U.S. patent application number 12/720301 was filed with the patent office on 2011-09-15 for flexible heat pipe and manufacturing method thereof.
This patent application is currently assigned to Kunshan Jue-Chung Electronics Co., Ltd.. Invention is credited to Yu- Po HUANG, Tung-Jung Kuo.
Application Number | 20110220328 12/720301 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 44558848 |
Filed Date | 2011-09-15 |
United States Patent
Application |
20110220328 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
HUANG; Yu- Po ; et
al. |
September 15, 2011 |
FLEXIBLE HEAT PIPE AND MANUFACTURING METHOD THEREOF
Abstract
In a flexible heat pipe and a manufacturing method thereof, the
flexible heat pipe includes a first tube body, a second tube body
arranged apart from the first tube body, a flexible section, a wick
structure, and a working fluid. The flexible section includes an
annular elastomer and a soft encapsulating layer. The annular
elastomer connects the first tube body and the second tube body.
The soft encapsulating layer is set around the annular elastomer.
The capillary structure is settled inside the first tube body, the
second tube body, and the annular elastomer. The working fluid is
filled inside the first tube body, the second tube body, and the
soft encapsulating layer. Then, the flexible heat pipe can be bent
to any angle or in any direction according to practical
demands.
Inventors: |
HUANG; Yu- Po; (Kunshan
City, CN) ; Kuo; Tung-Jung; (Kunshan City,
CN) |
Assignee: |
Kunshan Jue-Chung Electronics Co.,
Ltd.
|
Family ID: |
44558848 |
Appl. No.: |
12/720301 |
Filed: |
March 9, 2010 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
165/104.26 ;
29/890.032 |
Current CPC
Class: |
F28D 15/046 20130101;
F28D 15/0241 20130101; Y10T 29/49353 20150115 |
Class at
Publication: |
165/104.26 ;
29/890.032 |
International
Class: |
F28D 15/04 20060101
F28D015/04; B21D 53/02 20060101 B21D053/02 |
Claims
1. A flexible heat pipe, comprising: a first tube body; a second
tube body, arranged apart from the first tube body; a flexible
section, interconnected to the first tube body and the second tube
body, and including an annular elastomer and a soft encapsulating
layer, and the annular elastomer being coupled to the first tube
body and the second tube body, and the soft encapsulating layer
being coupled to the first tube body and the second tube body and
installed around an exterior of the annular elastomer; a wick
structure, installed inside the first tube body, the second tube
body and the annular elastomer; and a working fluid, filled inside
the first tube body, the second tube body and the soft
encapsulating layer.
2. The flexible heat pipe of claim 1, wherein the first tube body
and the second tube body are vertical tubes.
3. The flexible heat pipe of claim 2, wherein the annular elastomer
is a helical spring.
4. The flexible heat pipe of claim 3, wherein the soft
encapsulating layer is a copper foil.
5. The flexible heat pipe of claim 4, wherein the helical spring
has a free length smaller than an axial length of the copper foil,
such that a receiving section is formed separately at both ends of
the copper foil for passing and receiving the first tube body and
the second tube body respectively.
6. A manufacturing method of a flexible heat pipe, comprising the
steps of: (a) providing a first tube body and a second tube body,
both having a first wick structure; (b) providing an annular
elastomer with an end coupled to the first tube body; (c) providing
a second wick structure, passing the second wick structure into the
annular elastomer and attaching the second wick to the first wick
structure of the first tube body; (d) coupling the second tube body
to another end of the annular elastomer, and attaching the second
wick structure to the first wick structure of the second tube body;
and (e) providing a soft encapsulating layer coupled to the first
tube body and the second tube body and wrapped around an exterior
of the annular elastomer.
7. The manufacturing method of a flexible heat pipe as recited in
claim 6, wherein the first tube body and the annular elastomer in
the Step (b) are coupled by a soldering method.
8. The manufacturing method of a flexible heat pipe as recited in
claim 6, wherein the second tube body and the annular elastomer in
the Step (d) are coupled by a soldering method.
9. The manufacturing method of a flexible heat pipe as recited in
claim 6, wherein the soft encapsulating layer and each tube body in
the Step (e) are coupled by a soldering method.
10. The manufacturing method of a flexible heat pipe as recited in
claim 6, further comprising a step (f) of filling a working fluid
into the second tube body, and vacuuming and sealing the first tube
body and the second tube body.
Description
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
[0001] The present invention generally relates to heat pipes, in
particular to a flexible heat pipe and a manufacturing method of
the flexible heat pipe.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0002] As computer components such as a central processing unit
(CPU) come with an increasingly higher computing speed, the heat
generated by the components also becomes increasingly greater.
