TWI739574B - Water block - Google Patents

Abstract

The disclosure relates to a water block including a heat-absorbing structure, a plurality of thermal-responsive actuating components, and a plurality of flow adjustment components. The heat-absorbing structure includes a main portion and a plurality of fin portions. The fin portions protrude outwards from the main portion and are spaced apart from each other. The fin portions form a plurality of channels therebetween. The thermal-responsive actuating components are in thermal contact with the main portion of the heat-absorbing structure. The flow adjustment components are movably connected to the main portion via the thermal-responsive actuating components. Each of the flow adjustment components corresponds to at least one of the channels.The thermal-responsive actuating components are responsive to the temperature variation to move the flow adjustment components so as to change the opening of the channels.

Description

Water block

The invention relates to a liquid cooling device, especially a water cooling head.

The operation of the electronic device is accompanied by the generation of a large amount of heat energy. If the heat energy cannot be effectively removed, the internal electronic components will overheat and cause malfunctions or crashes. Therefore, the electronic device is usually equipped with a corresponding heat dissipation system to ensure that the operation of the component does not exceed the preset operating temperature range. Especially for high-performance electronic devices, a liquid-cooled heat dissipation system is usually used to provide a better heat dissipation effect.

The existing liquid-cooled heat dissipation system is usually composed of a water block, a pump, a heat dissipation component, and a circulation pipeline connected between them. In operation, the water block is used to thermally contact the heat source to absorb its heat energy, and the pump is used to drive the circulation pipeline. The working fluid inside circulates through the water cooling head to take away the absorbed heat energy, and then the heated working fluid is sent to the heat dissipation component to cool down, thereby completing the cooling cycle. In addition, in order to further improve the efficiency of heat exchange with the heat source, the water block is usually built with heat dissipation fins. In addition to increasing the thermal contact area, the heat dissipation fins can also form multiple flow channels inside the water block. Guide the working fluid from the water inlet of the water block to the water outlet.

However, depending on the position of the water inlet/outlet of the water block, and the location and size of the heat source to which the water block is applied, the amount of heat that each runner actually needs to take away is also different. However, the heat dissipation fins designed by various manufacturers on the market currently do not have the flexibility to correspond to this, so their heat dissipation efficiency still needs to be improved.

In view of this, the present invention provides a water-cooling head with flexibility corresponding to actual needs.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, a water block disclosed includes a heat absorption structure, a plurality of thermally actuated components, and a plurality of flow adjustment components. The heat absorption structure includes a main body and a plurality of fins. The fin parts extend outward from the main body part and are spaced apart from each other. A plurality of flow channels are formed between the fin parts. The thermal actuation member is in thermal contact with the main body of the heat absorption structure. The flow adjustment member is movably connected to the main body part via the thermal actuation member. Each of the flow adjusting members corresponds to at least a flow channel. The thermally actuated member actuates the flow adjusting member in response to the temperature change, thereby changing the opening degree of the flow passage via the flow adjusting member.

In the water block disclosed in the foregoing embodiment of the present invention, since the thermally actuated member can change the position of the flow adjustment member with temperature changes, thereby changing the opening of the corresponding flow channel, the heat source corresponding to the water block generates heat. In the case of uneven diffusion, the thermally actuated member can passively adjust the opening of the flow channel through the flow adjustment member according to the difference in the received thermal energy, so that all the flow channels can obtain a sufficient amount of working fluid flow required for heat dissipation. It can be seen that by means of thermally actuated components and flow adjustment components, the water block can dynamically adapt to different heat source distributions generated by different heat sources, so as to achieve the best benefits when facing various heat sources, and has a wide range of applications. And flexible.

The above description of the disclosure of the present invention and the description of the following embodiments are used to demonstrate and explain the spirit and principle of the present invention, and to provide a further explanation of the scope of the patent application of the present invention.

The detailed features and advantages of the present invention will be described in detail in the following embodiments. The content is sufficient to enable anyone familiar with the relevant art to understand the technical content of the present invention and implement it accordingly, and according to the content disclosed in this specification, the scope of patent application and drawings. In this way, anyone who is familiar with the relevant art can easily understand the purpose and advantages of the present invention. The following examples further illustrate the viewpoints of the present invention in detail, but do not limit the scope of the present invention by any viewpoint.

In addition, for the purpose of neatness of the drawing, some conventionally used structures and components may be drawn in a simple schematic manner in the drawing. Among them, some of the features in the drawings of this case may be slightly enlarged or their scales or sizes may be slightly enlarged to achieve the purpose of facilitating the understanding and viewing of the technical features of the present invention, but this is not intended to limit the present invention. In addition, the perspective of the diagram can be understood from the attached coordinate axis.

