The present invention relates generally to a liquid cooling system for dissipation of heat from heat-generating components, and more particularly to an integrated liquid cooling system suitable for removing heat from electronic components of computers.
With the continuing development of computer technology, electronic packages such as central processing units (CPUs) are generating more and more heat that requires immediate dissipation. Conventional heat dissipating devices such as combined heat sinks and fans are not effective enough to dissipate the heat generated by modern integrated chip packages. Liquid cooling systems have therefore been increasingly used in computer technology to cool these electronic packages.
A typical liquid cooling system generally comprises a heat-absorbing member, a heat-dissipating member and a pump. These individual components are connected together in series so as to form a heat transfer loop. In practice, the heat-absorbing member is maintained in thermal contact with a heat-generating component (e.g. a CPU) for absorbing heat generated by the CPU. The liquid cooling system employs a coolant circulating through the heat transfer loop so as to continuously transport the thermal energy absorbed by the heat-absorbing member to the heat-dissipating member where the heat is dissipated. The pump is used to drive the coolant, after being cooled in the heat-dissipating member, back to the heat-absorbing member.
In the typical liquid cooling system, the heat-absorbing member, the heat-dissipating member and the pump are connected together generally by a plurality of connecting tubes so as to form the heat transfer loop. However, the typical liquid cooling system has a big volume and occupies more room in a computer system, and is not adapted to the small size necessary for a personal computer. Furthermore, the liquid cooling system has many connecting tubes with a plurality of connections, which are prone to leakage of the coolant so giving the system low reliability and high cost. Moreover, the heat-absorbing member, the heat-dissipating member and the pump are to be located at different locations when mounted to the computer system. In this situation, mounting of the liquid cooling system to the computer system or demounting of the liquid cooling system from the computer system is tiresome and time-consuming work. In addition, vibration and noise produced by the reciprocating pump adversely affect the heat-generating component and the computer system.
Therefore, it is desirable to provide a liquid cooling system which overcomes the foregoing disadvantages.
An integrated liquid cooling system in accordance with an embodiment for removing heat from a heat-generating electronic component includes a base, a pump mounted in the base and a heat-dissipating member communicating with the pump and coupling with the base. The pump includes a casing having a chamber. A rotor, a partition seat and a stator are in turn received in the chamber. A top cover is attached on the casing. The casing includes a bottom plate absorbing heat generated by the electronic component. A plurality of pairs of interconnecting surfaces are formed between the partition seat and the rotor and the bottom plate, one surface of the at least one pair of interconnecting surfaces forming a plurality of grooves or protrusions, thereby forming a fluid film therebetween for dynamically supporting thrust on the rotor during rotation of the rotor.
Other advantages and novel features of the present invention will become more apparent from the following detailed description of preferred embodiment when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which:
Many aspects of the present apparatus and method can be better understood with reference to the following drawings. The components in the drawings are not necessarily drawn to scale, the emphasis instead being placed upon clearly illustrating the principles of the present apparatus and method. Moreover, in the drawings, like reference numerals designate corresponding parts throughout the several views.
FIGS. 10,12-13 are isometric views of a partition seat in accordance with other embodiments.
The base 10 is made from Polyethylene (PE) or Acrylonitrile Butadiene Styrene (ABS), and has a rectangular configuration. The base 10 defines an opening 100 in a central portion thereof for receiving and securing the pump 20 therein. The base 10 forms a pair of ears 12 extending from left and right sides thereof, wherein a pair of mounting holes 120 is defined in each ear 12 for receiving screws 40 with springs 42 therein. Annular rings 44 are used to snap into recesses (not labeled) defined in lower portions of the screws 40 thereby to attach the screws 40 and the springs 42 to the base 10 before the liquid cooling system is mounted on a supporting member (not shown), for example, a printed circuit board on which a heat-generating electronic component is mounted. A pair of rectangular slots 102, 104 is symmetrically defined at two opposite sides of the base 10 beside the opening 100. A pair of rectangular channels 106, 108 is respectively defined between the opening 100 and the slots 102, 104. The channels 106, 108 communicate the opening 100 with the slots 102, 104.
With reference also to
The casing 21 is made of a metallic material with good heat conductivity, and defines a chamber 212 for receiving the rotor 22, the partition seat 23 and the stator 24 one on top of the other in that order therein. The casing 21 comprises a bottom plate 214 having a blind hole 213 defined in a central portion thereof. The bottom plate 214 serves as a heat-absorbing plate to contact with the heat-generating electronic component and absorb heat generated by the electronic component. An inlet 26 corresponding to the channel 106 of the base 10 and an outlet 27 corresponding to the channel 108 of the base 10 are formed at two opposite sides of an outer surface of the casing 21, so that the coolant is capable of entering into casing 21 via the inlet 26 and exiting the casing 21 via the outlet 27.