Obviously, the use of a heat sink composed of a plurality of heat
dissipating fins and a fan in the past no longer meets the
requirement of the high-speed operation of the present CPUs.
Therefore, some manufacturers developed a heat dissipating device
that combines a heat pipe with heat dissipating fins to overcome
the heat dissipation problem of the present CPUs. However, existing
heat pipes still have a drawback of occupying much space, and thus
it is a main subject for related manufacturers and developers to
improve the conventional heat pipes.
[0003] In general, a conventional heat pipe comprises a metal tube
body, a wick structure and a working fluid, wherein the metal tube
body includes a sealed chamber, and the wick structure is installed
on an internal wall of the metal tube body, and the working fluid
is filled in the sealed chamber of the metal tube body, and a gas
passage is formed on an internal side of the wick structure, and
the wick structure includes a liquid passage.
[0004] When the foregoing heat pipe is used, the space limitation
of the surrounding environment and the heat conduction at different
positions are generally taken into consideration, and thus most of
the conventional heat pipes are bent into an L-shape or a U-shape.
However, the interior of the wick structure and the internal wall
of the metal tube body of the bent heat pipe may be peeled of or
fallen off easily, so that the heat conduction effect is reduced
significantly. Furthermore, most of the foregoing heat pipes can be
bent once only in the manufacturing process, and a second bend of
the heat pipe may crack the metal tube body easily. Obviously, the
conventional heat pipe requires further improvements.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0005] Therefore, it is a primary objective of the present
invention to provide a flexible heat pipe and its manufacturing
method, and the flexible heat pipe can be bent to any angle or in
any direction according to practical demands.
[0006] To achieve the foregoing objective, the present invention
discloses a flexible heat pipe comprising a first tube body, a
second tube body, a flexible section, a wick structure and a
working fluid, wherein the second tube body is arranged apart from
the first tube body, and the flexible section is interconnected to
the first tube body and the second tube body, and the flexible
section includes an annular elastomer and a soft encapsulating
layer, and the annular elastomer is coupled to the first tube body
and the second tube body, and the soft encapsulating layer is
coupled to the first tube body and the second tube body and wrapped
around the exterior of the annular elastomer; and the wick
structure is disposed inside the first tube body, second tube body
and the annular elastomer, and the working fluid is filled inside
the first tube body, second tube body and the soft encapsulating
layer.
[0007] To achieve the foregoing objective, the present invention
provides a manufacturing method of a flexible heat pipe, and the
manufacturing method comprises the steps of:
[0008] (a) providing a first tube body and a second tube body, both
having a first wick structure;
[0009] (b) providing an annular elastomer with an end coupled to
the first tube body;
[0010] (c) providing a second wick structure, passing the second
wick structure into the annular elastomer and attaching the second
wick to the first wick structure of the first tube body;
[0011] (d) coupling the second tube body to another end of the
annular elastomer, and attaching the second wick structure to the
first wick structure of the second tube body; and
[0012] (e) providing a soft encapsulating layer coupled to the
first tube body and a second tube body and wrapped around the
exterior of the annular elastomer.
[0013] The present invention further has the following effects. The
invention uses the annular elastomer to support the soft
encapsulating layer, so that the soft encapsulating layer will not
sink or collapse easily. With each receiving section of the soft
encapsulating layer sheathed onto each heat pipe tightly, a quick
heat conduction effect can be achieved. Since the flexible material
of the heat pipe allows the heat pipe to be adjusted and bent to
any angle, the heat pipe will not be hardened easily and the
integrity of its original structure will remain even after the pipe
has been adjusted and bent repeatedly for many times.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0014] FIG. 1 is an exploded view of a heat pipe in accordance with
present invention;
[0015] FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a heat pipe in accordance
with present invention;
[0016] FIG. 3 is a partial cross-sectional view of a heat pipe in
accordance with present invention;
[0017] FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view of a heat conducting module
after being bent in accordance with present invention;
[0018] FIG. 5 is a flow chart of a manufacturing method of a heat
pipe in accordance with the present invention; and
[0019] FIG. 6 is a schematic view of a heat pipe applied to an
electronic heat-generating component in accordance with the present
invention
DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
[0020] The technical characteristics and contents of the present
invention will become apparent with the following detailed
description accompanied with related drawings, and the drawings are
provided for the purpose of illustrating the present invention
only, but not intended for limiting the scope of the invention.
[0021] With reference to FIGS. 1 to 3, the present invention
provides a flexible heat pipe comprising a first tube body 10, a
second tube body 20, a flexible section 30, a wick structure 40 and
a working fluid (not shown in the figure).
[0022] The second tube body 20 is arranged apart from the first
tube body 10, and both of the first tube body 10 and the second
tube body 20 are vertical tubes, and each tube body 10, 20 is made
of a good thermal conducting material such as copper.
