U.S. patent application number 13/084559 was filed with the patent office on 2012-10-18 for thermal module structure and manufacturing method thereof.
This patent application is currently assigned to ASIA VITAL COMPONENTS CO., LTD.. Invention is credited to Chun-Ming Wu.
Application Number | 20120261095 13/084559 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 47005524 |
Filed Date | 2012-10-18 |
United States Patent
Application |
20120261095 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Wu; Chun-Ming |
October 18, 2012 |
THERMAL MODULE STRUCTURE AND MANUFACTURING METHOD THEREOF
Abstract
A thermal module structure and a manufacturing method thereof.
The thermal module includes a plastic layer and at least one heat
pipe. The plastic layer has at least one channel and multiple
locking sections. The heat pipe is disposed in the channel. The
locking sections are locked on a heat source to assemble the
thermal module with the heat source. The heat pipe serves to
conduct the heat generated by the heat source. Due to the plastic
layer, the thermal module as a whole has a much lighter weight and
is manufactured at lower material cost.
Inventors: |
Wu; Chun-Ming; (New Taipei
City, TW) |
Assignee: |
ASIA VITAL COMPONENTS CO.,
LTD.
New Taipei City
TW
|
Family ID: |
47005524 |
Appl. No.: |
13/084559 |
Filed: |
April 12, 2011 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
165/104.26 ;
29/890.032 |
Current CPC
Class: |
F28D 15/0275 20130101;
Y10T 29/49353 20150115; F28F 2255/143 20130101; F28F 21/06
20130101 |
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 thermal module structure comprising: a plastic layer formed
with at least one channel, the channel having a closed side and an
open side; and at least one heat pipe having a heat absorption end
and a heat dissipation end, the heat absorption end having a
contact face corresponding to the open side and an inlay face
correspondingly connected to the closed side.
2. The thermal module structure as claimed in claim 1, wherein the
plastic layer has a bottom face.
3. The thermal module structure as claimed in claim 1, further
comprising a metal layer inlaid in the plastic layer.
4. The thermal module structure as claimed in claim 3, wherein the
metal layer is disposed between the plastic layer and the heat
pipe.
5. The thermal module structure as claimed in claim 3, wherein the
plastic layer is disposed on one side of the heat pipe, while the
metal layer is disposed on the other side of the heat pipe.
6. The thermal module structure as claimed in claim 1, wherein the
plastic layer is further formed with at least one locking
section.
7. The thermal module structure as claimed in claim 3, wherein the
metal layer has at least one locking section exposed to outer side
of the plastic layer.
8. The thermal module structure as claimed in claim 1, wherein the
plastic layer is integrally formed by means of plastic injection
molding.
9. A manufacturing method of a thermal module, comprising steps of:
providing at least one heat pipe; forming a plastic layer on the
heat pipe; and coating the heat absorption end of the heat pipe
with the plastic layer to form an open side corresponding to a
contact face of the heat absorption end.
10. The manufacturing method of the thermal module as claimed in
claim 9, wherein in the step of forming the plastic layer, at least
one locking section is formed on a lateral side of the plastic
layer.
11. The manufacturing method of the thermal module as claimed in
claim 9, wherein in the step of forming the plastic layer, the
plastic layer is formed with a bottom face on one side of the heat
pipe.
12. The manufacturing method of the thermal module as claimed in
claim 9, wherein in the step of forming the plastic layer, a metal
layer is further disposed on one side of the heat pipe.
13. The manufacturing method of the thermal module as claimed in
claim 12, wherein the metal layer is disposed between the plastic
layer and the heat pipe.
14. The manufacturing method of the thermal module as claimed in
claim 12, wherein the metal layer is positioned on the bottom face
of the plastic layer.
15. The manufacturing method of the thermal module as claimed in
claim 12, wherein the metal layer is exposed to outer side of the
plastic layer and has at least one locking section.
16. The manufacturing method of the thermal module as claimed in
claim 9, wherein the plastic layer is integrally formed by means of
plastic injection molding.
Description
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
[0001] The present invention relates to a thermal module structure
and a manufacturing method thereof. The thermal module structure
has lighter weight and is manufactured at lower material cost.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0002] Following the advance of the electronic technique,
electronic components have higher and higher operation efficiency.
