U.S. patent application number 12/560353 was filed with the patent office on 2011-01-13 for thermal module and manufacturing method thereof.
This patent application is currently assigned to FU ZHUN PRECISION INDUSTRY (SHEN ZHEN) CO., LTD.. Invention is credited to XIAN-MIN JIN, JER-HAUR KUO, YE-FEI YU, XIN-XIANG ZHA.
Application Number | 20110005727 12/560353 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 43426601 |
Filed Date | 2011-01-13 |
United States Patent
Application |
20110005727 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
YU; YE-FEI ; et al. |
January 13, 2011 |
THERMAL MODULE AND MANUFACTURING METHOD THEREOF
Abstract
A thermal module includes a substrate and a heat pipe integrally
embedded in the substrate by insert molding technique. An end of
the heat pipe protrudes laterally out of the substrate. The heat
pipe includes a tube, a wick structure attached to an inner surface
of the tube and a working fluid filled in the tube. A method for
manufacturing the thermal module includes following steps:
providing a tube with a wick structure attached to an inner surface
thereof, an end of the tube being open; placing the tube into a
mold; injecting a molten metal into the mold to form a substrate
with the tube being integrally embedded in the substrate and the
open end of the tube protruding laterally out of the substrate;
filling a working fluid into the tube via the open end; sealing the
open end of the tube.
Inventors: |
YU; YE-FEI; (Shenzhen City,
CN) ; ZHA; XIN-XIANG; (Shenzhen City, CN) ;
JIN; XIAN-MIN; (Shenzhen City, CN) ; KUO;
JER-HAUR; (Tu-Cheng, TW) |
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: |
43426601 |
Appl. No.: |
12/560353 |
Filed: |
September 15, 2009 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
165/104.26 ;
165/104.33; 165/185; 29/890.03; 29/890.032 |
Current CPC
Class: |
F28F 3/02 20130101; H01L
23/427 20130101; F28D 15/0266 20130101; Y10T 29/49353 20150115;
H01L 2924/0002 20130101; H05K 7/20336 20130101; F28D 15/0275
20130101; F28D 15/0233 20130101; F28D 15/046 20130101; Y10T 29/4935
20150115; H01L 2924/0002 20130101; H01L 2924/00 20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
165/104.26 ;
165/104.33; 165/185; 29/890.032; 29/890.03 |
International
Class: |
F28D 15/04 20060101
F28D015/04; F28F 7/00 20060101 F28F007/00; B21D 53/02 20060101
B21D053/02 |
Foreign Application Data
Date |
Code |
Application Number |
Jul 7, 2009 |
CN |
200910304100.2 |
Claims
1. A thermal module, comprising: a substrate; and a heat pipe being
integrally embedded in the substrate by insert molding technique
with at least one end of the heat pipe protruding laterally out of
the substrate, the heat pipe comprising a hollow tube, a wick
structure attached to an inner surface of the tube and a working
fluid filled in the tube.
2. The thermal module of claim 1, wherein the substrate forms a
bottom surface adapted for contacting with an electronic component,
and the heat pipe is flat and forms a planar contacting surface
coplanar to the bottom surface of the substrate.
3. The thermal module of claim 2, wherein the substrate further
comprises a top surface opposite to the bottom surface, a plurality
of fins integrally extending upwardly from the top surface of the
substrate.
4. The thermal module of claim 3, wherein the heat pipe is
U-shaped, including an evaporating section integrally embedded in
the substrate and a condensing section extending through the
fins.
5. The thermal module of claim 1, wherein the substrate is
rectangular, the heat pipe extends centrally through the substrate,
additional two heat pipes are provided at two opposite lateral
sides of the heat pipe and integrally embedded in the substrate,
the additional two heat pipes each includes a linear portion and
two bent portions extending slantwise from two ends of the linear
portion towards corners of the substrate.
6. A method of manufacturing a thermal module, comprising:
providing a hollow tube with a wick structure being attached to an
inner surface of the tube, at least one end of the tube being open;
providing a mold and positioning the tube in the mold; injecting a
molten metal into the mold to form a substrate with the tube being
integrally embedded in the substrate and the at least one open end
of the tube protruding laterally out of the substrate; filling a
working fluid into the tube via the at least one open end and
sealing the at least one open end of the tube.
7. The method of claim 6, wherein the substrate comprises a bottom
surface and a top surface opposite to the bottom surface, a
plurality of fins are integrally formed on the top surface of the
substrate during the manufacturing of the substrate.
8. The method of claim 7, wherein the heat pipe is U-shaped,
including an evaporating section embedded in the substrate and a
condensing section extending through the fins.
9. The method of claim 6, wherein the substrate comprises a bottom
surface, the heat pipe is flat and forms a planar contacting
surface coplanar with the bottom surface of the substrate.
Description
BACKGROUND
[0001] 1. Technical Field
[0002] The present disclosure relates to a thermal module and a
manufacturing method of the thermal module.
[0003] 2. Description of Related Art
[0004] With continuing development of electronic technology,
heat-generating electronic components such as CPUs (central
processing units) are generating more and more heat which requires
immediate dissipation. Generally, thermal modules are attached to
the electronic components to provide such dissipation.
