U.S. patent application number 12/402514 was filed with the patent office on 2010-02-11 for cooler module.
This patent application is currently assigned to KWO GER METAL TECHNOLOGY, INC. Invention is credited to HONG-LONG CHEN, YI-FU CHEN.
Application Number | 20100032136 12/402514 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 41651827 |
Filed Date | 2010-02-11 |
United States Patent
Application |
20100032136 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
CHEN; HONG-LONG ; et
al. |
February 11, 2010 |
COOLER MODULE
Abstract
A cooler module formed of a heat sink and a cooling fan is
disclosed. A heat receiving base member of the heat sink has a flat
bottom center contact surface and a plurality of bottom sloping
surfaces (or one tapered bottom surface) obliquely upwardly
extended from the border of the flat bottom center contact surface
to the border of the heat receiving base member for spreading heat
in all directions rapidly and evenly.
Inventors: |
CHEN; HONG-LONG; (TAIPEI,
TW) ; CHEN; YI-FU; (TAIPEI, TW) |
Correspondence
Address: |
KWO GER METAL TECHNOLOGY
P.O. BOX 108-00403
TAIPEI
106
TW
|
Assignee: |
KWO GER METAL TECHNOLOGY,
INC
SHULIN CITY
TW
|
Family ID: |
41651827 |
Appl. No.: |
12/402514 |
Filed: |
March 12, 2009 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
165/80.3 |
Current CPC
Class: |
H01L 2924/0002 20130101;
H01L 23/467 20130101; H01L 2924/0002 20130101; H01L 2924/00
20130101; H01L 23/367 20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
165/80.3 |
International
Class: |
F28F 13/00 20060101
F28F013/00 |
Foreign Application Data
Date |
Code |
Application Number |
Aug 6, 2008 |
TW |
097214105 |
Claims
1. A cooler module comprising a heat sink, said heat sink
comprising a heat receiving base member for attaching to a heat
source on a circuit board to transfer heat from said heat source
and a plurality of radiation fins for dissipating heat from said
heat receiving base member, wherein said heat receiving base member
comprises a top wall supporting said radiation fins and a bottom
wall opposite to said top wall, said bottom wall comprising a flat
contact surface for direct contact with said heat source and at
least one sloping surface obliquely upwardly extending from the
border of said flat contact surface to the border of said heat
receiving base member.
2. The cooler module as claimed in claim 1, wherein said heat
receiving base member comprises a plurality of mounting through
holes cut through said top wall and said bottom wall in corners
thereof for mounting fastening members.
3. The cooler module as claimed in claim 1, wherein said heat
receiving base member comprises two eye lugs protruded from two
distal ends of a second lateral side thereof and each said eye lug
has a through hole.
4. The cooler module as claimed in claim 3, wherein said heat
receiving base member further comprises a flange protruded from a
first lateral side thereof opposite to said second lateral side,
and two beveled edges formed on two distal ends of said first
lateral side and two distal ends of said flange.
5. The cooler module as claimed in claim 1, wherein said flat
contact surface is a flat rectangular surface.
6. The cooler module as claimed in claim 1, wherein said flat
contact surface is a flat circular surface.
7. The cooler module as claimed in claim 1, wherein said flat
contact surface is a flat rhombic surface.
8. The cooler module as claimed in claim 1, wherein said heat
receiving base member is made from a metal material by means of one
of the techniques of extrusion, die casting and forging.
9. The cooler module as claimed in claim 8, wherein said metal
material is selected from the group of aluminum, copper and their
alloys.
10. The cooler module as claimed in claim 1, further comprising a
cooling fan mounted on said radiation fins at a top side.
11. The cooler module as claimed in claim 1, further comprising a
cooling fan provided at one side relative to said radiation fins.
Description
[0001] This application claims the priority benefit of Taiwan
patent application number 097214105 filed on Aug. 6, 2008.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0002] 1. Field of the Invention
[0003] The present invention relates to cooling apparatus for
cooling electronic components and more particularly, to a cooler
module of which the heat receiving base member of the heat sink has
a wall thickness gradually reducing from the center area that is in
contact with the heat source toward the border for spreading heat
in all directions rapidly and evenly.
