Heat exchange – Heat transmitter
Reexamination Certificate
2000-09-22
2001-08-21
Lazarus, Ira S. (Department: 3743)
Heat exchange
Heat transmitter
C165S080300, C165S104330, C174S016300, C361S689000, C361S697000, C361S704000, C361S709000, C257S718000, C257S722000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06276448
ABSTRACT:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
This invention relates generally to connectors used in electronic devices or industrial machinery and particularly to a heat-transfer connector which is used for connecting a heat conduction, for example, in a heat-transport device that collects and transports heat.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Many devices used in electronics or industrial machinery include elements which generate or absorb heat locally. Usually, such devices are provided with means for radiating heat to avoid overheating of a heat-generating element or to avoid excessive cooling of a heat-absorbing element, which condition may cause, for example, a malfunctioning of or a damage to the heat-generating element or heat-absorbing element (such an element is hereinafter referred to as “heat-generating element” collectively) itself or other components located nearby.
For example, a personal computer includes many heat-generating elements such as a CPU (MPU), memory modules, and a hard disk drive. To ensure stable operation, heat generated by these elements is transferred to the housing or the keyboard by conduction and radiated into the air naturally (hereinafter referred to as “natural air-cooling”) or cooled by a small fan (hereinafter referred to as “forced air-cooling”).
In recent years, microprocessors have gone through a number of drastic performance improvements and modularization. Because of this advancement, the rate of heat generated when they operate has increased accordingly. Notebook type personal computers which include such microprocessors in highly miniaturized thin bodies are now pushed to a limit in the design of heat conduction and radiation because they are designed to utilize natural air-cooling or forced-air cooling for dispersing the heat generated by the microprocessors, etc.
In this situation, heat transportation type cooling devices are now coming into practical use. A cooling device of this type includes heat-collecting means which comprises a metal plate, and the heat-collecting means is adhered to a heat-generating element. The heat from the heat-generating element is absorbed by this heat-collecting means and is transferred through heat-transferring means such as a heat pipe to the external part of the main body of the computer, where the heat is radiated by heat-radiating means, which may comprise a heat-radiating fin or a cooling fan provided externally on the computer. It is known that such heat-transferring means provides a high efficiency for the cooling of the heat-generating element. In addition, because the heat-radiating fin and the cooling fan are arranged externally over the computer, the internal space of the computer can be designed more effectively for further miniaturization, or the degree of freedom in component arrangement is improved.
By the way, there is a notebook book type personal computer (hereinafter referred to as “note PC”) in which a floppy disk drive (hereinafter referred to as “FD drive”) and a CD-ROM drive (hereinafter referred to as “CD drive”) are provided not in the main body of the note PC but are in a separate station for improved portability and for battery power conservation. In this case, because the main body of the note PC is separable from the station and independently portable, the note PC can be further reduced in thickness and weight for a portability improvement. To enable the operation of the note PC in this separated condition, a built-in battery is provided in the main body, and generally the operational speed of the built-in microprocessor is reduced to conserve energy and increase the life of the battery.
When this thin note PC is mounted on the station, the note PC receives power through a power adapter from a home-use power supply. In this condition, the microprocessor can access to all the drives in the station and operates at a full speed without any influence from the condition of the battery.
When this separable thin note PC is used separately from the station as a portable unit, the microprocessor is controlled to operate at a speed which is restricted for power conservation. Therefore, the microprocessor produces heat at a rate lower than when it is operated at a full speed on the station. Although the rate of the heat produced by the microprocessor is lower when the note PC is used separately than when it is used with the station, the cooling device of the note PC must be designed to have a capacity sufficient for cooling the microprocessor that is operated at a full speed. This design condition requires a comparatively large cooling device and makes it difficult for the main body of the note PC to be miniaturized further.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
It is an object of the present invention to provide a heat-transfer connector which is used, for example, in a heat-transport device to transfer heat from a heat-generating element.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a detachable heat-transfer connector which is applicable by a solid contact and transfers a large amount of heat at a high efficiency.
In order to achieve these objectives, the present invention provides a heat-transfer connector which comprises a first connector half (for example, the heat-collection side connector half
10
of an embodiment described in the following section) and a second connector half (for example, the heat-radiation side connector half
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of the following embodiment). The first connector half comprises a first connector body made of a metal, and the first connector body includes a receptive part that has a concave cross-section and extends in a right and left direction. The second connector half comprises a second connector body and a comb-like contact. The second connector body is made of a metal and includes an insert part that has a convex cross-section and extends in the right and left direction. The comb-like contact, which is made of a metal and capable of deforming elastically, is provided along at least one of the front and rear sides of the insert part, protruding outward at least from the front or rear side of the insert part in a cross-sectional view. By inserting the insert part into the receptive part, the first and second connector halves are detachably connected with each other for heat transfer through a solid contact achieved by the comb-like contact which is sandwiched between the first and second connector halves.
In this heat-transfer connector, the first and second connector bodies and the comb-like contact are made of a metal having a high thermal conductivity, and the comb-like contact is formed to have thin tooth-like contact portions. Therefore, when the two connector halves are engaged with each other, the contact portions of the comb-like contact are deformed elastically to meet and fit in with the internal surfaces of the receptive part, and thereby the comb-like contact ensures an appropriate amount of contact area for heat transfer in the connection. As a result, an efficient heat conduction is achieved by a solid contact of the connector halves, which are made of a metal with a high thermal conductivity. This condition keeps the heat conduction resistance between the connector halves at a relatively low level.
It is preferable that the receptive part of the first connector half be formed in a rectangular box and that the insert part of the second connector half be provided with lateral end protection members (for example, the guides
21
l
and
21
r
) at the right and left ends thereof In this case, the lateral end protection members are to protect the right and left ends of the comb-like contact when the insert part is inserted into the receptive part. With this design, even if the right and left ends of the insert and receptive parts are accidentally hit with each other when the first and second connector halves are to be engaged, there will be no damage to the comb-like contact, which is provided on the second connector half. Therefore, by the provision of the lateral end protection members, the tolerance for mis-alignment and the ease of handling are improved for the e
KEL Corporation
Lazarus Ira S.
McKinnon Terrell
Usher Robert W. J.
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