U.S. patent application number 14/145472 was filed with the patent office on 2015-07-02 for structure for holding a heat pipe to a base.
This patent application is currently assigned to Asia Vital Components Co., Ltd.. The applicant listed for this patent is Asia Vital Components Co., Ltd.. Invention is credited to Kuo-Sheng Lin, Sheng-Huang Lin.
Application Number | 20150184948 14/145472 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 53481290 |
Filed Date | 2015-07-02 |
United States Patent
Application |
20150184948 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Lin; Sheng-Huang ; et
al. |
July 2, 2015 |
STRUCTURE FOR HOLDING A HEAT PIPE TO A BASE
Abstract
A structure for holding a heat pipe to a base includes a base
and a heat pipe. The base has a first side and an opposite second
side, and is formed at a middle portion with a receiving recess,
such that two sidewalls are raised from two lateral sides of the
receiving recess. Each of the sidewalls has at least one projected
section formed using a part material of the base, such that
portions of the base adjacent to the projected sections
respectively form an opening. The heat pipe is laid in the
receiving recess and has a top and a bottom surface. The projected
sections are bent to flatly press against the top surface of the
heat pipe to firmly hold the heat pipe to the base. Since the
projected sections are formed using a part material of the base,
the holding structure is manufactured at largely reduced cost.
Inventors: |
Lin; Sheng-Huang; (New
Taipei City, TW) ; Lin; Kuo-Sheng; (New Taipei City,
TW) |
|
Applicant: |
Name |
City |
State |
Country |
Type |
Asia Vital Components Co., Ltd. |
New Taipei City |
|
TW |
|
|
Assignee: |
Asia Vital Components Co.,
Ltd.
New Taipei City
TW
|
Family ID: |
53481290 |
Appl. No.: |
14/145472 |
Filed: |
December 31, 2013 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
165/104.21 |
Current CPC
Class: |
F28D 15/0275 20130101;
F28D 15/02 20130101; F28D 15/0233 20130101; F28F 2275/12
20130101 |
International
Class: |
F28D 15/02 20060101
F28D015/02 |
Claims
1. A structure for holding a heat pipe to a base, comprising: a
base having a first side and an opposite second side, and being
formed at a middle portion with a receiving recess, such that a
sidewall is raised from either lateral side of the receiving
recess; each of the sidewalls having at least one upward projected
section formed using a part material of the base, such that
portions of the base adjacent to the projected sections
respectively forming an opening; and a heat pipe being laid in the
receiving recess and having a top surface and a bottom surface; and
the projected sections being bent to flatly press against the top
surface of the heat pipe.
2. The holding structure as claimed in claim 1, wherein the
openings are extended from the first side to the second side to
penetrate through the base.
3. The holding structure as claimed in claim 1, wherein the top
surface of the heat pipe is flush with the first side of the
base.
4. The holding structure as claimed in claim 1, wherein the base is
shaped through a mechanical process.
5. The holding structure as claimed in claim 4, wherein the
mechanical process is stamping.
6. The holding structure as claimed in claim 1, wherein the heat
pipe and the base are held together through a mechanical
process.
7. The holding structure as claimed in claim 6, wherein the
mechanical process is selected from the group consisting of
stamping and rolling.
8. The holding structure as claimed in claim 1, wherein the heat
pipe is a flat heat pipe.
9. The holding structure as claimed in claim 1, wherein the
projected section has a shape selected from the group consisting of
a rectangular, a round, a triangular and any other geometrical
shape.
10. The holding structure as claimed in claim 1, wherein the base
is formed at an area adjacent to one sidewall of the receiving
recess with a through hole, and the projected section is formed on
the other sidewall of the receiving recess corresponding to the
through hole, such that the projected section flatly pressed
against the top surface of the heat pipe has a free end extended
into the through hole.
11. The holding structure as claimed in claim 1, wherein portions
of the base located at two lateral sides of the receiving recess
form two raised open surfaces, and the openings being formed on the
two open surfaces.
