U.S. patent application number 12/391162 was filed with the patent office on 2010-04-29 for liquid-cooling device.
This patent application is currently assigned to HONG FU JIN PRECISION INDUSTRY (ShenZhen) CO., LTD. Invention is credited to CHING-HUNG CHU, XIU-FEI WANG.
Application Number | 20100101756 12/391162 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 42116355 |
Filed Date | 2010-04-29 |
United States Patent
Application |
20100101756 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
CHU; CHING-HUNG ; et
al. |
April 29, 2010 |
LIQUID-COOLING DEVICE
Abstract
A liquid-cooling device for an electronic component includes a
heat exchanger, a fin set, a plurality of heat pipes and a fan
fastened to a front side of the fin set. The heat exchanger defines
a sealed chamber and has two inclined faces facing opposite to each
other on a top thereof, and has heat exchanging members in the
sealed chamber. An outlet and an inlet are respectively formed on
the two inclined faces and in fluidic communication with the sealed
chamber. The fin set includes spaced fins laminated together. Each
heat pipe includes a semicircular evaporating portion embedded in a
bottom surface of the heat exchanger and a round condensing portion
extending upwardly and received in the fin set. The fan is located
above the heat exchanger and behind the inlet and outlet of the
heat exchanger.
Inventors: |
CHU; CHING-HUNG; (Tu-Cheng,
TW) ; WANG; XIU-FEI; (Shenzhen City, CN) |
Correspondence
Address: |
PCE INDUSTRY, INC.;ATT. Steven Reiss
288 SOUTH MAYO AVENUE
CITY OF INDUSTRY
CA
91789
US
|
Assignee: |
HONG FU JIN PRECISION INDUSTRY
(ShenZhen) CO., LTD
Shenzhen City
CN
HON HAI PRECISION INDUSTRY CO., LTD.
Tu-Cheng
TW
|
Family ID: |
42116355 |
Appl. No.: |
12/391162 |
Filed: |
February 23, 2009 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
165/80.3 |
Current CPC
Class: |
H01L 23/427 20130101;
H01L 23/467 20130101; H01L 23/4006 20130101; H01L 2924/0002
20130101; F28D 15/0275 20130101; H01L 2924/00 20130101; H01L
2924/0002 20130101; H01L 23/473 20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
165/80.3 |
International
Class: |
F28F 7/00 20060101
F28F007/00 |
Foreign Application Data
Date |
Code |
Application Number |
Oct 24, 2008 |
CN |
200810305173.9 |
Claims
1. A liquid-cooling device: a heat exchanger defining a sealed
chamber and comprising a bottom face adapted for contacting with an
electronic device, and two inclined faces facing opposite to each
other on a top thereof, the heat exchanger having a plurality of
heat exchanging members in the sealed chamber, an outlet and an
inlet respectively formed on the two inclined faces and in fluid
communication with the sealed chamber, whereby cooling liquid can
enter the sealed chamber via the inlet to flow through the heat
exchanging members and leave the sealed chamber via the outlet; and
an aerial cooling device thermally connecting with the heat
exchanger.
2. The liquid-cooling device as claimed in claim 1, wherein the two
inclined faces are tilted downwardly in respect to a middle of the
top of the heat exchanger and respectively perpendicular to the
inlet and outlet.
3. The liquid-cooling device as claimed in claim 1, wherein the
heat exchanger comprises a base, a housing fixed on the base and a
cover fastened to a top end of the housing and wherein the two
inclined faces are formed on a top of the cover.
4. The liquid-cooling device as claimed in claim 3, wherein each of
the heat exchanging members has a configuration of a pin and
extends upwardly and perpendicularly from a top surface of the
base.
5. The liquid-cooling device as claimed in claim 3, wherein the
housing is integrally formed by aluminum extrusion, comprises four
periphery sidewalls interconnecting each other and defines four
opened receiving channels respectively in four corners thereof.
6. The liquid-cooling device as claimed in claim 5, wherein the
cover has two fixing flanges respectively extending outwardly from
two lower ends of the inclined faces, and wherein four fixtures are
extended downwardly through corresponding fixing flanges and
corresponding receiving channels of the housing in sequence to
screw into the base to assemble the cover, the housing and the base
of the heat exchanger together.
7. The liquid-cooling device as claimed in claim 3, wherein the
aerial cooling device comprises a fin set and a fan for generating
an airflow through the fin set, the fin set being thermally
connected to the base of the heat exchanger via a plurality of heat
pipes, and wherein each of the heat pipes comprises an evaporating
portion embedded in a bottom surface of the base and a condensing
portion extending upwardly from an end of the evaporating portion
and received in the fin set, the bottom surface of the base and a
bottom surface of the evaporating portion cooperatively forming the
bottom face of the heat exchanger adapted for contacting with the
electronic device.
