Patent Application
20070146993
1. Technical Field
Some embodiments of the invention generally relate to cooling systems. More specifically, some embodiments relate to an apparatus, computer system and method for enhancing the transfer of heat.
2. Discussion
In recent years, electronic components and systems have been made to operate at faster speeds. These developments, such as processors with one or more cores for computing systems, have been made to meet increasing demands for better performance. Thus, these demands have led to a decrease in the weight and an increase in the density of components. These factors lead to increases in heat generation. Particularly in mobile computing environments, these factors can lead to overheating, which may negatively affect performance, and can significantly reduce battery life.
The above-mentioned factors increase the need for effective cooling of electronic components.
As previously mentioned, increases in operating temperatures may negatively affect the performance of the computer system. Therefore, there is a need for an enhanced cooling system for computer systems. In particular, there is a need for cooling systems that, at least, are more efficient at transferring heat from electronic components and skins within computer systems.
Various advantages of embodiments of the present invention will become apparent to one of ordinary skill in the art by reading the following specification and appended claims, and by referencing the following drawings, in which:
Reference is made to some embodiments of the invention, examples of which are illustrated in the accompanying drawings. While the invention will be described in conjunction with the embodiments, it will be understood that they are not intended to limit the invention to these embodiments. On the contrary, the invention is intended to cover alternatives, modifications and equivalents, which may be included within the spirit and scope of the invention as defined by the appended claims. Moreover, in the following detailed description of the invention, numerous specific details are set forth in order to provide a thorough understanding of the invention. However, the invention may be practiced without these specific details. In other instances, well-known methods, procedures, components and circuits have not been described in detail as not to unnecessarily obscure aspects of the invention.
Some embodiments of the invention are directed to a method, apparatus and computer system for enhancing the transfer of heat from electronic components. Some embodiments of a method, apparatus and computer system are described for enhancing the transfer of heat from electronic components. The computer system includes a housing and an apparatus. The apparatus may include a heat transfer enhancement module internally coupled to an electronic device and positioned with respect to an electronic component, wherein the heat transfer enhancement module may include an air mover to enhance heat transfer of the electronic component, and wherein the apparatus enhances cooling of a primary heat exchanger.
In some embodiments of the invention, the enhancement provided by one or more HTE modules may allow for an increase in the thermal design power (TDP) of the computer system, or more specifically of an electronic component. More specifically, the use of the HTE module may increase the heat transfer coefficient between the electronic component (or optionally, a spreader) and the air within the computer system. This may result, according to some embodiments of the invention, in more heat being dissipated.
In embodiments, the air mover is a blower fan, a piezoelectric fan, and/or a membrane fan. The apparatus provides enhanced heat transfer for the system. Other embodiments are described. Indeed, reference in the specification to an embodiment or some embodiments of the invention means that a particular feature, structure or characteristic described in connection with the embodiment is included in at least one embodiment of the invention. Thus, the appearances of the phrase “in one embodiment” or “according to an embodiment” appearing in various places throughout the specification are not necessarily all referring to the same embodiment.
Furthermore, in some embodiments, the transfer of heat may be enhanced by the addition of one or more heat transfer enhancement (HTE) modules 202, shown as 202a, 202b, and 202c. In operation, according to some embodiments, the HTE module 202a may provide, in the locality of the electronic component 104a, an increase in the velocity of the air over the electronic component 104a. In some embodiments of the invention, the HTE module may provide a zone of high velocity air. The air flow over the electronic component 104a is indicated at 210a. The increase in air velocity may move a larger amount of heat off the electronic component 104a and into the air flow established by the fan 108. In alternative embodiments, the HTE module 202a may be positioned to enhance an air flow in a different direction, such as toward the housing 101 and/or away from any other components of the computer system 200. In yet other embodiments, the HTE module 202 may not increase the velocity of air, but rather alter the shape or volume of the velocity air and/or thermal boundary layer in order to increase the heat dissipation from the electronic component.
