JP2005150240A - Liquid circulation type cooling device and electronic apparatus using the same - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a liquid circulation type cooling device capable of simplifying the configuration of a liquid circulation circuit and realizing cost reduction, and an electronic apparatus using the same.
A heat receiving body, a tube, a liquid circulation pump, a radiator, and a fan form a liquid circulation type cooling device that cools a heating element based on circulation of the cooling liquid. The liquid circulation system is filled with the cooling liquid leaving a certain amount of space inside the radiator 12. Since it is not necessary to provide a separate reserve tank for receiving the cooling liquid, the number of parts can be reduced, thereby simplifying the configuration of the liquid circulation system.
[Selection] Figure 1

Description

  The present invention relates to a liquid circulation type cooling device for cooling a heating element and an electronic apparatus using the same, and more particularly to a liquid circulation type cooling device using a cooling liquid as a heat transfer medium and a computer device using the same.

  In recent years, the performance of personal computers (hereinafter referred to as “personal computers”) has been increasing. In particular, circuit components such as a central processing unit (CPU) accommodated in the main body and power supply devices have been developed. The amount of heat generation is increasing, and improvement in heat dissipation to the outside is desired.

  As a means of encouraging heat dissipation of the heating element, there is known a cooling device in which a heat sink made of metal having excellent thermal conductivity is provided on a heating element such as a CPU and this heat sink is air-cooled. There is a disadvantage in that the size of the apparatus is increased because a corresponding heat dissipation area of the heat sink is required. In recent years, the amount of heat generated by the CPU tends to increase with the high-speed arithmetic processing performance and multi-functionality required of a personal computer, and the heat dissipation performance has almost reached the limit in the air-cooled cooling device.

  A liquid circulation type cooling device using a heat transfer medium such as a cooling liquid is known as one that improves the heat dissipation (see, for example, Patent Document 1).

  FIG. 6 is a schematic configuration diagram of a conventional liquid circulation type cooling device. The liquid circulation cooling device 20 includes a heat receiving body 14, a heat radiating pipe 15, a pump 16, and a tank 17 that receives the refrigerant liquid R. The heat radiating pipe 15 includes the heat receiving body 14, the pump 16, and the tank 17. Are connected to form a circulation circuit, and the refrigerant liquid R is filled therein. The heat receiving body 14 is attached so as to receive heat generated by a CPU (not shown).

  The liquid circulation type cooling device 20 circulates the refrigerant liquid R in the circulation circuit by driving the pump 16, thereby radiating the heat transferred from the heat receiving body 14 to the refrigerant liquid R through the heat radiating pipe 15.

The tank 17 is provided in order to keep the amount of water retained in the system in consideration of water permeation from the connection parts of the members and the surface of the members, but in order to prevent liquid leakage when installed close to electronic equipment. It is necessary to have a sealed structure. However, in the sealed structure, a pressure change occurs in the system due to a temperature change of the refrigerant liquid R. In particular, since the pressure rises when the temperature of the refrigerant liquid R rises, the tank 17 has air retainability so as to cope with not only the liquid retainability but also the pressure increase.
JP2003-209210A (FIG. 2)

  However, according to the conventional liquid circulation type cooling device, since the tank 17 for receiving the refrigerant liquid R is provided in the circulation circuit, the number of parts is increased. In addition, if air is mixed into the heat radiating pipe 15, the circulation of the refrigerant liquid R deteriorates. Therefore, it is necessary to provide the tank 17 at the highest position in the system, which restricts the arrangement and hinders downsizing of the apparatus. There's a problem. Further, since the tank 17 needs to be formed of a material and a structure with less moisture permeation, there is a problem that it is difficult to reduce the cost.

  Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide a liquid circulation type cooling device that can simplify the configuration of the liquid circulation circuit and realize cost reduction, and an electronic device using the same.

  In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides a heat receiving body connected to a heating element, a radiator that radiates heat transferred from the heat receiving body, a tank that receives liquid, and a drive that circulates the liquid. In a liquid circulation type cooling apparatus such as an electronic device that cools the heating element by connecting the means through a pipe and circulating the liquid in the pipe, a corrugated straight fin core is used as the radiator. Provided is a liquid circulation type cooling apparatus using a heat exchanger.

  The radiator is preferably formed so as to absorb a pressure change accompanying a temperature change of the liquid in the liquid circulation system.

  The radiator is preferably composed of a header, a tube, and a fin, and the header also serves as a tank for storing the liquid.

  The header may constitute the tank by a plurality of headers.

  The header may be arranged vertically.

  The headers may be arranged on the left and right.

  The header may be provided with a liquid level sensor.

