JP4968530B2 - Wireless communication device - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To actualize miniaturization of a radio communication apparatus, while heat radiation property is maintained. <P>SOLUTION: In a relaying apparatus 3, a base station communication part 12 that is a main heat radiating source and an antenna 13 are separately stored into individual case 11 and case 21. The case 11 and the case 21 are held in the condition to be folded with a holding part 30. When the relaying apparatus 3 is used as a portable apparatus by carrying it, for example, using a bag, the relaying apparatus 3 is folded for closing and it is then opened and placed on the desk for use. Even if a base station communication part 12 and a wireless LAN part 22 generate heat during operation thereof, since the relaying apparatus 3 is opened, the surface area of the case 11 and the case 21 in contact with the external air becomes large and thereby higher heat radiating property can be attained. Moreover, on the occasion of carrying the apparatus, the relaying apparatus 3 can be closed and therefore it is changed to a compact size and can be easily carried. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2009,JPO&amp;INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a wireless communication device, for example, a device including a plurality of wireless communication means.

The number of users who connect a terminal to the Internet using a wireless relay device as shown in FIG.
The base station communication unit 112 can perform radio communication with a base station (not shown) connected to the communication network using the antenna 113.
The wireless LAN unit 122 can wirelessly communicate with a terminal (not shown) using the antenna 123.

The relay unit 133 is connected to the base station communication unit 112 and the wireless LAN unit 122, and relays communication between the base station communication unit 112 and the wireless LAN unit 122, for example, by converting a data format.
The power supply circuit 131 is a circuit that adjusts the power supplied from the power supply 132 to a specified power and supplies the power to the base station communication unit 112, the wireless LAN unit 122, and the relay unit 133.
The power supply 132 is, for example, an external power supply or a battery, and supplies power to the power supply circuit 131.

The base station communication unit 112, the wireless LAN unit 122, the relay unit 133, and the power supply circuit 131 are stored in, for example, a housing 100 that is integrally formed of resin or the like.
Since the base station communication unit 112, the wireless LAN unit 122, the relay unit 133, and the like generate heat with wireless transmission / reception, the housing 100 has a plurality of holes for heat dissipation.

In a communication device having two wireless communication means such as the wireless relay device, the temperature rise due to a plurality of heat source sources is suppressed in a limited housing, and the user and the battery are protected in this way. Measures such as opening heat dissipation holes are taken.
Further, as a technique related to heat dissipation, there is a “wireless terminal device” of the following Patent Document 1.
This technology reduces heat generation by intermittently transmitting data when the temperature of the wireless terminal device exceeds a certain level.
Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 7-177055

  In a portable relay device, it is important how to reduce the size, but it is necessary to arrange a plurality of heat sources such as the base station communication unit 112 and the wireless LAN unit 122 in the casing 100 with a certain interval. It was difficult to reduce the size.

  Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to reduce the size of the wireless communication device while ensuring heat dissipation.

In order to achieve the above object, according to the present invention, in the first aspect of the present invention, a first wireless communication unit that communicates with a first wireless device and a first wireless communication unit that includes the first wireless communication unit are provided. A housing, a second wireless communication unit that communicates with the second wireless device, a second housing containing the second wireless communication unit, the first housing, and the second housing Housing holding means for holding the first casing and the second casing in a state where the areas facing each other are changeable , wherein the casing holding means includes the first casing A plurality of cylinders having different inner and outer diameters are concentrically combined on the mutually facing surfaces of the casing and the second casing so that the first casing and the second casing are combined. There is provided a wireless communication device characterized by having an expansion / contraction mechanism that expands and contracts in a direction in which the camera approaches and leaves .
According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided the wireless communication apparatus according to the first aspect, wherein a heat radiating hole is formed around each cylinder of the housing holding means.
According to a third aspect of the present invention, there is provided the wireless communication device according to the second aspect, wherein the heat radiating holes of the respective cylinders are formed so that the positions of the respective cylinders are shifted in the circumferential direction.
The invention according to claim 4, said first wireless communication means, said second wireless communication means, any of of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that the drivable simultaneously 1 The wireless communication apparatus according to the claims is provided.
In a fifth aspect of the present invention, the first wireless communication unit and the second wireless communication unit are connected to each other, and the relay relays communication between the first wireless device and the second wireless device. A wireless communication apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 4 is provided.
The invention according to claim 6 is characterized in that the first wireless device is a wireless base station connected to a communication network, and the second wireless device is a single terminal device or a plurality of terminal devices. A wireless communication apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 5 is provided.

