GB2390482A

GB2390482A - Heat dissipating device

Info

Publication number: GB2390482A
Application number: GB0221463A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Chin-Kuang Luo
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 2002-07-01
Filing date: 2002-09-16
Publication date: 2004-01-07
Also published as: GB0221463D0; DE10244625A1; US20040000394A1; JP2004040069A

Abstract

A heat dissipating device includes a thermal superconducting body 4, a fan unit 7 and a bellows guide pipe 6. The superconducting body 4 includes a hollow evacuated heat transfer body (40) adapted to be disposed on a heat generating component 5 of an electronic device. The heat transfer body is made of a heat conducting material and is configured to confine at least one air channel 44. The fan unit 7 draws hot air away from the heat transfer body. The guide pipe has an inlet port 61 in fluid communication with the heat transfer body for collecting hot air from the heat transfer body, an outlet port 63 in fluid communication with the fan unit, and an intermediate pipe portion 62 interconnecting the inlet and outlet ports for guiding the hot air form the inlet port 61 to the outlet port 63 for extraction by the fan. Also disclosed are materials suitable for making a thermal superconducting film (42) to line the inside of the heat transfer body (40).

Description

1 2390482

HEAT-DISSIPATING DEVICE

Theinvention re.latestoa heat-dissipating device, more particularly to a hea-dissipating device that can dissipate heat in a highly efficient manner.

5 Figure 1 shows a conventional heat-clissipating device adapted Lo be mounted on top of a heat-generating component 12 that is disposed on a circuit board 11 of an electronic device. The heat-generating component 12 can be a central processing unit, an integrated 10 circuit, or the like. The heat-dissipating device includes an aluminum heat--dissipating fin unit 13 disposed in thermal contact with the heat-generating component 12, and a fan 14 oriented toward the fin unit 13. The fin unit 13 has a bottom portion provided with 15 a heat-conducting plate 15 that is formed from copper and that facilitates the transfer of heat generated by the heat-generating component 12 to the fin unit 13.

However, such a conventional heat-dissipating device has the following setbacks: 20 1. Although aluminum and copper have quite high temperature coefficients of conductivity, their combined heat-dissipating effect is not very satisfactory, resultingin that the surface temperature oftheheatgeneratingcomponent 12 remains higher then 25 that of the fin unit]3. That is, currents of airblown from the fan 14 can only disperse the heat around the fin unit 13, and cannot reach the surface of the

? heat-generating component 12 to dissipate the heat around the heatgeneratii-y component 12.

2. In view of the aforesaid, when heat gradually accumulates on the surface of the heat-generating 5 component 1.2, since the conventional heat-dissipating device cannot effectively dissipate the high heat, the operation of the heat-generating component 12 will be affected, which may result in shutdown of or even damage to the electronic device.

10 3. Referring toE'igure2, where the heat-yenerating component12isacentralprocessinguniLdisposedwithin a computer housing 2 and mounted in a processor socket 16 of a main board 17, the currents of air produced by the fan 14 for dissipating the heat around the central 15 processing unit will become hot and disperse within the computer housing 2, thereby raising the temperature within the computer housing2. Although a power supply 3withanexhaust-typefanunit31isdisposedfordrawing the hot air from within the computer housing 2, as well 20 as dissipating the heat generated thereby, the heat dissipating effect is not ideal.

Therefore, the main object of the present invention is to provide a heatdissipating device which achieves an enhanced heat-dissipating effect using a single fan 25 unit.

Accordingly, a heat-dissipatirlg device of this invention includes:

a thermal superconducting body including a hollow heat transfer body adapted to be disposed on a heat-generating component of an electronic device, the heat transfer body being made of a heat-conducting 5 material and being conf igured to conf ine at least one air channel; a fan unit disposed to draw hot air away from the heat transfer body; and a guide p ipe havi ng an i nl e t port i n f 1 u i d 1() communicationwith the heat transferbody for collecting hot air from the heat transfer body, an outlet port in fluid communication with the fan unit, and an intermediate pipe portion interconnecting the in] et and outlet ports for guiding the hot air from the inlet port 15 to the outlet port for extraction by the fan unit.

