U.S. patent application number 12/977069 was filed with the patent office on 2012-06-28 for heat exchanger.
This patent application is currently assigned to ASIA VITAL COMPONENTS CO., LTD.. Invention is credited to Li-Dong Zhang.
Application Number | 20120160454 12/977069 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 46315271 |
Filed Date | 2012-06-28 |
United States Patent
Application |
20120160454 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Zhang; Li-Dong |
June 28, 2012 |
HEAT EXCHANGER
Abstract
A heat exchanger includes an enclosure internally providing at
least a first space and at least a second space; a first forced
convection element and a cooling unit arranged in the first space;
a second forced convection element and a vaporization unit arranged
in the second space; and a heat transfer unit serially connecting
the cooling unit and the vaporization unit to form a loop. The
first and the second forced convection element work to enable
forced convection of airflow, and the vaporization unit and the
cooling unit together with the heat transfer unit form a convection
unit. As a result, the heat exchanger has largely upgraded heat
exchange efficiency.
Inventors: |
Zhang; Li-Dong; (Sinjhuang
City, TW) |
Assignee: |
ASIA VITAL COMPONENTS CO.,
LTD.
Sinjhuang City
TW
|
Family ID: |
46315271 |
Appl. No.: |
12/977069 |
Filed: |
December 23, 2010 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
165/104.26 ;
165/121 |
Current CPC
Class: |
H01L 2924/0002 20130101;
H05K 7/2029 20130101; F28D 15/043 20130101; H01L 2924/0002
20130101; H01L 23/427 20130101; H01L 2924/00 20130101; F28D 15/0266
20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
165/104.26 ;
165/121 |
International
Class: |
F28D 15/04 20060101
F28D015/04; F28F 13/00 20060101 F28F013/00 |
Claims
1. A heat exchanger, comprising: an enclosure internally providing
at least a first space and at least a second space; the first space
having a first inlet and a first outlet, and the second space
having a second inlet and a second outlet; a first forced
convection element being arranged in the first space, and having a
first air-in side and a first air-out side; and the first air-in
side being located close to and aligned with the first inlet; a
cooling unit being arranged in the first space to face toward the
first outlet; a second forced convection element being arranged in
the second space, and having a second air-in side and a second
air-out side; and the second air-in side being located close to and
aligned with the second inlet; a vaporization unit being arranged
in the second space to face toward the second outlet; and a heat
transfer unit serially connecting the cooling unit and the
vaporization unit.
2. The heat exchanger as claimed in claim 1, wherein the first and
the second forced convection element are respectively a centrifugal
fan.
3. The heat exchanger as claimed in claim 1, wherein the cooling
unit is selected from the group consisting of a heat sink and a
radiating fin assembly.
4. The heat exchanger as claimed in claim 1, wherein the heat
transfer unit is selected from the group consisting of a heat pipe
and a flat heat pipe.
5. The heat exchanger as claimed in claim 1, wherein the
vaporization unit is selected from the group consisting of a vapor
chamber and a flat heat pipe.
6. The heat exchanger as claimed in claim 1, wherein the heat
transfer unit is internally provided with a capillary
structure.
7. The heat exchanger as claimed in claim 1, wherein the enclosure
includes a first enclosure and a second enclosure, and the first
and the second enclosure being correspondingly closed to each other
to define the first and the second space, respectively.
8. The heat exchanger as claimed in claim 1, wherein the enclosure
is internally provided with a partition plate to define the first
and the second space in the enclosure.
Description
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
[0001] The present invention relates to a heat exchanger, and more
particularly to a heat exchanger that includes a vaporization unit
and a cooling unit, with which a working fluid is able to convert
between vapor state and liquid state to enable upgraded heat
exchange efficiency of the heat exchanger.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0002] Heat can be transferred in three different ways, namely,
conduction, convection, and radiation. In heat conduction, heat is
transferred from a position with higher temperature to another
position with lower temperature via a medium. In heat convection, a
heated fluid, such as air or water, is caused to change in its
density and accordingly, result in circulation and movement of the
fluid. In heat radiation, heat is directly transferred into air
without any medium.
