Heat exchange – With retainer for removable article – Electrical component
Reexamination Certificate
1999-05-24
2001-05-08
Lazarus, Ira S. (Department: 3743)
Heat exchange
With retainer for removable article
Electrical component
C165S104330, C165S104260, C361S700000, C257S715000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06227287
ABSTRACT:
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION
This application is based on Japanese Patent Application Nos. Hei. 10-142619 filed on May 25, 1998, Hei. 10-245483 filed on Aug. 31, 1998, and Hei. 11-141388 filed on May 21, 1999, the contents of which are incorporated herein by reference.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a cooling apparatus for cooling a heating body by evaporating and condensing refrigerant contained in a tank on which the heating body is attached.
2. Description of the Related Art
Conventionally, a cooling apparatus has a refrigerant tank storing refrigerant and a radiator mounted at the top of the refrigerant tank. The refrigerant having absorbed heat from the heating body and boiled in the refrigerant tank moves from the refrigerant tank to the radiator and is cooled by the radiator, and then condensed into a liquid. After that, the refrigerant returns to the refrigerant tank again. Heat emitted by the heating body is released to outside as latent heat of condensation as the refrigerant condenses at the radiator.
In recent years, due to a demand for portable terminals and the like, there has been a need for cooling apparatuses which can be used in any attitude. However, in the conventional cooling apparatus, it is a problem how to supply the refrigerant to the refrigerant tank. For example, when the cooling apparatus is used upside-down (i.e. with the refrigerant tank at the top and the radiator at the bottom), because the refrigerant is collectted in the radiator and cannot be supplied to the refrigerant tank, the cooling apparatus cannot be used for cooling.
In order to meet such a need, U.S. patent application “COOLING APPARATUS USING BOILING AND CONDENSING REFRIGERANT”, Ser. No. 08/978,488, was filed on Nov. 25, 1997. This cooling apparatus is for cooling a CPU such as a semiconductor integrated circuit.
In the cooling apparatus, a refrigerant tank is formed from a sealed tank having a pair of faced walls; a heating body (CPU) is fixed on one wall (heat-receiving wall) of the sealed tank; a radiation fin is fixed on another wall (radiation wall); and a predetermined quantity of refrigerant is stored in the sealed tank. Heat emitted by the heating body is transferred through the heat-receiving wall to the refrigerant in the sealed tank, boils the refrigerant, and is released as a latent heat of condensation as the vapor refrigerant condenses on the radiation wall. The latent heat of condensation is emitted from the radiation wall through the radiation fin into the atmosphere.
Furthermore, the cooling apparatus is formed in a manner that a liquid level of the refrigerant is maintained above a heating body mounting portion at which the CPU is mounted so that the refrigerant is boiled at the heating body mounting portion, even when a side-heat situation that the CPU is mounted on a side wall of the sealed tank (i.e., a pair of wall described above is arranged vertically).
However, in the case of the side-heat situation, the whole area of the heating body mounting portion may not be soaked in the refrigerant, a boiling area may decrease, and then a superheat degree of the heating body mounting portion may increase. On the other hand, at the radiation wall side, much area of the radiation wall is soaked in the refrigerant, a condensing area may decrease, and then a supercool degree of the heat-receiving wall may increase.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide a cooling apparatus, which has high cooling capacity.
According to the present invention, when a heating body mounting portion is not arranged lower portion, refrigerant collected at the bottom of a tank is transported to an adjacent portion of the heating body mounting portion. That is, in a side-heat situation that the tank is arranged vertically, or in a top-heat situation that the heating body is arranged above the tank, refrigerant in the tank can be transported to the adjacent portion efficiently.
In addition, since the refrigerant is boiled at such a wide adjacent portion, a superheat degree of the heating body mounting portion can decrease due to an increase of a boiling refrigerant amount.
Furthermore, since the refrigerant collected at the bottom of the tank is transported to the adjacent portion by capillary action, an amount of the refrigerant to be contained in the tank can decrease. Hence, in the side-heat situation, the condensation area for condensing the vapor refrigerant becomes large, because an area of the radiation wall, which is soaked in the refrigerant, becomes small. Thus, a condensing refrigerant amount increases, and the supercool degree can decrease.
In this way, a cooling capacity of the cooling apparatus can increase because the superheat degree of the heating body mounting portion decreases and the supercool degree of the radiation wall decreases.
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Kawaguchi Kiyoshi
Kobayashi Kazuo
Matsumoto Tatsuhito
Tanaka Hiroshi
Terao Tadayoshi
Denso Corporation
Duong Tho
Harness Dickey & Pierce PLC
Lazarus Ira S.
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