U.S. patent application number 10/604545 was filed with the patent office on 2004-10-07 for [cooling system].
Invention is credited to CHEN, DANIEL M. R., TENG, TED, WU, TITAN.
Application Number | 20040196630 10/604545 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 32986281 |
Filed Date | 2004-10-07 |
United States Patent
Application |
20040196630 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
WU, TITAN ; et al. |
October 7, 2004 |
[COOLING SYSTEM]
Abstract
A cooling system for cooling an interface card is provided. The
cooling system comprises a thermal conductive housing wrapping
around a carrier of the interface card and the electronic devices
thereon. A pair of fans are set up on the housing to provide a flow
of air inside the space between the housing and the carrier so that
the heat generated by the operating devices are rapidly carried
away. In addition, a fin type heat sink can be incorporated into
the space between the housing and the electronic devices to
increase the amount of heat transferred away from the operating
devices.
Inventors: |
WU, TITAN; (TAIPEI, TW)
; TENG, TED; (TAIPEI, TW) ; CHEN, DANIEL M.
R.; (TAIPEI, TW) |
Correspondence
Address: |
JIANQ CHYUN INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY OFFICE
7 FLOOR-1, NO. 100
ROOSEVELT ROAD, SECTION 2
TAIPEI
100
TW
|
Family ID: |
32986281 |
Appl. No.: |
10/604545 |
Filed: |
July 30, 2003 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
361/695 ;
174/16.3; 257/E23.099 |
Current CPC
Class: |
H05K 7/1461 20130101;
H01L 2924/0002 20130101; H01L 23/467 20130101; H01L 2924/0002
20130101; G06F 1/20 20130101; H01L 2924/00 20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
361/695 ;
174/016.3 |
International
Class: |
H05K 007/20 |
Foreign Application Data
Date |
Code |
Application Number |
Apr 7, 2003 |
TW |
92205393 |
Claims
1. A cooling system for an interface card, wherein the interface
card comprises a circuit board and a connection interface, the
circuit board has a circuit carrier and the connection interface is
located on one side edge of the circuit carrier, the circuit
carrier furthermore has a front surface, a back surface and a lead
plugging section located on one side edge of the carrier, the
cooling system comprising: a thermal conductive housing, wherein
the thermal conductive housing encloses at least a portion of the
carrier but exposes the lead plugging section of the carrier, there
is a space between the thermal conductive housing and the front
surface of the carrier, and the thermal conductive housing has an
air inlet and an air outlet linking up the space between the
thermal conductive housing and the carrier; an intake fan
positioned over the air inlet of the thermal conductive housing;
and an air exhaust fan positioned over the air outlet of the
thermal conductive housing.
2. The cooling system of claim 1, wherein the air inlet and the air
outlet are both located above the front surface of the circuit
carrier.
3. The cooling system of claim 2, wherein the thermal conductive
housing furthermore comprises an air intake guiding section and an
air exhaust guiding section with the air intake guiding section set
up over the air inlet and the air exhaust guiding section set up
over the air outlet such that the direction of air flow into the
air intake guiding section and the direction of air flow out of the
air exhaust guiding section form an included angle smaller than
180.degree..
4. The cooling system of claim 1, wherein the system furthermore
comprises a fin-type heat sink and the circuit board furthermore
comprises at least an electronic device on the front surface of the
circuit carries such that the fin type heat sink is set up between
the electronic device and the thermal conductive housing with the
heat sink in contact with both the electronic device and the
interior surface of the conductive thermal housing.
5. The cooling system of claim 4, wherein the system furthermore
comprises a thermal conductive buffer layer set up between the
thermal conductive housing and the fin type heat sink.
6. The cooling system of claim 4, wherein the air inlet and the air
outlet are positioned over the front surface of the circuit carrier
on each side of the fin type heat sink.
7. The cooling system of claim 1, wherein the thermal conductive
housing furthermore comprises: a top cover covering over the front
surface of the circuit carrier; and a back plate covering over the
back surface of the circuit carrier, wherein at least a side edge
of the back plate is physically connected to one of the side edges
of the top cover.