In addition, the terms "end", "part", "part", "area", "location" and other terms may be used in the following text to describe specific elements and structures or specific technical features on or between them, but these elements And structure is not limited by these terms. In the following text, terms such as "substantially", "about" and "approximately" may also be used to describe the reasonable or acceptable deviation of the modified situation or event, but the expected deviation is not still achieved. result. In addition, unless specifically specified, the "at least one" used in the following text means that the number of specific components and structures is one or more.

Furthermore, unless otherwise defined, all vocabulary or terms used in this article, including technical and scientific vocabulary and terms, have their usual meanings and should be understood by those familiar with the technical field.

First of all, please refer to FIG. 1, which shows a schematic diagram of a cooling system of a water block 1 to which an embodiment of the present invention is applied. In this cooling system, the water cooling head 1 can communicate with a pump 8 and a heat dissipation component 9 via a circulation pipe (not labeled). In terms of configuration, the water block 1 is suitable for thermally contacting a heat source H arranged on a circuit board 7 (as shown in Figure 4). The heat source H described here can be, but is not limited to, an electronic component that generates heat during operation (such as Central processing chip, graphics processing chip, etc.), but the invention is not limited to the type, specification and quantity of the heat source H. The water cooling head 1 can be used to absorb the heat energy of the heat source H to maintain the heat source H within a predetermined operating temperature range. The pump 8 can be, but is not limited to, any power device suitable for driving the working fluid in the circulating pipeline, and can be used to drive the working fluid to circulate in the cooling system. The heat dissipating component 9 may, but is not limited to, a combination of one or more heat dissipating fins and one or more fans (none of which are labeled), and part of the circulation pipe can be in thermal contact with it for heat exchange.

In operation, the pump 8 drives the working fluid to circulate through the water block 1 to continuously take away the heat energy absorbed by the water block 1 from the heat source H. The working fluid then flows through the heat dissipation component 9 which can absorb the heat energy carried by the working fluid It is discharged to the outside, and the pump 8 continues to operate to continue the aforementioned cooling cycle. However, the pump 8, the heat dissipation component 9 and the circulation pipeline shown in the figure are only for the purpose of illustrating the water cooling head 1 of this embodiment, and do not limit the present invention in any aspect.

Hereinafter, please refer to FIGS. 2 to 3 for the introduction of the water cooling head of this embodiment. FIG. 2 is a partial enlarged perspective view of the water cooling head 1, and FIG. 3 is a partial enlarged side sectional view of the water cooling head 1.

In this embodiment, the water block 1 may include a cover 10 and a heat absorbing structure 20. The heat absorbing structure 20 is the part of the water block 1 that contacts the heat source H for thermally contacting and absorbing the heat energy generated by the heat source H. In addition, although not shown, the water cooling head 1 may, but is not limited to, have a suitable fixing mechanism or screw holes for mounting on the circuit board 7. The cover 10 is suitable for being assembled on the heat absorbing structure 20 to enclose a chamber C together with the heat absorbing structure 20. The chamber C can be a sealed space that can be used to contain a certain amount of working fluid to take away the absorbed Thermal energy. Wherein, depending on the manufacturing method of the heat-absorbing structure 20, the side of the enclosed cavity C may be formed by the part of the heat-absorbing structure 20 extending in the direction of the cover 10 (as shown in FIG. 1), or in other implementations In the example, it can also be changed to be formed by the part of the cover 10 extending in the direction of the heat absorption structure 20, but the present invention is not limited to this.

In this embodiment, the water cooling head 1 may also have a water inlet 1011 and a water outlet 1012 connected to the chamber C, so as to enable the working fluid of the chamber C to communicate with other elements in the cooling system through the circulation pipeline. Such as pump 8 and heat dissipation component 9. However, the positions of the water outlet and the water inlet shown in the figure are for illustrative purposes only, and are not intended to limit the present invention; for example, in some other embodiments, the water outlet and water inlet of the water block can also be configured according to actual needs. On the heat-absorbing structure and/or other suitable positions on the cover.

