This application claims the benefit of Japanese Patent Application No. 2012-38094, filed on Feb. 24, 2012, the entire disclosure of which is incorporated by reference herein.
This application relates to a cooler and cooling device.
Highly efficient cooling mechanisms for cooling objects such as electronic devices including CPUs, LSIs, and inverters and power semiconductors are known in the prior art. For example, Unexamined Japanese Patent Application Kokai Publication No. H10-190265 and Kondo et al. (“Experimental Review on Jet Cooling Property of Pin-Fin Heat Sink to be mounted in LSI Package,” Collection of Papers of Japan Society of Mechanical Engineers (Edition B) Vol. 61, No. 582, pp. 339-345, February of 1995) disclose cooling mechanisms in which multiple cylindrical or rectangular-parallelepiped pin fins are erected on the plate face of a metal base to which a cooling object is thermally connected. Those cooling mechanisms apply cooling air to the pin fines for cooling the cooling object.
A cooling mechanism provided with multiple cylindrical or rectangular-parallelepiped pin fins can realize high cooling performance because of excellent heat transfer coefficients of the pin fines. However, when water or LLC is used as the cooling water circulating through the space between the pin fines, the cooling water is subject to significant pressure loss and a high power mechanism is required for pumping the cooling water.
The present invention is invented in view of the above circumstances and an exemplary object of the present invention is to provide a cooler with high heat exchange efficiency and low cooling water pressure loss and a cooling device using the cooler.
In order to achieve the above object, the cooler of the present invention is a cooler provided in a cooling water flow path for heat exchange with the cooling water, comprises: a plate configured to have a plate face facing the cooling water; and fins coupled to the plate face in a lattice pattern and provided in the cooling water flow path, wherein the fins are in the form of a rhombic column with a longer diagonal of a rhombus of the rhombic column extending in the direction of the cooling water flow path.
The present invention can realize a cooler and cooling device with a high heat exchange efficiency and a low cooling water pressure loss.
A more complete understanding of this application can be obtained when the following detailed description is considered in conjunction with the following drawings, in which:
Embodiments of the present invention will be described hereafter with reference to the drawings.
The inlet 11, outlet 12, and casing 13 are each made of a highly heat conductive material such as copper, aluminum, and iron, and constitute a part of the cooling water flow path. In this embodiment, the casing 13 is in the form of a rectangular parallelepiped box with a large opening face and has recesses 13b near holes 13a connected to the inlet 11 and to the outlet 12. The inlet 11 and outlet 12 are in the form of a pipe. The inlet 11, outlet 12, and casing 13 can be made as one piece by casting or as individual pieces bonded or welded together with an adhesive or solvent.
Like the casing 13 and so on, the heat exchange unit 20 is also made of a highly heat conductive material such as copper, aluminum, and iron, and attached to the opening face of the casing 13. The heat exchange unit 20 has, as shown in
The multiple fins 22 are erected on the plate face of the plate part 21. The multiple fins 22 can be formed integrally with the plate part 21, for example, by die casting, or brazed or welded to the plate part 21. The multiple fins 22 are each in the form of a rhombic column having a rhombic cross-section in parallel to the plate face of the plate part 21. The multiple fins 22 are arranged on the plate part 21 in a two-dimensional lattice pattern in the direction along the cooling water flow path connecting the cooling water inlet 11 and outlet 12 and in the direction perpendicular thereto. The multiple fins 22 are each oriented so that the longer diagonal of the rhombus extends along the flow path direction. In this embodiment, the multiple fins 22 are arranged in a houndstooth check pattern on the plate face of the plate 21 in the matter that the distance t between their walls is nearly equal.
With the cooling device 10, a cooling object is attached to the surface opposite to the one on which the casing 13 and the multiple fins 22 of the heat exchange unit 20 are provided. With the cooling device 10, the cooling water flows in between the casing 13 and heat exchange unit 20 from the inlet 11, runs through the space between the multiple fins 22, and exits from the outlet 12. Then, with the cooling device 10, heat is transferred from the cooling object to the casing 13 and heat exchange unit 20, and while the cooling water passes between the casing 13 and heat exchange unit 20, the heat is radiated from the casing 13 and heat exchange unit 20 to the cooling water, whereby the cooling object is cooled. The heat exchange unit 20 of the cooling device 10 of this embodiment is constructed by erecting multiple rhombic column-shaped fins 22 in a lattice pattern, minimizing the pressure loss while the cooling water circulates through the space between the fins 22 and improving the heat transfer efficiency of the cooling device 10.
Particularly preferable shapes for the rhombic column-shaped fins 22 of the heat exchange unit 20 will be described hereafter.
0.15≦b/a≦0.45 (1)
1.0≦a≦S7.0 (2)
0.6≦t≦2.0 (3)
Op=Δhb/∫[L(hb)−P(hb)]dhb (4)
The above-described cooling device 10 has multiple fins 20 arranged in a houndstooth check pattern with a nearly equal spatial distance t. However, this is not restrictive. For example, the multiple fins 22 can be arranged in a lattice pattern in which they are placed at fixed intervals (including proximity) in the direction of the flow path connecting the cooling water inlet 11 and outlet 12 and in the direction perpendicular thereto.
