THERMAL DEVICE

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application claims the priority benefit of Taiwan application serial no. 113134773, filed on Sep. 13, 2024. The entirety of the above-mentioned patent application is hereby incorporated by reference herein and made a part of this specification.

BACKGROUND

Technical Field

The disclosure relates to a thermal device, and in particular relates to a thermal device having a novel structure.

Related Art

Fan free thermal device usually uses aluminum extrusion, two-phase heat transfer with additional heat pipes, or solid state heat conduction via copper blocks. However, a thermal conductivity K value for a single material is a constant, so it is difficult to break through limitations in heat conduction. In addition, additional factors such as contact thermal resistance caused by assembly or component deviation may lead to poor temperature uniformity of the thermal device.

SUMMARY

The disclosure provides a thermal device having uniform temperature distribution.

A thermal device of the disclosure includes a bottom plate, a heat sink and an evaporation chamber. The bottom plate has multiple first grooves. The heat sink has multiple second grooves. The heat sink is assembled on the bottom plate. The first grooves and the second grooves co-construct multiple fluid channels. The evaporation chamber is configured on the bottom plate. The evaporation chamber includes a chamber and multiple columns. The chamber has multiple fluid inlets and multiple fluid outlets. The fluid inlets and the fluid outlets are located on different sides of the chamber. The fluid channels are communicated with the fluid inlets and the fluid outlets. The columns are disposed in the chamber.

In an embodiment, the fluid channels are in loops. Lengths of the fluid channels are different.

In an embodiment, some of the fluid channels wind on a first side of the evaporation chamber. some of the fluid channels wind on a second side of the evaporation chamber. The first side and the second side are located on different sides of the evaporation chamber.

In an embodiment, the chamber is made of copper.

In an embodiment, the evaporation chamber further includes a first copper powder sintering layer that is laid in the chamber.

In an embodiment, the first copper powder sintering layer has a first region, a second region, and a third region. The first region is disposed on a side of the chamber adjoining the fluid inlets. The second region is disposed on other sides around the chamber than the side adjoining the fluid inlets. The first region and the second region enclose the third region.

In an embodiment, a height of the first region is greater than a height of the second region.

In an embodiment, the columns are disposed upright at intervals in the third region.

In an embodiment, multiple copper powder sintering columns are disposed on two sides of the second region connected to the first region.

In an embodiment, a top surface and a circumferential surface of each of the columns are covered with a second copper powder sintering layer.

In an embodiment, apertures of the fluid inlets are smaller than apertures of the fluid outlets.

Based on the above, the fluid channels co-constructed by the grooves of the heat sink and the grooves of the bottom plate replace the traditional heat pipes to perform heat dissipation, so the fluid channels may not be affected by the quality of heat pipes and welding error.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a schematic view of a thermal device according to an embodiment of the disclosure.

FIG. 2 is a schematic cross-sectional view of the thermal device along the A-A sectional line in FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is an exploded schematic view of the thermal device in FIG. 1.

FIG. 4 is an enlarged schematic view of the evaporation chamber in FIG. 3.

DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENTS

FIG. 1 is a schematic view of a thermal device according to an embodiment of the disclosure. FIG. 2 is a schematic cross-sectional view of the thermal device along the A-A sectional line in FIG. 1. FIG. 3 is an exploded schematic view of the thermal device in FIG. 1. Please refer to FIG. 1, FIG. 2 and FIG. 3 together. A thermal device 1 of the embodiment is adapted to contact a heat source (not illustrated) to dissipate heat generated by the heat source. The thermal device 1 includes a bottom plate 11, a heat sink 12, and an evaporation chamber 13. The bottom plate 11 has multiple first grooves 112. The heat sink 12 has multiple second grooves 122. Locations of the first grooves 112 correspond to locations of the second grooves 122. When the heat sink 12 is assembled on the bottom plate 11, the first grooves 112 and the second grooves 122 co-construct multiple fluid channels 14. The evaporation chamber 13 is configured on the bottom plate 11. The evaporation chamber 13 is adapted to contact the heat source (not illustrated). The evaporation chamber 13 includes a chamber 132 and multiple columns 134 disposed in the chamber 132. The chamber 132 has multiple fluid inlets 132a (shown in FIG. 4) and multiple fluid outlets 132b located on different sides. The fluid channels 14 are communicated with the fluid inlets 132a and the fluid outlets 132b to form fluid loops.

