US20100212862A1

US20100212862A1 - Cooling structure for a housing

Info

Publication number: US20100212862A1
Application number: US12/379,623
Authority: US
Inventors: Chun-Ju Lin
Original assignee: Enermax Technology Corp
Current assignee: Enermax Technology Corp
Priority date: 2009-02-26
Filing date: 2009-02-26
Publication date: 2010-08-26

Abstract

A cooling structure for a housing is located on the side board of the housing. The side board has a through hole. The cooling structure for a housing includes a cooling device and a fan device. The cooling device includes a cooling chip, a cooler and a heater. The cooling chip is located on the through hole of the side board, and has a cold end and a hot end. The cold end of the cooling chip is connected with the cooler. The hot end of the cooling chip is connected with the heater. The surface area of the heater is larger than ⅓ surface area of the side board. The fan device is located at one side of the side board, and corresponds to the heater. Thereby, the cooling device of the cooling chip is used for lowering the temperature in the housing.

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a cooling structure for a housing. In particular, this invention relates to a cooling structure for a housing having a cooling chip that can exhaust the heat.
2. Description of Related Art
There are a plurality of circuit boards and electronic elements in a computer housing. When the computer operates, the electronic elements (such as chips, ICs, etc.) on the circuit boards in the computer housing generate heat so that the temperature in the computer housing rises. When the temperature in the housing exceeds the temperature specified for the electronic elements, the electronic elements may fail and the computer become damaged. Therefore, a cooling fan is generally installed in computer housings so that the heat generated from the electronic elements in the housing is exhausted out of the housing by the air flow generated by the cooling fan.
However, because the cooling fan of the prior art guides the external air into the computer housing and the temperature of the air may not be low enough, the cooling effect may be insufficient, especially when the outside temperature is high (such as in summer).

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

One particular aspect of the present invention is to provide a cooling structure for a housing that has a cooling chip so that the temperature in the housing can be lowered.
The cooling structure for a housing is located on the side board of the housing. The side board has a through hole. The cooling structure for a housing includes a cooling device and a fan device. The cooling device includes a cooling chip located on the through hole of the side board, a cooler and a heater. The cooling chip has a cold end and a hot end. The cooler is connected with the cold end of the cooling chip. The heater is connected with the hot end of the cooling chip. The surface area of the heater is larger than ⅓ surface area of the side board. The fan device is located at one side of the side board, and corresponds to the heater.
The present invention has the following characteristics. The present invention has the cooling chip so that the temperature in the housing can be rapidly lowered. Furthermore, by utilizing the fan device located at the side board of the housing and the heater that its surface area is larger than ⅓ surface area of the side board, the heat generated from the cooling chip can be effectively exhausted.
For further understanding of the invention, reference is made to the following detailed description illustrating the embodiments and examples of the invention. The description is for illustrative purpose only and is not intended to limit the scope of the claim.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The drawings included herein provide a further understanding of the invention. A brief introduction of the drawings is as follows:

FIG. 1 is an assembly perspective view of the cooling structure for a housing of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view of the cooling structure for a housing of the present invention that part of the housing is omitted and the side board is shown;

FIG. 3 is a front view of the cooling structure for a housing of the present invention;

FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view of cross-section 4-4 in FIG. 3;

FIG. 5 is an exploded perspective view of the cooling structure for a housing having a protection mask of the present invention; and

FIG. 6 is an assembly perspective view of the cooling structure for a housing having a protection mask of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

