U.S. patent application number 10/892194 was filed with the patent office on 2006-01-19 for heat pipe heat sink with holeless fin module.
Invention is credited to L.H. Lin, Michael Lin, Charles Ma, Jack Wang.
Application Number | 20060011329 10/892194 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 35598211 |
Filed Date | 2006-01-19 |
United States Patent
Application |
20060011329 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Wang; Jack ; et al. |
January 19, 2006 |
Heat pipe heat sink with holeless fin module
Abstract
A heat pipe heat sink with a holeless fin module is disclosed in
the present invention. Because of the holeless arrangement the heat
pipe heat sink is much more convenient for manufacturing. The heat
generated by an electrical component can quickly be transferred
into the heat pipe and uniformly distributed to each of the heat
dissipating fins. The heat pipe heat sink includes a heat
dissipating fin module, a heat conducting member, one or more heat
pipes installed on the heat conducting member, and a heat
conducting plate which is thermally connected to the heat
conducting member and the electrical component. The end surface of
the heat conducting member with the heat pipe installed thereon is
convenient for application of an adhesive because the end surface
and the pipe wall of the heat pipe are exposed outside of the heat
dissipating fin module before any combination takes place. The top
of the heat conducting plate is attached to the bottom surface of
the heat conducting member, while the bottom of the heat conducting
plate is thermally connected to the top surface of an electrical
component. Via the heat conducting plate, a uniform heat connection
end surface is formed below the heat conducting member.
Inventors: |
Wang; Jack; (Taoyuan City,
TW) ; Lin; Michael; (Taoyuan City, TW) ; Ma;
Charles; (Taoyuan City, TW) ; Lin; L.H.;
(Taoyuan City, TW) |
Correspondence
Address: |
Yi-Wen Tseng
4331 Stevens Battle Lane
Fairfax
VA
22033
US
|
Family ID: |
35598211 |
Appl. No.: |
10/892194 |
Filed: |
July 16, 2004 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
165/104.33 ;
257/E23.088; 257/E23.099; 257/E23.103 |
Current CPC
Class: |
H01L 23/427 20130101;
H01L 2924/0002 20130101; H01L 2924/0002 20130101; H01L 23/3672
20130101; H01L 2924/00 20130101; F28D 15/0275 20130101; F28D
15/0233 20130101; H01L 23/467 20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
165/104.33 |
International
Class: |
F28D 15/00 20060101
F28D015/00 |
Claims
1. A heat pipe heat sink with a holeless fin module, comprising: a
heat dissipating fin module which is assembled by stacking a
plurality of independent heat dissipating fins; a heat conducting
member with a plurality of concave trenches formed on a bottom and
at least one side surfaces thereof, which is combined with the heat
dissipating fin module; a heat pipe installed on the heat
conducting member with one end embedded in one trench on the bottom
surface and the other end embedded in another trench on the side
surface, the top thereof being exposed from the concave trenches;
and a heat conducting plate which is thermally connected to the
bottom surface of the heat conducting member, providing the heat
conducting member a uniform plane for combining with an electrical
component.
2. The heat pipe heat sink of claim 1, wherein the heat dissipating
fin module has a connecting portion for providing the heat
conducting member installed with the heat pipe a high fitness
multi-areas contact thermal connection.
3. The heat pipe heat sink of claim 2, wherein the connecting
portion of the heat dissipating fin module is formed by stacking
the connecting end of each of the heat dissipating fins which have
connecting ends formed by bending one edge thereof.
4. The heat pipe heat sink of claim 1, wherein the heat dissipating
fin module has a concave connecting portion which has a plurality
of concave portions formed on the bottom thereof for providing the
heat conducting member installed with the heat pipe a high fitness
multi-areas contact thermal connection.
5. The heat pipe heat sink of claim 2, wherein the shape of the
heat conducting member is formed in accordance with the shape of
the connecting portion of the heat dissipating fin module.