8. The cooling system of claim 7, wherein the side edge of the back
plate and the corresponding side edge of the top cover are joined
together through a detachable assembly.
9. The cooling system of claim 7, wherein the side edge of the top
cover has a latching hook and the corresponding side edge of the
back plate has a groove for accommodating the latching hook.
10. The cooling system of claim 7, wherein one of the side edges of
the top cover has a groove and the corresponding side of the back
plate has a latching hook that can be latched into the groove.
11. The cooling system of claim 7, wherein one of the side edges of
the back plate has an embedding groove for accommodating one side
edge of the circuit carrier.
Description
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
[0001] This application claims the priority benefit of Taiwan
application serial no. 92205393, filed on Apr. 7, 2003.
BACKGROUND OF INVENTION
[0002] 1. Field of Invention
[0003] The present invention relates to a cooling system. More
particularly, the present invention relates to an interface card
cooling system.
[0004] 2. Description of Related Art
[0005] With the great advance in the electronics industry, the need
for high-speed multi-functional computers is increasing. As the
functional capacity of each computer continue to increase, the
number of electronic devices must increase correspondingly. Due to
the high operating speed and the increase in the number of
electronic devices, a large quantity of heat is produced inside the
computer casing during operation. Because the casing of most
computers or the surface of most electronic devices do not have any
specially installed ventilation system to carry heat away,
temperature inside the computer casing will gradually increase with
the period of operation. As the temperature inside the computer
casing rises to a definite level, some of the operating electronic
devices may fail temporarily or permanently. Similarly, the
increasing operating speed of the constituent graphic chip and
memory chip inside of a graphic card (a graphic processor unit)
also generates a lot of heat in full operation.
[0006] To prevent the temporary or permanent failure of a graphic
card due to over-heating, the graphic chip and the memory chip
within the graphic card must be maintained within an operating
temperature range. In general, the heat produced by the graphic
chip and the memory chip can be carried away using a cooling
system.
[0007] At present, the most common cooling systems for the graphic
card includes the passive cooling system and the active cooling
system. The passive cooling system relies on a highly conductive
metallic or alloyed heat sink to carry the heat away. The heat sink
comprises a cooling plate and a plurality of fins attached to the
cooling plate. The cooling plate is made to contact the surface of
a graphic chip through a mounting fixture so that the heat produced
by the operating graphic chip is transmitted to the cooling plate
and the surface of the cooling fins and subsequently dissipated to
the surrounding atmosphere.
[0008] To boost the heat dissipating capacity of the passive
cooling system, an active cooling system with a cooling fan
installed over or on one side of the heat sink. The cooling fan
provides a stream of air over the channel between the cooling fins
of a heat sink. Hence, the active cooling system utilizes both
conduction and convection to carry the heat away from the graphic
chip. Due to the generation of vast quantities of heat in a
high-speed graphic chip, the graphic chips can no longer be
maintained within a normal operating temperature range through a
passive cooling system alone. Therefore, an additional active
cooling system must be installed on the graphic chip of a graphic
card.
[0009] However, as the operating frequency of the graphic card is
increased, the actual heat sources are no longer confined to the
graphic chips or the memory chip. In other words, other electronic
components (such as capacitor or inductance) on the graphic card
can also be major sources of heat production. Thus, a conventional
active cooling system can carry the heat away from the graphic chip
and the memory chip but has no power to remove the heat from the
other heat-generating electronic components.
SUMMARY OF INVENTION
[0010] Accordingly, one object of the present invention is to
provide a cooling system for an interface card capable of removing
most of the heat generated by electronic devices within the card so
that these electronic devices are maintained within a normal
operating temperature range. Ultimately, electrical performance of
the interface card is greatly improved.
[0011] To achieve these and other advantages and in accordance with
the purpose of the invention, as embodied and broadly described
herein, the invention provides a cooling system for an interface
card. The interface card comprises a circuit board and a connection
interface. The circuit board also has a circuit carrier. The
connection interface is attached to one of the side edges of the
carrier. The carrier furthermore comprises a front surface, a back
surface and a lead-plugging section located on another side edge of
the carrier. The cooling system comprises a thermal conductive
housing that encloses at least a portion of the circuit carrier but
exposes the lead-plugging section. Thus, a space is provided
between the front surface of the circuit carrier and the thermal
conductive housing. In addition, the thermal conductive housing has
an air inlet and an air outlet linking up the enclosed space. An
air intake fan is installed at the air inlet and an air exhaust fan
is installed at the air outlet of the thermal conductive
housing.