To catch up this trend, the functional requirements for the heat
dissipation unit have become higher and higher. Most of the
conventional heat dissipation units have adopted stacked fin
assemblies for enhancing heat dissipation effect. Many
manufacturers have devoted to the research and development of
high-performance heat dissipation units and tried to provide
improved heat dissipation units with higher heat dissipation
effect. The heat dissipation unit is positioned on an electronic
component to dissipate the heat generated by the electronic
component. The heat dissipation unit is generally a heat sink or a
radiating fin assembly equipped with a cooling fan for dissipating
the heat. Heat pipes can be further serially connected with the
heat dissipation unit to conduct the heat to a remote place for
dissipating the heat.
[0003] With a computer mainframe taken as an example, the central
processing unit (CPU) in the computer mainframe generates most of
the heat generated by the computer mainframe in operation. In case
the heat is not efficiently dissipated, the temperature of the CPU
will rise very quickly to cause deterioration of the execution
efficiency. When the accumulated heat exceeds a tolerable limit,
the computer will crash or even burn down in some more serious
cases. Moreover, for solving the problem of electromagnetic
radiation, the computer mainframe is often enclosed in a computer
case. This will affect the dissipation of the heat generated by the
computer mainframe. Therefore, it has become a critical issue how
to quickly conduct out and dissipate the heat generated by the CPU
and other heat-generating components.
[0004] A conventional thermal module mainly includes a heat
conduction substrate and at least one heat pipe. The heat
conduction substrate is integrally made of metal material and
formed with multiple fixing holes on lateral sides. The heat pipe
is fixed with the heat conduction substrate and the thermal module
is fixedly mounted on a heat source. The heat pipe is attached to
the heat source to conduct the heat generated by the heat source.
Alternatively, the heat conduction substrate is attached to the
heat source to conduct the heat to the heat pipe to achieve heat
dissipation effect.
[0005] Currently, there is a trend to develop slimmer and slimmer
electronic devices for easy carriage. Following the miniaturization
of the electronic devices, it is necessary for the heat dissipation
units for dissipating the heat generated by the electronic
components to become slimmer and slimmer as well as lighter and
lighter. However, the heat conduction substrate is integrally made
of metal material and has heavier weight. Moreover, the metal-made
heat conduction substrate is manufactured at higher material cost.
Accordingly, the conventional thermal module has the following
defects: [0006] 1. The heat conduction substrate is integrally made
of metal material and has heavier weight. [0007] 2. The metal-made
heat conduction substrate is manufactured at higher material
cost.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0008] A primary object of the present invention is to provide a
thermal module structure and a manufacturing method thereof. The
thermal module structure as a whole has a lighter weight.
[0009] A further object of the present invention is to provide the
above thermal module structure and the manufacturing method
thereof. The thermal module structure is manufactured at lower
material cost.
[0010] To achieve the above and other objects, thermal module
structure of the present invention includes a plastic layer and at
least one heat pipe. The plastic layer has a bottom face and at
least one channel formed on the bottom face. At least one locking
section is formed on each lateral side of the plastic layer. The
channel has a closed side and an open side. The heat pipe is
disposed in the channel. The heat pipe has a heat absorption end
and a heat dissipation end at two ends. The heat absorption end has
a contact face corresponding to the open side and an inlay face
correspondingly connected to the closed side.
[0011] The manufacturing method of the thermal module of the
present invention includes steps of providing at least one heat
pipe; forming a plastic layer on the heat pipe; and coating the
heat absorption end of the heat pipe with the plastic layer to form
an open side corresponding to a contact face of the heat absorption
end. At least one locking section is formed on each lateral side of
the plastic layer.
[0012] The locking sections are locked on a heat source to assemble
the thermal module with the heat source. The heat pipe serves to
conduct the heat generated by the heat source. Due to the plastic
layer, the thermal module as a whole has a much lighter weight and
is manufactured at lower material cost.
