U.S. patent application number 12/549389 was filed with the patent office on 2010-12-09 for heat pipe.
This patent application is currently assigned to FURUI PRECISE COMPONENT (KUNSHAN) CO., LTD.. Invention is credited to SHENG-LIANG DAI, JIN-PENG LIU, YUE LIU, YU-LIANG LO, SHENG-LIN WU.
Application Number | 20100307720 12/549389 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 43262940 |
Filed Date | 2010-12-09 |
United States Patent
Application |
20100307720 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
LIU; JIN-PENG ; et
al. |
December 9, 2010 |
HEAT PIPE
Abstract
A heat pipe includes a casing and a supporting member. The
casing is made of titanium and has a first end and a second end at
two opposite sides thereof. The first end defines a receiving space
therein. The supporting member is made of a material selected from
one of copper, aluminum, stainless steel, low-carbon steel, iron,
nickel, tungsten, tantalum, molybdenum, rhenium and columbium. The
supporting member is received in the receiving space of the first
end of the casing. The first end of the casing and the supporting
member are integrally cramped and sealed.
Inventors: |
LIU; JIN-PENG; (ShenZhen
City, CN) ; LIU; YUE; (ShenZhen City, CN) ;
DAI; SHENG-LIANG; (ShenZhen City, CN) ; WU;
SHENG-LIN; (Tu-Cheng, TW) ; LO; YU-LIANG;
(Tu-Cheng, TW) |
Correspondence
Address: |
Altis Law Group, Inc.;ATTN: Steven Reiss
288 SOUTH MAYO AVENUE
CITY OF INDUSTRY
CA
91789
US
|
Assignee: |
FURUI PRECISE COMPONENT (KUNSHAN)
CO., LTD.
KunShan City
CN
FOXCONN TECHNOLOGY CO., LTD.
Tu-Cheng
TW
|
Family ID: |
43262940 |
Appl. No.: |
12/549389 |
Filed: |
August 28, 2009 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
165/104.26 |
Current CPC
Class: |
H01L 23/427 20130101;
F28F 21/086 20130101; H01L 2924/0002 20130101; F28D 15/04 20130101;
F28D 15/0283 20130101; H01L 2924/00 20130101; H01L 2924/0002
20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
165/104.26 |
International
Class: |
F28D 15/04 20060101
F28D015/04 |
Foreign Application Data
Date |
Code |
Application Number |
Jun 3, 2009 |
CN |
200910302876.0 |
Claims
1. A heat pipe comprising: a casing made of titanium and having a
first end and a second end at two opposite sides thereof, the first
end defining a receiving space therein; and a supporting member
being made of a material selected from one of copper, aluminum,
stainless steel, low-carbon steel, iron, nickel, tungsten,
tantalum, molybdenum, rhenium and columbium, the supporting member
being received in the receiving space of the first end of the
casing, the first end of the casing and the supporting member being
integrally cramped and sealed.
2. The heat pipe as claimed in claim 1, wherein an inner peripheral
surface of the first end is tightly attached to an outer peripheral
surface of the supporting member.
3. The heat pipe as claimed in claim 1, wherein the first end
comprises a shrinkage portion and a sealing portion at two opposite
ends thereof, the shrinkage portion has a tapered configuration and
an outer diameter of the shrinkage portion gradually decreases
along an axial direction from the second end of the casing toward
the first end of the casing.
4. The heat pipe as claimed in claim 3, wherein the supporting
member comprises a positioning member corresponding to the
shrinkage portion of the casing and a sealing portion corresponding
to the sealing portion of the first end of the casing, the sealing
portion of the supporting member is flat and has a top wall and a
bottom wall intimately connected to the top wall.
5. The heat pipe as claimed in claim 4, wherein a free end of the
sealing portion of the first end of the casing and a free end of
the sealing portion of the supporting member are connected and
sealed together by welding.
6. The heat pipe as claimed in claim 1 further comprising a wick
structure disposed in the heat pipe and working fluid contained in
the heat pipe.