Looking further, in this embodiment, the heat absorption structure 20 absorbs the heat energy of the heat source H and exchanges heat with the working fluid in the chamber C. In detail, the heat absorption structure 20 can be, but is not limited to, a structure made of a suitable thermally conductive material such as copper. It can include a main body 210 and a plurality of fins extending outward from the main body 210 and spaced apart from each other. Part 230, specifically, the main body 210 can be, but is not limited to, a structure composed of a plate body capable of thermally contacting the heat source H and a side wall part surrounding the periphery of the plate body (none of which is labeled). The fin part 230 is protrudingly arranged on the board. In this configuration, the heat energy of the heat source H is thermally transferred to the fin part 230 via the main body part 210. In addition, a plurality of flow channels 240 are formed between the fin parts 230, which can be used to divert the working fluid injected into the chamber C from the water inlet 1011 and guide it to flow in a specific direction. It is supplemented that the main body 210 and the fin 230 may be an integrally formed single structure; or, in some embodiments, the fin 230 may also be fixed to the main body through an additional process (such as welding)部210.

In addition, in this embodiment, the water block 1 further includes a plurality of thermally actuated members 30 and a plurality of flow adjustment members 40. Accordingly, the main body 210 of the heat absorption structure 20 may have a plurality of grooves 213 and a plurality of The communicating groove 215 and the groove 213 can be, but are not limited to, disposed on the side of the main body 210 closer to the water inlet 1011, and are respectively formed on one side of the flow channel 240 to communicate with the flow channel 240, specifically, the concave The groove 213 is located on the surface of the main body 210 where the flow channel 240 is formed and between adjacent fin parts 230. In short, the grooves 213 are respectively located and communicated with one side of the flow channel 240 between the fin parts 230. The communicating grooves 215 are also respectively located on one side of the flow channel 240, and the communicating grooves 215 are respectively connected to the grooves 213. As shown in the figure, the communicating grooves 215 penetrate and communicate with the grooves 213, whereby the working fluid can flow in through the communicating grooves 215槽213。 Groove 213.

The thermally actuated member 30 is disposed in the groove 213, but the present invention is not limited to the number of the thermally actuated member 30 disposed in each groove 213. The flow adjusting members 40 are respectively located at the grooves 213 and partially inserted in the grooves 213, and are movably connected to the main body 210 via the thermally actuated member 30. In addition, the flow adjustment member 40 is substantially vertical and extends between the fin parts 230, and the flow adjustment members 40 in the flow passages 240 are substantially arranged along a straight line.

Furthermore, the thermally actuated member 30 is made of suitable shape memory alloys, especially made of suitable shape memory alloys with a two-way shape-memory effect. It can memorize different shapes at low temperature and high temperature respectively, whereby the thermally actuated member 30 can return to the shape memorized at high temperature when heated and deformed, and it can return to the shape memorized at low temperature when cooled, that is to say, , The thermally actuated member 30 can change shape as the temperature rises and falls, so that the position of the connected flow regulating member 40 can be changed during the temperature change.

In this embodiment, the thermally actuated member 30 is in the form of a helical spring, and the thermally actuated member 30 is designed to reshape to a relatively contracted shape when the temperature is raised, and to reshape to a relatively expanded shape when the temperature is lowered. However, the thermally actuated member 30 in the form of a spring is for illustrative purposes only, and the present invention is not limited thereto.

It is supplemented that the alloy suitable for the aforementioned thermal actuation member 30 may be, for example, gold-cadmium (Au-Cd) alloy, silver-cadmium (Ag-Cd) alloy, copper-zinc (Cu-Zn) alloy, copper-zinc-aluminum (Cu-Zn-Al) alloy, copper-zinc-tin (Cu-Zn-Sn) alloy, copper-zinc-silicon (Cu-Zn-Si) alloy, copper-tin (Cu-Sn) alloy, copper-zinc-gallium (Cu-Zn- Ga) alloy, indium-titanium (In-Ti) alloy, gold-copper-zinc (Au-Cu-Zn) alloy, nickel-aluminum (Ni-Al) alloy, iron-platinum (Fe-Pt) alloy, titanium-nickel (Ti-Ni) alloy , Titanium nickel palladium (Ti-Ni-Pd) alloy, titanium-niobium (Ti-Nb) alloy, uranium-niobium (U-Nb) alloy, iron-manganese-silicon (Fe-Mn-Si) alloy or a combination thereof, etc., but the present invention Not limited to this.

Under the aforementioned configuration, the thermal energy absorbed by the main body 210 of the heat absorbing structure 20 can be directly transferred to the thermally actuated member 30. At the same time, the working fluid can also flow into the groove 213 through the communicating groove 215 to thermally contact the thermally actuated member 30. These methods can transfer heat energy to the thermally actuated member 30 to deform the thermally actuated member 30, thereby, as shown by the arrow in the figure, the thermally actuated member 30 can make the flow regulating member 40 in the groove 213 generate at a temperature. When the change occurs, a lifting movement is generated, so that the flow adjustment member 40 can form a barrier in the flow channel 240 that can passively respond to temperature changes, that is, the flow adjustment member 40 can passively respond to temperature changes to change the opening of the flow channel 240 .

