Heat exchange – Intermediate fluent heat exchange material receiving and... – Liquid fluent heat exchange material
Reexamination Certificate
1999-12-08
2001-11-27
Atkinson, Christopher (Department: 3743)
Heat exchange
Intermediate fluent heat exchange material receiving and...
Liquid fluent heat exchange material
C165S104210, C165S174000, C361S700000, C257S715000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06321831
ABSTRACT:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
This application is based upon and claims benefit of priority of Japanese Patent Applications No. Hei-10-357381 filed on Dec. 16, 1998, No. Hei-10-357594 filed on Dec. 16, 1998, No. Hei-10-359958 filed on Dec. 18, 1998, and No. Hei-11-268740 filed on Sep. 22, 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 hot objects attached thereto by vaporizing condensed liquid refrigerant.
2. Description of Related Art
A power unit cooler using boiling and condensing refrigerant has been known and used in an industrial field. Hot objects such as IGBTs attached to a heat-receiving surface of a tank containing refrigerant are cooled by evaporation latent heat of the refrigerant. The evaporated refrigerant is cooled down and condensed into liquid by radiating heat therefrom to cooling fluid such as cooling air. Since the hot objects such as IGBTs are packaged as a single unit, they can be easily attached to the unit cooler. However, if the hot objects are computer chips that are mounted on a printed board, other components mounted on the same printed board interfere with projected portions on the heat-receiving surface or on the refrigerant tank. It is, therefore, required to design the cooler unit so that no projected portions are formed on the side of the heat-receiving surface on which hot objects are attached.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned problem, and an object of the present invention is to provide an improved cooling apparatus on which hot objects are easily mounted, and more particularly to provide an improved structure of such an apparatus wherein a radiator is assembled to a refrigerant tank with a precise dimensional relation.
A cooling apparatus is composed of a refrigerant tank in which refrigerant is contained and evaporated and a radiator connected to the refrigerant tank for cooling and condensing the evaporated refrigerant. The refrigerant tank is a thin box having a front surface and a rear surface. The radiator is connected to the refrigerant tank from the front surface, and hot objects to be cooled such as computer chips are attached to a heat-receiving surface formed on the rear surface of the refrigerant tank. The refrigerant tank is positioned upright and the radiator is connected perpendicularly to the refrigerant tank. A duct for leading cooling fluid such as air therethrough is connected to the cooling apparatus, so that the radiator is cooled down by the cooling fluid.
The refrigerant heated and evaporated by heat of the hot objects flows into the radiator. The vaporized refrigerant is cooled down and condensed into liquid in the radiator, and the liquid refrigerant is supplied to the refrigerant tank. This circulation of the refrigerant is repeated, and thereby the hot objects are cooled down.
The radiator is composed of a pair of header tanks connected to the refrigerant tank, plural tubes connected between the tubes, and heat-radiation fins disposed between each pair of neighboring tubes. The header tanks are inserted into the refrigerant tank to connect the radiator to the refrigerant tank. If the header tanks are inserted too deep, the fin contacting the refrigerant tank deforms. On the other hand, if the insertion length is too small, the fin positioned closest to the refrigerant tank does not properly contact the refrigerant tank, thereby causing heat conduction efficiency to decrease. To properly control the insertion length, one or more shoulders abutting the refrigerant tank are formed on the header tanks. Alternatively, one or more spacers may be interposed between the header tanks and the refrigerant tank. Further, a recess for receiving the bottom end of the header tanks may be provided on the refrigerant tank.
The refrigerant tank is composed of a case and a cover plate that closes the front surface of the refrigerant tank. The cover plate may be made so that it extends beyond the upper and lower edges of the refrigerant tank, and holes for mounting a substrate carrying the hot objects may be formed through the extended portions of the cover plate. In this manner, the inner space of the refrigerant tank can be utilized more effectively, and resiliency of the extended portions help the hot objects to closely contact the heat-receiving surface. A resilient member such as a spring may be additionally used to further enhance the mounting resiliency. The duct for conducting cooling air may be formed integrally with the cover plate to simplify the whole structure of the cooling apparatus. The integrally formed duct also helps the cooling air to flow smoothly through the duct.
If the hot objects such as computer chips are small and other components mounted on the substrate stand relatively high on the substrate, the heat receiving surface may be made in a smaller size and may be elevated from the rear surface of the refrigerant tank to avoid interference between the components and the refrigerant tank. In this case, a vapor passage and the a liquid passage in the refrigerant tank are formed so that the liquid flow does not interfere with the vapor flow.
According to the present invention, the hot objects are easily attached to one surface of the refrigerant tank without being obstructed by other structures of the cooling apparatus. The radiator is connected to the refrigerant tank with a precise dimensional relation because the insertion length of the radiator is properly controlled. Moreover, the inner space of the refrigerant tank effectively utilized, and the hot objects are easily attached to the heat-receiving surface, even if the size of the hot objects are small and other components are mounted on the same substrate together with the hot objects.
Other objects and features of the present invention will become more readily apparent from a better understanding of the preferred embodiments described below with reference to the following drawings.
REFERENCES:
patent: 5998863 (1999-12-01), Kobayashi et al.
patent: 2000-156445 (2000-06-01), None
Kawaguchi Kiyoshi
Maeda Akihiro
Ohara Takahide
Tanaka Eitaro
Tanaka Hiroshi
Atkinson Christopher
Denso Corporation
Harness Dickey & Pierce PLC
LandOfFree
Cooling apparatus using boiling and condensing refrigerant does not yet have a rating. At this time, there are no reviews or comments for this patent.
If you have personal experience with Cooling apparatus using boiling and condensing refrigerant, we encourage you to share that experience with our LandOfFree.com community. Your opinion is very important and Cooling apparatus using boiling and condensing refrigerant will most certainly appreciate the feedback.
Profile ID: LFUS-PAI-O-2589031