The magnetic rotor 22 has a hollow cylindrical configuration and is mounted in the chamber 212 of the casing 21. The rotor 22 includes an impeller having a wall 220 and a substrate 227 connecting with a bottom end of the wall 220, and a magnetic ring 222 securely abutting against an inner surface of the wall 220 of the impeller. An upper axle 226 extends upwardly from a center of the substrate 227 of the impeller. A lower axle 228 extends downwardly from the center of the substrate 227 of the impeller, for engaging in the blind hole 213 of the bottom plate 214 of the casing 21. Referring to
The partition seat 23 is mounted between the rotor 22 and the stator 24 for isolating the coolant from the stator 24 to prevent the coolant from entering the stator 24 and short-circuiting the stator 24. The partition seat 23 comprises a cylindrical body 231 having an outer circumferential surface mating with the magnetic ring 222. The body 231 has an inner space 230 and an annular plate 233 extending outwardly from a top of the cylindrical body 231. A shaft 236 extends upwardly from a center of a bottom portion 232 of the cylindrical body 231. A mating hole 238 is defined in a center of the bottom portion 232, for receiving the upper axle 226 of the rotor 22 therein.
The rotor 22 mates with the casing 21 and the partition seat 23 to form a plurality of interconnecting surfaces therebetween, such as between a bottom surface of the annular plate 233 and a top surface of the wall 220 of the rotor 22, and between the outer surface of the body 231 of the partition seat 23 and the inner surface of the magnetic ring 222 of the rotor 22, between a bottom surface of the substrate 227 of the rotor 22 and a top surface of the bottom plate 214 of the casing 21, and between an outer surface of the lower axle 228 and an inner surface of the blind hole 213. Among the plurality of pairs of interconnecting surfaces, one surface of the at least one pair of interconnecting surfaces forms a plurality of dynamic pressure generating grooves or protrusion means, thereby forming a fluid film therebetween for dynamically supporting a radial or axial thrust on the impeller and reducing friction therebetween during rotation of the rotor 22.
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The top cover 25 defines a center hole 250 therein, for providing passage of lead wires of the printed circuit board therethough. An edge of the top cover 25 hermetically contacts with the top of the casing 21.
Referring to
In assembly, the pump 20 is mounted in the center opening 100 of the base 10, wherein the inlet 26 and the outlet 27 are respectively received in the channels 106, 108, and a pair of blocks 110, 112 surrounding around the inlet 26 and the outlet 27 is clamped in the channels 106, 108, for fixing the inlet 26 and the outlet 27 to the channels 106, 108. The inlet 26 and the outlet 27 communicate with the slots 102, 104, respectively. The heat-dissipating member 30 is mounted on the base 10, wherein the openings 3020, 3030 of the fluid tanks 302, 303 are communicated with the openings 1020, 1040 of the slots 102, 104, respectively, so that the fluid tanks 302, 303 of the heat-dissipating member 30 are in fluid communication with the slots 102, 104 of the base 10. Thus, the base 10, the pump 20 and the heat-dissipating member 30 are connected together without any connecting tubes, and the pump 20 is in fluid communication with both the base 10 and the heat-dissipating member 30 so as to drive the coolant to circulate through the chamber 212 of the pump 20, the slots 102, 104 of the base 10 and the fluid tanks 302, 303 and the conduits 304 of the heat-dissipating member 30. The combination of the base 10, the pump 20 and the heat-dissipating member 30 is fixed to the printed circuit board such that the bottom plate 214 of the pump 20 intimately contacts with the electronic component on the printed circuit board.
In operation, the coils 242 of the stator 24 are powered firstly to drive the magnetic ring 222 to rotate. The impeller is driven to rotate with the magnetic ring 222. The impeller thus rotates with the plate-shaped vanes 224 to circulate the coolant in the liquid cooling system. Simultaneously, heat generated by the electronic component is absorbed by the bottom plate 214 of the pump 20 and then is transferred to the coolant contained in the chamber 212 of the casing 21 of the pump 20. The rotatable impeller quickly agitates the coolant via the plate-shaped vanes 224 thereof and forces the coolant to circulate in the liquid cooling system. The coolant absorbing the heat has a higher temperature and is driven out of the casing 21 of the pump 20 via the outlet 27, and flows to the heat-dissipating member 30 via the slot 104 of the base 10 and the fluid tank 303 of the heat-dissipating member 30. Thereafter, the coolant flows to the fluid tank 302 through the conduits 304 where the heat is dissipated to ambient air via the fins 301. After releasing the heat, the coolant having a lower temperature is brought back to the chamber 212 of the pump 20 via the inlet 26, thus continuously transporting the heat away from the electronic component.
It is to be understood, however, that even though numerous characteristics and advantages of the present invention have been set forth in the foregoing description, together with details of the structure and function of the invention, the disclosure is illustrative only, and changes may be made in detail, especially in matters of shape, size, and arrangement of parts within the principles of the invention to the full extent indicated by the broad general meaning of the terms in which the appended claims are expressed.
| Number | Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 200510101502.4 | Nov 2005 | CN | national |
This application is related to U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/308,547 filed on Apr. 5, 2006 and entitled “INTEGRATED LIQUID COOLING SYSTEM”; the co-pending U.S. patent application is assigned to the same assignee as the instant application. The disclosure of the above-identified application is incorporated herein by reference.