U.S. patent application number 12/380651 was filed with the patent office on 2010-07-29 for thermal module.
This patent application is currently assigned to Asia Vital Components Co., Ltd.. Invention is credited to Sheng-Huang Lin.
Application Number | 20100186930 12/380651 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 42353221 |
Filed Date | 2010-07-29 |
United States Patent
Application |
20100186930 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Lin; Sheng-Huang |
July 29, 2010 |
Thermal module
Abstract
A thermal module includes a radiating fin assembly having first
heat conducting sections located at a lower middle portion thereof,
second heat conducting sections located adjacent to outer sides of
the first heat conducting sections, first heat dissipating sections
located closer to upper outer portions of the radiating fin
assembly, and second heat dissipating sections located adjacent to
inner sides of the first heat dissipating sections; first heat
pipes each having two ends separately inserted into the first heat
conducting and dissipating sections; and second heat pipes each
having two ends separately inserted into the second heat conducting
and dissipating sections. Therefore, heat source can be transmitted
by the first heat pipes from the high-temperature lower middle
portion of the radiating fin assembly to the low-temperature upper
outer portions of the radiating fin assembly and quickly dissipated
into ambient air without stagnating in the middle of the radiating
fin assembly.
Inventors: |
Lin; Sheng-Huang; (Sinjhuang
City, TW) |
Correspondence
Address: |
NIKOLAI & MERSEREAU, P.A.
900 SECOND AVENUE SOUTH, SUITE 820
MINNEAPOLIS
MN
55402
US
|
Assignee: |
Asia Vital Components Co.,
Ltd.
Sinjhuang City
TW
|
Family ID: |
42353221 |
Appl. No.: |
12/380651 |
Filed: |
March 2, 2009 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
165/104.26 |
Current CPC
Class: |
F28D 15/0275 20130101;
H01L 2924/00 20130101; H01L 2924/0002 20130101; H01L 23/3672
20130101; H01L 23/467 20130101; H01L 23/427 20130101; H01L
2924/0002 20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
165/104.26 |
International
Class: |
F28D 15/00 20060101
F28D015/00 |
Foreign Application Data
Date |
Code |
Application Number |
Jan 23, 2009 |
TW |
098201534 |
Claims
1. A thermal module, comprising a radiating fin assembly, at least
one first heat pipe, and at least one second heat pipe; the
radiating fin assembly being provided at a predetermined position
with at least one first heat conducting section and at least one
second conducting section, and at another predetermined position
with at least one first heat dissipating section and at least one
second heat dissipating section; the at least one first heat
conducting section being located at a middle portion of the
radiating fin assembly, and the at least one second heat conducting
section being located adjacent to an outer side of the first heat
conducting section and therefore farther away from the middle
portion of the radiating fin assembly; the at least one first heat
dissipating section being located near an outer portion of the
radiating fin assembly, and the at least one second heat
dissipating section being located adjacent to an inner side of the
first heat dissipating sections and therefore closer to the middle
portion of the radiating fin assembly; and the at least one first
heat pipe having two ends separately inserted into the at least one
first heat conducting section and the at least one first heat
dissipating section, and the at least one second heat pipe having
two ends separately inserted into the at least one second heat
conducting section and the at least one second heat dissipating
section.
2. The thermal module as claimed in claim 1, further comprising a
base plate assembled to the at least one first heat conducting
section and the at least one second heat conducting section of the
radiating fin assembly.
3. The thermal module as claimed in claim 2, further comprising a
thermal medium applied among the first heat conducting section, the
first heat pipe, and the base plate, as well as among the second
heat conducting section, the second heat pipe, and the base
plate.
4. The thermal module as claimed in claim 1, wherein the radiating
fin assembly has a first end and a second end, and the first and
second heat conducting sections and the first and second heat
dissipating sections are of a plurality of through holes extended
from the first to the second end of the radiating fin assembly; and
wherein when the at least one first heat pipe is inserted into the
first heat conducting and dissipating sections from the first end
of the radiating fin assembly, the at least one second heap pipe is
inserted into the second heat conducting and dissipating sections
from the second end of the radiating fan assembly.
