The present application claims priority under 35 U.S.C. § 119 to Japanese Patent Application No. 2022-064469, filed on Apr. 8, 2022, the entire contents of which are hereby incorporated herein by reference.
The present disclosure relates to a cooling device.
Conventionally, a heat dissipator is used for cooling a heating element. The heat dissipator includes a base portion and a plurality of fins. The plurality of fins protrude from the base portion. The heat dissipator can be installed in a liquid cooling jacket. A flow path is formed by the base portion and the liquid cooling jacket. When a refrigerant flows through the flow path, the heat of the heating element moves to the refrigerant.
It is necessary to provide a certain gap (clearance) between the fin and the liquid cooling jacket. If there is no gap, the fin may be deformed when the base portion is attached to the liquid cooling jacket, and desired cooling performance may not be obtained. In addition, there is a possibility that the fin cannot be accommodated in the liquid cooling jacket due to positional variation when the fin is fixed to the base portion or assembly tolerance of the fin.
For this reason, a certain gap is provided in advance between the fin and the liquid cooling jacket. However, when a large amount of the refrigerant flows in this gap, an inflow amount of the refrigerant between the fins decreases, and there arises a problem that the ability to cool the fins decreases.
Therefore, it is known to suppress the refrigerant flowing in the gap by incorporating a flow path constituting member separate from the fin between the fin and the liquid cooling jacket. The flow path constituting member is, for example, a sheet-like rubber member. However, in such a configuration, there is a problem that mounting becomes complicated because the number of members constituting the flow path increases, or the flow path changes due to deformation of the flow path constituent member, which may affect cooling performance.
A cooling device according to an example embodiment of the present disclosure includes a liquid cooling jacket and a heat dissipator. The heat dissipator includes a plate-shaped base portion that extends in a first direction along a direction in which a refrigerant flows and in a second direction perpendicular or substantially perpendicular to the first direction, and has a thickness in a third direction perpendicular or substantially perpendicular to the first direction and the second direction, a fin protruding from the base portion toward one side in the third direction, a top plate portion provided at an end on the one side in the third direction, and a bent portion bent toward the one side in the third direction at at least one of an end on one side in the first direction or an end on other side in the first direction of the top plate portion, with the one side in the first direction being a downstream side. Between the liquid cooling jacket and the top plate portion, a gap in the third direction is provided, and the bent portion opposes the liquid cooling jacket.
The above and other elements, features, steps, characteristics and advantages of the present disclosure will become more apparent from the following detailed description of the example embodiments with reference to the attached drawings.
Hereinafter, example embodiments of the present disclosure will be described with reference to the drawings.
In the drawings, with the first direction as an X direction, X1 indicates one side in the first direction, and X2 indicates the other side in the first direction. The first direction is along a direction F in which a refrigerant W flows, and the downstream side is indicated by F1 and the upstream side is indicated by F2. With the second direction orthogonal to the first direction as a Y direction, Y1 indicates one side in the second direction, and Y2 indicates the other side in the second direction. With the third direction orthogonal to the first direction and the second direction as a Z direction, Z1 indicates one side in the third direction, and Z2 indicates the other side in the third direction. Note that the above-described “orthogonal” also includes intersection at an angle slightly shifted from 90 degrees. Each of the above-described directions does not limit a direction when a cooling device 5 is incorporated in various devices.
The cooling device 5 includes a liquid cooling jacket 4 and a heat dissipator 1.
The heat dissipator 1 includes a base portion 2 and a fin 3. The base portion 2 has a plate shape that extends in the first direction and the second direction and has a thickness in the third direction. The base portion 2 is made of a metal having high thermal conductivity such as a copper alloy, for example.
The fin 3 includes a side plate portion 31, a bottom plate portion 32, and a top plate portion 33. The side plate portion 31 has a flat plate shape extending in the first direction and the third direction with the second direction as the thickness direction. The bottom plate portion 32 is formed by being bent from an end on the other side in the third direction of the side plate portion 31 to the other side in the second direction. The top plate portion 33 is formed by being bent from an end on one side in the third direction of the side plate portion 31 to the other side in the second direction. The bottom plate portion 32 and the top plate portion 33 face each other in the third direction. Due to this, the fin 3 has a rectangular U-shaped cross section in a cross section orthogonal to the first direction. The fin 3 has a bent portion 34, which will be described later.
The heat dissipation fin assembly 30 formed of the fins 3 is attached to the base portion 2 by fixing the bottom plate portion 32 to a surface 2A (see
The heat dissipator 1 is attached to the liquid cooling jacket 4. The liquid cooling jacket 4 is, for example, a die-cast product made of a metal such as aluminum. The liquid cooling jacket 4 has a flow path therein for allowing the refrigerant W to flow.