Other features and advantages of the present invention wi l l become apparent in the fol lowing detailed description of the preferred embodiment with reference

to the accompanying drawings, of which: 20 Figure 1 is a schematic exploded side view of a conventional heat-dissipating device; Figure 2 is a fragmentarypartly cut -awayperspective view showing the conventional heat-dissipating device in a computer housing; 25 Figure 3 is a perspective view of a preferred embodiment of a heat-dissipating device according to the present invention in a state of use;

Zl Figure 4 is a sectional view illustrating a thermal superconducting body of the preferred embodiment; and Figure Sisa top view of the thermalsuperconducting body of the preferred embodiment.

5 Referring to Figures3to5,thepreferredembodiment of a heat-dissipating device according to the present inventionisshowntoincludeather-mal superconducting body 4, a fan unit 7, and a guide pipe 6.

The thermal superconducting body4 includes a hollow 10 heat transfer body 40 adapted to be disposed on a heat-generating component 5, such as a central processing unit, of an electronic device, and is made ofaheatconductingmaterial, such es aluminum, copper metal,alloymetal, orothermaterialewithgooUthermal 15 conductivity. The heat transfer body 40 has an inner surface confining a sealed vacuum chamber41, end a tease portion45adaptedtobetobedisposedinthermalcontact with the heat-generating component 5 so that heat generated by the heat-generating component 5 is 20 transferred to the heat transfer body 40. The thermal superconducting body4furtherincludes aheattransfer layer 42 that is formed from a superconductor material and that forms a superconductor lining on the inner surfaceoftheheattransferbody40. In this embodiment, 25 the superconductor material is injected into the heat transfer body 40, which is then evacuated and sealed to form the sealed vacuum chamber 41. It is noted that

a plurality of equidistantly spaced-apart limiting blocks can be disposed on the inner surface of the heat transfer body 40 so as to prevent flattening or angular deformation of the heat transfer body 40 when air is 5 exhausted from the heat transfer body 40 to form the sealed vacuum chamber 41.

It is noted herein Chat the superconductor material includes at least one compound selected from the group consisting of sodium peroxide, sodium oxide, beryllium 10 oxide, manganese sesquioxide, aluminum dichromate, calcium dichromate, boron oxide, dichromate radical, andcombinationsthereof;atleastonecompoundselected from the group consiscingatcobaltous oxide, manganese sesquioxide, beryllium oxide, strontium chromate, 15 strontium carbonate, rhodium oxide, cupric oxide, titanium, potassium dichromate, boron oxide, calcium dichromate, manganesedichromate,aluminumdichromate, dichromate radical, and combinations thereof; or at least one compound selected from the group consisting 20 of denatured rhodium oxide, potassium dichromate, denatured radium oxide, sodium dichromate, silver dichromate, monocrystalline silicon, beryllium oxide, strontium chromate, boron oxide, sodium peroxide, -titanium, a metal dichromate, and combinations 25 thereof.

Inpractice,priortoinjectionofthesuperconductor

(j material into the heat transfer body 40, the sealed vacuum chamber 41 is subjected to passivaLion and is then washed and dried.

In this embodiment, the heat transfer body 40 is 5 formed with a plurality of fins 43 extending uprightly fromthebaseportion45OppositeLotheheatgenerating component 5. An adjacent pair of the fins 43 defines an air channel 44.

The fan unit 7 is disposed to draw hot air away from 10 the heat transfer body 40.

The guide pipe 6 is made from a heat-resistant metal or rubber material, and has an inlet port 61 in fluid communication with the heat transfer body 40 for collecting hot air from the heat transfer body 40, an 15 outlet port 63 connected to and in fluid communication with the fan unit 7, and a flexible intermediate pipe portion 62 interconnecting the inlet and outlet ports 61, 63 for guiding the hot air from the inlet port 61 to the outlet port 63 for extraction by the fan unit 20 7. The inlet port 61 of the guide pipe 6 is connected to the base portion 45 of the heat transfer body 40, and has the fins 43 disposed therein so as to be in fluid communication with the air channels 44 defined by the fins 33. In this embodiment, the intermediate pipe 25 portion 62 is configured as a bellows pipe portion.

