US20150047821A1

US20150047821A1 - Heating device structure

Info

Publication number: US20150047821A1
Application number: US13/966,658
Authority: US
Inventors: Yueh-Mu Lee; Hwa-Yuh Shin; Zun-Hao Shih; Yi-Ping Liang; Hwen-Fen Hong
Original assignee: Institute of Nuclear Energy Research
Current assignee: Institute of Nuclear Energy Research
Priority date: 2013-08-14
Filing date: 2013-08-14
Publication date: 2015-02-19

Abstract

The present relates to a heating device structure, which comprises a heat conducting member to mate with the heat dissipation fins of an electronic device. Thereby, during the packaging process of the electronic device, the effect of multi-point heating can be achieved by combining the heat conducting member and the fins. Accordingly, heating can be performed rapidly to reach the soldering temperature. Without the influence of the structure of heat dissipation fins, the heating process will not be performed at low efficiency.

Description

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates generally to a heating device structure, and particularly to a heating device structure that can heat electronic devices having heat dissipation fins for achieving multi-point heating and thus improving the heating efficiency of packaging processes.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

In recent years, thanks to the prosperous development of the electronic industry, electronic devices are developing towards the direction of high functionality, high complexity, mass production, and low cost. In order to enhance unit performance, people devote to miniaturization of device structure, leading to increased heating density of the devices.
As the heating problem of electronic devices gets more serious, heat dissipation units are usually used with electronic devices for reducing the influences of the heating problem. Take the chip for concentrated photovoltaic cells for example. The energy conversion efficiency increases as the operating temperature decreases. Thereby, the chip will be soldered on heat sinks such as aluminum plates for improving its heat dissipation capability.
Nonetheless, the heat dissipation effect of aluminum plates still need to be improved. According to the principle of thermal conduction, the heat conduction power Q is kA(ΔT/ΔX), where ΔT is the temperature difference of the two contact surfaces; k is the thermal conductivity; and A is the area for heat conduction. Thereby, if the area for heat conduction can be increased, more heat can be transferred to the air to be contacted with and thus achieving heat dissipation.
Thereby, most heat dissipation units modify the aluminum plate to a large number of thin sheets and forming a plurality of fins. By increasing the surface area of aluminum, the heat dissipation capability is enhanced. According to this method, it is ensured that only a small amount of aluminum is sufficient for functioning. In addition, the weight proportion of the heat dissipation units is also controlled.
Nonetheless, in general, while soldering an electronic device on heat dissipation fins directly, as shown in FIG. 1, due to the limit of the structure of the fins 3, the contact area between the fins 3 and the heating platform 1 is very small, leading to reduction in the thermal conduction path (shown as dashed lines). Thereby, it needs longer heating time or raised heating temperature of the platform for achieving the required temperature for packaging the photovoltaic-cell module receiver 4 on the fins 3.
Given such a condition, if the current heating device is still used for the heating process, in addition to the drawback of consuming longer time, the proportion of the dissipated thermal energy is also increased and hence the energy is wasted.
Accordingly, the present invention provides heat dissipation fins for heating electronic devices rapidly and thus facilitating processes of the electronic devices.

SUMMARY

An objective of the present invention is to provide a heating device structure, which comprises a heat conducting member mating with the fin structure for forming multiple contact points and heating. Heat can thereby be transferred to fins rapidly and facilitating the packaging process for the heated electronic device.
Another objective of the present invention is to provide a heating device structure, which heats the electronic devices with heat dissipation fins for solving the problems of inefficient heating and wasting heat energy caused by the influence of the fin structure if the heating method according to the prior art is used.
Still another objective of the present invention is to provide a heating device structure, which uses multiple contact points for increasing substantially heat conduction paths and thus achieving the corresponding effect. High-efficiency heating can be achieved without increasing more heat power. Thereby, the present invention has the advantage of saving energy.
For achieving the objectives described above, the present invention discloses a heating device structure used for heating an electronic device having a plurality of fins disposed below the electronic device. The heating device structure comprises a heat-source platform and a heat conducting member, which is disposed on the heat-source platform. The heat-source platform comprises a bottom part and a plurality of extension parts. The bottom part contacts the heat-source platform; the plurality of extension parts are located on the bottom part and extend upwards for contacting the plurality of fins of the electronic device to be heated. According to the design of the structure, substantial heat can be transferred to the heat dissipation fins of the electronic device. Without the limit imposed by the structure of heat dissipation fins, the heating process will not be performed at low efficiency.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 shows a structural schematic diagram according to the prior art;