5. The thermal module as claimed in claim 1, wherein one of the two
ends of the first heat pipe is a heat conducting end for inserting
into the first heat conducting section while the other end is a
heat dissipating end for inserting into the first heat dissipating
section; and one of the two ends of the second heat pipe is a heat
conducting end for inserting into the second heat conducting
section while the other end is a heat dissipating end for inserting
into the second heat dissipating section.
6. The thermal module as claimed in claim 1, wherein the radiating
fin assembly has an upper side and a lower side, and the first and
second heat conducting sections can be provided closer to any one
of the lower and upper sides while the first and second heat
dissipating sections are provided closer to the other side.
7. The thermal module as claimed in claim 2, wherein the radiating
fin assembly has an upper side and a lower side, and the first and
second heat conducting sections can be provided closer to any one
of the lower and upper sides while the first and second heat
dissipating sections are provided closer to the other side.
8. The thermal module as claimed in claim 3, wherein the radiating
fin assembly has an upper side and a lower side, and the first and
second heat conducting sections can be provided closer to any one
of the lower and upper sides while the first and second heat
dissipating sections are provided closer to the other side.
9. The thermal module as claimed in claim 4, wherein the radiating
fin assembly has an upper side and a lower side, and the first and
second heat conducting sections can be provided closer to any one
of the lower and upper sides while the first and second heat
dissipating sections are provided closer to the other side.
10. The thermal module as claimed in claim 5, wherein the radiating
fin assembly has an upper side and a lower side, and the first and
second heat conducting sections can be provided closer to any one
of the lower and upper sides while the first and second heat
dissipating sections are provided closer to the other side.
Description
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
[0001] The present invention relates to a thermal module, and more
particularly to a thermal module that can have reduced volume while
enabling effective transfer and dissipation of heat.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0002] Following the progress in the semiconductor technological
fields, the currently available integrated circuits (ICs) all have
largely reduced volume. For an IC to process more data, the number
of electronic elements provided on one unit area of the IC is
several times higher than before. When the number of electronic
elements on the IC is increased, the IC is subject to more heat
produced by the electronic elements during the operation thereof.
For example, when a central processing unit (CPU) works at its full
load, the heat produced by the CPU is high enough to burn out the
whole CPU. Therefore, it is an important task to develop an
effective heat sink for the IC.
[0003] Generally, a heat sink is made of a metal material having
high thermal conductivity. Meanwhile, to obtain an enhanced heat
dissipating effect, in addition to the mounting of a cooling fan to
force away the produced heat, a radiating fin assembly is also
frequently adopted. The radiating fin assembly can be further
provided with heat pipes to speed the heat dissipation, so that a
product with IC is protected against burning out.
[0004] FIGS. 1 and 2 are perspective and front views, respectively,
of a conventional thermal module 1 that includes a radiating fin
assembly 11, a plurality of heat pipes 12, and a base plate 13. The
radiating fin assembly 11 consists of a plurality of radiating fins
11A, and has a heat conducting section 111 and a heat dissipating
section 112. A plurality of through holes 113 are formed within the
heat conducting section 111 and the heat dissipating section 112.
The heat pipes 12 each have a heat conducting end 121 and a heat
dissipating end 122, which are extended through the holes 113
formed in the heat conducting section 111 and the heat dissipating
section 112, respectively, so as to connect to the radiating fin
assembly 11. One side of the radiating fin assembly 11 with the
heat conducting section 111 is in contact with one face of the base
plate 13. Another face of the base plate 13 opposite to the
radiating fin assembly 11 is attached to a heat-producing unit 2,
so that heat produced by the heat-producing unit 2 is transferred
via the base plate 13 to the heat conducting section 111 and the
heat conducting ends 121 of the heat pipes 12. The heat is then
conducted by the heat pipes 12 from the heat conducting ends 121 to
the heat dissipating ends 122, and further transferred to the heat
dissipating section 112 of the radiating fin assembly 11, from
where the heat is radiated into ambient space.