[0003] In the case of a fluid, convection is the most effect way to
transfer heat. Conventionally, when utilizing convection to
dissipate heat, a heat sink is usually used to directly contact
with a heat source, so that heat from the heat source can be
radiated into ambient environment from the large contact area
provided by the heat sink to achieve the purpose of heat
dissipation.
[0004] In a prior art heat exchanger, there are provided one or
more independent spaces or flow passages. Cold and hot fluid flows
through the independent spaces or flow passages to cause heat
convection and heat exchange. A cooling fan can be further mounted
to the heat sink and the heat exchanger. The fan draws in air to
enable forced convection and forced heat exchange. Even if a fan is
additionally provided to force airflow through the heat sink and
the heat exchanger in order to cause forced convection and
increased heat exchange effect, the heat exchange efficiency of the
conventional heat exchanger is still insufficient and requires
improvement. That is, the conventional heat exchanger has
relatively low heat exchange efficiency.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0005] A primary object of the present invention is to provide a
heat exchanger that enables upgraded heat exchange efficiency.
[0006] To achieve the above and other objects, the heat exchanger
according to the present invention includes an enclosure, a first
forced convection element, a cooling unit, a second forced
convection element, a vaporization unit, and a heat transfer unit.
The enclosure internally provides at least a first space and at
least a second space; and the first space has a first inlet and a
first outlet, and the second space has a second inlet and a second
outlet. The first forced convection element is arranged in the
first space, and has a first air-in side and a first air-out side,
and the first air-in side is located close to and aligns with the
first inlet. The cooling unit is arranged in the first space to
face toward the first outlet. The second forced convection element
is arranged in the second space, and has a second air-in side and a
second air-out side, and the second air-in side is located close to
and aligns with the second inlet. The vaporization unit is arranged
in the second space to face toward the second outlet. The heat
transfer unit serially connects the cooling unit and the
vaporization unit to form a loop. The first and the second forced
convection element work to enable forced convection of airflow, and
the vaporization unit and the cooling unit together with the heat
transfer unit form a convection unit. As a result, the heat
exchanger has largely upgraded heat exchange efficiency.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0007] 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
[0008] FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view of a heat exchanger
according to a first embodiment of the present invention;
[0009] FIG. 2 is an assembled view of the heat exchanger according
to the first embodiment of the present invention;
[0010] FIG. 3 is an assembled sectional view of the heat exchanger
according to the first embodiment of the present invention;
[0011] FIG. 4 is an assembled sectional view of a heat exchanger
according to a second embodiment of the present invention, which
has an enclosure structure different from that of the first
embodiment; and
[0012] FIG. 5 is a sectional view showing the heat exchanger of the
present invention in use.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
[0013] The present invention will now be described with some
preferred embodiments thereof. For the purpose of easy to
understand, elements that are the same in the preferred embodiments
are denoted by the same reference numerals.
[0014] Please refer to FIGS. 1 and 2 that are exploded and
assembled perspective views, respectively, of a heat exchanger
according to a first embodiment of the present invention; and to
FIG. 3 that is an assembled sectional view of the heat exchanger of
FIG. 1. As shown, the heat exchanger according to the present
invention includes an enclosure 1, a first forced convection
element 2, a cooling unit 3, a second forced convection element 4,
a vaporization unit 5, and a heat transfer unit 6.
[0015] The enclosure 1 internally provides at least a first space
11 and at least a second space 12. The first space 11 has a first
inlet 111 and a first outlet 112; and the second space 12 has a
second inlet 121 and a second outlet 122.
[0016] The first forced convection element 2 is arranged in the
first space 11 in the enclosure 1, and includes a first air-in side
21 and a first air-out side 22. The first air-in side 21 is located
close to and aligns with the first inlet 111.
[0017] The cooling unit 3 is arranged in the first space 11 to face
toward the first outlet 112. The cooling unit 3 can be a heat sink
or a radiating fin assembly. While the cooling unit 3 in the
illustrated first embodiment of the present invention is described
as a heat sink, it is understood the cooling unit 3 can be
differently configured without being limited thereto.
[0018] The second forced convection element 4 is arranged in the
second space 12 in the enclosure 1, and has a second air-in side 41
and a second air-out side 42. The second air-in side 41 is located
close to and aligns with the second inlet 121.