8. The liquid-cooling device as claimed in claim 7, wherein the fin
set comprises a plurality of spaced fins which are laminated
together and parallel to the bottom surface of the base, and the
condensing portions of the heat pipes spaced from each other are
perpendicular to the fins and wholly received in the fin set.
9. The liquid-cooling device as claimed in claim 7, wherein the
evaporating portions of the heat pipes are received in a plurality
of receiving grooves defined in the bottom surface of the base and
arranged close to each other, each evaporating portion having a
semicircular cross section.
10. The liquid-cooling device as claimed in claim 8, wherein the
fan is fastened to a side of the fin set by two fan holders and
located above the heat exchanger and adjacent the inlet and outlet
of the exchanger.
11. A liquid-cooling device: a heat exchanger defining a sealed
chamber and comprising a bottom face adapted for contacting with an
electronic device and two inclined faces facing opposite to each
other on a top thereof, an outlet and an inlet respectively formed
on the two inclined faces and in fluid communication with the
sealed chamber, whereby cooling liquid can enter the sealed chamber
via the inlet and leave the sealed chamber via the outlet; a fin
set comprising a plurality of spaced fins which are laminated
together; a plurality of heat pipes thermally connecting the heat
exchanger and the fin set, each heat pipe comprising an evaporating
portion embedded in a bottom surface of the heat exchanger and a
condensing portion extending upwardly from an end of the
evaporating portion and received in the fin set; and a fan fastened
to a side of the fin set by a fan holder, the fan being located
above the heat exchanger and adjacent to the inlet and outlet of
the heat exchanger.
12. The liquid-cooling device as claimed in claim 11, wherein the
two inclined faces are tilted downwardly in respect to a middle of
the top of the heat exchanger and respectively perpendicular to the
inlet and outlet.
13. The liquid-cooling device as claimed in claim 11, wherein the
heat exchanger comprises a base, a housing fixed on the base and a
cover fastened to a top end of the housing, and wherein the two
inclined faces are formed on a top of the cover.
14. The liquid-cooling device as claimed in claim 13, wherein the
base of the heat exchanger comprises a base plate and a plurality
of heat exchanging members extending from the base plate in the
sealed chamber, and each of the heat exchanging members has a
configuration of a pin.
15. The liquid-cooling device as claimed in claim 13, wherein the
housing is integrally formed by aluminum extrusion, and comprises
four periphery sidewalls interconnecting each other and defines
four opened receiving channels respectively in four corners
thereof.
16. The liquid-cooling device as claimed in claim 15, wherein the
cover has two fixing flanges respectively extending outwardly from
two lower ends of the inclined faces, and wherein four fixtures are
extended downwardly through the engaging flanges and the receiving
channels of the housing respectively in sequence and screwed into
the base to assemble the cover, the housing and the base of heat
exchanger together.
17. The liquid-cooling device as claimed in claim 11, wherein the
condensing portions of the heat pipes are spaced from each other
and wholly received in the fin set.
18. The liquid-cooling device as claimed in claim 13, wherein the
evaporating portions of the heat pipes are received in a plurality
of receiving grooves defined in a bottom surface of the base and
arranged close to each other to form a flat face in a bottom
thereof, the flat face forming a part of the bottom face of the
heat exchanger adapted for contacting the electronic device.
19. The liquid-cooling device as claimed in claim 18, wherein each
of the evaporating portions have a semicircular cross section and
each of the condensing portions has a circular cross section.
20. A liquid-cooling device for cooling a heat-generating
electronic component comprising: a heat exchanger having a pair of
inclined faces on a top thereof, a liquid inlet and a liquid outlet
being respectively provided on the inclined faces, a sealed chamber
in liquid communication with the liquid inlet and liquid outlet,
and a base having a plurality of heat exchanging members extending
into the sealed chamber; a plurality of heat pipes each having a
semicircular evaporating portion embedded in the base and a round
condensing portion extending from the evaporating portion, the
evaporating portion having a flat face for contacting with the
heat-generating electronic component; a fin set in which the
condensing portion extends; and a fan secured to a front side of
the fin set, wherein the fan is located above a rear portion of the
heat exchanger and behind the liquid inlet and outlet.
Description
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0001] 1. Field of the Invention
[0002] The present disclosure relates generally to cooling devices,
and more particularly to a liquid-cooling device for dissipating
waste heat generated by electrical or electronic components and
assemblies.
