of the AP device. Specifically, it includes the following two aspects:

[0037] First, the internal structure that serves as a shield and heat sink is integrated with the antenna function to increase the radiation temperature and radiation area of ​​the inner surface.

[0038] Specifically, in some embodiments, the antenna module 300 includes a metal plate 310 and a radiation plate 320; a heat conductive material 500 is filled between the metal plate 310 and the main board 200, and the radiation plate 320 is located on the side of the metal plate 310 away from the main board 200, and the radiation plate 320 protrudes from the surface of the metal plate 310. The metal plate 310 can play the function of shielding and heat dissipation. Exemplarily, the metal plate 310 is an aluminum plate. The antenna functions of the metal plate 310 and the radiation plate 320 are combined to increase the inner surface radiation temperature and radiation area. Here, the inner surface radiation temperature can be understood as the heat of the main board 200 is conducted through the metal radiation plate 320 with high thermal conductivity, so the temperature of the metal radiation plate itself is relatively high, that is, the radiation temperature. The metal radiation plate has a large radiation area, which can improve the radiation efficiency. The metal plate 310 and the second surface of the mainboard 200 are filled with a heat-conducting material 500. In a possible embodiment, the heat-conducting material 500 is filled between the heat-generating chip on the mainboard 200 and the metal plate 310. A part of the heat generated by the components on the mainboard 200 is conducted to the first housing 100, i.e., the bottom surface of the device, and the other part is conducted to the metal plate 310 through the heat-conducting material 500, and then radiated and dissipated through the heat dissipation area on the second housing 400. Through the reasonable layout of the components on the mainboard 200, such as the distribution of heat consumption according to the upper and lower heat dissipation areas, specifically, if the upper and lower heat dissipation areas are equal, the mainboard 200 adopts a 1:1 distribution of heat consumption, and the components on the mainboard 200 are reasonably distributed on both sides of the mainboard 200 to ensure that the temperatures of the two are close. The heat consumption can be understood as the heat generated by the components during normal operation; the upper and lower heat dissipation surfaces can be understood as the top and bottom surfaces of the AP device, i.e., the second housing 400 and the first housing 100. This embodiment uses the first shell 100 and the second shell 400 to achieve heat dissipation. On the one hand, it will reduce the temperature of the first shell 100 to prevent overheating of low temperature-resistant components such as optical modules. On the other hand, the temperature of the metal plate 310 will increase, and the convection and radiation heat exchange with the environment will be enhanced.

[0039] It is understandable that any object can radiate heat on its surface, so adding the radiation plate 320 can increase the radiation area. The radiation plate 320 protrudes from the surface of the metal plate 310, so that the radiation plate 320 has multiple heat dissipation surfaces, increasing the radiation area of ​​the radiation plate 320 and improving the heat dissipation effect.

[0040] In some embodiments, the second housing 400 is an infrared-transmitting glass 410 .

[0041] One possible way to achieve this is as follows: Figure 1As shown, the second shell 400 is infrared-transmitting glass 410, and the transmittance of the infrared-transmitting glass 410 material to infrared radiation is ≥90%, and the energy radiated by the object is mainly in the infrared band. It can be basically regarded that the infrared-transmitting glass 410 has no obstruction to the internal radiation. Since the radiation thermal resistance of the inner and outer surfaces of the second shell 400 is reduced, the radiation thermal resistance network of the overall top surface is greatly reduced. Compared with not setting a heat dissipation area, the greater the temperature difference between the second shell 400 and the interior, the more obvious the heat dissipation improvement effect.

[0042] In some embodiments, a surface of the metal plate 310 facing away from the main board 200 has an oxide layer 311 .

[0043] It should be noted that the surface of the metal plate 310 facing away from the main board 200 is oxidized and blackened. For example, an oxide layer 311 is formed on the surface of the aluminum plate by oxidation and blackening to improve the emissivity. The emissivity here generally refers to the specific emissivity. The specific emissivity is the ratio of the radiant flux radiated per unit area on the surface of the object to the radiant flux radiated by a black body at the same temperature. The specific emissivity of an actual object is defined as: the ratio of the radiant emittance of an object to the radiant emittance of an absolute black body at the same temperature and wavelength. It characterizes the degree of closeness between the thermal radiation of an actual object and the thermal radiation of a black body.

[0044] It is worth noting that the second shell 400 and the first shell 100 can be connected by existing connection methods, such as screw connection or clamping, etc., and the present application does not limit the connection method between the second shell 400 and the first shell 100.