6. The heat pipe heat sink of claim 1, wherein the heat pipe is
semi-inserted into the concave trench of the heat conducting member
with the top surface thereof exposed outside the concave trench for
thermally connecting to the connecting portion of the heat
dissipating fin module.
7. The heat pipe heat sink of claim 2, wherein the exposed portion
of the heat pipe is a planar pipe wall which is coplanar with the
end surface of the concave trench for thermally connecting to the
connecting portion of the heat dissipating fin module.
8. The heat pipe heat sink of claim 1, wherein the exposed portion
of the heat pipe is an arch pipe wall which is raised above the end
surface of the concave trench for thermally connecting to the
corresponding concave portion of the connecting portion of the heat
dissipating fin module.
9. (canceled)
10. The heat pipe heat sink of claim 1, wherein the heat conducting
plate has a planar upper surface thermally connected to the bottom
surface of the heat conducting member, and a planar lower surface
thermally connected to the top surface of the electrical
component.
11. The heat pipe heat sink of claim 1, wherein the heat conducting
plate has an upper surface with several concave trenches thermally
connected to the heat pipes installed in the heat conducting
member, and a planar lower surface thermally connected to the top
surface of an electrical component.
Description
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0001] The present invention relates in general to a heat pipe heat
sink, and more particularly, to a heat pipe heat sink with a
holeless fin module. Because of the holeless arrangement the
present invention is much more convenient for manufacturing a heat
pipe heat sink. The heat generated by an electrical component can
quickly be transferred into the heat pipe and uniformly distributed
to each of the heat dissipating fins.
[0002] Currently, the most common heat dissipation device is a
cooling fan which is fixed onto the housing of some piece of
electrical equipment. This cooling fan facilitates air circulation
by replacing the inner heated air with the cooler outer air. If a
system only uses cooling fans to dissipate heat, it may have poor
performance though. It may have poor performance because the air
brought in from the outside may not always be much cooler than the
air in the system's interior; in the summer the exterior
temperature could reach 35 degree C. or more. Therefore, installing
more cooling fans is in vain. Moreover, within a system's housing
there is not much extra space that could be used for the
installation of extra fans.
[0003] Another heat dissipating device utilized to remove the heat
generated by electrical components is the heat sink, which includes
a heat sink base and a fin module mounted on the base. The fin
module is mounted on an electrical component via the heat sink base
in order to absorb the heat which is generated by the electrical
component. The heat absorbed by the fin module is then dissipated
into the air. These fins are fabricated from a highly conductive
material and formed into distinct sheet elements which are further
assembled into a module by some means of assembly.
[0004] There are many different combinations of the heat
dissipating fin module. One of the combinations is the heat pipe
and heat dissipating fin combination, as illustrated in FIG. 1. The
heat dissipating fins are bored through with one or more holes
while the heat sink base is bored through with the same number of
holes. Further, the heat pipes are forcibly inserted by a machine
into the aforementioned holes of the heat dissipating fins and the
heat sink base in order to assemble the heat sink. The heat
generated by the electrical component is transferred into the heat
sink base via heat conduction, and further transferred into the
heat pipe and forwarded to the heat dissipating fin module where it
is dissipated into the air via heat convection.
[0005] However, the conventional means of combining the heat
dissipating fin module with the heat pipe is through "plugging the
heat pipes directly into the holes bored through the heat
dissipating fin module by utilizing their difference in diameter."
In other words, the inner diameters of the holes of the heat
dissipating fin module are slightly smaller than the exterior
diameter of the heat pipe. Such a method is likely to damage or
distort the heat dissipation fin module though. It is because of
this damage or distortion, which occurs during assembly, that the
tight fit between the heat pipe and the fin module is not optimal.
To remedy this problem, hot solder is injected to fill the gap
between the heat pipe and the fin module. However, remedying the
gaps caused by the forcible insertion through the injection of hot
solder does not greatly enhance performance. Further, the
application of the injection remedy is difficult. Gravity causes
the solder to be distributed unequally; the solder collects at the
bottom of the gap leaving the top of the gap unfilled. Because
there is no solder at the top of the gap, there is no connection at
that location between the heat pipe and the fin module to help
facilitate heat conductivity.