[0012] According to one embodiment of this invention, the air inlet
and the air outlet are positioned over the front surface of the
carrier.
[0013] According to another embodiment of this invention, the
thermal conductive housing furthermore comprises an intake air
guiding section and an exhaust air guiding section. The air intake
guiding section is set up over the air inlet of the thermal
conductive housing and the air exhaust guiding section is set up
over the air outlet of the thermal conductive housing. Furthermore,
the direction of air flow provided by the air intake guiding
section and the direction of air flow provided by the air exhaust
channel section form an included angle smaller than
180.degree..
[0014] According to one embodiment of this invention, the cooling
system furthermore comprises a fin type heat sink heat sink. The
circuit board furthermore comprises at least an electronic device
set up on the front surface of the carrier. The heat sink is
installed between the electronic device and the thermal conductive
housing such that one side of the heat sink is in contact with the
electronic device while the other side of the heat sink is in
contact with the interior surface of the thermal conductive
housing.
[0015] According to one embodiment of this invention, the cooling
system furthermore comprises a thermal conductive buffer layer
installed between the thermal conductive housing and the fin type
heat sink.
[0016] According to one embodiment of this invention, the air inlet
and the air outlet are positioned over the front surface of the
carrier but located on each side of the heat sink.
[0017] According to one embodiment of this invention, the thermal
conductive housing furthermore comprises a top cover positioned
over the front surface of the carrier and a back plate covering the
back surface of the carrier. Moreover, at least one side of the
back plate has direct connection with a corresponding side of the
top cover.
[0018] According to one embodiment of this invention, the side edge
of the back plate and the corresponding side edge of the top cover
are joined together through a detachable connection.
[0019] According to one embodiment of this invention, one of the
side edges of the top cover has a latching hook and the
corresponding side edge of the back plate has a corresponding
groove for the latching hook so that the two can be latched
together after the latching hook is placed inside the groove.
[0020] According to one embodiment of this invention, one of the
side edges of the top cover has a groove for accommodating a
latching hook and the corresponding side edge of the back plate has
a corresponding latching hook so that the two can be latched
together after the latching hook is placed inside the groove.
[0021] According to one embodiment of this invention, one of the
side edges of the back plate has an embedding groove for
accommodating one side edge of the carrier.
[0022] In brief, the cooling system of this invention comprises a
thermal conductive housing that wraps around the circuit carrier
and the electronic devices of an interface card and a pair of fans
installed on the thermal conductive housing. The fans on the
thermal conductive housing provide a continuous stream of cool air
in the space between the interface card and the thermal conductive
housing. With this setup, heat generated by the electronic devices
inside the interface card during operation is rapidly carried away.
In addition, this invention also permits the attachment of fin type
heat sink between the electronic devices having a high
heat-generating capacity and the thermal conductive housing to
increase the cooling rate even further.
[0023] It is to be understood that both the foregoing general
description and the following detailed description are exemplary,
and are intended to provide further explanation of the invention as
claimed.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS
[0024] The accompanying drawings are included to provide a further
understanding of the invention, and are incorporated in and
constitute a part of this specification. The drawings illustrate
embodiments of the invention and, together with the description,
serve to explain the principles of the invention.
[0025] FIG. 1 is an explosion view showing all the major components
of a cooling system for ventilating an interface card according to
one preferred embodiment of this invention.
[0026] FIG. 2 is a schematic cross-sectional view of an assembled
cooling system for ventilating an interface card according to one
preferred embodiment of this invention.
[0027] FIGS. 3A to 3C are cross-sectional views showing the design
and the process of assembling the top cover and the back plate of a
thermal conductive housing according to this invention.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
[0028] Reference will now be made in detail to the present
preferred embodiments of the invention, examples of which are
illustrated in the accompanying drawings. Wherever possible, the
same reference numbers are used in the drawings and the description
to refer to the same or like parts.
