JP7230333B2 - cold plate - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a cold plate for cooling heat-generating components such as a CPU.

Patent Literature 1 discloses a cooling device that cools heat-generating components. The cooling device forms a cavity between an upper plate member having a coolant inlet and a coolant outlet and a lower plate member connected to the heat generating component. A fin module having fins arranged at a predetermined fin pitch is arranged in the cavity. A microchannel is formed by the fin module.

JP 2011-71386 A

However, in the cooling device disclosed in the above patent document, the flow velocity of the coolant becomes slower as the distance from the coolant inlet and the coolant outlet increases. Therefore, there is a problem that uneven cooling occurs between areas where the flow velocity of the coolant is high and areas where the flow velocity of the coolant is low.

An object of the present invention is to provide a cold plate capable of suppressing uneven cooling.

An exemplary cold plate of the present invention comprises a bottom wall, a top wall, sidewalls, an inlet, an outlet, and blades. The bottom wall portion is in contact with the heat-generating component and the lower surface. The upper wall portion covers the upper surface of the bottom wall portion. The side wall portion connects the bottom wall portion and the top wall portion, and forms a coolant channel through which a coolant flows. The inflow port is arranged at one end of the coolant channel and allows the coolant to flow into the coolant channel. The outflow port is arranged on the other end side of the coolant channel, and the coolant flows out from the coolant channel. A blade is disposed on the top surface of the bottom wall. The blade extends parallel to or inclined with respect to a connecting line connecting the inlet and the outlet. The blades include a first blade and a second blade. The first blade is positioned far from the connecting line. A second blade is arranged at a position closer to the connecting line than the first blade. The first blade is shorter in the extending direction than the second blade. The bottom wall portion is provided with a non-formation region where the blade is not formed. The non-formation region extends in the lateral direction of the cold plate, the width of the non-formation region in the longitudinal direction increases as the distance from the connecting line increases, and the height of the blade increases as the distance from the connecting line increases. .

According to the exemplary embodiment of the present invention, it is possible to provide a cold plate capable of suppressing uneven cooling.

1 is a perspective view of a cold plate according to a first embodiment of the present invention; FIG. FIG. 2 is a top view of the cold plate according to the first embodiment of the invention. FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional perspective view taken along the line AA in FIG. 2; FIG. 4 is a top view showing the bottom wall portion of the cold plate according to the first embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 5 is a top view showing the bottom wall portion of the cold plate according to the second embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 6 is a top view showing the bottom wall portion of the cold plate according to the third embodiment of the present invention.

Exemplary embodiments of the invention will now be described with reference to the drawings. In the present application, the direction in which the upper wall portion 13 is arranged with respect to the bottom wall portion 12 is called "upper side", and the opposite side to the direction in which the upper wall portion 13 is arranged is called "lower side". . In addition, in the present application, the direction in which the top wall portion 13 is arranged with respect to the bottom wall portion 12 is referred to as the “vertical direction”, and the direction orthogonal to the “vertical direction” is referred to as the “horizontal direction”. and positional relationships. However, this definition of the direction is for the convenience of explanation only, and does not limit the direction during manufacture and use of the cold plate 10 according to the present invention. Further, in the present application, the term “parallel direction” includes substantially parallel directions.

<First embodiment>
(1. Configuration of cold plate)
A cold plate according to an exemplary embodiment of the invention is described. FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a cold plate 10 according to an embodiment of the invention. FIG. 2 is a top view of cold plate 10 according to an embodiment of the present invention. 3 is a cross section taken along line AA in FIG.

The cold plate 10 is made of metal with high thermal conductivity such as copper or aluminum and has a bottom wall 12, a top wall 13 and side walls 14. As shown in FIG. In this embodiment, the cold plate 10 is rectangular in top view. In other words, the bottom wall portion 12 and the top wall portion 13 are rectangular plates that extend horizontally when viewed from above. Note that the bottom wall portion 12 and the top wall portion 13 of the present embodiment are quadrangular in top view, but are not limited to this, and may be, for example, polygonal or circular with a plurality of corners in top view. A heat-generating component H contacts the lower surface of the bottom wall portion 12 (see FIG. 3).

The side wall portion 14 connects the peripheral edges of the bottom wall portion 12 and the upper wall portion 13 . The side wall portion 14 has a first side wall portion 14 a extending upward from the peripheral edge of the bottom wall portion 12 and a second side wall portion 14 b extending downward from the peripheral edge of the top wall portion 13 . The upper surface of the first side wall portion 14a and the lower surface of the second side wall portion 14b are joined.

