Heat exchange – Intermediate fluent heat exchange material receiving and... – Liquid fluent heat exchange material
Reexamination Certificate
2003-02-03
2004-04-27
Atkinson, Christopher (Department: 3743)
Heat exchange
Intermediate fluent heat exchange material receiving and...
Liquid fluent heat exchange material
C165S104330, C361S700000, C257S715000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06725908
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a cooling apparatus boiling and condensing refrigerant that cools a heat-generating member by latent heat transfer while boiling and condensing a refrigerant.
2. Description of the Related Art
A cooling apparatus boiling and condensing refrigerant has been proposed in prior art. The cooling apparatus boiling and condensing refrigerant of the prior art comprises a refrigerant container that receives heat through its bottom that is in contact with a heat-generating member such as a heat-generating electronic part, plural tubes that communicate the inside of the refrigerant container and attached erectly to the upper surface of the refrigerant container, and a header tank through which the plural tubes are communicated with each other.
The refrigerant container comprises a heat receiving plate to the surface of which a heat-generating member is attached and a heat radiating plate to the surface of which the tubes are attached, and there are provided two stacked intermediate plates between the heat receiving plate and the heat radiating plate, each intermediate plate having plural slit-shaped openings that penetrate through the plate in the direction of thickness. Examples of intermediate plates used in a refrigerant container that have such multilayer structures are shown in FIG.
9
A and FIG.
9
B.
An intermediate plate
123
shown in
FIG. 9A
is contiguous to a heat radiating plate, to the surface of which tubes are attached, and is provided with plural slit-shaped openings
123
a
in parallel, which extend in the longitudinal direction in the drawing of the intermediate plate
123
, as shown schematically. An intermediate plate
122
shown in
FIG. 9B
is contiguous to a heat receiving plate and provided with plural slit-shaped openings
122
a
in parallel, which extend in the transverse direction in the drawing of the intermediate plate
122
, as shown schematically.
When the intermediate plates
122
and
123
are stacked on each other between the heat receiving plate and the heat radiating plate, the slit-shaped openings
122
a
and
123
a
are arranged so that they are perpendicular to each other. Due to this, all of the openings
122
a
and
123
a
are communicated with each other and a space to store a refrigerant in a refrigerant container is formed. The area inside the refrigerant container, on which the heat-generating member attaching area is projected from the bottom to the upper side, is referred to as a boiling area and it is shown as an area
161
surrounded by an alternating long and short dashed line in FIG.
9
B.
When the cooling apparatus boiling and condensing refrigerant equipped with the refrigerant container cools a heat-generating member attached to the bottom outside of the refrigerant container, the refrigerant stored in the refrigerant container receives heat from the heat-generating member and boils mainly in the boiling area
161
. The boiled and gasified refrigerant passes mainly through the tubes above the boiling area
161
, through the header tank, and returns to the peripheral part within the refrigerant container mainly through the tubes above the area outside the boiling area
161
. While moving, the refrigerant radiates latent heat to the outside and condenses into a liquid refrigerant, in the tubes.
However, in the above-mentioned cooling apparatus boiling and condensing refrigerant, when electronic equipment or the like, to which a heat-generating member such as a heat-generating electronic device to be cooled is mounted, is placed in a slightly tilted position, the surface of the heat-generating member in contact with the cooling apparatus boiling and condensing refrigerant is also tilted and the cooling apparatus boiling and condensing refrigerant is often used, as a result, in a state in which the bottom of the refrigerant container is tilted. In this case, the refrigerant is naturally stored in a space at a lower part within the refrigerant container.
When the heat-generating member generates heat and the boiling area
161
is mainly heated, the liquid refrigerant in this area receives heat and is evaporated into vapor, and the refrigerant that has circulated through the tubes and the header tank and condensed, as described above, returns to the lower part in the space within the refrigerant container. As the refrigerant in the boiling area is evaporated into vapor, the liquid refrigerant is moved and supplied from the lower part within the refrigerant container to the boiling area
161
.
However, if the cooling apparatus boiling and condensing refrigerant is used in a tiled position, it is unlikely that the liquid refrigerant is smoothly moved and supplied from the lower part within the refrigerant container to the boiling area
161
, and a problem occurs that the cooling performance may be deteriorated due to poor circulation of the refrigerant.
For example, when the refrigerant container is tilted so that the corner B of the intermediate plates
122
and
123
, shown in
FIGS. 9A and 9B
, is the lowest part, the liquid refrigerant is stored near the lowest part
122
b
in the lowest opening
122
a
within the refrigerant container. The liquid refrigerant stored near the lowest part
122
b
in the opening
122
a
is supplied to the boiling area
161
through the opening
122
a
and the opening
123
a
without exception. As it is necessary for the liquid refrigerant at the lowest part
122
b
to move to another opening
122
a
through the opening
123
a
in the upper intermediate plate
123
, which is located higher than the intermediate plate
122
by one step, the movement of the liquid refrigerant is often hampered, resulting in poor circulation of the refrigerant.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The above-mentioned problem being taken into account, the objective of the present invention is to provide a cooling apparatus boiling and condensing refrigerant that can prevent poor circulation of the refrigerant, even if used in a tilted position.
In order to achieve the above-mentioned object, a cooling apparatus boiling and condensing refrigerant (
1
) in a first aspect of the present invention comprises a refrigerant container (
2
) to the bottom outside of which a heat-generating member (
6
) is attached and within which a refrigerant that boils when it receives heat from the heat-generating member (
6
) is stored, a heat radiating section (
3
,
5
) having plural tubes (
3
) communicating the inside of the refrigerant container (
2
) and assembled almost erectly on the surface of the refrigerant container (
2
), and a header tank (
4
) through which the plural tubes (
3
) are communicated with each other; wherein the heat-generating member (
6
) is cooled by the refrigerant stored in the refrigerant container (
2
), which is evaporated into vapor when receiving heat from the heat-generating member (
6
) and radiates the latent heat of the refrigerant vapor from the heat radiating section (
3
,
5
); wherein a boiling area (
61
) where the refrigerant is evaporated into vapor by the heat-generating member (
6
) is formed within the refrigerant container (
2
); and wherein on the floor within the refrigerant container (
2
), one or plural substantially annular refrigerant channels (
221
) surrounding the boiling area (
61
) and plural substantially straight refrigerant channels (
222
) extending from the substantially annular refrigerant channels (
221
) to the boiling area (
61
), over substantially all around the circumference of the substantially annular refrigerant channels (
221
), are formed in the same plane.
According to the first aspect, even if the cooling apparatus boiling and condensing refrigerant (
1
) is used in a tilted position, the liquid refrigerant that has condensed completely is supplied to the boiling area (
61
) through the substantially straight refrigerant channels (
222
) on the floor within the refrigerant container (
2
), after being stored at the lowest part through the substantially annular refrigerant channel (
221
) on th
Atkinson Christopher
Denso Corporation
Harness Dickey & Pierce PLC
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