[0005] While the above-structured thermal module 1 utilizes the
heat pipes 12 to speed the heat conduction, the heat is not
sufficiently and effectively transferred to outer portions of the
radiating fin assembly 11 having relatively lower temperature. That
is, part of the heat is constantly transmitted to and accumulated
in a middle portion of the thermal module 1 without being
effectively removed from the radiating fin assembly 11. Thus, the
conventional thermal module 1 fails to provide the highest possible
heat dissipating function. Moreover, in the conventional thermal
module 1, the heat pipes 12 assembled to the radiating fin assembly
11 must be bent. Therefore, there would be a curved section 123
formed on each of the heat pipes 12. The curved section 123 has a
radius of curvature, which must not be too small in order to avoid
damaged heat conducting structures (not shown) inside the heat
pipes 12 and accordingly, failed heat pipes 12. For the heat pipes
12 to assemble to the radiating fin assembly 11 without the risk of
having a too small radius of curvature, it is necessary to increase
the area of the radiating fins 11A of the radiating fin assembly
11. However, the radiating fins 11A with increased area and the
heat pipes 12 having curved sections 123 with increased radius of
curvature would inevitably increase the whole volume of the thermal
module 1. When the large-volume thermal module 1 is mounted in an
electronic device (not shown) to assist in heat dissipation, it
would occupy a large portion of the internal space of the
electronic device (not shown).
[0006] It is therefore tried by the inventor to develop an improved
thermal module that not only has a radiating fin assembly with
reduced area and volume, but also heat pipes being specially
arranged to enable better and quicker heat dissipation.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0007] A primary object of the present invention is to provide an
improved thermal module that utilizes specially arranged heat pipes
to effectively transfer and dissipate heat source and can therefore
achieve upgraded heat dissipation performance.
[0008] Another object of the present invention is to provide a
thermal module that can have a largely reduced volume while
providing good heat transfer and dissipation effect.
[0009] A further object of the present invention is to provide a
thermal module that can be manufactured at reduce cost.
[0010] To achieve the above and other objects, the thermal module
according to the present invention includes a radiating fin
assembly, at least one first heat pipe, and at least one second
heat pipe. The radiating fin assembly has at least one first heat
conducting section located at a lower middle portion thereof, at
least one second heat conducting section located adjacent to an
outer side of the first heat conducting section and therefore
closer to a lateral lower outer portion of the radiating fin
assembly, at least one first heat dissipating section located
closer to a lateral upper outer portion of the radiating fin
assembly, and at least one second heat dissipating section located
adjacent to an inner side of the first heat dissipating section and
therefore closer to an upper middle portion of the radiating fin
assembly. The first heat pipe has two ends separately inserted into
the first heat conducting and dissipating sections from a first end
of the radiating fin assembly, and the second heat pipe has two
ends separately inserted into the second heat conducting and
dissipating sections from an opposite second end of the radiating
fin assembly. With the special arrangements of the first and second
heat pipes, the first heat conducting and dissipating sections, and
the second heat conducting and dissipating sections on the
radiating fin assembly, heat source with relatively higher
temperature generally transferred to the lower middle portion of
the radiating fin assembly is transmitted by the first heat pipe to
the upper outer portion of the radiating fin assembly having a
relatively lower temperature without stagnating around the middle
portion of the radiating fin assembly. Therefore, the heat source
can be more quickly dissipated into ambient air even if the thermal
module has a reduced volume. And, with the reduced volume, the
thermal module can be manufactured at reduced cost.
[0011] In brief, the thermal module of the present invention has
the following advantages: (1) providing good and quick heat
dissipating effect; (2) requiring only a reduced volume; (3)
suitable for dissipating high amount of heat produced by a
high-power device; and (4) allowing manufacturing at reduced
cost.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0012] The structure and the technical means adopted by the present
invention to achieve the above and other objects can be best
understood by referring to the following detailed description of
the preferred embodiments and the accompanying drawings,
wherein
[0013] FIG. 1 is an assembled perspective view of a conventional
thermal module;
[0014] FIG. 2 is a front view of FIG. 1;
[0015] FIG. 3 is a perspective view of a radiating fin assembly for
a thermal module according to a preferred embodiment of the present
invention;
[0016] FIG. 4 is a front view of FIG. 3;
[0017] FIG. 5 is an exploded perspective view of the thermal module
according to the preferred embodiment of the present invention;
[0018] FIG. 6 is an assembled view of FIG. 5;
[0019] FIG. 7 is a front view of FIG. 6; and
[0020] FIG. 8 is an assembled perspective view of a thermal module
according to another embodiment of the present invention.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
[0021] Please refer to FIGS. 3, 4, 5, and 6 at the same time, in
which a thermal module 4 according to a preferred embodiment of the
present invention is shown. The thermal module 4 includes a
radiating fin assembly 41, at least one first heat pipe 42, and at
least one second heat pipe 43. In the illustrated drawings, two
first heat pipes 42 and two second heat pipes 43 are shown, and
based on which the present invention will be described herein.
