U.S. patent application number 13/529116 was filed with the patent office on 2013-10-10 for heat dissipation module.
This patent application is currently assigned to Quanta Computer Inc.. The applicant listed for this patent is Yu-Nien HUANG, Chun-Fa Tseng, Wei-Che Yeh. Invention is credited to Yu-Nien HUANG, Chun-Fa Tseng, Wei-Che Yeh.
Application Number | 20130264033 13/529116 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 49291382 |
Filed Date | 2013-10-10 |
United States Patent
Application |
20130264033 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
HUANG; Yu-Nien ; et
al. |
October 10, 2013 |
HEAT DISSIPATION MODULE
Abstract
A heat dissipation module includes a centrifugal fan and a heat
pipe. The centrifugal fan includes at least one axial air inlet and
a radial air outlet, wherein an air channel sidewall of the
centrifugal fan has heat dissipation fins in an inner wall thereof.
The heat pipe has a heat source contact section and a heat
dissipation section, the heat dissipation section is in contact
with an outer wall of the air channel sidewall, and the heat source
contact section is in contact with a heat source.
Inventors: |
HUANG; Yu-Nien; (Taoyuan
County, TW) ; Tseng; Chun-Fa; (Kaohsiung City,
TW) ; Yeh; Wei-Che; (Miaoli County, TW) |
|
Applicant: |
Name |
City |
State |
Country |
Type |
HUANG; Yu-Nien
Tseng; Chun-Fa
Yeh; Wei-Che |
Taoyuan County
Kaohsiung City
Miaoli County |
|
TW
TW
TW |
|
|
Assignee: |
Quanta Computer Inc.
Taoyuan Shien
TW
|
Family ID: |
49291382 |
Appl. No.: |
13/529116 |
Filed: |
June 21, 2012 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
165/104.26 ;
165/122; 165/181 |
Current CPC
Class: |
G06F 1/203 20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
165/104.26 ;
165/122; 165/181 |
International
Class: |
F28D 15/04 20060101
F28D015/04; F28F 1/12 20060101 F28F001/12; F28F 13/06 20060101
F28F013/06 |
Foreign Application Data
Date |
Code |
Application Number |
Apr 9, 2012 |
TW |
101112477 |
Claims
1. A heat dissipation module comprising: a centrifugal fan
comprising at least one axial air inlet and a radial air outlet,
wherein an air channel sidewall of the centrifugal fan has heat
dissipation fins in an inner wall thereof; and a heat pipe
comprising a heat source contact section and a heat dissipation
section, wherein the heat dissipation section is in contact with an
outer wall of the air channel sidewall, and the heat source contact
section is in contact with a heat source.
2. The heat dissipation module of claim 1, wherein the heat
dissipation section has a circular cross-section.
3. The heat dissipation module of claim 2, wherein the air channel
sidewall has a concave arc section in an outer wall thereof to be
in contact with the heat dissipation section of the heat pipe.
4. The heat dissipation module of claim 1, wherein the air channel
sidewall is a metallic sidewall.
5. The heat dissipation module of claim 4, wherein the centrifugal
fan further comprises an upper cover and a lower cover, the upper
cover, the lower cover and the air channel sidewall collectively
form a complete housing of the centrifugal fan.
6. The heat dissipation module of claim 5, wherein the upper cover
is a metal cover or a plastic cover.
7. The heat dissipation module of claim 5, wherein the lower cover
is a metal cover or a plastic cover.
8. The heat dissipation module of claim 1, wherein a contact
section between the heat dissipation section and the outer wall of
the air channel sidewall is greater than a half length of the air
channel sidewall.
9. The heat dissipation module of claim 1, wherein the heat
dissipation fins have cutouts to collectively define an inner air
channel of the centrifugal fan.
10. The heat dissipation module of claim 9, wherein the cutouts of
the heat dissipation fins are V-shaped cutouts.
Description
RELATED APPLICATIONS
[0001] This application claims priority to Taiwan Application
Serial Number 101112477, filed Apr. 9, 2012, which is herein
incorporated by reference.
BACKGROUND
[0002] 1. Field of Invention
[0003] The present invention relates to a heat dissipation module.
More particularly, the present invention relates to a heat
dissipation module equipped with a centrifugal fan.
