JP2000252400A - Connector for heat sink - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To easily improve a substantial cooling performance of a heat sink already installed. SOLUTION: This connector 6, 7 is made of such metal as aluminum, copper, etc., and is so installed on a base plate 3 connected to a heating element 1 and a heat sink 2 having a plurality of fin sections 5 extruding from the base plate 3 so that heat can be transferred. The connector 6, 7 is formed with many slits 9, 12, 13 which can be engaged with the fin sections 5. Evaporation sections of heat pipes 11, 12 whose condensation sections are exposed outside are supported by the connector 6, 7 so that heat can be transferred between the heat pipes and the heat sink.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a connector for attaching a heat pipe as a heat conducting element to a heat sink so as to be able to exchange heat.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Recently, the amount of heat generated by electronic devices such as CPUs has been increasing due to the increase in speed and capacity, and in order to avoid malfunction or damage due to a rise in temperature, it has become more effective. Heat dissipation and cooling are increasingly required. Since computers and servers are required to be as small as possible, means for radiating heat rather than cooling are employed to prevent the temperature of electronic elements from rising. For example, a heat sink is attached to an electronic element such as a CPU, and an air-cooling fan is attached as needed to promote heat dissipation.

According to this type of cooling device for an electronic element, it is possible to sufficiently suppress the overheating of the electronic element under normal use conditions, that is, when the calorific value of the electronic element is within an expected range. Is possible.

[0004]

However, in the above-described conventional cooling device for an electronic element, for example, when the heat generation amount is suddenly increased for some reason, or when a large-capacity electronic element is used instead of the existing electronic element. In the case of mounting, for example, there is a possibility that the cooling capacity is insufficient, so that overheating may not always be sufficiently suppressed.

In order to solve such a problem, for example, an increase in the size of an air-cooling fan is cited. However, an additional disadvantage arises in that power consumption and noise increase. That is, in the related art, there is still room for improvement in the technology for improving the heat radiation ability by using the existing heat sink as it is.

The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and has as its object to provide a connector capable of easily improving the substantial cooling capacity of an existing heat sink.

[0007]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides a base plate which is attached to an electronic element which generates heat by operation so as to be able to exchange heat, and a plurality of base plates projecting from the base plate. A heat sink connector attached to a heat sink having a fin portion so as to be able to exchange heat with the heat sink. The other end of the heat pipe exposed to the outside of the connector is held so as to be able to exchange heat.

Therefore, according to the present invention, by fitting each slit to each fin, the connector for the heat sink is assembled to the heat sink, and the evaporating portion of the heat pipe can exchange heat with the heat sink. Held in state. When heat is generated from the heating element in this state, the heat is transmitted to the base plate of the heat sink, transmitted to each fin portion, and further transmitted from the outer surface to the inner surface of the slit. The heat is conducted to one end of the heat pipe while conducting inside the connector. Then, a temperature difference occurs at both ends of the heat pipe, and the heat pipe operation starts accordingly.

That is, the liquid-phase working fluid is heated and evaporated in the end of the container held by the connector.
It flows toward the end of the container, which is located outside the connector, where it radiates heat to air and condenses. The liquid-phase working fluid flows toward the evaporator due to gravity or the like, where it is heated again to evaporate. Since the heat of the heat sink is actively transferred to the outside by a heat pipe that has better heat transport ability than metals such as copper and aluminum,
Overheating of the heating element is reliably prevented. Therefore, according to the present invention, it is possible to improve the substantial cooling capacity of the existing heat sink by simple means for fitting each slit to each fin portion. Further, since the heat pipe does not operate mechanically or electrically, noise or power consumption does not increase.

[0010]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Next, an embodiment in which the present invention is applied to cooling of an electronic device mounted on a personal computer will be described with reference to the drawings. An electronic element 1 such as a CPU is provided on the bottom of a personal computer case (not shown). The electronic element 1 is, for example, a rectangular flat body, and a heat sink 2 is provided on an upper surface in FIG.

More specifically, the heat sink 2 protrudes vertically upward from a flat base plate 3 whose shape in a plan view matches the electronic element 1 and an upper surface of the base plate 3 in FIG. It has a columnar column 4 and three disk-shaped fins 5 provided on the outer periphery of the column 4 at equal intervals in the length direction. Each fin 5 has a posture orthogonal to the central axis of the column 4, and the diameter of each fin 5 is
Is set shorter than the length of one side.