[0022] The radiating fin assembly 41 includes a plurality of
radiating fins 41A. At least one first heat conducting section 411
(two are shown in the drawings), at least one second heat
conducting section 412 (two are shown in the drawings), at least
one first heat dissipating section 413 (two are shown in the
drawings), and at least one second heat dissipating section 414
(two are shown in the drawings) are defined on the radiating fin
assembly 41. The first heat conducting sections 411 are located at
a lower middle portion of the radiating fin assembly 41, and the
second heat conducting sections 412 are separately located adjacent
to two lateral outer sides of the first heat conducting sections
411 and therefore farther away from the lower middle portion of the
radiating fin assembly 41. The first heat dissipating sections 413
are separately located near two upper outer portions of the
radiating fin assembly 41, and the second heat dissipating sections
414 are separately located adjacent to an inner side of the two
first heat dissipating sections 413 and therefore closer to an
upper middle portion of the radiating fin assembly 41.
[0023] The first heat pipes 42 each have a heat conducting end 421
and a heat dissipating end 422, and the second heat pipes 43 each
have a heat conducting end 431 and a heat dissipating end 432. The
heat conducting and dissipating ends 421, 422 of each of the two
first heat pipes 42 are respectively inserted into the first heat
conducting section 411 and the first heat dissipating sections 413
at the same lateral side of the radiating fin assembly 41. And, the
heat conducting and dissipating ends 431, 432 of each of the second
heat pipes 43 are respectively inserted into the second heat
conducting section 412 and the second heat dissipating section 414
at the same lateral side of the radiating fin assembly 41. In this
way, more heat dissipating paths can be sufficiently arranged
within one unit area of the thermal module 4 to effectively conduct
and dissipate heat transferred to the radiating fin assembly 41.
Therefore, the thermal module 4 can have upgraded heat dissipation
performance while having a reduced area. Thus, the space and the
manufacturing cost needed by the thermal module 4 can be
reduced.
[0024] Please refer to FIGS. 5 and 6, which are exploded and
assembled perspective views, respectively, of the thermal module 4
according to the preferred embodiment of the present invention, and
to FIG. 7 that is a front view of FIG. 6. As shown, the thermal
module 4 is formed from the radiating fin assembly 41, the first
heat pipes 42, and the second heat pipes 43.
[0025] The heat radiating fin assembly 41 has a first end 44 and a
second end 45 opposite to the first end 44. A plurality of through
holes 451 are formed on the radiating fin assembly 41 to extend
from the first end 44 to the second end 45 to provide the first and
second heat conducting sections 411, 412 and the first and second
heat dissipating sections 413, 414 for receiving the first and the
second heat pipes 42, 43 therein. The radiating fin assembly 41
also defines an upper side 46 and a lower side 47. The first and
the second heat conducting sections 411, 412 can be located at the
upper or the lower side 46, 47; and the first and the second heat
dissipating sections 413, 414 can be located near the lower or the
upper side 47, 46 opposite to the first and second heat conducting
sections 411, 412. In the illustrated drawings, the first and
second heat conducting sections 411, 412 are located at the lower
side 47, while the first and second heat dissipating sections 413,
414 are located near the upper side 46.
[0026] When a first heat pipes 42 is inserted into the radiating
fin assembly 41 from the first end 44 thereof, the second heat pipe
43 adjacent to that first heat pipe 42 is inserted into the
radiating fin assembly 41 from the second end 45 thereof.
Similarly, when a first heat pipe 42 is inserted into the radiating
fin assembly 41 from the second end 45 thereof, the second heat
pipe 43 adjacent to that first heat pipe 42 is inserted into the
radiating fin assembly 41 from the first end 44 thereof.
[0027] Moreover, the adjacent first and second heat pipes 42, 43
inserted into the same lateral side of the radiating fin assembly
41 from two opposite ends 44, 45 thereof are cross to each other.
