U.S. patent application number 11/111066 was filed with the patent office on 2006-10-26 for air mover with thermally coupled guide vanes.
Invention is credited to Christian L. Belady, David Allen Moore, Eric C. Peterson, Wade D. Vinson.
Application Number | 20060237168 11/111066 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 37185645 |
Filed Date | 2006-10-26 |
United States Patent
Application |
20060237168 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Belady; Christian L. ; et
al. |
October 26, 2006 |
Air mover with thermally coupled guide vanes
Abstract
An air mover comprising a housing and a plurality of blades
rotatably disposed within the housing. A plurality of guide vanes
are fixed within the housing. The guide vanes are thermally coupled
to an electronic component such that heat generated by the
electronic component is transferred through the guide vanes into an
airflow generated by rotating the blades.
Inventors: |
Belady; Christian L.;
(McKinney, TX) ; Vinson; Wade D.; (Magnolia,
TX) ; Peterson; Eric C.; (McKinney, TX) ;
Moore; David Allen; (Tomball, TX) |
Correspondence
Address: |
HEWLETT PACKARD COMPANY
P O BOX 272400, 3404 E. HARMONY ROAD
INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY ADMINISTRATION
FORT COLLINS
CO
80527-2400
US
|
Family ID: |
37185645 |
Appl. No.: |
11/111066 |
Filed: |
April 21, 2005 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
165/104.33 ;
257/E23.088; 257/E23.098; 257/E23.099 |
Current CPC
Class: |
F28D 2021/0029 20130101;
H01L 2924/0002 20130101; H01L 2924/00 20130101; H01L 23/467
20130101; H01L 2924/0002 20130101; H01L 23/427 20130101; H01L
23/473 20130101; F28F 2250/08 20130101; F28D 15/0266 20130101; F28F
1/14 20130101; F28D 15/02 20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
165/104.33 |
International
Class: |
F28D 15/00 20060101
F28D015/00 |
Claims
1. An air mover comprising: a housing; a plurality of blades
rotatably disposed within said housing; and a plurality of guide
vanes fixed within said housing, wherein said guide vanes are
thermally coupled to an electronic component such that heat
generated by the electronic component is transferred through said
guide vanes into an airflow generated by rotating said plurality of
blades.
2. The air mover of claim 1 further comprising a heat transfer
element that thermally couples said guide vanes to the electronic
component.
3. The air mover of claim 2 wherein said heat transfer element
comprises a heat pipe.
4. The air mover of claim 2 wherein said heat transfer element
comprises a fluid loop.
5. The air mover of claim 2 wherein said heat transfer element is
integrated into said housing proximate to said plurality of guide
vanes.
6. The air mover of claim 1 wherein said housing is directly
coupled to the electronic component.
7. The air mover of claim 1 further comprising a heat sink coupled
to said housing.
8. The air mover of claim 7 wherein said heat sink comprises a
plurality of fins protruding radially from a center portion.
9. The air mover of claim 1 wherein said plurality of blades are
removable from said plurality of guide vanes.
10. A computer assembly comprising: a electronic component that
generates heat; an air mover comprising a stator housing and a
rotor housing, wherein the stator housing is thermally coupled to
said electronic component; a plurality of rotating blades disposed
within the rotor housing; a motor coupled to said plurality of
rotating blades, wherein said motor is disposed within the rotor
housing; a plurality of stationary guide vanes disposed within the
stator housing such that an airflow generated by said rotating
blades passes across said guide vanes.
11. The computer assembly of claim 10 wherein the rotor housing of
said air mover is detachable from the stator housing of said air
mover.
12. The computer assembly of claim 10 further comprising a heat
transfer element that thermally couples the stator housing of said
air mover to said electronic component.
13. The computer assembly of claim 10 wherein the stator housing of
said air mover is directly coupled to said electronic
component.
14. The computer assembly of claim 10 wherein the stator housing of
said air mover further comprises integral heat transfer
elements.
15. The computer assembly of claim 14 wherein said heat transfer
elements comprise a fluid loop.