The coolant channel 11 is an internal space surrounded by a bottom wall portion 12, a top wall portion 13 covering the top surface of the bottom wall portion 12, and a side wall portion 14 connecting the peripheral edges of the bottom wall portion 12 and the top wall portion 13. formed in The cold plate 10 includes an inlet 13 a through which the coolant flows into the coolant channel 11 and an outlet 13 b through which the coolant flows out from the coolant channel 11 . The inflow port 13 a is arranged on one end side of the coolant channel 11 . The outflow port 13b is arranged on the other end side of the coolant channel 11 . The coolant that has flowed into the first coolant channel 11 through the inlet 13a flows out of the first coolant channel 11 through the outlet 13b. The inflow port 13a and the outflow port 13b are circular, and are formed to penetrate the upper wall portion 13 in the vertical direction. In this embodiment, the refrigerant is liquid, and antifreeze liquid such as ethylene glycol aqueous solution or propylene glycol aqueous solution, pure water, or the like is used.

The inflow port 13a and the outflow port 13b are connected to a pump (not shown) for circulating the coolant and a radiator (not shown) for cooling the circulating coolant. A heat-generating component H to be cooled, such as a CPU, is brought into contact with the lower surface of the bottom wall portion 12 of the cold plate 10 . When the pump 30 is driven, the coolant circulates through the coolant channel 11 . Thereby, the heat of the heat-generating component H is transferred to the bottom wall portion 12 of the cold plate 10 . The heat transferred to the bottom wall portion 12 is transferred to the coolant flowing through the coolant flow path 11 . The refrigerant radiates heat through the radiator, and the temperature rise of the heat-generating component H can be suppressed. By arranging the inlet 13a and the outlet 13b in the upper wall portion 13, the pump and the radiator can be arranged on the cold plate 10 to integrate the entire apparatus and reduce the size.

A plurality of blades 12 a are arranged on the upper surface of the bottom wall portion 12 . In this embodiment, the blade 12 a is the same member as the bottom wall portion 12 . The blade 12a is formed by cutting the upper surface of the bottom wall portion 12, for example. This improves the thermal conductivity from the bottom wall portion 12 to the blades 12a. Note that the blade 12a may be formed of a material different from that of the bottom wall portion 12 . For example, the blade 12a is formed on a plate-like base member, and the bottom wall portion 12 and the base member are welded together. This improves manufacturing efficiency.

FIG. 4 is a top view of the bottom wall portion 12. In FIG. 4, the inflow port 13a and the outflow port 13b provided in the top wall portion 13 are indicated by broken lines.

The blade 12a includes a first blade 12b and a second blade 12c. The first blade 12b is arranged at a position far from the connecting line L. As shown in FIG. The second blade 12c is arranged at a position closer to the connecting line L than the first blade 12b. The first blade 12b is shorter in the extending direction than the second blade 12c. That is, the length of the blade 12a in the extending direction becomes shorter as the distance from the connecting line L increases. The first blade 12b and the second blade 12c are arbitrarily selected from the plurality of arranged blades 12a.

A vertical gap S is formed between the upper surface of the blade 12a and the lower surface of the upper wall portion 13 (see FIG. 3). Further, the bottom wall portion 12 is provided with a region U where no blades 12a are formed immediately below the inflow port 13a and the outflow port 13b. The blade 12a is not formed in the non-formation region U. In this embodiment, the non-formation region U is formed in an annular shape along the periphery of the coolant channel 11 .

The coolant that has flowed into the coolant channel 11 through the inlet 13a spreads in the longitudinal direction X and the lateral direction Y of the cold plate 10 from the non-forming region U, and flows through the gap S and between the blades 12a. The coolant flowing between the blades 12a spreads over the entire coolant channel 11 and flows out from the outlet 13b. Thereby, the entire lower surface of the cold plate 10 is cooled by the coolant.

At this time, the deceleration rate of the refrigerant flowing between the blades 12a increases as the length in the extending direction of the blades 12a increases. That is, the deceleration rate of the refrigerant flowing along the first blades 12b is smaller than the deceleration rate of the refrigerant flowing along the second blades 12c.

In addition, in the non-formation region U, the flow velocity of the coolant that has flowed into the coolant channel 11 from the inlet 13a decreases as the distance from the connecting line L increases.