In use, by virtue of the exceptionally high temperature coefficient of conductivity of the thermal

superconducting body 4, the heat generated by the heat--generatirlg component 5 during operation thereof can be quickly transferred Lo the thermal superconducting body4. In addition, as the inlet port 5 61 of the guide pipe 6 straddles over the thermal superconducting body 4, the hot air around the heat-generatingcomponentScanbedirectedtoflowalong the air channels 44 through the guide pipe 6 for extraction via the fan unit 7, thereby rapidly lowering lO the temperature around the heat-generating component It is noted that the fan unit 7 can be a fan member of a power supply (not shown) disposed in a computer housing (not shown) for supplying electric power to a 15 computer. As such, when the computer is powered on, thefanunit7cansuckhotairaroundtheheat-generating component 5 and other heat-generating components, such as hard disk drives, optical disk drives, via the inlet port61Of the guide pipe G for extraction to the exterior 20 of the computer housing.

For enhancing heat-dissipating effect, the heat-dissipating device of this invention further includesaheatcollectingplate8adaptedLobedisposed between the thermal superconducting body 4 and the 25 heat-generating component 5. The heat collecting plate 8 has two opposite surfaces, each of which is coated with a heat conducting paste 9. In this embodiment,

the heat collecting plate 8 is formed from a metal material of good heat conductivity, such as copper and aluminum. It has thus been shown that the heat-dissipating 5 device of this invention can achieve an excellent heat-dissipating effect with the use of only a single fan unit.

Claims

CLAIMS:

l. A heat-dissipatlog device comprising: a thermal superconducting body including a hollow heat transfer body adapted to be disposed on a 5 heatgeneratingcomponenofanelectroniadevice, said heat transfer body being made of a heac-conducting material and being configured to confine at least one air channel; a fan unit disposed to draw hot air away from said 10 heat transfer body; and a guide pipe having an inlet port in fluid communication with said heat transfer body for collecting hot air from said heat transfer body, an outlet port in fluid communication with said fan unit, 15 and an intermediate pipe portion interconnecting said inlet and outlet ports for guiding the hot air from said inlet port to said outlet port for extraction by said fan unit.
2. The heat-dissipating device as claimed in Claim l,

20 further comprising a heat collecting plate adapted to be disposed between said thermal superconducting body and the heat-generating component.
3. The heat-dissipating device as claimed in Claim 2, wherein said heat collecting plate has two opposite 25 surfaces, each ofwhichis coated with a treat conducting paste.
4. The heat-dissipating device as claimed in claim l,

1 () wherein said heat transfer body has an inner surface confining a sealed vacuum chamber, and a base portion adapted to be disposed in thermal contact with the heat-generatingcomponent so that treat generated by the S heat-yeneratlng component is transferred to said heat transfer body.
5. The heat-dissipating device as claimed in Claim 4, wherein said heat transfer body is formed with a plurality of fins extending uprightly from said base 1() portionoppositetotheheat-generatingcomponent, said at least one air channel being defined by an adjacent pair of said fins and being in fluid communication with said inlet port.
6. The heat-dissipating device as claimed in Claim 5, 15 wherein said inlet port of said guide pipe is connected to said base portion of said heat transfer body and has said fins disposed therein.
7. The heat-dissipating device as claimed in Claim 4, wherein said thermal superconducting body further 20 includes a heat transfer layer formed from a superconductor material and forming a superconductor fining onsaidinner surface of said treat transferbody.
8. The heat-dissipating device as claimed in Claim 1, wherein said fan unit is connected to said outlet port 25 of said guide pipe.
9. The heat-dissipating device as claimed in Claim 1, wherein said intermediate pipe portion is configured

1 1 as a bellows pipe portion.

lO.The heat-dissipatirlg device substantially as herei.nbefore described with reference to and as illustrated in Figures 3 to 5 of the accompanying 5 drawings.

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