U.S. patent application number 15/226060 was filed with the patent office on 2017-12-07 for heat spreader with a liquid-vapor separation structure.
The applicant listed for this patent is TAI-SOL ELECTRONICS CO., LTD.. Invention is credited to Ming-Quan CUI, Chuan-Chi TSENG, Yun-Yeu YEH.
Application Number | 20170350657 15/226060 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 56803422 |
Filed Date | 2017-12-07 |
United States Patent
Application |
20170350657 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
YEH; Yun-Yeu ; et
al. |
December 7, 2017 |
HEAT SPREADER WITH A LIQUID-VAPOR SEPARATION STRUCTURE
Abstract
A heat spreader with a liquid-vapor separation structure
includes a first panel, a second panel bonded with the first panel
and defining therebetween an enclosed accommodation chamber,
multiple spacer members arranged spaced apart from one another in
the accommodation chamber and abutted between the first panel and
the second panel and defining multiple vapor passages and liquid
passages therebetween and dividing the accommodation chamber into a
heat-absorbing zone and a condensing zone that are disposed in
communication with each other through the vapor passages and the
liquid passages, a first wick material partially disposed in the
liquid passages and partially disposed in the heat-absorbing zone
and the condensing zone, and a working fluid filled in the
accommodation chamber.
Inventors: |
YEH; Yun-Yeu; (TAIPEI CITY,
TW) ; TSENG; Chuan-Chi; (TAIPEI CITY, TW) ;
CUI; Ming-Quan; (TAIPEI CITY, TW) |
|
Applicant: |
Name |
City |
State |
Country |
Type |
TAI-SOL ELECTRONICS CO., LTD. |
TAIPEI CITY |
|
TW |
|
|
Family ID: |
56803422 |
Appl. No.: |
15/226060 |
Filed: |
August 2, 2016 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
1/1 |
Current CPC
Class: |
F28D 15/0233 20130101;
F28F 9/0075 20130101; F28D 2021/0028 20130101; F28D 15/0266
20130101; F28D 15/046 20130101; H01L 23/427 20130101 |
International
Class: |
F28D 15/02 20060101
F28D015/02; F28D 15/04 20060101 F28D015/04; F28F 9/007 20060101
F28F009/007 |
Foreign Application Data
Date |
Code |
Application Number |
Jun 2, 2016 |
TW |
105208300 |
Claims
1. A heat spreader, comprising: at least one first panel; a second
panel bonded with said at least one first panel and defining with
said at least one first panel at least one enclosed accommodation
chamber therebetween; a plurality of spacer members abutted between
said at least one first panel and said second panel and arranged
spaced apart from one another in said at least one enclosed
accommodation chamber and defining a plurality of vapor passages
and at least one liquid passage, said spacer members dividing said
at least one enclosed accommodation chamber into a heat-absorbing
zone and condensing zone, said heat-absorbing zone and said
condensing zone being disposed in communication with each other
through said vapor passages and said at least one liquid passage;
at least one piece of first wick material having a part thereof
disposed in said at least one liquid passage and the other part
thereof respectively disposed in said heat-absorbing zone and said
condensing zone; and a working fluid filled in said at least one
enclosed accommodation chamber.
2. The heat spreader as claimed in claim 1, wherein said
heat-absorbing zone and said condensing zone define a
heat-insulating zone therebetween; said spacer members are disposed
in said heat-insulating zone.
3. The heat spreader as claimed in claim 1, wherein said spacer
members exhibit an elongated shape.
4. The heat spreader as claimed in claim 1, wherein said vapor
passages and said at least one liquid passage respectively exhibit
an elongated shape.
5. The heat spreader as claimed in claim 1, wherein said at least
one piece of first wick material exhibits an elongated shape and
fills up said at least one liquid passage.
6. The heat spreader as claimed in claim 1, further comprising at
least one vapor discharge tube mounted in the bonding area between
said at least one first panel and said second panel, said at least
one vapor discharge tube each having one end thereof disposed in
communication with said at least one enclosed accommodation chamber
and an opposite end thereof extended out of the said heat spreader
and blocked.