16. The computer assembly of claim 14 wherein said heat transfer
elements comprise a heat pipe.
17. A heat transfer method comprising: thermally coupling a
plurality of stationary guide vanes to a heat generating component;
rotating a plurality of blades so as to generate an airflow; and
passing the airflow across the plurality of stationary guide vanes
so as to straighten the airflow and transfer heat from the
stationary guide vanes into the airflow.
18. The heat transfer method of claim 17 wherein the stationary
guide vanes are thermally coupled to the heat generating component
by a heat pipe.
19. The heat transfer method of claim 17 further comprising passing
the airflow over a heat sink comprising a plurality of fins
protruding radially from a center portion that is thermally coupled
to a heat source.
20. The heat transfer method of claim 17 wherein the plurality of
stationary guide vanes are disposed within a housing that is
directly coupled to the heat generating component.
Description
BACKGROUND
[0001] Computer systems include numerous electrical components that
draw electrical current to perform their intended functions. For
example, a computer's microprocessor or central processing unit
("CPU") requires electrical current to perform many functions such
as controlling the overall operations of the computer system and
performing various numerical calculations. Generally, any
electrical device through which electrical current flows produces
heat. The amount of heat any one device generates generally is a
function of the amount of current flowing through the device.
[0002] Typically, an electrical device is designed to operate
correctly within a predetermined temperature range. If the
temperature exceeds the predetermined range (i.e., the device
becomes too hot or too cold), the device may not function
correctly, thereby potentially degrading the overall performance of
the computer system. Thus, many computer systems include cooling
systems to regulate the temperature of their electrical components.
One type of cooling system is a forced air system that relies on
one or more air movers to blow air over the electronic components
in order to cool the components.
[0003] In many applications, the air movers are positioned near the
front or rear of a server chassis and either push or pull air
through the chassis. Although effective, as the amount of heat
generated by the electronic devices increases the volume of air
that is needed for cooling increases. In certain applications, such
as high density servers, there is limited free space within the
chassis for large fans or for the flow of large volumes of air.
Therefore, cooling systems for these applications need to be
compact and capable of generating high rates of flow.
BRIEF SUMMARY
[0004] The problems noted above are solved in large part by an air
mover comprising a housing and a plurality of blades rotatably
disposed within the housing. A plurality of guide vanes are fixed
within the housing. The guide vanes are thermally coupled to an
electronic component such that heat generated by the electronic
component is transferred through the guide vanes into an airflow
generated by rotating the blades.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0005] For a detailed description of exemplary embodiments of the
invention, reference will now be made to the accompanying drawings
in which:
[0006] FIG. 1 shows a partial section view of an air mover
constructed in accordance with embodiments of the invention;
[0007] FIG. 2 shows a cross-sectional view of an air mover
constructed in accordance with embodiments of the invention;
[0008] FIG. 3 shows a cross-sectional view of a heat source coupled
to an air mover constructed in accordance with embodiments of the
invention;
[0009] FIG. 4 shows a cross-sectional view of heat transfer
elements integrated into an air mover constructed in accordance
with embodiments of the invention;
[0010] FIG. 5 shows a cross-sectional view of a heat source
directly coupled to an air mover constructed in accordance with
embodiments of the invention;
[0011] FIG. 6 shows a cross-sectional view of heat source directly
coupled to heat transfer elements integrated into an air mover
constructed in accordance with embodiments of the invention;
[0012] FIG. 7 shows a cross-sectional view of the air mover of FIG.
6;
[0013] FIGS. 8 and 9 show a cross-sectional view of a two-part air
mover constructed in accordance with embodiments of the
invention;
[0014] FIG. 10 shows a cross-sectional view of a heat sink coupled
to an air mover constructed in accordance with embodiments of the
invention; and
[0015] FIG. 11 shows an end view of the heat sink of FIG. 10.