[0005] A conventional thermal module includes a substrate, a fin
assembly and a plurality of heat pipes connecting the fin assembly
with the substrate. The substrate defines a plurality of elongated
recesses for receiving the evaporator sections of the heat pipes.
The evaporator sections of the heat pipes are respectively received
in the recesses of the substrate and fixed to the substrate by
soldering. Usually, a thermal interface material such as thermal
grease is applied in the recesses to reduce air gaps between the
heat pipes and the substrate. In manufacturing the thermal module,
the substrate is defined with the recesses, and the heat pipes are
assembled to the recesses of the substrate, which is time-consuming
and complex. Furthermore, due to a technical restriction, the
thermal grease can not be uniformly filled in a gap between the
heat pipes and the substrate, which increases a heat resistance of
the thermal module, and a heat dissipation capability of the
thermal module is thus greatly reduced.
[0006] Therefore, a thermal module having a high heat dissipation
capability and a simple manufacturing process is desired to
overcome the above described shortcomings.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0007] FIG. 1 is an isometric view of a thermal module according to
a first embodiment.
[0008] FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of the thermal module of
FIG. 1, taken along a line II-II thereof.
[0009] FIG. 3 is a flow chart showing a method for manufacturing
the thermal module of FIG. 1.
[0010] FIG. 4 shows a mold and plural tubes for forming the thermal
module according to the method of FIG. 3.
[0011] FIG. 5 is a bottom plan view of a thermal module according
to a second embodiment.
[0012] FIG. 6 is an isometric view of a thermal module according to
a third embodiment.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
[0013] Referring to FIGS. 1 and 2, the thermal module 100 includes
a substrate 12 and a plurality heat pipes 16 integrally embedded in
the substrate 12 by insert molding technique. The substrate 12 is
made of metal such as aluminum which has a high heat conductivity
coefficient. The substrate 12 is rectangular, including a planar
bottom surface 122 adapted for contacting with a heat-generating
electronic component (not shown) and a planar top surface 124
opposite to the bottom surface 122.
[0014] The heat pipes 16 have the same shape and structure. The
heat pipes 16 each are elongated. Each of the heat pipes 16
includes a tube 162, a wick structure 164 received in the tube 162
and a working fluid (not shown) filled in the tube 162. The tube
162 is made of metal with high heat conductivity coefficient, such
as copper. The tube 162 is hollow, defining a chamber 163 therein.
The working fluid with a relatively low boiling point is filled in
the chamber 163. The wick structure 164 is attached to an inner
surface of the tube 162 surrounding the chamber 163. The wick
structure 164 may be sintered powder, tiny grooves, or screen mesh.
In this embodiment, the wick structure 164 is sintered powder. The
wick structure 164 defines a plurality of pores therein which
generate a capillary force to the working fluid.
[0015] The heat pipes 16 are parallel to and evenly spaced from
each other in the substrate 12. Each of the heat pipes 16 extends
from one lateral side of the substrate 12 to an opposite lateral
side of the substrate 12 with two distal ends of each of the heat
pipes 16 protruding laterally out of the substrate 12. The heat
pipes 16 each are flat, and thus a planar contacting surface 161 is
formed at a bottom side of each of the heat pipes 16. The
contacting surfaces 161 of the heat pipes 16 are coplanar with the
bottom surface 122 of the substrate 12.
[0016] Referring to FIGS. 3 and 4, in a method of manufacturing the
thermal module 100, a plurality of hollow tubes 162a each with a
wick structure 164a attached to an inner surface thereof are
firstly provided, wherein one end of each of the tubes 162a is
open, and the other end of each of the tubes 162a is sealed. A mold
18 is provided and the tubes 162a are positioned in the mold 18. A
molten metal is injected into the mold 18 to form the substrate 12
wherein the tubes 162a are integrally embedded in the substrate 12
with two ends of each of the tubes 162a protruding laterally out of
the substrate 12. The tubes 162a together with the substrate 12 are
then taken out from the mold 18. Each of the tubes 162a is vacuumed
and a working fluid is filled into each of the tubes 162a via the
open end of each of the tubes 162a, and then the open end of each
of the tubes 162a is sealed to form the heat pipes 16. Thus, the
thermal module 100 with the heat pipes 16 integrally embedded in
the substrate 12 is formed.
[0017] Before the tubes 162a are positioned in the mold 18, the
tubes 162a each are flattened to form a contacting surface 161. The
contacting surfaces 161 of the heat pipes 16 are coplanar to the
bottom surface 122 of the substrate 12 such that the contacting
surfaces 161 can contact the electronic component directly, to
thereby absorb heat from the electronic component directly. The
open ends of the tubes 162a protrude laterally out of the substrate
12 such that the working fluid can be filled into the tubes 162a
via the open end of each of the tubes 162a, and the open end of
each of the tubes 162a can be conveniently sealed.