In addition, in order to improve the blocking effect of the flow adjustment member 40, in this embodiment, the water block 1 may further include a plurality of liquid-tight members 50. The sealing members 50 are respectively sandwiched between the flow adjustment member 40 and the fin portion 230 of the heat absorption structure 20 to prevent the working fluid from passing through the area between the flow adjustment member 40 and the fin portion 230. However, the present invention is not limited to the illustrated liquid-tight member 50 and the number thereof. Any suitable structure that can achieve a liquid-tight effect between the flow adjusting member and the fin portion can be used as the liquid-tight member of the present invention.

Next, please continue to refer to FIG. 4 to illustrate the effect of the water block 1 through a schematic diagram of the use situation of the water block 1. As shown in the figure, due to the size of the heat source H and its relative position with respect to the water block 1, the heat source H may cause the central area of the main body 210 of the heat absorbing structure 20 to generate a higher temperature than the surrounding area, or in other words, the heat source H may be In the main body portion 210 of the heat absorption structure 20, uneven thermal diffusion occurs. In this case, the thermally actuated member 30 near the central area of the main body 210 of the heat absorbing structure 20 will receive more heat energy than the thermally actuated member 30 in the surrounding area, so the closer the thermally actuated member 30 to the central area is The member 30 may have a larger temperature increase range to produce a larger amount of shrinkage (or deformation), so that the thermally actuated member 30 can cause the connected flow regulating member 40 to produce different degrees of downward movement. As shown in the figure, the descending range of the flow rate adjusting member 40 gradually increases from the peripheral area to the central area, so that the opening degree of the flow passage 240 gradually increases from the peripheral area to the central area. It is understandable that the terms "central" or "central region" described here or later are based on the main body of the heat-absorbing structure.

Thereby, in the working fluid injected into the chamber C from the water inlet 1011, the flow passage 240 located in the central area can be distributed to a larger flow due to the larger opening, so that the central area with higher heat energy can obtain a sufficient amount of work. fluid. In other words, the thermally actuated member 30 enables the flow adjustment member 40 to passively respond to the heat energy distribution of the water block 1 by the heat source H to perform lifting adjustments, thereby dynamically changing the openings of the flow passages 240 at different positions, so that all The flow channel 240 can obtain a sufficient amount of working fluid flow rate required for heat removal. In short, with the thermally actuated member 30 and the flow adjusting member 40, the water block 1 can dynamically adapt to different heat source distributions generated by different heat sources, so as to achieve the best benefits when facing various heat sources. Wide application and flexibility.

However, it is understandable that FIG. 4 is only for illustrative purposes, and the actual position of the flow adjusting member 40 depends on the actual application. For example, when the heat source H can produce a uniform heat distribution to the water block 1, the thermally actuated member 30 may also produce a similar amount of deformation or no deformation. In this case, the flow rate adjustment member 40 can be maintained at a similar position The flow channel 240 has a similar or same opening degree.

The foregoing embodiment is only an example of the present invention, and is not intended to limit the present invention. For example, please refer to Fig. 5, another embodiment of the present invention proposes a water cooling head 1'. It needs to be stated that the difference between the water-cooling head 1'of this embodiment and the water-cooling head 1 of the previous embodiment is only the flow adjustment member 40' and the adjustments associated with it. Therefore, for the purpose of brief description, the following is only for The differences of the embodiments are explained, and the similar or identical parts can be understood by referring to the foregoing explanations and will not be repeated.

As shown in the figure, in the water block 1', the groove 213' of the main body 210' of the heat absorbing structure 20' and the flow adjusting member 40' located in the groove 213' have a longer length in the direction of the flow channel 240. length. Correspondingly, a larger number of thermally actuated members 30 can be arranged in the groove 213', and the thermally actuated members 30 can be arranged along the direction of the flow channel 240 to evenly lift the flow regulating member 40' with a longer length. In addition, a larger number of liquid-tight members 50 can be arranged between the flow adjustment member 40' and the fin portion 230 accordingly, so as to ensure the liquid tightness between the flow adjustment member 40' and the fin portion 230.

In this configuration, the flow adjustment member 40' can be regarded as, for example, the bottom plate of the main body 210' for forming the flow passage 240, whereby the flow adjustment member 40' can also reach the aforementioned adjustment flow passage 240 when the temperature rises and falls. The effect of traffic.