  According to the present invention, the two wireless communication units are stored in separate housings, thereby achieving downsizing while ensuring the heat dissipation of the wireless communication device.

(1) Outline of Embodiment In the relay device 3 (FIG. 2), the base station communication unit 12 and the wireless LAN unit 22 which are main heat sources are separately housed in a separate case 11 and case 21, respectively.
The housing 11 and the housing 21 are foldably held by the holding unit 30. When the relay device 3 is carried in a bag or the like, for example, the relay device 3 is folded. Put.

Even if the base station communication unit 12 or the wireless LAN unit 22 generates heat during use, the relay device 3 is open, so that the surface area in contact with the outside air of the housing 11 and the housing 21 is increased and high heat dissipation is obtained. Can do.
Moreover, since the relay apparatus 3 is folded at the time of carrying, it becomes compact and becomes easy to carry.
Thus, the relay apparatus 3 of this Embodiment can suppress the temperature rise at the time of use, maintaining portability by separating a heat source and earning a surface area.

(2) Details of Embodiment FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating a configuration example of a wireless system according to the present embodiment.
The wireless system 1 is configured using a base station 2, a relay device 3, terminals 4, 4, 4,... (Hereinafter, terminal 4).
The base station 2 is a base station of a mobile phone network, and receives connection requests from the relay device 3 or a mobile phone (not shown) and connects them to the mobile phone network.
Further, the mobile phone network is connected to a communication network such as the Internet, and the terminal 4 connected to the base station 2 can be connected to the communication network via the mobile phone network.

The relay device 3 includes two wireless communication units, a base station communication unit that performs wireless communication with the base station 2 and a wireless LAN unit that performs wireless communication with the terminal 4, and mediates communication between the terminal 4 and the base station 2. To do.
The relay device 3 is reduced in size to the extent that it can be carried so that the user can carry it with the terminal 4 at the destination.
As shown in the figure, the relay device 3 can simultaneously connect a plurality of terminals 4 and the base station 2.

The terminal 4 is, for example, a terminal device configured with a personal computer or the like, and includes a stationary type called a so-called desktop type and a portable type called a notebook type.
The terminal 4 can connect to the base station 2 via the relay device 3 and connect to the Internet via the mobile phone network.

As described above, in the first embodiment, the relay device 3 is configured as a device that mediates the connection between the base station 2 and the terminal 4, but this does not limit the configuration of the relay device 3 in this way. However, what is necessary is just to provide the some radio | wireless communication part from which a communication system differs.
And these radio | wireless communication parts may operate | move in cooperation like a relay, or may operate | move independently separately.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of the relay device 3.
The base station communication unit 12 is a functional unit for performing wireless communication with the base station 2 (FIG. 1), establishes a radio line with the base station 2 via the antenna 13, and transmits / receives data to / from the base station 2.
The wireless LAN unit 22 establishes a wireless line with the terminal 4 (FIG. 1) via the antenna 23 and transmits / receives data to / from the terminal 4.
The output of the base station communication unit 12 during data transmission is about 200 mW, the output of the wireless LAN unit 22 during data transmission is about 10 mW, and the base station communication unit 12 and the wireless LAN unit 22 serve as heat sources.

Here, the base station communication unit 12 and the wireless LAN unit 22 function as a first wireless communication unit and a second wireless communication unit, respectively.
In this case, the base station 2 (FIG. 1) functions as a first wireless device, and the terminal 4 functions as a second wireless device.

The relay unit 33 is connected to the base station communication unit 12 and the wireless LAN unit 22, and communicates with these to perform processing such as data format conversion, so that the base station communication unit 12 and the wireless LAN unit are connected. 22 communication is relayed.
The relay unit 33 is connected to the first wireless communication unit (base station communication unit 12) and the second wireless communication unit (wireless LAN unit 22), and communicates between the first wireless device and the second wireless device. It functions as a relay means for relaying.

Further, since the base station communication unit 12 and the wireless LAN unit 22 are simultaneously driven at the time of relaying, the first wireless communication unit and the second wireless communication unit can be simultaneously driven.
When the first wireless communication unit and the second wireless communication unit are driven simultaneously, heat is generated from both and the relay device 3, so that the heat dissipation mechanism of the present embodiment is further required.

The power supply circuit 31 is a constant voltage circuit, for example, and supplies power to the base station communication unit 12, the wireless LAN unit 22, the relay unit 33, and the like.
The battery 32 is configured by a rechargeable secondary battery such as a lithium ion battery and supplies power to the power supply circuit 31.