[0019] The vaporization unit 5 is arranged in the second space 12
to face toward the second outlet 122. The vaporization unit 5 can
be a vapor chamber or a flat heat pipe. While the vaporization unit
5 in the illustrated first embodiment of the present invention is
described as a vapor chamber, it is understood the vaporization
unit 5 can be differently configured without being limited
thereto.
[0020] The heat transfer unit 6 serially connects the cooling unit
3 and the vaporization unit 5 to form a loop. The heat transfer
unit 6 can be a heat pipe or a flat heat pipe. While the heat
transfer unit 6 in the illustrated first embodiment of the present
invention is described as a heat pipe, it is understood the heat
transfer unit 6 can be differently configured without being limited
thereto. Further, the heat transfer unit 6 is internally provided
with a capillary structure 8.
[0021] In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the
first and the second forced convection element 2, 4 are
respectively a centrifugal fan.
[0022] The enclosure 1 is formed from a first enclosure 1a, a
second enclosure 1b, and a partition plate 1c. The first and the
second enclosure 1a, 1b are closed to each other to define a space
therein. The partition plate 1c is located between the first and
the second enclosure 1a, 1b to divide the space in the enclosure 1
into the first space 11 and the second space 12.
[0023] Please refer to FIG. 4 that is a sectional view showing a
heat exchanger according to a second embodiment of the present
invention. The heat exchanger in the second embodiment is different
from the first embodiment in having a first enclosure 1a and a
second enclosure 1b that are correspondingly connected to each
other to cooperatively define the first space 11 and the second
space 12 in the enclosure 1.
[0024] Please refer to FIG. 5 that shows the heat exchanger of the
present invention in use. As shown, the heat exchanger has an
enclosure 1, a first forced convection element 2, a cooling unit 3,
a second forced convection element 4, a vaporization unit 5, and a
heat transfer unit 6.
[0025] The enclosure 1 internally provides two independent spaces,
namely, a first space 11 and a second space 12. The first forced
convection element 2 and the cooling unit 3 are arranged in the
first space 11, while the second forced convection element 4 and
the vaporization unit 5 are arranged in the second space 12. The
heat transfer unit 6 is extended between the first and the second
space 11, 12 to serially connect the cooling unit 3 and the
vaporization unit 5 to thereby form a loop.
[0026] When the first forced convection element 2 operates,
external airflow 7 is drawn to flow through the first inlet 111 on
the enclosure 1 and the first air-in side 21 of the first forced
convection element 2, and is pressurized in the first forced
convection element 2 before exiting the latter via the first
air-out side 22 thereof to flow into the first space 11.
Thereafter, the airflow 7 flows through the cooling unit 3 before
exiting the first space 11 via the first outlet 112.
[0027] The second forced convection element 4 operates to draw
airflow 7 to flow through the second inlet 121 on the enclosure 1
and the second air-in side 41 of the second forced convection
element 4, and is pressurized in the second forced convection
element 4 before exiting the latter via the second air-out side 42
thereof to flow into the second space 12. Thereafter, the airflow 7
passes the vaporization unit 5 before exiting the second space 12
via the second outlet 122.
[0028] The process of actuating the forced convection elements 2, 4
for the airflow 7 to exchange heat with the cooling unit 3 and the
vaporization unit 5 has been described above. Another heat-exchange
mechanism according to the present invention is described below. As
having been mentioned above, the vaporization unit 5 and the
cooling unit 3 are serially connected with each other by the heat
transfer unit 6. Further, the vaporization unit 5 and the heat
transfer unit 6 are internally provided with a capillary structure
8 and a fluid 9.
[0029] The vaporization unit 5, which is a vapor chamber in the
illustrated embodiments of the present invention, absorbs heat
contained in the airflow 7 that is drawn into the second space 12
by the second forced convection element 4. The heat absorbed by the
vaporization unit 5 is transferred via the heat transfer unit 6 to
the cooling unit 3 in the first space 11, so that the fluid 9 in
the heat transfer unit 6 exchanges heat with the cooling unit 3 and
become cooled. Finally, the cooled fluid 9 flows through the heat
exchange unit 6 back to the vaporization unit 5 to complete one
cycle of heat exchange process.
* * * * *