FIG. 2 shows a structural schematic diagram according a preferred embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 3 shows a structural schematic diagram according a preferred embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 4 shows a schematic diagram of mating with the heat dissipation fins of an electronic device during application of the present invention;

FIG. 5 shows a schematic diagram of the heat conduction paths during application of the present invention;

FIG. 6 shows a structural schematic diagram according another preferred embodiment of the present invention; and

FIG. 7 shows a structural schematic diagram according still another preferred embodiment of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

In order to make the structure and characteristics as well as the effectiveness of the present invention to be further understood and recognized, the detailed description of the present invention is provided as follows along with embodiments and accompanying figures.
In view that while heating the electronic device using heat dissipation fins, limited by the extremely tiny contact area between the fins and the heating plate, the heating efficiency is low and the time required for raising the electronic device to the predetermined soldering temperature is extended, the present invention provides a novel heating device structure. By making use of the characteristics of the structure, the purposes of rapid heating and saving energy consumption can be achieved.
First, please refer to FIG. 2 and FIG. 3, which disclose the appearance and form of the structure according to the present invention. The structure according to the present invention comprises a heat-source platform 1 and a heat conducting member 2. The heat conducting member 2 has two main parts including a bottom part 21 and a plurality of extension parts 22. The heat conducting member 2 is disposed on the heat-source platform 1; the bottom part 21 contacts the heat-source platform; and the extension part 22 is located on the bottom part 21.
The heating source adopted by the present invention can be a plate-type heat-source platform 1, which can generate heat energy and transfer the heat energy to the heat conducting member 2 attached thereon. The design of this heat-source platform 1 is not limited to the plate type shown in FIG. 2; it can have variations in appearance. Nonetheless, the plate type is a preferred embodiment by considering the manufacturing cost and performance.
After the heat-source platform 1 generates heat energy, the heat energy can be transferred rapidly to the heat conducting member 2 attached thereon. The heat conducting member 2 can be combined with the heat-source platform 1 by bonding using heat conductive glue or by metal soldering. Thereby, the majority of the heat energy can be transferred to the heat conducting member 2, instead of lost at the bonding interface of the two.
The heat conducting member 2 is composed of the material with high thermal conductivity. Considering the material cost and ease of fabrication, the preferred choice is copper or aluminum. They have excellent thermal conductivity and are easy to acquire. Besides, by using the mature casting technology, the desired shape can be formed. Of course, other materials, such as aluminum-magnesium alloy, aluminum oxide (Al₂O₃), aluminum nitride (AlN), boron nitride (BN), graphite (C), steel, or iron (Fe), can be adopted as well.
The structure of the heat conducting member 2 can be divided into two parts. One is the bottom part 21 contacting the heat-source platform 1. The purpose of the bottom part 21 is to receive the heat energy generated by the heat-source platform 1. Thereby, its design is also plate type. In addition, the contact area between the bottom part 21 and the heat-source platform 1 should be as large as possible, so that the heat energy can enter the heat conducting member 2 effectively. The other part of the heat conducting member 2 is the extension part 22 located on the bottom part 21. The extension part 22 is a critical design used for transferring the heat energy to the fins of the electronic device to be heated.
Please refer to FIG. 4. The electronic device to be heated according to the present invention has a plurality of fins 3, which are the heat dissipation unit of the electronic device. The mechanism of the plurality of fins 3 is that when the electronic device operates to high temperature, the heat energy should be removed rapidly through the plurality of fins 3 made of materials such as copper or aluminum. In addition to copper and aluminum, aluminum-magnesium alloy, aluminum oxide, aluminum nitride, boron nitride, graphite, steel, or iron can be the material of the fins 3. Owing to the requirements for heat dissipation and light weight, the plurality of fins 3 are mostly designed as a great number of thin foil structures arranged side by side with large surface area. Hence, they have superior heat dissipation efficiency. Nonetheless, it is the very structure of the plurality of fins 3 that limits the heating efficiency to the electronic device.