7. The heat spreader as claimed in claim 1, wherein said second
panel has a plurality of support blocks mounted therein
corresponding to said heat-absorbing zone and/or said condensing
zone and abutted against said at least one first panel and disposed
at two opposite lateral sides of said at least one first wick
material to hold said at least one first wick material in
position.
8. The heat spreader as claimed in claim 7, wherein said support
blocks are optionally aligned with one another or arranged in
staggered rows; said support block are respectively disposed in
alignment with said spacer members, forming a plurality of support
member sets.
9. The heat spreader as claimed in claim 7, wherein said second
panel further comprises a second wick material sintered thereto,
said second wick material being disposed in said heat-absorbing
zone and/or said condensing zone and kept in contact with said at
least one piece of first wick material.
10. The heat spreader as claimed in claim 1, wherein said second
panel further comprises at least one recessed portion disposed
within said condensing zone, and a third wick material sintered to
a bottom side of each said recessed portion and connected with said
first wick material, the height of said at least one recessed
portion being greater than the height from said at least one first
panel to said second panel.
11. The heat spreader as claimed in claim 1, wherein said at least
one first wick material is selected from the material group of
fiber tow, copper powder and mesh.
Description
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
[0001] The present invention relates to cooling technology and more
particularly, to a heat spreader with a liquid-vapor separation
structure.
2. Description of the Related Art
[0002] With the continuous growing trend of global electronics
industry market, many electronic products (such as LED light
module, computers and mobile phones, etc . . . ) have become an
indispensable part of people's lives. However, with continuous
development of these electronic products, in order to achieve
enhanced product performance, the product composition units are
easy to produce large amounts of heat during operation. When these
product composition units have a certain degree of waste heat
accumulated therein, the working efficiency of these electronic
products will be lowered, or the lifespan of these electronic
products will be shortened. Therefore, most electronic products
have heat pipes or heat spreaders (vapor chambers) mounted in their
heat-generating units and incorporated with radiation fins or
cooling fans to form a cooling system for quick dissipation of
waste heat. A heat pipe is one-dimensional and linear structure
that transfers heat from one single point to another while a heat
spreader (vapor chamber) is a plate that spreads heat from one
point to a two-dimensional area. A heat spreader can rapidly and
evenly spread out heat energy, accelerating thermal cycle
efficiency. Therefore, heat spreaders (vapor chambers) have better
thermal performance than heat pipes. Taiwan Patent Publication No.
1476361 discloses a heat spreader and the formation of the wick
structure of the heat spreader. According to this design, the heat
spreader comprises a bottom panel, a cover panel, a plurality of
support projections, a wick structure and a working fluid. The
cover panel is closed on the bottom panel and sealed such that an
accommodation chamber is defined in between the cover panel and the
bottom panel. The support projections are directly formed on the
inner wall of the bottom panel or cover panel. The wick structure
is coated on the surface of each support projection, the inside
wall of the bottom panel and the inside wall of the cover panel.
The working fluid is filled in the accommodation chamber to enhance
the thermal conducting efficiency and speed of the heat
spreader.
[0003] Although the heat spreader uses the support projections to
enhance its supporting strength, the arrangement of the support
projections makes the wick structure to exhibit an undulating
configuration. During thermal cycling, the working fluid must go
through apertures in the wick structure in between the support
projections. This undulating structure will affect the reflux rate
of the working fluid. Further, the working fluid flows in the
accommodation chamber in a liquid-vapor coexistence manner. The
flowing of the liquid phase and vapor phase of the working fluid in
different directions may also cause a reduction in the mass flux
during thermal cycling, further affecting the cooling effect.
[0004] Further, because the support projections of the aforesaid
prior art heat transfer respectively consist of two solid
semi-spheres of unequal radius and arranged spaced away from one
another, if the heat spreader is mounted in a space that needs to
bear a load or tends to be compressed, the stress point will be
focused on the top side of the semi-spheres, thus, if the heat
spreader is compressed, the pressure cannot be evenly distributed
in all directions, leading to structural damage. Therefore, an
improvement on the structural support of a heat spreader is
desired.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0005] The present invention has been accomplished under the
circumstances in view. It is the main object of the present
invention to provide a heat spreader with a liquid-vapor separation
structure, which has multiple vapor passages and at least one
liquid passage arranged therein to constrain the vapor phase and
liquid phase of a working fluid to flow in different passages,
increasing the mass flux of the working fluid in the vapor-liquid
circulation system to achieve better heat dissipation
performance.
