The present invention relates to a heat sink used to cool a component to be cooled (hereinafter, referred to as “cooled component”), for example, a heat generating component such as CPU or MPU in an electronic device.
Recently, various electric and electronic devices such as a personal computer have been enhanced in performance and downsized. However, enhancement in performance of CPU, MPU and the like mounted on a notebook-size personal computer, a laptop or desktop computer causes an associated increase in generated heat. On the other hand, demands for downsizing of the electric and electronic devices and saving space inside the electric and electronic devices have grown more.
Cooling of heat generating components such as high-performance CPU and MPU has been always weighted heavily as an important technical issue. Also for electric and electronic devices other than computers, cooling of high-performance heat generating components and heat generating elements has been weighted heavily as an important issue for saving space inside the electric and electronic devices.
As a method for cooling an electronic component mounted on the electric or electronic device, for example, there is a method of mounting a fan on the device, rotating the fan by an electric motor and using cooling wind to decrease temperatures of air inside the device housing. There is another method of mounting a cooling member on a component to be cooled and cooling the component directly without using a fan.
Such a cooling member mounted on the component to cool is often of a plate material having excellent thermal performance such as copper or aluminum. Besides, various heat pipes are often used as cooling members. Specifically, a heat sink having a base plate thermally connected to a heat generating component and thin plate fins thermally connected to the base plate is used and combined with various heat pipes.
Inside a heat pipe, a space is provided as a fluid path of working fluid. The working fluid accommodated in the space is subjected to phase change such as evaporation and condensation and movement so that heat is transferred. That is, at the heat absorbing side of the heat pipe, heat generated by a component to cool and transferred via a material of the heat pipe is used to vaporize the working fluid, and its vapor is transferred to the heat dissipating side of the heat pipe. At the heat dissipating side, the vapor of the working fluid is cooled to go back to liquid again. Then, the working fluid that has got back to fluid is moved to the heat absorbing side again (back-flow). Such phase change and movement of the working fluid causes heat transfer.
Patent Literature 1 (PL 1): Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2009-198173
Patent Literature 2 (PL 2): Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. H10(1988)-107192
For the heat sink having a base plate thermally connected to the heat generating component and thin plate fins thermally connected to the base plate, the thin plate fins are large in size to enhance the heat dissipating performance from the fins and the heat sink is difficult to downsize.
If a fan is mounted, the fan needs mounting space but it is difficult to arrange it in a space-saving thin housing. Further, if the fan is increased in size to enhance the fan performance or the number of revolutions is increased, there occurs a problem of heavy noise and vibration.
Accordingly, the present invention has an object to provide a heat sink capable of enhancing the heat dissipating performance and saving space with small-sized fins.
Here, in PL1, at least one heat pipe is provided extending in the longitudinal direction of plate fins, sandwiched between a first plate member and a second member and thermally connected thereto. However, the heat dissipating performance is not sufficient to cool high-performance heat generating components such as CPU and MPU.
Besides, if the heat pipe is tried to be inserted via the base surface into the fin section like in PL2, the fins are difficult to arrange at the heat pipe bent R section and there is restriction on design freedom.
In order to solve the above-mentioned conventional problems, the inventors have studied intensively. As a result, they have known that when two kinds of thin plate fins having different heights are used, low thin plate fins are arranged at a main part and high thin plate fins are arranged at ends, all the thin plate fins are thermally connected to heat pipes and a part of a heat pipe is inserted into the high thin plate fins, it becomes possible to enhance the heat dissipating performance from the fins even if the fins are small sized.
That is, the fins can be in contact with the heat pipes along the heat pipes, heat transferred from the heat generating component to the heat pipes is then transferred via the upper plate to the low thin plate fins, dissipated from the thin plate fins and at the same time, the heat is dissipated from the thin plate fins efficiently by the heat pipes inserted into the high thin plate fins. This invention was carried out based on the above-mentioned study results.
A first aspect of the present invention provides a heat sink comprising: a base plate which has one surface thermally connected to a heat generating component or a base plate which has one surface thermally connected to a heat generating component and which has thermally connected thereto a first heat dissipating fin section composed of a thin plate fin; an upper plate which has a second heat dissipating fin section thermally connected on one surface, the second heat dissipating fin section having two kinds of thin plate fins having different heights; and a plurality of heat pipes which are disposed between an opposite surface of the base plate and an opposite surface of the upper plate by being thermally connected to the opposite surfaces and which include a heat pipe that has at least a part thereof inserted into a part of the second heat dissipating fin section.
