The present invention relates to an electronic apparatus, such as, a personal computer of being so-called a desktop type or a notebook type, and/or a server etc., for example, and in particular, it relates to an electronic apparatus having a liquid cooling system therein, for enabling to cool down a semiconductor integrated circuit (IC) element(s), i.e., a heat-generating element, that is mounted within an inside thereof, effectively, with an aid of a liquid coolant.
In general, cooling is necessary for the semiconductor IC element, which constitutes a heat-generating body within an electronic apparatus, such as, a personal computer of so-called the desktop type or the notebook type, and/or a server etc., in particular, a CPU (Central Processing Unit), so as to ensuring the normal operation thereof. For that purpose, conventionally, it is common to achieve the cooling for it, with using a heat transfer material, with which fins are formed in one body; i.e., so-called a heat sink and also a fan for supplying a cooling air thereon. However, in recent years, small-sizing and high-integration of the semiconductor IC element, i.e., the heat-generating element, results into localization of the heat generation, in particular, at a portion where the heat is generated within the heat-generating element, and also for this reason, in the place of the conventional cooling system of such as an air-cooling type, attention is paid upon a cooling system of a liquid-cooling type, applying a coolant therein, such as, a water or the like, for example, and having a high efficiency in the cooling operation thereof.
Namely, in the cooling system of applying such the liquid-cooling type therein, having a high cooling efficiency, to be used in the personal computer of so-called the desktop type or the notebook type, and/or the server, etc., as was already known in the following Patent Documents, etc., in general, upon a surface of the CPU, as being the heat generating body, is directly mounted a member, such as, so-called a heat-receiving (or cooling) jacket, while conducting a liquid-like coolant to flow within a flow passage formed within an inside of the heat-receiving jacket, so as to transfer the heat-generation from the CPU into the coolant flowing within the jacket mentioned above, thereby achieving the cooling of the heat generating body at high efficiency. Further, in such the cooling system of the liquid-cooling type, it is common to make up a heat cycle, in which the cooling jacket functions as a heat receiving portion, and in more details thereof, it comprises a circulation pump for circulating the liquid coolant within a cycle, a heat radiating portion for radiating heat of the liquid coolant into an outside, i.e., so-called a radiator, and further a coolant tank, which is provided in a part of the cycle, but depending upon the necessity thereof, wherein those are connected through tubes made of metal and/or those made of an elastic material, such as, rubber or the like, for example,
By the way, with such the cooling system relating to such the conventional art mentioned above, having high cooling efficiency thereof, in particular, the heat-receiving (or cooling) jacket is in contact with the CPU, i.e., the heat-generating body, directly, while circulating a liquid coolant within an inside thereof, thereby discharging the heat into an outside thereof, and it is constructed by forming a fine passage, such as, of about 2 mm in an inner diameter, being wound in a zigzag manner, or spiral-like, within an inside of a member of being superior in heat transfer, such as, copper or the like, for example. For this reason, it is complex in the manufacturing process thereof, as well as, difficult to reduce the manufacturing cost thereof, and this comes to be one of the reasons of rising up the total const of such the cooling system. Further, this also comes up to be a large problem, in particular, in a case when applying such the liquid-type cooling system having high cooling efficiency into the personal computer, being so-called the desktop-type or the notebook-type, and/or the server, etc., which are in tendency that the sales prices thereof come down, every year, due to the effect of mass production thereof.
Then, according to the present invention, being accomplished by taking such the problems relating to the conventional arts mentioned above into the consideration thereof; thus, an object thereof is to provide an electronic apparatus having a cooling system therein, applying therein a heat-receiving (cooling) jacket, being simple in the manufacturing process thereof, so as to lower the manufacturing cost, easily; thereby, being applicable as the cooling system in the computers of the desktop-type or the notebook-type, as well as, the server, etc., which are in tendency that the sales prices thereof come down, every year, due to the effect of mass production thereof.
According to the present invention, for accomplishing the object mentioned above, there is provided an electronic apparatus, comprising: a heat-generating semiconductor element, being installed within an inside of a housing thereof, which element necessitates cooling thereof for maintaining normal operation thereof; and a liquid cooling system, being provided within said housing or in a part thereof, and said liquid cooling system having: a cooling jacket, being thermally connected with the semiconductor element, for transmitting heat-generation thereof into a liquid coolant flowing within an inside thereof; a radiator for discharging the heat, which is transmitted to said liquid coolant within said cooling jacket, into an outside of said apparatus; and a circulation pump for circulating said liquid coolant within a loop, including therein said cooling jacket and said radiator, wherein said heat-receiving jacket comprises: a base-plate portion, being about plate-like in an outer configuration and opened in an upper surface side thereof, made of a material superior in heat transfer, and further formed with a flow inlet and a flow outlet for the liquid coolant, as well as, a flow passage formed within an inside thereof, directing from said flow inlet into said flow outlet; a coolant division portion, being made up with a plural number of pieces of fine tubes tied in a bundle, each being made of a material superior in heat transfer, so that said liquid coolant flows inside each fine tube, dividedly, and a cover portion, attached to said base-plate portion on the opened upper surface side thereof, after disposing said coolant division portion in a portion of the flow passage defined within said base-plate portion.