12. The holding structure as claimed in claim 1, wherein the
openings are formed on the sidewalls at positions corresponding to
the projected sections.
Description
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
[0001] The present invention relates to a structure for holding a
heat pipe to a base, and more particularly to a structure for
holding a heat pipe to a base that is manufactured at largely
reduced cost.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0002] The progress in the electronic technology enables various
chips, such as the central processing unit (CPU), to have gradually
reduced volume. Meanwhile, for the chips to process more data, the
number of electronic components provided on the presently available
chips is several times higher than that on the conventional chips
of the same volume. When the number of electronic components on the
chips increases, the heat generated by the electronic components
during operation thereof also increases. For example, the heat
generated by the CPU during operation thereof is high enough to
burn out the whole CPU. Thus, it is always a very important issue
as how to properly provide a heat dissipation device for various
chips. Among others, heat pipes have become an important type of
heat dissipation device.
[0003] FIGS. 1A and 1B are sectional views showing a conventional
structure for holding a heat pipe 11 to a base 10. The base 10 is
formed by way of aluminum extrusion and has a recess 101 located at
a middle portion thereof. The recess 101 has two opposite sidewalls
102, each of which has an upper end protruded beyond the base 10 by
a predetermined height to form a continuously extended projected
section 104. The heat pipe 11 can be a round-sectioned heat pipe, a
D-sectioned heat pipe or a flat heat pipe. After the heat pipe 11
is laid in the recess 101, the base 10 is subjected to a
planarization process, so that the projected sections 104 are bent
toward a centerline of the recess 101 to finally press against a
top surface of the heat pipe 11. Through the planarization process,
any clearance between the recess 101 and the heat pipe 11 due to
their width difference is also eliminated, enabling the heat pipe
11 to be firmly held to the base 10. According to the above
structure, the projected sections 104 are formed because the two
sidewalls 102 of the recess 101 are upward protruded beyond the
base 10. During the planarization process, the projected sections
104 are subjected to rivet pressing or stamping, which, however,
does not bring the entire projected sections 104 to deform toward
the centerline of the recess 101. That is, some portions of the
projected sections 104 will form raised areas 105 on the surface of
the base 10 after the planarization process. These raised areas 105
prevent the heat pipe 11 from closely contacting with the heat
source, resulting in lowered heat transfer effect of the heat pipe
11.
[0004] Further, the projected sections 104 are upward extended
portions of the two sidewalls 102 of the recess 101. This means
extra material is needed to form the projected sections 104 to
thereby increase the holding structure's manufacturing cost.
[0005] In brief, the prior art structure for holding the heat pipe
to the base has the following disadvantages: (1) requiring higher
manufacturing cost; and (2) tending to lower the heat transfer
effect of the heat pipe.
[0006] It is therefore tried by the inventor to develop an improved
structure for holding the heat pipe to the base.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0007] A primary object of the present invention is to provide a
structure for holding a heat pipe to a base that is manufactured at
largely reduced cost.
[0008] Another object of the present invention is to provide a
structure for holding a heat pipe to a base that enables a close
and firm contact between the heat pipe and the base.
[0009] A further object of the present invention is to provide a
structure for holding a heat pipe to a base that ensures good heat
transfer effect of the heat pipe.
[0010] To achieve the above and other objects, the holding
structure according to the present invention includes a base and a
heat pipe. The base has a first side and an opposite second side,
and is formed at a middle portion with a receiving recess, such
that a sidewall is raised from each of two lateral sides of the
receiving recess. Each of the sidewalls has at least one upward
projected section formed using a part material of the base, such
that portions of the base adjacent to the projected sections
respectively form an opening. The heat pipe is laid in the
receiving recess and has a top surface and a bottom surface. The
projected sections are bent to flatly press against the top surface
of the heat pipe, so that the heat pipe is firmly held to the
base.
