U.S. patent application number 12/556547 was filed with the patent office on 2010-12-30 for heat spreader with vapor chamber and method for manufacturing the same.
This patent application is currently assigned to FU ZHUN PRECISION INDUSTRY (SHEN ZHEN) CO., LTD.. Invention is credited to De-Yu Wang.
Application Number | 20100326630 12/556547 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 43366997 |
Filed Date | 2010-12-30 |
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United States Patent
Application |
20100326630 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Wang; De-Yu |
December 30, 2010 |
HEAT SPREADER WITH VAPOR CHAMBER AND METHOD FOR MANUFACTURING THE
SAME
Abstract
A method for manufacturing a heat spreader includes steps of:
providing an elongated and flat sectional material with a through
hole defined therein; cutting the sectional material into a
plurality of parts each in a predetermined length to form a
plurality of casings, wherein each of the casings defines a vapor
chamber therein and has at least an opening in a side thereof;
forming a wick structure on an inner face of the casing; providing
a plurality of supporting members; placing and fixing the
supporting members into the vapor chamber of the casing; and
injecting working liquid into the vapor chamber and sealing the
casing.
Inventors: |
Wang; De-Yu; (Shenzhen City,
CN) |
Correspondence
Address: |
Altis Law Group, Inc.;ATTN: Steven Reiss
288 SOUTH MAYO AVENUE
CITY OF INDUSTRY
CA
91789
US
|
Assignee: |
FU ZHUN PRECISION INDUSTRY (SHEN
ZHEN) CO., LTD.
Shenzhen City
CN
FOXCONN TECHNOLOGY CO., LTD.
Tu-Cheng
TW
|
Family ID: |
43366997 |
Appl. No.: |
12/556547 |
Filed: |
September 9, 2009 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
165/104.26 ;
165/185; 29/890.032 |
Current CPC
Class: |
G06F 1/20 20130101; F28F
2240/00 20130101; B23P 2700/10 20130101; F28D 2021/0029 20130101;
F28F 1/12 20130101; Y10T 29/49353 20150115; H01L 23/427 20130101;
H01L 2924/00 20130101; F28D 15/0233 20130101; F28D 15/046 20130101;
G06F 2200/201 20130101; H01L 2924/0002 20130101; H01L 2924/0002
20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
165/104.26 ;
29/890.032; 165/185 |
International
Class: |
F28D 15/04 20060101
F28D015/04; B21D 53/02 20060101 B21D053/02 |
Foreign Application Data
Date |
Code |
Application Number |
Jun 24, 2009 |
CN |
200910303592.3 |
Claims
1. A method for manufacturing a heat spreader comprising: providing
an elongated and flat sectional material with a through hole
defined therein; cutting the sectional material into a plurality of
parts each in a predetermined length to form a plurality of
casings, and each of the casings defining a vapor chamber therein
and having at least an opening in a side thereof; forming a wick
structure on an inner face of the casing; providing a plurality of
supporting members; placing and fixing the supporting members into
the vapor chamber of the casing; and injecting working liquid into
the vapor chamber and sealing the casing.
2. The method as claimed in claim 1, wherein the casing comprises a
base and a cover located above the base, and the supporting members
are sandwiched between the base and the cover.
3. The method as claimed in claim 2, wherein each of the supporting
members has a column configuration and made of a metal with good
heat conductivity.
4. The method as claimed in claim 2, wherein two opposite ends of
each supporting member are attached to the wick structure formed on
the base and the cover of the casing.
5. The method as claimed in claim 2, wherein each supporting member
has a configuration of a helical spring.
6. The method as claimed in claim 5, wherein an axis of each
supporting member is perpendicular to the base and the cover of the
casing.
7. The method as claimed in claim 2, wherein the supporting members
are sintered with the base and the cover of the casing.
8. The method as claimed in claim 2, wherein the supporting members
are soldered with the base and the cover of the casing.
9. A heat spreader comprising: a plate-shaped casing defining a
vapor chamber therein; a working liquid contained in the vapor
chamber; a wick structure formed on an inner face of the casing and
correspondingly surrounding the vapor chamber; and a plurality of
supporting members received in the vapor chamber of the casing.
10. The heat spreader as claimed in claim 9, wherein the casing
comprises a base and a cover located above the base, the supporting
members are sandwiched between the base and the cover.
11. The heat spreader as claimed in claim 10, wherein two opposite
ends of each supporting member are attached to the wick structure
formed on the base and the cover of the casing.