[0004] 2. Description of Related Art
[0005] FIG. 1 illustrates a perspective view of a conventional heat
dissipation module equipped with a centrifugal fan. The heat
dissipation module illustrated in FIG. 1 is used in most notebook
computers as their system cooler. A heat dissipation module 100
includes a centrifugal fan 102, a heat pipe 110 and a heat
dissipation fin array 112. A heat source contact section 110a of
the heat pipe 110 is used to connect with a heat source, e.g., a
CPU while a heat dissipation section 110b of the heat pipe 110 is
used to connect with the heat dissipation fin array 112, thereby
transferring heat from the heat source contact section 110a to the
heat dissipation section 110b and the heat dissipation fin array
112. The heat dissipation section 110b and the heat dissipation fin
array 112 are fastened to an air outlet 102a of the centrifugal fan
102. When an impeller 108 of the centrifugal fan 102 rotates,
airflows carry the heat on the heat dissipation section 110b and
the heat dissipation fin array 112 out of the notebook
computer.
[0006] However, the notebook computers are designed to be thin and
compact, the dissipation modules inside them are also designed to
be thinner. Hence, the heat dissipation section 110b of the heat
pipe 110 must have a smaller thickness, thereby affecting the heat
pipe's heat dissipation performance. In addition, when the
dissipation module is designed to be thinner, its heat dissipation
fin array 112 also needs a smaller thickness and the heat
dissipation module's performance cannot be enhanced. Accelerating a
rotation speed of the centrifugal fan 102 may rise the heat
dissipation performance, but also bring about the noises. For the
forgoing reasons, there is a need for dealing the heat dissipation
efficiency issue due to the thinner notebook computer design.
SUMMARY
[0007] It is therefore an objective of the present invention to
provide an improved heat dissipation module equipped with a
centrifugal fan.
[0008] In accordance with the foregoing and other objectives of the
present invention, a heat dissipation module includes a centrifugal
fan and a heat pipe. The centrifugal fan includes at least one
axial air inlet and an radial air outlet, wherein an air channel
sidewall of the centrifugal fan has heat dissipation fins in an
inner wall thereof. The heat pipe has a heat source contact section
and a heat dissipation section, the heat dissipation section is in
contact with an outer wall of the air channel sidewall, and the
heat source contact section is in contact with a heat source.
[0009] According to another embodiment disclosed herein, the heat
dissipation section has a circular cross-section.
[0010] According to another embodiment disclosed herein, the air
channel sidewall has a concave arc section in an outer wall thereof
to be in contact with the heat dissipation section of the heat
pipe.
[0011] According to another embodiment disclosed herein, the air
channel sidewall is a metallic sidewall.
[0012] According to another embodiment disclosed herein, the
centrifugal fan further includes an upper cover and a lower cover,
the upper cover, the lower cover and the air channel sidewall
collectively form a complete housing of the centrifugal fan.
[0013] According to another embodiment disclosed herein, the upper
cover is a metal cover or a plastic cover.
[0014] According to another embodiment disclosed herein, the lower
cover is a metal cover or a plastic cover.
[0015] According to another embodiment disclosed herein, a contact
section between the heat dissipation section and an outer wall of
the air channel sidewall is greater than a half length of the air
channel sidewall.
[0016] According to another embodiment disclosed herein, the heat
dissipation fins have cutouts to collectively define an inner air
channel of the centrifugal fan.
[0017] According to another embodiment disclosed herein, the
cutouts of the heat dissipation fins are V-shaped cutouts.
[0018] Thus, the heat dissipation module disclosed herein with its
heat pipe secured to an outer wall of the air channel sidewall and
air channel sidewall equipped with inner heat dissipation fins,
thereby maintaining a heat pipe with a circular cross-section and
not being overly flattened and maintaining a full heat dissipation
performance for the heat pipe. In addition, a heat dissipation fin
array is removed from a radial air outlet of the centrifugal fan in
the heat dissipation module disclosed herein, the airflow volume is
thus increased to enhance a total convection within a whole
computer system.