The casing 11 is made of, for example, resin, and includes a base station communication unit 12 and an antenna 13 therein.
The housing 21 is formed of, for example, resin, and incorporates therein a wireless LAN unit 22, an antenna 23, a power supply circuit 31, a battery 32, and the like.

The housing 11 and the housing 21 are formed as separate bodies and are individually held by the holding unit 30.
The housing 11 and the housing 21 function as a first housing containing a first wireless communication means and a second housing containing a second wireless communication means, respectively.

The holding unit 30 has a function as a connection mechanism that connects the housing 11 and the housing 21 and a function as a relative position change mechanism that changes the relative positions of the housing 11 and the housing 21.
The holding unit 30 includes a movable part, and the casing 11 is connected to one of the movable parts, and the casing 21 is connected to the other.
For this reason, the relative positional relationship between the housing 11 and the housing 21 can be changed via the holding unit 30, and the direction of the change faces the housing 11 and the housing 21. This is the direction in which the surface area changes.
As described above, the holding unit 30 holds the first casing and the second casing in a state where the area where the first casing and the second casing face each other can be changed. It functions as a holding means.

The user can change the positional relationship between the housing 11 and the housing 21 using a hand or the like, and the holding unit 30 maintains the positional relationship changed by the user.
When storing the user, the housing 11 and the housing 21 are held at a position where the areas facing each other increase, and when used, the user faces the area where the areas facing each other decrease. The casing 11 and the casing 21 are held.

When the housing 11 and the housing 21 are held in a positional relationship in which the areas facing each other increase, the surface area exposed to the outside of the relay device 3 is reduced, so that the relay device 3 is small and portable. improves.
On the other hand, when the housing 11 and the housing 21 are held in a positional relationship in which the areas facing each other are reduced, the surface area exposed to the outside of each of the housing 11 and the housing 21 is increased. Will improve.

The base station communication unit 12 and the wireless LAN unit 22 are main heat sources, and the relay device 3 is arranged separately in separate housings, and further has a surface area exposed to the outside of each housing during use. Since the size is increased, high heat dissipation can be obtained.
Thus, by making the holding positions of the housing 11 and the housing 21 variable, the relay device 3 can achieve both portability and heat dissipation.

Next, an example of a holding form of the housing 11 and the housing 21 will be described with reference to FIGS.
FIG. 3A shows that the housing 11 and the housing 21 are held at positions where the areas facing each other are maximized.
Hereinafter, a case where the areas facing each other are large is referred to as a closed state, and a case where the areas facing each other is small is referred to as an open state.

The housing 11 and the housing 21 are each formed in a rectangular shape with a size of 120 × 60 × 15 [mm] or less, and are about the same as a general mobile phone.
The holding unit 30 holds both the housing 11 and the housing 21 at one end.
The holding unit 30 is formed by a hinge (that is, a hinge) that rotates the casing 11 and the casing 21 in a direction in which the mutually facing surfaces of the casing 11 and the casing 21 approach or move away from each other. ), The housing 11 and the housing 21 can be opened and closed with the holding portion 30 as the center.

FIG. 3C shows a state where the housing 11 and the housing 21 are fully opened.
The holding unit 30 can hold the housing 11 and the housing 21 at an arbitrary angle from the fully closed state illustrated in FIG. 3A to the fully opened state illustrated in FIG.
When carrying the relay device 3, the user downsizes the casing 11 and the casing 21 to fully close to improve portability. When using the relay device 3, the user holds the casing 11 and the casing 21. Open at any angle to increase heat dissipation.

Next, another example of the holding form of the housing 11 and the housing 21 will be described with reference to FIGS.
FIG. 4A is a diagram showing a state in which the housing 11 and the housing 21 are fully closed. In this state, the housing 11 and the housing 21 are held at positions where the areas facing each other are maximized.
The holding unit 30 holds both the housing 11 and the housing 21 at one end.
The holding unit 30 is formed by a hinge that rotates the housing 11 and the housing 21 in the direction in which the mutually facing surfaces of the housing 11 and the housing 21 move in parallel, and is indicated by an arrow in FIG. As shown, the housing 11 and the housing 21 can be opened and closed with the holding unit 30 as the center.

FIG. 4C shows a state where the housing 11 and the housing 21 are fully opened.
The holding unit 30 can hold the housing 11 and the housing 21 at an arbitrary angle from the fully closed state illustrated in FIG. 4A to the fully opened state illustrated in FIG.
When carrying the relay device 3, the user downsizes the casing 11 and the casing 21 to fully close to improve portability. When using the relay device 3, the user holds the casing 11 and the casing 21. Open at any angle to increase heat dissipation.

