U.S. patent application number 14/054104 was filed with the patent office on 2015-04-16 for thermal conductor with ultra-thin flat wick structure.
The applicant listed for this patent is Hao PAI. Invention is credited to Hao PAI.
Application Number | 20150101783 14/054104 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 52808657 |
Filed Date | 2015-04-16 |
United States Patent
Application |
20150101783 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
PAI; Hao |
April 16, 2015 |
THERMAL CONDUCTOR WITH ULTRA-THIN FLAT WICK STRUCTURE
Abstract
A thermal conductor with an ultra-thin flat wick structure (2)
includes a hollow shell (1) having a flat shape, and a wick
structure (2) disposed in the shell (1) and contacted with an inner
wall (100) of the shell (1), wherein the wick structure (2) is a
thin planar body having a plane (20) and a pressing surface (21)
opposite to the plane (20), wherein the plane (20) is attached to
the inner wall (100) of the shell (1), wherein a plurality of
elongated concave surfaces (210) are spacedly arranged on the
pressing surface (21) such that a steam channel (101) is formed in
the shell (1) via each of the concave surfaces (210) and an
elongated wick structure connection (200) is formed between each
concave surface (210) and the plane (20).
Inventors: |
PAI; Hao; (Taoyuan County,
TW) |
|
Applicant: |
Name |
City |
State |
Country |
Type |
PAI; Hao |
Taoyuan County |
|
TW |
|
|
Family ID: |
52808657 |
Appl. No.: |
14/054104 |
Filed: |
October 15, 2013 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
165/104.26 |
Current CPC
Class: |
H01L 2924/0002 20130101;
F28D 15/0233 20130101; H01L 2924/00 20130101; F28D 15/046 20130101;
H01L 2924/0002 20130101; H01L 23/427 20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
165/104.26 |
International
Class: |
F28D 15/04 20060101
F28D015/04 |
Claims
1. A thermal conductor with an ultra-thin flat wick structure (2),
comprising: a hollow shell (1) having a flat shape; and a wick
structure (2) disposed in the shell (1) and contacted with an inner
wall (100) of the shell (2), wherein the wick structure (2) is a
thin planar body having a plane (20) and a pressing surface (21)
opposite to the plane (20), wherein the plane (20) is attached to
the inner wall (100) of the shell (1), wherein a plurality of
elongated concave surfaces (210) are spacedly arranged on the
pressing surface (21) such that a respective steam channel (101) is
formed in the shell (1) via each of the concave surfaces (210) and
a respective elongated wick structure connection (200) is formed
between each concave surface (210) and the plane (20).
2. The thermal conductor according to claim 1, wherein the shell
(1) further comprises another wick structure (2) such that the two
wick structures (2) are stacked up and down with respective concave
surfaces (210) facing to each other to form the steam channel
(101).
3. The thermal conductor according to claim 1, wherein an external
contour of the shell (1) has a thickness below 0.5 mm.
4. The thermal conductor according to claim 1, wherein each concave
surface (210) of the wick structure (2) has penetrated heat
transfer holes (211).
5. The thermal conductor according to claim 1, wherein a plurality
of recesses (212) are recessed and disposed on each concave surface
(210) to make the adjacent steam channels (101) communicate with
each other.
6. The thermal conductor according to claim 1, wherein each concave
surface (210) of the wick structure (2) has a shape of an "V", an
arc, a rectangle, or a trapezoid.
7. The thermal conductor according to claim 1, wherein each concave
surface (210) gradually expands or shrinks along a longitudinal
direction of the wick structure (2).
8. The thermal conductor according to claim 1, wherein each concave
surface (210) is extended and disposed along a longitudinal
direction of the wick structure (2).
9. The thermal conductor according to claim 1, wherein a thickness
of the wick structure (2) is below 0.25 mm.
10. The thermal conductor according to claim 9, wherein a minimum
thickness of the respective elongated wick structure connection
(200) ranges from 0.02 mm to 0.04 mm.