[0019] It is to be understood that both the foregoing general
description and the following detailed description are by examples,
and are intended to provide further explanation of the invention as
claimed.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0020] The accompanying drawings are included to provide a further
understanding of the invention, and are incorporated in and
constitute a part of this specification. The drawings illustrate
embodiments of the invention and, together with the description,
serve to explain the principles of the invention. In the
drawings,
[0021] FIG. 1 illustrates a perspective view of a conventional heat
dissipation module equipped with a centrifugal fan;
[0022] FIG. 2 illustrates a perspective view of a heat dissipation
module equipped with a centrifugal fan according to an embodiment
of this invention;
[0023] FIG. 3 illustrates a cross-sectional view taken along a
cross-section line 3-3' in FIG. 2;
[0024] FIG. 4 illustrates an exploded view of the heat dissipation
module in FIG. 2;
[0025] FIG. 5 illustrates a schematic view of how a heat
dissipation sidewall of a centrifugal fan being manufactured
according to an embodiment of this invention;
[0026] FIG. 6 illustrates a cross-sectional view of a heat
dissipation sidewall of a centrifugal fan according to another
embodiment of this invention; and
[0027] FIG. 7 illustrates a cross-sectional view of a heat
dissipation sidewall of a centrifugal fan according to still
another embodiment of this invention.
DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
[0028] Reference will now be made in detail to the present
preferred embodiments of the invention, examples of which are
illustrated in the accompanying drawings. Wherever possible, the
same reference numbers are used in the drawings and the description
to refer to the same or like parts.
[0029] FIG. 2 illustrates a perspective view of a heat dissipation
module 200 equipped with a centrifugal fan according to an
embodiment of this invention. In order to deal with the heat
dissipation efficiency due to the thinner heat dissipation module,
the heat dissipation module 200 has a heat dissipation section 210b
of a heat pipe 210 attached to an outer wall of an air channel
sidewall 202. The air channel sidewall 202 is designed to have heat
dissipation fins (see heat dissipation fins 202b illustrated in
FIG. 3) in its inner walls to replace a conventional design of the
heat dissipation module, e.g., the heat dissipation module 100
illustrated in FIG. 1.
[0030] In the new design of the heat dissipation module 200, the
heat generated from a heat source (not illustrated in the drawings)
is transferred from a heat source contact section 210 of the heat
pipe 210 to a heat dissipation section 210b of the heat pipe 210,
and further transferred from an outer wall of the air channel
sidewall 202 to the heat dissipation fins at an inner wall of the
air channel sidewall 202, and carried out from a radial air outlet
201 a of the centrifugal fan 201 by airflows generated by a
rotating impeller 208.
[0031] In this embodiment, a contact section between the heat
dissipation section 210b of the heat pipe 210 and an outer wall of
the air channel sidewall 202 is greater than a half length of the
air channel sidewall 202, that is, a contact area between the heat
pipe 210 and the air channel sidewall 202 is large enough to
enhance the heat dissipation of the heat dissipation module
200.
[0032] FIG. 3 illustrates a cross-sectional view taken along a
cross-section line 3-3' in FIG. 2. In this embodiment, the heat
dissipation section 210b of the heat pipe 210 has a circular
cross-section (an exact circular cross-section) to cause the heat
pipe to have a full heat dissipation performance. However, the heat
dissipation section 210b is not limited to a heat pipe with a
circular cross-section, a heat pipe with a noncircular
cross-section is also applicable. The air channel sidewall 202 has
a concave arc section 202a in an outer wall thereof to be in
contact with the heat dissipation section 210b of the heat pipe
210. The air channel sidewall 202 has heat dissipation fins 202b in
an inner wall thereof, and each heat dissipation fin 202b has its
cutout 202c. Thus, the heat dissipation fins 202b have their
cutouts 202c to collectively define an inner air channel of the
centrifugal fan through which airflows pass through and carry out
heat. In this embodiment, the cutouts 202c of the heat dissipation
fins 202b are, but not limited to, V-shaped cutouts. The air
channel sidewall 202 is made from materials with high thermal
efficiencies. In this embodiment, the air channel sidewall 202 is
made from metallic materials. The upper cover 206 or lower cover
204 of the centrifugal fan's housing can be made from materials
with high thermal efficiencies, e.g., metallic materials. However,
the upper cover 206 or lower cover 204 of the centrifugal fan's
housing is not limited to materials with high thermal efficiencies,
e.g., the upper cover 206 or lower cover 204 of the centrifugal
fan's housing can be made from plastic materials. When the upper
cover 206, the lower cover 204 and the air channel sidewall 202 are
assembled, the heat can be further transferred from the air channel
sidewall 202 to the upper cover 206 or the lower cover 204 to
expand heat dissipation areas. That is, the upper cover 206 or the
lower cover 204 shares the same function, i.e., expanding heat
dissipation areas, with the heat dissipation fins 202b.