7. A heat pipe, comprising: a casing made of titanium and having a
first end and a second end at two opposite sides thereof, the first
end defining a receiving space therein; and a supporting member
made of a material different from titanium, the supporting member
being received in the receiving space of the first end of the
casing, the first end of the casing and the supporting member being
integrally cramped and sealed.
8. The heat pipe as claimed in claim 7, wherein the supporting
member is made of a material selected from the group consisting of
copper, aluminum, stainless steel, low-carbon steel, iron, nickel,
tungsten, tantalum, molybdenum, rhenium and columbium.
9. The heat pipe as claimed in claim 8, wherein an outer peripheral
surface of the supporting member is tightly attached to an inner
peripheral surface of the first end of the casing.
10. The heat pipe as claimed in claim 9, wherein the first end of
the casing comprises a shrinkage portion and a sealing portion at
two opposite ends thereof, the shrinkage portion has a tapered
configuration and an outer diameter of the shrinkage portion
gradually decreases along an axial direction from the second end of
the casing toward the first end of the casing.
11. The heat pipe as claimed in claim 10, wherein a free end of the
sealing portion of the casing and a free end of the sealing portion
of the supporting member are connected and sealed together by
welding.
12. The heat pipe as claimed in claim 7 further comprising a wick
structure disposed in the heat pipe and working fluid contained in
the heat pipe.
13. The heat pipe as claimed in claim 12, wherein the supporting
member is made of copper.
Description
BACKGROUND
[0001] 1. Technical Field
[0002] The present invention relates generally to a heat pipe, and
particularly to a heat pipe which has a pipe body made of titanium
and a sealed end made of at least a ductile metal.
[0003] 2. Description of Related Art
[0004] Heat pipes have excellent heat transfer performance due to
their low thermal resistance, and are therefore an effective means
for transfer or dissipation of heat from heat sources. Currently,
heat pipes are widely used for removing heat from heat-generating
components such as central processing units (CPUs) of computers. A
heat pipe is usually a vacuum casing containing therein a working
medium, which is employed to carry, under phase transitions between
liquid state and vapor state, thermal energy from one section of
the heat pipe (typically referring to as the "evaporator section")
to another section thereof (typically referring to as the
"condenser section").
[0005] Presently, titanium is preferred for use as a material to
make heat pipes than copper due to its light weight, high strength
and high resistance to corrosion. However, titanium has a greater
rigidity than copper, whereby cracks would be incurred on a sealed
end of the titanium heat pipe when an open end of the heat pipe is
cramped to form the sealed end. Thus, a vacuum degree of the heat
pipe would be gradually decreased due to the cracks of the heat
pipe.
[0006] Therefore, it is desirable to provide a heat pipe which can
overcome the above described shortcoming.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0007] 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.
[0008] FIG. 1 is an isometric view of a heat pipe in accordance
with an exemplary embodiment of the present invention.
[0009] FIG. 2 is a longitudinally cross-sectional view of the heat
pipe of FIG. 1, taken along line II-II thereof.
[0010] FIG. 3 is an enlarged view of a circle portion III of FIG.
2.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
[0011] Referring to FIGS. 1-2, a heat pipe 1 includes a sealed
casing 10 containing a working fluid (not shown) therein, a wick
structure 12 disposed on an inner surface of the casing 10 and a
supporting member 16 received in the casing 10.
[0012] The casing 10 is made of titanium. The casing 10 has a first
end 13, a second end 14 opposite to the first end 13 of the casing
10, and a middle main portion 15 between the second end 14 and the
first end 13. The first end 13 defines a receiving space 136
therein. The first end 13 includes a shrinkage portion 131
connecting with the middle main portion 15 of the casing 10, a
connecting portion 132 connecting with the shrinkage portion 131
and a sealing portion 133 connecting with the connecting portion
132. The shrinkage portion 131 has a tapered configuration and an
outer diameter of the shrinkage portion 131 gradually decreases
along an axial direction from the second end 14 of the casing 10
toward the first end 13 of the casing 10. The connecting portion
132 has a tube-shaped configuration and extends longitudinally
outwardly from the shrinkage portion 131. The sealing portion 133
is flat and has a top wall 134 and a bottom wall 135 spaced from
each other.