11. The thermal conductor according to claim 10, wherein the shell
(1) has an upper wall (10), a lower wall (11) spaced with and
opposite to the upper wall (10), and side edges (12) surrounding
the outer edges of the upper wall (10) and the lower wall (11).
12. The thermal conductor according to claim 11, wherein the wick
structure (2) is braid, fiber, sintered metal powder, or any
combination thereof
Description
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0001] 1. Field of the Invention
[0002] The present invention relates to an ultra-thin plate type
heat pipe and in particular to a thermal conductor with an
ultra-thin flat wick structure.
[0003] 2. Description of Related Art
[0004] Since most current 3C electronic products indicate a trend
towards a light, thin, short, and compact design, the heat pipes
used therein for heat dissipation or heat conduction also need to
be thinned down, which causes the creation of the ultra-thin plate
type heat pipe (the thickness is below about 1.5 mm).
[0005] However, the thickness of the ultra-thin plate type heat
pipe needs to be thinned, thus resulting in a thinner thickness of
the wick structure therein, otherwise the steam channels with
sufficient space cannot be formed in the heat pipe. During the
manufacturing process, the excessively thin wick structure cannot
be filled through the gap between the wall of the heat pipe and the
mandrel. The reason is that a relatively small gap causes a greater
resistance when the metal powder is filled and thus cannot be
processed subsequently. Therefore, the powder wick structure in the
previous ultra-thin plate type heat pipe is formed only in the
local area in the heat pipe and not thinned. Consequently, the
powder wick structure in the ultra-thin plate type heat pipe of the
prior art cannot be easily filled into the cross section of the
heat pipe completely, which cannot provide the adequate surfaces
for evaporation and condensation and the truncated transfer
surface. Also, this still does not have sufficient steam channels
and solid internal support structures, resulting in easy collapse
of the heat pipe and thus greater thermal contact resistance.
Hence, the heat transfer efficiency cannot be improved further.
[0006] In view of this, the inventor pays special attention to
research with the application of related theory and tries to
overcome the above disadvantages. Finally, the inventor proposes
the present invention which is a reasonable design and effectively
overcomes the above disadvantages.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0007] The main objective of the present invention is to provide a
thermal conductor with an ultra-thin flat wick structure, in which
the thinned wick structure can be formed on the inner wall of the
thermal conductor such that the steam channels can be maintained to
provide sufficient space for heat transfer by evaporation and
condensation after the ultra-thin thermal conductor is pressed and
formed, to provide the maximal capillary surface area and truncated
transfer surface, and to provide more solid internal support
structures to make the heat pipe not easy to collapse and have
lower thermal contact resistance, achieving the objective of
providing an ultra-thin thermal conductor.
[0008] To achieve the above objective, the present invention
provides a thermal conductor with an ultra-thin flat wick
structure, comprising a hollow shell having a flat shape, and a
wick structure disposed in the shell and contacted with an inner
wall of the shell. The wick structure is a thin planar body having
a plane and a pressing surface opposite to the plane. The plane is
attached to the inner wall of the shell. A plurality of elongated
concave surfaces are spacedly arranged on the pressing surface such
that a steam channel is formed in the shell via each of the concave
surfaces and an elongated wick structure connection is formed
between each concave surface and the plane.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWING
[0009] FIG. 1 is a perspective schematic view of the present
invention;
[0010] FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional schematic view along line 2-2 of
FIG. 1;
[0011] FIG. 3 is a perspective schematic view of the wick structure
of the present invention;
[0012] FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional schematic view of the wick
structure according to the second embodiment of the present
invention;
[0013] FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional schematic view of the wick
structure according to the third embodiment of the present
invention;
[0014] FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional schematic view of the wick
structure according to the fourth embodiment of the present
invention;
[0015] FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional schematic view of another
embodiment of the present invention along a longitudinal direction
thereof;
[0016] FIG. 8 is a perspective schematic view of the wick structure
according to the fifth embodiment of the present invention;
[0017] FIG. 9 is a perspective schematic view of the wick structure
according to the sixth embodiment of the present invention; and
[0018] FIG. 10 is a cross-sectional schematic view according to
another embodiment of the present invention.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
[0019] To make examiners understand the features and technical
contents regarding the present invention, please refer to the
following detailed description and attached figures. However, the
attached figures are only used for reference and explanation, not
to limit the present invention.
