TWI803739B - Heat pipe structure - Google Patents

Abstract

A heat pipe structure includes a sleeve tube and a shaft. The sleeve tube includes an inner tube and an outer tube. The inner tube and the outer tube form a chamber. The chamber is used for containing a thermally conductive fluid. The thermal conductive fluid is used to absorb the heat generated by a heat source. The shaft connected to the heat source is inserted into the sleeve tube from the outlet end of the sleeve tube to form a shaft structure.

Description

heat pipe structure

The invention relates to a heat pipe structure.

In a traditional heat pipe, there is a single-layer hollow circular straight pipe, which can be soldered or glued to overlap heat sources or other heat conducting devices after being bent and flattened. Other heat conducting devices are, for example, heat sinks or copper tubes.

However, the traditional heat pipe cannot move or rotate at the overlapping joint of the heat source. If it is necessary to use a heat pipe as a heat dissipation module, when it is installed in a structure that needs to rotate or slide, the traditional heat pipe needs to pass through an additional transfer structure. However, such a transfer structure will generate additional thermal resistance, thereby reducing the performance of heat conduction and affecting the heat dissipation of the heat pipe.

In view of this, an object of the present invention is to provide a heat pipe structure to solve the above problems.

An aspect of the present invention discloses a heat pipe structure for dissipating a heat source. The heat pipe structure includes a sleeve and a rotating shaft. The sleeve includes an inner tube and an outer tube. The inner tube and the outer tube form a chamber. The chamber is used for accommodating heat transfer fluid. The heat transfer fluid is used to absorb the heat generated by the heat source. The rotating shaft connected with the heat source is inserted into the sleeve from the outlet end of the sleeve to form a rotating shaft structure.

In some embodiments, the chamber is configured to be sealed to isolate the heat transfer fluid from the heat source.

In one or more embodiments of the present invention, the inner tube of the sleeve includes an inner wall and an outer wall. An inner wall is positioned within the chamber to contact the heat transfer fluid. The outer wall is positioned outside the chamber to contact the heat source.

In some embodiments, the outer wall has an outer groove structure. The outer groove structure is recessed from the outer wall. The outer groove structure extends along the axial direction in which the sleeve extends.

In some embodiments, the outer groove structure extends from the outlet end of the sleeve toward the interior of the sleeve.

In some embodiments, the shape of the outer groove structure on the vertical section of the outer wall is a semicircle.

In some embodiments, the heat pipe structure further includes a thermal interface material. The thermal interface material is filled in the outer groove structure of the outer wall.

In some embodiments, there is an inner groove structure on the inner wall. The inner groove structure extends along the axial direction of the sleeve. The inner groove and the outer groove are misaligned with each other.

In some embodiments, the sleeve further includes a plurality of outer groove structures and a plurality of inner protrusion structures. Each of these outer groove structures is recessed from the outer wall and extends in an axial direction in which the sleeve extends. Each of the inner raised structures protrudes from the inner wall and extends in the axial direction of the sleeve. Each inner protrusion structure on the inner wall corresponds to one of the outer groove structures on an outer wall in the radial direction of the sleeve.

In some embodiments, the heat pipe structure further includes a plurality of thermal interface materials. These thermal interface materials are respectively filled in a plurality of outer groove structures of the outer wall.

To sum up, the sleeve of the heat pipe structure can form a rotating shaft structure with the heat source, so as to realize rotation at the overlapping joint between the heat pipe structure and the heat source. The inner tube of the sleeve may have a groove design to increase the contact area between the heat transfer fluid inside the sleeve and the sleeve, thereby improving the heat dissipation effect.

The above description is only used to illustrate the problem to be solved by the present invention, the technical means for solving the problem, and the effects thereof, etc. The specific details of the present invention will be described in detail in the following implementation methods and related drawings.

The following examples are listed in detail in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, but the provided examples are not intended to limit the scope of the present invention, and the description of the structure and operation is not intended to limit the order of its execution. Any recombination of components Structures, resulting devices with equivalent functions are all within the scope of the present invention. In addition, the drawings are for illustrative purposes only and are not drawn to original scale. To facilitate understanding, the same elements or similar elements will be described with the same symbols in the following description.

In addition, the words (terms) used in the entire specification and the scope of the patent application, unless otherwise specified, generally have the ordinary meaning of each word used in this field, in the disclosed content and in the special content . Certain terms used to describe the present invention are discussed below or elsewhere in this specification to provide those skilled in the art with additional guidance in describing the present invention.

The terms "first", "second", etc. used herein do not refer to a particular sequence or sequence, nor are they used to limit the present invention, but are only used to distinguish elements or operations described with the same technical terms. That's all.

Secondly, the words "comprising", "including", "having", "containing" and so on used in this article are all open terms, meaning including but not limited to.

Furthermore, in this article, unless the article is specifically limited in the context, "a" and "the" can generally refer to a single or a plurality. It will be further understood that the terms "comprising", "comprising", "having" and similar terms used herein indicate the features, regions, integers, steps, operations, elements and/or components described therein, but do not exclude One or more other features, regions, integers, steps, operations, elements, components, and/or groups thereof described or additional thereto.

Please refer to Figure 1. FIG. 1 shows a perspective view of a rotating shaft 180 connected to a heat source 200 inserted into a heat pipe structure 100 according to an embodiment of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 1 , the rotating shaft 180 connected to the heat source 200 is inserted from an outlet end of the sleeve 110 of the heat pipe structure 100 . For example, the rotating shaft 180 connected to the heat source 200 may be an end of another heat dissipation structure, such as a heat sink or an end of a heat-conducting copper pipe. In this way, the heat pipe structure 100 and the rotating shaft 180 can form a rotating shaft structure, and the rotating shaft 180 can rotate along the circumferential direction _D1 . The circumferential direction D ₁ refers to the direction of rotation along the central axis of the sleeve 110 of the heat pipe structure 100 . In this way, the rotating shaft 180 connected to the heat source 200 has a degree of freedom to rotate at the connection with the heat pipe structure 100 , and can be combined with other rotating shaft devices of the electronic device.

For example, in a computer mainframe, heat energy emitted by the motherboard can be conducted through a heat-conducting copper pipe, and the extended end of the heat-conducting copper pipe can be regarded as the rotating shaft 180 connected to the heat source 200 . By inserting the shaft 180 connected to the heat source 200 from the outlet end of the sleeve 110 of the heat pipe structure 100 , the shaft 180 connected to the heat source 200 can form a shaft structure with rotational freedom together with the heat pipe structure 100 .

Please refer to Figure 1 and Figure 2 at the same time. FIG. 2 illustrates the insertion of the rotating shaft 180 of FIG. 1 into the heat pipe structure 100 from another angle. As shown in FIG. 2 , the rotating shaft 180 connected to the heat source 200 is inserted into the sleeve 110 of the heat pipe structure 100 , so that the rotating shaft 180 can rotate along the circumferential direction _D1 .

For further description of the internal structure of the sleeve 110 of the heat pipe structure 100, please refer to FIG. 3 . Continuing from FIG. 2 , FIG. 3 shows a cross-sectional view of a heat pipe structure 100 according to an embodiment of the present invention. For the purpose of simple illustration, the heat source 200 and the rotating shaft 180 are not shown in the figure.

In FIG. 3 , the sleeve 110 of the heat pipe structure 100 is substantially hollow, corresponding to the sleeve 110 including an inner tube 120 and an outer tube 113 , and the inner tube 120 and the outer tube 113 are jointly defined to form a chamber 116 . The chamber 116 is sealed and accommodates a heat transfer fluid (not shown) for transferring heat.

Refer to Figure 2 and Figure 3 at the same time. In this embodiment, a heat transfer fluid (not shown) is accommodated in the chamber 116 , and a rotating shaft connected to the heat source 200 is inserted through the outlet end of the sleeve 110 . When the heat source 200 generates heat, the heat generated by the heat source 200 is transferred to the heat transfer fluid inside the chamber 116 via the shaft 180 through the inner tube 120 of the sleeve 110 . In some embodiments, the material of the rotating shaft 180 and the sleeve 110 is a material with good thermal conductivity, such as metal. In some embodiments, the heat transfer fluid contained in the chamber 116 may be a liquid with a lower boiling point, so that after receiving the heat generated by the heat source 200 , a phase change occurs to further absorb heat. while in this implementation In this manner, by sealing the chamber 116, the heat transfer fluid is substantially isolated from the shaft 180 connected to the heat source 200, so that the same heat transfer fluid can be reused.

A capillary structure may be provided inside the chamber 116 to assist the flow of the heat transfer fluid. The capillary structure can be disposed on the inner wall 130 of the chamber 116 , for example. For the purpose of simple illustration, the capillary structure is not shown in the figure.

In this way, when the rotating shaft 180 connected to the heat source 200 is inserted into the sleeve 110, a rotating shaft structure with a degree of freedom of rotation can be formed, and the heat generated by the heat source 200 is conducted through the heat transfer fluid (not shown) in the chamber of the sleeve 110 go out.

In order to further enhance the phase change of the heat-conducting fluid after absorbing heat, thereby achieving the effect of heat dissipation and cooling, in another embodiment of the present disclosure, an inner tube 120 with a plurality of groove structures is further provided to increase the heat-conducting fluid and the inner tube. 120 internal area. Please refer to Figure 4 and Figure 5 for details.

FIG. 4 shows a sleeve 110 of a heat pipe structure 100 according to another embodiment of the present invention. For the purpose of simple illustration, the heat source 200 and the rotating shaft 180 are not shown in the figure. FIG. 5 shows a cross-sectional view of the sleeve 110 of FIG. 4 .

In FIGS. 4 and 5 , the inner tube 120 of the sleeve 110 of the heat pipe structure 100 further includes an outer wall 140 . The outer wall 140 is disposed outside the chamber 116 to contact the rotating shaft 180 connected to the heat source 200 .

As shown, the outer wall 140 has an outer groove structure 143 . In this embodiment, there are a plurality of outer groove structures 143 on the outer wall 140 , but the disclosure does not limit the number of the outer groove structures 143 accordingly.

The outer groove structures 143 are recessed from the outer wall 140 and, as shown in FIG. 5 , these outer groove structures 143 extend substantially along the axial direction D ₂ in which the sleeve 110 extends.

In this embodiment, the outer groove structure 143 substantially extends from the outlet end of the sleeve 110 to the inside of the sleeve 110 . However, in some embodiments, the outer groove structure 143 on the outer wall 140 can be disposed inside the sleeve 110 and extend along the axial direction _D2 , and does not necessarily extend to the outlet end of the sleeve 110, it only needs to ensure that The outer groove structure 143 can be in contact with the rotating shaft 180 connected to the heat source 200 .

In Figure 5, the body of the sleeve 110 is hollow in nature and can therefore be used to contain a heat transfer fluid as previously described. By disposing the outer groove structure 143 on the outer wall 140 , after the rotating shaft 180 connected to the heat source 200 is inserted into the sleeve 110 , the contact area between the rotating shaft 180 and the sleeve 110 can be further increased.

Further, it is possible to further increase the contact area between the heat transfer fluid inside the chamber 116 and the inner tube 120 by providing additional grooves/protrusion structures in the chamber 116 , thereby increasing the heat conduction efficiency of the heat transfer fluid in the chamber 116 .

Please refer to Figure 6. FIG. 6 shows another cross-sectional view of the sleeve 110 of FIG. 4 . In FIG. 6 , in this embodiment, the shape of the outer trench structure 143 on the vertical section of the outer wall 140 is a semicircle, but the present disclosure does not limit the shape of the outer trench structure 143 accordingly.

As shown in FIG. 6 , in this embodiment, the inner tube 120 of the sleeve 110 substantially includes an inner wall 130 and an outer wall 140 . The inner wall 130 is disposed in the chamber 116 to contact the heat transfer fluid (not shown). As mentioned above, the outer wall 140 can increase the contact area with the rotating shaft 180 , and the outer groove structure 143 on the outer wall 140 can increase the contact area with the rotating shaft 180 .

In FIG. 6 , the inner wall 130 has a plurality of inner groove structures 134 , and these inner groove structures 134 substantially extend along the axial direction D ₂ of the sleeve 110 . Although as shown in FIG. 6 , in this embodiment, the inner wall 130 of the sleeve 110 has a plurality of inner protrusion structures 133 , the present disclosure does not limit the number of inner groove structures 134 accordingly. These internal groove structures 134 can further increase the contact area between the heat transfer fluid (not shown) inside the chamber 116 and the inner tube 120 , thereby improving the effect of heat dissipation.

Further, in this embodiment, the inner groove structure 134 on the inner wall 130 is substantially defined by a plurality of inner protrusion structures 133 protruding from the inner wall 130 . These inner protruding structures 133 protrude from the inner wall 130 of the inner tube 120 of the sleeve 110 and are located in the cavity 116 . The inner groove structures 134 are located between two adjacent inner protrusion structures 133 .

Specifically, as shown in FIG. 6 , each inner protrusion structure 133 on the inner wall 130 can correspond to an outer groove structure 143 of an outer wall 140 in the radial direction of the sleeve 110 . This corresponds to that the inner groove structure 134 defined by two adjacent inner protrusion structures 133 is offset from the outer groove structure 143 in the radial direction.

In Fig. 6, the inner groove structure 134 of the inner wall 130 can be regarded as being arranged between the outer groove structures 143 on the two outer walls 140, which enables the heat transfer fluid to flow into the inner groove structure 134, so as to connect the heat source When the rotating shaft 180 of 200 is inserted into the sleeve 110, the rotating shaft 180 can be further approached.

In this embodiment, each inner protrusion structure 133 on the inner wall 130 can correspond to an outer groove structure 143 of an outer wall 140 in the radial direction of the sleeve 110 , which illustrates the inner protrusion structure of the inner tube 120 133 and the outer trench structure 143 can be produced in the same process.

Specifically, in some embodiments, after the inner tube 120 is formed, a plurality of depressed outer groove structures 143 can be extruded on the outer wall 140 of the inner tube 120 by extrusion. At the same time, on the inner wall 130 of the inner tube 120 , the inner protrusion structure 133 protruding from the inner wall 130 will be extruded together. In this way, it corresponds to the fact that the inner groove structure 134 defined by two adjacent inner protrusion structures 133 is misaligned with the outer groove structure 143 in the radial direction, and the inner groove structure 134 is two in position. Between adjacent outer trench structures 143. In this way, the inner groove structure 134 of the inner wall 130 of the sleeve 110 of the heat pipe structure 100 can provide capillary force to the heat transfer fluid accommodated in the chamber 116, increasing the contact area between the heat transfer fluid and the inner pipe 120, thereby further Improve cooling effect.

The corresponding inner protrusion structure 133 and outer groove structure 143 in the radial direction are produced by the same process, which can further reduce the manufacturing cost. In some embodiments, the inner protrusion structure 133 and the outer groove structure 143 can also be produced in different processes.

FIG. 7 shows a cross-sectional view of a sleeve 110 of a heat pipe structure according to another embodiment of the present invention. The difference from the tube of the heat pipe structure 100 in FIG. 6 is that the sleeve 110 in FIG. 7 is further filled with a thermal interface material (TIM) 150 . These thermal interface materials 150 can be used to reduce the thermal contact resistance caused by incomplete contact between the rotating shaft 180 and the sleeve 110 , so as to further improve the effect of heat dissipation.

To sum up, the present invention provides a heat pipe structure with a sleeve. The sleeve can form a rotating shaft structure with a rotating shaft connected to a heat source, thereby increasing the degree of freedom of rotation, and can be integrated with the rotating shaft structure in an electronic device. The sleeve body has a hollow chamber that can accommodate heat transfer fluid, and the inner tube of the sleeve can have an inner groove structure and an outer groove structure extending in the axial direction to increase the contact area between the heat transfer fluid and the inner tube , so as to improve the cooling efficiency. The inner groove structure and the outer groove structure on the inner tube of the sleeve can be formed by the same extrusion process, and the manufacturing cost is low.

Although the present invention has been disclosed as above with the embodiments, it is not intended to limit the present invention. Anyone skilled in this art can make various changes and modifications without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention. Therefore, the protection of the present invention The scope shall be defined by the scope of the appended patent application.

100: heat pipe structure 110: sleeve 113: outer tube 116: chamber 120: inner tube 130: inner wall 133: inner raised structure 134: inner groove structure 140: outer wall 143: outer groove structure 150: thermal interface material 180: rotating shaft 200: heat source D ₁ : circumferential direction D ₂ : axial direction

In order to make the above and other objects, features, advantages and embodiments of the present invention more clearly understood, the accompanying drawings are described as follows: FIG. 1 shows a perspective view of a heat pipe structure in which a rotating shaft connected to a heat source is inserted into a heat pipe according to an embodiment of the present invention; Figure 2 shows the structure of the rotating shaft inserted into the heat pipe in Figure 1 from another angle; FIG. 3 shows a cross-sectional view of a heat pipe structure according to an embodiment of the present invention; Fig. 4 shows a sleeve of a heat pipe structure according to another embodiment of the present invention; Fig. 5 shows a cross-sectional view of the sleeve of Fig. 4; Figure 6 shows another cross-sectional view of the sleeve of Figure 4; and FIG. 7 shows a cross-sectional view of a sleeve of a heat pipe structure according to another embodiment of the present invention.

110: sleeve

113: outer tube

116: chamber

120: inner tube

130: inner wall

140: outer wall

D ₁ : Circumferential direction

Claims (8)

A heat pipe structure for dissipating a heat source, wherein the heat pipe structure includes: a sleeve, wherein the sleeve includes an inner tube and an outer tube, the inner tube and the outer tube form a cavity, and the cavity is used for accommodating a heat transfer fluid, the heat transfer fluid is used to absorb the heat generated by the heat source; and a rotating shaft connected to the heat source, wherein the rotating shaft is inserted into the sleeve from an outlet end of the sleeve to form a rotating shaft structure, wherein The inner tube of the sleeve includes an inner wall and an outer wall, the inner wall is located inside the chamber to contact the heat transfer fluid, the outer wall is located outside the chamber to contact the rotating shaft, wherein the outer wall has an outer groove structure, The outer groove structure is recessed from the outer wall, and the outer groove structure extends along an axial direction in which the sleeve extends. The heat pipe structure as claimed in claim 1, wherein the chamber is sealed to isolate the heat transfer fluid from the rotating shaft. The heat pipe structure as claimed in claim 1, wherein the outer groove structure extends from the outlet end of the sleeve to the inside of the sleeve. The heat pipe structure according to claim 1, wherein the shape of the outer groove structure on a vertical section of the outer wall is a semicircle. The heat pipe structure as described in Claim 1, further comprising: A thermal interface material is filled in the outer groove structure of the outer wall. The heat pipe structure according to claim 1, wherein the inner wall has an inner groove structure, the inner groove structure extends along the axial direction of the sleeve, and the inner groove and the outer groove are offset from each other. The heat pipe structure according to claim 1, wherein the sleeve further comprises: a plurality of the outer groove structures, wherein each of the outer groove structures is recessed from the outer wall and extends along the axial direction in which the sleeve extends; and a plurality of inner raised structures, wherein each of the inner raised structures protrudes from the inner wall and extends along the axial direction of the sleeve, each of the inner raised structures on the inner wall is on the sleeve A radial direction corresponds to one of the outer groove structures on the outer wall. The heat pipe structure according to claim 7 further comprises: a plurality of thermal interface materials respectively filled in the outer groove structures of the outer wall.

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