Specifically, the liquid cooling jacket 4 includes an inlet flow path 41 disposed on the other side in the first direction, a refrigerant flow path 42, and an outlet flow path 43 disposed on one side in the first direction. The refrigerant flow path 42 is disposed between the inlet flow path 41 and the outlet flow path 43. The liquid cooling jacket 4 has a top surface 4A on one side in the third direction of the refrigerant flow path 42.
In a state where the heat dissipator 1 is not attached to the liquid cooling jacket 4, the top surface 4A is exposed to the other side in the third direction. The heat dissipator 1 is attached to the liquid cooling jacket 4 by fixing a side surface 2A on one side in the third direction of the base portion 2 in the heat dissipator 1 to a surface on the other side in the third direction of the liquid cooling jacket 4. In a state where the heat dissipator 1 is attached, the other side in the third direction of the top surface 4A is covered with the base portion 2, and the heat dissipation fin assembly 30 is accommodated in the refrigerant flow path 42.
The refrigerant W flowing from the outside of the liquid cooling jacket 4 into the inlet flow path 41 flows inside the inlet flow path 41 to one side in the first direction, and flows into the refrigerant flow path 42. The refrigerant W flowing through the refrigerant flow path 42 to one side in the first direction flows into the outlet flow path 43, and is discharged from the outlet flow path 43 to the outside of the liquid cooling jacket 4.
Heating elements 6A, 6B, and 6C (hereinafter, 6A and the like) are disposed on the other side in the third direction of the base portion 2. The number of heating elements may be a plural number other than three, or may be singular. The heat generated from the heating elements 6A and the like is transmitted from the base portion 2 and the heat dissipation fin assembly 30 to the refrigerant W flowing through the refrigerant flow path 42, whereby the heating elements 6A and the like are cooled.
As described above, the heat dissipator 1 includes the top plate portion 33 provided at one end in the third direction of the fin 3. As illustrated in
As illustrated in
As illustrated in
The bent portion 34 illustrated in
As illustrated in
The bent portion 34 is configured as a leaf spring. As a result, since the bent portion 34 comes into contact with the liquid cooling jacket 4 while applying elastic force to the liquid cooling jacket 4, the gap between the bent portion 34 and the liquid cooling jacket 4 is suppressed from widening.
As illustrated in
When the heat dissipator 1 is attached to the liquid cooling jacket 4, the bent portion 34 may be plastically deformed to come into contact with the liquid cooling jacket 4.
In the configuration illustrated in
In the configuration illustrated in
Between the fin 3A and the fin 3B, a recess 35A recessed to the base portion 2 is provided on the other side in the third direction. In addition, a recess 35B recessed to the middle of the other side in the third direction is provided between the fin 3A and the fin 3B. The recesses 35A and the recesses 35B are alternately arranged in the second direction. Such recesses 35A and 35B form an open slot extending in the second direction.
The open slot can break the boundary layer of the flow developed in the side plate portion 31 of the fin 3A. With the open slot, the refrigerant W having a high temperature after passing through the heating elements 60A and 60B disposed at the center in the second direction as viewed in the third direction and the refrigerant W having a low temperature after passing through both sides of the heating elements 60A and 60B in the second direction can be mixed in the second direction.
The fin 3B is provided with a first top plate portion 33C and a second top plate portion 33D divided in the second direction. At the end on the other side in the first direction of the first top plate portion 33C on the other side in the first direction, a bent portion 34C is provided. That is, the bent portion 34C is disposed near the open slot. By sealing the gap SA by the bent portion 34C, the refrigerant W is prevented from flowing from the open slot into the gap SA, and the refrigerant W is guided from the open slot to the flow path between the fins 3B. Therefore, the heating elements 60C and 60D can be cooled efficiently.
In other words, the recesses 35A and 35B recessed to the other side in the third direction are provided between the first fin 3A that is a fin on the other side in the first direction and the second fin 3B that is a fin adjacent to the first fin 3A one side in the first direction. At the end on the other side in the first direction of the top plate portion 33C provided to the second fin 3B, the bent portion 34C is provided. Thus, the refrigerant W can be prevented from flowing from the open slot provided between the first fin 3A and the second fin 3B into the gap SA in the third direction between the top plate portion 33C and the liquid cooling jacket 4. Therefore, the refrigerant W can be guided between the second fins 3B.
Note that an open slot is provided between the fin 3B and the fin 3C, and a bent portion 34E provided to the fin 3C is disposed near the open slot. As a result, the same effect as described above can be obtained.
