U.S. patent application number 13/332391 was filed with the patent office on 2013-04-11 for thermal module.
This patent application is currently assigned to Foxconn Technology Co., Ltd.. The applicant listed for this patent is CHING-BAI HWANG, CHIH-PENG LEE. Invention is credited to CHING-BAI HWANG, CHIH-PENG LEE.
Application Number | 20130087311 13/332391 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 48041320 |
Filed Date | 2013-04-11 |
United States Patent
Application |
20130087311 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
LEE; CHIH-PENG ; et
al. |
April 11, 2013 |
THERMAL MODULE
Abstract
A thermal module adapted for dissipating heat of an electronic
component includes a heat pipe; and two mounting flakes mounted on
the heat pipe. The mounting flakes are configured for mounting the
thermal module on a circuit board on which the electronic component
is mounted. Each of the mounting flakes is formed integrally as a
single piece. The mounting flake includes a fixing body and two
mounting arms formed at two opposite ends of the fixing body. The
fixing body is directly bonded on the heat pipe. The mounting arms
extend beyond the heat pipe and define through holes therein for
extension of fasteners.
Inventors: |
LEE; CHIH-PENG; (Tu-Cheng,
TW) ; HWANG; CHING-BAI; (Tu-Cheng, TW) |
|
Applicant: |
Name |
City |
State |
Country |
Type |
LEE; CHIH-PENG
HWANG; CHING-BAI |
Tu-Cheng
Tu-Cheng |
|
TW
TW |
|
|
Assignee: |
Foxconn Technology Co.,
Ltd.
Tu-Cheng
TW
|
Family ID: |
48041320 |
Appl. No.: |
13/332391 |
Filed: |
December 21, 2011 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
165/67 |
Current CPC
Class: |
F28F 2275/08 20130101;
H01L 2924/0002 20130101; H01L 2924/0002 20130101; F28D 15/0233
20130101; H01L 23/427 20130101; F28F 2275/20 20130101; F28D 15/02
20130101; H01L 2023/4087 20130101; H01L 2924/00 20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
165/67 |
International
Class: |
F28F 9/007 20060101
F28F009/007 |
Foreign Application Data
Date |
Code |
Application Number |
Oct 11, 2011 |
TW |
100136833 |
Claims
1. A thermal module for dissipating heat of an electronic
component, the thermal module comprising: a heat pipe; and two
mounting flakes mounted to the heat pipe, the mounting flake being
configured for mounting the thermal module on a circuit board on
which the electronic component is mounted, each of the mounting
flakes being formed integrally as a single piece and comprising a
fixing body and two mounting arms formed at two opposite ends of
the fixing body, the fixing body being directly bonded to the heat
pipe, the mounting arms extending beyond the heat pipe and defining
through holes therein for extension of fasteners.
2. The thermal module of claim 1, wherein the fixing body is
mounted to the heat pipe by solder or adhesive.
3. The thermal module of claim 2, wherein the two mounting flakes
are spaced from each other, the fixing body of each of the mounting
flake spans the heat pipe, and the two mounting arms of each of the
mounting flakes are located at two opposite sides of the heat
pipe.
4. The thermal module of claim 3, wherein a receiving recess is
defined beneath the fixing body of each of the mounting flakes, and
the heat pipe is received in the receiving recess.
5. The thermal module of claim 4, further comprising a heat
conductive plate thermally mounted on the heat pipe, and the heat
pipe absorbing heat from the electronic component through the heat
conductive plate.
6. The thermal module of claim 5, wherein the heat pipe comprises a
flat top surface and a flat bottom surface opposite to each other,
the fixing body of the mounting flake is mounted on the top surface
of the heat pipe, and the heat conductive plate is mounted on the
bottom surface.
7. The thermal module of claim 6, wherein a middle portion of the
fixing body humps upwardly to form a saddle portion, and the
receiving recess is defined beneath the saddle portion.
8. The thermal module of claim 5, wherein the heat pipe is
cylindrical, the fixing body is arch-shaped, the receiving recess
is also arch-shaped and matches a profile of a top side of the heat
pipe to achieve an intimate contact between the fixing body and the
heat pipe, a contacting recess is defined in the heat conductive
plate, and the contacting recess matches a profile of a bottom side
of the heat pipe to achieve an intimate contact between the heat
conductive plate and the heat pipe.
9. The thermal module of claim 3, wherein the fixing body and the
mounting arms of each of the mounting flakes are level with each
other, the heat pipe comprises a flat top surface and a flat bottom
surface opposite to each other, and the fixing body of the mounting
flake is mounted on the bottom surface of the heat pipe.
10. The thermal module of claim 3, wherein the mounting flake is
U-shaped.
11. The thermal module of claim 2, wherein the two mounting flakes
are respectively positioned at two opposite sides of the heat pipe,
the fixing body is flat strip-shaped, each of the mounting flakes
further comprises two connecting tabs extending downwardly
perpendicularly from two opposite ends of a lateral side of the
fixing body, the two mounting arms of each of the mounting fakes
extend perpendicularly from bottom ends of the two connecting tabs
respectively away from the fixing body, the fixing bodies and the
connecting tabs of the two mounting flakes cooperatively define a
receiving recess for receiving the heat pipe, and the mounting arms
of each of the mounting flakes are positioned at a same side of the
heat pipe.