Further, according to the present invention, in the electronic apparatus as described in the above, said flow passage directing from said flow inlet into said flow outlet may be formed into “U” shape, or “I” shape, within said base-plate portion building up said cooling jacket. Or, said coolant division portion for building up said cooling jacket is mad up by connecting a plural number of pieces of said fine tubes while aligning them in one (1) stage, or in a plural number of stages thereof. Also, according to the present invention, it is preferable that said fine tube of the coolant division portion for building up the cooling jacket has an inner diameter from 0.5 mm to 1.5 mm.
Those and other objects, features and advantages of the present invention will become more readily apparent from the following detailed description when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings wherein:
FIGS. 7(a) to 7(c) are views for showing other manufacturing method of the heat-receiving (or cooling) jacket mentioned above, and in particular,
FIGS. 9(a) and 9(b) are views for showing the heat-receiving (or cooling) jacket mentioned above, further other embodiment of the present inventing;
FIGS. 11(a) and 11(b) are views for showing other variation of the heat-receiving (or cooling) jacket mentioned above, also according to the present inventing.
Hereinafter, embodiments according to the present invention will be fully explained by referring to the attached drawings.
First of all,
The main body of the desktop-type personal computer has, as shown in the figure, a housing 100, which is made from a metal plate forming into a cubic shape, for example, on a front panel portion 101 of which are provided various kinds of switches, including, such as, an electric power switch, for example, and also connector terminals and an indicator lamp, etc. In an inside thereof is disposed a driver apparatuses 102 for driving various kinds of external information recording media, such as, a disk, a CD, a DVD, etc., in such a manner that an opening is made on the front panel portion 101. Also, a reference numeral 103 depicts a memory portion provided within an inside of the housing 100, being made from a hard disk device, for example. And, a reference numeral 104 in the figure depicts a cover portion or member to be put on the housing 100.
On the other hand, on a rear side surface of the housing 100 is disposed an electronic circuit portion 105, including the liquid cooling system according to the present invention therein. Also, a reference numeral 106 in the figure depicts an electric power portion for supplying desired electric power sources from a commercial electric power source to the respective portions, including the driver apparatus 102, the memory portion 103, and the electronic circuit portion 105.
Next,
And, as is apparent from the figure, the electronic circuit portion 105 is connected with the heat-receiving (or cooling) jacket 50 mounting the CPU thereon, a radiator portion 60 for radiating the heat-generation from the CPU into an outside of the apparatus, a circulation pump 70, and flow passages for conducting a liquid coolant (for example, a water, or a water mixed with an anti-freezing solution, such as, propylene glycol or the like, for example) to flow into the respective parts, which build up the heat cycle with those mentioned above, by means of tubes (or conduits) 81 and 82, each of which is made of a metal, for example, i.e., of causing hardly the leakage of liquid coolant stored within an inside into an outside thereof. Also, in a part of the radiator portion 60 mentioned above, there are attached plate-type fans 62, 62 . . . (in plural numbers thereof, in this embodiment, three (3) pieces, for example) for blasting an air onto a large number of fins 61 forming as the constituent elements thereof, thereby radiating the heat transmitted from the heat-receiving jacket 50, compulsively, directing into the outside of the apparatus. Further, this heat-receiving (or cooling) jacket 50 is that formed from a plate-like member, being made of a metal having high heat transfer, such as, copper or the like, for example, and it is also formed with a cooling passage within an inside thereof, to conduct the liquid coolant to flow into the inside of the passage, thereby for removing (or moving) the heat-generation from the CPU into an outside.
Following to the above, in
And, in a portion of the flow passages formed with the recess or concave portion, in particular, in the case shown in
In this
In this manner, since the heat-receiving (or cooling) jacket 50, according to the embodiment shown in
And, according to the liquid cooling system of the electronic apparatus, having the heat-receiving (or cooling) jacket 50 therein, the details of which was explained in the above, as was indicted by the arrow in the
Further, according to the structure of the heat-receiving (or cooling) jacket 50 mentioned above, since the liquid coolant flowing into the inside thereof passes through the inside of the large number of fine tubes in the separation flow passages 56 and 57, and in addition thereto, thermally, since those fine tubes are connected with the base-plate member 51 and the cover member 52, building up the jacket 50 mentioned above, therefore it can contact with the jacket 50 with much more surface area thereof, so as to conduct the heat-exchange therebetween. Thus, the heat-receiving (or cooling) jacket 50 can transfer the heat-generation within the CPU 200, i.e., the heat-generating element, being in contact with the lower surface thereof, into the liquid coolant flowing within the inside thereof, with high or superior efficiency. Thereby, the CPU can maintain the temperature thereof within a range, which is necessary for maintaining or ensuring the normal operation thereof. Furthermore, a reference numeral 210 in the figure depicts a circuit board, mounting the CPU 200 in a part thereof.
