WO2008035930A1

WO2008035930A1 - A heat sink device and a cooling structure

Info

Publication number: WO2008035930A1
Application number: PCT/KR2007/004586
Authority: WO
Inventors: Jaeyoung Lim
Original assignee: Jaeyoung Lim
Priority date: 2006-09-22
Filing date: 2007-09-19
Publication date: 2008-03-27
Also published as: KR100650007B1

Abstract

A heat sink and a cooling structure using the heat sink are disclosed. The heat sink of the present invention includes a heat absorbing part (102), which is provided at a predetermined position on a main body (100) and is in contact at an end thereof with a heat source to absorb heat from the heat source. A plurality of through holes (106) is formed in the main body (100) such that they extend from an inlet surface (104) of the main body to an outlet surface (105) opposite the inlet surface, so that heat absorbed into the main body through the heat absorbing part is transferred to air that flows through the through holes.

Description

Description A HEAT SINK DEVICE AND A COOLING STRUCTURE

Technical Field

[1] The present invention relates, in general, to heat sinks and cooling structures using the heat sinks and, in particular, to a cooling structure that can effectively cool an object that generates heat in a casing of a device such as a computer. Background Art

[2] Generally, in devices, such as a computer, having electric components, for example, a CPU and a graphic card, which generate relatively high heat, in order to dissipate heat generated from the components to the outside of a casing, blower fans are provided on respective corresponding components. The blower fans supply air to the corresponding components and dissipate heat from the components to the space in the casing. Furthermore, an additional blower fan for dissipating heat from the interior of the casing to the outside is provided in the casing, so that air in the casing can be continuously discharged outside the casing, thus realizing the cooling function.

[3] However, in the conventional cooling method, outside air is continuously drawn into and discharged from the casing, so that foreign substances such as dust enter the casing, with the result that the product, for example, a computer, malfunctions. In particular, in the case where the conventional cooling method is applied to devices, such as computers or control boxes, used in working areas where a large amount of dust is generated, there is a problem in that frequent malfunctions attributable to dust occur.

[4] Furthermore, in the conventional technique, heat radiated from components in the casing is transferred to relatively high-temperature air in the casing, rather than being directly dissipated outside the casing. Therefore, there is a disadvantage in that the cooling efficiency is unsatisfactory. Disclosure of Invention

Technical Problem

[5] Accordingly, the present invention has been made keeping in mind the above problems occurring in the prior art, and an object of the present invention is to provide a heat sink and a cooling structure which is constructed such that the interior of a casing of a product is cooled using a sealed air path, thus preventing foreign substances such as dust from entering the casing, thereby preventing electric components and a PCB from malfunctioning, and enhancing the durability of the product.

[6] Another object of the present invention is to achieve high cooling efficiency using a structure such that relatively low-temperature outside air is directly used to cool the components in the casing.

[7] A further object of the present invention is to provide a cooling structure which can reduce noise. Technical Solution

[8] In order to accomplish the above object, in an aspect, the present invention provides a heat sink, including: a heat absorbing part (102) provided at a predetermined position on a main body (100), the heat absorbing part in contact at an end thereof with a heat source to absorb heat from the heat source, with a plurality of through holes (106) formed in the main body (100) and extending from an inlet surface (104) of the main body to an outlet surface (105) opposite the inlet surface, so that heat absorbed into the main body through the heat absorbing part is transferred to air that flows through the through holes.

[9] Here, preferably, of the through holes formed through the main body, through holes that are disposed in a central portion of the main body may be larger than through holes that are disposed in a perimeter portion of the main body. Furthermore, the inlet surface (104) of the main body, in which the through holes are formed, may be concave such that air is easily drawn into the through holes.

[10] In another aspect, the present invention provides a cooling structure to cool an interior of a casing using a heat sink, including: a heat sink, having a heat absorbing part (102) provided at a predetermined position on a main body (100), the heat absorbing part in contact at an end thereof with a heat source to absorb heat from the heat source, with a plurality of through holes (106) formed in the main body (100) and extending from an inlet surface (104) of the main body to an outlet surface (105) opposite the inlet surface, so that heat absorbed into the main body through the heat absorbing part is transferred to air that flows through the through holes; a blower fan (114) coupled to the inlet surface of the heat sink to forcibly blow air towards the inlet surface of the heat sink; an inlet port (108) formed in the casing; an outlet port (110) formed in the casing; an inlet pipe unit (112) coupled at a first end thereof to the inlet port and coupled at a second end thereof to the blower fan, thus defining a sealed air passage extending from the inlet port to the heat sink; and an outlet pipe unit (116) coupled at a first end thereof to the outlet port and coupled at a second end thereof to the outlet surface of the heat sink, thus defining a sealed air passage extending from the heat sink to the outlet port, so that outside air drawn into the inlet port cools the interior of the casing while passing through the through holes in the heat sink and being discharged outside through the outlet port.