The bottom plate 11 may be made of metal with good thermal conductivity, such as copper. The bottom plate 11 has an opening 11a. One end of each of the first grooves 112 is connected to one side of the opening 11a. The other end of each of the first grooves 112 is connected to another side of the opening 11a. In the embodiment, the two sides of the opening 11a connected to those two ends of the first grooves 112 are the opposite sides, but the disclosure is not limited thereto. According to a practical heat dissipation design of a product, those two ends of the first grooves 112 may also be connected to two adjacent sides of the opening 11a.

The heat sink 12 may be formed by aluminum extrusion, with the foregoing second grooves 122 and a recess 12b corresponding to the opening 11a of the bottom plate 11 on a bottom surface 12a of the heat sink 12.

The evaporation chamber 13 is fitted into the opening 11a of the bottom plate 11 and correspondingly inserted into the recess 12b located on the bottom surface 12a of the heat sink 12. The chamber 132 of the evaporation chamber 13 may be made of metal with good thermal conductivity, such as copper. The columns 134 may be integrally manufactured with the chamber 132. The columns 134 may also be made of copper.

Incidentally, those two ends of the fluid channels 14 co-constructed by the first grooves 112 and the second grooves 122 are correspondingly communicated with the fluid inlets 132a and the fluid outlets 132b of the chamber 132, so that the fluid channels 14 are in loops.

In the embodiment, a flowing direction of fluid is determined by having an aperture d1 of the fluid inlet 132a smaller than an aperture d2 of the fluid outlet 132b.

Specifically, since the evaporation chamber 13 contacts the heat source (not illustrated), the fluid flowing into the evaporation chamber 13 is heated and then evaporates, forming high pressure and then flowing into the fluid channels 14 from the fluid outlets 132b of the evaporation chamber 13, and then the heat is dissipated through a heat conduction manner along a path of the individual fluid channel 14, the vapor condenses back into fluid and then flows into the evaporation chamber 13 again through the fluid inlets 132a. From this, it can be known that the thermal device 1 may provide heat dissipation effect by utilizing natural convection generated by phase changes of gas and liquid.

In addition, the paths of the fluid channels 14 are designed to have different lengths. Through that design, it allows that each of the fluid channels 14 has a different path length than the others, the fluid in the fluid channels 14 with longer paths may more effectively dissipate heat via heat conduction through the bottom plate 11 and return to the evaporation chamber 13 at a lower temperature. The fluid in the fluid channels 14 with shorter paths, although returning to the evaporation chamber 13 at a higher temperature, may also effectively enhance the heat dissipation through mixing with the low-temperature fluid in the evaporation chamber 13 to perform heat exchange.

Please refer to FIG. 2. In the embodiment, a total of five fluid channels 141, 142, 143, 144, and 145 are formed. The first fluid channel 141 to the fourth fluid channel 144 are disposed to wind on a first side S1 of the evaporation chamber 13. The fifth fluid channel 145 winds on a second side S2 of the evaporation chamber 13. The first side S1 and the second side S2 are the opposite sides of the evaporation chamber 13. Of course, the first side S1 and the second side S2 may also be the adjacent sides of the evaporation chamber 13 and designed according to the need for heat dissipation. In addition, a total quantity of the fluid channels 14 and a quantity of the fluid channels 14 winding on the first side S1 and/or the second side S2 may be changed according to practical demands. Winding paths of the fluid channels 14 are not limited to the rectangular shapes shown in FIG. 3, and may also be varied to arc shapes, a wave shapes, or an irregular shapes according to needs.

A disposal quantity of the fluid channels 14 winding on different sides of the evaporation chamber 13 may be changed according to a position of the evaporation chamber 13 relative to the bottom plate 11 (or the heat sink 12). For example, when the evaporation chamber 13 is located at the center of the bottom plate 11, the quantity of the fluid channels 14 winding on both sides of the evaporation chamber 13 may be the same. When the evaporation chamber 13 is relatively located at one side of the bottom plate 11 (such as a left side), the fluid channels 14 winding on the left side of the evaporation chamber 13 are limited by a smaller remaining area on the left side of the bottom plate 11, so the disposal quantity of the fluid channels 14 is relatively less. The fluid channels 14 winding on the right side of the evaporation chamber 13, due to a larger remaining area on the right side of the bottom plate 11, may have a relatively larger quantity of the fluid channels 14 disposed thereon.

