Patent Application
20220151098
The presently disclosed subject matter relates generally to cooling devices for electronic components. Particularly, the presently disclosed subject matter relates to electronic component cooling devices for housings containing an electronic component that include configurations for liquid cooling the electronic component with liquid cooling components.
The presently disclosed subject matter pertain to liquid cooling devices for electronic component housings.
According to an aspect, a device including a housing defining an interior space and configured to contain a liquid in the interior space. The device also includes an electronic component positioned in the interior space. The electronic component is also positioned within the liquid. The device also includes a liquid cooling component in heat transfer interface with such liquid and configured to receive a flow of an additional, second, liquid. Further, the device is configured to transfer the heat from the first liquid to that second liquid.
According to an aspect, a device including a housing defining a first interior space and configured to contain a first liquid in the first interior space. The device also includes an electronic component positioned in the first liquid in the first interior space. The device also includes a liquid cooling component defining a second interior space that is configured to contain a second liquid within the second interior space. The liquid cooling component is further in heat transfer interface with the first liquid and the second liquid and is configured to separate the first liquid from the second liquid. According to a further aspect, the device is configured to transfer the heat from the first liquid to that second liquid, to cool the electronic device.
The device contemplates a variety of configurations that allow for a liquid cooling component to transfer the heat from the electronic component and/or the liquid to the second liquid, and for the liquid to carry the heat away from the device, such as any known in the art but also comprising and not limited to closed fluid and liquid conduits, heat pipes, vapor chambers, coolant loops, cold plates and solid material heat-conductive components, and in such shapes and volumes to supplement or supplant existing cooling devices that do not comprise such components and/or liquids. Such existing devices that may be supplemented or supplanted may comprise open-housing air cooling components, for example.
Several exemplary embodiments comprise ones in which: a housing is sealed, water-tight, to facilitate a power supply housing; a liquid to fill a housing comprises dielectric cooling fluid; a liquid cooling component comprises a sealed, water-tight plenum; a liquid to fill such a cooling component having a plenum comprises water therein; a plenum comprises copper or brass construction; a plenum comprising a pathway for a liquid comprises inlet and outlet valves to an external cooling distribution system configured to remove or dissipate heat or receive or return liquid to the device or other devices via a manifold.
Embodiments further comprise exemplary forms of heat transfer interface, thermally coupling liquid cooling components to one another or in distinctly performing portions of an integrated device, conductive liquid to surface to liquid heat transfer, convective heat transfer through static volumes of fluid or liquid, dynamic flows of heated and cooled fluids or liquids in pathways or loops, convective heat transferred in gas to surface to liquid, and liquid-to-surface-to-gas heat transfer, etc.
The embodiments are illustrated by way of example and not limitation in the figures of the accompanying drawings in which like references indicate similar elements.
The following detailed description is made with reference to the figures. Exemplary embodiments are described to illustrate the disclosure, not to limit its scope, which is defined by the claims. Those of ordinary skill in the art will recognize a number of equivalent variations in the description that follows.
Articles “a” and “an” are used herein to refer to one or to more than one (i.e. at least one) of the grammatical object of the article. By way of example, “an element” means at least one element and can include more than one element.
“About” is used to provide flexibility to a numerical endpoint by providing that a given value may be “slightly above” or “slightly below” the endpoint without affecting the desired result.
The use herein of the terms “including,” “comprising,” or “having,” and variations thereof is meant to encompass the elements listed thereafter and equivalents thereof as well as additional elements. Embodiments recited as “including,” “comprising,” or “having” certain elements are also contemplated as “consisting essentially of” and “consisting” of those certain elements.
Recitation of ranges of values herein are merely intended to serve as a shorthand method of referring individually to each separate value falling within the range, unless otherwise indicated herein, and each separate value is incorporated into the specification as if it were individually recited herein. For example, if a range is stated as between 1%-50%, it is intended that values such as between 2%-40%, 10%-30%, or 1%-3%, etc. are expressly enumerated in this specification. These are only examples of what is specifically intended, and all possible combinations of numerical values between and including the lowest value and the highest value enumerated are to be considered to be expressly stated in this disclosure.
Unless otherwise defined, all technical terms used herein have the same meaning as commonly understood by one of ordinary skill in the art to which this disclosure belongs.
The described features, structures, or characteristics may be combined in any suitable manner in one or more embodiments. In the following description, numerous specific details are provided, to provide a thorough understanding of embodiments of the disclosed subject matter. One skilled in the relevant art will recognize, however, that the disclosed subject matter can be practiced without one or more of the specific details, or with other methods, components, materials, etc. In other instances, well-known structures, materials, or operations are not shown or described in detail to avoid obscuring aspects of the disclosed subject matter.