[11] Preferably, the inlet pipe unit (112) and the outlet pipe unit (116) may respectively include bellows pipes (122) and (128). Advantageous Effects

[12] In the heat sink and the cooling structure according to the present invention, the interior of a casing of a product is cooled using a sealed air path. Therefore, foreign substances such as dust are prevented from entering the casing, so that there are advantages in that electric components and a PCB are prevented from malfunctioning, and the durability of the product is enhanced.

[13] Furthermore, in the present invention, because relatively low-temperature outside air is directly used to cool the components in the casing, high cooling efficiency is ensured.

[14] In addition, sound waves, which are generated by a blower fan and cause noise, strike a surface of bellows pipes and are thus weakened, so that there is an advantage in that noise is markedly reduced. Brief Description of the Drawings

[15] FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a heat sink, according to an embodiment of the present invention;

[16] FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view of the embodiment of the present invention;

[17] FIG. 3 is an exploded schematic view of the embodiment of the present invention; and

[18] FIG. 4 is an assembled view of the embodiment of the present invention.

[19] <Description of the elements in the drawings>

[20] 100: main body 102: heat absorbing part

[21] 104: inlet surface 105: outlet surface

[22] 106: through hole

[23] 108: inlet port 110: outlet port

[24] 112: inlet pipe unit 114: blower fan

[25] 116: outlet pipe unit

Best Mode for Carrying Out the Invention

[26] As shown in FIG. 1, a heat sink of the present invention includes a main body 100 and a heat absorbing part 102, which is provided at a predetermined position on the main body. The heat absorbing part is in contact at the end thereof with a heat source to absorb heat from the heat source. The heat absorbing part has the same structure as that of a typical heat sink. A plurality of through holes 106 is formed through the main body such that they extend from the first surface of the main body, that is, from an inlet surface 104, to a second surface thereof, opposite the first surface, that is, to an outlet surface (105, shown in FIG. 3). Thanks to this structure of the heat sink, in a state in which the heat absorbing part contacts the heat source, heat, which is absorbed from the heat source to the main body through the heat absorbing part, can be ef- fectively dissipated outside by air, which flows through the through holes. In other words, while outside air is drawn into and flows through the through holes, heat of the main body is transferred to air, flowing through the through holes, and is thus dissipated outside.

[27] Here, of the through holes formed in the main body, through holes, which are formed in the central portion of the main body, are larger than through holes, which are formed in the perimeter of the main body. Furthermore, the inlet surface 104 of the main body, in which the through holes are formed, is concave, so that air supplied to the main body can be effectively drawn into and pass through the through holes. In detail, to prevent outside air from forming vortexes when striking the inlet surface, the inlet surface is concave such that the surface is inclined towards the central portion thereof. Therefore, air flows along the inclined inlet surface towards the central portion of the inlet surface, and a large amount of air thus flows through the large through holes, which are formed in the central portion of the main body, thereby preventing vortexes as far as possible, and ensuring smooth flow of air through the through holes.

[28] As shown in the drawings, in this embodiment, a mounting means 117 is provided to mount the heat sink to a device such as a printed circuit board in a state in which the heat absorbing part is in contact with a component that generates heat. A typical mounting bracket, which is commonly available on the market, may be used as the mounting means, therefore this is excluded from the defining characteristics of the present invention.

[29] As shown in FIG. 4, the heat sink of the present invention is used to cool the interior of a casing C of a product, for example a computer, in which internal components are covered with the casing C. In detail, in the case of the product such as the computer, the components, for example, a CPU, etc., which generate heat, are provided in the casing, so that the operation of cooling the components, which generate heat, is absolutely necessary. For this, in the present invention, the heat sink for cooling the interior of the casing is mounted to the casing. Referring to FIG. 3, an inlet port 108 and an outlet port 110 are formed in the casing. Furthermore, to conduct the cooling operation using outside air, the heat sink of the present invention forms a sealed air path, along which outside air is drawn into the heat sink through the inlet port, passes through the through holes of the heat sink, and is discharged outside through the outlet port. That is, in the present invention, relatively low-temperature outside air is directly used in the cooling operation, rather than using the relatively high-temperature air that is present in the casing. Therefore, cooling efficiency can be markedly enhanced.

