US20200309470A1

US20200309470A1 - Vapor chamber

Info

Publication number: US20200309470A1
Application number: US16/902,075
Authority: US
Inventors: Shih-Lin Huang; Wen-Shiang Chen; Shu-Cheng Yang
Original assignee: Delta Electronics Inc
Current assignee: Delta Electronics Inc
Priority date: 2018-02-12
Filing date: 2020-06-15
Publication date: 2020-10-01
Also published as: US20230021686A1

Abstract

A vapor chamber having a first plate, a second plate and a brazing structure is provided. The first plate has an outer surface and an inner surface. A periphery of the first plate has a sealing edge extending outwardly; a level difference exists between the first plate and the sealing edge. Multiple supporting portions are formed on the inner surface of the first plate. The second plate also has an outer surface and an inner surface spaced apart from the inner surface of the first plate, and the second plate covers the first plate to enclose a chamber. The brazing structure has a sealing portion and a plurality of connecting portions, the sealing portion is fixed between the second plate and the sealing edges of the first plate, and the connecting portions are respectively disposed between the corresponding supporting portions of the first plate and of the second plate.

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuing-in-part application of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 16/264,612, filed on Jan. 31, 2019, and entitled “VAPOR CHAMBER WITH SUPPORT STRUCTURE AND MANUFACTURING METHOD THEREFOR”, which claims priority to CN201810146134.2 filed Feb. 12, 2018. The entire disclosures of the above applications are all incorporated herein by reference.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention relates to a vapor chamber.

BACKGROUND

A conventional vapor chamber has an upper cover and a lower copper sealed with each other and a chamber is enclosed therein. The upper cover and the lower copper are sealed by brazing. Brazing is a joining method for joining two pieces by heating and melting a filler having a melting temperature below that of the pieces. Thereby, the filler is flowable and capable of filling gaps between the two pieces via capillarity, and the two pieces can be joined by solidified filler.
After aforementioned brazing, the brazed portion has a certain thickness and a whole thickness of the upper and lower cover is therefore increased at least 0.02 to 0.03 mm at the brazed periphery. Therefore, a supporting structure in the vapor chamber is stretched and even separated, and issues of strength, flatness and high temperature expansion and deformation are resulted. The issues are more obvious and serious in a compact vapor chamber.
In view of this, the inventor studied various technologies and created an effective solution in the present disclosure.

SUMMARY

It is an objective of the present invention to provide a vapor chamber which is prevented from issues of strength, flatness and expansion in high temperature therein caused by enlarging of gaps between the brazed two plates.
Accordingly, the present invention provides a vapor chamber. The vapor chamber has a first plate, a second plate and a brazing structure connected to the first plate and the second plate. The first plate has an outer surface, an inner surface, a sealing edge extending outwardly at a periphery of the first plate, a level difference formed between the first plate and the sealing edge, and a plurality of first supporting portions formed on the inner surface of the first plate. The second plate also has an outer surface and an inner surface, the inner surface of the second plate is spaced apart from the inner surface of the first plate, and the second plate covers the first plate to form a chamber. A plurality of second supporting portions is formed on the inner surface of the second plate. The brazing structure has a sealing portion and a plurality of connecting portions, the sealing portion is fixed between the second plate and the sealing edge of the first plate, and the respective connecting portions are disposed between the first supporting portions of the first plate and the second supporting portions of the second plate.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The disclosure will become more fully understood from the detailed description and the drawings given herein below for illustration only, and thus does not limit the disclosure, wherein:

FIG. 1 is an exploded view illustrating a vapor chamber of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a perspective view illustrating the assembled vapor chamber of the present invention;

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view of the assembled vapor chamber of the present invention;

FIG. 4 is a partial enlarged view showing the second embodiment of the portion A in FIG. 3;

FIG. 5 is a partial enlarged view showing the third embodiment of the portion A in FIG. 3;

FIG. 6 is a partial enlarged view showing the fourth embodiment of the portion A in FIG. 3;

FIG. 7 is a partial enlarged view showing the fifth embodiment of the portion A in FIG. 3;

FIG. 8 is a partial enlarged view showing the sixth embodiment of the portion A in FIG. 3;

FIG. 9 is a partial enlarged view showing the seventh embodiment of the portion A in FIG. 3;

FIG. 10 is a partial enlarged view showing the eighth embodiment of the portion A in FIG. 3;

FIG. 11 is a partial enlarged view showing the ninth embodiment of the portion A in FIG. 3;

FIG. 12 is a top view showing an inner structure of the present disclosure;

FIG. 13 is a top view showing another embodiment of the inner structure of the present disclosure;

