U.S. patent application number 12/170613 was filed with the patent office on 2009-09-10 for panel heat-dissipating device.
Invention is credited to Chieh-Ping Chen, I-Ying Lee, George Anthony Meyer, IV, Chien-Hung Sun.
Application Number | 20090223651 12/170613 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 41052399 |
Filed Date | 2009-09-10 |
United States Patent
Application |
20090223651 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Meyer, IV; George Anthony ;
et al. |
September 10, 2009 |
PANEL HEAT-DISSIPATING DEVICE
Abstract
A panel heat-dissipating device includes a heat-conducting base,
a vapor chamber, and at least one fin assembly. The heat-conducting
base has a heat-conducting surface for allowing the vapor chamber
to be thermally connected thereon. The vapor chamber forms
extending portions toward the lateral of the heat-conducting base.
The extending portion of the vapor chamber toward the lateral of
the heat-conducting base allows the fin assembly to be disposed
thereon. The fin assembly and the heat-conducting base are located
to the same side of the vapor chamber. Via this arrangement, the
heat-dissipating device occupies less space in the height.
Inventors: |
Meyer, IV; George Anthony;
(San Jose, CA) ; Sun; Chien-Hung; (Zhongli City,
TW) ; Lee; I-Ying; (Zhongli City, TW) ; Chen;
Chieh-Ping; (Zhongli City, TW) |
Correspondence
Address: |
HDLS Patent & Trademark Services
P.O. BOX 220746
CHANTILLY
VA
20153-0746
US
|
Family ID: |
41052399 |
Appl. No.: |
12/170613 |
Filed: |
July 10, 2008 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
165/104.19 |
Current CPC
Class: |
H01L 2924/0002 20130101;
G06F 1/20 20130101; F28D 15/0233 20130101; H01L 23/427 20130101;
F28F 1/24 20130101; H01L 2924/0002 20130101; H01L 2924/00
20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
165/104.19 |
International
Class: |
F28D 15/00 20060101
F28D015/00 |
Foreign Application Data
Date |
Code |
Application Number |
Mar 6, 2008 |
TW |
097203776 |
Claims
1. A panel heat-dissipating device, comprising: a heat-conducting
base having a heat-conducting surface; a vapor chamber thermally
connected to the heat-conducting surface and forming extending
portions toward a lateral of the heat-conducting base; and a fin
assembly provided on the extending portions of the vapor chamber
toward the lateral of the heat-conducting base, the fin assembly
and the heat-conducting base being located on the same side of the
vapor chamber.
2. The panel heat-dissipating device according to claim 1, wherein
the heat-conducting base is provided thereon with locking holes for
positioning.
3. The panel heat-dissipating device according to claim 1, wherein
the vapor chamber is formed into an elongate and flat plate, the
heat-conducting base is provided on a middle portion of the vapor
chamber, the extending portions of the vapor chamber toward the
lateral of the heat-conducting base are two ends of the vapor
chamber.
4. The panel heat-dissipating device according to claim 3, further
comprising another fin assembly, the two fin assemblies are located
on both ends of the vapor chamber respectively.
5. The panel heat-dissipating device according to claim 1, wherein
the fin assembly is constituted of a plurality of fins, each fin is
bent to form a bending edge to be attached to the vapor
chamber.
6. The panel heat-dissipating device according to claim 5, wherein
the bending edge of each fin is bent to form a recessed region on
the fin assembly, the recessed region allows the vapor chamber to
be accommodated therein and attached to each bending edge.
7. The panel heat-dissipating device according to claim 1, wherein
the fin assembly is constituted of a plurality of fins, the outmost
fin forms an outwardly-bent locking piece for positioning.
Description
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0001] 1. Field of the Invention
[0002] The present invention relates to a heat sink, and in
particular to a panel heat-dissipating device formed by means of
extending a vapor chamber.
[0003] 2. Description of Prior Art
[0004] Since the computer is widely used to various applications
and is designed to be more and more compact, the heat-dissipating
device provided in the computer has to be modified according to the
cases applied by the central processing unit within the computer.