The heat sink according to a second aspect of the present invention is characterized in that the second heat dissipating fin section has a plurality of low thin plate fins that are disposed vertically on the one surface of the upper plate and a plurality of high thin plate fins that are disposed vertically in adjacent to the low thin plate fins.
The heat sink according to a third aspect of the present invention is characterized in that the second heat dissipating fin section has a plurality of low thin plate fins that are disposed vertically on the one surface of the upper plate and a plurality of thin plate fins that are disposed horizontally at an end of the low thin plate fins.
The heat sink according to a fourth aspect of the present invention is characterized in that the first heat dissipating fin section comprises a plurality of thin plate fins that are disposed vertically on a part of the one surface of the base plate corresponding to the high thin plate fins.
The heat sink according to a fifth aspect of the present invention is characterized in that the plurality of heat pipes are consisting of heat pipes and at least one part of each heat pipe is made flatten. Those heat pipes are arranged in parallel at a center thereof and they are bent toward respective outsides of the upper plate at both longitudinal ends of the upper plate.
The heat sink according to a sixth aspect of the present invention is characterized in that the heat pipe inserted into the part of the second heat dissipating fin section is a heat pipe that is arranged at one side and passes through the vertically disposed high thin plate fins laterally from one direction to another.
The heat sink according to a seventh aspect of the present invention is characterized in that the heat pipe inserted into the part of the second heat dissipating fin section is a heat pipe that is arranged at each side and passes vertically through the horizontally disposed thin plate fins.
According to the heat sink of the present invention, two kinds of thin plate fins having different heights are used in adjacent to each other, low thin plate fins are provided at a main part and high thin plate fins are arranged at ends, and all the thin plate fins are thermally connected to the heat pipes. Besides, as a part of a heat pipe is inserted into the high thin plate fins, it is possible to enhance the heat dissipating performance by the fins even when the fin size is reduced totally. Further, as the thin plate fins are provided on the surface on which side the heat generating component of the base plate is located and thermally connected thereto, it is possible to enhance the heat dissipating characteristics.
With reference to the drawings, a heat sink of the present invention will be described below.
The heat sink according to an embodiment of the present invention has a base plate which has one surface thermally connected to a heat generating component and which has thermally connected thereto a first heat dissipating fin section composed of a thin plate fin; an upper plate which has a second heat dissipating fin section thermally connected to one surface, the second heat dissipating fin section being composed of two kinds of thin plate fins having different heights; and a plurality of heat pipes which are disposed between the other surface of the base plate and the other surface of the upper plate by being thermally connected to the surfaces and which include a heat pipe that has at least a part thereof inserted into a part of the second heat dissipating fin section. The first heat dissipating fin section is preferably connected to the base plate, but may not be connected thereto. If it is connected, the first heat dissipating fin section is connected to an entire surface or a part of the base plate other than a part connected to the heat generating component.
In other words, as illustrated in
In the second heat dissipating fin section 5, the plural low thin plate fins (A) are disposed vertically almost over the upper plate 3 other than an end of the upper plate 3 and the plural high thin plate fins (B) are disposed vertically on the one end of the upper plate 3. As the low thin plate fins (A) occupy the most part of the upper plate 3, the space required for fins can be reduced.
The plural high thin plate fins (B) that are large in area are provided in adjacent to the plural low thin plate fins (A) thereby to enhance the heat dissipating performance of the heat sink.
As described above, a plurality of heat pipes 8 is arranged between the upper plate 3 and the base plate 2. An example of arrangement of the plural heat pipes 8 is indicated by the dotted line in
The heat pipes 8-1 and 8-2 at both sides are arranged straight in parallel to the other heat pipes at the center in the longitudinal direction. One ends of these heat pipes are bent outward the heat sink 1. At the other ends (that is, the ends where the thin plate fins (c) are arranged), the side heat pipe 8-1 is arranged bent toward the outside of the heat sink and the other heat pipe 8-2 is arranged bent toward the outside of the heat sink, raised upward and inserted laterally through the high thin plate fins (B). In the embodiment illustrated in
As described above, as at least one of the plural heat pipes 8 passes laterally through the plural high thin plate fins (B) that are large in area, heat is transferred from the heat pipes 8 to the thin plate fins (B). Preferably, the heat pipes 8 and the high thin plate fins (B) have as large a contact area as possible and are low in heat resistance. Therefore, for example, through holes of the thin plate fins are formed by burling and the heat pipes 8 are connected by soldering or brazing. Thus, as the heat pipes 8 and the high thin plate fins (B) are connected thermally, the heat dissipating performance of the heat dissipating fins is enhanced. In other words, heat of the heat generating component 10 is transferred via the base plate to the plural heat pipes 8-1, 8-2, 8-3 and 8-4 and further to the upper palate 3 thereby to expedite heat dissipation. Here, in this embodiment, the heat pipe 8-2 is only structured to insert the high thin plate fins (B) therethrough, but other heat pipes 8 may be also structured to insert the high thin plate fins (B) therethrough.