The base plate 3, the pillars 4, and the fins 5 may be integrally formed by, for example, casting, or may be individually formed and then assembled using a heat conductive adhesive such as an epoxy adhesive. You can also. Such a heat sink 2 is fixed by appropriate means in a posture in which the base plate 3 is in close contact with the upper surface of the electronic element 1.

A first connector 6 is attached to the base plate 3 of the heat sink 2 and the third fin portion 5 from the top in FIG. 2, and the first fin of the heat sink 2 from the top in FIG. The second connector 7 is attached to the portion 5 and the second fin portion 5 from the top. First, the first connector 6 will be described. As an example, the first connector 6 has an electronic element 1 in a plan view.
1 and both the upper surface and the lower surface in FIG. 1 have a flat rectangular shape, and are made of metal such as aluminum and its alloy or copper and its alloy.

A linear column slit 8 penetrating in the thickness direction is formed in a portion of the first connector 6 extending from one of the edges in FIG. 3 to substantially the center in the plan view. ing. The opening width of the column slit 8 is set substantially equal to the diameter of the column 4 of the heat sink 2. Further, the tip end surface of the column portion slit 8 forms an arc surface following the outer peripheral surface of the column portion 4. The arrangement of the distal end face in the plan view of the first connector 6 is such that the center axis of the column part 4 coincides with the center position of the first connector 6 in a state where the outer peripheral surface of the column part 4 is in close contact with the distal end face. Arrangement.

Further, the first connector 6 is provided with a fin slit 9 which is wider than the pillar slit 8 and extends in the same direction. The slit 9 for the fin portion is for fitting the third fin portion 5 from the top, and is located at an intermediate portion in the thickness direction of the first connector 6. It is formed in a posture parallel to the upper surface of the first connector 6 from the side surface provided with the opening end of the component slit 8 to the side surface facing the side surface. In other words, the slits 9 for the fins and the slits 8 for the pillars have a structure in which a part thereof overlaps each other. The fin slit 9 corresponds to the slit of the present invention.

The opening width of the fin portion slit 9 is set substantially equal to the diameter of the fin portion 5 of the heat sink 2, and the height (thickness) of the fin portion slit 9 is the thickness of the fin portion 5. It is set almost the same. Further, the distal end surface of the fin portion slit 9 is formed in an arc shape following the outer peripheral surface of the fin portion 5 and has a dimension corresponding to the distance between the outer peripheral surface of the column portion 4 and the outer peripheral surface of the fin portion 5. It is arranged on the depth side from the tip end surface of the column slit 8.

Further, mounting grooves 10 are formed in the lower surface of the first connector 6 near the pair of edges in FIG. That is, the first connector 6 is provided with two mounting grooves 10 for the heat pipe 11, and each of the mounting grooves 10 has a straight rectangular cross-section following the container of the target heat pipe 11. And the first connector 6 is connected to the side portions.

Each of the heat pipes 11 is mounted inside the mounting groove 10 with one end thereof attached. That is, the container of the heat pipe 11 has a rectangular cross section or a flat cross section, and the surface of the container exposed from the mounting groove 10 and the first connector 6 shown in FIG.
Is flush with the lower surface. Heat pipe 1
As a fixing means between the first connector 6 and the first connector 6, the container of the heat pipe 11 is deformed to such an extent that the function is not hindered and pressed into the mounting groove 10, or a heat conductive adhesive such as an epoxy adhesive is used. Adhesion and the like used are mentioned. Further, the structure may be such that the mounting groove 10 is not formed and the first connector 6 is directly cast.

As is well known, the heat pipe 11 is provided with a condensable fluid such as water or ammonia in a state in which a non-condensable gas such as air is degassed inside a pipe whose both ends are hermetically sealed. This is a heat conduction element in which a wick for generating a capillary pressure as needed is provided inside.

The first connector 6 has a fin portion slit 9 fitted in the fin portion 5 and a column portion slit 8.
Is attached to the heat sink 2 in a posture in which the front end surface is in close contact with the pillar portion 4. In this state, since the lower surface of each heat pipe 11 fixed to each mounting groove 10 in FIG. 1 is in close contact with the upper surface of the base plate 3, the heat pipe 11 can exchange heat with the heat sink 2. Is held in.