For example, in the case of the heat-dissipating device for a
personal computer, since the space within the personal computer is
larger, there is enough space for mounting a fan. Therefore, a heat
sink made of aluminum and copper material can cooperate with an
associated fan to perform heat dissipation. However, if the
heat-dissipating device is to be used in a notebook or a portable
computer, since the internal space is restricted, the common
aluminum-extruded heat sink cannot be used and the fan is also
limited to a centrifugal fan.
[0005] In addition, heat-conducting elements generating a
heat-conducting effect via circulative change in vapor/liquid
phases (such s a heat pipe or a vapor chamber) are often used in
the field of heat dissipation. Especially, since the heat pipe can
be manufactured more easily and does not occupy too much space, it
can be extended in the lengthwise direction of the heat pipe. After
the heat generated by the central processing unit is conducted
transversely toward a heat-dissipating region, the heat can be
further dissipated via heat-dissipating means such as fins or fans.
Therefore, the heat pipe is very suitable for the cases in which
the internal space is restricted, such as a notebook. The vapor
chamber is often used to replace a solid base on the heat sink.
Although the principle of the vapor chamber is the same as that of
the heat pipe, in practice, the vapor chamber can be used to other
cases different from those of the heat pipe because of the
difference in their profiles.
[0006] Although the heat pipe occupies less space, comparing the
diameter of the heat pipe with the thickness of the vapor chamber,
the vapor chamber has advantage over the heat pipe in terms of
compactness. However, the manufacture of the vapor chamber may be
restricted due to the larger surface area thereof. Further, the
main body of the vapor chamber may be recessed inwardly during a
degassing process. As a result, the surface of the vapor chamber
may not be flat enough to be attached to a heat source. Therefore,
a good thermal contact effect cannot be achieved.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0007] The present invention is to provide a panel heat-dissipating
device. With a smaller thickness of the vapor chamber, the
heat-dissipating device can be made more compact. Further, a
heat-conducting path can be extended in the lengthwise direction of
the heat-dissipating device. The heat-conducting base and the fin
assembly of the heat-dissipating device are located on the same
side of the vapor chamber, which reduces the space in the height of
the heat-dissipating device. Thus, it can be applied to the cases
that the height and thickness thereof are restricted.
[0008] The present invention provides a panel heat-dissipating
device, which includes a heat-conducting base, a vapor chamber, and
at least one fin assembly. The heat-conducting base has a
heat-conducting surface for allowing the vapor chamber to be
thermally connected thereon. The vapor chamber forms extending
portions toward the lateral of the heat-conducting base. The
extending portion of the vapor chamber toward the lateral of the
heat-conducting base allows the fin assembly to be disposed
thereon. The fin assembly and the heat-conducting base are located
on the same side of the vapor chamber. Via this arrangement, a
panel heat-dissipating device can be obtained. Further, since the
fin assembly and the heat-conducting base are located on the same
side of the vapor chamber, the above objects can be achieved.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0009] FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view of the present
invention;
[0010] FIG. 2 is an assembled perspective view of the present
invention;
[0011] FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view of the present
invention;
[0012] FIG. 4 is an enlarged view showing the details of portion A
in FIG. 3; and
[0013] FIG. 5 is a schematic view showing the operating state of
the present invention.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
[0014] In order to make the Examiner to better understand the
characteristics and technical contents of the present invention, a
detailed description relating thereto will be made with reference
to the accompanying drawings. However, the drawings are
illustrative only, but not used to limit the present invention.
[0015] FIG. 1 and FIG. 2 are an exploded perspective view and an
assembled perspective of the present invention respectively. The
present invention provides a panel heat-dissipating device, which
includes a heat-conducting base 1, a vapor chamber 2, and at least
one fin assembly 3.
[0016] The heat-conducting base 1 is formed into a flat plate and
is made of heat-conducting materials such as aluminum, copper or
the like. The bottom surface of the heat-conducting base 1 is a
surface 10 to be heated to which an electronic heat-generating
element 4 such as a central processing unit can be attached (FIG.
5). The top surface of the heat-conducting base 1 is a
heat-conducting surface 11. With the heat-conducting surface 11
being thermally connected to the vapor chamber 2, the heat absorbed
by the heat-conducting base 1 can be conducted to the vapor chamber
2. Further, the periphery or corners of the heat-conducting base 1
can be provided with a locking hole 12. After associated fixing
elements (not shown) are penetrated into the locking holes, the
heat-conducting base 1 can be fixed to a circuit board (such as a
main board) provided in the central processing unit.