  In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides a heat receiving body connected to a heat generating element, a radiator that radiates heat transferred from the heat receiving body, a tank that receives liquid, and a circulation of the liquid. In an electronic device that cools the heating element by connecting the driving means to the pipe and circulating the liquid in the pipe, a heat exchanger using a corrugated straight fin core is used as the radiator Provided is an electronic device.

  According to the liquid circulation type cooling device of the present invention, since the heat exchanger of the corrugated straight fin core is used as a heat radiator for cooling the heating element, the configuration of the liquid circulation circuit can be simplified and the cost can be reduced. can do.

  Further, according to the electronic device of the present invention, since the heat exchanger of the corrugated straight fin core is used as a heat radiator for cooling the heating element, the configuration of the liquid circulation circuit can be simplified and the cost can be reduced. be able to.

  FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a computer apparatus according to the first embodiment of the present invention. In the figure, the side is opened to show the inside. The computer apparatus 1 includes a housing 2 formed of a metal or a resin material, a hard disk drive 3 accommodated in the housing 2, a disk drive 4 for handling a recording medium such as a floppy disk or a compact disk, and the like. The motherboard 5 on which the circuit components are mounted, the case fan 6 for air circulation provided in the housing 2, the power supply unit 7 for supplying power to the motherboard 5 and each drive, and the heat receiving heat received from the heating element (CPU) 8. A body 9, a tube 10 that circulates the coolant, a liquid circulation pump 11 that sends out the coolant, a radiator 12 that radiates the heat of the heating element 8 that is transmitted through the coolant, and a radiator 12. And a fan 13 for sending wind.

  The heat receiving body 9, the tube 10, the liquid circulation pump 11, the radiator 12, and the fan 13 form a liquid circulation type cooling device that cools the heating element 8 based on the circulation of the cooling liquid. The radiator 12 is filled with coolant and air leaving a certain amount of space inside.

  As the tube 10, a flexible rubber-based tube or a metal tube can be used.

  As the cooling liquid, it is preferable to use a coolant in order to prevent corrosion of the equipment. Also, a propylene glycol-based coolant can be diluted and used.

  FIG. 2 is a front view of the radiator 12. The radiator 12 includes a core 120 formed by integrating a plurality of fins 120 </ b> A into the tube 120 </ b> B, a header 121 provided on the upper side of the core 120, and a header 122 provided on the lower side of the core 120.

  The core 120 is a corrugated straight fin core that is integrated by brazing a fin-shaped fin 120A formed of a metal such as aluminum having excellent heat dissipation performance to a flat tube 120B made of a metal such as aluminum. .

  The header 121 has a coolant inlet 121A and is connected to the tube 120B. Further, it has a shape capable of receiving a certain amount of coolant inside and has an air layer, and functions as a reserve tank. The volume of the header 121 is determined by the volume of the entire system, the amount of air to absorb the increase in internal pressure accompanying the increase in volume when the liquid temperature rises, and the amount of water loss (water transmission amount) of the entire system. The header 121 is disposed at the highest position in the liquid circulation system. In the figure, a state is shown in which the coolant is filled up to level A, which is below the inlet 121A. The injection port 121A is closed except when the coolant is injected.

  The header 122 has a coolant inlet 122A and a coolant outlet 122B, and is connected to the tube 120B. Further, the partition plate 122C is formed by separating the liquid receiving space on the inlet side and the outlet side. The tube 10 described in FIG. 1 is connected to the inlet 122A and the outlet 122B.

  FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram illustrating a circuit of the liquid circulation type cooling device according to the first embodiment. The operation will be described below with reference to FIGS.

  When the liquid circulation pump 11 is driven, the cooling liquid filled in the liquid circulation system is pumped. The heat receiving body 9 transfers heat conducted from a heating element (not shown) to the coolant. The coolant is pumped to the radiator 12 via the tube 10. The radiator 12 radiates the coolant flowing in from the inlet 122A from the fin 120A integrated with the tube 120B. Air is sent to the radiator 12 by the fan 13 in order to promote heat radiation from the fins 120A. In the liquid circulation system, the internal pressure increases as the cooling liquid receives heat from the heating element and rises in temperature, but the air layer of the header 121 absorbs the pressure increase as a bumper. The cooling liquid flowing out from the outlet 122 </ b> B of the radiator 12 is sent to the liquid circulation pump 11 through the tube 10.

