Electricity: electrical systems and devices – Housing or mounting assemblies with diverse electrical... – For electronic systems and devices
Reexamination Certificate
2000-05-22
2001-10-09
Picard, Leo P. (Department: 2835)
Electricity: electrical systems and devices
Housing or mounting assemblies with diverse electrical...
For electronic systems and devices
C257S713000, C165S121000, C454S184000, C361S692000, C361S695000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06301110
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
This invention relates to an electronic component cooling apparatus for cooling an electronic component such as an MPU or the like, and more particularly to an electronic component cooling apparatus of the type that a heat sink on which an electronic component is mounted is forcibly cooled by air fed from a fan unit.
An electronic component cooling apparatus of the type that a heat sink including a plurality of radiation fins and a fan unit are combined with each other has been conventionally known in the art, as disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open Publication No. 268125/1994, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open Publication No. 83873/1996, U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,519,574, 5,484,013, 5,452,181, 5,421,402, 5,251,101, 5,309,983 and the like.
Also, U.S. Pat. No. 5,615,998 discloses an electronic component cooling apparatus which is provided with an engagement structure including a plurality of engaging sections provided at a fan unit and a plurality of engaged sections provided at a heat sink and engaged with the engaging sections of the fan unit. The engaging sections and engaged sections are permitted to be engaged with each other by merely approaching a casing of the fan unit to the heat sink.
Such a conventional electronic component cooling apparatus as described above is typically constructed so that air discharged from a fan unit and heated by radiation fins is exhausted in all directions from a heat sink. Also, an electronic component cooling apparatus disclosed in each of U.S. Pat. No. 5,309,983, 5,519,574 (FIG.
3
A), Japanese Utility Model Publication No. 23034/1990 and U.S. Design Pat. No. 403,760 includes a heat sink in which a plurality of radiation fins are arranged in parallel to each other while being spaced from each other at intervals, so that air is discharged in two directions in which the radiation fins extend. Such arrangement of the radiation fins in a manner to be parallel to each other facilitates manufacturing of the heat sink, to thereby substantially reduce manufacturing cost of the heat sink, leading to a reduction in price of the electronic component cooling apparatus. However, such arrangement of the radiation fins fails to contribute to an increase in cooling efficiency even when air is forcibly blown against the radiation fins using a fan unit.
Another electronic component cooling apparatus is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,740,014, which is constructed so as to aim at an improvement in cooling efficiency. In the electronic component cooling apparatus, a heat sink is formed with a plurality of parting slits in a manner to be perpendicular to all of plural radiation fins arranged in parallel to each other on a base of the heat sink, to thereby divide the radiation fins into fine or thin plate-like strips. Then, air is forcibly blown against the strips from an axial fan unit, to thereby aim to improve cooling efficiency. The parting slits also partially divide the base of the heat sink into sections. Also, in the electronic component cooling apparatus, the fan unit is fixed on the heat sink by means of screws.
Still another electronic component cooling apparatus is taught in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open Publication No. 223816/1998, which is constructed in such a manner that a plurality of pin-like or bar-like radiation fins are integrally mounted on a base of a heat sink and the base is formed on an outer periphery thereof with a plurality of slits. A fan unit is fixed on the base of the heat sink by means of screws.
The above-described electronic component cooling apparatus taught in U.S. Pat. No. 5,740,014 wherein the radiation fins arranged in parallel to each other are divided into the strips fails to satisfactorily improve cooling efficiency. In the electronic component cooling apparatus, the fan unit is fixed on the heat sink by means of screws.
The electronic component cooling apparatus disclosed in U.S. Design Pat. No. 403,760 and briefly described above is provided with an engagement structure including a plurality of engaging sections provided at a fan unit and a plurality of engaged sections provided at a heat sink and engaged with the engaging sections, as in U.S. Pat. No. 5,615,998.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The present invention has been made in view of the foregoing disadvantage of the prior art.
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide an electronic component cooling apparatus which is capable of significantly raising cooling efficiency while employing a structure wherein a plurality of radiation fins are arranged on a heat sink in a manner to be parallel to each other.
It is another object of the present invention to provide an electronic component cooling apparatus which is capable of highly improving cooling efficiency, wherein a heat sink is formed with a plurality of parting slits and a good heat-transfer plate is joined to a base of the heat sink.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide an electronic component cooling apparatus which is capable of facilitating positioning between a casing of a fan unit and a heat sink and preventing engagement therebetween from being readily released.
In accordance with the present invention, an electronic component cooling apparatus is provided. The electronic component cooling apparatus includes a heat sink including a base and a pair of side walls arranged so as to be raised from a pair of ends of the base opposite to each other. The base has a rear surface mounted thereon with an electronic component to be cooled and a front surface provided thereon with a plurality of radiation fins and the radiation fins are positioned between the side walls of the heat sink. The electronic component cooling apparatus also includes an axial fan unit including an impeller provided with a plurality of blades, a motor including a revolving shaft fixedly mounted thereon with a rotor on which the impeller is mounted and acting to rotate the impeller, a casing provided with an opening for receiving the impeller and motor therein, and a plurality of webs for connecting the housing of the motor and the casing to each other so as to position the motor at a central portion of the opening. The axial fan unit forcibly guides air in an axial direction of the revolving shaft. The radiation fins of the heat sink are arranged in a manner to be parallel to the side walls of the heat sink and spaced from each other at predetermined intervals.
The heat sink is formed with a plurality of parting slits so as to be spaced from each other at predetermined intervals and in a manner to continuously extend from an outside of at least one of the side walls of the heat sink into the heat sink to interrupt continuity of a part of the base, at least one side wall of the heat sink and the radiation fins adjacent to the side walls of the heat sink.
In the present invention, the parting slits are arranged so as not to interrupt continuity of a portion of the radiation fins which is not exposed directly to air flow generated by rotation of the blades of the impeller. In other words, the parting slits are formed into a length which prevents the parting slits from interrupting continuity of a portion of the radiation fins of the heat sink positioned inside a portion thereof opposite to the blades of the impeller. It is not required that the parting slits are formed on a whole portion of the radiation fins other than the portion of the radiation fins which is not exposed directly to air flow generated by rotation of the blades of the impeller or the portion of the radiation fins positioned inside the portion thereof opposite to the blades of the impeller. Thus, the parting slits may be formed into any desired length in view of cooling efficiency.
The inventors made a study on the reason why a structure of dividing each of radiation fins arranged in parallel to each other into a plurality of strips by means of parting slits as in the heat sink incorporated in the electronic component cooling apparatus disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,740,014 fails to improve co
Datskovsky Michael
Picard Leo P.
Rankin, Hill Porter & Clark LLP
Sanyo Denki Co. Ltd.
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