[0013] Accordingly, the present invention has the following
advantages: [0014] 1. The thermal module as a whole has a lighter
weight. [0015] 2. The thermal module is manufactured at lower
material cost.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0016] 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:
[0017] FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a first embodiment of the
thermal module structure of the present invention;
[0018] FIG. 2 is a sectional view of the first embodiment of the
thermal module structure of the present invention;
[0019] FIG. 3 is a flow chart of a first embodiment of the
manufacturing method of the thermal module structure of the present
invention;
[0020] FIG. 4 is a perspective view of a second embodiment of the
thermal module structure of the present invention;
[0021] FIG. 5 is a sectional view of the second embodiment of the
thermal module structure of the present invention;
[0022] FIG. 6 is a flow chart of a second embodiment of the
manufacturing method of the thermal module structure of the present
invention;
[0023] FIG. 7 is a perspective view of a third embodiment of the
thermal module structure of the present invention;
[0024] FIG. 8 is a sectional view of the third embodiment of the
thermal module structure of the present invention;
[0025] FIG. 9 is a sectional view of the third embodiment of the
thermal module structure of the present invention in another
aspect;
[0026] FIG. 10 is a perspective view of a fourth embodiment of the
thermal module structure of the present invention; and
[0027] FIG. 11 is a sectional view of the fourth embodiment of the
thermal module structure of the present invention.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
[0028] Please refer to FIGS. 1, 2 and 3. FIG. 1 is a perspective
view of the thermal module structure of the present invention. FIG.
2 is a sectional view of the thermal module structure of the
present invention. FIG. 3 is a flow chart of the manufacturing
method of the thermal module structure of the present invention.
According to a preferred embodiment, the thermal module structure
10 of the present invention includes a plastic layer 20 and at
least one heat pipe 30. The plastic layer 20 has a bottom face 22
and at least one channel 21 formed on the bottom face 22. Multiple
locking sections 23 are formed on two lateral sides of the plastic
layer 20. The channel 21 has a closed side 211 and an open side
212. The heat pipe 30 is disposed in the channel 21 and attached to
the closed side 211 thereof. The heat pipe 30 has a heat absorption
end 31 and a heat dissipation end (not shown). A bottom section of
the heat absorption end 31 has a contact face 311 corresponding to
the open side 212, while a top section of the heat absorption end
31 has an inlay face 312 correspondingly connected to the closed
side 211. In this embodiment, the contact face 311 is a plane face
positioned in the open side 212 and extending to the bottom face
22.
[0029] Accordingly, when assembling the thermal module 10 with a
heat source to dissipate the heat generated by the heat source, the
contact face 311 of the heat absorption end 31 of the heat pipe 30
is attached to the heat source. Then the locking sections 23 of the
lateral sides of the plastic layer 20 are locked on the heat source
by means of locking members and cooperative springs (not shown). In
this case, the heat pipe 30 can conduct the heat generated by the
heat source. The thermal module 10 as a whole has a lighter weight
and is manufactured at lower material cost.
[0030] The manufacturing method of the thermal module 10 of the
present invention includes: [0031] step SP11: providing at least
one heat pipe; [0032] step SP12: forming a plastic layer on the
heat pipe; and [0033] step SP13: coating the heat absorption end of
the heat pipe with the plastic layer to form an open side
corresponding to a contact face of the heat absorption end.
[0034] According to the above steps, at least one heat pipe 30 is
first provided. The heat pipe 30 has the heat absorption end 31 and
a heat dissipation end at two ends. The heat absorption end 31 has
the contact face 311 and an inlay face 312. The plastic layer 20 is
formed at the heat absorption end 31 by means of plastic injection
molding. The plastic layer 20 is formed with the channel 21 and
locking sections 23 corresponding to the heat absorption end 31.
The channel 21 has a closed side 211 and an open side 212 on the
bottom face 22 of the plastic layer 20. The closed side 211
corresponds to the inlay face 312, while the open side 212
corresponds to the contact face 311 in flush with the bottom face
22. The locking sections 23 are locked on the heat source by means
of locking members and cooperative springs (not shown) to lock the
thermal module 10 on the heat source. Accordingly, the heat pipe 30
can conduct the heat generated by the heat source and the thermal
module 10 as a whole has a lighter weight and is manufactured at
lower material cost.
[0035] Please now refer to FIGS. 4, 5 and 6, which show a second
embodiment of the present invention. The structure and the
connection relationship between the components of the second
embodiment are substantially identical to that of the first
embodiment and thus will not be repeatedly described hereinafter.
The second embodiment is only different from the first embodiment
in that the thermal module 10 further includes a metal layer 40
having a first face and a second face. The metal layer 40 is inlaid
in the plastic layer 20 with the first face in contact with the
contact face 311 of the heat absorption end 31 corresponding to the
open side 212 and with the second face in flush with the bottom
face 22 of the plastic layer 20.
