GB2598343A - Circular heatsink - Google Patents

Abstract

The invention refers to a circular heat sink for cooling electronic components comprised by an electronic device, the heatsink thermally connecting a PCB to a housing as figure 1 shows. The heat sink 1 for cooling heat-emanating electronic components placed on a circuit board and contained within a housing of an electronic device includes a base portion (c) and an upper cylindrical portion (d) provided with fins (b), wherein the base portion (c) is a cylindrical rod that has a base surface in direct contact with the circuit board and is placed in the proximity of at least one heat-emanating electronic component; the upper cylindrical portion (d) is integrally formed and extend upwardly from the base portion, that includes a top circular surface for directly contacting and supporting the housing of electronic device, and the upper portion is provided longitudinally and centrally with a threaded hole (a) able to receive a screw.

Description

Description

Circular Heatsink The invention relates to a circular heatsink for cooling electronic components comprised by an electronic device, and more specifically by an electronic control unit.

Automotive electronics have become more and more significant 10 for modern cars, irrespective of the type of the vehicle (electric or not). One of the most demanding electronic parts of an automobile are the electronic control units (ECUs). Such electronic control units move towards ever increasing functionality, performance, miniaturization and less cost, 15 resulting in higher heat densities and corresponding high temperature. Unfortunately, these parameters have a negative impact on the performance, reliability and lifetime of electronic components involved.

In order to dissipate heat from an electronic component, usually rectangular or circular aluminium heatsinks are used. For example, US6883592132 describes a heatsink wherein individual heatsink plates are bound together at a binding portion to forma heat-absorbing portion for contacting a heat-dissipating surface of the electronic component, and wherein portions of the heatsink plates opposite the heat-absorbing surface are separated from each other to collectively act as a heat-dissipating portion binding the heatsink plates together. Also, US646644482 describes a heat sink including a first and a second group of heat dissipating members integrally formed and extending upwardly from a base portion, wherein the heat dissipation members of said first group are disposed in a generally annular member with the fin-shaped members disposed in a substantially radial manner.

Although proved to provide high heat dissipation, sometimes such prior art designs can negatively influence the temperature of the surrounding electronic components, making thermal design of the whole assembly more challenging than ever.

Moreover, the miniaturization of electronic components means that, in order to extract heat emanated by small electronic components, a heatsink must fit in a narrow placement.

Therefore, the technical problem to be solved, in this context, 10 is to provide a supple and versatile heat sink, able to combine the high dissipation property of a circular design with the ability to fit into a limited space.

Therefore, the object of the invention is to solve the 15 deficiencies of the mentioned prior art and to provide a circular heat sink with an alternative circular design.

This objective is achieved according to the invention by means of the technical characteristics mentioned in the independent 20 claims, namely a circular heat sink.

Further advantageous embodiments are the subject matter of the dependent claims.

The subject-matter of the present invention is a circular heat sink for cooling heat-emanating electronic components placed on a circuit board and contained within a housing of an electronic device, the circular heatsink including a base portion and an upper cylindrical portion provided with fins, wherein -the base portion is a cylindrical rod that has a base surface in direct contact with the circuit board and is placed in the proximity of at least one heat-emanating electronic component; -the upper cylindrical portion is integrally formed and extend upwardly from the base portion and includes a top circular surface for directly contacting and supporting the housing of electronic device, and -the upper portion is provided longitudinally and centrally with a threaded hole able to receive a screw.

The main advantages of adopting a circular heat sink according to invention consist in a simple, yet robust constructive concept; improved thermal dissipation properties; high machinability; versatile design which suits for various dimensions of surrounding electronic components; cost reduction; easy to handle.

Further special features and advantages of the present invention can be taken from the following description of advantageous embodiments by way of the accompanying drawings.

Fig. l presents a side view of a circular heatsink according 20 to invention, surrounded by electronic components; Fig. 2 is a top view of the circular heatsink from fig. 1; Fig. 3 is a side view of the circular heatsink from fig. 1.

Referring now to Fig. 1, it is shown a circular heatsink 1 in an embodiment according to invention, placed in a space available within a housing 2 of an electronic device, for example an electronic control unit, which housing 2 accommodates a multitude of electronic components 3 placed on a circuit board 4. Usually, there are differences of height and volumes among the multitude of electronic components 3 placed on a circuit board 4; let us suppose that some of them emit more heat than other, irrespective their height or volume. A base cylindrical portion of the heatsink 1 contact or is supported directly by the circuit board 4.

Fig. 2 shows a top view of the heatsink 1 without surrounding components. The base cylindrical portion is referenced with c. An upper cylindrical portion d is integrally formed and extend upwardly from the base portion c and includes a top circular surface for contacting or supporting directly the housing 2. There is shown a threaded hole a provided longitudinally and centrally in the upper cylindrical portion d and able to receive a screw (not illustrated nor referenced) to fasten the heatsink to the housing. That is how the length of the heatsink can be adapted to the actual available space, more precisely to the height of various electronic components or the same heatsink may be used when one of the electronic components is replaced by another having a different height. Furthermore, the upper portion d is provided with disk-shaped fins b extending radially. The disk-shaped fins b (here illustrated as two, but there may be three or more, depending on the heat needed to be dissipated) are spaced apart longitudinally.

Fig. 3 illustrates a side view of the circular heat sink 20 according to invention. As it is shown, the base circular surface is exceeded by the top circular surface, since the base portion is heat-absorbing and the upper portion is heat-dissipating. The reason for this design is to enlarge the heat-dissipating surface in comparison with the heat-absorbing surface. Also, according to this embodiment, the base surface does not need a large space available on the circuit board to be supported on.

The circular heatsink may be made of aluminium through a milling process. The actual dimensions may be configured from case to case based on the available space. The disk fins diameters can be increased or decreased function of the heat coefficient transfer that is desired.

However, while certain embodiments of the present invention have been described in detail, those familiar with the art to which this invention relates will recognize various alternative designs and embodiments for practicing the invention as defined by the following claims.

List of reference numbers 1 Circular heatsink 2 Housing 3 Electronic component 4 Circuit board a Threaded hole b Fin c Base portion d Upper portion

Claims (5)

1. Patent claims 1. Circular heatsink for cooling heat-emanating electronic components placed on a circuit board and contained within a housing of an electronic device, the circular heatsink including a base portion and an upper cylindrical portion provided with fins, characterized in that - the base portion is a cylindrical rod that has a base surface in direct contact with the circuit board and is placed in the proximity of at least one heat-emanating electronic component; - the upper cylindrical portion is integrally formed and extend upwardly from the base portion, that includes a top circular surface for directly contacting and supporting the housing of electronic device, wherein - the upper portion is provided longitudinally and centrally with a threaded hole able to receive a screw.
2. 2. The circular heatsink according to claim 1, characterized 20 in that the top circular surface exceeds the base surface.
3. 3. The circular heatsink according to claim 1, characterized in that the fins provided on the upper portion are disk-shaped extending radially and are placed spaced apart one to another.
4. 4. The circular heatsink according to claim 1, characterized in that the number of fins is at least two.
5. 5. An electronic control unit comprising the heatsink 30 according to any of the preceding claims.