According to some embodiments of the invention, an apparatus for the enhancement of heat transfer may include the HTE module 202. The HTE module may be internally coupled to an electronic device and positioned with respect to an electronic component, according to some embodiments. Furthermore, in some embodiments, the electronic component 104 may include a spreader or heat exchanger, as is described elsewhere herein.
In some embodiments, the HTE module may be integrated into the spreader or the heat exchanger. In addition, according to some embodiments, the HTE module may be coupled to the electronic component.
Furthermore, in some embodiments of the invention, the electronic component may be one of a central processing unit, a processor, a memory, a hard drive, a network card, a video graphics card, a motherboard, and/or a heat source. In some embodiments, the computer system may be an electronic device such as a mobile computer, personal computer, and/or server.
In addition, with respect to
Similarly to HTE module 202a, the HTE module 202b may provide, in the locality of the electronic component 104b, an increase in the velocity of the air over the electronic component 104b. The air flow over the electronic component 104a is indicated at 210b. The increase in air velocity may move a larger amount of heat off the electronic component 104b and into the air flow established by the fan 108. In alternative embodiments, the HTE module 202b may be positioned to enhance an air flow in a different direction, such as toward the housing 101 and/or away from any other components of the computer system 200.
In some embodiments, a HTE module 202c may be positioned with respect to the CPU 102. In some embodiments, the CPU 102 may include a microprocessor, a multiple core processor, or the like. The position of the HTE module 202c may be in close proximity to the CPU 102, according to some embodiments of the invention. The HTE module 202c may enhance the heat transfer from the CPU 102 to the air flow 110, which exits the computer system 200 due to the operation of fan 108.
In alternative embodiments of the invention, as one of ordinary skill in the relevant art would appreciate, based at least on the teachings described herein, that the embodiments of the invention do not require more than one HTE module. Furthermore, that one of ordinary skill would appreciate that the heat exchanger 106 and fan 108 may be replaced with alternative primary cooling systems, as are well-known in the art. Indeed, the embodiments of the HTE module may be readily implemented in various cooling systems where an enhancement of air or fluid, such as, but not limited to liquid, flow through a cooling system to transfer heat from electronic components is needed. Additional details regarding the HTE module are now discussed.
In some embodiments, a temperature sensor 306 may be optionally coupled to the air mover 302. The temperature sensor 306 may be further coupled to the electronic component. In operation, in some embodiments, the temperature sensor 306 may determine a temperature of the electronic component and notify or activate the air mover 302, which may be off, or in a low or high mode of operation, depending on the amount of enhancement (cooling) required. In other embodiments, the temperature sensor may determine the temperature of the chassis skin in the vicinity of the electronic component if its temperature is likely to exceed acceptable limits.
The method may then proceed to element 606, where it provides operating requirements to the HTE module. In some embodiments, the HTE module may operate whenever the computer system is operational. The HTE module may be coupled to a temperature sensor and thus may operate at various levels of enhancement depending on the temperatures sensed by the sensor. In some embodiments of the invention, the HTE module may be inactive until a predetermined temperature is reached. The method then proceeds to element 608, where it operates the HTE module. In some embodiments of the invention, the operation is usually in conjunction or combination with the operation of the electronic component.
The method 600 may then proceed to element 610, where it ends and may be repeated as one of ordinary skill in the relevant art would appreciate, based at least on the teachings provided herein. According to some embodiments of the invention, one or more of the elements 604, 606, and/or 608 may occur independently.
Embodiments of the present invention may be described in sufficient detail to enable those skilled in the art to practice the invention. Other embodiments may be utilized, and structural, logical, and intellectual changes may be made without departing from the scope of the present invention. Moreover, it is to be understood that various embodiments of the invention, although different, are not necessarily mutually exclusive. For example, a particular feature, structure, or characteristic described in one embodiment may be included within other embodiments. Those skilled in the art can appreciate from the foregoing description that the techniques of the embodiments of the invention can be implemented in a variety of forms. Therefore, while the embodiments of this invention have been described in connection with particular examples thereof, the true scope of the embodiments of the invention should not be so limited since other modifications will become apparent to the skilled practitioner upon a study of the drawings, specification, and following claims.