Following to the above,
Further,
Furthermore, as other manufacturing method of the heat-receiving (or cooling) jacket 50, as is shown in FIGS. 7(a) to 7(c). After building up the coolant separation flow passage (portion) 56 by combining plural pieces of the fine tubes in a bundle, as well as, the plate-like member 51 and the cover member 52 from a plate, on which are formed the recess portion at the positions corresponding to the flow inlet 54 and the flow outlet 55 (the plate-like member 51 and the cover member 52 may be same in the configuration thereof), all the base-plate member 51, the cover member 52, the coolant separation flow passage (portion) 56, and also ports to be the flow inlet 54 and the flow outlet 55 are connected or bonded together, at the same time. With such the present method, it is possible to manufacture the above with a very simple process and a low cost.
Also, with such the structure of the heat-receiving (or cooling) jacket 50, since the liquid coolant flowing into the inside thereof passes within the large numbers of fine tubes of the separation flow passage 56, in the similar manner to the above, and further since those fine tubes are thermally connected with the base-plate member 51 and the cover member 52 of the jacket 50 mentioned above; therefore, the liquid coolant can be in contact with the jacket 50, upon a surface area thereof, much more, thereby conducting the heat conversion, effectively. Thus, in the same manner to that mentioned above, the heat-receiving (or cooling) jacket 50 can transfer the heat-generation within the CPU 200, i.e., the heat-generating element, being in contact with the lower surface thereof, into the liquid coolant flowing within an inside thereof, with superior or high efficiency, thereby keeping the CPU within a range of the temperature, being necessary for maintaining the normal operation thereof.
Also as is shown in
a=π(r12+r22)/(2r2) (Eq. 1)
then, the cross-section area defined between the neighboring fine tubes is equal to that of the fine tube, thereby achieving uniformity in the amount of the liquid flow therein; i.e., equalization of the liquid coolant flowing within both of them.
Or, alternately, as shown in
Also,
Further, for the person skilled in the art, it is apparent that, with the structure of the further other embodiment according to the present invention, the same operation and effect can be obtained. Also, though not shown in the figure, but for the person skilled in the art, it is apparent that further other variation can be made, appropriately.
For example, as is shown in FIGS. 9(a) and 9(b) attached herewith, the plural pieces of the fine tubes 561, 562, 563, 571, 572 and 573 are divided or separated into a plural number (such as, into three (3) in this example), along with the flow of the liquid coolant within the inside of the heat-receiving (or cooling) jacket 50 (i.e., in the vertical direction in the figure), and each line of the fine tubes (i.e., those aligned in the horizontal direction in the figure) is shifted at the central portion thereof, by a half of the diameter thereof. In this figure, a reference numeral 580 depicts gaps; each being provided between the lines of those divided fine tubes. With such the structure, i.e., due to the separation of the fine tubes and the shifting between the centers of the fine tubes neighboring with, in the flow direction, it is possible to interrupt temperature boundary layers within the liquid coolant flowing therein, and also accelerate the turbulences within the flow of the liquid coolant within the heat-receiving (or cooling) jacket 50, thereby obtaining high performances.
Further, although being similar to the structure and the manufacturing method thereof as shown in FIGS. 7(a) to 7(c), however it is also possible to apply a slit plate 560, in the place of the line or bundle of fine tubes mentioned above, as is shown in FIGS. 11(a) and 11(b) attached herewith. Thus, with this variation, the slit plate 560 has lines of slits 561 and 562 within the flow passage in the heat-receiving (or cooling) jacket 50, for forming the fine flow passages therein, but in the place of those defined by the fine tubes. On the other hand, a hollow or cavity portion 521 is formed in the cover member 52, for connecting between the slit lines 561 and 562. The base-plate 51, the slit plate 560 and the cover member 52 are piled up, and they are connected or fixed as one body, at the same time. With such the structure, since the base-plate 51, the slit plate 560 and the cover member 52 can be made from a copper plate or the like, only through the press work; therefore, it is possible to manufacture the heat-receiving (or cooling) jacket, with the manufacturing cost, being extremely cheap.
Namely, as was mentioned fully in the above, according to such the present invention as was mentioned above, with applying the heat-receiving (or cooling) jacket into the cooling system, which is simple, in the manufacturing process thereof, and then easy to reduce the manufacturing cost thereof, it is possible to provide an electronic apparatus having a cooling system therein, being applicable into the personal computers of so-called the desktop-type and the notebook-type, as well as, the server, etc., as the cooling system thereof, which are in tendency that the sales prices thereof come down, every year, due to the effect of mass production thereof, and at the same time, with applying the liquid cooling method, which is superior in the cooling efficiency, as the cooling system of such the electronic apparatus, it is possible to achieve a superior effect that the entire structure thereof can be made further small in the sizes.
The present invention may be embodied in other specific forms without departing from the spirit or essential feature or characteristics thereof. The present embodiment(s) is/are therefore to be considered in all respects as illustrative and not restrictive, the scope of the invention being indicated by the appended claims rather than by the forgoing description and range of equivalency of the claims are therefore to be embraces therein.
Number | Date | Country | Kind |
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2004-038157 | Feb 2004 | JP | national |