[0003] 2. Description of Related Art
[0004] Nowadays, various cooling devices are used to remove heat
from electrical or electronic components which generate a large
amount of heat during operation. Metallic heat sinks with fins,
heat exchangers utilizing phase-change, or liquid cooling devices
are in most common use. In a liquid cooling device, a plurality of
channels is defined for travel of liquid which carries heat
therein. Generally, the channels in the liquid cooling device are
formed by milling and drilling a metal stock, for example, a copper
block. The milling and drilling process incurs a high manufacturing
cost of the liquid cooling device. Moreover, to enhance the
performance of the liquid cooling device to meet the ever
increasing amount of heat of the electronic component needing to be
dissipated requires the liquid cooling device to increase its size
(and accordingly weight) proportionally. The increase of the size
and weight of the liquid cooling device conflicts with the tendency
of compactness and portability of the electronic products.
[0005] What is needed is a liquid cooling device which is compact
and has a high work performance.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0006] Many aspects of the present embodiments can be better
understood with reference to the following drawings. The components
in the drawings are not necessarily drawn to scale, the emphasis
instead being placed upon clearly illustrating the principles of
the present embodiments. Moreover, in the drawings, like reference
numerals designate corresponding parts throughout the several
views.
[0007] FIG. 1 is an isometric, assembled view of a liquid-cooling
device in accordance with an exemplary embodiment of the present
disclosure.
[0008] FIG. 2 is an exploded view of the liquid-cooling device of
FIG. 1.
[0009] FIG. 3 is an inverted view of the liquid-cooling device of
FIG. 2.
[0010] FIG. 4 is an enlarged, exploded view of a heat exchanger of
the liquid-cooling device of FIG. 2.
[0011] FIG. 5 is a side elevation view of the liquid-cooling device
of FIG. 1.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
[0012] Referring to FIGS. 1-5, a liquid-cooling device in
accordance with an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure
is especially useful in efficiently dissipating heat from highly
integrated heat generating component such as microprocessors or
computer chips (not shown) operating under high heat flux
conditions. The liquid cooling device comprises a heat exchanger
10, a fin set 20 located over a space behind a rear side of the
heat exchanger 10, a plurality of heat pipes 30 thermally
connecting the heat exchanger 10 and the fin set 20 together, a fan
40 and two fan holders 50 holding the fan 40 on a front side of the
fin set 20. The fan 40 is located over the rear side of the heat
exchanger 10.
[0013] Particularly referring to FIG. 4, the heat exchanger 10
comprises a base 12, a housing 14 fixed on the base 12, a cover 16
engaging with a top end of the housing 14 and two fixing legs 18
attached to a bottom of the base 12. The base 12 is made of
thermally conductive material, such as copper or aluminum and
comprises a base plate 122 and a plurality of heat-exchanging
members 124 protruding upwardly and perpendicularly from a top
surface of the base plate 122. Each heat-exchanging member 124 has
a pin-like configuration with a square cross section, although it
is not limited to such configuration and cross section. The base
plate 122 is substantially T-shaped in profile, having a large top
surface and a small bottom surface. The top surface of the base
plate 122 is rectangular, although it is not limited to this shape.
The bottom surface of the base plate 122 is used for contacting a
heat generating component (not shown). The base plate 122 defines
four engaging holes 1220 respectively in four corners thereof for
engagingly receiving fixtures 200 to assemble the components of the
heat exchanger 10 together. A plurality of receiving grooves 1222
are defined in a middle portion of the bottom surface of the base
plate 122. The receiving grooves 1222 are perpendicular to front
and rear long sides of the base plate 122 and closely arranged side
by side to each other. The heat-exchanging members 124 are located
at a central portion of the top surface of the base plate 122 and
arranged in a matrix and spaced from each other with a constant
distance.
[0014] The housing 14 has four peripheral sidewalls 140
perpendicularly interconnecting each other to cooperatively define
a hollow cuboid. The housing 14 is vertically placed on the base
plate 122 of the base 12. The housing 14 defines two annular slots
142 respectively in bottom and top faces thereof. Each annular slot
42 is for accommodating a sealing ring 100 therein for ensuring a
hermetical seal of the housing 14 with the cover 16 and the base
plate 122 of the base 12 of the heat exchanger 10. Four opened
receiving channels 144 are respectively defined in four corners of
the housing 14 for receiving the fixtures 200 therein. The
receiving channels 144 are vertically extended through the housing
14. In addition, the receiving channels 144 are horizontally opened
to an environment surrounding the housing 14 via four tips of the
four corners of the housing 14, whereby the housing 14 including
the four receiving channels 144 can be formed simply by aluminum
extrusion.