[0011] According to the holding structure of the present invention,
after the heat pipe is positioned in the receiving recess of the
base, the projected sections are bent to flatly press against the
top surface of the heat pipe, so that the heat pipe is firmly held
to the base. Since the projected sections are formed using a part
material of the base through a stamping process, no other
additional element or material is needed to hold down the heat
pipe. With these arrangements, the heat pipe can be more closely
and tightly attached to the base and the manufacturing cost of the
holding structure is largely reduced.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0012] 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
[0013] FIG. 1A is a sectional view of a conventional structure for
holding a heat pipe to a base;
[0014] FIG. 1B is another sectional view of the holding structure
of FIG. 1A;
[0015] FIG. 2A is an exploded perspective view of a structure for
holding a heat pipe to a base according to a first embodiment of
the present invention;
[0016] FIG. 2B is an assembled view of FIG. 2A;
[0017] FIG. 3 is an exploded perspective view of a structure for
holding a heat pipe to a base according to a second embodiment of
the present invention;
[0018] FIG. 4 is an assembled perspective view of a structure for
holding a heat pipe to a base according to a third embodiment of
the present invention;
[0019] FIG. 5A is an exploded perspective view of a structure for
holding a heat pipe to a base according to a fourth embodiment of
the present invention;
[0020] FIG. 5B is an assembled view of FIG. 5A;
[0021] FIG. 6 shows the forming of a structure for holding a heat
pipe to a base according to a fifth embodiment of the present
invention; and
[0022] FIG. 7 is an exploded perspective view of a structure for
holding a heat pipe to a base according to a sixth embodiment of
the present invention.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
[0023] The present invention will now be described with some
preferred embodiments thereof and with reference to the
accompanying drawings. For the purpose of easy to understand,
elements that are the same in the preferred embodiments are denoted
by the same reference numerals.
[0024] Please refer to FIGS. 2A and 2B, which are exploded and
assembled perspective views, respectively, of a structure for
holding a heat pipe to a base according to a first embodiment of
the present invention. For the purpose of conciseness and clarity,
the present invention is also briefly referred to as the holding
structure herein. As shown, in the first embodiment, the holding
structure includes a base 2 and at least one heat pipe 3. The base
2 has a first side 21 and an opposite second side 22, and is formed
at a middle portion with a receiving recess 23, such that other
portions of the base 2 located at two lateral sides of the
receiving recess 23 form two raised open surfaces 26. A sidewall
231 is raised from either lateral side of the receiving recess 23.
Each of the sidewalls 231 has at least one upward projected section
232, which is formed using a part material of the base 2, so that
areas on the base 2 adjacent to the projected sections 232
respectively form an opening 24, which is extended from the first
side 21 to the second side 22 to penetrate through the base 2. In
the illustrated first embodiment, the openings 24 are formed on the
two open surfaces 26.
[0025] The base 2 is shaped through a mechanical process. In the
embodiments of the present invention, the mechanical process is
stamping.
[0026] The heat pipe 3 has a top surface 31 and a bottom surface
32. When the heat pipe 3 is laid in the receiving recess 23, the
top surface 31 is flush with the first side 21 of the base 2 at the
two open surfaces 26, and the projected sections 232 can be inward
bent to flatly press against the top surface 31. In the embodiments
of the present invention, the heat pipe 3 is shown as a flat heat
pipe.
[0027] According to the present invention, the heat pipe 3 can be
held to the base 2 directly by a mechanical process, such as
stamping or rolling. Alternatively, the heat pipe 3 is first
mechanically flattened and then positioned in the receiving recess
23 of the base 2. Thereafter, the projected sections 232 on the
sidewalls 231 of the receiving recess 23 are pressed to flatly
contact with the top surface 31 of the heat pipe 3, so that the
heat pipe 3 is closely and firmly held to the base 2. It is noted
the projected sections 232 are formed by stamping the base 2. That
is, the projected sections 232 are formed using a part material of
the base 2 instead of using extra material. Therefore, with the
present invention, the heat pipe 3 can be closely and firmly held
to the base 2 without the need of using other element or extra
material to form the projected sections 232, enabling the holding
structure to have largely reduced overall weight and manufacturing
cost.