[0006] It is another object of the present invention to provide a
heat spreader with a liquid-vapor separation structure, which has
multiple spacer members arranged therein and abutted between at
least one first panel and a second panel thereof to form a strong
support structure, achieving a better supporting effect.
[0007] To achieve these and other objects of the present invention,
a heat spreader with a liquid-vapor separation structure comprises
at least one first panel, a second panel, a plurality of spacer
members, at least one piece of first wick, and a working fluid. The
second panel bonded with the at least one first panel, defining
with the at least one first panel at least one enclosed
accommodation chamber therebetween. The spacer members are abutted
between the at least one first panel and the second panel and
arranged spaced apart from one another in the at least one enclosed
accommodation chamber, defining a plurality of vapor passages and
at least one liquid passage. The spacer members divide the at least
one enclosed accommodation chamber into a heat-absorbing zone and
condensing zone. The heat-absorbing zone and the condensing zone
are disposed in communication with each other through the vapor
passages and the at least one liquid passage. The at least one
piece of first wick material has a part thereof disposed in the at
least one liquid passage, and the other part thereof respectively
disposed in the heat-absorbing zone and the condensing zone. The
working fluid is filled in the at least one enclosed accommodation
chamber.
[0008] Thus, the arrangement of the multiple vapor passages and the
at least one liquid passage in the heat spreader effectively
overcomes the problem of low mass flux of working fluid in the
prior art designs due to vapor-liquid co-existence, achieving
better working fluid cycle efficiency and enhancing heat
dissipation performance.
[0009] Further, the spacer members are elongated members stopped
between the first panel and the second panel. When compared to the
support structure consisting of two solid semi-spheres of unequal
radius of the prior art design, the invention provides a better
supporting effect.
[0010] Other advantages and features of the present invention will
be fully understood by reference to the following specification in
conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which like reference
signs denote like components of structure.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0011] FIG. 1 is an exploded view of a heat spreader in accordance
with a first embodiment of the present invention.
[0012] FIG. 2 is a front view of the first embodiment of the
present invention, illustrating the internal structure of the heat
spreader.
[0013] FIG. 3 is a longitudinal sectional view taken along line 3-3
of FIG. 2.
[0014] FIG. 4 is a cross sectional view of the heat spreader in
accordance with the first embodiment of the present invention.
[0015] FIG. 5 is a front view illustrating the internal structure
of a heat spreader in accordance with a second embodiment of the
present invention.
[0016] FIG. 6 is a front view illustrating the internal structure
of a heat spreader in accordance with a third embodiment of the
present invention.
[0017] FIG. 7 is an exploded view of a part of the heat spreader in
accordance with the third embodiment of the present invention.
[0018] FIG. 8 is a schematic side view of the heat spreader in
accordance with the third embodiment of the present invention.
[0019] FIG. 9 is an exploded view of a heat spreader in accordance
with a fourth embodiment of the present invention.
[0020] FIG. 10 illustrates cylindrical support blocks arranged in
the heat-absorbing zone and the condensing zone of heat spreader in
accordance with the fourth embodiment of the present invention.
[0021] FIG. 11 illustrates long columnar support blocks arranged in
the heat-absorbing zone of heat spreader in accordance with the
fourth embodiment of the present invention.
[0022] FIG. 12 illustrates long columnar support blocks arranged in
the heat-absorbing zone and the condensing zone of heat spreader in
accordance with the fourth embodiment of the present invention.
[0023] FIG. 13 is an exploded view of a heat spreader in accordance
with a fifth embodiment of the present invention.
[0024] FIG. 14 is an exploded view of an alternate form of the heat
spreader in accordance with the fifth embodiment of the present
invention, illustrating the second wick material disposed in the
second panel within the heat-absorbing zone.
[0025] FIG. 15 is an exploded view of another alternate form of the
heat spreader in accordance with the fifth embodiment of the
present invention, illustrating the second wick material disposed
in the second panel within the heat-absorbing zone and the
condensing zone.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
[0026] Referring to FIGS. 1-4, a heat spreader with a liquid-vapor
separation structure in accordance with a first embodiment of the
present invention is shown. The heat spreader 10 comprises at least
one first panel 11, a second panel 12, a plurality of spacer
members 13, at least one piece of first wick material 14 and a
working fluid (not shown).