The present invention matches up the structural design of the fins 3 and provides the extension part 22 to mate with them. The extension part 22 is located on the bottom part 21 and extends upwards to contact and stay close to the plurality of fins 3 of the electronic device to be heated. In particular, the extension part 22 extends into the inner side of the plurality of fins 3, which increases substantially the contact area between the overall heating device structure and the fins 3 and thus increasing the heat conduction paths.
Please refer to FIG. 5. After the heating device structure according to the present invention combines with the electronic device having the plurality of fins 3 below, multiple contact points are provided immediately for heating and conducting heat. Hence, the electronic device will not be affected by the structure of the fins 3 as being packaged on the heat dissipation fins 3. The heat energy can be transferred rapidly to the junction between the bulk of the electronic device and the fins 3 given a great number of transmission paths, as the dashed lines shown in FIG. 5. For example, when the photovoltaic cells module receiver 4 is being soldered to the fins 3, the required soldering temperature can be reached rapidly.
From another point of view, while heating using the present invention, the dissipated heat energy due to lack of appropriate heat transmission paths can be reduced. If the concentrated photovoltaic-cell module receiver 4 having the heat dissipation fins 3 is simply placed on a plate-type heating plate for heating, the area exposed to the air without contacting directly with the fins 3 will be quite large, which dissipates a portion of the generated heat energy in the air before it is transferred effectively to the fins 3. In addition to causing the problem of slow heating, it also leads to waste of energy source.
The extension part 22 according to the present invention can be customized with flexibility to match the styles of the fins 3 on the object to be heated. As shown in FIG. 6 and FIG. 7, there can be many variations of the extension part 22 applied to fins of various types. Thereby, multi-point heating can be achieved and thus saving time and energy by improving the heating rate.
To sum up, the present invention discloses in details a heat device structure. Based on its structural characteristics, substantial amount of heat energy can be transferred to the electronic device having heat dissipation fins for heating the electronic device rapidly; the heating process will not be performed at low efficiency owing to the influence of the structure of the heat dissipation fins. This will be very helpful for soldering the electronic devices such as concentrated photovoltaic-cell module receivers. It thereby requires shorter heating time to reach the soldering temperature; it is no longer necessary to consume linger heating time or raising the temperature of the heating platform. Thereby, given the development potential of enhancing performance and saving energy, the present invention undoubtedly provides a heat device structure having utility and commercial values.
Accordingly, the present invention conforms to the legal requirements owing to its novelty, nonobviousness, and utility. However, the foregoing description is only embodiments of the present invention, not used to limit the scope and range of the present invention. Those equivalent changes or modifications made according to the shape, structure, feature, or spirit described in the claims of the present invention are included in the appended claims of the present invention.

Claims

1. A heating device structure, used for heating an electronic device having a plurality of fins disposed below said electronic device, comprising:

a heat-source platform; and

a heat conducting member, disposed on said heat-source platform, comprising:

a bottom part, contacting said heat-source platform; and

a plurality of extension parts, located on said bottom part, extending upwards, and contacting said plurality of fins of said electronic device to be heated.

2. The heating device structure of claim 1, wherein said plurality of fins are the heat dissipation unit of said electronic device.

3. The heating device structure of claim 1, wherein the material of said heat conducting member is selected from the group consisting of copper (Cu), aluminum (Al), aluminum-magnesium alloy, aluminum oxide (Al₂O₃), aluminum nitride (AlN), boron nitride (BN), graphite (C), steel, and iron (Fe).

4. The heating device structure of claim 1, wherein said electronic device is a photovoltaic-cell module receiver.

5. The heating device structure of claim 1, wherein the material of said plurality of fins is selected from the group consisting of copper (Cu), aluminum (Al), aluminum-magnesium alloy, aluminum oxide (Al₂O₃), aluminum nitride (AlN), boron nitride (BN), graphite (C), steel, and iron (Fe).

6. The heating device structure of claim 1, wherein said plurality of extension parts contact the inner sides of said plurality of fins.