Further, it is possible to further improve heat dissipation by providing heat dissipation holes in the casing 11 and the casing 21 shown in each drawing of FIG.
FIG. 5 is a perspective view showing an appearance of the relay device 3 provided with the heat radiating holes.
As shown in the figure, when the relay device 3 is opened with the casing 21 facing down and the casing 11 facing up, a plurality of heat radiation holes 41, 41, ... (hereinafter referred to as heat radiation hole 41) is formed to efficiently radiate the heat generated by the circuit inside the housing to the atmosphere.

Among these heat radiation holes 41, the heat radiation holes 41 provided on the front surface of the housing 11 are provided with a shutter mechanism which will be described later. When the relay device 3 is closed, the heat radiation holes 41 are the heat radiation hole shutters. When the relay device 3 is opened, the heat radiation hole shutter slides to open the heat radiation hole 41.
Since the relay device 3 is closed when the relay device 3 is carried, the heat radiation hole 41 of the housing 21 is closed from the outside by the housing 11, but the heat radiation hole 41 of the housing 11 always faces the outside world, Sometimes it is closed by a shutter mechanism to prevent entry of dust from the outside.

Each figure of FIG. 6 is a figure for demonstrating the shutter mechanism of the above-mentioned radiation hole shutter.
Among these, FIG. 6A shows a front view (perspective view) and a side view (sectional view) when the relay device 3 is closed. In the front view, the housing 11 is indicated by a broken line.
The heat radiating hole shutter 43 is a rectangular plate member provided with a heat radiating hole 41 b, and is provided so as to face the upper surface of the housing 11 in the upper part inside the housing 11.
On the other hand, the housing 11 is formed with a heat radiation hole 41a having the same size as the heat radiation hole 41b at a position corresponding to the heat radiation hole 41b.

An elliptical long hole 46 whose major axis is the sliding direction of the heat dissipation hole shutter 43 is provided in a portion on the holding portion 30 side of the heat dissipation hole shutter 43.
On the other hand, a disc-shaped cam 45 is attached to the holding portion 30 with a center shifted from the holding portion 30 in the direction in which the heat radiating holes 41b are formed (arrow A direction).
The heat dissipation hole shutter 43 is always urged in the direction of arrow A by a spring mechanism or the like. Thus, when the relay device 3 is opened and closed, the inner periphery of the long hole 46 and the outer periphery of the cam 45 are engaged so as to always contact each other and function as a cam mechanism.

  In a state where the relay device 3 is closed, the cam mechanism positions the center of the heat radiation hole 41b and the center of the heat radiation hole 41a formed in the housing 11 at a position shifted by more than the diameter of the heat radiation hole 41. The heat radiation hole 41 is in a closed state.

FIG. 6B shows a front view (perspective view) and a side view (sectional view) when the relay device 3 is opened.
When the relay device 3 is opened, the heat dissipation hole shutter 43 is slid toward the holding portion 30 by the cam mechanism, whereby the centers of the heat dissipation hole 41b and the heat dissipation hole 41a are aligned to form the heat dissipation hole 41.

As described above, since the relay device 3 has the heat radiation holes 41, the heat generated in the internal circuit can be efficiently radiated to the outside.
When the relay device 3 is not used and is closed, the heat radiation hole 41 of the housing 11 is closed by the shutter mechanism, and the heat radiation hole 41 of the housing 21 is closed by the housing 11. Intrusion of dust and foreign matter from the outside can be prevented.

Next, another example of the holding form of the housing 11 and the housing 21 will be described with reference to FIGS.
FIG. 7A is a diagram showing a state in which the housing 11 and the housing 21 are fully closed. In this state, the housing 11 and the housing 21 are held at positions where the areas facing each other are maximized.
The holding unit 30 is formed by a slide mechanism that slides the casing 11 and the casing 21 linearly in a direction in which the mutually facing surfaces of the casing 11 and the casing 21 move in parallel, as shown in FIG. As indicated by the arrows, the housing 11 and the housing 21 can be opened and closed with the holding portion 30 as the center.

The holding unit 30 can hold the housing 11 and the housing 21 at any sliding position from the fully closed state illustrated in FIG. 7A to the fully opened state illustrated in FIG.
When carrying the relay device 3, the user downsizes the casing 11 and the casing 21 to fully close to improve portability. When using the relay device 3, the user holds the casing 11 and the casing 21. Open to any slide position to increase heat dissipation.