[0020] Please refer to FIG. 1, which is a perspective schematic
view of the present invention. The present invention provides a
thermal conductor with an ultra-thin flat wick structure,
comprising a hollow shell 1 having a flat shape, and at least one
wick structure 2 disposed in the shell 1 and contacted with an
inner wall of the shell 1.
[0021] As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the shell 1 may be formed to have
the flat shape by manufacturing processes such as pressing. The
thickness T of the external contour of the shell 1 may be formed
below 0.5 mm by pressing. In the embodiment of the present
invention, after the shell 1 is pressed, it has an upper wall 10, a
lower wall 11 spaced with and opposite to the upper wall 10, and
side edges 12 surrounding the outer edges of the upper wall 10 and
the lower wall 11.
[0022] Please refer to FIGS. 2 and 3. The wick structure 2 may be
braid, fiber, sintered metal powder, or any combination thereof to
form a thin planar body. The wick structure 2 is disposed in the
above-mentioned shell 1 and has a plane 20 attached to an inner
wall 110 of the shell 1 and a pressing surface 21 attached to
another inner wall 100. A plurality of elongated concave surfaces
210 are evenly or unevenly spacedly arranged on the pressing
surface 21 by pressing. The concave surfaces 210 are extended and
disposed along a longitudinal direction of the wick structure 2
such that a respective steam channel 101 is formed in the shell 1
via each of the concave surfaces 210. Also, a respective elongated
wick structure connection 200 is formed between each concave
surface 210 and the plane 20 of the wick structure 2. Furthermore,
the thickness t1 of the wick structure 2 is below about 0.25 mm and
the minimum thickness t2 of the respective elongated wick structure
connection 200 ranges about from 0.02 mm to 0.04 mm.
[0023] Further, as shown in FIG. 2, each of the concave surfaces
210 may have a shape of an arc; as also shown in FIGS. 4-6, each
concave surface 210 many have a shape of a "V", a rectangle, or a
trapezoid. As shown in FIG. 7, viewed cross-sectionally along a
longitudinal direction of the wick structure 2, each concave
surface 210 gradually expands or shrinks along a longitudinal
direction of the wick structure 2.
[0024] In addition, as shown in FIG. 8, each concave surface 210 of
the wick structure 2 of the present invention may have the
penetrated heat transfer holes 211 to enhance heat transfer. Also,
as shown in FIG. 9, a plurality of recesses 212 may be recessed and
disposed between the respective concave surfaces 210 by the
above-mentioned pressing such that after the wick structure 2 is
placed into the shell 1, the adjacent formed steam channels 101 can
communicate with each other.
[0025] Moreover, as shown in FIG. 10, the present invention further
comprises another wick structure 2 such that the two
above-mentioned wick structures 2 are stacked up and down with
respective concave surfaces 210 facing to each other to form the
steam channels 101.
[0026] In summary, the present invention indeed achieves the
expected objective of use and overcomes the disadvantages of the
prior art. In addition, the present invention is useful, novel and
non-obvious, which meets the requirements of patent application.
Please examine the application carefully and grant it a patent for
protecting the rights of the inventor.
[0027] The embodiments described above are only preferred ones and
not to limit the scope of appending claims regarding the present
invention. Therefore, all the modifications of equivalent
technology and means which apply the specification and figures of
the present invention are embraced by the scope of the present
invention.
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