The side plate portion 31 of the fin 3A is provided with a notch 36 that is notched on the other side in the third direction. A first top plate portion 33A and a second top plate portion 33B are provided on the other side in the first direction and one side in the first direction of the notch 36, respectively. That is, in the same fin 3A, the first top plate portion 33A that is a top plate portion disposed on the other side in the first direction and the second top plate portion 33B that is a top plate portion adjacent to one side in the first direction of the first top plate portion 33A are provided. A bent portion 34A is provided at the end on the other side in the first direction of the first top plate portion 33A, and a bent portion 34B is provided at the end on the other side in the first direction of the second top plate portion 33B. The bent portion 34B disposed in the middle of the first direction in the fin 3A can be easily formed by cutting and bending the top plate portion 33B.
In particular, since the top plate portion is divided on both sides in the first direction of the notch 36, the bent portion 34B can be formed. The notch 36 makes it possible to break a boundary layer developed in the side plate portion 31 on the upstream side or to mix the refrigerants W having different temperatures in the second direction. The bent portion 34B guides the refrigerant W in the vicinity of the notch 36 between the fins 3A on the downstream side, and can efficiently cool the heating element 60B.
The same applies to the bent portions 34C, 34D, 34E, and 34F provided to the fins 3B and 3C.
As illustrated in
The top surface recesses may be provided for the bent portions 34B, 34D, 34E, and 34F. Further, the bent portion may be disposed with a gap between it and the top surface recess in the first direction.
That is, a plurality of fin groups 30A, 30B, and 30C, configured by arranging the fins 3A, 3B, and 3C in the second direction, are provided in the first direction, and the bent portions 34E and 34F are provided only for the fin group 30C closest to one side in the first direction among the fin groups 30A, 30B, and 30C. As a result, since no bent portion is provided for the fin groups on the upstream side, the gap SA between the fins 3A and 3B and the liquid cooling jacket 4 is not sealed on the upstream side. Therefore, the low-temperature refrigerant W flows through the unsealed gap SA. Since the gap SA between the fin 3C and the liquid cooling jacket 4 is sealed by the bent portions 34E and 34F on the most downstream side, the low-temperature refrigerant W is guided between the fins 3C, and the cooling performance can be improved on the most downstream side where the necessity of the cooling performance is high.
The example embodiments of the present disclosure have been described above. Note that the scope of the present disclosure is not limited to the above example embodiments. The present disclosure can be implemented by making various changes to the above-described example embodiments without departing from the gist of the disclosure. The matters described in the above example embodiments can be optionally combined together, as appropriate, as long as there is no inconsistency.
For example, the fin group is not limited to the stacked fins, and a plurality of pin fins protruding in a columnar shape from the base portion 2 to one side in the third direction may be arranged. In this case, the top plate portion is provided at one end in the third direction of the pin fin.
For example, a vapor chamber or a heat pipe may be provided between the heating element and the heat dissipator.
As described above, a cooling device according to one aspect of the present disclosure is a cooling device that includes a liquid cooling jacket and a heat dissipator.
The heat dissipator includes
A gap in the third direction is provided between the liquid cooling jacket and the top plate portion, and
Further, in the first configuration, the bent portion may face the liquid cooling jacket while being in contact with the liquid cooling jacket (second configuration).
Further, in the second configuration, the bent portion may be configured as a leaf spring (third configuration).
Further, in any of the first to third configurations, the distal end of the bent portion bent from an end on the other side in the first direction of the top plate portion may face the other side in the first direction (fourth configuration).
Further, in the fourth configuration, the bent portion may be in surface contact with the liquid cooling jacket while facing the liquid cooling jacket in the first direction (fifth configuration).
Further, in the fourth configuration, the bent portion may have a second facing surface that faces a first facing surface of the liquid cooling jacket via a gap in the first direction (sixth configuration).
Further, in the fifth or sixth configuration, the liquid cooling jacket may have a top surface that is disposed on one side in the third direction of the top plate portion and has a gap in the third direction between the liquid cooling jacket and the top plate portion, and
Further, in any of the first to seventh configurations, a recess recessed to the other side in the third direction may be provided between a first fin that is the fin on the other side in the first direction and a second fin that is the fin adjacent to the one side in the first direction of the first fin, and
Further, in any of the first to eighth configurations, in the same fin, a first top plate portion that is the top plate portion disposed on the other side in the first direction and a second top plate portion that is the top plate portion adjacent to the first top plate portion on the one side in the first direction may be provided, and
Further, in any of the first to ninth configurations, a plurality of fin groups, each configured of the fins arranged in the second direction, may be provided in the first direction, and
The present disclosure can be used for cooling various heating elements.
Features of the above-described example embodiments and the modifications thereof may be combined appropriately as long as no conflict arises.
While example embodiments of the present disclosure have been described above, it is to be understood that variations and modifications will be apparent to those skilled in the art without departing from the scope and spirit of the present disclosure. The scope of the present disclosure, therefore, is to be determined solely by the following claims.
Number | Date | Country | Kind |
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2022-064469 | Apr 2022 | JP | national |