[0006] Another structural configuration of the heat pipe and the
heat dissipating fin module is disclosed in a Taiwan design patent,
No. 506689, a heat dissipating device. This invention includes
several heat dissipating plates with one or more holes bored
through them. The plates are made of a highly conductive material.
There is a circular wall formed around each of the holes. The
circular wall has one or more open slots. The heat conducting
column, which is made of a highly conductive material, has a rod
shape. The heat conducting column is forcibly inserted into the
holes of the heat dissipating plates. This configuration has an
improved tight fit. However, because the heat conducting column is
forcibly inserted into the bored holes, the distortion problem of
the heat dissipating plates still exists. The soldering problem
also still exists when the distortion problem of the heat
dissipating plates is remedied; the hot solder still flows down and
concentrates at the lower semi-circle of the circular wall.
[0007] Yet another variation of the structure of the heat pipe and
the heat dissipating fin module is disclosed in a Taiwan design
patent, No. 491517, a formed structure of heat dissipating fin. The
invention includes a heat pipe and several heat dissipating fins
with holes bored through them. There are conjoining sections which
extend from one side of the bored holes, and narrow slots cut from
the upper portions of the holes and the conjoining sections. The
heat pipe is forcibly inserted into the bored holes and the
conjoining sections of the heat dissipating fins. A third metal
material, such as silver, tin, or copper filament, is inserted into
the narrow slot, and further soldered onto the slot. The heat
dissipating fins are, thereby, combined with the heat pipe.
However, this structure requires the insertion and soldering of the
third metal material. The third metal material cannot thoroughly
flow into the gap which is between the bored hole and the heat
pipe. Because of this, many gaps still remain between the bored
holes and the heat pipe.
BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0008] The present invention is to remedy the poor thermal
connection problem of the conventional art, which is caused by the
forcibly insertion of the heat pipe, and the difficulty of adhesive
applying.
[0009] The heat pipe heat sink provided by the present invention
has a holeless heat dissipating fin module which is not only much
more convenient for manufacturing a heat pipe heat sink, but also
capable of quickly transferring the heat generated by an electrical
component into the heat pipe and uniformly distributing the heat to
each of the heat dissipating fins.
[0010] The heat pipe heat sink includes a heat dissipating fin
module, a heat conducting member, one or more heat pipes installed
on the heat conducting member, and a heat conducting plate which is
thermally connected to the heat conducting member and the
electrical component. The heat pipe is semi-inserted into the
concave trench of the heat conducting member with a portion of its
surface exposed from the concave trench. The end surface of the
heat conducting member with the heat pipe installed thereon is
convenient for application of an adhesive. This convenient
application is achieved because the end surface and the pipe wall
of the heat pipe are exposed outside of the heat dissipating fin
module before any combination takes place.
[0011] The top of the heat conducting plate is attached to the
bottom surface of the heat conducting member, while the bottom of
the heat conducting plate is thermally connected to the top surface
of an electrical component. Via the heat conducting plate, a
uniform heat connection end surface is formed below the heat
conducting member. The heat transferred into the heat conducting
plate has dual routes for simultaneous transfer; heat can be
transferred to the heat dissipating fin module via either the heat
conducting member or the heat pipe. The heat transferred is equally
distributed among the heat dissipating fins of the heat dissipating
fin module for quick dissipation into the surrounding air. The
present invention more efficiently dissipates heat than the
conventional art. The present invention, therefore, enhances the
state of the art.
[0012] These and other objectives of the present invention will
become obvious to those of ordinary skill in the art after reading
the following detailed description of preferred embodiments.
[0013] 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 THE DRAWINGS
[0014] These as well as other features of the present invention
will become more apparent upon reference to the drawings
therein:
[0015] FIG. 1 is a front view of a conventional heat pipe heat
sink.
[0016] FIG. 2 is an exploded view of the heat transferring member
including the conducting member, the heat conducting plate, and the
heat pipe of a heat pipe heat sink of the present invention.
