U.S. patent application number 11/370911 was filed with the patent office on 2007-03-15 for passive heat-dissipating fan system and electronic system containing the same.
This patent application is currently assigned to DELTA ELECTRONICS, INC.. Invention is credited to Shun-Chen Chang, Chia-Ming Hsu, Wen-Shi Huang.
Application Number | 20070056293 11/370911 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 37832742 |
Filed Date | 2007-03-15 |
United States Patent
Application |
20070056293 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Chang; Shun-Chen ; et
al. |
March 15, 2007 |
Passive heat-dissipating fan system and electronic system
containing the same
Abstract
A passive heat-dissipating fan system comprises an air-providing
device, a cold-end passive heat-dissipating assembly, a hot-end
passive heat-dissipating assembly, a separation device capable of
guiding airflow to the cold-end and hot-end passive
heat-dissipating assemblies, and a cooling device which is disposed
in the separation device and has cold and hot ends. When the
airflow from the air-providing device passes through the separation
device and cooling device, airflow from the air-providing device is
separated and then partially directed to the cold-end passive
heat-dissipating assembly and partially directed to the hot-end
passive heat-dissipating assembly respectively, expelling the
heated airflow to an exterior of an electronic system. Because the
temperature of the airflow passing through the cold-end passive
heat-dissipating assembly is higher than that of dew point of air,
the airflow passing through the cold-end passive heat-dissipating
assembly can dissipate the heat generated by an electronic element
without producing dew.
Inventors: |
Chang; Shun-Chen; (Taoyuan
Hsien, TW) ; Hsu; Chia-Ming; (Taoyuan Hsien, TW)
; Huang; Wen-Shi; (Taoyuan Hsien, TW) |
Correspondence
Address: |
BIRCH STEWART KOLASCH & BIRCH
PO BOX 747
FALLS CHURCH
VA
22040-0747
US
|
Assignee: |
DELTA ELECTRONICS, INC.
|
Family ID: |
37832742 |
Appl. No.: |
11/370911 |
Filed: |
March 9, 2006 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
62/3.2 ;
257/E23.099; 62/426; 62/6 |
Current CPC
Class: |
F25B 47/006 20130101;
H01L 2924/0002 20130101; F25B 21/02 20130101; H01L 2924/00
20130101; F25B 2321/0251 20130101; H01L 2924/0002 20130101; H01L
23/467 20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
062/003.2 ;
062/006; 062/426 |
International
Class: |
F25B 21/02 20060101
F25B021/02; F25B 9/00 20060101 F25B009/00; F25D 17/06 20060101
F25D017/06 |
Foreign Application Data
Date |
Code |
Application Number |
Sep 9, 2005 |
TW |
94130973 |
Claims
1. A passive heat-dissipating fan system, comprising: an
air-providing device; a cold-hot separation assembly connected to
the air-providing device; at least one hot-end passive
heat-dissipating assembly connected to the cold-hot separation
assembly; and at least one cold-end passive heat-dissipating
assembly connected to the cold-hot separation assembly, wherein
when an airflow from the air-providing device passes through the
cold-hot separation assembly, the airflow is separated, and
directed to the cold-end passive heat-dissipating assembly and the
hot-end passive heat-dissipating assembly, respectively.
2. The passive heat-dissipating fan system as claimed in claim 1,
wherein the air-providing device comprises an active fan and an
air-providing pipe connected to the active fan, and the active fan
comprises an axial fan or a centrifugal fan.
3. The passive heat-dissipating fan system as claimed in claim 1,
wherein the cold-hot separation assembly comprises a separation
device having a separation element therein and a cooling device
having a cold end and a hot end, wherein the cooling device is
connected to the separation element and the cold and hot ends are
respectively disposed on both sides of the separation element, and
a hot-end chamber and a cold-end chamber are defined in the
separation device by the separation element and the cooling device,
wherein the hot end of the cooling device is disposed in the
hot-end chamber and the cold end of the cooling device is disposed
in the cold-end chamber.
4. The passive heat-dissipating fan system as claimed in claim 3,
wherein the cooling device comprises a thermal electric cooler or a
thermoacoustic cooler.
5. The passive heat-dissipating fan system as claimed in claim 3,
wherein the hot-end passive heat-dissipating assembly is connected
to the hot-end chamber, and the cold-end passive heat-dissipating
assembly is connected to the cold-end chamber.