As referred to herein, the terms “computing device” and “entities” should be broadly construed and should be understood to be interchangeable. They may include any type of computing device, for example, a server, a desktop computer, a laptop computer, or the like.
While the embodiments have been described in connection with the various embodiments of the various figures, it is to be understood that other similar embodiments may be used, or modifications and additions may be made to the described embodiment for performing the same function without deviating therefrom. Therefore, the disclosed embodiments should not be limited to any single embodiment, but rather should be construed in breadth and scope in accordance with the appended claims.
Referring now to
As stated above, some exemplary housings adequate to facilitate defining an interior space and configured to contain a liquid in this manner comprise sealed, water-tight construction. Some adequate sealed, water-tight housings comprise metal or composite vessels formed by welding, folding, pressing, casting, or supplemented with a sealing material or adhesive, such as silicone or rubber.
The device 1 cools by operating the liquid cooling component 13: transferring heat away from the electronic component 9 to the liquid 17 in the housing 3, and carrying the heat produced by the electronic component 9 through the liquid 17 to a site of heat transfer interface with the liquid cooling component 13, such that the heat is removed from the liquid 17, into the liquid cooling component 13, for being transferred out of the device 1, thereafter. In the present
Irrespective of the flow of the second liquid 21 the liquid cooling component 13 comprises a second interior space 19 for containing a second liquid 21. The liquid 17 in the housing 3 is contained in the interior space 5, which is outside the liquid cooling component 13. Thereby, the liquid 17 is in convective heat interface with both the electronic component 9 and a plenum portion 29 of the liquid cooling component 13, for cooling the electronic component 9. The plenum portion 29 is also in convective heat transfer with the second liquid 21 in the second interior space 19. By the plenum portion 29 demarcating the separate interior spaces 5 and 19, the second interior 19 is configured to separate the first liquid 17 from the second liquid 21, and provides a pathway 23 for the second liquid 21 to flow therethrough, from an inlet 25 to an outlet 27, for removal of heat outside the liquid cooling component 13, without requiring physical movement of the first liquid 17. Thereby, the liquid cooling component 13 is configured to receive heat produced by the electronic component 9 and to transfer the heat to the second liquid 21 for removing the received heat via the outlet 27.
As stated above, an exemplary plenum adequate to demarcate two separate spaces and be filled with a liquid to provide a pathway therein and provide convective heat transfer with liquids contained in the spaces comprises sealed, water-tight construction. Some adequate sealed, water-tight plenums comprise copper or brass construction.
Referring now to
The liquid cooling component 13 is in conductive heat interface with the electronic component 9 by comprising a heat conduit 31 in conductive heat interface with the electronic component 9. Also, the heat conduit 31 extends through the liquid 17 in the housing 3, traversing the interior 5, such that it is in convective heat interface with the liquid 17. The liquid 17 is in convective heat interface with the electronic component 9, but the liquid 17 is also in convective heat interface with additional electronic components 33 and 35. Thereby, the heat conduit 31 is in convective heat interface with all of the electronic components 9, 33, and 35.
As stated above, some exemplary heat conduits adequate to transfer heat in this manner may comprise closed fluid and liquid conduits, heat pipes, vapor chambers, coolant loops, cold plates, and solid material heat-conductive components. Some such adequate heat conduits include a copper or other heat-conductive metal elongate vessel, such as a gas-encapsulating- or liquid-encapsulating-heat pipe.
Here, the heat conduit 31 is in conductive heat interface with the plenum portion 29 proximate a cold plate, a conductive wall 39. Thereby, the liquid cooling component 13 is configured to receive heat from the heat conduit 31 (which was heat produced by the electronic components 9, 33, and 35), and to transfer the heat to the second liquid 21 for removing the received heat via the outlet 27. Stated differently, the conductive wall 39 facilitates a configuration of a cold plate that is configured to transfer the heat from the heat conduit 31 to the second fluid 21 and/or a configuration of a cold plate that is configured to transfer heat from the first liquid 17 to the second liquid 21.
Specifically, the heat conduit 31 in
Referring now to
Referring now to
Referring now to
Specifically, the liquid cooling component 45 in
Not depicted here but also contemplated are exemplary embodiments which provide a looplike construction for a liquid cooling devices that comprise a heat conduit or heat conduit portion with a marginal plenum or without any plenum, such as ones which comprise an inlet and an outlet to the heat conduit directly, rather than through a plenum.
While the embodiments have been described in connection with the various embodiments of the various figures, it is to be understood that other similar embodiments may be used, or modifications and additions may be made to the described embodiment for performing the same function without deviating therefrom. Therefore, the disclosed embodiments should not be limited to any single embodiment, but rather should be construed in breadth and scope in accordance with the appended claims.