Reference is made to FIGS. 1˜3. The cooling structure for a housing is located on the side board 11 of the housing 1. The side board 11 has a through hole 111 (as shown in FIG. 2). The cooling structure for a housing includes a cooling device 2 and a fan device 3. The cooling device 2 includes a cooling chip 21, a cooler 22, a frame 26, a heat-conducting unit 23, a heater 24, and a plurality of heat pipes 28.
After the cooling chip 21 is conducted with electric power, a cold end 211 and a hot end 212 that is opposite to the cold end 211 are generated. The cooling chip 21 is located on the through hole 111 of the side board 11. The cooling chip 21 is parallel to the side board 11.
The cooler 22 is made of metal and has a plurality of cooling fins 221 that are disposed at intervals, but not limited to above. The frame 26 is also made of metal and wraps around the cooler 22. The frame 26 can be fastened onto the inner surface of the side board 11 by screws or other means so that the cooler 22 is located inside housing 1. The front end surface of the frame 26 is pasted onto the cold end 211 of the cooling chip 21. In this embodiment, the cooler 22 is connected with the cold end 211 of the cooling chip 21 via the frame 26, but not limited to above. The cooler 22 also can be directly connected with the cold end 211 of the cooling chip 21.
The heat-conducting unit 23 includes a board 233 and a base 231. The board 233 is pasted onto the hot end 212 of the cooling chip 21. The back surface of the base 231 has a plurality of grooves 232 for receiving the heat pipes 28.
In this embodiment, the heater 24 includes a plurality of cooling fin sets 241. The cool fin sets 241 are radially disposed, and each of the cool fin sets 241 includes a plurality of cooling fins 2411. The cooling fins 2411 are disposed at intervals and are vertical to the external surface of the side board 11 (as shown in FIG. 4), but not limited to above. The surface area of the heater 24 is larger than ⅓ surface area of the side board 11 (as shown in FIG. 3).
One end of each heat pipe 28 is received in the groove 232 of the base 231 of the heat-conducting unit 23, and is clipped between the board 233 and the base 231 to connect the hot end 212 of the cooling chip 21. Another end of each heat pipe 28 extends along the direction that is parallel to the side board 11, and is connected with the corresponding cooling fin set 241. Thereby, the heater 24 is connected with the hot end 212 of the cooling chip 21 via the heat pipe 28 and the heat-conducting unit 23. The heater 24 is located outside the housing 1, and is parallel to the side board 11.
The type of the fan device 3 is not limited to a specific type, and is located at one side of the side board 11. In this embodiment, the fan device 3 includes a protection screen 31 and a set of fan blades 32. The protection screen 31 is made of metal or other material (such as plastic). The center of the protection screen 31 has a base 311. The base 311 has a plurality of fastening holes 312 for receiving the screws. The set of fan blades 32 is rotatably located on the center of the base 311. The dimension of the set of fan blades 32 is not limited. In the figure, the dimension of the set of fan blades 32 is 18 cm. The fan device 3 is located at the front side of the heater 24, and the dimension of the fan device 3 is matched with the dimension of the heater 24. The fan device 24 also can be a cooling fan with a fan frame.
The cold end 211 of the cooling chip 21 cooperates with the cooler 22 to generate cold air between the cooling fins 221 of the cooler 22 to lower the temperature in the housing 1. The cooling effect is good. The hot end 212 of the cooling chip 21 cooperates with the heat pipes 28 and the heater 24 to guide the heat generated from the cooling chip 21 to the heater 24. Thereby, the large surface area of the heater 24 is used for exhausting heat. At the same time, the fan device 3 rotates to exhaust hot air of the heater 24 to outside.
Furthermore, one side of the cooler 22 is installed with a fan device 4 (as shown in FIG. 4). In this embodiment, the fan device 4 includes two cooling fans 41, but is not limited to above. The airflow generated by the fan device 4 will pass through the cooling fins 221 of the cooler 22 to forcedly blow cold air into the housing 1 to enhance the cooling efficiency.
Reference is made to FIGS. 2 and 4. the cooling device 2 further includes a shell 25, a plurality of covering boards 29, and a fastening structure 27. The shell 25 has a plurality of openings 251 that respectively correspond to the heat pipes 28. When the cooling device 2 is assembled, the shell 25 is installed onto the side board 11 by screws or other fasteners, and covers the heat-conducting unit 23 and the cooling chip 21 to protect the heat-conducting unit 23 and the cooling chip 21. The heat pipes 28 pass through the shell 25 via the openings 251. The covering boards 29 are located between the heater 24 and the side board 11, and are disposed in a hollow disk shape so that the heater 24 does not directly contact the side board 11.
The front end surface of the frame 26 further has four screw holders 261. The four screw holders 261 are respectively located at the four corners of the cooling chip 21. The fastening structure 27 includes two arc-shaped blocking pieces 271. Two ends of each blocking piece 271 respectively have a screw 272. The two blocking pieces 271 are located at two opposite sides of the base 231, and located at the front side of part of heat pipes 28. The four screws 272 pass through the board 233 and are screwed into the four screw holders 261 of the frame 26 so that the board 233 and the frame 26 are respectively and tightly pasted onto the hot end 212 and the cold end 211 of the cooling chip 21 to conduct heat well.
The cooling structure for a housing further is installed with an installation frame 5 between the fan device 3 and the cooling device 2 (referring to FIGS. 2 and 4). The base 311 of the protection screen 31 of the fan device 3 can be screwed to the front side of the installation frame 5 via the fastening holes 312. The rear side of the installation frame 5 also can be combined with the shell 25 by screwing or other fastening ways to increase the distance between the fan device 3 and the cooling device 2 so that the fan device 3 can draw more hot air.
Reference is made to FIGS. 5 and 6. The cooling structure for a housing further includes a protection cover 6. The protection cover 6 includes a cover body 61 and a protection screen 62. The cover body 61 is hollow and its end surface has an opening hole 611. The outer edge of the cover body 61 has a plurality of openings 612. The protection screen 62 is made of metal, and its shape matches the shape of the cover body 61. The surface of the protection screen 62 has a plurality of cooling holes 621. The protection screen 62 is located inside of the cover body 61 so that the cooling holes 621 expose to the opening hole 611 and the openings 612 to exhaust the hot air. The protection cover 6 covers the fan device 3, and the cover body 61 is installed on the side board 11 by screwing or other fastening ways to prevent the user form touching the set of fan blades 32 to affect the operation of the fan device 3.
The cooling structure for a housing of the present invention has the following characteristics:
1. The present invention has the cooling device of the cooling chip so that the temperature in the housing can be rapidly lowered.
2. The present invention utilizes the cooling fan located at the side wall of the housing and the heater that its surface area is larger than the surface area of the side board to exhaust the heat generated by the cooling chip.
3. The present invention can cooperate with a fan device having a large dimension. It utilizes the characteristic of the fan device having a large air-exhausting flow to rapidly exhaust heat. The cooling fan can achieve the large air-exhausting flow under merely being operated at a low rotation speed. The noise can be substantially reduced.
The description above only illustrates specific embodiments and examples of the invention. The invention should therefore cover various modifications and variations made to the herein-described structure and operations of the invention, provided they fall within the scope of the invention as defined in the following appended claims.