On the other hand, the second connector 7 is a metal block whose shape in plan view matches the first connector 6,
Both the upper surface and the lower surface in FIG. 4 form a flat surface. The upper surface of the second connector 7 has an upper surface concave portion 12 for fitting the first fin portion 5 from above.

More specifically, the upper surface concave portion 12 is a depression formed from one of the side surface portions of the second connector 7 toward the side surface portion facing the side surface portion, and has a flat bottom surface. Has formed. That is, the opening end of the upper surface concave portion 12 is structured to be exposed on one side surface of the second connector 7.
The opening width of the upper surface concave portion 12 is set substantially equal to the diameter of the fin portion 5. A portion of the side surface of the upper surface concave portion 12 facing the opening end is formed in an arc shape following the outer peripheral portion of the fin portion 5. Further, the depth of the upper surface concave portion 12 (the distance between the upper surface portion and the bottom surface of the upper surface concave portion 12 in FIG. 4) is set substantially equal to the thickness of the fin portion 5.

On the other hand, the lower surface of the second connector 7 in FIG. 4 is provided with a lower surface recess 13 for fitting the second fin 5 from the top. This lower surface recess 13
Has the same structure as the upper surface concave portion 12 and has the second connector 7.
In the plan view coincides with the upper surface concave portion 12. Therefore, a flat wall surface is formed by the bottom surface of the lower surface concave portion 13 and the bottom surface of the upper surface concave portion 12, and the thickness of the wall surface is the same as the thickness of the fin portion 5. The upper concave portion 12 and the lower concave portion 13 correspond to the slit of the present invention.

The lower surface recess 13 and the wall surface forming the bottom surface of the upper surface recess 12 are formed with pillar slits 14 penetrating in the thickness direction. This pillar slit 14
Are formed from one of the side portions of the second connector 7 to the side portion facing the side portion so as to pass through the central portion in the width direction of the upper surface concave portion 12 and the lower surface concave portion 13, that is, the open end. Are exposed on the side surface of the second connector 7 where the opening end of the upper surface concave portion 12 is provided.

The opening width of the column slit 14 is set to be substantially the same as the diameter of the column 4, and the front end surface is formed in an arc shape following the outer peripheral surface of the column 4. .
In addition, the arrangement of the distal end surface in the plan view of the second connector 7 is such that the center axis of the column portion 4 is aligned with the center position of the second connector 7 in a state where the outer peripheral surface of the column portion 4 is in close contact with the distal end surface. The arrangement is the same.

In the lower surface of the second connector 7 in FIG. 4, near the pair of edges, mounting grooves 15 are formed in a posture parallel to the column slits 14. Each mounting groove 15 has a straight rectangular cross section, and has a structure in which side portions of the second connector 7 are connected to each other. Further, the heat pipe 16 is attached inside the attachment groove 15 with one end thereof attached. As the heat pipe 16, one having the same structure as the heat pipe 11 attached to the first connector 6 is adopted.
As the fixing means for the second connector 6, the same means as described above is employed.

The second connector 7 is connected to the first connector 6
And assembled to the heat sink 2. More specifically, the pillar 4 is fitted into the pillar slit 14, the first fin 5 is fitted into the upper recess 12, and the lower recess 13 and the first connector 6 The second fin portion 5 from the top is fitted between the fin portion 5 and the upper surface portion. In this state, since the lower surface of the second connector 7 and the lower surface of the heat pipe 16 are in close contact with the upper surface of the first connector 6, the heat pipe 16 can exchange heat with the heat sink 2. It has a retained structure.

Next, the cooling operation of the present invention configured as described above will be described. The heat generated by the operation of the electronic element 1 is transmitted to the base plate 3, further from the base end of the column 4 toward the tip thereof, and further transmitted to each fin 5. The heat held by the third fin portion 5 from the top is transmitted to the inner surface of the fin portion slit 9 of the first connector 6, and the heat held by the second fin portion 5 from the top is the upper surface of the first connector 6. And the heat held by the first fin portion 5 from above is transmitted to the surrounding air and transmitted to the upper surface concave portion 12 of the second connector 7.