[0018] As the heat pipes 16 are embedded in the substrate 12 by
insert molding technique, the substrate 12 needs not to define
recesses therein for receiving the heat pipes 16, and the heat
pipes 16 need not to be assembled and soldered to the substrate 12,
whereby the manufacturing process of the thermal module 100 is
simple and convenient. In addition, the heat pipes 16 are
integrally formed with the substrate 12 with no air gaps
therebetween, whereby a heat resistance between the substrate 12
and the heat pipes 16 is greatly reduced; thus, a heat dissipation
efficiency of the thermal module 100 is increased accordingly
[0019] During operation, the bottom surface 122 of the substrate 12
and the contacting surfaces 161 of the heat pipes 16 directly
contact with the electronic component to absorb heat from the
electronic component. The bottom surface 122 of the substrate 12
transfers the heat to the top surface 124 of the substrate 12, and
then the top surface 124 of the substrate 12 radiates the heat to
an outside environment or a fin assembly attached on the top
surface 124. The contacting surfaces 161 of the heat pipes 16
absorb the heat and transfer the heat to the working fluid received
in the chambers 163 of the heat pipes 16, and then the working
fluid in the chambers 163 absorbs the heat and evaporates, the
vapor carrying the heat moves to every area of the chambers 163 and
releases the heat to the substrate 12. Thus, the heat is rapidly
and uniformly spread to everywhere of the substrate 12. Since the
heat pipes 16 are integrally connected with the substrate 12 by
insert molding technique, the heat pipes 16 are intimately
connected with the substrate 12 with no air gaps therebetween, such
that the heat can be quickly transferred to the substrate 12, and a
heat transfer capability of the thermal module 100 is thus
increased accordingly.
[0020] FIG. 5 shows a thermal module 200 according to an
alternative embodiment. The thermal module 200 is similar to the
previous thermal module 100 of the first embodiment. The thermal
module 200 includes a rectangular substrate 22 and plural heat
pipes 26, 27. The thermal module 200 differs from the previous
thermal module 100 in that the heat pipes 26, 27 of the thermal
module 200 are different from the heat pipes 16 of the previous
thermal module 100. In this embodiment, the heat pipes 26, 27
includes a first heat pipe 26 and two second heat pipes 27 which
have a different shape from the first heat pipe 26. The first heat
pipe 26 is linearly shaped, while the second heat pipes 27 each are
bent to have a bow shape. The first heat pipe 26 is arranged
centrally through the substrate 22. The second heat pipes 27 are
located at two opposite lateral sides of the first heat pipe 26.
Each of the second heat pipes 27 includes a linear portion 272 and
two bent portions 271, 273 respectively extending slantwise from
two ends of the linear portion 272 towards corners of the substrate
22. Ends of each of the first heat pipe 26 and the second heat
pipes 27 protrude laterally out of the substrate 22. A method of
manufacturing the thermal module 200 is the same as the method of
manufacturing the previous thermal module 100 of the first
embodiment.
[0021] FIG. 6 shows a thermal module 300 according to a third
embodiment. The thermal module is similar to the previous first
thermal module 100. The thermal module 300 includes a substrate 32
and a plurality of heat pipes 36. The substrate 32 forms a bottom
surface 322 and a top surface 324 opposite to the bottom surface
322. The thermal module 300 differs from the first thermal module
100 in that a plurality of fins 34 are integrally formed on the top
surface 324 of the substrate 32, and a shape of the heat pipes 36
is different from the heat pipes 16 of the first thermal module
100. The heat pipes 36 of the thermal module 300 each are U-shaped,
including an evaporating section 362 and a condensing section 362
parallel to the evaporating section 362. The evaporating section
362 is integrally embedded in the substrate 32, while the
condensing section 364 extends through and thermally connects with
the fins 34. The evaporating section 362 of each of the heat pipes
36 forms a planar contacting surface 361 coplanar with the bottom
surface 322 of the substrate 32.
[0022] A method of manufacturing the thermal module 300 is similar
to the method of manufacturing the previous thermal module 100 of
the first embodiment. When the thermal module 300 is manufactured,
a plurality of tubes each with a wick structure attached to an
inner surface thereof are firstly provided. Each of the tubes is
flat in cross section and U-shaped in profile. Each tube includes a
first section used for forming the evaporating section 362 of the
heat pipe 36 and a second section used for forming the condensing
section 364 of the heat pipe 36. One end of each of the tubes is
open and the other end of each of the tubes is sealed. Secondly,
the tubes are placed into a mold which is applied for forming the
substrate 32 and the fins 34. Thirdly, a molten metal is injected
into the mold to simultaneously form the substrate 32 and the fins
34 wherein the first sections of the tubes are integrally embedded
in the substrate 32 and the second sections of the tubes integrally
extend through the fins 34. Two ends of each of the tubes protrude
laterally outside from the substrate 32. Then, a working fluid is
filled into the tubes via the open ends of the tubes, and finally
the open ends of the tubes are sealed, to thereby form the heat
pipes 36 and the thermal module 300.
[0023] It is to be understood, however, that even though numerous
characteristics and advantages of the disclosure have been set
forth in the foregoing description, together with details of the
structure and function 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 invention to the full extent indicated by the
broad general meaning of the terms in which the appended claims are
expressed.
* * * * *