Operating a camera in an outdoor environment requires special consideration of the enclosure design to ensure that the camera and related circuitry and other components are kept clean and dry regardless of the weather and other ambient conditions. The problem is especially challenging when dealing with “smart cameras”, wherein a computer processor is co-located with the camera in order to perform intensive computations on the camera images or video. In that case, a significant amount of heat may be generated by the processor itself as well as the camera, and the heat must be dissipated from the enclosure to avoid damaging the electronics and other components. The heat problem is further exacerbated if other heat-emitting electronics are included, such as other types of sensors, and communication equipment such as modems and WiFi transceivers.
Traditional solutions rely on the use of one or more fans to blow air past the heat emitting electronics which is then vented outside of the device. This approach has two main problems: first, the need to maintain air flow requires having vents in the enclosure for air to enter and exit; this precludes having any real environmental seal, since a vent that can allow air flow is also susceptible to dust, moisture, and corrosive gases that could damage the camera and electronics. Second, the fans themselves are prone to failure, which shortens the overall lifespan of the device. Other solutions involve integrating a heatsink into the enclosure such that the heatsink forms a substantial and noticeable part of the enclosure itself, driving up the cost and weight of the enclosure, lessening the performance of any radio transceivers that may be housed inside the enclosure, and limiting the possibilities for aesthetic design.
The present innovation solves these problems through a novel mechanical design. Notably, this enclosure is able to cool the internal electronics through passive heat dissipation without venting, allowing us to create a complete environmental seal to protect the internal components without compromising on the physical or aesthetic arrangement of the enclosure. The design offers additional advantages over traditional Page 3 of 7 enclosure designs, in that it is easy to manufacture, and can be easily scaled in manufacturing to accommodate different sizes and amounts of internal components as well as provide more or less cooling efficiency, depending on the needs of any given set of cameras, processors, and other components. Finally, the unique design of the enclosure makes it easy to attach to any pole, such as a light pole or traffic signal pole, or the side of any building or other structure.
The enclosure disclosed herein is based in part on the idea that electronic components can often be effectively cooled using a passive heatsink device—usually made of aluminum or some other metal that conducts heat efficiently—if the heat can be transferred to the heatsink effectively, and if the heatsink can in turn transfer that heat efficiently to the ambient environment. Accomplishing this in an environmentally sealed enclosure requires that at least one side of the heatsink makes contact with the ambient environment, external to the enclosure, while at least one other side is in direct contact with the heat emitting components internal to the enclosure. One way to accomplish this is to make the enclosure itself either partially or completely out of aluminum, and mount the internal components directly to the enclosure. However, this is often impractical for several reasons: The cost or weight may be prohibitive, especially if the enclosure needs to be large to accommodate the internal components; an aluminum enclosure is not appropriate if radio transceivers are included in the internal components, as it would interfere with radio signals; and this approach limits the aesthetic possibilities of the housing design, as the heat dissipating elements of the housing become large, externally visible components of the overall enclosure design.
Instead, this disclosure uses a novel internal heatsink to create a hollow core that runs through the length of the sealed enclosure, allowing air to pass across the heatsink features through natural convection while fully sealing the internal components from the environment. The outer housing body can be made of any material, for example, PVC, having whatever aesthetic and functional properties are desired, such as low radio interference, low cost, low weight, and smooth uninterrupted exterior surface. The heatsink core is a hollow tube, preferably with internal fins or other features to increase the thermal conductivity of the heat sink by maximizing the surface area in contact with the air. This tube can preferably be constructed through a process of metal extrusion, and cut to whatever length is required. The cross-sectional shape of the heatsink can be selected to fit precisely the shape of the housing body. For example, a semi-circular cross section could be used to fit inside a circular body, and a rectangular cross section could be used to fit inside a rectangular body. In this way, both the heatsink and the housing body can be constructed by extrusion and cut to any length, allowing easy mass production even where different sized enclosures are needed to meet different requirements. This linear design also gives the enclosure modularity; multiple housing segments with the same cross-section can be stacked, allowing easy post-production extension of the housing, for example in order to co-locate multiple cameras at a single installation point.
Since it runs through the length of the housing body, the heatsink also serves a secondary purpose of being the main structural member for the enclosure, adding strength and durability to the enclosure without requiring any additional support structure. Internal heat-generating components are mounted directly to the heatsink, preferably using a thermal conducting paste or silicone thermal pad to efficiently transfer heat from the component to the heatsink. Other components can be mounted directly or indirectly along the length of the heatsink. The housing body and heatsink are together sandwiched between a top cap and a collar, which may also be made of aluminum or other materials such as plastic. The top cap and collar each include an opening to allow airflow through the heatsink, but are sealed around the housing body and around the heatsink using gaskets, o-rings, silicone, or some other sealant. The top and bottom caps may include additional features to make it easy to mount to a pole or building, for example by passing steel straps through mounting slots built into the cap and collar.
While the disclosure above and the detailed disclosure below are presented herein in the context of outdoor enclosure for a camera, it will be understood by those of ordinary skill in the art that the concepts may be applied to other types of enclosure for electronics or other heat generating equipment and in various ways where there is a beneficial advantage to seal components from the external environment while providing adequate heat dissipation. With the foregoing overview in mind, specific details will now be presented, bearing in mind that these details are for illustrative purposes only and are not intended to be exclusive.
The accompanying drawings illustrate various non-limiting examples and innovative aspects of the outdoor enclosure in accordance with the present description:
An embodiment of the outdoor enclosure for a smart camera 100 is shown in
The exploded view of
The top and bottom of the heatsink fit into grooves 400 and 500 in the top cap 102 and collar mount 103, shown respectively in
As can be seen in
It should be understood that this description (including the figures) is only representative of some illustrative embodiments. For the convenience of the reader, the above description has focused on representative samples of all possible embodiments, and samples that teach the principles of the disclosure. The description has not attempted to exhaustively enumerate all possible variations. That alternate embodiments may not have been presented for a specific portion of the disclosure, or that further undescribed alternate embodiments may be available for a portion, is not to be considered a disclaimer of those alternate embodiments. One of ordinary skill will appreciate that many of those undescribed embodiments incorporate the same principles of the disclosure as claimed and others are equivalent.
Applicant hereby claims priority under 35 USC § 119 to provisional U.S. patent application Ser. No. 62/818,849, filed Mar. 15, 2019, entitled “Outdoor Enclosure for a Smart Camera.” The entire contents of the aforementioned applications are herein expressly incorporated by reference.
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Number | Date | Country | |
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62818849 | Mar 2019 | US |