[0033] FIG. 4 illustrates an exploded view of the heat dissipation
module 200 in FIG. 2 to detail the relationships between the
components of the heat dissipation module 200. The upper cover 206
of the heat dissipation module 200 has an axial air inlet 206a such
that the air above the centrifugal fan can be introduced into the
centrifugal fan. The lower cover 204 of the heat dissipation module
200 has an axial air inlet 204a such that the air under the
centrifugal fan can be introduced into the centrifugal fan. The
heat dissipation module 200 may need single one axial air inlet
(204a or 206a), instead of two axial air inlets (204a, 206a) at two
opposite sides. The upper cover 206, the lower cover 204 and the
air channel sidewall 202 collectively form a complete housing of
the centrifugal fan, which encloses an impeller 208 within. The
heat dissipation section 210b of the heat pipe 210 is secured to a
concave arc section 202a in an outer wall of the air channel
sidewall 202.
[0034] FIG. 5 illustrates a schematic view of how a heat
dissipation sidewall of a centrifugal fan being manufactured
according to an embodiment of this invention. In this embodiment,
the air channel sidewall 202 can be a metal member manufactured by
separating an upper mold 220a and a lower mold 220b vertically
along the arrows in the drawings. This manufacturing way is
different from a horizontal mold separating way in manufacturing a
conventional air channel sidewall.
[0035] FIG. 6 illustrates a cross-sectional view of a heat
dissipation sidewall 302 of a centrifugal fan according to another
embodiment of this invention. The heat dissipation sidewall 302 has
two air channel sidewalls (302a, 302b) combined to increase heat
dissipation fins 302d and thus expand heat dissipation areas.
[0036] FIG. 7 illustrates a cross-sectional view of a heat
dissipation sidewall 302' of a centrifugal fan according to still
another embodiment of this invention. The heat dissipation sidewall
302' has three air channel sidewalls (302a, 302b, 302c) combined to
increase heat dissipation fins 302d and thus further expand heat
dissipation areas (compared with FIG. 6). In other embodiments, the
heat dissipation sidewall may have four or more air channel
sidewalls combined to increase heat dissipation fins 302d and thus
further expand even more heat dissipation areas.
[0037] A performance simulation is conducted both on the heat
dissipation module of this invention (the embodiment as illustrated
in FIG. 2) and a conventional heat dissipation module (the
embodiment as illustrated in FIG. 1) with the same rotation speed
centrifugal fan and a table below lists the comparison results.
According to the table below, the heat dissipation module of this
invention is equipped with a better heat efficiency such that the
heat source core temperature is lowered by about 9.degree. C.
compared with the conventional heat dissipation module.
Furthermore, the heat dissipation module of this invention removes
a heat dissipation fin array at a radial air outlet of a
conventional heat dissipation module such that the airflow volume
is increased by about 0.35 CFM to enhance a total convection within
a whole computer system.
TABLE-US-00001 Conventional heat Heat dissipation module of
dissipation module this invention (metal air (centrifugal fan with
channel sidewall and metal plastic housing) upper and lower covers)
Heat source 69.3.degree. C. 60.2.degree. C. core temp. Air outlet
1.28 CFM 1.63 CFM airflow volume
[0038] According to the above-discussed embodiments, the heat
dissipation module disclosed herein with its heat pipe secured to
an outer wall of the air channel sidewall and air channel sidewall
equipped with inner heat dissipation fins, thereby maintaining a
heat pipe with a circular cross-section and not being overly
flattened and maintaining a full heat dissipation performance for
the heat pipe. In addition, a heat dissipation fin array is removed
from a radial air outlet of the centrifugal fan in the heat
dissipation module disclosed herein, the airflow volume is thus
increased to enhance a total convection within a whole computer
system.
[0039] It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various
modifications and variations can be made to the structure of the
present invention without departing from the scope or spirit of the
invention. In view of the foregoing, it is intended that the
present invention cover modifications and variations of this
invention provided they fall within the scope of the following
claims and their equivalents.
* * * * *