According to the computer apparatus 1 of the first embodiment described above, the following effects are obtained.
(1) Since the tube 120B can always be filled with the cooling liquid without separately providing a reserve tank for receiving the cooling liquid, stable heat radiation can be secured and the number of parts can be reduced, thereby the liquid circulation system. The configuration can be simplified and the cost can be reduced.
(2) Since the radiator 12 also serves as a coolant reserve tank, the mounting space of the liquid circulation type cooling device can be reduced, and the computer device 1 can be downsized while ensuring good heat dissipation.
(3) Since the radiator 12 is provided with an air layer that absorbs the pressure increase in the liquid circulation system, air is not mixed into the cooling liquid, and a good circulation of the cooling liquid is maintained and stable liquid cooling is obtained. .
(4) By making the radiator 12 made of metal, the strength that can withstand the pressure change can be secured relatively easily, and the amount of moisture permeation can be suppressed to extremely low.

  In the first embodiment, the computer device 1 has been described as an electronic device. However, the application target of the present invention is not limited to the computer device 1, and can be applied to other electronic devices such as communication devices. is there.

  FIG. 4 is a front view of the radiator 12 according to the second exemplary embodiment of the present invention. The same components as those in the first embodiment are denoted by common numerals. The radiator 12 has a configuration in which a header 123 including two headers 123A and 123B is provided on the upper side of the core 120, and the headers 123A and 123B are connected inside. The header 123 may combine a plurality of headers 123A and 123B as shown in the figure as long as a capacity as a reserve tank can be secured. In FIG. 4, the two headers 123A and 123B are combined. However, three or more headers may be used.

  FIG. 5 is a front view of a radiator 12 according to the third embodiment of the present invention. The same components as those in the first and second embodiments are denoted by common numerals. The radiator 12 has a structure in which a header 124 having an inlet 124A for cooling liquid on the upper side and a header 125 having an outlet 125A on the lower side are provided on both sides of the core 120, thereby increasing the temperature of the cooling liquid. The accompanying pressure increase is absorbed by the air layer 125B provided on the top of the header 125. It is sufficient that this air layer space can be secured at the upper part of either the left or right header. Even with such a configuration, it is possible to cope with a pressure change in the liquid circulation system while ensuring good heat dissipation.

  In the above-described embodiment, the configuration in which the core 120 is one layer in the air passage direction has been described. However, the core 120 may be formed of two layers or two or more layers according to the heat radiation amount. In addition, the cooling liquid reserve tank is not provided, but may be provided separately in the liquid circulation system.

  Further, by providing a liquid level sensor in the headers 121, 123, 125, etc., when the coolant in the header decreases, an alarm may be issued so that the coolant can be replenished.

1 is a perspective view of a computer apparatus according to a first embodiment of the present invention. It is a front view of a heat radiator. It is the schematic which shows the circuit of the liquid circulation type cooling device which concerns on 1st Embodiment. It is a front view of the heat radiator which concerns on the 2nd Embodiment of this invention. It is a front view of the heat radiator which concerns on the 3rd Embodiment of this invention. It is a schematic block diagram of the conventional liquid circulation type cooling device.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1, Computer apparatus 2, Case 3, Hard disk drive 4, Disk drive 5, Motherboard 6, Case fan 7, Power supply unit 8, Heating element 9, Heat receiving body 10, Tube 11, Liquid circulation pump 12, Radiator 13, Fan 14, heat receiving body 15, heat radiating pipe 16, pump 17, tank 20, liquid circulation cooling device 120, core 120A, fin 120B, tube 121, header 121A, inlet 122, header 122A, inlet 122B, outlet 122C, partition plate 123, header 123A, header 123B, header 124, header 124A, inlet 125, header 125A, outlet 125B, air layer

Claims (8)

A heat receiving body connected to the heat generating body, a radiator that dissipates heat transferred from the heat receiving body, a tank that receives liquid, and a driving means that circulates the liquid are connected via a pipe, and the pipe In a liquid circulation type cooling apparatus such as an electronic device that cools the heating element by circulating the liquid in
A liquid circulation type cooling apparatus using a heat exchanger using a corrugated straight fin core as the radiator.   The liquid circulation type cooling device according to claim 1, wherein the radiator absorbs a pressure change accompanying a temperature change of the liquid in the liquid circulation system.   2. The liquid circulation type cooling device according to claim 1, wherein the radiator is composed of a header, a tube, and a fin, and the header also serves as a tank for storing the liquid.   4. The liquid circulation type cooling device according to claim 3, wherein the header comprises the tank by a plurality of headers.   4. The liquid circulation type cooling device according to claim 3, wherein the headers are arranged vertically.   The liquid circulation type cooling apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the headers are arranged on the left and right.   The liquid circulation type cooling apparatus according to claim 3, wherein a liquid level sensor is provided in the header. A heat receiving body connected to the heat generating element, a radiator that dissipates heat transferred from the heat receiving body, a tank that receives liquid, and a driving means that circulates the liquid are connected via a pipe, and the pipe In an electronic device that cools the heating element by circulating the liquid in
An electronic apparatus using a heat exchanger using a corrugated straight fin core as the radiator.

Images