[0036] Accordingly, when assembling the thermal module 10 with a
heat source to dissipate the heat generated by the heat source, the
metal layer 40 is attached to the heat source to absorb the heat
generated by the heat source and conduct the heat to the heat pipe
30. The locking sections 23 of the lateral sides of the plastic
layer 20 are locked on the heat source, whereby the heat pipe 30
can conduct the heat generated by the heat source. The thermal
module 10 as a whole has a lighter weight and is manufactured at
lower material cost.
[0037] Accordingly, the manufacturing method of the thermal module
10 of the present invention includes: [0038] step SP21: providing
at least one heat pipe and a metal layer; [0039] step SP22: forming
a plastic layer on the heat pipe and the metal layer; and [0040]
step SP23: coating the heat absorption end of the heat pipe and the
metal layer with the plastic layer to form an open side
corresponding to a contact face of the heat absorption end and the
metal layer.
[0041] According to the above steps, at least one heat pipe 30 and
a metal layer 40 are first provided. The heat pipe 30 has the heat
absorption end 31 and a heat dissipation end at two ends. The heat
absorption end 31 has the contact face 311 and an inlay face 312.
The plastic layer 20 is formed at the heat absorption end 31 and
the metal layer 40 by means of plastic injection molding. The
plastic layer 20 is formed with the channel 21 and locking sections
23 corresponding to the heat absorption end 31. The channel 21 has
a closed side 211 and an open side 212 on the bottom face 22 of the
plastic layer 20. The closed side 211 corresponds to the inlay face
312, while the open side 212 corresponds to the contact face 311
and the first face of the metal layer 40. The second face of the
metal layer 40 is in flush with the bottom face 22 of the plastic
layer 20. The locking sections 23 are locked on the heat source,
whereby the heat pipe 30 can conduct the heat generated by the heat
source and the thermal module 10 as a whole has a lighter weight
and is manufactured at lower material cost.
[0042] Please now refer to FIGS. 7, 8 and 9, which show a third
embodiment of the present invention. The structure and the
connection relationship between the components of the third
embodiment are substantially identical to that of the second
embodiment and thus will not be repeatedly described hereinafter.
The third embodiment is only different from the second embodiment
in that the metal layer 40 is formed with at least one locking
section 41 instead of the locking section 23 formed on the plastic
layer 20 (as shown in FIG. 5). The locking section 41 is exposed to
outer side of the plastic layer 20. The metal layer 40 is inlaid in
the plastic layer 20 with first face in contact with the contact
face 311 of the heat absorption end 31 corresponding to the open
side 212 and with the second face in flush with the bottom face 22
of the plastic layer 20. The locking section 41 is locked on the
heat source by means of locking members and cooperative springs
(not shown) to lock the thermal module 10 on the heat source with
the metal layer 40 attached to the heat source. Accordingly, the
heat pipe 30 can conduct the heat generated by the heat source and
the thermal module 10 as a whole has a lighter weight and is
manufactured at lower material cost. Alternatively, as shown in
FIG. 9, the locking section 41 can have the form of a leaf spring
obliquely extending from the metal layer 40 by a certain angle.
After the locking section 41 is pressed relative to the plastic
layer 20, a rebounding effect is provided, whereby the thermal
module 10 can be assembled with the heat source without using any
spring. Accordingly, the assembling cost is lowered.
[0043] Please now refer to FIGS. 10 and 11, which show a fourth
embodiment of the present invention. The structure and the
connection relationship between the components of the fourth
embodiment are substantially identical to that of the second
embodiment and thus will not be repeatedly described hereinafter.
The fourth embodiment is only different from the second embodiment
in that the metal layer 40 is disposed between the plastic layer 20
and the heat pipe 30. The inlay face 312 of the heat absorption end
31 of the heat pipe 30 and the metal layer 40 are correspondingly
connected to the closed side 211, while the contact face 311
corresponds to the open side 212. The contact face 311 is coplanar
with the metal layer 40 in flush with the bottom face 22.
Similarly, the locking section 23 is locked on the heat source and
the heat pipe serves to conduct the heat generated by the heat
source. The thermal module 10 as a whole has a lighter weight and
is manufactured at lower material cost.
[0044] The above embodiments are only used to illustrate the
present invention, not intended to limit the scope thereof. It is
understood that many changes and modifications of the above
embodiments can be made without departing from the spirit of the
present invention. The scope of the present invention is limited
only by the appended claims.
* * * * *