Description
BACKGROUND
[0001] 1. Technical Field
[0002] The present disclosure relates to heat dissipation, and
particularly to a thermal module for electronic component.
[0003] 2. Description of Related Art
[0004] It is well known that heat is generated by electronic
components of electronic apparatus such as integrated circuit chips
during operation thereof. If the heat is not efficiently removed,
these electronic components may suffer damage. Thus, thermal
modules are often used to cool the electronic components.
[0005] A typical thermal module includes a heat pipe, a heat
spreader thermally attached with the heat pipe, a mounting board
for mounting the heat pipe and the heat spreader on the electronic
component and a plurality of mounting arms mounted on the mounting
board for mounting the mounting board on a circuit board on which
the electronic component is mounted. During assembly, a free end of
each of the mounting arms is overlapped on the mounting board for
extension of a fastener to mount the mounting arm on the mounting
board. However, fixing the mounting arms on the mounting board with
so many fasteners complicates an assembly process and increases a
production cost of the thermal module. As well, the mounting arms
overlapping on the mounting board increases a thickness of the
thermal module, which causes an inferior adaptability to the
thermal module when it is used in a thin electronic apparatus such
as an ipad.
[0006] What is needed, therefore, is a thermal module which can
overcome the limitations described.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0007] FIG. 1 is an isometric, assembled view of a thermal module
in accordance with a first embodiment of the present
disclosure.
[0008] FIG. 2 is an exploded view of the thermal module of FIG.
1.
[0009] FIG. 3 is an isometric, assembled view of a thermal module
in accordance with a second embodiment of the present
disclosure.
[0010] FIG. 4 is an exploded view of the thermal module of FIG.
3.
[0011] FIG. 5 is an isometric, assembled view of a thermal module
in accordance with a third embodiment of the present
disclosure.
[0012] FIG. 6 is an exploded view of the thermal module of FIG.
5.
[0013] FIG. 7 is an isometric, assembled view of a thermal module
in accordance with a fourth embodiment of the present
disclosure.
[0014] FIG. 8 is an exploded view of the thermal module of FIG.
7.
[0015] FIG. 9 is an isometric, assembled view of a thermal module
in accordance with a fifth embodiment of the present
disclosure.
[0016] FIG. 10 is an exploded view of the thermal module of FIG.
9.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
[0017] Referring to FIGS. 1 and 2, a thermal module 100 in
accordance with a first embodiment of the present disclosure is
shown. The thermal module 100 includes a heat pipe 10 and two
mounting flakes 20 mounted on the heat pipe 10. The heat pipe 10 is
used to absorb heat from an electronic component 240 mounted on a
circuit board 200. The mounting flakes 20 are used to mount the
heat pipe 10 on the electronic component 240.
[0018] The heat pipe 10 is flat and strip-shaped. The heat pipe 10
includes a flat top surface 11 and a flat bottom surface 12
opposite to each other. The mounting flakes 20 are mounted on the
top surface 11 through bonding by solder or adhesive, such as Dow
Corning SE4450, thermosetting adhesive high heat conductivity,
EPORITE 2095 or electronic grade adhesive with high viscosity. A
heat conductive film 40 is attached on the bottom surface 12 of the
heat pipe 10. During application of the thermal module 100, the
heat conductive film 40 is located between the heat pipe 10 and the
electronic component 240 for decreasing a heat resistance between
the heat pipe 10 and the electronic component 240.
[0019] The two mounting flakes 20 are symmetric to each other. Each
of the mounting flakes 20 is formed integrally from a single piece
of member and spans on the heat pipe 10. The mounting flake 20 is
substantially U-shaped and includes a fixing body 21 and two
mounting arms 22 extending integrally and perpendicularly from two
opposite ends of the fixing body 21. The two mounting arms 22
extend towards a same side of the fixing body 21. The fixing body
21 spans on the heat pipe 10. The two mounting arms 22 are
respectively located at two opposite sides of the heat pipe 10. A
middle portion of the fixing body 21 humps upwardly to form a
saddle portion 211. A receiving recess 210 is defined beneath the
saddle portion 211. The saddle portion 211 of the fixing body 21 is
welded on the top surface 11 of the heat pipe 10. The heat pipe 10
is received in the receiving recess 210. Each of the two mounting
arms 22 has a distal portion thereof offsetting downwards to form a
step. The distal portion of each mounting arms 22 defines a through
hole 220 therein for extension of a fastener 30.
[0020] The two mounting flakes 20 are spaced from each other. The
fixing bodies 21 of the two mounting flakes 20 are perpendicular to
the heat pipe 10. The mounting arms 22 of the two mounting flakes
20 are substantially parallel to the heat pipe 10 and extend along
two opposite directions respectively. The mounting arms 22 of the
two mounting flakes 20 are located at two opposite sides of the two
bodies 21.