12. The heat spreader as claimed in claim 9, wherein each of the
supporting members has a column configuration and made of a metal
with good heat conductivity.
13. The heat spreader as claimed in claim 9, wherein each
supporting member has a configuration of a helical spring.
14. The heat spreader as claimed in claim 13, wherein the
supporting members are disposed vertically in the vapor chamber of
the casing.
15. The heat spreader as claimed in claim 9, wherein the wick
structure is selected from one of sintered metal powder, metal
mesh, carbon nanotube array and bundle of fibers.
Description
BACKGROUND
[0001] 1. Technical Field
[0002] The disclosure generally relates to heat spreaders and, more
particularly, to a heat spreader with a vapor chamber having a
plurality of supporting members received in the vapor chamber and a
method for manufacturing the heat spreader.
[0003] 2. Description of Related Art
[0004] Electronic components, such as central processing units
(CPUs) comprise numerous circuits operating at high speeds and
generating substantial heat. Under most circumstances, it is
necessary to cool the CPUs to maintain safe operating conditions
and assure that the CPUs function properly and reliably. In the
past, various approaches have been used to cool electronic
components.
[0005] A heat spreader with a vapor chamber is usually used to help
heat dissipation for electronic components. The heat spreader
generally includes a base, a cover mounted on the base and a sealed
chamber defined between the base and the cover. Moderate working
liquid is contained in the chamber. The base has a wick structure
spreading on a whole inner face thereof, and the cover has a wick
structure spreading on a whole inner face thereof, too. During
operation, the base absorbs heat from an electronic component, and
the working liquid is heated into vapor in the chamber. The vapor
flows towards the cover and dissipates the heat to the cover, then
condenses into liquid and returns back to the base by capillary
force generated by the wick structures to continue a next
phase-change cycle.
[0006] However, since the heat spreader is a hollow plate-shaped
structure, it is prone to be deformed when subjected to a large
pressure. Such deformation of the heat spreader may result in the
wick structures disengaged from the inner faces of the heat
spreader, thus adversely affecting heat transfer efficiency of the
heat spreader.
[0007] What is needed, therefore, is a heat spreader with a vapor
chamber which can overcome the above problems.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0008] 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.
[0009] FIG. 1 is an assembled, isometric view of a heat spreader in
accordance with a first embodiment of the disclosure, with a heat
sink positioned thereon and an electronic component positioned
therebelow.
[0010] FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of FIG. 1, taken along a
line II-II thereof.
[0011] FIG. 3 is an assembled, isometric view of a heat spreader in
accordance with a second embodiment of the disclosure, with a heat
sink positioned thereon and an electronic component positioned
therebelow.
[0012] FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view of FIG. 3, taken along a
line IV-IV thereof.
[0013] FIG. 5 is a schematic view showing a manufacturing process
of a casing of the heat spreader of FIG. 1.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
[0014] Referring to FIGS. 1-2, a heat spreader 10 in accordance
with a first embodiment of the disclosure absorbs heat generated by
an electronic component 20 mounted below the heat spreader 10.
Typically, a finned metal heat sink 30 is attached to a top face of
the heat spreader 10 to remove the heat therefrom. The heat
absorbed by the heat sink 30 is then dissipated to ambient air.
[0015] The heat spreader 10 comprises a hollow casing 11 which
defines a vapor chamber 12 therein, a wick structure 13 formed on
an inner face of the casing 11, and a plurality of supporting
members 14 received in the vapor chamber 12. A predetermined
quantity of working liquid, such as water, alcohol, olefin and so
on, is contained in the vapor chamber 12 for transferring heat by
phase change. The vapor chamber 12 is evacuated for facilitating
evaporation of the working liquid.
[0016] The casing 11 is a hollow rectangular plate and integrally
made of a metal with good heat conductivity, such as aluminum,
copper, or an alloy thereof. The casing 11 comprises a base 15
thermally attached to the electronic component 20, a cover 16
located above and parallel to the base 15 and a sidewall (not
labeled) interconnecting the base 15 and the cover 16. As best seen
in FIG. 2, the sidewall has two opposite lateral sides each of
which has a curved profile protruding outwardly. The heat sink 30
is thermally disposed on the cover 16.
[0017] The wick structure 13 spreads on the whole inner face of the
casing 11 and surrounds the vapor chamber 12. The wick structure 13
can be selected from some suitable materials, such as sintered
metal powder, metal mesh, carbon nanotube array, bundle of fibers
and so on.