Further, with the plural pipes 8 having curved parts, the heat is dissipated from all the low thin plate fins (A) disposed vertically on and connected thermally to the top surface of the upper plate 3. Furthermore, as the end of at least one heat pipe out of the plural heat pipes 8 passes laterally through the high thin plate fins (B) having high heat dissipating performance, the heat dissipating performance of the fins is enhanced more. Accordingly, according to the heat sink of the present invention, it is possible to enhance the heat dissipating performance with small sized fins.
The thin plate fins may be worked to have holes or ends into U shape so that the heat pipes passes therethrough. The holes may be formed by burling. After the heat pipes are inserted into the fins, they may be connected by soldering or brazing where necessary.
In other words, as illustrated in
On the second heat dissipating fin section 5, the plural low thin plate fins (E) are arranged vertically almost over the upper plate 3 and the plural stacked thin plate fins (D) are arranged in parallel to the upper plate on the end top surface of the low thin plate fins (E). In this way, as the low thin plate fins (E) occupy the most part of the upper plate 3, the space required for the fins can be reduced.
As the plural stacked thin plate fins (D) having larger areas are provided in contact with the end top surface of the plural low thin plate fins (E), the heat dissipating performance of the heat sink is enhanced.
As described with reference to
Side heat pipes 8-1 and 8-2 are disposed straight almost in parallel with the other heat pipes 8-3 and 8-4 at the center in the longitudinal direction. One ends of the heat pipes 8-1 and 8-2 are bent toward respective outsides of the heat sink 1. The other end 9-1 of the heat pipe 8-1 (end where the thin plate fins (c) are arranged) is raised upward and passes through the stacked thin plate fins (D) vertically. In the same way, the end 9-2 of the heat pipe 8-2 is raised upward and passes through the stacked thin plate fins (D) vertically. The plural heat pipes 8 are formed flat except their parts (ends 9-1 and 9-2), compressed in width and their contact areas with the base plate 2 and the upper plate 3 are increased thereby to facilitate heat transfer.
As described above, as at least two of the plural heat pipes have ends passing through the stacked thin plate fins (D) vertically, the heat dissipating performance of the heat dissipating fins is increased. That is, the heat of the heat generating component 10 is transferred via the base plate to the plural heat pipes 8-1, 8-2, 8-3 and 8-4 and then to the upper plate 3.
Further, with the plural heat pipes 8 with curved or bent parts, the heat is dissipated from the entire part of the low thin plate fins (E) disposed vertically on and thermally connected to the top surface of the upper plate 3. Furthermore, as at least two heat pipes 8-1 and 8-2 of the plural heat pipes 8 have ends 9-1 and 9-2 passing vertically through the stacked thin plate fins (D) having high heat dissipating performance, the heat dissipating performance is further enhanced. Accordingly, in the heat sink of the present invention, it is possible to enhance the fin heat dissipating performance with small-sized fins.
In the form illustrated in
In the form illustrated in
In the form illustrated in
As described up to this point, the heat sink of the present invention uses two kinds of thin plate fins having different heights, which are provided in adjacent to each other with almost no space therebetween. The heat pipes can be in contact with the fins all over the second heat dissipating fin section including the plural parallel high thin plate fins (B) or stacked thin plate fins (D) thereby to enhance the heat dissipating performance and save space with small-sized fins. Further, as the thin plate fins are provided vertically on the surface on which side the heat generating component of the base plate is located an thermally connected thereto, it is possible to enhance the heat dissipating characteristics.
Number | Date | Country | Kind |
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2010-007779 | Jan 2010 | JP | national |
Number | Date | Country | |
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Parent | PCT/JP2011/050633 | Jan 2011 | US |
Child | 13340738 | US |