More specifically, the heat conducting end 421 and the heat
dissipating end 422 of the first heat pipe 42 are inserted into the
first heat conducting section 411 and the first heat dissipating
section 413, respectively, from the first end 44 of the radiating
fin assembly 41, while the heat conducting end 431 and the heat
dissipating end 432 of the adjacent second heat pipe 43 are
inserted into the second heat conduction section 412 and the second
heat dissipating section 414, respectively, from the second end 45
of the radiating fin assembly 41.
[0028] A base plate 5 is assembled to the radiating fin assembly 41
at the first heat conducting sections 411 and the second heat
conducting sections 412. A thermal medium is applied among the base
plate 5, the first heat conducting sections 411 and the first heat
pipes 42, as well as among the base plate 5, the second heat
conducting sections 412 and the second heat pipes 43 to avoid any
clearance among them to cause undesirable thermal resistance
thereat. The thermal medium can be tin paste or other materials
with good thermal conductivity.
[0029] The first heat conducting sections 411 are provided on the
radiating fin assembly 41 near a lower middle portion thereof, and
the second heat conducting sections 412 are provided on the
radiating fin assembly 41 to separately locate adjacent to two
lateral outer sides of the first heat conducting sections 411 and
are therefore located farther away from the lower middle portion of
the radiating fin assembly 41. And, the first heat dissipating
sections 413 are provided on the radiating fin assembly 41 near two
lateral upper outer portions thereof, and the second heat
dissipating sections 414 are provided on the radiating fin assembly
41 to separately locate adjacent to an inner side of the first heat
dissipating sections 413 and are therefore located closer to the
upper middle portion of the radiating fin assembly 41.
[0030] The first heat pipes 42 are connected at their heat
conducting ends 421 and heat dissipating ends 422 to the first heat
conducting sections 411 and the first heat dissipating sections
413, respectively; and the second heat pipes 43 are connected at
their heat conducting ends 431 and heat dissipating ends 432 to the
second heat conducting sections 412 and the second heat dissipating
sections 414.
[0031] The base plate 5 is connected to one of the upper and the
lower side 46, 47 of the radiating fin assembly 41 that has the
first and second heat conducting sections 411, 412 provided
thereat. In the illustrated drawings, the base plate 5 is connected
to the lower side 47 of the radiating fin assembly 41. One face of
the base plate 5 opposite to the radiating fin assembly 41 is in
contact with a heat-producing element (not shown) for transferring
the heat source to the radiating fin assembly 41. The first heat
conducting sections 411 are located atop the base plate 5 within a
middle portion thereof, at where more heat is absorbed to produce
relatively higher temperature. On the other hand, the second heat
conducting sections 412 are located atop the base plate 5 at
positions some distance away from the middle portion and therefore
having relatively lower temperature. That is, with the present
invention, the largest part of the heat source transferred via the
base plate 5 to the lower middle portion of the radiating fin
assembly 41, that is, the first heat conducting sections 411, is
conducted by the first heat pipes 42 to the first heat dissipating
sections 413, which are closer to the lateral upper outer portions
of the radiating fin assembly 41 and therefore have relatively
lower temperature, enabling quicker diffusion of the heat source
transferred thereto. That is, by conducting the heat source from
locations of the radiating fin assembly 41 having relatively higher
temperature to locations of the radiating fin assembly 41 having
relatively lower temperature, the thermal module 4 can have
upgraded overall heat dissipation performance.
[0032] With the special arrangements of the first and second heat
conducting sections 411, 412 and the first and second heat
dissipating sections 413, 414 on the radiating fin assembly 41, as
well as the crossing arrangement of the first heat pipes 42
relative to the second heat pipes 42, 43 when they are inserted
into the radiating fin assembly 41, even if the radiating fins 41A
each are reduced in area, the thermal module 4 of the present
invention can still provide heat dissipation performance superior
to that of the conventional thermal modules.
[0033] FIG. 8 is a perspective view of a thermal module 4 according
to another embodiment of the present invention, which is generally
structurally similar to the previously described preferred
embodiment, except that the radiating fins 41A of the radiating fin
assembly 41 each are provided at two lateral sides with a first
bent edge 48 and a second bent edge 49.
[0034] The present invention has been described with some preferred
embodiments thereof and it is understood that many changes and
modifications in the described embodiments, such as changes in the
configuration or the arrangements of the components thereof, can be
carried out without departing from the scope and the spirit of the
invention that is intended to be limited only by the appended
claims.
* * * * *