JP2000002493A - Cooling unit and cooling structure using it - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To enhance maintainability while reducing the cooling structure by coupling a first planar heat pipe with a part to be cooled and securing a second the heat absorbing part of a planar heat pipe removably with the first planar heat pipe. SOLUTION: A portable personal computer 10 comprises an opening/closing panel section 12 equipped with a liquid crystal screen, and the like, and a part 20 to be cooled, e.g. a CPU, is normally mounted in the body section 11. The part 20 to be cooled is coupled with a first planar heat pipe 301 which is coupled removably with a second planar heat pipe 302. The second planar heat pipe 302 may be fixed with a heat dissipating fan 40. The part fixed with the fan 40 corresponds to the heat dissipating part of the second planar heat pipe 302 and the part coupled with the first planar heat pipe 301 corresponds to the heat absorbing part of the second planar heat pipe 302.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a cooling unit suitable for cooling electric and electronic parts such as semiconductor devices and a cooling structure for electric equipment using the same.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, a technique for cooling a heat-generating component such as a semiconductor element mounted on an electric device such as a personal computer has been attracting attention. If the temperature of such a heat-generating component rises excessively, its performance may be reduced or its life may be shortened, and a technology for efficiently dissipating the heat is desired.

As a method for cooling a heat-generating component such as a semiconductor element (hereinafter referred to as a component to be cooled), a method in which a heat-absorbing member is brought into contact with such a component and heat is released to the heat-absorbing member to cool the device is promising. Have been. In this case, a metal plate or a ceramic plate having excellent heat conductivity is often used as the heat absorber.

It is desirable to dissipate the heat transmitted to the heat absorbing plate to the outside of various electric devices on which the component to be cooled is mounted. Therefore, fins are appropriately attached to the heat absorbing body, and the heat is radiated by using a fan together. Performance enhancements have been made. There is also known a technique in which a heat pipe is attached to a heat absorber to increase the heat uniformity of the heat absorber, or the heat of the heat absorber is carried and dissipated via a heat pipe.
Further, the heat absorber itself may be constituted by a heat pipe.

[0005] In brief, the heat pipe is provided with a hermetically sealed cavity inside the heat pipe, and the cavity contains a working fluid such as water or CFC substitute. A heat pipe is a heat transport device that transports heat by phase transformation and movement of a working fluid contained in a cavity.

For example, the operation of the heat pipe will be described by taking a rod-shaped heat pipe as an example. Heat applied near one end of the heat pipe evaporates the working fluid inside, and the vapor of the evaporated working fluid moves near the other end. The vapor that has moved to the other end releases heat there and returns to a liquid (condenses). Then, the liquid returns to the heating side again. Heat transport is performed by repeating such operations. For convenience of description of the heat pipe, a portion that receives heat is often called a heat absorbing portion, an evaporating portion, and the like, and a portion that emits heat is often called a heat radiating portion, a condensing portion, and the like.

The shape of the heat pipe is typically a round pipe, but there is also a plate-shaped heat pipe. Such a plate-type heat pipe has an advantage that it can be easily joined or brought into contact with a component to be cooled in a wide area. Note that heat transfer grease or the like may be interposed in the contact portion.

[0008]

It is an important issue to reduce the size of electric equipment on which components to be cooled such as semiconductor elements are mounted, especially portable personal computers. Therefore, there is also a strong demand for a compact and space-saving cooling structure for cooling a component to be cooled. In addition, miniaturization reduces extra space inside the device, so that it is easy to assemble such an electric device. Further, maintenance of such electric equipment is also likely to be difficult. Under such circumstances, there has been a strong demand for a cooling unit for cooling a component to be cooled and a maintenance structure for a cooling structure using the same.

[0009]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances and the like, and has been made to develop a cooling unit excellent in maintainability and a cooling structure using the same. The cooling unit has a first plate-type heat pipe and a second plate-type heat pipe, wherein the first plate-type heat pipe is connected to a component to be cooled, and the second plate-type heat pipe is The heat absorbing portion is configured to be detachably fixed to the first plate-type heat pipe. A fin or a fan may be fixed to the second plate-type heat pipe.

As a cooling structure using the above-described cooling unit, the first plate-type heat pipe is housed inside an electric device on which a component to be cooled is mounted, and the second plate-shaped heat pipe is inserted through a window provided in the device. Proposed is a structure in which the heat absorbing portion of the plate-type heat pipe is inserted into the device to be connected to the first plate-type heat pipe. As a target to which the cooling structure of the present invention is applied,
Particularly, a personal computer is preferable.