6. The passive heat-dissipating fan system as claimed in claim 5,
wherein the hot-end passive heat-dissipating assembly comprises a
hot-end pipe and a hot-end passive fan, and the hot-end pipe has
two ends connected to the hot-end chamber and the hot-end passive
fan, respectively.
7. The passive heat-dissipating fan system as claimed in claim 6,
wherein the hot-end passive fan comprises a motor-free axial fan or
a motor-free centrifugal fan.
8. The passive heat-dissipating fan system as claimed in claim 5,
wherein the cold-end passive heat-dissipating assembly comprises a
cold-end pipe and a cold-end passive fan, wherein the cold-end pipe
has two ends connected to the cold-end chamber and the cold-end
passive fan, respectively.
9. The passive heat-dissipating fan system as claimed in claim 8,
wherein the cold-end passive fan comprises a motor-free axial fan
or a motor-free centrifugal fan.
10. The passive heat-dissipating fan system as claimed in claim 3
further comprising a hot-end fin structure disposed on a surface of
the hot end of the cooling device.
11. The passive heat-dissipating fan system as claimed in claim 3
further comprising a cold-end fin structure disposed on a surface
of the cold end of the cooling device.
12. An electronic system with a passive heat-dissipating fan
system, comprising: a housing; an air-providing device disposed in
the housing; a cold-hot separation assembly connected to the
air-providing device; at least one hot-end passive heat-dissipating
assembly connected to the cold-hot separation assembly; and at
least one cold-end passive heat-dissipating assembly connected to
the cold-hot separation assembly; and at least one electronic
element corresponding to the cold-end passive heat-dissipating
assembly, wherein when an airflow from the air-providing device
passes through the cold-hot separation assembly, the airflow is
separated, and then partially directed to the cold-end passive
heat-dissipating assembly and partially directed to the hot-end
passive heat-dissipating assembly.
13. The electronic system as claimed in claim 12, wherein the
hot-end passive heat-dissipating assembly comprises a hot-end pipe
and a hot-end passive fan, wherein the hot-end pipe has two ends
connected to the cold-hot separation assembly and the hot-end
passive fan, respectively; and the cold-end passive
heat-dissipating assembly comprises a cold-end pipe and a cold-end
passive fan, wherein the cold-end pipe has two ends connected to
the cold-hot separation assembly and the cold-end passive fan,
respectively.
14. The electronic system as claimed in claim 13, wherein the
hot-end passive fan comprises a motor-free axial fan or a
motor-free centrifugal fan, and the cold-end passive fan comprises
a motor-free axial fan or a motor-free centrifugal fan.
15. The electronic system as claimed in claim 12, wherein the
air-providing device comprises an active fan and an air-providing
pipe connected to the active fan, and the active fan comprises an
axial fan or a centrifugal fan.
16. The electronic system as claimed in claim 12, wherein the
cold-hot separation assembly comprises a separation device having a
separation element therein and a cooling device having a cold end
and a hot end, wherein the cooling device is connected to the
separation element and the cold and hot ends are respectively
disposed on both sides of the separation element, and a hot-end
chamber and a cold-end chamber are defined in the separation device
by the separation element and the cooling device, wherein the hot
end of the cooling device is disposed in the hot-end chamber and
the cold end of the cooling device is disposed in the cold-end
chamber.
17. The electronic system as claimed in claim 16, wherein the
cooling device comprises a thermal electric cooler or a
thermoacoustic cooler.
18. The electronic system as claimed in claim 16, wherein the
hot-end passive heat-dissipating assembly is connected to the
hot-end chamber, and the cold-end passive heat-dissipating assembly
is connected to the cold-end chamber.
19. The electronic system as claimed in claim 16 further comprising
a hot-end fin structure disposed on a surface of the hot end of the
cooling device, and a cold-end fin structure disposed on a surface
of the cold end of the cooling device.
20. The electronic system as claimed in claim 12 further comprising
a fin structure disposed on a surface of the electronic element.
Description
BACKGROUND
[0001] The invention relates to a passive heat-dissipating fan
system, and in particular to a passive heat-dissipating fan system
having a cooling device with a cold end and a hot end, and using a
separation device to direct airflow to the cold end and the hot end
of the cooling device to dissipate heat from a heat source and
expel waste heat in an electronic system.
[0002] In general, a fan comprises an impeller and a motor
connected to the impeller. The motor is actuated by an electric
power system to rotate the impeller to generate airflow to
dissipate heat from a heat source. The number of the fans depends
on the sites of heat sources located in an electronic system. Thus,
when more heat sources are located at different sites in the
electronic system, more motors and power are necessarily
increased.
