U.S. patent application number 16/051916 was filed with the patent office on 2019-11-07 for loop vapor chamber.
The applicant listed for this patent is TAI-SOL ELECTRONICS CO., LTD.. Invention is credited to Ming-Quan CUI, Wen-Ching LIAO, Chuan-Chi TSENG.
Application Number | 20190339022 16/051916 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 68383847 |
Filed Date | 2019-11-07 |
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United States Patent
Application |
20190339022 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
TSENG; Chuan-Chi ; et
al. |
November 7, 2019 |
LOOP VAPOR CHAMBER
Abstract
A loop vapor chamber includes: a base board having therein a
space; a lid for covering the base board and sealing the space to
form therein an evaporation chamber, vapor channel, condensation
channel and liquid channel, the vapor channel having an end in
communication with the evaporation chamber and another end in
connection with the condensation channel, the condensation channel
connecting to the liquid channel, and the liquid channel connecting
to the evaporation chamber; a wick disposed in the evaporation
chamber without occupying the evaporation chamber fully such that
an evaporation space is defined in the evaporation chamber, the
evaporation space being in communication with the vapor channel,
wherein a portion of the wick corresponds in position to one end of
the liquid channel; a space partition element disposed in the
evaporation chamber to separate the evaporation space and liquid
channel; and a working fluid filling the evaporation chamber.
Inventors: |
TSENG; Chuan-Chi; (TAIPEI
CITY, TW) ; LIAO; Wen-Ching; (TAIPEI CITY, TW)
; CUI; Ming-Quan; (WUJIANG CITY, CN) |
|
Applicant: |
Name |
City |
State |
Country |
Type |
TAI-SOL ELECTRONICS CO., LTD. |
Taipei City |
|
TW |
|
|
Family ID: |
68383847 |
Appl. No.: |
16/051916 |
Filed: |
August 1, 2018 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
1/1 |
Current CPC
Class: |
F28D 15/025 20130101;
F28D 15/043 20130101; F28D 15/0266 20130101; F28D 15/04
20130101 |
International
Class: |
F28D 15/04 20060101
F28D015/04 |
Foreign Application Data
Date |
Code |
Application Number |
May 4, 2018 |
TW |
107115224 |
Claims
1. A loop vapor chamber, comprising: a base board having therein a
space; a lid for covering the base board and hermetically sealing
the space to allow the space to have an evaporation chamber, a
vapor channel, a condensation channel and a liquid channel, the
vapor channel having an end in communication with the evaporation
chamber and another end in connection with the condensation
channel, the condensation channel being connected to the liquid
channel, and the liquid channel being connected to the evaporation
chamber; a wick disposed in the evaporation chamber without
occupying the evaporation chamber fully such that an evaporation
space is defined in the evaporation chamber, the evaporation space
being in communication with the vapor channel, wherein a portion of
the wick corresponds in position to a terminal end of the liquid
channel; a space partition element disposed in the evaporation
chamber to separate the evaporation space and the liquid channel;
and a working fluid filling the evaporation chamber.
2. The loop vapor chamber of claim 1, wherein the base board has at
least one channel partition element disposed in the liquid channel
to partition the liquid channel into a plurality of fluid slug
channels.
3. The loop vapor chamber of claim 2, wherein the at least one
channel partition element extends from the liquid channel into the
condensation channel.
4. The loop vapor chamber of claim 3, wherein the at least one
channel partition element extends from the liquid channel into the
condensation channel and the vapor channel.
5. The loop vapor chamber of claim 2, wherein the fluid slug
channels are of a smaller caliber than the vapor channel.
6. The loop vapor chamber of claim 1, wherein the space partition
element is made of a wick material and thus integrally formed with
the wick, with the space partition element extending from the wick
toward the lid to abut against the lid and extend into the liquid
channel by a predetermined length.
7. The loop vapor chamber of claim 1, wherein the wick is
sintered-coupled to the base board and disposed at a bottom of the
evaporation chamber, with evaporation space disposed between the
wick and the lid, and the wick having a plurality of supportive
blocks in contact with the wick and the lid.
8. The loop vapor chamber of claim 7, wherein the plurality of
supportive blocks is made of the same material as the wick and
integrally formed with the wick.
9. The loop vapor chamber of claim 7, wherein the plurality of
supportive blocks is each a solid metal block.