FIG. 14 is a top view showing further another embodiment of the inner structure of the present disclosure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Detailed descriptions and technical contents of the present disclosure are illustrated below in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. However, it is to be understood that the descriptions and the accompanying drawings disclosed herein are merely illustrative and exemplary and not intended to limit the scope of the present disclosure.
Please refer to the exploded view of the present disclosure shown in FIG. 1 and the assembled perspective view of the present disclosure shown in FIG. 2. The present disclosure provides a vapor chamber with an improved inner structure in particular a thin vapor chamber. The thin vapor chamber has a small thickness ranged from 0.1 to 0.8 mm and preferably 0.3 to 0.4 mm. The supporting structure of the vapor chamber has a first plate 1, a second plate 2 and a brazing structure 3 connected between the first plate 1 and second plate 2.
Specifically, the first and second plates 1, 2 are flat plates which are made of, for example, copper (Cu), titanium (Ti), or stainless steel (SUS). Each of the first and second plates 1, 2 has a thickness ranged from 0.02 to 0.2 mm, and the thickness is preferably 0.05 mm. According to the present embodiment, each of the first plate 1 and the second plate 2 has an outer surface 10, 20 and an inner surface 11, 21. A sealing edge 12 extends from a periphery of the first plate 1, and a sealing edge 22 extends from a periphery of the second plate 2. On at least one of the two plates 1 (or 2) is provided a level difference between the inner surface 11 (or 21) thereof and the sealing edges 12 (or 22) thereof. The level difference makes the first plate 1 and the second plate 2 enclose a sealed empty chamber 4 between the inner surfaces 11, 21 shown in the partial enlarged view of the portion A in FIG. 3.
Please further refer to FIG. 3, a plurality of first supporting portions 13 are disposed on the inner surfaces 11 of the first plate 1, and a plurality of second supporting portions 23 are disposed on the respective inner surfaces 21 of the second plate 2. In the first plate 1 and the second plate 2 closed with each other, the respective first supporting portions 13 of the first plate 1 are disposed corresponding to the respective second supporting portions 23 of the second plate 2 for supporting in the chamber 4 between the first plate 1 and the second plate 2, and the chamber 4 is thereby maintained. Specifically, according to the present embodiment, the first supporting portions 13 of the first plate 1 and the second supporting portions 23 of the second plate 2 are cylinders, and the first supporting portions 13 and the corresponding second supporting portions 23 have same diameter or contour. Furthermore, a capillary layer 14 could be disposed on the inner surface 11 of the first plate 1, a plurality of through holes 140 are defined on the capillary layer 14 corresponding to the first supporting portions 13 of the first plate 1, the first supporting portions 13 are inserted though the respective through holes 140, and the capillary layer 14 thereby can attach on the inner surface 11 of the first plate 1. A plurality of reliefs 24 are formed on the inner surface 21 of the second plate 2 by etching and at least one steam channel 240 is enclosed by the reliefs 24.
According to the present disclosure shown in FIGS. 1,2 and 3, the first plate 1 and the second plate 2 are sealed by the brazing structure 3. The brazing structure 3 having a sealing portion 30 and a plurality of connecting portions 31 is formed by a filler via a brazing process. The sealing portion 30 is extended between the sealing edges 12, 22 of the first plates 1 and the second plate 2. The peripheries of the first plates 1 and the second plate 2, excluded a degassing portion for vacuuming the chamber 4, are sealed by the sealing portion 30. Each connecting portion 31 is connected to the respectively first supporting portions 13 of the first plate 1 and the corresponding second supporting portions 23 of the second plate 2 for ensuring the first supporting portions 13 and the second supporting portion 23 are solidly connected with each other via the connecting portion 31. Moreover, the sealing portion 30 and the connecting portions 31 are substantially identical in thickness, a stable structure for supporting the vapor chamber is thereby formed, and an external surface of the vapor chamber is ensured to be flat.
The aforementioned content describes the vapor chamber with the improved inner structure.
Furthermore, the second and the third embodiments respectively shown in FIGS. 4 and 5 are different from the aforementioned embodiment, the first supporting portions 13 of the first plate 1 and the corresponding second supporting portions 23 of the second plate 2 could have different diameters or contours. According to FIG. 4, the first supporting portions 13 of the first plate 1 has a contour larger than the second supporting portions 23 of the second plate 2. Alternatively, according to FIG. 5, the first supporting portions 13 of the first plate 1 has a contour smaller than the second supporting portions 23 of the second plate 2. Thereby, an acceptable range of tolerance of aligning could be increased, and the spillover soldering filler of the connecting portion 31 is thereby prevented from flowing onto the capillary layer 14 or into the vapor flow channel 240 during the brazing process.
Further according to the fourth and fifth embodiments of the present disclosure shown in FIGS. 6 and 7, an additional spilling groove 130, 230 could be defined on each first supporting portion 13 of the first plate 1 or each second supporting portion 23 of the second plate 2. According to FIG. 6, at least one spilling groove 130 is recessed into the first supporting portion 13 of the first plate 1. Alternatively, according to FIG. 7, at least one spilling groove 230 is recessed into the second supporting portion 23 of the second plate 2. The filler is allowed to flow into the recessed spilling grooves 130, 230 to prevent from spillover. Furthermore, according to FIGS. 8 and 9, alternatively, the respective first supporting portions 13, 23 of the first plate 1 are provided with the aforementioned spilling grooves 130, and the corresponding second supporting portions 23 of the second plate 2 are provided with the aforementioned spilling grooves 230. According to FIG. 9, the spilling grooves 130 on the respective first supporting portions 13 of the first plate 1 and the spilling grooves 230 on the respective second supporting portions 23 of the second plate 2 could be different in number and thereby disposed to be a staggered or asymmetric arrangement.
Each spilling groove 130, 230 could have a cross section of a rectangular shape or a square shape shown in FIGS. 6 to 9, alternatively a curve shape shown in FIG. 10, and alternatively a V shape or an inverted V shape shown in FIG. 11.
Further refer to FIG. 12, the arrangement of the first supporting portions 13 of the first plate 1 and the second supporting portions 23 of the second plate 2 could be uniformly spread on the first plate 1 and the second plate 2, for example, a stagger arrangement. Furthermore, the aforementioned first supporting portions 13 and second supporting portions 23 could be not only cylinders but also square or rectangular columns shown in FIGS. 13 and 14. Moreover, for extending the peripheries of the first plates 1 and the second plate 2, some of the first supporting portions 13 and the second supporting portions 23 adjacent to the sealing edge 12, 22 could be extended to connect to the sealing edge 12, 22, and the structure of the vapor chamber is thereby reinforced.
In summary, the present invention can certainly achieve the anticipated objects and solve the problems of conventional techniques, and has novelty and non-obviousness, so the present invention completely meets the requirements of patentability. Therefore, a request to patent the present invention is filed according to patent laws. Examination is kindly requested, and allowance of the present invention is solicited to protect the rights of the inventor.
It is to be understood that the above descriptions are merely the preferable embodiments of the present invention and are not intended to limit the scope of the present invention. Equivalent changes and modifications made in the spirit of the present invention are regarded as falling within the scope of the present invention.