[0015] The cover 16 is with an isosceles trapezoid-shaped cross
section and has two inclined faces on a top thereof and facing
opposite to each other. The inclined faces are titled downwardly in
respect to a middle of the top of the cover 16. An inlet 162 and an
outlet 164 are respectively defined through the two inclined faces
of the cover 16 so as to be in fluid communication with the heat
exchanger 10. The inlet 162 and the outlet 164 are perpendicular to
corresponding inclined faces and located adjacent to a front side
of the cover 16 so that the fan 40 is located above the cover 16
and closely behind the inlet 162 and outlet 164. Two fixing flanges
166 respectively extend laterally and horizontally from lower edges
of the two inclined faces of the cover 16. Each fixing flange 166
therein defines two through holes 1660 adjacent to two opposite
ends thereof for a downward extension of a corresponding fixture
200 therethrough.
[0016] Each of the fixing legs 18 comprises a middle portion 182
fixed to the bottom surface of the base plate 122 and two fixing
portions 184 extending obliquely and downwardly from two opposite
ends of the middle portion 182. The middle portions 182 of the two
fixing legs 18 are located at two opposite sides of the receiving
grooves 1222. The two fixing portions 184 of each fixing leg 18 are
located at a lateral side of the base plate 122 for fasteners 300
respectively extending therethrough to mount the heat exchanger 10
onto the heat generating component (not shown).
[0017] To assemble the heat exchanger 10, the fixtures 200 extend
downwardly through corresponding through holes 166 of the cover 16
and the corresponding receiving channels 144 of the housing 14 in
sequence and then are screwed into the corresponding engaging holes
1220 of the base 12, to thus assemble the base 12, housing 14 and
the cover 16 together and define a sealed chamber (not labeled) in
the heat exchanger 10, which contains the heat-exchanging members
124 of the base 12 and working liquid therein. Two extension lines
of the axes of the inlet 162 and outlet 164 intersect at the centre
of the base plate 122 for facilitating the inflow and outflow of
the working liquid corresponding to a central heat-accumulated
portion of the base plate 122. The inlet 162 and outlet 164 are
connected to a pump (not shown) via conduits (not shown) to
construct a flow circulation for the working liquid.
[0018] The fin set 20 comprises a plurality of rectangular fins 22
which are spaced from each other and parallel to the base plate
122. The fin set 20 defines two vertical slots 24 in two oppositely
lateral sides thereof for engagingly receiving the fan holders 50
therein. A plurality of receiving holes 26 are defined in the fin
set 20 and extend upwardly from the bottom to the top of the fin
set 20 without extending through a topmost one of the fins 22 of
the fin set 20. The receiving holes 26 wholly receive condensing
portions 34 of the heat pipes 30 therein. The receiving holes 26
are spaced from each other, perpendicular to the fins 22 and
located at a middle portion of the fin set 20.
[0019] The heat pipes 30 are consistent in quantity with the
receiving grooves 1222 of the base 122 and the receiving holes 26
of the fin set 20. Each heat pipe 30 comprises an evaporating
portion 32 received in a corresponding receiving groove 1222 of the
base 122 and the condensing portion 34 extending perpendicularly
from an end of the evaporating portion 32 and received in a
corresponding receiving hole 26 of the fin set 20. The evaporating
portions 32 of the heat pipes 30 received in the receiving grooves
1222 are arranged closely side by side to each other and have
bottom surfaces thereof coplanar with each other to form a flat
face for contacting with the heat-generating component. The
evaporating portion 32 has a semicircular cross section, while the
condensing portion 34 has a round cross section.
[0020] The fan 40 is fastened to the front side of the fin set 20
by the fan holders 50. The fan 40 is located above the heat
exchanger 10 and close to the inlet 162 and outlet 164 of the cover
16.
[0021] In operation of the liquid cooling device, the evaporating
portions 32 of the heat pipes 30 and the base plate 122 of the base
12 absorb heat from the heat generating component. The heat is
absorbed by the evaporating portions 32 of the heat pipes 30
spreads to the base plate 122 and the fin set 20 via the condensing
portions of the heat pipes 30 to be dissipated into ambient air in
virtue of the fan 40. The heat in the base plate 122 is transmitted
to the heat exchanging members 124. Liquid entering the sealed
chamber of the heat exchanger 10 through the inlet 162, travels
through the heat exchanging members 124, then leaves the heat
exchanger 10 from the outlet 164 to take the heat in the heat
exchanging members 124 and the base plate 122.
[0022] According to the configuration of the heat exchanger 10 of
the liquid cooling device, the inlet 162 and outlet 164 formed on
the corresponding inclined faces of the cover 16 extend upwardly
and outwardly from the cover 16, whereby the conduits connected to
the inlet 162 and outlet 164 extend laterally from the cover 16 and
would not block the way of airflow inhaled by the fan 40 and blown
to the fin set 20.
[0023] It is believed that the present embodiments and their
advantages will be understood from the foregoing description, and
it will be apparent that various changes may be made thereto
without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention or
sacrificing all of its material advantages, the examples
hereinbefore described merely being preferred or exemplary
embodiments of the invention.
* * * * *