[0027] The at least one first panel 11 is bonded to the second
panel 12. In this first embodiment, the number of the at least one
first panel 11 is 1. Further, the first panel 11 and the second
panel 12 define therebetween at least one enclosed accommodation
chamber 121. In this first embodiment, the number of the at least
one accommodation chamber 121 is 1. Further, at least one vapor
discharge tube 19 is disposed in the connection area between the
first panel 11 and the second panel 12. In this first embodiment,
the number of the at least one vapor discharge tube 19 is 1. The
vapor discharge tube 19 has one end thereof disposed in
communication with the accommodation chamber 121, and an opposite
end thereof extended out of the heat spreader 10 and blocked.
[0028] The multiple spacer members 13 are disposed inside the
accommodation chamber 121 and abutted between the first panel 11
and the second panel 12. Further, the spacer members 13 are
arranged spaced apart from one another, thereby defining a
plurality of vapor passages 141 and at least one liquid passage
142. In this first embodiment, the number of the at least one
liquid passage 142 is 2. Further, the multiple spacer members 13
device the accommodation chamber 121 into a heat-absorbing zone H
and a condensing zone C. The heat-absorbing zone H and the
condensing zone C are disposed in communication with each other by
means of the multiple vapor passages 141 and the two liquid
passages 142. Further, a heat-insulating zone A is defined in the
accommodation chamber 121 between the heat-absorbing zone H and the
condensing zone C. The multiple spacer members 13 are mounted in
the heat-insulating zone A. In the present first embodiment of the
present invention, the multiple spacer members 13 have an elongated
shape; the multiple vapor passages 141 and the two liquid passages
142 respectively exhibit an elongated shape (see FIGS. 1, 2 and
4).
[0029] The at least one piece of first wick material 14 has a part
thereof mounted in the two liquid passages 142. In this first
embodiment of the present invention, the number of the at least one
piece of first wick material 14 is 2. The other part of these two
pieces of first wick material 14 is disposed in the heat-absorbing
zone H and the condensing zone C. In this first embodiment of the
present invention, these two pieces of first wick material 14 have
an elongated shape. Further, these two pieces of first wick
material 14 fill up the liquid passages 142. These two pieces of
first wick material 14 can be fiber tows, copper powder or copper
mesh (not shown). In this first embodiment of the present
invention, these two pieces of first wick material 14 are fiber
tows (see FIGS. 1 and 2)
[0030] The working fluid is filled in the accommodation chamber
121. Since technical filed of the working fluid is obvious to any
person skilled in the art and difficult to display in the figure,
it is unnecessary to repeat them here.
[0031] After understanding the structural details of this first
embodiment of the present invention, the application of this first
embodiment is explained hereinafter.
[0032] As illustrated in FIGS. 1-4, when the heat spreader 10 is at
work, the heat-absorbing zone H transfers heat energy to the
accommodation chamber 121, causing the working fluid in the two
pieces of first wick material 14 to be vaporized into vapor phase.
The working fluid will then go through the multiple vapor passages
141 in between the multiple spacer members 13 in the form of vapor
phase, and then diffuses into the condensing zone C. When reached
the condensing zone C, the working fluid can be reduced to liquid
phase and adhered to the condensing zone C, and then guided by the
two fiber tows of the first wick material 14 through the two liquid
passages 142 between the condensing zone C and the heat-absorbing
zone H to flow back to the heat-absorbing zone H. The multiple
vapor passages 141 and the two liquid passages 142 constrain the
vapor phase and liquid phase working fluid to flow in different
passages, increasing the mass flux of the working fluid in the
vapor-liquid circulation system. The multiple spacer members 13 are
abutted between the first panel 11 and second panel 12 of the heat
spreader 10 to form a sturdy support structure, achieving a better
supporting effect. The use of the two elongated pieces of first
wick material 14 in the heat spreader 10 effectively accelerates
the circulation of the working fluid in the heat spreader 10.
Physically, using fiber tows for the two pieces of first wick
material 14 achieves more mass flux of the working fluid than that
using sintered copper powder and copper mesh.