[0029] FIG. 1 is an explosion view showing all the major components
of a cooling system for ventilating an interface card according to
one preferred embodiment of this invention. FIG. 2 is a schematic
cross-sectional view of an assembled cooling system for ventilating
an interface card according to one preferred embodiment of this
invention. As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the cooling system 100 is
adapted to an interface card 10 such as a graphic card. The
interface card 10 comprises a circuit board 20 and a connection
interface 30. The circuit board 20 furthermore comprises a circuit
carrier 22 and a plurality of electronic devices 24 (only three
devices are shown). These electronic devices 24 (for example,
combinatorial logic chips, memory chips or other types of devices)
are attached to the front surface 22a of the carrier 22 using
surface mount technology (SMT) or via a pin through hole assembly
(PTH). In addition, the carrier 22 has a lead plugging section 22c
on one side edge so that the interface card 10 is electrically
connected to the motherboard of a computer system through the lead
plugging section 22c and a connection socket (not shown) on the
mother board. The connection interface 30 also has a plurality of
connection ports 32 for connecting with the external signal
connector of an electronic device such as a monitor screen.
[0030] The cooling system 100 of this invention mainly comprises a
conductive thermal casing 110, an air intake fan 120 and an air
exhaust fan 130. The thermal conductive housing 110 comprises a top
cover 112 and a back plate 114. The top cover 112 hangs over the
front surface 22a of the carrier 22 while the back plate 114 covers
the back surface 22b of the carrier 22. The two opposite side edges
of the back plate 114 have screw locks or latching mechanism for
engaging with a corresponding side edges of the top cover 112.
Hence, the assembled thermal conductive housing 110 is able to
enclose a large section of the circuit board 22 as well as the
electronic devices 24 on the interface card 10 but expose the lead
plugging section 22c of the carrier 22. The assembled thermal
conductive housing 110 also provides a space S between the thermal
conductive housing 110 and the front surface 22a of the carrier 22.
Moreover, the top cover 112 of the thermal conductive housing 110
has an air inlet 112a and an air outlet 112b. The air inlet 112a
and the air outlet 112b are positioned over the front surface 22a
of the carrier 22 and both are linked to the space S.
[0031] The air intake fan 120 is mounted over the air inlet 112a
and the air exhaust fan 130 is mounted over the air outlet 112b of
the thermal conductive housing 110. With this ventilation setup,
the air intake fan 120 blows a flow of cool outside air into the
space S and along the flow direction F as shown in FIG. 2. The
airflow along the flow direction F absorbs some of the heat
produced by various electronic devices 24 as it moves inside the
confined space S. Finally, the heated air is expelled from the
space S by the exhaust fan 130. In other words, the heat produced
by the electronic devices 24 within the space S confined by the
thermal conductive housing is rapidly dissipated to the surrounding
through a forced convection current.
[0032] However, the warmer exhaust air from the air outlet 112b
must be prevented from drawing back to the air inlet 112a by the
air intake fan 120 to dilute the colder air. Hence, the top cover
112 of the thermal conductive housing 110 may further includes an
air intake guiding section 112c and an air exhaust guiding section
112d. The air intake guiding section 112c is set up over the air
inlet 112a of the top cover 112 while the air exhaust guiding
section 112d is set up over the air outlet 112b of the top cover
112. In addition, the air intake direction at the air intake
guiding section 112c and the air exhaust direction at the air
exhaust guiding section 112d form an included angle smaller than
180.degree.. Therefore, the air flowing into the air inlet 112a is
prevented from mixing with the air flowing out of the air outlet
112b. Ultimately, the heat transfer capacity of the cooling system
100 due to forced convection is improved.
[0033] If the interface card 30 is a graphic card, the electronic
devices 24 on the graphic card most likely include a graphic chip
and a memory chip. Since these electronic devices 24 generate lots
of heat during operation, a fin type heat sink 140 can be
incorporated into the cooling system 100. The heat sink 140
actually comprises a cooling plate 142 and a plurality of cooling
fins 144 with each cooling fin attached to the surface of the
cooling plate 142. The heat sink 140 can be installed between the
top cover 112 of the thermal conductive housing 110 and at least
one of the electronic devices 24. Furthermore, the flat surface of
the cooling plate 142 is in direct contact with the heat-generating
electronic device 24 while the end of the cooling fins 144 are in
direct contact with the interior surface of the top cover 112.