[0023] The flexible section 30 includes an annular elastomer 31 and
a soft encapsulating layer 32, and the annular elastomer 31 can be
bent in its axial direction, wherein the annular elastomer 31 of
this preferred embodiment is a helical spring, but the invention is
not limited to such arrangement only. The soft encapsulating layer
32 is disposed and wrapped around the external surface of the
annular elastomer 31, wherein the soft encapsulating layer 32 of
this preferred embodiment is a copper foil, but the invention is
not limited to such arrangement only. The helical spring type
elastomer 31 has a free length smaller than the axial length of the
soft encapsulating layer 32, such that when the soft encapsulating
layer 32 is wrapped around the exterior of the elastomer 31, a
receiving section 321, 322 can be formed separately at both ends of
the soft encapsulating layer 32 (as shown in FIG. 3) for coupling
the first tube body 10 and the second tube body 20, and each tube
body 10, 20 is coupled to the soft encapsulating layer 32 with a
thermal contact.
[0024] The wick structure 40 is made of a metal mesh, a steel wire,
or a fiber material, or sintered with a metal powder, wherein the
wick structure 40 of this preferred embodiment includes a first
wick structure 41, 42 installed in each tube body 10, 20 and a
second wick structure 43 passed into the annular elastomer 31 and
contacted with each first wick structure 41, 42.
[0025] The working fluid can be pure water filled inside each tube
body 10, 20. Each tube body 10, 20 is vacuumed, such that a
vapor-liquid phase change mechanism for conducting heat can be
achieved.
[0026] With reference to FIG. 4, the flexible section 30 can be
bent to any angle or in any direction according to actual demands
of the heat pipe, wherein the annular elastomer 31 is provided for
supporting the soft encapsulating layer 32, so that the soft
encapsulating layer 32 will not sink or collapse easily. With the
tight sheathing between each receiving section 321, 322 of the soft
encapsulating layer 32 and each heat pipe 10, 20, a quick
conduction effect can be achieved.
[0027] With reference to FIG. 5, a manufacturing method of a heat
pipe in accordance with the present invention comprises the steps
of:
[0028] (a) providing a first tube body 10 and a second tube body
20, both having a first wick structure 41, 42;
[0029] (b) providing an annular elastomer 31 with an end coupled to
the first tube body 10;
[0030] (c) providing a second wick structure 43, passing the second
wick structure 43 into the annular elastomer 31, and attaching the
second wick structure 43 to a first wick structure 41 of the first
tube body 10;
[0031] (d) coupling the second tube body 20 to another end of the
annular elastomer 31, and attaching the second wick structure 43 to
a first wick structure 42 of the second tube body 20; and
[0032] (e) providing a soft encapsulating layer 32 coupled to the
first tube body 10 and a second tube body 20 and wrapped around the
exterior of the annular elastomer 31.
[0033] It is noteworthy to point out that each tube body 10, 20 and
the annular elastomer 31 in Steps (b) and (d) are coupled by a
soldering method, and the soft encapsulating layer 32 and each tube
body 10, 20 in Step (e) are coupled by the soldering method.
[0034] In addition, the manufacturing method of a heat pipe in
accordance with the present invention further comprises a Step f)
of filling a working fluid into the second tube body 20, and
vacuuming and sealing the first tube body 10 and the second tube
body 20.
[0035] With reference to FIG. 6, the heat pipe of the present
invention can be combined with a fin module 6 for dissipating the
heat generated by an electronic heat-generating component 8 (such
as a CPU chip) installed on a mainboard 7. A heat plate 9 is
attached onto a heat-generating surface of the electronic
heat-generating component 8, such that the heat generated by the
electronic heat-generating component 8 will be absorbed by the heat
plate 9, and then the vapor-liquid phase change occurred at the
first tube body 10 will conduct the heat to the soft encapsulating
layer 32, and then conduct the heat from the soft encapsulating
layer 32 to the second tube body 20, and the heat at the second
tube body 20 will be dissipated to the outside by the fin module 6.
Since the flexible section 30 can be adjusted and bent to any
angle, the heat pipe will not be hardened easily and the integrity
of its original structure will remain, even after the pipe has been
adjusted and bent repeatedly for many times.
[0036] In summation of the description above, the flexible heat
pipe and the method of manufacturing the flexible heat pipe
definitely can achieve the expected using purposes and overcome the
shortcomings of the prior art. In addition, the invention complies
with the patent application requirements, and is thus duly filed
for patent application. While the invention has been described by
means of specific embodiments, numerous modifications and
variations could be made thereto by those skilled in the art
without departing from the scope and spirit of the invention set
forth in the claims.
* * * * *