[0033] Accordingly, by the above-described first embodiment of the
present invention, it is apparent that the arrangement of the
multiple vapor passages 141 and the two liquid passages 142 in the
heat spreader 10 effectively overcomes the problem of low mass flux
of working fluid in the prior art designs due to vapor-liquid
co-existence, achieving better working fluid cycle efficiency and
enhancing heat dissipation performance.
[0034] As stated above, the multiple spacer members 13 are
elongated members abutted between the first panel 11 and second
panel 12 of the heat spreader 10. When compared to the support
structure consisting of two solid semi-spheres of unequal radius of
the prior art design, the invention provides a better supporting
effect.
[0035] Referring to FIG. 5, a heat spreader 20 in accordance with a
second embodiment of the present invention is shown. This second
embodiment is substantially similar to the aforesaid first
embodiment with the exceptions as follows:
[0036] The second panel 22 has a second wick material 28 sintered
thereto. This second wick material 28 can be disposed in the second
panel 22 within the heat-absorbing zone H2 and/or the condensing
zone C2. In this second embodiment, the two pieces of first wick
material 24 are disposed in contact with the second wick material
28.
[0037] The second wick material 28 can be selected from copper
powder or copper mesh. In this second embodiment, the second wick
material 28 is a copper mesh.
[0038] In this second embodiment, a respective certain area of the
second wick material 28 is respectively sintered to the
heat-absorbing zone H2 and the condensing zone C2 in the second
panel 22 of the heat spreader 20, enabling the heat-absorbing zone
H2 to have a relatively higher working fluid carrying capacity.
Further, the second wick material 28 effectively and evenly carries
the working fluid, enhancing the evapotranspiration efficiency of
the working fluid. Further, the arrangement of the second wick
material 28 in the condensing zone C2 inside the second panel 22
significantly increases the working fluid carrying capacity of the
condensing zone C2, improving the reflux efficiency of the working
fluid during cycling. The other structural features of this second
embodiment and the effect this second embodiment can achieve are
same as the aforesaid first embodiment, and thus, it is unnecessary
to repeat them here.
[0039] Referring to FIGS. 6-8, a heat spreader 30 in accordance
with a third embodiment of the present invention is shown. This
third embodiment is substantially similar to the aforesaid first
embodiment with the exceptions as follows:
[0040] The second panel 32 further comprises at least one recessed
portion 322 located in the condensing zone C3. In this third
embodiment, the number of the at least one recessed portion 322 is
2; the second panel 32 further has a third wick material 38
sintered thereto and located at a bottom side of each of the two
recessed portion 322. Further, the third wick material 38 is
connected with the first wick material 34. Further, the height of
the two recessed portions 322 is greater than the height from the
at least one first panel 31 to the second panel 32 (see FIG. 8). In
this third embodiment, the number of the at least one first panel
31 is 2. These two first panels 31 are bonded to the second panel
32. Further, two enclosed accommodation chambers 321 are defined
between the two first panels 31 and the second panel 32. Each
accommodation chamber 321 has arranged therein a plurality of
spacer members 33, a heat-absorbing zone H3, a condensing zone C3,
a plurality of vapor passages 341, two liquid passages 342, two
pieces of first wick material 38 and a working fluid (not
shown).
[0041] The third wick material 38 can be selected from copper
powder or copper mesh. In this third embodiment, the third wick
material 38 is made from copper mesh.
[0042] In this third embodiment, the added structure of the two
recessed portions 322 of the heat spreader 30 increase the working
fluid storage capacity of the condensing zone C3; the two pieces of
first wick material 34 are used to guide the working fluid from the
condensing zone C3 back to the heat-absorbing zone H3. Further,
changing the number of the component parts of the heat spreader 30
can relatively changing the cooling efficiency. The other
structural features of this third embodiment and the effect this
third embodiment can achieve are same as the aforesaid first
embodiment, and thus, it is unnecessary to repeat them here.
[0043] Referring to FIG. 9, a heat spreader 40 in accordance with a
fourth embodiment of the present invention is shown. This fourth
embodiment is substantially similar to the aforesaid first
embodiment with the exceptions as follows:
[0044] The second panel 42 further comprises a plurality of support
blocks 49 corresponding to the heat-absorbing zone H4 and/or the
condensing zone C4. In this fourth embodiment, the support blocks
49 are mounted in the second panel 42 within the heat-absorbing
zone H4. Further, these support blocks 49 are cylindrical blocks.