[0021] During assembly of the thermal module 100, the fixing bodies
21 of the two mounting flakes 20 are welded or adhered on the heat
pipe 10 firstly. Then the heat pipe 10 is placed on the electronic
component 240 with the heat conductive film 40 sandwiched between
the heat pipe 10 and the electronic component 240. The fasteners 30
respectively extend through the through holes 220 of the mounting
arms 22 to mount the thermal module 100 on the circuit board 200 on
which the electronic component 240 is mounted.
[0022] In the aforementioned embodiment, the heat pipe 10 is
directly mounted on the electronic component 240 by the mounting
flakes 20, each of the mounting flakes 20 is formed integrally from
the single piece of member and mounted on the heat pipe 10 through
bonding without any fasteners. Therefore, an assembly process of
the thermal module 100 is simplified and a production cost of the
thermal module 100 is decreased. As well, the thermal module 100
has a relatively thinner thickness. This causes a good adaptability
to the thermal module 100 for using in thin electronic
apparatus.
[0023] FIGS. 3-4 present a thermal module 100a in accordance with a
second embodiment of the present disclosure. The thermal module
100a is similar to that of the first embodiment, but differs from
that of the first embodiment in mounting flakes 20a. Concretely
speaking, the two mounting flakes 20a of the thermal module 100a
are respectively positioned at two opposite sides of the heat pipe
10. Each of the mounting flakes 20a includes a flat strip-shaped
fixing body 21a, two connecting tabs 23 extending downwardly and
perpendicularly from two opposite ends of a lateral side of the
fixing body 21a and two mounting arms 22a extending perpendicularly
from bottom ends of the two connecting tabs 23 respectively away
from the fixing body 21a. The fixing bodies 21a of the two mounting
flakes 20a are mounting on the top surface 11 of the heat pipe 10
through bonding. The fixing bodies 21a and the connecting tabs 23
of the two mounting flakes 20a cooperatively define a receiving
recess 210a for receiving the heat pipe 10. The mounting arms 22a
of each of the mounting flakes 20a are L-shaped and positioned at a
same side of the heat pipe 10. The two mounting flakes 20a are
symmetrical to each other about a central line of the heat pipe
10.
[0024] FIGS. 5-6 present a thermal module 100b in accordance with a
third embodiment of the present disclosure. The thermal module 100b
is similar to that of the first embodiment, but differs from that
of the first embodiment in mounting flakes 20b. Concretely
speaking, the two mounting flakes 20b of the thermal module 100b
are flat and mounted on the bottom surface 12 of the heat pipe 10.
Each of the mounting flakes 20b is U-shaped and includes a
strip-shaped fixing body 21b and two mounting arms 22b extending
perpendicularly from two opposite ends of the fixing body 21b,
respectively. The fixing body 21b and the mounting arms 22b are
level with each other. The fixing body 21b of each of the mounting
flake 20b spans the bottom surface 12 of the heat pipe 10. The
mounting arms 22b of each of the mounting flakes 20b are positioned
at two opposite sides of the heat pipe 10.
[0025] FIGS. 7-8 present a thermal module 100c in accordance with a
fourth embodiment of the present disclosure. The thermal module
100c is similar to that of the first embodiment, but differs from
that of the first embodiment in that the thermal module 100c
further includes a heat conductive plate 50 soldered to the bottom
surface 12 of the heat pipe 10. The heat conductive plate 50 is
rectangular. The heat conductive plate 50 is used to absorb heat
form the electronic component 240. The heat conductive film 40 is
attached on a bottom surface of the heat conductive plate 50.
[0026] FIGS. 9-10 present a thermal module 100d in accordance with
a fifth embodiment of the present disclosure. The thermal module
100d includes a cylindrical heat pipe 10d, two mounting flakes 20d
spanning a top side of the heat pipe 20d, and a heat conductive
plate 50d mounted at a bottom side of the heat pipe 10d. Each of
the two mounting flakes 20d includes an arch-shaped fixing body 21d
and two mounting arms 22d extending horizontally from two opposite
ends of the fixing body 21d. An arch-shaped receiving recess 210d
is defined beneath the fixing body 21d. The receiving recess 210d
matches a profile of the top side of the heat pipe 10d to achieve
an intimate contact between the fixing body 21d and the heat pipe
10d. The mounting flake 20d is mounted on the heat pipe 10d through
soldering or adhering. The heat conductive plate 50d is
rectangular. A linear contacting recess 51d is defined in a top
surface of the heat conductive plate 50d. The contacting recess 51d
matches a profile of the bottom side of the heat pipe 10d to
achieve an intimate contact between the heat conductive plate 50d
and the heat pipe 10d. The heat conductive plate 50d is mounted to
the heat pipe 10d through soldering or adhering. The heat
conductive film 40 is attached to a bottom surface of the heat
conductive plate 50d.
[0027] It is to be understood, however, that even though numerous
characteristics and advantages of the exemplary embodiments have
been set forth in the foregoing description, together with details
of the structures and functions of the embodiments, the disclosure
is illustrative only; and that changes may be made in detail,
especially in matters of shape, size, and arrangement of parts
within the principles of the embodiments to the full extent
indicated by the broad general meaning of the terms in which the
appended claims are expressed.
* * * * *