[0004] 2. Description of the Related Art
[0005] Following fast development of computer electronics
technology, electronic devices are made having high computing power
and speed. However, a high-speed electronic device releases much
heat energy during operation. Heat accumulation may cause an
electronic device to burn out. In order to effectively remove heat
from a heat-releasing electronic device, a cooler module is usually
used. A regular cooler module is comprised of a heat sink and a
cooling fan. The heat sink absorbs heat from the heat source. The
cooling fan forces air through the radiation fins of the heat sink
to carry heat away. Heat dissipation surface area and radiation fin
gaps affect the performance.
[0006] FIG. 10 illustrates a cooler module according to the prior
art. According to this design, radiation fins A are bonded to the
top wall of a receiving chamber B1 of a base member B. The base
member B has two mounting flanges B2 arranged in parallel at two
sides of the receiving chamber B1. Fastening members D are inserted
through mounting through holes C1 of a fan C and fastened to
respective mounting holes B21 on the mounting flanges B2 to affix
the fan C to the base member B. To raise the heat transfer
efficiency, copper is used for making the base member B.
[0007] The base member B is directly cut from a copper plate, and
then bent into the desired shape. To save the processing cost, a
copper plate having a rectangular cross section is usually used.
When changing the cross-sectional shape of a copper plate, an extra
processing process is needed, increasing the cost. Following rising
of copper cost, the weight of the base member B becomes an
important factor that affects the product cost. Therefore,
increasing the thickness and area of the base member B relatively
increase the cost of the heat sink. Further, when a heavy heat sink
is used and attached to a heat source, for example, a CPU, the CPU
may be damaged easily during an impact or vibration test, or during
transportation of the computer using the CPU.
[0008] Further, modern CPUs have the characteristics of the
characteristics of high performance and small size. When a heat
sink having a relatively bigger and thicker base member is used,
the heat transfer path from the heat source to the radiation fins
of the heat sink will be relatively increased. When heat is
spreading from the center area of the base member of a heat sink
toward the border, a relatively greater heat transfer resistance
will be encountered in case the base member has a uniform wall
thickness, resulting in a temperature difference between the center
area and the border area. Under this condition, the temperature
difference between the radiation fins around the border area of the
base member and the ambient air is insignificant, lowering the heat
dissipation efficiency of the heat sink.
[0009] Therefore, it is desirable to provide a heat sink for cooler
module that has the characteristics of low cost and high
performance.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0010] The present invention has been accomplished under the
circumstances in view. It is one object of the present invention to
provide a heat sink for cooler module that has the wall thickness
of the heat receiving base member made gradually reducing from the
center area toward the border, raising the heat transfer efficiency
and enabling heat to be transferred from the heat source to the
radiation fins evenly and rapidly for quick dissipation into the
outside open air. It is another object of the present invention to
provide a heat sink for cooler module that has the wall thickness
of the heat receiving base member made gradually reducing from the
center area toward the border, lowering the weight and material
consumption.
[0011] To achieve these and other objects of the present invention,
a cooler module is provided comprised of a heat sink and a cooling
fan. The heat sink comprises a heat receiving base member and a
plurality of radiation fins provided at the top side of the heat
receiving base member. The heat receiving base member has a top
wall that supports the radiation fins, and a bottom wall opposite
to the top wall. The bottom wall comprises a flat contact surface
for direct contact with a heat source, and a plurality of sloping
surfaces obliquely upwardly extending from the border of the flat
contact surface to the border of said heat receiving base member.
By means of this design, the wall thickness of the heat receiving
base member reduces gradually from the center area toward the
border.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0012] FIG. 1 is an elevational view of a heat receiving base
member for heat sink according to the present invention.
[0013] FIG. 2 is a sectional side view of the heat receiving base
member shown in FIG. 1.
[0014] FIG. 3 is an elevational view, showing a heat sink
constructed according to the present invention and used with a
radial fan.
[0015] FIG. 4 is a sectional side view, showing a heat sink
constructed according to the present invention and installed in a
circuit board.