The multiple plates 31 forming the stacked structure 30 are made of a highly heat conductive material such as copper, aluminum, and/or iron. The multiple plates 31 are each in the form of a plate with a rectangular plate face and have multiple serrated (zigzag) slits 32 formed through the thickness (in the stacking direction). The multiple serrated slits 32 are each elongated along the cooling water flow path direction or the direction connecting the cooling water inlet 11 and outlet 12, and are arranged in the direction perpendicular to the cooling water flow path direction. Furthermore, the multiple slits 32 are each in the form of a serration consisting of a successive angled pattern. Adjacent slits 32 are in opposite phases (shifted by 180 degrees). The multiple slits 32 of a plate 31 can be formed by, for example, press punching, laser cutting, or etching.
In this embodiment, the multiple slits 32 have a pattern determined based on the rhombus described in Embodiment 1. The multiple slits 32 are, as shown in
The multiple plates 31 are connected by brazing or welding in a watertight fashion so that the slits 32 of adjacent plates 31 communicate with each other to form a stacked structure 30 as shown in
In the above-described cooling device 110 of Embodiment 2, the slits 32 of the plates 31 forming the stacked structure 30 are serrated in the manner such that adjacent slits 32 are in opposite phases and the parts of the plates 31 that separate adjacent slits 32 protrude in an isosceles triangle pattern to create a shape similar to the rhombus described in Embodiment 1, thereby reducing the cooling water pressure loss and improving the heat transfer efficiency of the cooling device. Furthermore, if the slits 32 are slightly shifted from each other in the plate face direction in making them communicate while stacking the plates 31, the increased area in which the cooling water and stacked structure 30 make contact and/or the stirred cooling water can improve the heat exchange efficiency. Furthermore, if the slits 32 are shifted in the cooling water flow path direction, the cooling water can easily flow in the slits 32 for example even if the casing 13 is not provided with the recesses 13b.
Embodiments of the present invention are described above. The present invention is not confined to the above-described embodiments and various modifications and applications are available. For example, the casing 13 is in the form of a rectangular parallelepiped. However, any shape can be utilized, for example, the region near the inlet 11 or outlet 12 can radially be enlarged from the inlet 11 or radially be reduced toward the outlet 12.
In the above-described Embodiments 2 to 4, the stacked structure 30 is housed with the cover 14 covering it. With a cover plate replacing the cover 14 being stacked on the end face, the stacked structure 30 can be attached to the casing 13 without using the cover 14.
Embodiments of the present invention are described above. The present invention is not confined to the embodiments and includes any mode obtained by adding various changes to the embodiments and the technical scope equivalent thereto.
Having described and illustrated the principles of this application by reference to one or more preferred embodiments, it should be apparent that the preferred embodiments may be modified in arrangement and detail without departing from the principles disclosed herein and that it is intended that the application be construed as including all such modifications and variations insofar as they come within the spirit and scope of the subject matter disclosed herein.
Number | Date | Country | Kind |
---|---|---|---|
2012-038094 | Feb 2012 | JP | national |
Number | Name | Date | Kind |
---|---|---|---|
4151548 | Klein et al. | Apr 1979 | A |
5655600 | Dewar et al. | Aug 1997 | A |
6039114 | Becker et al. | Mar 2000 | A |
6729383 | Cannell et al. | May 2004 | B1 |
20040150956 | Conte | Aug 2004 | A1 |
20050126752 | Matsushima et al. | Jun 2005 | A1 |
20080066888 | Tong et al. | Mar 2008 | A1 |
20110008198 | Hou | Jan 2011 | A1 |
20110315367 | Romero et al. | Dec 2011 | A1 |
Number | Date | Country |
---|---|---|
40 17 749 | Dec 1991 | DE |
10-190265 | Jul 1998 | JP |
11-204978 | Jul 1999 | JP |
2001-319998 | Nov 2001 | JP |
2006-324647 | Nov 2006 | JP |
2011-017516 | Jan 2011 | JP |
2010136017 | Dec 2010 | WO |
Entry |
---|
Yoshihiro Kondo et al., “Experimental Study of Impingement Cooling of Heat Sinks for LSI Packages with Pin-Fin Arrays”, Collection of Papers of Japan Society of Mechanical Engineers (Edition B) vol. 61, No. 582, Feb. 1995, pp. 339-345. |
Office Action issued on Oct. 21, 2014, by the German Patent Office in corresponding German Patent Application No. 10 2013 101 747.9 and an English translation of the Office Action. (15 pages). |
Office Action (Notification of First Office Action) issued on Feb. 13, 2015, by the Chinese Patent Office in corresponding Chinese Patent Application No. 201310056053.0, and a Partial English Language Translation. (14 pages). |
Office Action issued by Japanese Patent Office on Oct. 6, 2015 in corresponding corresponding Japanese Application No. 2012-038094, and English language translation of Office Action (9 pages). |
Number | Date | Country | |
---|---|---|---|
20130220587 A1 | Aug 2013 | US |