In addition, it is supplemented that the communicating groove of the aforementioned heat absorbing structure may be optional. For example, in some other embodiments, the heat absorbing structure may not have the aforementioned communicating groove. In this configuration, the main body of the heat absorbing structure absorbs The thermal energy can still continue to be directly transferred to the thermally actuated component, so as to achieve the effect of changing the shape of the thermally actuated component with temperature changes. In addition, the aforementioned flow adjustment member and the flow channel are configured one-to-one, but the present invention is not limited to this. For example, in other embodiments, the flow adjustment member can also be arranged on one side of the main body instead, so as to correspond simultaneously Multiple runners.

In summary, in the water block disclosed in the foregoing embodiment of the present invention, since the thermally actuated member can change the position of the flow adjustment member with temperature changes, thereby changing the opening of the corresponding flow channel, the water block is When the corresponding heat source produces uneven thermal diffusion, the thermally actuated member can passively adjust the opening of the flow channel through the flow adjustment member in response to the difference in the received heat energy, so that all the flow channels can obtain the required heat removal Enough working fluid flow. It can be seen that by means of thermally actuated components and flow adjustment components, the water block can dynamically adapt to different heat source distributions generated by different heat sources, so as to achieve the best benefits when facing various heat sources, and has a wide range of applications. And flexible.

Although the present invention is disclosed in the foregoing embodiments, it is not intended to limit the present invention. All changes and modifications made without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention fall within the scope of the patent protection of the present invention. For the scope of protection defined by the present invention, please refer to the attached scope of patent application.

1, 1’: Water cooling head

7: Circuit board

8: Pump

9: Cooling components

10: Lid

20, 20’: Heat absorption structure

30: Thermally actuated member

40, 40’: Flow adjustment component

50: Liquid tight components

210, 210’: main body

213, 213’: Groove

215: Connecting groove

230: fin

240: runner

1011: water inlet

1012: water outlet

C: Chamber

H: heat source

Fig. 1 is a schematic diagram of a cooling system of a water block according to an embodiment of the present invention. Fig. 2 is a partial enlarged perspective view of the water block of Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is a partial enlarged schematic side sectional view of the water block of Fig. 1. Fig. 4 is a schematic diagram of the use situation of the water block of Fig. 1. Fig. 5 is a partial enlarged schematic side sectional view of a water block according to another embodiment of the present invention.

1: water block

20: Heat absorption structure

30: Thermally actuated member

40: Flow adjustment component

50: Liquid tight components

210: main body

213: Groove

215: Connecting groove

230: fin

240: runner

Claims (8)

A water-cooling head, comprising: a heat absorption structure, comprising a main body and a plurality of fin parts, the fin parts extend outward from the main body and are spaced apart from each other, wherein a plurality of flows are formed between the fin parts The main body has a plurality of grooves, and the grooves are respectively located on one side of the flow channels; a plurality of thermally actuated members are in thermal contact with the main body of the heat absorption structure, wherein the thermally actuated The components are located in the grooves; and a plurality of flow adjustment members are movably connected to the main body portion via the thermally actuated members, wherein each of the flow adjustment members corresponds to at least one flow channel, and the flow adjustment members Partially inserted into the grooves and a part of each of the flow adjusting members is respectively located in the corresponding grooves. The thermally actuated members actuate the flow adjusting members in response to temperature changes so as to pass through the Some flow adjusting members change the opening degrees of the flow channels. The water-cooled head according to claim 1, wherein each of the thermally actuated members is in the form of a helical spring and is composed of a shape memory alloy with a two-way shape memory effect. The water-cooled head according to claim 2, wherein each of the thermally actuated members has the characteristics of relative contraction in temperature rise and relative expansion in temperature reduction. The water cooling head according to claim 1, wherein the flow adjusting members are substantially perpendicular to the fin portions. The water cooling head according to claim 1, wherein the flow adjustment members in the flow channels are substantially arranged along a straight line. The water-cooling head according to claim 1, wherein the main body part further has a plurality of communicating grooves, the communicating grooves are respectively located on one side of the flow passages, and the communicating grooves extend to the grooves to communicate with the grooves respectively. Some grooves. The water-cooling head according to claim 1, further comprising a plurality of liquid-tight members, sandwiched between the flow adjusting members and the fin parts. The water-cooled head according to claim 1, further comprising a cover, the cover is disposed on the main body of the heat absorbing structure to form a cavity together with the main body, and the water-cooled head has an inlet and an outlet The water inlet, the water inlet and the water outlet are located on the main body and/or the cover, and the thermally actuated components are located on a side of the main body close to the water inlet.

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