When the electric equipment on which the component to be cooled is mounted has an opening / closing section, the second plate-type heat pipe may be fixed to the opening / closing section. For example, in the case of a portable personal computer, there is a keyboard in which a keyboard portion can be freely opened and closed, and a second plate-type heat pipe is attached to that portion.
When the personal computer is used, the keyboard is closed. At this time, the heat absorbing portion of the second plate-shaped heat pipe is connected to the first plate-shaped heat pipe.

In some cases, peripheral parts of the electric device are attached to a second plate-type heat pipe. For example, when the electric device is a personal computer, a memory card or the like is assumed.

[0013]

FIG. 1 is an explanatory view schematically showing a cooling structure in which a cooling unit of the present invention is applied to a portable personal computer. The illustrated personal computer 10 is assumed to be a portable type, and a panel unit 12 having a liquid crystal screen or the like can be opened and closed. Usually, the component to be cooled 20 such as a CPU is mounted in the main body 11. A first plate-type heat pipe 301 is connected to the cooled component 20. The connection between the cooled component 20 and the first plate-type heat pipe 301 is as follows:
In order to reduce the contact thermal resistance, it is preferable to make contact with heat transfer grease or the like. Reference numeral 21 in the drawing indicates a substrate.

Further, the second heat pipe 301
Is detachably connected. The second plate-type heat pipe 302 may be provided with a heat-dissipating fan 40 as shown in the figure. The portion to which the fan 40 is attached corresponds to a heat radiating portion of the second plate heat pipe 302, and the first plate heat pipe 3
01 is connected to the second plate-shaped heat pipe 302
This corresponds to the heat absorbing part of In this figure, an example in which the fan 40 is attached to the second plate-type heat pipe 302 is shown. However, a fin for heat radiation may be attached in place of the fan 40, and of course, both the fin and the fan are connected. May be attached.

The first plate-type heat pipe 301 described above,
The cooling unit 30 of the present invention is composed of the second plate-type heat pipe 302 and the fan 40. Since the cooling unit 30 has a structure in which the second plate-type heat pipe 302 is detachably attached to the first plate-type heat pipe 301, the maintainability and the assemblability thereof are extremely excellent. .

As shown in FIG. 1, a window 110 is provided in the main body 11 of the personal computer 10, and a second plate-type heat pipe 302 is inserted through the window 110 and attached to the first plate-type heat pipe 301. It is convenient to have a structure that can be Then, since the second plate-type heat pipe 302 can be replaced without disassembling the personal computer 10, the maintainability of the cooling structure is further improved.

FIG. 2 is an explanatory view showing another example of the cooling unit of the present invention and a cooling structure using the same. The personal computer 13 in this example is similar to the example of FIG. 1 in that the panel unit 15 is openable and closable, but the keyboard 13 is also openable and closable. A second plate-type heat pipe 312 is attached to the keyboard unit 14. When the first plate-shaped heat pipe 311 is fixed to the cooled component 23 mounted on the substrate 24 via the lead 25, and the openable and closable keyboard unit 14 is open as shown in FIG. Has a second plate-type heat pipe 31
2 is apart from the first plate-type heat pipe 311.

When the personal computer 13 is in use, the personal computer 13 shown in FIG.
As shown in (a), the keyed part 14 is closed. At this time, the second plate heat pipe 312 is in contact with the first plate heat pipe 311. When the personal computer 13 is used, that is, when the keyboard unit 14 is closed, the heat of the component 23 to be cooled is transmitted through the first plate-shaped heat pipe 311 to the second The heat is transferred to the plate-shaped heat pipe 312 and radiated.

Normally, the size of the keyboard section 14 is limited by the size of the personal computer 13. The keyboard part 14
Often has a relatively large area due to its function. Therefore, it is easy to configure the second plate-type heat pipe 312 with a relatively large size in accordance with the size of the keyboard unit 14. In this way, the heat of the component to be cooled 23 is transmitted to the second plate-type heat pipe 312 having a relatively large area via the first plate-type heat pipe 311, so that the component to be cooled 23 can be efficiently cooled. Become. Further, since the second plate-type heat pipe 312 is detachable from the first plate-type heat pipe 311, the cooling unit 31
Is also excellent in maintainability.

FIG. 3 is an explanatory view showing a main part of the cooling unit and the cooling structure of the present invention. In the cooling unit 32, similarly to the cooling unit 30 shown in FIG. 1, a second plate-shaped heat pipe 322 is detachably attached to a first plate-shaped heat pipe 321. Lead 5 on substrate 51
The first plate-shaped heat pipe 321 is connected via a heat transfer grease 53 to the component 50 to be cooled, which is mounted via the second heat pipe 2. The fan 41 is attached to the heat radiation part of the second plate-type heat pipe 322.

In this example, the second plate-type heat pipe 322
A peripheral component 60 such as a memory card is attached to the peripheral device 60, and a cooling function of the peripheral component 60 is realized by the second plate-type heat pipe 322. Note that reference numeral 16 in the drawing denotes a housing of an electric device on which the component to be cooled 50 is mounted.