[0017] FIG. 3 is a partial exploded view of a heat pipe heat sink
of the present invention.
[0018] FIG. 4 is a perspective view of a heat pipe heat sink of the
present invention fully combined.
[0019] FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view of a heat pipe heat sink of
the present invention.
[0020] FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view of a heat pipe heat sink
which is placed onto a electrical component.
[0021] FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional view of another embodiment of a
heat pipe heat sink of the present invention.
[0022] FIG. 8 is a cross-sectional view of still another embodiment
of a heat pipe heat sink of the present invention.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
[0023] Reference will now be made in detail to the preferred
embodiments of the present 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.
[0024] Referring to FIGS. 2 through 5, one preferred embodiment of
a heat pipe heat sink of the present invention is shown. The heat
pipe heat sink includes a heat dissipating fin module 1; a heat
conducting member 2 which is combined with the heat dissipating fin
module 1; one or more heat pipes installed on the heat conducting
member 2, which is thermally connected to the heat dissipating fin
module 1; and a heat conducting plate 4 which is thermally
connected to the end surface of the heat conducting member 2.
[0025] The heat dissipating fin module 1, as illustrated in FIG. 3,
is assembled by stacking a plurality of independent heat
dissipating fins 11. The heat dissipating fin module 1 has a
connecting portion 12 concavely formed on one end thereof, which is
utilized to thermally connect the heat dissipating fin module 1 to
the heat conducting member 2 and the heat pipe 3. The connecting
portion 12 is constituted by a plurality of connecting ends 13 of
the heat dissipating fins 11. The connecting end 13 is formed by
bending one edge of the heat dissipating fins 11. Unlike the
conventional heat pipe heat sink, the present invention does not
require that any holes be bored through the heat dissipating fins
11. The present invention is a heat pipe heat sink without any
holes bored through the heat dissipating fin module thereof.
[0026] The heat conducting member 2 is a block shaped structure
composed of a highly conductive material. There is no special limit
regarding the shape of the heat conducting member 2. The only
requirement of the heat conducting member 2 is that its shape fits
with the connecting portion 12 of the heat dissipating fin module
1, and thermally connects the heat connecting member 2 to the heat
conducting plate 4. The trapezoid structure disclosed in FIG. 2 is
only one of the possible structures of the heat conducting member
2. The heat conducting member 2 has a plurality of concave trenches
21 formed on the end surfaces 20 thereof in order to be assembled
with one or more heat pipes 3 by semi-insertion.
[0027] The heat pipe 3 is inserted into a pair of concave trenches
21 of the heat conducting member 2. The pipe body 30 of the heat
pipe 3 is embedded inside the concave trench 21, while the planar
pipe wall 31 of the heat pipe 3 is exposed outside and coplanar
with the end surface 20 of the heat conducting member 2.
[0028] The heat conducting plate 4 is constructed from a highly
conductive plate material. The heat conducting plate 4 includes an
upper surface 41 and a lower surface 42. The upper surface 41 of
the heat conducting plate 4 is attached to the bottom surface of
the heat conducting member 2, and is thermally connected to the
planar pipe walls 31 of the heat pipe 2. The preferred thermal
connection is a high fitness surface contact connection, as
illustrated in FIG. 3 and FIG. 4. Thereby, a regular heat
connection end surface is formed below the heat conducting member
2. The lower surface 42 of the heat conducting plate 4 is thermally
connected to the top surface of an electrical component 5. Via the
heat conducting plate 4, the heat which is generated by the
electrical component 5 can quickly be transferred into the heat
pipe 3 and uniformly distributed to each of the heat dissipating
fins 11.