[0017] The interior of the vapor chamber 2 is under vacuum and the
periphery thereof is sealed. The inner wall of the vapor chamber
has capillary structure. The interior of the vapor chamber is
filled with a working fluid that is a heat-conducting element for
conducting heat by means of the changes in liquid/vapor phases. The
vapor chamber 2 is formed into an elongate and flat plate. A
portion of the vapor chamber 2 is attached to the heat-conducting
surface 11 of the heat-conducting base 1, thereby generating a
heat-conducting effect. The rest portion of the vapor chamber
extends toward the lateral of the heat-conducting base 1. In the
present embodiment, the middle portion of the vapor chamber 2 is
attached and fixed to the heat-conducting surface 11 of the
heat-conducting base 1. The other two elongate ends of the vapor
chamber protrude and extend from the heat-conducting base 1, so
that the heat absorbed by the heat-conducting base 1 can be
conducted to the middle portion of the vapor chamber 2. Via the
high heat-conducting effect of the vapor chamber 2, the heat can be
conducted from both ends of the vapor chamber 2.
[0018] The fin assembly 3 is formed by means of arranging a
plurality of fins 30 at intervals. Each of the fins 30 is bent to
form a bending edge 300. With reference to FIGS. 3 and 4, the
bending edge 300 of each fin 30 can be used as a pitch of the
transverse arrangement. After the bending edge 300 of each fin 30
is bent, the upside of the fin assembly 3 is formed into a recessed
region 31. The portion of the vapor chamber 2 extending from the
heat-conducting base 1 is accommodated in the recessed region 31 to
be attached to the bending edge 300 of each fin 30, so that the fin
assembly 3 is located below the vapor chamber 2. The fin assembly
and the heat-conducting base 1 are located on the same side of the
vapor chamber 2. As a result, the heat-dissipating device occupies
less space in the height thereof. Therefore, it can be more
suitable for the cases that the height and thickness thereof are
restricted.
[0019] The connection among the heat-conducting base 1, the vapor
chamber 2 and the fin assembly 3 can be achieved by means of
soldering, heat-conducting glue or heat-conducting adhesive,
thereby fixing each element.
[0020] Therefore, with the above elements, the panel
heat-dissipating device of the present invention can be
obtained.
[0021] As shown in FIG. 5, when the heat-dissipating device is
applied to an electronic heat-generating element 4 such as a
central processing unit, the surface 10 to be heated of the
heat-conducting base 1 is attached to the upper surface of the
electronic heat-generating element 4 and is located in place by
means of the locking holes 12 of the heat-conducting base 1. The
outmost fin 30 of the fin assembly 3 can be also formed into a
locking piece 32 that is bent outwardly, so that screw elements
such as bolts 41 can penetrate the locking pieces to be positioned
on the circuit board 40. The heat-dissipating device serves as a
heat-conducting path by means of the transverse extension of the
vapor chamber 2. Especially, the heat-conducting base 1 is disposed
below the middle section of the vapor chamber 2, so that both ends
of the vapor chamber 2 can be used as condensed ends and are
connected to the fin assembly 3 respectively. In practice, the gap
between the vapor chamber 2 and a circuit board 40 allows the fin
assembly 3 to be disposed therein, so that the whole height of the
heat-dissipating device gets close to the circuit board 40, thereby
reducing the space efficiently. Besides, in real practice we can
reverse the heat-dissipating device by 180 degree, and let middle
part of the vapor chamber 2 to attach directly with an electronic
heat-generating element 4. Hence, it also has the same effect as
reducing the space.
[0022] According to the above, the present invention really
achieves the desired objects and solves the drawbacks of prior art.
Further, the present invention indeed has novelty and inventive
steps, and thus conforms to the requirements for a utility model
patent.
[0023] Although the present invention has been described with
reference to the foregoing preferred embodiments, it will be
understood that the invention is not limited to the details
thereof. Various equivalent variations and modifications can still
occur to those skilled in this art in view of the teachings of the
present invention. Thus, all such variations and equivalent
modifications are also embraced within the scope of the invention
as defined in the appended claims.
* * * * *