[0028] FIG. 3 is an exploded perspective view of a second
embodiment of the present invention. As shown, the second
embodiment is generally structurally similar to the first
embodiment, but has more projected sections 232 formed on the
sidewalls 231, compared to the first embodiment. It is understood
the number of the projected sections 232 can be adjusted according
to actual need in use mainly to more firmly hold the heat pipe 3 to
the base 2. FIG. 4 is an assembled perspective view of a third
embodiment of the present invention. As shown, the third embodiment
is generally structurally similar to the second embodiment, except
that, in the third embodiment, the projected sections 232 are round
in shape. It is understood the projected sections 232 can be
differently shaped without being limited to any particular
configurations. For example, the projected sections 232 can be
rectangular, round, triangular in shape or be any other geometric
shapes. However, in both of the second and the third embodiment,
the projected sections 232 are still formed using a part material
of the base 2, particularly the open surfaces 26, which not only
enables close and firm holding of the heat pipe 3 to the base 2,
but also largely reduces the manufacturing cost of the holding
structure.
[0029] Please refer to FIGS. 5A and 5B that are exploded and
assembled perspective views, respectively, of a fourth embodiment
of the present invention. As shown, the fourth embodiment is
generally structurally similar to the previous embodiments, except
for a through hole 25 and a lengthened projected section 232. The
through hole 25 is formed on the open surface 26 of the base 2 at
an area adjacent to one sidewall 231 of the receiving recess 23,
and the lengthened projected section 232 is formed on the other
sidewall 231 of the receiving recess 23 to correspond to the
through hole 25. Through the stamping process, the projected
section 232 is flatly pressed against the top surface 31 of the
heat pipe 3 with a free end thereof correspondingly extended into
the through hole 25, so that the heat pipe 3 is closely and firmly
held to the base 2 In the fourth embodiment, the lengthened
projected section 232 is still formed using a part material of the
base 2, particularly the open surface 26, without the need of using
other element or extra material to hold down the heat pipe 3, which
enables the holding structure to have largely reduced manufacturing
cost.
[0030] The projected sections 232 are not necessarily formed using
a part material of the open surfaces 26 of the base 2 as that shown
in FIGS. 2A, 3, 4 and 5A. Please refer to FIG. 6 that shows a fifth
embodiment of the present invention. As shown, the fifth embodiment
is generally structurally similar to the previous embodiments,
except that the projected sections 232 are formed using a part
material of the sidewalls 231. In this case, the openings 24 are
formed on the sidewalls 231 at positions adjacent to the projected
sections 232. That is, the sidewalls 231 of the receiving recess 23
are stamped to form the openings 24 and the projected sections 232.
Finally, the projected sections 232 are bent through the stamping
process to firmly hold the heat pipe 3 to the base 2. Again,
according to the fifth embodiment, the holding structure of the
present invention not only enables close and firm holding of the
heat pipe 3 to the base 2, but also has largely reduced
manufacturing cost.
[0031] FIG. 7 is an exploded perspective view of a sixth embodiment
of the present invention. As shown, the sixth embodiment is
generally structurally similar to the previous embodiments, except
that some of the projected sections 232 are formed using a part
material of the open surfaces 26 while others using a part material
of the sidewalls 231. All these projected sections 232 are bent
through the stamping process to flatly press against the top
surface 31 of the heat pipe 3. Again, according to the sixth
embodiment, the holding structure of the present invention not only
enables close and firm holding of the heat pipe 3 to the base 2,
but also has largely reduced manufacturing cost.
[0032] In conclusion, the present invention has the following
advantages: (1) being produced at largely reduced manufacturing
cost; and (2) enabling close and tight contact of the heat pipe
with the base.
[0033] The present invention has been described with some preferred
embodiments thereof and it is understood that many changes and
modifications in the described embodiments can be carried out
without departing from the scope and the spirit of the invention
that is intended to be limited only by the appended claims.
* * * * *