[0018] The supporting members 14 each are integrally made of a
metal with good heat conductivity, such as aluminum, copper, or an
alloy thereof. Each of the supporting members 14 has a column
configuration. The supporting members 14 are sandwiched between the
base 15 and the cover 16 of the casing 11. An axis of each
supporting member 14 is perpendicular to the base 15 and the cover
16 of the casing 11. Opposite bottom and top ends of each
supporting member 14 are attached to the wick structure 13 formed
on the base 15 and the cover 16, respectively. The supporting
members 14 are evenly arranged in the vapor chamber 12 and spaced
from each other.
[0019] Referring to FIGS. 3-4 also, a heat spreader 10a of a second
embodiment of the disclosure is similar to that of the previous
embodiment, excepting a casing 11a and a plurality of supporting
members 14a received in the casing 11a. The differences between the
two embodiments are that two opposite lateral sides of the sidewall
of the casing 11a are planar and perpendicular to the base 15 of
the casing 11a, whereby the casing 11a has a rectangular
parallelepiped profile, and each of the supporting members 14a has
a column-spiral configuration similar to a helical spring. An axis
of each supporting member 14a is perpendicular to the base 15 and
the cover 16 of the casing 11a. Opposite bottom and top ends of
each supporting member 14a are attached to the wick structure 13
formed on the base 15 and the cover 16, respectively.
[0020] Referring to FIG. 5 also, a method for manufacturing the
heat spreader 10, 10a of the disclosure comprises steps described
below. Firstly, a metallic elongated and flat tube is provided. The
tube is then cut into a plurality of similar semifinished parts
each having a predetermined length in order to form the casing 11,
11a, wherein each semifinished part has two openings at two
opposite sides thereof. An insert (not shown) is inserted into the
semifinished part through one of the openings thereof, with a gap
defined between the insert and top and bottom of the semifinished
part. Metal powder is then filled into the gap between the insert
and the semifinished part and then sintered onto the inner face of
the semifinished part by heating the metal powder, to thereby form
the wick structure 13 over the inner face of the semifinished part.
The insert according to the preferred embodiment is a solid
metallic block which is withdrawn from the semifinished part after
the powder is sintered onto the inner face of the semifinished
part. Alternatively, the insert can be a hollow block formed by
woven meshes which is able to be sintered onto the inner face of
the semifinished part as a part of the wick structure 13 when
sintering the powder. Thereafter, the supporting members 14, 14a
are placed into the semifinished part, and the supporting members
14, 14a are fixed on the wick structure 13 formed in the
semifinished part by sintering or soldering. Finally, two opposite
opening ends of the semifinished part are punched to be sealed for
sealing the vapor chamber 12, in which an injection hole is formed
in one of the two sealed opposite sides so that work liquid can be
injected into the vapor chamber 12 via the injection hole and the
vapor chamber can be vacuumed via the injection hole. Finally, the
injection hole is sealed, whereby the casing 11, 11a, is formed by
the semifinished part and the manufacturing of the heat spreader 10
is finished, which incorporates the supporting members 14, 14a
therein.
[0021] During use of the heat spreader 10, the electronic component
20 is attached to the base 15, and the base 15 absorbs the heat
produced by the electronic component 20. The working liquid
saturated in the wick structure 13 formed on the base 15 is heated
into vapor. The vapor is quickly diffused into the whole vapor
chamber 12 of the heat spreader 10. When the vapor contacts the
wick structure 13 formed on the cover 16 and the cover 16, it gives
out heat and condenses into liquid. The condensed working liquid
then flows back to the base 15 through the wick structure 13. The
supporting members 14, 14a which are received in the vapor chamber
12 prevent the casing 11, 11a, from being deformed when the casing
11, 11a, is subject to pressure acting thereon. Additionally, since
the casing 11, 11a is likely to expand when subject to heat, the
spring-like supporting members 14a of the second embodiment could
pull the base 15 and the cover 16 together by resilient force, to
thereby limit the casing 11a to deform within a reasonable
scale.
[0022] It is to be understood, however, that even though numerous
characteristics and advantages of the present embodiments have been
set fourth in the foregoing description, together with details of
the structures and functions of the embodiments, the disclosure is
illustrative only, and changes may be made in detail, especially in
matters of shape, size, and arrangement of parts within the
principles of the disclosure to the full extent indicated by the
broad general meaning of the terms in which the appended claims are
expressed.
* * * * *