By disposing fluid channels 14 with different path lengths, the fluid channels 14 may effectively increase contact between the fluid and the heat sink 12 to increase a heat dissipation area, thereby enhancing the heat dissipation of the thermal device 1. In addition, a larger disposal quantity of the fluid channels 14 may also allow the heat distribution to be more uniform, which improves heat dissipation.

FIG. 4 is an enlarged schematic view of the evaporation chamber in FIG. 3. Please refer to both FIG. 3 and FIG. 4. The evaporation chamber 13 of the embodiment further includes a first copper powder sintered layer 15 laid in the chamber 132, which is configured to collect water and collect the fluid entering from the fluid inlets 132a.

Specifically, the first copper powder sintered layer 15 is a porous powder layer, which has a first region 15a, a second region 15b, and a third region 15c. The first region 15a is disposed on a side of the chamber 132 adjoining the fluid inlets 132a. There are multiple openings 15d communicated with the fluid inlets 132a in the first region 15a corresponding to the fluid inlets 132a. The second region 15b is disposed around the chamber 132 on other sides of the chamber 132 than the side adjoining the fluid inlets 132a. The first region 15a and the second region 15b enclose the third region 15c. The third region 15c is a space enclosed by the first region 15a and the second region 15b.

Following the above, a height of the first region 15a in the embodiment is greater than a height of the second region 15b. The columns 134 are disposed upright at intervals in the third region 15c.

When the fluid flows into the chamber 132 from the fluid inlets 132a, the porous first copper powder sintered layer 15 performs, for example, water collection by capillary phenomenon and guides the fluid to the high temperature columns 134. When the fluid contacts the high temperature columns 134, the fluid evaporates and then enters the fluid channels from the fluid outlets 132b.

In addition, a second copper powder sintered layer 16 that covers the columns 134 may further be formed on a circumferential surface of each of the columns 134 to increase contact between the fluid and the columns 134 to effectively enhance the heat dissipation. Moreover, the second copper powder sintered layer 16 may also be disposed on a top surface of the columns 134.

In addition, multiple copper powder sintered columns 18 may be disposed on the two sides of the second region 15b connected to the first region 15a

Incidentally, the evaporation chamber 13 further includes a top cover 17 covering on a top of the chamber 132. The top cover 17 serves as a heat conduction supplementary component between a top surface of the columns 134 and the bottom surface 12a of the heat sink 12. Specifically, when the bottom plate 11 and the heat sink 12 are assembled together, the top surface of the columns 134 might not have physical contact with the bottom surface 12a of the heat sink 12 due to deviation, so that there may be a gap between the top surface of the columns 134 and the bottom surface 12a of the heat sink 12. The disposal of the top cover 17 may compensate for the error, so that the columns 134 and the heat sink 12 may further perform heat dissipation through a manner of heat conduction. In other words, in a condition where the top surface of the columns 134 may physically contact the bottom surface 12a of the heat sink 12, the top cover 17 may be omitted.

In summary, the thermal device of the disclosure, since the fluid channels are co-constructed by the grooves of the heat sink and the grooves of the bottom plate, replaces the traditional heat pipes with the fluid channels to perform heat diffusion, and the fluid channels may not be affected by the quality of heat pipes and welding deviation.

In addition, through the design of the fluid channels with different path lengths, the fluid returning to the evaporation chamber may perform heat exchange in the evaporation chamber in various temperatures.

Moreover, the disposal quantity and the path of the fluid channels winding on different sides of the evaporation chamber may be designed and varied according to practical demands. Therefore, in addition to great flexibility, the overall heat dissipation can be effectively enhanced for the thermal device.

Furthermore, the sintered layer laid in the chamber of the evaporation chamber and on the circumferential surface of the columns facilitates quick water collection and increases contact to effectively improve the heat dissipation efficiency.