[0045] In another aspect, in another wireless access point device, the second housing 400 is in contact with the antenna module 300, that is, the gap between the antenna module 300 and the heat dissipation area of ​​the second housing 400 is zero, reducing the conduction thermal resistance of the air. Exemplarily, the second housing 400 and the antenna module 300 are molded into an integral structure using an injection molding process, and the antenna module 300 transfers heat to the second housing 400 to achieve heat dissipation.

[0046] Specifically, in some embodiments, the second shell 400 is at least partially doped with a heat-conducting medium to form a heat dissipation area; the antenna module 300 is in contact and connected with the heat dissipation area of ​​the second shell 400 .

[0047] One possible way to achieve this is as follows: Figure 2As shown, the second housing 400 is made of plastic material, and a heat-conducting medium is partially doped in the second housing 400 to form a heat dissipation area, and the heat-conducting medium can improve the heat conductivity of the second housing 400. The antenna module 300 is directly in contact with the heat dissipation area of ​​the second housing 400. Compared with the plastic second housing 400 without the heat-conducting medium, the doping of the heat-conducting medium in the heat dissipation area improves the thermal conductivity of the entire second housing. The second housing 400 has no wall blocking, and the external convection and radiation efficiency are greatly enhanced.

[0048] In some embodiments, the thermal conductivity of the heat-conducting medium is between 1-5 W / (m·K); and / or the heat-conducting medium is a heat-conducting plastic.

[0049] In one possible implementation, the thermal conductivity of the heat-conducting medium is between 1-5 W / (m·K), for example, it can be 1 W / (m·K), 1.5 W / (m·K), 2 W / (m·K), 2.5 W / (m·K), 3 W / (m·K), 3.5 W / (m·K), 4 W / (m·K), 4.5 W / (m·K), 5 W / (m·K).

[0050] In a possible implementation, the heat conducting medium may be a heat conducting plastic. The heat conducting plastic is a polymer matrix material uniformly filled with a heat conducting filler to improve its heat conducting performance. The main components of the heat conducting plastic include a matrix material and a filler. The matrix materials include polyphenylene sulfide (PPS), polyamide 6 (PA6) / polyamide 66 (PA66), liquid crystal polymer (LCP), thermoplastic elastomer (TPE), polycarbonate (PC), polypropylene (PP), polyphthalamide (PPA), polyether ether ketone (PEEK), etc.; the fillers include AlN, SiC, Al2O3, graphite, fibrous high thermal conductivity carbon powder, flaky high thermal conductivity carbon powder, etc.

[0051] It should be noted that, since the thermal conductive plastic has poor structural strength and molding ability, when doping in the plastic material, it is necessary not only to consider the thermal conductivity, but also to comprehensively consider the impact on the structural strength and molding ability of the second housing 400. Comprehensive consideration here can be understood as a balance between heat dissipation and structural strength molding. The higher the thermal conductivity, the worse the structural strength and molding ability. A balance is taken between the two, or high thermal conductive plastic is locally doped in places where the strength requirement is not high.

[0052] In some embodiments, a heat conducting plate 600 is further disposed between the mainboard 200 and the second shell 400, the heat conducting plate 600 is in contact with and connected to the second shell 400, and the orthographic projection of the heat conducting plate 600 on the second shell 400 is located in the heat dissipation area; the heat conducting material 500 is filled between the heat conducting plate 600 and the mainboard 200.

[0053] One possible way to achieve this is as follows: Figure 2 As shown, a heat conducting plate 600 is also arranged between the mainboard 200 and the second shell 400. One side of the heat conducting plate 600 is in contact with the mainboard 200, especially the chip on the mainboard 200, by filling the heat conducting material 500, and the other side is directly in contact with the heat dissipation area of ​​the second shell 400, so as to conduct the heat loss on the mainboard 200 to the heat dissipation area of ​​the second shell 400.

[0054] In some embodiments, the heat conducting plate 600 is made of metal. For example, the heat conducting plate 600 is a metal aluminum plate. The metal aluminum plate can achieve heat dissipation and shielding functions, and at the same time, separate different areas to isolate antennas of different frequency bands.

[0055] In some embodiments, the second housing 400 , the antenna module 300 , and the heat conducting plate 600 are integrated into an integrated functional component by using a plastic-coated aluminum process. The integrated functional component is installed on the mainboard 200 through a connector and is locked to the first housing 100 .