[0016] FIG. 5 is an elevational view of an alternate form of the
heat receiving base member for heat sink according to the present
invention.
[0017] FIG. 6 is a temperature distribution diagram obtained from a
thin type heat receiving base member constructed according to the
present invention.
[0018] FIG. 7 is temperature-distance comparison diagram obtained
from a regular rectangular base member for heat sink and a thin
type heat receiving base member constructed according to the
present invention.
[0019] FIG. 8 is a performance comparison chart, showing the
performance of a regular rectangular base member for heat sink and
the performance a thin type heat receiving base member constructed
according to the present invention.
[0020] FIG. 9 is a thermal resistance-weight comparison diagram,
showing the relative performance between a regular rectangular base
member for heat sink and the performance a thin type heat receiving
base member constructed according to the present invention.
[0021] FIG. 10 is a cooler module according to the prior art.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT
[0022] Referring to FIGS. 1-3, a heat receiving base member 1 is
shown for receiving heat from a heat source. The heat receiving
base member 1 has a flat bottom center contact surface 11 that is
in contact with the heat source, a plurality of bottom sloping
surfaces 12 obliquely upwardly extended from the border of the flat
bottom center contact surface 11 to the border of the heat
receiving base member 1, a plurality of mounting through holes 13
respectively cut through the top and bottom sides in the corners
thereof, a thin flange 14 extended from a first lateral side
thereof, two eye lugs 15 extended from two distal ends of a second
lateral side thereof opposite to the first lateral side, and two
beveled edges 16 formed on the two distal ends of the first lateral
side and the thin flange 14. Each eye lug 15 defines a through hole
151.
[0023] The heat receiving base member 1 can be made from copper,
aluminum or their alloy by means of extrusion, die casting or
forging, saving cutting cost in processing a rectangular metal
block material into the desired shape. The design of the bottom
sloping surfaces 12 diminishes consumption of the material and
reduces the volume and weight of the heat receiving base member 1.
Because the thickness of the heat receiving base member 1 gradually
reduces from the flat bottom center contact surface 11 toward the
border of the heat receiving base member 1, heat is transferred
from the flat bottom center contact surface 11 toward the border of
the heat receiving base member 1 rapidly. Therefore, the design of
the present invention has the characteristics of light weight, low
cost and high performance.
[0024] The design of the bottom sloping surfaces 12 can be designed
to slop straightly or curvilinearly. According to this embodiment,
the heat receiving base member 1 has four bottom sloping surfaces
12 respectively extended from the four sides of the flat bottom
center contact surface 11. Alternatively, the heat receiving base
member 1 can be made having only one tapered bottom sloping surface
extending from the border of the flat bottom center contact surface
11.
[0025] Referring to FIG. 4 and FIGS. 1-3 again, radiation fins 2
are provided at the top side of the heat receiving base member 1
for dissipating heat. The heat receiving base member 1 and the
radiation fins 2 constitute a heat sink. During application, the
flat bottom center contact surface 11 of the heat receiving base
member 1 is directly attached to the surface of a chip 31 on a
circuit board 3, and fastening members 4 are respectively mounted
in the mounting through holes 13 and fastened to the circuit board
3 to affix the heat receiving base member 1 to the circuit board 3.
During operation of the chip 31, the heat receiving base member 1
receives heat from the chip 31 and transfers received heat to the
radiation fins 2 for quick dissipation into the outside open
air.
[0026] A cooling fan 5 is used to force air through the radiation
fins 2, thereby carrying heat away. The cooling fan 5 according to
this embodiment is a radial fan arranged at one side relative to
the radiation fins 2. Alternatively, the cooling fan 5 can be used
and directly mounted on the top side of the radiation fins 2 to
force air vertically downwards through gaps between the radiation
fins 2.
[0027] Before installation, a thermal compound or thermal adhesive
glue can be applied to the flat bottom center contact surface 11 to
eliminate possible gaps between the flat bottom center contact
surface 11 and the surface of the chip 31 and to enhance the heat
transfer performance of the heat receiving base member 1.
[0028] Referring to FIG. 5 and FIG. 1 again, the flat bottom center
contact surface 11 can be made in the shape of a rectangular plane
as shown in FIG. 1, or a circular plane as shown in FIG. 5.