Therefore, the coolant flowing between the blades 12a arranged near the connecting line L has a high flow velocity in the non-formation region U, but has a large deceleration rate when flowing between the blades 12a. On the other hand, the coolant flowing between the blades 12a arranged far from the connecting line L has a low flow velocity in the non-formation region U, but has a small deceleration rate when flowing between the blades 12a.

That is, the coolant flowing along the second blade 12c has a high flow velocity in the non-formation region U, but the deceleration rate when flowing along the second blade 12c is large. On the other hand, the coolant flowing along the first blade 12b has a low flow velocity in the non-formation region U, but the deceleration rate when flowing along the first blade 12b is small. Therefore, the flow velocity difference between the refrigerant flowing through the position near the connecting line L and the refrigerant flowing through the position far from the connecting line L becomes smaller. As a result, the flow velocity unevenness of the coolant that occurs in the entire coolant channel 11 is reduced, and the cooling unevenness of the cold plate 10 can be suppressed.

In this embodiment, the heat-generating component H is arranged inside the outer edge of the bottom wall portion 12 when viewed from below. More preferably, the heat-generating component H is arranged on the lower surface of the bottom wall portion 12 facing the coolant channel 11 in the vertical direction. At this time, since uneven cooling of the cold plate 10 is suppressed, the heat generated by the heat-generating component H is efficiently transmitted to the cold plate 10 even if the heat-generating component H is arranged at a position deviated from the center of the coolant channel 11. be able to.

The bottom wall portion 12 is formed in a rectangular shape when viewed from above, and the inflow port 13 a and the outflow port 13 b are arranged diagonally with respect to the coolant channel 11 . That is, the connecting line L connecting the centers of the inlet 13 a and the outlet 13 b is arranged on the diagonal line of the coolant channel 11 . Thereby, the distance between the inflow port 13a and the outflow port 13b can be lengthened, and the efficiency of heat conduction to the refrigerant flowing from the bottom wall portion 12 can be improved.

The blades 12a extend parallel to the connecting line L and are arranged symmetrically with respect to the connecting line L. As shown in FIG. Each blade 12a is arranged at regular intervals. This allows the refrigerant to flow smoothly from the inflow port 13a to the outflow port 13b, thereby reducing the power consumption of the pump (not shown).

<Second embodiment>
Next, a second embodiment of the invention will be described. FIG. 5 is a top view of the bottom wall portion 12 of the cold plate 10 of the second embodiment. In FIG. 5, the inflow port 13a and the outflow port 13b provided in the upper wall portion 13 are indicated by dashed lines. For convenience of explanation, the same reference numerals are given to the same parts as in the first embodiment shown in FIGS. 1 to 4 described above. In the second embodiment, the arrangement pattern of the blades 12a is different from that in the first embodiment. Other parts are the same as in the first embodiment.

The blades 12a extend in the longitudinal direction X of the cold plate 10 and are arranged parallel to each other in the transverse direction Y at regular intervals. The inflow port 13a and the outflow port 13b are arranged in the center of the lateral direction Y, and the connecting line L extends in the longitudinal direction X in the center of the lateral direction Y. The non-formation region U extends in the lateral direction Y, and the width of the non-formation region U in the longitudinal direction X increases as the distance from the connecting line L increases.

The length of the blade 12a in the extending direction becomes shorter as it is arranged farther from the connecting line L. As shown in FIG. The blade 12a arranged farther from the connecting line L has a shorter length in the extending direction than the blade 12a arranged at a position closer to the connecting line L. That is, the first blade 12b is shorter in the extending direction than the second blade 12c. As a result, the flow velocity unevenness of the coolant that occurs in the entire coolant channel 11 is reduced, and the cooling unevenness of the cold plate 10 can be suppressed.

<Third Embodiment>
Next, a third embodiment of the invention will be described. FIG. 6 is a top view of the bottom wall portion 12 of the cold plate 10 of the third embodiment. For convenience of explanation, the same reference numerals are given to the same parts as in the second embodiment shown in FIG. The third embodiment differs from the second embodiment in that the inflow port 13a and the outflow port 13b are arranged in the side wall portion 14 . Other parts are the same as in the second embodiment.

In this embodiment, the inflow port 13a and the outflow port 13b are arranged in the side wall portion 14 . As a result, the coolant horizontally flows into the coolant channel 11 through the inlet 13a, passes between the plurality of blades 12a, and flows horizontally through the outlet 13b. That is, the coolant passes between the plurality of blades 12a in one direction. As a result, the refrigerant can smoothly pass through the flow path 11, and the power consumption of the pump (not shown) can be reduced.