10. The loop vapor chamber of claim 1, wherein the space partition
element is made of solid metal and abuts against the wick and the
lid from below and above, respectively.
11. The loop vapor chamber of claim 1, wherein the wick extends
into the liquid channel by a predetermined length.
Description
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Technical Field
[0001] The present disclosure relates to vapor chambers and, more
particularly, to a loop vapor chamber.
2. Description of Related Art
[0002] Regarding existing vapor chamber technology, for example,
Taiwan patent 1592623 discloses a vapor chamber, comprising two
vertically aligned metal boards, two layers of wick structure
disposed therebetween, a working fluid for filling a space defined
therebetween, and a supportive structure (supportive post). The
aforesaid technology enables the vapor chamber to function
efficiently.
[0003] To reduce the thickness of a vapor chamber, Taiwan patent
1598554 discloses a thin vapor chamber, comprising two vertically
aligned metal boards and one layer of wick structure disposed
therebetween, wherein the wick structure has a plurality of through
holes penetrable by hollow-core protruding posts. Since its
internal space is of little height, the thin vapor chamber has only
one layer of wick structure. The single layer of wick structure not
only adsorbs a working liquid but also takes up less height of the
internal space; hence, the vapor chamber is of little thickness and
thus thin.
[0004] Like their conventional counterparts, the vapor chambers
disclosed in the aforesaid prior art must comprise a layer of wick
structure and thus cannot be made thinner. Therefore, it is
important to provide a vapor chamber, comprising two vertically
aligned metal boards without any wick layer therebetween, in part,
so as to further reduce the thickness of the vapor chamber.
BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0005] It is an objective of the present disclosure to provide a
loop vapor chamber which has therein a return path conducive to a
working fluid's transition from a gaseous phase to a liquid phase.
The return path is free of any wick layer to further reduce the
thickness of the vapor chamber.
[0006] In order to achieve the above and other objectives, the
present disclosure provides a loop vapor chamber, comprising: a
base board having therein a space; a lid for covering the base
board and hermetically sealing the space to allow the space to have
an evaporation chamber, a vapor channel, a condensation channel and
a liquid channel, the vapor channel having an end in communication
with the evaporation chamber and another end in connection with the
condensation channel, the condensation channel being connected to
the liquid channel, and the liquid channel being connected to the
evaporation chamber; a wick disposed in the evaporation chamber
without occupying the evaporation chamber fully such that an
evaporation space is defined in the evaporation chamber, the
evaporation space being in communication with the vapor channel,
wherein a portion of the wick corresponds in position to a terminal
end of the liquid channel; a space partition element disposed in
the evaporation chamber to separate the evaporation space and the
liquid channel; and a working fluid filling the evaporation
chamber.
[0007] Therefore, according to the present disclosure, a return
path composed of a vapor channel, a condensation channel and a
liquid channel is integrally formed between a base board and a lid.
The return path is free of any wick layer but still allows the
working fluid to transit from a gaseous phase to a liquid phase and
return to the evaporation chamber. With a wick layer being
dispensed with, the return path further reduces the thickness
requirement of the vapor chamber.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWINGS
[0008] FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a loop vapor chamber
according to the first preferred embodiment of the present
disclosure;
[0009] FIG. 2 is an exploded view of the loop vapor chamber
according to the first preferred embodiment of the present
disclosure;
[0010] FIG. 3 is a top view of the loop vapor chamber according to
the first preferred embodiment of the present disclosure, showing
mainly a base board of the loop vapor chamber;
[0011] FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view of the loop vapor chamber
taken along line 4-4 of FIG. 1;
[0012] FIG. 5 is a schematic view of operation of the loop vapor
chamber according to the first preferred embodiment of the present
disclosure, showing how to form fluid slugs;
[0013] FIG. 6 is an exploded view of the loop vapor chamber
according to the second preferred embodiment of the present
disclosure;
[0014] FIG. 7 is a top view of according to the second preferred
embodiment of the present disclosure, showing mainly the base board
of the loop vapor chamber;
[0015] FIG. 8 is an exploded view of the loop vapor chamber
according to the third preferred embodiment of the present
disclosure; and
[0016] FIG. 9 is a top view of according to the third preferred
embodiment of the present disclosure, showing mainly the base board
of the loop vapor chamber.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
[0017] Technical features of the present disclosure are illustrated
by preferred embodiments, depicted by drawings, and described
below.