[0034] The cooling system 100 furthermore comprises a thermal
conductive buffer layer 150 between the fins 144 of the heat sink
140 and the interior surface of the top cover 112 of the thermal
conductive housing 110. In other words, the heat sink 140 contacts
the interior surface of the top cover 112 indirectly through the
thermal conductive buffer layer 150. With this setup, the heat
generated by the electronic devices 24 can be dissipated via at
least two heat transfer routes. The heat generated by the
electronic devices 24 can be removed by the air flowing over the
surface of the fins 144. Alternatively, the heat generated by the
electronic devices can be conducted to the top cover 112 of the
thermal conductive housing 110 via the back plate 142, the cooling
fins 144 and the thermal conductive buffer layer 150. Thereafter,
the heat at the top cover 112 is carried away by another convection
cooling system (not shown) provided by the computer casing.
[0035] To ensure the air from the air inlet 112a flows smoothly to
the air outlet 112b along the flow direction F through the channels
between the cooling fins 144, the air inlet 112a and the air outlet
112b are positioned on each side of the air channels. This
positional arrangement facilitates the flow of cooling air through
the air channels between the cooling fins 144 of the heat sink 140
so that the convection cooling capacity of the cooling system 100
is increased.
[0036] FIGS. 3A to 3C are cross-sectional views showing the design
and the process of assembling the top cover and the back plate of a
thermal conductive housing according to this invention. In FIG. 3A,
one side edge of the top cover 112 has a latching hook 112e (the
section labeled A in FIG. 1) and a corresponding side edge of the
back plate 114 has a groove 114a (the section labeled B in FIG. 1)
for accommodating the hook 112e. In FIG. 3B, the groove 114a has a
trapezoidal cross-sectional profile while the latching hook 112e
having a rectangular profile for sliding at an angle into the
groove 114a. Finally, as shown in FIG. 3C, the top cover rotates in
a clockwise direction (or the back plate 114 rotates in an
anti-clockwise direction) so that the latching hook 112e is
entirely buried within the groove 114a. Hence, the latching hook
112e and the groove 114a engage with the greatest contact area.
This setup facilitates the transfer of heat from the top cover 112
by conduction through the contact between the latching hook 112e
and the groove 114a to the surface of the back plate 114. Note the
embodiment of this invention is not limited to the design of having
a latching hook 112e on the top cover 112 and a corresponding
groove 114a on the back plate 114. In fact, the positioning of the
latching hook 112e and the groove 114a can be reversed so that the
latching hook 112e is formed on the back plate 114 while the groove
114a is formed on the top cover 112.
[0037] Furthermore, to fix the position of the circuit carrier 22
relative to the back plate 114 or to fix the back plate 114
relative to the carrier 22, one of the side edges of the back plate
114 also has a long narrow embedding groove 114b as shown in FIG.
3A. The long narrow embedding groove 114b has a dimension that can
fit in a corresponding edge of the carrier 22.
[0038] In summary, the cooling system of this invention comprises a
thermal conductive housing that wraps around the circuit carrier
and the electronic devices (such as graphic chips, memory chips or
other devices) of an interface card (such as a graphic card). A
pair of fans is also installed on the thermal conductive housing.
The fans on the thermal conductive housing provide a continuous
stream of cool air in the space between the interface card and the
thermal conductive housing. With this setup, heat generated by the
electronic devices inside the interface card during operation is
rapidly carried away.
[0039] In addition, this invention also permits the attachment of
fin type heat sink between the electronic devices having a high
heat-generating capacity (such as a graphic chip and a memory chip)
and the thermal conductive housing to increase the cooling rate
even further.
[0040] It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various
modifications and variations can be made to the structure of the
present invention without departing from the scope or spirit of the
invention. In view of the foregoing, it is intended that the
present invention cover modifications and variations of this
invention provided they fall within the scope of the following
claims and their equivalents.
* * * * *