Claims

What is claimed is:

1. A vapor chamber, comprising:

a first plate having an outer surface, an inner surface, a sealing edge extending outwardly at a periphery of the first plate, a level difference being formed between the first plate and the sealing edge, and a plurality of first supporting portions being formed on the inner surface of the first plate;

a second plate having an outer surface and an inner surface, the inner surface of the second plate being spaced apart from the inner surface of the first plate, and the second plate covering the first plate to define a chamber, and a plurality of second supporting portions being formed on the inner surface of the second plate; and

a brazing structure having a sealing portion and a plurality of connecting portions, the sealing portion being fixed between the second plate and the sealing edge of the first plate, and the connecting portions being respectively disposed between the first supporting portions of the first plate and the second supporting portions of the second plate.

2. The vapor chamber according to claim 1, wherein the vapor chamber has a thickness ranged from 0.1 to 0.8 mm.

3. The vapor chamber according to claim 1, wherein the first plate and second plate are respectively made of copper, titanium, or stainless steel.

4. The vapor chamber according to claim 1, wherein the first plate and the second plate have a thickness ranged from 0.02 to 0.2 mm.

5. The vapor chamber according to claim 1, further comprising a capillary layer disposed on the inner surface of the first plate.

6. The vapor chamber according to claim 5, wherein a plurality of through holes are defined on the capillary layer corresponding to the first supporting portions of the first plate, the first supporting portions are inserted though the respective through holes, and the capillary layer is thereby attached on the inner surface of the first plate.

7. The vapor chamber according to claim 6, wherein a plurality of reliefs is formed on the inner surface of the second plate by etching and at least one steam channel is enclosed by the reliefs.

8. The vapor chamber according to claim 1, wherein the first supporting portions of the first plate and the second supporting portions of the second plate are cylindrical, square or rectangular columns.

9. The vapor chamber according to claim 1, wherein the first supporting portions of the first plate and the second supporting portions of the second plate have same contour.

10. The vapor chamber according to claim 1, wherein the first supporting portions of the first plate are staggered or the second supporting portions of the second plate are staggered.

11. The vapor chamber according to claim 1, wherein at least one spilling groove is recessed into the first supporting portions of the first plate or the second supporting portions of the second plate.

12. The vapor chamber according to claim 11, wherein the at least one spilling groove has a cross section of a rectangular shape, a square shape, a curve shape, a V shape or an inverted V shape.

13. The vapor chamber according to claim 1, wherein a plurality of spilling grooves is recessed into the first supporting portions of the first plate and the second supporting portions of the second plate.

14. The vapor chamber according to claim 13, wherein each spilling groove has a cross section of a rectangular shape, a square shape, a curve shape, a V shape or an inverted V shape.

15. The vapor chamber according to claim 1, wherein the sealing portion and the connecting portions are identical in thickness.