NOTATION AND NOMENCLATURE
[0016] Certain terms are used throughout the following description
and claims to refer to particular system components. As one skilled
in the art will appreciate, computer companies may refer to a
component by different names. This document does not intend to
distinguish between components that differ in name but not
function. In the following discussion and in the claims, the terms
"including" and "comprising" are used in an open-ended fashion, and
thus should be interpreted to mean "including, but not limited to .
. . ." Also, the term "couple" or "couples" is intended to mean
either an indirect or direct connection. Thus, if a first device
couples to a second device, that connection may be through a direct
connection, or through an indirect connection via other devices and
connections.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
[0017] The following discussion is directed to various embodiments
of the invention. Although one or more of these embodiments may be
preferred, the embodiments disclosed should not be interpreted, or
otherwise used, as limiting the scope of the disclosure, including
the claims. In addition, one skilled in the art will understand
that the following description has broad application, and the
discussion of any embodiment is meant only to be exemplary of that
embodiment, and not intended to intimate that the scope of the
disclosure, including the claims, is limited to that
embodiment.
[0018] Referring now to FIG. 1, air mover 10 comprises cylindrical
housing 12 surrounding rotating blades 14, stationary guide vanes
16, and motor 18. Motor 18 rotates blades 14 to draw air from inlet
13. The airflow generated by rotating blades 14 is straightened as
it moves over stationary guide vanes 16 and travels through exhaust
15 as a primarily axial airflow. Stationary guide vanes 16 reduce
disturbances in the airflow as it leaves rotating blades 14. This
reduction in disturbances results in higher pressures, increased
efficiency, and lower noise levels.
[0019] Referring now to FIG. 2, a cross-sectional view of an air
mover 20 comprising cylindrical housing 22 surrounding rotating
blades 24, stationary guide vanes 26, and motor 28. Stationary
guide vanes 26 are constructed from a heat-conductive material so
as to act as a heat sink when thermally coupled to a heat source.
Stationary guide vanes 26 may be constructed from a highly
conductive metal, such as copper, or from some other highly
conductive material.
[0020] As the highly turbulent airflow generated by rotating blades
24 passes over stationary guide vanes 26, heat is transferred
between the stationary guide vanes and the airflow. The amount of
heat that can be transferred into the airflow is dependent on
properties of the air and the velocity of the airflow. The highly
turbulent airflow that passes over stationary guide vanes 26 has a
high heat transfer coefficient. Therefore, the airflow can
effectively remove large amounts of heat from stationary guide
vanes 26. Air mover 20 may comprise a large number of stationary
guide vanes 26 having a considerable surface area. In some
applications, the heat transfer provided by stationary guide vanes
26 may be used to supplement or eliminate other heat transfer
components.
[0021] In order to improve performance, the stationary guide vanes
of the air mover are thermally coupled to a heat source, such as an
electronic device. For example, FIG. 3 illustrates an air mover 30
comprising stationary guide vanes 32 constructed from a
heat-conductive material. Air mover 30 also comprises one or more
heat pipes 34 that thermally couple stationary guide vanes 32 to a
heat-generating electronic component 36. Heat produced by
electronic component 36 is transferred through heat pipes 34 to the
portion of air mover 30 comprising stationary guide vanes 32. Heat
pipes 34 may circumferentially surround the outer surface of air
mover 30. Multiple heat pipes 34 may thermally couple air mover 30
to a plurality of electronic components 36, and other heat sources,
located throughout an electronic system.
[0022] In certain embodiments, the portion of an air mover
containing the stationary guide vanes, known as a stator section,
may be a molded component including heat transfer elements, such as
heat pipes or a coolant loop. The heat transfer elements can be
positioned and the stator section molded over them. The mold
compound may be a material with a high thermal conductivity, such
as a graphite, or carbon fiber, filled plastic molding compound, or
a powder metallurgy metallic material. By molding the stator
section directly onto heat transfer elements, a very good thermally
conductive path to the stationary guide vanes can be achieved. In
other embodiments, a metal sleeve may be placed directly over
housing. A highly conductive grease or other material may enhance
the heat transfer between the housing and an external sleeve. FIG.