[0013] The supporting member 16 is made of a material with low
rigidity and good ductility such as copper, aluminum, stainless
steel, low-carbon steel, iron, nickel, tungsten, tantalum,
molybdenum, rhenium and columbium. In the preferred embodiment, the
supporting member 16 is made of copper.
[0014] The supporting member 16 is received in the receiving space
136 of the first end 13 of the casing 10. An outer circumferential
surface of the supporting member 16 is tightly attached to an inner
circumferential surface of the first end 13 of the casing 10. The
supporting member 16 includes a positioning portion 161
corresponding to the shrinkage portion 131 of the casing 10, a
tube-shaped connecting portion 162 corresponding to the connecting
portion 132 of the casing 10 and a flat sealing portion 163
corresponding to the sealing portion 133 of the casing 10. The
positioning portion 161 and the sealing portion 163 are disposed at
two opposite ends of the supporting member 16. The connecting
portion 162 is disposed between the positioning portion 161 and the
sealing portion 163 of the supporting member 16.
[0015] The positioning portion 161 has a tapered configuration and
an outer diameter of the positioning portion 161 gradually
decreases along an axial direction from the second end 14 of the
casing 10 toward the first end 13 of the casing 10. An outer
circumferential surface of the positioning portion 161 of the
supporting member 16 is tightly attached to an inner
circumferential surface of the shrinkage portion 131 of the casing
10. The connecting portion 162 of the supporting member 16 has an
outer diameter the same as an inner diameter of the connecting
portion 132 of the casing 10. An outer circumferential surface of
the connecting portion 162 of the supporting member 16 is tightly
attached to an inner circumferential surface of the connecting
portion 132 of the casing 10. An outer circumferential surface of
the sealing portion 163 of the supporting member 16 is tightly
attached to an inner circumferential surface of the sealing portion
133 of the casing 10.
[0016] The sealing portion 133 of the casing 10 is cramped to form
the top wall 134 and the bottom wall 135, whereby the sealing
portion 163 of the supporting member 16 is cramped to form a top
wall 164 and a bottom wall 165 intimately connected to the top wall
164. A free end 137 of the sealing portion 133 of the casing 10 and
a free end 167 of the sealing portion 163 of the supporting member
16 are connected and sealed together by welding.
[0017] In manufacturing the heat pipe 1, the casing 10 is provided,
with the second end 14 of the heat pipe 1 being integrally sealed
and the first end 13 being open. Then, the supporting member 16 is
provided and inserted into the receiving space 136 of the first end
13 of the casing 10. The first end 13 is shrunk to form the
shrinkage portion 131 and the connecting portion 132. The
positioning portion 161 and the connecting portion 162 of the
supporting member 16 are accordingly formed. The shrinkage portion
131 of the casing 10 prevents the supporting member 16 from moving
longitudinally outwardly. The sealing portion 133 of the casing 10
is cramped to cause the sealing portion 133 of the casing 10 and
the sealing portion 163 of the supporting member 16 to be
flattened, whereby the top wall 163 and the bottom wall 164 of the
sealing portion 163 of the supporting member 16 are intimately
connected together. Finally, the free end 137 of the sealing
portion 133 of the casing 10 and the free end 167 of the sealing
portion 163 of the supporting member 16 are welded, so that the
heat pipe 1 is hermetically sealed. When the sealing portion 133 of
the casing 10 is cramped, the sealing portion 133 is prevented from
cracking since the supporting member 16, which is made of a
material having a low rigidity and good ductility in comparison
with titanium supports the sealing portion 133 of the casing 10.
Thus, the heat pipe 1 can have a better hermetically sealing
effectiveness, in comparison with that attainable by a heat pipe
purely made of titanium. It is well known by those skilled in the
art that before the cramping of the sealing portions 133, 163 of
the casing 10 and the supporting member 16, the working fluid is
injected into the casing 10 and the air in the casing 10 is
vacuumed via a hole in the sealing portion 163.
[0018] 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.
* * * * *