Further, the number of the at least one piece of first wick
material 44 in this fourth embodiment is 4. These support blocks 49
are stopped against the first panel 41. Further, these support
blocks 49 are respectively arranged at two opposite lateral sides
of the first wick material 44 within the heat-absorbing zone H4 to
keep the first wick material 44 in position. Further; the support
blocks 49 can aligned with one another, or arranged in staggered
rows. In this fourth embodiment, the support blocks 49 are aligned
with one another. Further, the support blocks 49 are respectively
arranged in alignment with the spacer members 43, forming a
plurality of equally spaced support member sets 45. Further, except
the aforesaid configuration, the support blocks 49 can also be
arranged in the second panel 42 corresponding to the heat-absorbing
zone H4 and the condensing zone C4 (see FIG. 10) and, the support
blocks 49 can be configured to have a long columnar shape (see
FIGS. 11 and 12).
[0045] In this fourth embodiment, the support blocks 49 of the heat
spreader 40 can be arranged in the second panel 42 corresponding to
the heat-absorbing zone H4 and/or the condensing zone C4 to
effectively enhance the structural strength of heat spreader 40.
The other structural features of this fourth embodiment and the
effect this fourth embodiment can achieve are same as the aforesaid
first embodiment, and thus, it is unnecessary to repeat them
here.
[0046] Referring to FIG. 13, a heat spreader 50 in accordance with
a fifth embodiment of the present invention is shown. This fifth
embodiment is substantially similar to the aforesaid first
embodiment with the exceptions as follows:
[0047] The second panel 52 has multiple support blocks 59 arranged
therein corresponding to the heat-absorbing zone H5 and/or the
condensing zone C5. In this fifth embodiment, the support blocks 59
are cylindrical blocks arranged in the second panel 52 within the
heat-absorbing zone H5; the number of the at least one piece of
first wick material 54 is 4. Further, the support blocks 59 are
stopped against the first panel 51, and disposed at two opposite
lateral sides of the multiple pieces of first wick material 54
within the heat-absorbing zone H5 to hold the multiple pieces of
first wick material 54 in position. These support blocks 59 can
aligned with one another, or arranged in staggered rows. In this
fifth embodiment, the support blocks 59 are aligned with one
another. Further, the support blocks 59 are respectively arranged
in alignment with the spacer members 53, forming a plurality of
equally spaced support member set 55.
[0048] Further, except the aforesaid configuration, the support
blocks 59 can also be arranged in the second panel 52 corresponding
to the heat-absorbing zone H5 and the condensing zone C5. Further,
the support blocks 59 can be configured to have a long columnar
shape (not shown).
[0049] The heat spreader 50 in accordance with this fifth
embodiment of the present invention further comprises a second wick
material 58 located in the second panel 52 corresponding to the
heat-absorbing zone H5 and/or the condensing zone C5, and disposed
in contact with the at least one piece of first wick material 54.
In this fifth embodiment, the second wick material 58 is disposed
in the second panel 52 within the condensing zone C5. Further, the
number of the at least one piece of first wick material 54 is 4.
Except the configuration described above, the second wick material
58 can be simply disposed in the second panel 52 within the
condensing zone C5 (see FIG. 14). Alternatively, the second wick
material 58 can be disposed in the second panel 52 within the
heat-absorbing zone H5 and the condensing zone C5 (see FIG.
15).
[0050] The structural arrangement of this fifth embodiment
significantly increases the working fluid carrying capacity of the
heat-absorbing zone H5 and the condensing zone C5 while maintaining
the structural strength of heat-absorbing zone H5 and condensing
zone C5 of the heat spreader 50. The other structural features of
this fifth embodiment and the effect this fifth embodiment can
achieve are same as the aforesaid first embodiment, and thus, it is
unnecessary to repeat them here.
[0051] Although particular embodiments of the invention have been
described in detail for purposes of illustration, various
modifications and enhancements may be made without departing from
the spirit and scope of the invention. Accordingly, the invention
is not to be limited except as by the appended claims.
* * * * *