[0056] One possible way to achieve this is as follows: Figure 2 As shown, the second shell 400, the antenna module 300 and the heat conducting plate 600 are integrated into an integrated functional part by using the plastic-coated aluminum process. The integrated design has higher heat dissipation efficiency, integrated structure and function, and smaller size. The second shell 400 is made of plastic material, and is combined with the internal aluminum plate, namely the heat conducting plate 600, by the plastic-coated aluminum process. At the same time, the plastic material separates the radiation plate of the antenna module, which plays the role of signal partitioning. At the same time, the plastic is partially doped with high thermal conductivity plastic. The second shell 400 is integrated into the functional structure, and the local metal and high thermal conductivity plastic improve the temperature uniformity of the second shell 400, enhancing the overall convection and radiation capabilities of the device.

[0057] It should be noted that the main function of the connector is to connect the mainboard 200 and the integrated functional component for signal connection. Therefore, any structure that can achieve the above function can be used as the connector referred to in this embodiment, such as a connector, a feeder or a connector.

[0058] In some embodiments, the integrated functional component is mounted on the mainboard 200 via a spring pin connector, and the spring pin connector is electrically connected to the antenna module 300 .

[0059] In one possible implementation, the integrated functional part is installed on the mainboard 200 through a pogo pin connector and then locked by screws. The pogo pin connects different frequency band signals of the mainboard 200 to realize the function of the partitioned antenna radiation plate 320.

[0060] The wireless access point device provided in the second embodiment is doped with a heat-conducting medium on the basis of a plastic shell to improve the thermal conductivity of the second shell 400. The top surface of the second shell 400 is not blocked by a wall, and the external convection and radiation efficiency are greatly enhanced. At the same time, the thickness of the whole machine will be significantly reduced.

[0061] It is worth noting that this equipment is not limited to AP type, but can also include natural heat dissipation products such as base stations and antennas; the installation form is not limited to ceiling scenes, but can also include wall-mounted, wall-mounted, pole-mounted and other scenes.

[0062] Compared with the existing technical solutions, the wireless access point device provided by the embodiment of the present invention solves the problem of low heat dissipation efficiency of the top surface of the AP device, increases the surface net radiation and convection heat transfer by 20-40%, and at the same time reduces the device size and improves the appearance competitiveness.

[0063] Obviously, those skilled in the art can make various changes and modifications to the embodiments of the present invention without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention. Thus, if these modifications and variations of the present invention fall within the scope of the claims of the present invention and their equivalents, the present invention is also intended to include these modifications and variations.

Claims

1. A wireless access point device, characterized in that: include: A first housing, a mainboard, an antenna module and a second housing; The first shell and the second shell cooperate to form a receiving space; The mainboard and the antenna module are both arranged in the accommodation space; The antenna module is electrically connected to the mainboard; the second shell is located on the side of the antenna module away from the mainboard; the first shell is a metal shell, and the second shell has a heat dissipation area.

2. The wireless access point device according to claim 1, characterized in that: The second shell is made of infrared-transmitting glass.

3. The wireless access point device according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that: The antenna module includes a metal plate and a radiation plate; a heat-conducting material is filled between the metal plate and the main board, the radiation plate is located on the side of the metal plate away from the main board, and the radiation plate protrudes from the surface of the metal plate.

4. The wireless access point device according to claim 3, characterized in that: The surface of the metal plate facing away from the main board has an oxide layer.

5. The wireless access point device according to claim 1, characterized in that: The second shell is at least partially doped with a heat-conducting medium to form the heat dissipation area; and the antenna module is in contact with and connected to the heat dissipation area of ​​the second shell.

6. The wireless access point device according to claim 5, characterized in that: The thermal conductivity of the heat-conducting medium is between 1-5 W / (m·K); and / or, The heat conducting medium is heat conducting plastic.

7. The wireless access point device according to claim 5, characterized in that: A heat conducting plate is further arranged between the mainboard and the second shell, the heat conducting plate is in contact with and connected to the second shell, and the orthographic projection of the heat conducting plate on the second shell is located in the heat dissipation area; A heat conducting material is filled between the heat conducting plate and the main board.

8. The wireless access point device according to claim 7, characterized in that: The heat conducting plate is made of metal.

9. The wireless access point device according to claim 8, characterized in that: The second shell, the antenna module and the heat conducting plate are integrated into an integrated functional component by using a plastic-coated aluminum process. The integrated functional component is installed on the mainboard through a connector and is locked to the first shell.

10. The wireless access point device according to claim 9, characterized in that: The integrated functional part is installed on the mainboard via a spring pin connector, and the spring pin connector is electrically connected to the antenna module.

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