Alternatively, the flat bottom center contact surface 11 can be
made having a rhombic or any of a variety of other shapes.
[0029] FIG. 6 is a temperature distribution diagram obtained from a
thin type heat receiving base member constructed according to the
present invention. FIG. 7 is temperature-distance comparison
diagram obtained from a regular rectangular base member for heat
sink and a thin type heat receiving base member constructed
according to the present invention. FIG. 8 is a performance
comparison chart, showing the performance of a regular rectangular
base member for heat sink and the performance of a thin type heat
receiving base member constructed according to the present
invention. Following fast development of semiconductor technology,
advanced IC chips have relatively higher performance and relatively
smaller size. Further, the bottom base member of a conventional
heat sink is a rectangular block member made from a metal material
having high thermal conductivity. When the bottom base member of a
heat sink is attached to a chip on a circuit board, only a limited
center rear of the bottom wall of the bottom base member is kept in
direct contact with the top surface of the chip, causing an effect
of heat concentration. When heat is being transferred from the
center of the bottom base member toward the border area, a certain
heat transfer resistance is produced, lowering the heat transfer
performance. To avoid this problem, the invention has the wall
thickness of the heat receiving base member 1 made gradually
smaller from the center area which is to be kept in direct contact
with the heat source toward the border, lowering the heat transfer
resistance. Therefore, the heat receiving base member 1 spreads
heat in all directions rapidly.
[0030] Further, the design of the heat receiving base member 1
allows the number of the radiation fins 2 to be minimized. As shown
in FIG. 8, the performance of a heat sink having a heat receiving
base member constructed according to the present invention and 35
pcs radiation fins is substantially equal to the performance of a
heat sink having a bottom base member of rectangular block type and
48 pcs radiation fins of the same specification. Therefore, a heat
sink made according to the present invention has the
characteristics of low weight and low cost.
[0031] Further, as shown in FIG. 7, the drop slope of the
temperature drop curve obtained from a heat receiving base member 1
having a center thickness about 3.5 mm and a border thickness about
1 mm is lower than that of a rectangular block type heat receiving
base member having a wall thickness 2.5 mm. When compared with a
prior art heat sink, a heat sink constructed according to the
present invention has a relatively higher performance while the
weight is reduced by about 17%.
[0032] Further, the weight of the bottom base member of a heat sink
is about 30%.about.50% of the total weight of the heat sink.
Therefore, a heat sink constructed according to the present
invention can saves about 15% of the material weight.
[0033] As indicated above, the present invention has the following
advantages and features:
[0034] 1. The wall thickness of the heat receiving base member 1
gradually reduces from the center area (corresponding to the flat
bottom center contact surface 11) toward the border. Therefore,
when the flat bottom center contact surface 11 is attached to the
chip 31 to transfer heat from the chip 31, heat energy is evenly
distributed in the heat receiving base member 1 in all directions
for quick dissipation through the radiation fins 2.
[0035] 2. The heat receiving base member 1 is made from a metal
material by means of extrusion, die casting or forging, no further
cutting is necessary. Further, the sloping design of the bottom
sloping surfaces 12 reduces material consumption. Therefore, the
heat receiving base member 1 requires less material, saving the
cost.
[0036] 3. By means of the design of the bottom sloping surfaces 12,
the volume and weight of the heat receiving base member 1 are
minimized. Because the heat receiving base member 1 has a low
weight, it does not cause damage to the chip 31 during an impact or
vibration test, or transportation of the computer.
[0037] In conclusion, the invention provides a heat receiving base
member 1 for heat sink, which has a flat bottom center contact
surface 11 and a plurality of bottom sloping surfaces 12 (or one
tapered bottom surface) obliquely upwardly extended from the border
of the flat bottom center contact surface 11 to the border of the
heat receiving base member 1. By means of this design, the heat
receiving base member 1 spreads heat evenly and rapidly in all
directions.
[0038] Although particular embodiments of the invention have been
described in detail for purposes of illustration, various
modifications and enhancements may be made without departing from
the spirit and scope of the invention.
* * * * *