Next, another example of the holding form of the housing 11 and the housing 21 will be described with reference to FIGS.
FIG. 8A is a diagram showing a state in which the housing 11 and the housing 21 are fully closed. In this state, the housing 11 and the housing 21 are held at positions where the areas facing each other are maximized.
FIG. 8A is a front view of the relay device 3. When the relay device 3 is viewed from above, the housing 11 and the housing 21 have a rectangular shape, a circle, an elliptical shape, or the like.

  The holding unit 30 includes, for example, an expansion / contraction mechanism in which a plurality of cylinders having different inner and outer diameters are concentrically combined, and as shown by the arrow in FIG. Are attached to the surfaces of the housing 21 facing each other so as to expand and contract in a direction in which the surfaces approach and separate.

And the holding | maintenance part 30 hold | maintains the housing | casing 11 and the housing | casing 21 by the arbitrary expansion-contraction length of the full open state shown in FIG.8 (b) from the fully closed state shown to Fig.8 (a). Can do.
A heat radiating hole 41 is formed around each cylinder to efficiently radiate the heat generated inside into the atmosphere.
In FIG. 8B, the heat radiating holes 41 of the respective cylinders are formed at the same position in the circumferential direction. However, if the position of each cylinder is shifted in the circumferential direction, the heat radiating holes are formed when the relay device 3 is closed. 41 can be closed to prevent intrusion of dust and foreign matters from the outside.

When carrying the relay device 3, the user downsizes the casing 11 and the casing 21 to fully close to improve portability. When using the relay device 3, the user holds the casing 11 and the casing 21. Open at any interval to increase heat dissipation.
Moreover, even if the expansion / contraction mechanism of the holding part 30 is formed by a bellows as shown in FIG.

According to the embodiment described above, the following effects can be obtained.
(1) The base station communication unit 12 and the wireless LAN unit 22 that are heat sources can be housed in the case 11 and the case 21 that are separate cases, respectively.
(2) Since the relay device 3 is foldable or telescopic, the relay device 3 can be folded or shrunk when being carried, so that the size can be reduced.
(3) Since it can be reduced in size when being carried, it can be easily carried by being stored in a bag or the like.
(4) Since a connection mechanism is provided between two housings and a heat source can be separated at the time of use, it is possible to suppress a temperature rise during use while maintaining portability by increasing the surface area. .

It is the figure which showed the structural example of the radio | wireless system which concerns on this Embodiment. It is the block diagram which showed the structure of the relay apparatus. It is the figure which showed an example of the holding | maintenance form of both housings. It is the figure which showed an example of the holding | maintenance form of the both housing | casing which concerns on another example. It is the perspective view which showed the external appearance of the relay apparatus provided with the heat radiating hole. It is a figure for demonstrating the shutter mechanism of a thermal radiation hole. It is the figure which showed an example of the holding | maintenance form of the both housing | casing which concerns on another example. It is the figure which showed an example of the holding | maintenance form of the both housing | casing which concerns on another example. It is a figure for demonstrating a prior art example.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Wireless system 2 Base station 3 Relay apparatus 4 Terminal 11 Case 12 Base station communication part 13 Antenna 21 Case 22 Wireless LAN part 23 Antenna 30 Holding part 31 Power supply circuit 32 Battery 33 Relay part 41 Heat radiation hole 43 Heat radiation hole shutter 45 Cam 46 Slotted hole

Claims (6)

First wireless communication means for communicating with the first wireless device;
A first housing containing the first wireless communication means;
Second wireless communication means for communicating with the second wireless device;
A second housing containing the second wireless communication means;
A housing holding means for holding the first housing and the second housing in a state in which an area where the first housing and the second housing face each other can be changed; Equipped ,
The housing holding means is configured by combining a plurality of cylinders having different inner and outer diameters concentrically on the mutually facing surfaces of the first housing and the second housing. An expansion and contraction mechanism that expands and contracts in a direction in which the casing and the second casing approach or leave.
A wireless communication apparatus.   The radio communication apparatus according to claim 1, wherein a heat radiating hole is formed around each cylinder of the housing holding unit.   The wireless communication device according to claim 2, wherein the heat radiating holes of the respective cylinders are formed so that positions of the respective cylinders are shifted in the circumferential direction. The wireless communication apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the first wireless communication unit and the second wireless communication unit can be driven simultaneously. . A relay unit that connects the first wireless communication unit and the second wireless communication unit and relays communication between the first wireless device and the second wireless device is provided. The wireless communication apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 4 . The first radio device is a radio base station is connected to a communication network, the second wireless device, singular, or among the preceding claims, characterized according to claim 5 to be a plurality of terminal devices A wireless communication device according to any one of the claims .

Images