[0029] FIGS. 3 through 6 illustrate the assembling of the
aforementioned members and the thermal connection which is utilized
by the heat pipe heat sink. The heat pipe 3 is semi-inserted into
the concave trenches 21 of the heat conducting member 2 as shown in
FIG. 3. The planar pipe wall 31 of the heat pipe 3 is coplanar with
the end surface 20 of the heat conducting member 2. Thereby, the
conducting member 2 has one or more regular planar end surfaces
with the heat pipe 3 installed thereon. The end surface 20 of the
heat conducting member 2 with the heat pipe 3 installed thereon
provides for convenient application of an adhesive such as tin
solder. This convenient application is achieved because the end
surface 20 and the planar pipe wall 31 of the heat pipe 3 are
exposed outside of the heat dissipating fin module 1 before any
combination takes place. The present invention is much more
convenient for manufacturing a heat pipe heat sink when compared to
the conventional art which can only inject the adhesive from the
edge of the heat sink.
[0030] The planar end surface of heat conducting member 2 installed
with the heat pipe 3 is correspondingly assembled and thermally
connected to the connecting portion 12 of the heat dissipating fin
module 1. The combination of the planar pipe wall 31 of the heat
pipe 3 and the connecting portion 12 of the heat dissipating fin
module 1 is, therefore, a high fitness multi-areas contact
combination as illustrated in FIGS. 4 and 5. It is unnecessary for
the present invention to use a machine to forcibly insert the heat
pipe into the heat dissipating fin and the heat conducting member.
The cost of manufacturing a heat pipe heat sink is reduced.
Further, the heat conducting member 2 is thermally connected to the
electrical component 5 by utilizing the heat conducting plate 4
which is placed thereon, as is illustrated in FIG. 6. The heat
transferred into the heat conducting plate 4 has dual routes for
simultaneous transfer; heat can be transferred to the heat
dissipating fin module via either the heat conducting member 2 or
the heat pipe 3. The heat transferred is equally distributed among
the heat dissipating fins 11 of the heat dissipating fin module 1
for quick dissipation into the surrounding air. The present
invention more efficiently dissipates heat than the conventional
art. The present invention, therefore, enhances the state of the
art.
[0031] Referring to FIG. 7, another embodiment of a heat pipe heat
sink of the present invention is shown. The members making up the
heat pipe heat sink are similar to those of the aforementioned
embodiment. The heat pipe heat sink includes a heat dissipating fin
module 1; a heat conducting member 2 which is combined with the
heat dissipating fin module 1; one or more heat pipes installed on
the heat conducting member 2, which is thermally connected to the
heat dissipating fin module 1; and a heat conducting plate 4 which
is thermally connected to the end surface of the heat conducting
member 2. The major difference between this embodiment and the
former one is the configurations of the connecting portion 12 of
the heat dissipating fin module 1 and the heat pipe 3. The heat
dissipating fin 11 of this embodiment has one or more concave
portions 14 formed on the bottom thereof, while a portion of the
heat pipe 3 has a cylindrical shape. The concave portion 14 fits
with the pipe wall 31 of the heat pipe 3 exposed above the concave
trench 21. The pipe wall 31 exposed above the trench 21 is
thermally connected to the concave portion 14 of the heat
dissipating fin 11. This embodiment is capable of achieving the
same effects of the mentioned embodiment including a high fitness
multi-areas contact thermal connection and a better heat
dissipating efficiency.
[0032] In aforementioned embodiments, because the heat pipe 3 has a
plane bottom, the combination of the heat conducting member 2 and
the heat conducting plate 4 is a planar surface attachment. In
another embodiment the heat pipe 3 may has a cylindrical shape,
while the heat conducting plate 4 may accordingly change the shape
thereof. Referring to FIG. 8, one or more concave trenches 43 is
cut from the top surface 41 of the heat conducting plate 4 in order
to fit with the shape of the heat pipe 3. The amount and the
location of the concave trenches 43 are corresponding to those of
the concave trenches 21 of the heat conducting member 2. Via the
concave trenches 43, the heat conducting plate 4 is thermal
connected to the heat pipe 3. The heat generated by the electrical
component 5 can quickly be transferred into the heat pipe 3 and
uniformly distributed to each of the heat dissipating fins 11. The
embodiment is also capable of achieving a high fitness area contact
thermal connection and a better heat dissipating efficiency.
* * * * *