[0018] Referring to FIG. 1 through FIG. 4, a loop vapor chamber 10
provided according to the first preferred embodiment of the present
disclosure essentially comprises a base board 11, a lid 21, a wick
26, a space partition element 27 and a working fluid.
[0019] The base board 11 has therein a space 12.
[0020] The lid 21 covers the base board 11 and hermetically seals
the space 12 to allow the space 12 to have an evaporation chamber
121, a vapor channel 122, a condensation channel 123 and a liquid
channel 124. The vapor channel 122 has one end in communication
with the evaporation chamber 121 and the other end in connection
with the condensation channel 123. The condensation channel 123 is
connected to the liquid channel 124. The liquid channel 124 is
connected to the evaporation chamber 121. Therefore, the vapor
channel 122, the condensation channel 123 and the liquid channel
124 together form a loop relative to the evaporation chamber
121.
[0021] The wick 26 is disposed in the evaporation chamber 121 but
does not fully occupy the evaporation chamber 121 such that an
evaporation space 128 is defined in the evaporation chamber 121.
The evaporation space 128 is in communication with the vapor
channel 122. A portion of the wick corresponds in position to and
thus adjoins the terminal end of the liquid channel 124. In this
embodiment, the wick 26 is selectively a wick structure made of
sintered copper powder, is panel-shaped, is sintered-coupled to the
base board 11, and is disposed at the bottom of the evaporation
chamber 121. The evaporation space 128 is disposed between the wick
26 and the lid 21. The wick 26 has a plurality of supportive blocks
261 in contact with the wick 26 and the lid 21. The plurality of
supportive blocks 261 is made of the same material as the wick 26
and integrally sintered. The supportive blocks 261 are solid metal
blocks (such as copper blocks). This embodiment is exemplified by
the supportive blocks 261 being made of the same material (i.e.,
copper powder) and integrally sintered. In a preferred embodiment
of the present disclosure, the supportive blocks 261 are optional
in some situations, for example, where there is no need for support
and no difficulty in the return of the working fluid within the
wick 26.
[0022] The space partition element 27 is disposed in the
evaporation chamber 121 to separate the evaporation space 128 and
the liquid channel 124. In this embodiment, the space partition
element 27 is made of a wick material and thus integrally formed
with the wick 26. The space partition element 27 extends from the
wick 26 toward the lid 21 and thus abuts against the lid 21. The
space partition element 27 extends into the liquid channel 124 by a
predetermined length. Therefore, the evaporation space 128 and the
liquid channel 124 are completely separated.
[0023] The working fluid fills the evaporation chamber 121 and
adsorbs on the wick 26. In practice, the working fluid can be pure
water. The working fluid is not shown in the diagrams for two
reasons: adsorbed liquid is difficult to depict; and working fluids
are well-known to persons skilled in the art.
[0024] The structure of the loop vapor chamber in the first
preferred embodiment is described above. The operation of the loop
vapor chamber in the first preferred embodiment is described
below.
[0025] As shown in FIG. 5, before using the loop vapor chamber, a
user adheres the base board 11 of the loop vapor chamber 10 to a
target for heat dissipation (for example, a CPU (not shown) of a
computer) such that the evaporation chamber 121 corresponds in
position to the target for heat dissipation. A heat-dissipating
unit 100 is disposed on the base board 11 and corresponds in
position to the condensation channel 123. In this embodiment, the
heat-dissipating unit 100 comprises a plurality of fins.
[0026] As shown in FIG. 5, during the usage of the loop vapor
chamber, heat generated from the target for heat dissipation is
transferred to the evaporation chamber 121, and thus the working
fluid which adsorbs on the wick 26 in the evaporation chamber 121
evaporates into a gaseous working fluid which then spreads
throughout the evaporation space. Afterward, the gaseous working
fluid reaches the condensation channel 123 via the vapor channel
122. Then, the heat-dissipating unit 100 allows the heat to be
dissipated by air such that the condensation channel 123 has a
lower temperature than the evaporation chamber 121; hence, the
gaseous working fluid in the condensation channel 123 cools down
and condenses into droplets of a liquid working fluid. As a result,
the droplets of the liquid working fluid attach to the inner wall
of the condensation channel 123. As time passed, the resultant
liquid working fluid in droplets becomes massive enough to occupy
the condensation channel 123 fully to form fluid slugs 29 defined
by the cross sections of the condensation channel 123. The gaseous
working fluid exits the vapor channel 122 and enters the
condensation channel 123 continuously and thus spontaneously
generates a pressure difference. Under the pressure difference, the
fluid slugs 29 move from the condensation channel 123 to the liquid
channel 124 before arriving at the evaporation chamber 121 where
the fluid slugs 29 adsorb on the space partition element 27 and
then return to the wick 26. The aforesaid process recurs and thus
guides heat out of the target for heat dissipation continuously,
thereby performing heat dissipation well.