Claims

1. A cooling structure for a housing, located on a side board of the housing,

wherein the side board has a through hole, comprising:

a cooling device, comprising:

a cooling chip located on the through hole of the side board, wherein the cooling chip has a cold end and a hot end;

a cooler connected to the cold end of the cooling chip; and

a heater connected to the hot end of the cooling chip, wherein the surface area of the heater is larger than ⅓ surface area of the side board; and

a fan device located at one side of the side board, wherein the fan device corresponds to the heater.

2. The cooling structure for a housing as claimed in claim 1, wherein one side of the cooler has another fan device.

3. The cooling structure for a housing as claimed in claim 1, wherein the heater of the cooling device is located outside of the housing, and the cooler is located inside of the housing.

4. The cooling structure for a housing as claimed in claim 1, wherein the heater is parallel to the side board.

5. The cooling structure for a housing as claimed in claim 1, wherein the fan device comprises a protection screen and a set of fan blades, the center of the protection screen has a base, and the set of fan blades is rotatably located on the base.

6. The cooling structure for a housing as claimed in claim 1, wherein the fan device is a cooling fan.

7. The cooling structure for a housing as claimed in claim 1, wherein the cooling device further includes a plurality of heat pipes, the heater includes a plurality of cooling fin sets, one end of each heat pipe is connected with the hot end of the cooling chip, and another end of each heat pipe extends along a direction that is parallel to the side board and correspondingly connected with the cooling fin set.

8. The cooling structure for a housing as claimed in claim 7, wherein the cooling fin sets are radially disposed.

9. The cooling structure for a housing as claimed in claim 7, wherein each of the cooling fin sets includes a plurality of cooling fins, the cooling fins are disposed at intervals and are vertical to the side board.

10. The cooling structure for a housing as claimed in claim 7, wherein the cooling device further comprises a heat-conducting unit, the heat-conducting unit is located at the hot end of the cooling chip, and one end of the heat pipes is connected with the heat-conducting unit.

11. The cooling structure for a housing as claimed in claim 10, wherein the heat-conducting unit includes a board and a base, the board is pasted onto the hot end of the cooling chip, and one end of the heat pipes is clipped between the board and the base.

12. The cooling structure for a housing as claimed in claim 1, wherein the cooling device further comprises a frame, the frame wraps around the cooler, and the front end surface of the frame is pasted onto the cold end of the cooling chip.

13. The cooling structure for a housing as claimed in claim 12, wherein the cooling device further includes a fastening structure, the fastening structure includes two blocking pieces, two ends of the blocking piece respectively have a screw, the frame has four screw holders, the two blocking pieces are opposite to each other and are located at the front side of part of the heat pipes, and the four screws are respectively screwed into the four screw holders of the frame.

14. The cooling structure for a housing as claimed in claim 1, further comprising an installation frame, wherein the installation frame is located between the fan device and the cooling device.

15. The cooling structure for a housing as claimed in claim 1, further comprising a protection cover, wherein the protection cover is located outside the fan device, and the protection cover has a plurality of cooling holes.