The example shown in FIG. 4 is also the case where the peripheral components 61 and 62 are connected to the second plate-type heat pipe 332, similarly to the cooling unit 32 shown in FIG. A first plate-shaped heat pipe 331 is in contact with the cooled component 55 mounted on the substrate 56 via the lead 57, and a second plate-shaped heat pipe 332 is in contact with the first plate-shaped heat pipe 331. In contact. In this example, a plurality of peripheral components 61 and 62 are arranged in one second plate-type heat pipe 332. The peripheral components 61 and 62 include a hard disk and a power supply. In this way, a plurality of peripheral components may be attached to the second plate-type heat pipe 332.
In the figure, reference numeral 17 denotes a personal computer, and 18 denotes a panel unit.

Now, the first and second plate-type heat pipes will be described. Although these modes are not particularly limited, FIGS. 5 and 6 show examples of the modes. The plate-type heat pipe 70 shown in FIG.
1 is a multi-hole tube type in parallel, and a hole 71 is a hollow portion.
The hollow portion 71 is degassed and sealed, and although not shown, contains an appropriate amount of a working fluid such as water or alternative Freon. FIG.
The plate-type heat pipe 72 shown in FIG. 7 is a type in which a concave and convex plate member 73 and a plate member 74 are bonded to each other, and a hollow portion 75 is formed therebetween.

[0024]

As described above, the cooling unit of the present invention and the cooling structure of electric equipment using the same are extremely excellent in maintainability and assemblability, and realize efficient cooling of parts to be cooled such as semiconductor elements. It is to let.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is an explanatory view showing a cooling unit according to the present invention and a cooling structure using the same.

FIG. 2 is an explanatory view showing a cooling unit according to the present invention and a cooling structure using the same.

FIG. 3 is an explanatory view showing a cooling unit according to the present invention and a cooling structure using the same.

FIG. 4 is an explanatory view showing a cooling unit according to the present invention and a cooling structure using the same.

FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional perspective view illustrating an embodiment of a plate-type heat pipe.

FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view illustrating an embodiment of a plate-type heat pipe.

[Description of Signs] 10 Personal computer 11 Main body 110 Window 12 Panel 20 Component to be cooled 21 Substrate 30 Cooling unit 301 First plate heat pipe 302 Second plate heat pipe 40 Fan 13 Personal computer 14 Keyboard unit 15 Panel unit 23 Component to be cooled 24 Substrate 25 Lead 31 Cooling unit 311 First plate heat pipe 312 Second plate heat pipe 16 Housing 32 Cooling unit 321 First plate heat pipe 322 Second plate heat pipe 41 Fan 50 Component to be cooled 51 Substrate 52 Lead 53 Heat transfer grease 60 Peripheral component 17 Personal computer 18 Panel 33 Cooling unit 331 First plate type heat pipe 332 Second plate type heat pipe 55 Component to be cooled 56 Substrate 57 Lead 61 Peripheral Parts 62 Peripheral parts 70 Plate type Topaipu 71 hole 72 a plate-shaped heat pipe 73 plate 74 plate 75 cavity

Continued on the front page F term (reference) 5E322 AA07 AA11 AB11 BB03 DB10 EA11 FA01 FA05 5F036 AA01 BA04 BA07 BA23 BB01 BB35 BB44 BB53 BB56 BB60 BC01

Claims (7)

[Claims] A first plate-type heat pipe connected to a component to be cooled; and a second plate-type heat pipe connected to a component to be cooled. A cooling unit whose heat absorbing portion is detachably connected to the first plate-type heat pipe. 2. The cooling unit according to claim 1, wherein a fin or a fan is fixed to the second plate-type heat pipe. 3. The first plate-type heat pipe is housed inside an electric device on which a component to be cooled is mounted, and a heat-absorbing portion of the second plate-type heat pipe passes through a window provided in the electric device. The cooling structure using the cooling unit according to claim 1, wherein the cooling unit is connected to the first plate-type heat pipe by being inserted into the device. 4. The first plate-type heat pipe is housed inside an electric device on which a component to be cooled is mounted, and the second plate-type heat pipe is fixed to an opening / closing portion of the electric device. The cooling unit according to claim 1, wherein a heat absorbing portion of the second plate-shaped heat pipe is connected to the first plate-shaped heat pipe when the opening / closing portion is closed. Cooling structure. 5. The cooling structure according to claim 3, wherein the electric device is a portable personal computer. 6. The cooling structure according to claim 4, wherein said electric device is a portable personal computer, and said opening / closing portion is a keyboard portion. 7. The cooling structure according to claim 4, wherein peripheral parts of the electric device are attached to the second plate-type heat pipe.