[0027] In the first preferred embodiment, the evaporation chamber
121 and the return path (composed of the vapor channel 122, the
condensation channel 123 and the liquid channel 124) are integrally
formed and disposed within the space hermetically sealed by the lid
21 and the base board 11; hence, the evaporation chamber 121 and
the return path are collectively equivalent to an integral
structure. The return path is free of any wick layer but still
allows the working fluid to transit from a gaseous phase to a
liquid phase and return to the evaporation chamber 121. With a wick
layer being dispensed with, the return path further reduces the
thickness requirement of the vapor chamber.
[0028] Referring to FIG. 6 and FIG. 7, a loop vapor chamber 30 in
the second preferred embodiment of the present disclosure is
substantially identical to its counterpart in the first preferred
embodiment of the present disclosure except for its distinguishing
technical features described below.
[0029] The base board 31 has two channel partition elements 34
(partition boards for exemplary purposes) disposed in the liquid
channel 324. The two channel partition elements 34 extend from the
liquid channel 324 into the condensation channel 323. Therefore,
the two channel partition elements 34 partition the liquid channel
324 and the condensation channel 323 into three fluid slug channels
341 penetrating the liquid channel 324 and the condensation channel
323. The fluid slug channels 341 are of a smaller caliber than the
vapor channel 322. The channel partition elements 34 are designed
in such a manner that the fluid slug channels 341 are of a small
caliber; hence, the working fluid droplets adsorbing on the
condensation channel 323 are likely to merge and form fluid slugs
49 (shown in FIG. 7) defined by the cross sections of the fluid
slug channels 341, respectively.
[0030] In the second preferred embodiment, the space partition
element 47 (by contrast, in the first preferred embodiment, the
space partition element 27 extends into the liquid channel 324) is
made of solid metal, abuts against the wick 46 and the lid 41 from
below and above, respectively, and separates the evaporation space
328 from the liquid channel 324.
[0031] The channel partition elements 34 are not necessarily in the
number of two, but can be in the number of one or more than two in
a variant embodiment. Hence, the number of the channel partition
elements 34 is subject to changes as needed.
[0032] The other structures and achievable advantages in the second
preferred embodiment are substantially identical to their
counterparts in the first preferred embodiment and thus, for the
sake of brevity, are not described again.
[0033] Referring to FIG. 8 and FIG. 9, a loop vapor chamber 50 in
the third preferred embodiment of the present disclosure is
substantially identical to its counterpart in the second preferred
embodiment of the present disclosure except for its distinguishing
technical features described below.
[0034] The wick 66 extends into the liquid channel 524 by a
predetermined length. The space partition element 67 is disposed in
the liquid channel and above a segment of the wick 66 (the segment
of the wick 66 is located in the liquid channel 524 because of the
extension of the wick 66). The space partition element 67 occupies
the liquid channel 524 fully in terms of its cross section without
blocking the segment of the wick 66 (the segment of the wick 66 is
located in the liquid channel 524 because of the extension of the
wick 66).
[0035] The two channel partition elements 54 extend into the vapor
channel 522. The gaseous working fluid exits the evaporation space
528 and enters the vapor channel 522 smoothly.
[0036] Therefore, the space partition element 67 separates the
evaporation space 528 and the liquid channel 524 effectively,
whereas the liquid working fluid adsorbs on the segment of the wick
66 (the segment of the wick 66 is located in the liquid channel 524
because of the extension of the wick 66).
[0037] The other structural features and achievable advantages of
the third embodiment are substantially identical to their
counterparts in the second embodiment and thus, for the sake of
brevity, are not described herein.
* * * * *