The plurality of blades 12a in this embodiment are arranged at equal intervals from adjacent blades 12a. The interval between adjacent blades 12a is not limited to this. For example, the interval between adjacent blades 12a may narrow as the distance from the connecting line L increases. That is, the interval between adjacent blades 12a is wide at positions near the connecting line L, and the interval between adjacent blades 12a at positions far from the connecting line L is narrow. As a result, the deceleration rate of the coolant flowing along the blades 12a can be adjusted, the flow velocity unevenness of the coolant occurring in the entire coolant passage 11 can be reduced, and the cooling unevenness of the cold plate 10 can be suppressed.

The heights of the plurality of blades 12a in this embodiment are the same. That is, the blades 12a extending upward from the upper surface of the bottom wall portion 12 have the same height. In addition, the height of the blade 12a is not limited to this. For example, the height of the blade 12a may increase as the distance from the connecting line L increases. That is, the height of the blade 12a is low at a position close to the connecting line L, and the height of the blade 12a is high at a position far from the connecting line L. As a result, the deceleration rate of the coolant flowing along the blades 12a can be adjusted, the flow velocity unevenness of the coolant occurring in the entire coolant passage 11 can be reduced, and the cooling unevenness of the cold plate 10 can be suppressed.

The size of the gap S between the upper surface of the blade 12a and the lower surface of the upper wall portion 13 may differ in the transverse direction Y. For example, the heights of the plurality of blades 12a may be the same, and the gap S may narrow as the distance from the connecting line L increases. That is, the gap S is wide at positions close to the connecting line L, and narrow at positions far from the connecting line L. As a result, the deceleration rate of the coolant flowing along the blades 12a can be adjusted, the flow velocity unevenness of the coolant occurring in the entire coolant passage 11 can be reduced, and the cooling unevenness of the cold plate 10 can be suppressed.

(4. Others)
The above embodiments are merely examples of the present invention. The configuration of the embodiment may be changed as appropriate without departing from the technical idea of the present invention. Also, the embodiments may be implemented in combination within a possible range.

In the above-described embodiment, the coolant channel 11 is formed in a rectangular shape when viewed from above, but it may be a quadrangle such as a parallelogram, a circle, or a polygon. Further, although the blades 12a extend parallel to the connecting line L in the above embodiment, a part of the blades 12a may be arranged with a slight inclination to the connecting line L.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10... Cold plate, 11... Coolant flow path, 12... Bottom wall part, 12a... Blade, 12b... First blade, 12c... Second blade, 13... Top Wall portions 13a: Inflow port 13b: Outflow port 14: Side wall portion 14a: First side wall portion 14b: Second side wall portion H: Heat-generating component L ...connection line, S...gap, U...non-formation area, X...longitudinal direction, Y...lateral direction

Claims (7)

a bottom wall portion in which the heat-generating component and the lower surface are in contact;
an upper wall portion covering the upper surface of the bottom wall portion;
a side wall portion connecting the bottom wall portion and the top wall portion and forming a coolant channel through which a coolant flows;
an inflow port disposed at one end of the coolant flow channel through which the coolant flows into the coolant flow channel;
an outflow port arranged on the other end side of the coolant flow channel through which the coolant flows out from the coolant flow channel;
a plurality of blades arranged on the upper surface of the bottom wall;
In a cold plate with
The blade extends parallel or inclined to a connecting line connecting the inlet and the outlet,
The blade is
a first blade disposed far from the connecting line;
a second blade arranged at a position closer to the connecting line than the first blade;
including
The first blade has a length in an extending direction shorter than that of the second blade,
The bottom wall portion
A non-formation region in which the blade is not formed is provided,
The non-formation region extends in the lateral direction of the cold plate, and the width of the non-formation region in the longitudinal direction increases as the distance from the connecting line increases,
A cold plate in which the height of the blade increases with increasing distance from the connecting line.
2. The cold plate of claim 1, wherein said blade extends parallel to said connecting line.
The bottom wall portion is formed in a quadrangular shape when viewed from above,
3. The cold plate according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the connecting line is arranged parallel to a diagonal line of the bottom wall.
4. The cold plate according to claim 3, wherein the connecting line is arranged on a diagonal line of the bottom wall.
The cold plate according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the blades are arranged symmetrically with respect to the connecting line.
The cold plate according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the connecting line connects the center of the circular inlet and the circular outlet.
The cold plate according to any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein the inlet and the outlet are arranged in the upper wall.

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