[0003] In FIG. 1, an electronic system 1 comprises an electronic
element 2 (e.g. a processor), a cooling device 3 (e.g. a thermal
electric cooler or a thermoacoustic cooler) disposed on the
electronic element 2, and a fin structure 33 disposed on the
cooling device 3. The cooling device 3 has two ends 31 and 32
contacting the electronic element 2 and the fin structure 33,
respectively. When the cooling device 3 is actuated by an electric
power system (not shown), the end 31 of the cooling device 3
becomes a cold end, absorbing heat from the heated electronic
element 2 and transferring heat toward the end 32 of the cooling
device 3, and the end 32 of the cooling device 3 becomes a hot end,
transferring heat to the fin structure 33. When heat is dissipated
from the fin structure 33, the waste heat still exists in the
electronic system 1, which increases the working temperature and is
easy to result in failure or malfunction of the electronic element
2 or other elements in the electronic system 1. On the other hand,
when the temperature thereof decreases to the dew point or lower,
water drops begin to condense on the cold end 31 of the cooling
device 3; thus, the electronic element 2 and other elements may be
damaged.
[0004] To overcome the described problem, the invention provides a
passive heat-dissipating fan system to quickly dissipate heat from
electronic components of the electronic system and expel waste heat
to the exterior environment.
SUMMARY
[0005] The invention provides a passive heat-dissipating fan system
for dissipating heat from electronic components to the exterior
environment. The passive heat-dissipating fan system comprises an
air-providing device, a cold-hot separation assembly connected to
the air-providing device, at least one hot-end passive
heat-dissipating assembly connected to the cold-hot separation
assembly, and at least one cold-end passive heat-dissipating
assembly connected to the cold-hot separation assembly. When the
airflow from the air-providing device passes through the cold-hot
separation assembly, airflow from the air-providing device is
separated and partially directed to the cold-end passive
heat-dissipating assembly and partially directed to the hot-end
passive heat-dissipating assembly.
[0006] The air-providing device comprises an active fan and an
air-providing pipe connected to the active fan. The cold-hot
separation assembly comprises a separation device having a
separation element therein and a cooling device with a cold end and
a hot end. The cooling device is connected to the separation
element and the cold and hot ends are respectively disposed on both
sides of the separation element. A hot-end chamber and a cold-end
chamber are defined in the separation device by the separation
element and the cooling device, wherein the hot end of the cooling
device is disposed in the hot-end chamber and the cold end of the
cooling device is disposed in the cold-end chamber. The hot-end
passive heat-dissipating assembly is connected to the hot-end
chamber, and the cold-end passive heat-dissipating assembly is
connected to the cold-end chamber. The hot-end passive
heat-dissipating assembly comprises a hot-end pipe and a hot-end
passive fan, and the hot-end pipe has two ends connected to the
hot-end chamber and the hot-end passive fan, respectively. The
cold-end passive heat-dissipating assembly comprises a cold-end
pipe and a cold-end passive fan. The cold-end pipe has two ends
connected to the cold-end chamber and the cold-end passive fan,
respectively.
[0007] The heat dissipated from the cooling device is carried away
by the airflow traveling to the hot-end dissipating assembly and is
expelled to the exterior of the electronic system by the hot-end
pipe. The high-temperature airflow can further rotate the hot-end
passive fan; thus the airflow circulation in the electronic system
can be increased.
[0008] The airflow passing through the cold-end chamber has lower
temperature and travels to the cold-end dissipating assembly to
dissipate heat from a heat source.
DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0009] The invention can be more fully understood by reading the
subsequent detailed description and examples with references made
to the accompanying drawings, wherein:
[0010] FIG. 1 is a schematic view of an electronic system equipped
with a conventional dissipating device.
[0011] FIG. 2 is a schematic view of an electronic system equipped
with a passive heat-dissipating fan system of the invention.
[0012] FIG. 3 is a partially enlarged perspective view of the
passive heat-dissipating fan system of the invention.
[0013] FIG. 4 is a side view of FIG. 3.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
[0014] In FIG. 2, an electronic system 1 of the invention comprises
a housing 100 and a passive heat-dissipating fan system 4 disposed
in the housing 100, at least one electronic element 2' disposed in
the housing 100, and at least one fin structure 21 disposed on one
surface of the electronic element 2'. The passive heat-dissipating
fan system 4 comprises an air-providing device 41 disposed on one
side of the housing 100, a separation device 42 (shown by dotted
circle) connected to the air-providing device 41, at least one
cold-end passive heat-dissipating assembly 43 connected to one side
of the separation device 42, at least one hot-end passive
heat-dissipating assembly 44 connected to one side of the
separation device 42, a cooling device 45 disposed in the
separation device 42 (shown in FIG. 4). In this embodiment, two
cold-end passive heat-dissipating assemblies 43 and one hot-end
passive heat-dissipating assembly 44 are disclosed.