A part of the heat transmitted to the first connector 6 and the second connector 7 is dissipated from the respective outer surfaces toward the surrounding air, and a part of the heat is transferred to each of the heat pipes 11,
The power is transmitted to the end of the mounting grooves 16 disposed in the mounting grooves 10 and 15. Accordingly, a temperature difference occurs at both ends of each of the heat pipes 11 and 16, and the operation is automatically started. That is, the working fluid enclosed in the container evaporates, and the vapor flows to the other end having a lower temperature to radiate heat,
Transfers heat to the surrounding air. The working fluid that has re-heated to the liquid phase returns to the other end of the container,
The inner surface of the area provided in the mounting grooves 10 and 15 is heated and evaporated. That is, the heat held by the first connector 6 and the second connector 7 is quickly transferred to the outside by the working fluid of the heat pipes 11 and 16.

As described above, according to the above configuration, the heat of the heat sink 2 is positively transferred to the outside by the heat pipes 11 and 16 having higher heat conductivity than the heat sink 2, the first connector 6 and the second connector 7. In addition, the temperature rise of the electronic element 1 can be reliably suppressed or prevented. Further, the first connector 6 and the second connector 7 do not hinder the heat transfer from the heat sink 2 to the heat pipes 11 and 16, and a good cooling action can be obtained from this point as well.

Next, a procedure for attaching the first connector 6 and the second connector 7 to the heat sink 2 will be described. First, the heat pipes 11 and 16 are fixed to the mounting grooves 10 and 15 of each connector, respectively. Then, the opening end of the column slit 8 of the first connector 6 is made to face the column 4 of the heat sink 2 and the opening end of the fin slit 9 is made to face the third fin 5 from the top. The first connector 6 is held, and from this state, the first connector 6 is pushed in the radial direction of the pillar portion 4 until the pillar portion 4 comes into contact with the tip end surface of the pillar portion slit 8 to be completely fitted.

Further, the second connector 7 and the second connector 7 are positioned in such a manner that the first fin portion 5 from the top faces the opening end of the upper recess 12 and the second fin portion 5 faces the opening end of the lower recess 13. The second connector 7 is pushed forward in the radial direction of the column portion 4 until the column portion 4 comes into contact with the front end surface of the slit from this state, and is completely fitted. As a result, the four heat pipes 11 and 16 are kept attached to the heat sink 2 so as to be able to exchange heat.

As described above, according to the above configuration, the first connector 6 and the second connector 7 are slid in the radial direction of the pillar portion 4 and the fin portion 5, so that the heat pipe 11 is connected to the existing heat sink 2. , 16 can be attached heat-exchangeably and firmly, that is to say, it is possible to achieve the intended attachment state by a very simple operation that does not require special tools or caulking steps. Similarly, there is an advantage that the heat pipes 11 and 16 can be easily removed from the heat sink 2.

The electronic element which is the object of the present invention is C
It is not limited to a PU, and includes a wide range of general electronic components that generate heat when operated by being energized. Furthermore, in the above specific example, a connector having a two-part structure is illustrated, but the present invention is not limited to this, and the connector may have a single-part structure or a three-part structure.

[0035]

As explained above, according to the present invention,
A large number of fins can be fitted with a large number of slits, and a heat pipe holding one end so that heat can be exchanged and exposing the other end to the outside, and the slits are fitted to the fins. By doing so, the heat pipe having better heat conductivity than the fin portion is held in a state where heat can be transferred to and from the heat sink, and therefore, the substantial cooling capacity of the existing heat sink can be easily and reliably improved, There is also an advantage that noise and power consumption do not increase.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic view showing a state where a first connector, a second connector, and a heat pipe are assembled to a heat sink.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing a heat sink.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing a first connector.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing a second connector.

[Explanation of symbols]

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Electronic element, 2 ... Heat sink, 3 ... Base plate, 5 ... Fin part, 6 ... First connector, 7 ... Second connector, 9 ... Slit for fin parts, 11, 16
... heat pipe, 12 ... upper surface concave part, 13 ... lower surface concave part.

Continuation of the front page (72) Inventor Yoshihiro Nagaki 1-5-1, Kiba, Koto-ku, Tokyo F-term in Fujikura Co., Ltd. 5F036 AA01 BB05 BB60

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A heat sink connector, which is attached to a heat sink having a base plate attached to an electronic element which generates heat by operation so as to be able to exchange heat and a plurality of fins protruding from the base plate so as to be able to exchange heat. There are formed a number of slits which can be respectively fitted to the plurality of fins, and the other end of the heat pipe having one end exposed to the outside of the heat sink connector is held so as to be able to exchange heat. A connector for a heat sink, comprising: