TWI808545B - Cooling liquid flow control device - Google Patents

Abstract

A cooling liquid flow control device includes a heat dissipation bottom plate, a fixing holder, a cooling module, and a temperature control element. The heat dissipation bottom plate has a bottom surface configured to be in contact with a heating element on a substrate. The fixing holder is connected to the heat dissipation bottom plate and configured to be fixed with the substrate. The cooling module is connected to a top surface of the heat dissipation bottom plate to form a cavity. The cavity is configured to circulate a cooling liquid. The temperature control element is connected to the cooling module and includes a valve. The valve is configured to rotate based on a temperature of the heating element, thereby adjusting a flow rate of the cooling liquid in and out of the cavity.

Description

Coolant flow control device

The present disclosure relates to a coolant flow control device.

The water-cooling module of the existing electronic components (such as: CPU) is based on the heat-conducting substrate of the electronic components, and cooperates with the water inlet side and the water outlet side to do the internal circulation circuit for heat exchange to achieve the effect of heat dissipation of the electronic components.

However, the existing water-cooling modules do not have the function of controlling the flow rate (for example, the flow rate of cooling water). Since the water-cooling module cannot control the flow rate, it cannot optimize the heat dissipation of the electronic components when they are idle or under full load, and thus cannot adjust the power load of the Cooling Distribution Units (CDU) on the system.

Therefore, how to propose a cooling fluid flow control device to control the cooling fluid flow and achieve the effect of saving energy is one of the problems that the industry is eager to devote research and development resources to solve.

In view of this, one purpose of the present disclosure is to provide a coolant flow control device that can solve the above problems.

In order to achieve the above object, according to an embodiment of the present disclosure, a coolant flow control device includes a heat dissipation base plate, a fixing seat, a cooling module, and a temperature control element. The heat dissipation bottom plate has a bottom surface configured to be in contact with the heating element on the substrate. The fixing base is connected with the heat dissipation bottom plate and configured to be fixed with the base plate. The cooling module is connected with the top surface of the heat dissipation bottom plate to form a cavity. The chamber is configured to circulate coolant. The temperature control element is connected with the cooling module and includes a valve body. The valve body is configured to rotate based on the temperature of the heating element, thereby regulating the flow of coolant into and out of the chamber.

In one or more embodiments of the present disclosure, the cooling module includes a liquid inlet pipe and a liquid outlet pipe, and the chamber further includes a first subchamber and a second subchamber. The first subchamber is configured to receive cooling liquid from the liquid inlet pipe. The second sub-chamber is configured to deliver the cooling liquid from the first sub-chamber to the liquid outlet pipe.

In one or more embodiments of the present disclosure, the cooling module further includes a top plate, a side wall, and a partition wall. The top plate has a liquid inlet hole and a liquid outlet hole, wherein the liquid inlet hole is connected between the first subchamber and the temperature control element, and the liquid outlet hole is connected between the temperature control element and the second subchamber. The side wall vertically extends from the edge of the top plate and surrounds the edge of the top plate, wherein the side wall is connected to the heat dissipation bottom plate. The partition wall vertically extends from the top plate and separates the first sub-chamber from the second sub-chamber, wherein the partition wall is connected to the heat dissipation bottom plate.

In one or more embodiments of the present disclosure, the temperature control element further includes a cavity and a driving element. The cavity is configured to accommodate the cooling liquid from the first sub-chamber. The driver is adjacent to the cavity and configured to drive the valve body.

In one or more embodiments of the present disclosure, the coolant flow control device further includes a processing unit. The processing unit is configured to: receive the temperature signal from the heating element; and convert the signal into electric current to output to the driving part, wherein the electric current causes the valve body to rotate.

In one or more embodiments of the present disclosure, the cavity includes a liquid inlet area, a liquid outlet area and a spacer. The liquid inlet area is configured to receive cooling liquid from the first sub-chamber. The liquid outlet area is configured to deliver the cooling liquid from the liquid inlet area to the second sub-chamber. The spacer separates the liquid inlet area from the liquid outlet area.

In one or more embodiments of the present disclosure, the spacer has an opening. The opening is connected between one of the liquid inlet area and the liquid outlet area and the valve body.

In one or more embodiments of the present disclosure, the valve body has a through hole, and when the through hole is aligned with the opening, the through hole and the opening together constitute at least a part of the channel.

In one or more embodiments of the present disclosure, the spacer part further has another opening and an accommodating space for accommodating the valve body. The opening is connected between the liquid inlet area and the accommodating space, and the other opening is connected between the liquid outlet area and the accommodating space. When the two ends of the through hole are respectively aligned with the opening and the other opening, the through hole, the opening and the other opening jointly form a channel.

In one or more embodiments of the present disclosure, the valve body is configured so that when the heating element is in an idle state, the through hole is not aligned with the opening, so as not to connect the liquid inlet area and the liquid outlet area;

To sum up, in the coolant flow control device of the present disclosure, since the temperature control element utilizes the characteristic that the valve body can rotate based on the temperature of the heating element, the through hole of the valve body can be aligned or not aligned with the opening to achieve the purpose of controlling the coolant flow. In the coolant flow control device of the present disclosure, the valve body can be proportionally connected to the liquid inlet area and the liquid outlet area based on the temperature of the heating element, thereby achieving the energy saving effect of the coolant flow control device.

The above description is only used to explain the problems to be solved by the present disclosure, the technical means to solve the problems, and the effects thereof, etc. The specific details of the present disclosure will be introduced in detail in the following implementation methods and related drawings.

The following will disclose multiple implementations of the present disclosure with diagrams, and for the sake of clarity, many practical details will be described together in the following description. However, it should be understood that these practical details should not be used to limit the present disclosure. That is to say, in some embodiments of the present disclosure, these practical details are unnecessary. In addition, for the sake of simplifying the drawings, some well-known structures and components will be shown in a simple and schematic manner in the drawings. The same reference numbers will be used throughout the drawings to refer to the same or similar elements.

The structure, function and connection relationship between the components included in the coolant flow control device 100 of the present embodiment will be described in detail below.

Please refer to Figure 1 and Figure 2. FIG. 1 and FIG. 2 are schematic diagrams of different viewing angles of the coolant flow control device 100 according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. In this embodiment, the coolant flow control device 100 includes a heat dissipation bottom plate 110 , a fixing base 120 , a cooling module 130 and a temperature control element 140 . The heat dissipation bottom plate 110 has a top surface 110 a and a bottom surface 110 b. The bottom surface 110b is configured to be in contact with a heating element (not shown; for example: CPU) on a substrate (not shown; for example: PCB). The fixing seat 120 is connected to the heat dissipation bottom plate 110 and configured to be fixed with the substrate. Specifically, as shown in FIG. 1 and FIG. 2, the heat dissipation bottom plate 110 is connected to the fixing seat 120 by the fixing member S1, the heating element is in contact with the bottom surface 110b of the heat dissipation bottom plate 110, and the heating element is located between the heat dissipation bottom plate 110 and the substrate. When the fixing seat 120 is fixed toward the substrate by the fixing piece S2, the heat dissipation bottom plate 110 is pressed against the heating element. The cooling module 130 is connected to the top surface 110 a of the heat dissipation bottom plate 110 to form a cavity. The cooling module 130 also includes a liquid inlet tube IT and a liquid outlet tube OT. The chamber is configured to circulate coolant. The temperature control element 140 is connected to the cooling module 130 and is configured to adjust the flow of cooling fluid into and out of the chamber based on the temperature of the heating element.

In some embodiments, as shown in FIG. 1 and FIG. 2 , the coolant flow control device 100 further includes a housing H. As shown in FIG. The housing H is configured to provide protection for the temperature control element 140 .

In some embodiments, the coolant flow control device 100 further includes a processing unit (not shown). The processing unit is configured to receive the temperature signal from the heating element. The processing unit is also configured to convert the signal into current and output it to the temperature control element 140 .

In some embodiments, as shown in FIG. 1 and FIG. 2 , the coolant flow control device 100 further includes a wire W. The wire W is configured to deliver current from the processing unit to the temperature control element 140 .

Please refer to Figure 3, Figure 4A and Figure 4B. In this embodiment, the cooling module 130 includes a top plate 132 , a side wall 134 and a partition wall 136 . The top plate 132 has a liquid inlet hole 132A and a liquid outlet hole 132B. The side wall 134 vertically extends from the edge of the top plate 132 and surrounds the edge of the top plate 132 , wherein the side wall 134 is connected to the heat dissipation bottom plate 110 . The partition wall 136 vertically extends from the top plate 132 and is configured to divide the chamber into a first sub-chamber C1 and a second sub-chamber C2. That is, the partition wall 136 separates the first sub-chamber C1 from the second sub-chamber C2 , wherein the partition wall 136 is connected to the heat dissipation bottom plate 110 . The first sub-chamber C1 is configured to receive cooling liquid from the liquid inlet tube IT. The second sub-chamber C2 is configured to deliver the cooling liquid from the first sub-chamber C1 to the liquid outlet pipe OT. In some embodiments, as shown in FIG. 3 , the liquid inlet hole 132A is connected between the first subchamber C1 and the temperature control element 140 , and the liquid outlet hole 132B is connected between the temperature control element 140 and the second subchamber C2 .

Please refer to FIG. 3 and FIG. 5 , in this embodiment, the temperature control element 140 includes a cavity 142 , a driver 144 and a valve body 146 . The cavity 142 is configured to accommodate the coolant from the first sub-chamber C1. The driver 144 is adjacent to the cavity 142 . The valve body 146 is connected to the driving part 144 , specifically, the driving part 144 is connected to the valve body 146 through the fixing part 145 , for example, the fixing part 145 is for locking the driving part 144 and the valve body 146 . The valve body 146 is configured to rotate based on the temperature of the heating element, thereby regulating the flow of coolant into and out of the chamber.

Please continue to refer to FIG. 3 and FIG. 5 , in this embodiment, the cavity 142 further includes a liquid inlet area A1 , a liquid outlet area A2 and a spacer 143 . The liquid inlet area A1 is configured to receive the cooling liquid from the first sub-chamber C1. The liquid outlet area A2 is configured to deliver the cooling liquid from the liquid inlet area A1 to the second sub-chamber C2. The spacer 143 separates the liquid inlet area A1 from the liquid outlet area A2 and has an opening O. The opening O enables the cooling liquid to circulate between the liquid inlet area A1 and the liquid outlet area A2. In some embodiments, as shown in FIG. 3 and FIG. 5 , the spacer 143 has two openings O, and the spacer 143 has an accommodating space AS. The accommodation space AS is configured to accommodate the valve body 146 . One of the openings O is connected between the liquid inlet area A1 and the accommodating space AS, and the other opening O is connected between the liquid outlet area A2 and the accommodating space AS. In this embodiment, the valve body 146 has a through hole CH, and the through hole CH can be aligned with the two openings O at the same time, so that the cooling liquid can flow between the liquid inlet area A1 and the liquid outlet area A2 through the through hole CH.

With the aforementioned structural configuration, when the cooling liquid flows into the first sub-chamber C1 from the liquid inlet pipe IT, the cooling liquid enters the liquid inlet area A1 through the liquid inlet hole 132A. Next, the cooling liquid flows into the liquid outlet area A2 through the opening O on the spacer 143 through the through hole CH. Next, the cooling liquid enters the second sub-chamber C2 through the liquid outlet hole 132B, and then flows into the liquid outlet pipe OT.

Next, how the coolant flow control device 100 controls the flow of the coolant will be described.

Please refer to Figure 6 and Figure 7. FIG. 6 and FIG. 7 illustrate how the valve body 146 of the temperature control element 140 rotates to control the flow of the coolant in the coolant flow control device 100 . In this embodiment, for example, the temperature of the heating element is obtained by a signal connected to the management chip (BMC) on the substrate. The processing unit obtains the temperature of the heating element through the signal conversion of the management chip on the substrate. The processing unit then converts the PWM signal output through the internal software function, and linearly converts the PWM signal with a duty cycle of 0% to 100% into a current output. The wire W receives the current input to control the rotation of the driving member 144, thereby controlling the rotation of the valve body 146, and controlling the flow rate and flow of the cooling liquid by the opening of the valve body 146.

In a usage scenario, when the heating element located under the heat dissipation bottom plate 110 and in contact with the bottom surface 110b does not generate waste heat because it is in an idle state, the processing unit does not output current to the wire W, and the driving member 144 does not drive the valve body 146 to rotate (as shown in FIG. Since the through hole CH is not aligned with the opening O (that is, the solid spherical portion surrounding the through hole CH blocks the opening O), the coolant from the inlet pipe IT cannot enter the liquid outlet area A2 through the opening O and the through hole CH temporarily.

In a usage scenario, when the heating element under the heat dissipation base plate 110 generates a relatively large amount of waste heat due to a full load state, the processing unit outputs a corresponding maximum current to the wire W, and then the driver 144 drives the valve body 146 to rotate (as shown in FIG. 7 ) so that the through hole CH is aligned with the opening O, so as to connect the liquid inlet area A1 and the liquid outlet area A2. In this case, the through hole CH together with the opening O forms a channel, as shown in FIG. 7 . Since the through hole CH is aligned with the opening O to form a channel, the cooling liquid from the liquid inlet pipe IT can enter the liquid outlet area A2 through the opening O and the through hole CH.

In the coolant flow control device 100 of the present disclosure, when the heating element is in a normal operating state, the processing unit will output an appropriate current to the driver 144, and the driver 144 causes the through hole CH of the valve body 146 to communicate with a part of the opening O to connect the liquid inlet area A1 and the liquid outlet area A2. In an application scenario, when the heat-generating element under the heat dissipation base plate 110 does not generate so much waste heat compared with the full-load state due to the partial load state, the temperature of the heat-generating element is lower than the temperature under the full-load state, so that the through hole CH is only communicated with a part of the cross-section of the opening O. Since the through hole CH only communicates with a part of the cross-section of the opening O, the cooling liquid from the inlet pipe IT can enter the liquid outlet area A2 and the second sub-chamber C2 through the opening O and the through hole CH at a relatively small flow rate.

Through the above operations, the cooling liquid flow control device 100 can control the cooling liquid flow based on the temperature of the heating element, so as to achieve the effects of controlling the cooling liquid flow and saving energy.

In some embodiments, as shown in FIG. 5 , the center of the spacer 143 is formed as a hollow cylindrical extension to form the accommodating space AS, but the present disclosure is not limited thereto. In some other embodiments, the center of the spacer 143 may not be formed as a hollow cylindrical extension without having the accommodating space AS. In the embodiment in which the spacer 143 does not have the accommodating space AS, the spacer 143 has only one opening O, and the opening O is connected between one of the liquid inlet area A1 and the liquid outlet area A2 and the valve body 146 (that is, the valve body 146 can be located in the liquid inlet area A1 or in the liquid outlet area A2). Specifically, the spherical part located at the lower part of the valve body 146 abuts against the aforementioned opening O. As shown in FIG.

In the embodiment where the spacer 143 does not have the accommodating space AS, when the through hole CH is aligned with the opening O, the through hole CH and the opening O together form the aforementioned channel. In this case, the driving member 144 can still rotate corresponding to the current to control the flow of the cooling liquid in the cooling liquid flow control device 100 .

In some embodiments, as shown in FIG. 1 , FIG. 2 , FIG. 6 and FIG. 7 , the fixing member S2 includes elements such as springs and screws, but the disclosure is not limited thereto. In some embodiments, the fixing member S2 may not include a spring. Although the disclosure discloses that the fixing base 120 is connected to the substrate by means of locking, the disclosure is not intended to limit the structure, method or means of connecting the fixing base 120 to the substrate.

In some embodiments, as shown in FIG. 1 , FIG. 2 , FIG. 5 and FIG. 7 , the fixing member S1 is substantially screwed. Although the present disclosure discloses that the heat dissipation bottom plate 110 and the fixing seat 120 are connected to each other by means of locking (for example, the heat dissipation bottom plate 110 and the fixing seat 120 are locked to each other through the fixing member S1), the present disclosure is not intended to limit the structure, method or means for connecting the heat dissipation bottom plate 110 and the fixing seat 120 to each other.

In some embodiments, the component of the cooling liquid may be liquid water (H ₂ O), but the present disclosure is not limited thereto. In some embodiments, the composition of the cooling liquid may be ethylene glycol (C ₂ H ₆ O ₂ ) or propylene glycol (C ₃ H ₈ O ₂ ). The above is just an example for simple description, and the present disclosure is not intended to limit the components of the cooling liquid.

In some implementations, the heat dissipation bottom plate 110 and the cooling module 130 are substantially separated, but the present disclosure is not limited thereto. In some implementations, the heat dissipation bottom plate 110 and the cooling module 130 may be formed integrally rather than separately. For example, the heat dissipation bottom plate 110 and the cooling module 130 can be integrally formed as a water cooling box with a cavity.

In some embodiments, the heat dissipation bottom plate 110 and the cooling module 130 are substantially tightly connected. Alternatively, in some embodiments, the heat dissipation bottom plate 110 and the cooling module 130 may be adhesively connected to each other. Alternatively, in some implementations, the heat dissipation bottom plate 110 and the cooling module 130 may be snap-fit connected to each other. The above is just an example for simple description, and the present disclosure is not intended to limit the structure, method or means of connecting the heat dissipation bottom plate 110 and the cooling module 130 to each other.

In some embodiments, for example, the driving member 144 may be a stepper motor or an induction motor. The above is just an example for simple description, and the present disclosure is not intended to limit the structure or material of the driving member 144 . Specifically, any structure, method or means that can make the driving member 144 rotate based on the current and drive the valve body 146 to rotate is within the spirit and scope of the present disclosure.

In some embodiments, the temperature control element 140 is disposed on the cooling module 130 , but the present disclosure is not limited thereto. In some implementations, for example, the temperature control element 140 may be disposed between the first sub-chamber C1 and the second sub-chamber C2. The present disclosure is not intended to limit the location of the temperature control element 140 .

From the above detailed description of the specific implementation of the present disclosure, it can be clearly seen that in the coolant flow control device of the present disclosure, since the temperature control element utilizes the characteristic that the valve body can rotate based on the temperature of the heating element, the through hole of the valve body can be aligned or not aligned with the opening to achieve the purpose of controlling the coolant flow. In the coolant flow control device of the present disclosure, the valve body can be proportionally connected to the liquid inlet area and the liquid outlet area based on the temperature of the heating element, thereby achieving the energy saving effect of the coolant flow control device.

In an embodiment of the present disclosure, the coolant flow control device disclosed in the present disclosure can be applied to a server, and the server can be used for artificial intelligence (AI) computing, edge computing, and can also be used as a 5G server, cloud server, or Internet of Vehicles server.

Although this disclosure has been disclosed as above in terms of implementation, it is not intended to limit this disclosure. Any person skilled in the art may make various changes and modifications without departing from the spirit and scope of this disclosure. Therefore, the scope of protection of this disclosure shall be defined by the scope of the appended patent application.

100: Coolant flow control device 110: heat dissipation bottom plate 110a: top surface 110b: bottom surface 120: fixed seat 130: cooling module 132: top plate 132A: Inlet hole 132B: liquid outlet 134: side wall 136: Partition wall 140: temperature control element 142: Cavity 143: Interval 144: Driver 145: fixed part 146: valve body A1: Inlet area A2: Outlet area AS: accommodating space C1: first subchamber C2: second subchamber CH: through hole H: Shell IT: inlet pipe O: open OT: Outlet tube S1, S2: Fixing parts W: wire

In order to make the above and other purposes, features, advantages and embodiments of the present disclosure more comprehensible, the accompanying drawings are described as follows: FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of a coolant flow control device according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. FIG. 2 is another schematic diagram of a coolant flow control device according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view of a coolant flow control device according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. FIG. 4A is a partial schematic diagram of a cooling module according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. FIG. 4B shows another partial schematic diagram of the cooling module according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. FIG. 5 shows an exploded view of a temperature control element according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. FIG. 6 shows a cross-sectional view of the valve body rotating to disconnect the liquid inlet area and the liquid outlet area according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. FIG. 7 shows a cross-sectional view of the valve body rotating to connect the liquid inlet region and the liquid outlet region according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

100: Coolant flow control device 110: heat dissipation bottom plate 110a: top surface 120: fixed seat 130: cooling module 140: temperature control element H: Shell IT: inlet pipe OT: Outlet tube S1, S2: Fixing parts W: wire

Claims (9)

A coolant flow control device, comprising: a heat dissipation bottom plate configured to contact a heating element on a substrate; a fixing seat connected to the heat dissipation bottom plate and configured to be fixed to the substrate; a cooling module including a liquid inlet pipe and a liquid outlet pipe connected to a top surface of the heat dissipation bottom plate to form a chamber configured to circulate a cooling liquid, and the chamber further includes a first subchamber and a second subchamber; The module is connected, and includes a valve body configured to rotate based on a temperature of the heating element, thereby adjusting a flow rate of the coolant entering and leaving the chamber, wherein the temperature control element further includes: a cavity configured to accommodate the coolant from the first sub-chamber; and a driver, adjacent to the cavity, and configured to drive the valve body. The coolant flow control device according to claim 1, wherein the first subchamber is configured to receive the coolant from the liquid inlet pipe, and the liquid inlet pipe is not connected to the second subchamber, wherein the second subchamber is configured to deliver the coolant from the first subchamber to the liquid outlet pipe, and the liquid outlet pipe is not connected to the first subchamber. The coolant flow control device according to claim 2, wherein the cooling module further comprises: a top plate having a liquid inlet hole and a liquid outlet hole, wherein the liquid inlet hole is connected between the first sub-chamber and the temperature control element, and the liquid outlet hole is connected between the temperature control element and the second sub-chamber; a side wall vertically extends from the edge of the top board and surrounds the edge of the top board, wherein the side wall is connected to the heat dissipation bottom plate; and a partition wall extends vertically from the top board and separates the first sub-chamber and the second sub-chamber The sub-chambers are separated, wherein the partition wall is connected to the heat dissipation bottom plate. The cooling fluid flow control device as described in claim 1, further comprising a processing unit configured to: receive a signal of the temperature from the heating element; and convert the signal into a current and output it to the driving member, wherein the current causes the valve body to rotate. The coolant flow control device according to claim 1, wherein the cavity comprises: a liquid inlet area configured to receive the coolant from the first sub-chamber; a liquid outlet area configured to deliver the coolant from the liquid inlet area to the second sub-chamber; and a partition configured to separate the liquid inlet area from the liquid outlet area. The coolant flow control device according to claim 5, wherein the spacer has an opening connected between one of the liquid inlet region and the liquid outlet region and the valve body. The coolant flow control device according to claim 6, wherein the valve body has a through hole, and when the through hole is aligned with the opening, the through hole and the opening together form at least a part of a channel. The coolant flow control device according to claim 7, wherein the spacer further has another opening and an accommodating space for accommodating the valve body, the opening is connected between the liquid inlet area and the accommodating space, and the other opening is connected between the liquid outlet area and the accommodating space, wherein when both ends of the through hole are respectively aligned with the opening and the other opening, the through hole, the opening and the other opening jointly form the channel. The coolant flow control device according to claim 8, wherein the valve body is configured to: when the heating element is in an idle state, the through hole is not aligned with the opening so as not to connect the liquid inlet area and the liquid outlet area; and when the heating element is in a normal operating state, the through hole is rotated so that the through hole is aligned with the opening to conduct the liquid inlet area and the liquid outlet area.

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