[0015] The air-providing device 41 comprises an active fan 411 and
an air-providing pipe 412 connected to the active fan 411. The
active fan 411, e.g. an axial fan or a centrifugal fan, can be
driven to rotate by a power supplier. High pressure airflow
generated by the active fan 411 is transmitted to the cooling
device 45 disposed in the separation device 42 via the
air-providing pipe 412.
[0016] In FIGS. 3 and 4, the separation device 42 comprises a
separation element 421 therein. The cooling device 45 has a cold
end 450c and a hot end 450h disposed on both sides of the
separation element 421, respectively. In this embodiment, the
cooling device 45 is a heat dissipation device, e.g., a thermal
electric cooler or a thermoacoustic cooler, using the cold-hot
separation technique to dissipate heat. A hot-end fin structure 451
and a cold-end fin structure 452 are disposed on the surfaces of
the hot and cold ends 450h and 450c of the cooling device 45,
respectively. By connecting the cooling device 45 to the separation
element 421, the cold and hot ends 450c and 450h are respectively
disposed on both sides of the separation element 421; thus, a
hot-end chamber 422 and a cold-end chamber 423 can be defined in
the separation device 42 by the separation element 421 and the
cooling device 45.
[0017] In FIG. 2, the cold-end passive heat-dissipating assembly 43
comprises a cold-end pipe 431 and a cold-end passive fan 432. The
cold-end pipe 431 has two ends connected to the cold-end chamber
423 and the cold-end passive fan 432, respectively. The cold-end
passive fan 432 can be a motor-free axial fan or a motor-free
centrifugal fan disposed on the fin structure 21. Alternatively,
the cold-end passive fan 432 can directly blow the electronic
element 2'.
[0018] The hot-end passive heat-dissipating assembly 44 comprises a
hot-end pipe 441 and a hot-end passive fan 442. The hot-end pipe
441 has two ends connected to the hot-end chamber 422 and the
hot-end passive fan 442, respectively. The hot-end passive fan 442
can be a motor-free axial fan or a motor-free centrifugal fan
disposed on one side of the housing 100 to expel the waste heat
from the hot-end chamber 422 to the exterior.
[0019] When the air-providing device 41 operates, air is drawn into
the interior of the housing 100 by the air-providing device 41 and
pressurized. The pressurized air is transmitted to the cooling
device 45 disposed in the separation device 42 via the
air-providing pipe 412. Because the hot-end chamber 422 and the
cold-end chamber 423 defined in the separation device 42 are formed
by the separation element 421 and the cooling device 45, the
pressurized air is substantially divided into two parts: one part
passes through the hot-end fin structure 451 disposed on the hot
end 450h and enters the hot-end chamber 422, and the other part
passes through the cold-end fin structure 452 disposed on the cold
end 450c of the cooling device 45 and enters the cold-end chamber
423. The pressurized air passing through the hot-end chamber 422
has higher temperature and is transmitted via the hot-end pipe 441
to drive the hot-end passive fan 442. The pressurized air passing
through the cold-end chamber 423 has lower temperature and is
transmitted via the cold-end pipe 431 to drive the cold-end passive
fan 432.
[0020] The waste heat from the cooling device 45 is carried away by
the airflow which passes through the hot-end fin structure 451 and
exhausted to the exterior of the electronic system 1 by the hot-end
passive fan 442. Moreover, the high-temperature airflow can further
rotate the hot-end passive fan 442, and thus the airflow
circulation in the housing 100 can be increased. The
low-temperature airflow passing through the cold-end fin structure
452 flows toward the fin structure 21 disposed on the electronic
element 2' via the cold-end passive fan 432; thus, heat from the
electronic element 2' can be rapidly dissipated. Due to the low
temperature airflow passing through the dissipating fin structure
21 being higher than that of the cold end 450c of the cooling
device 45, phenomenon such as dew accumulation can be
prevented.
[0021] While the invention has been described with respect to
preferred embodiment, it is to be understood that the invention is
not limited thereto, but, on the contrary, is intended to
accommodate various modifications and equivalent arrangements
included within the spirit and scope of the appended claims.
* * * * *