4 illustrates an air mover 40 comprising stationary guide vanes 42
constructed from a heat-conductive material. Air mover 40 also
comprises integrated heat transfer elements 44 that thermally
couple stationary guide vanes 42 to one or more heat-generating
electronic components 46.
[0023] In some embodiments, a heat-conductive air mover may be
directly coupled to an electronic component. FIG. 5 illustrates an
air mover 50 comprising stationary guide vanes 52 constructed from
a heat-conductive material. Air mover 50 is directly coupled to a
heat-generating electronic component 54. Heat generated by
electronic component 54 is directly transferred into air mover 50
and dissipated to the airflow through stationary guide vanes 52 as
the highly turbulent airflow passes over the stationary guide
vanes. In certain embodiments, stationary guide vanes 52 may
comprise sufficient surface area to provide all of the cooling
needed for the electronic component. A highly conductive grease, or
other material, may be disposed between and enhance the heat
transfer between air mover 50 and electronic component 54.
[0024] To more evenly distribute the heat generated by a
directly-coupled electronic component, an air mover may further
comprise integral heat transfer elements to distribute the heat
around the air mover. FIGS. 6 and 7 illustrate an air mover 60
comprising stationary guide vanes 62 constructed from a
heat-conductive material. Air mover 60 is directly coupled to a
heat-generating electronic component 64. Heat transfer elements 66
are provided to further increase overall heat transfer by
distributing heat from electronic component 64 circumferentially
around stationary guide vanes 62. Heat transfer elements 66 may be
heat pipes, liquid-filled loops, or other heat transfer
systems.
[0025] In selected applications, it may be desirable to be able to
remove and maintain certain components of an air mover without
interrupting the thermal coupling between an electronic component
and the air mover. The components of an air mover that require the
most routine maintenance are the moving parts, namely the rotating
blades and the motor. FIGS. 8 and 9 show an air mover 80 comprising
a removable rotor housing 82 and a fixed stator housing 84. Rotor
housing 82 comprises intake housing 86, rotating blades 88, and
motor 90. Stator housing 84 comprises exhaust housing 92,
stationary guide vanes 94, and receptacle 96. Receptacle 96 is
operable to receive motor 90 and provide for alignment between the
rotor housing 82 and stator housing 84. Quick disconnect electrical
and mechanical connectors provide attachment between rotor housing
82 and stator housing 84 while allowing easy removal and
replacement of rotor housing 82. In certain embodiments, stator
housing 84 may comprise a damper assembly to prevent reverse flow
when rotor housing 82 is removed.
[0026] In some applications, the heat transfer capacity of the
stationary fins may not be sufficient for all of the cooling needs
of a system. In these applications, the airflow into or out of the
air mover can be further utilized as a heat transfer medium. FIGS.
10 and 11 show an air mover 100 comprising an external, radial heat
sink 110. Air mover 100 comprises cylindrical housing 102
surrounding rotating blades 104, stationary guide vanes 106, and
motor 108. Radial heat sink 110 comprises center portion 112 and
radial fins 114. Radial heat sink 110 is disposed adjacent to the
exhaust end of housing 102. A heat pipe or liquid cooling radiator
tube may be disposed within center portion 112.
[0027] Heat enters center portion 112 through the heat pipe or
liquid cooling system that is thermally coupled to a heat source,
such as a microprocessor or other electronic device. Heat is
rejected from fins 114 into the air moving through air mover 100.
Heat sink 110 can be placed at either the inlet or exhaust of an
air mover. In certain embodiments, heat sink 110 can be combined
with ductwork that improves the flow of air over the radial-finned
heat sink. In other embodiments, heat may be transferred to fins
114 from their outer diameter in addition to, or alternatively to,
heat from center portion 112.
[0028] The above discussion is meant to be illustrative of the
principles and various embodiments of the present invention.
Numerous variations and modifications will become apparent to those
skilled in the art once the above disclosure is fully appreciated.
For example, air movers of different sizes, shapes, and
configurations may utilize the principles of the present invention.
It is intended that the following claims be interpreted to embrace
all such variations and modifications.
* * * * *