[30] To achieve the above-mentioned purpose, a sealed air passage is required between the inlet port and the heat sink, and a sealed air passage is required between the outlet port and the heat sink. These air passages are realized by an inlet pipe unit 112 and an outlet pipe unit 116, as shown in FIG. 2. Furthermore, a blower fan 114, which blows air towards the inlet surface 104 of the heat sink, is used as a means for forcibly blowing air.

[31] The blower fan is coupled to the inlet surface 104 of the heat sink and serves to forcibly blow air towards the inlet surface. Meanwhile, as can be understood from the e xploded perspective view of FIG. 3 and the assembled view of FIG. 4, the inlet pipe unit 112 is coupled at a first end thereof to the inlet port 108 of the casing and is coupled at a second end thereof to the blower fan 114, thus forming the sealed air passage extending from the inlet port 108 to the blower fan 114. Furthermore, as can be appreciated from FIGS. 3 and 4, the outlet pipe unit 116 is coupled at a first end thereof to the outlet port 110 of the casing and is coupled at a second end thereof to the outlet surface 105 of the heat sink, thus forming the sealed air passage extending from the heat sink to the outlet port.

[32] Preferably, the inlet pipe unit 112 has a modular structure, in which pipe support members 120 and 124 are provided on respective opposite ends of a bellows pipe 122, and the outlet pipe unit 116 also has a modular structure, in which pipe support members 126 and 130 are provided on respective opposite ends of a bellows pipe 128. It is preferable that the bellows pipes 122 and 128 be made of material having high heat transfer efficiency, for example, metal foil, such as aluminum foil or copper foil, such that heat can be efficiently transferred between the interior of the bellows pipe and the exterior thereof through the surface of the bellows pipe, so that heat generated in the casing is transferred into the interior of the bellows pipe through the bellows pipe and is dissipated outside the casing.

[33] As shown in FIG. 4, when the blower fan is operated after the cooling structure of the present invention is installed in the casing, air is drawn from the outside of the casing into the inlet port and passes through the through holes in the heat sink. During this process, the air absorbs heat from the heat sink and is then discharged outside through the outlet port, thus dissipating heat. The intended cooling function is conducted through this process. As such, the heat sink of the present invention conducts the cooling function using low-temperature air from outside the casing, rather than using high-temperature air, which has been present in the casing. Furthermore, because the sealed air path is defined by the inlet pipe unit, the blower fan, the heat sink and the outlet pipe unit, outside foreign substances are prevented from being applied to components inside the casing. As well, because sound waves, which are generated by the blower fan and cause noise, strike the surface of the bellows pipes and are thus weakened, there is an advantage in that noise is markedly reduced. An explanation of the increased necessity for a cooling structure that can reduce noise in a device such as a computer is considered unnecessary.

[34] The cooling structure having the above-mentioned construction is not limited to cooling a computer, but can be applied to any product, as long as it has a casing, of course. For ease of understanding the present invention, the case, in which the cooling structure of the present invention having the above-mentioned construction is applied to the computer, will be explained herein below with reference to only one example. First, the heat sink is mounted to a board such that the heat absorbing part of the heat sink is in contact with a CPU on the board (in a typical mounting method using the mounting means 117). Thereafter, as stated above, an air path is defined between an inlet port, which is formed in a first surface of the casing of the computer, and an outlet port, which is formed in a second surface of the casing, using the inlet pipe unit, the outlet pipe unit, the blower fan and the heat sink. In this cooling structure, because foreign substances such as dust of air, which is drawn into the inlet port, are discharged outside the computer through the outlet port, without remaining in the computer, malfunctions attributable to foreign substances can be effectively prevented. Furthermore, because the heat sink directly contacts outside air and conducts the cooling function using the outside air, high cooling efficiency is ensured. Moreover, heat of air in the casing of the computer is transferred into the bellows pipes, which have high heat transfer rates and constitute the inlet pipe unit and the outlet pipe unit, and is dissipated outside.

[35] Meanwhile, as a method of mounting the elements of the cooling structure, there may be various embodiments, which are techniques well known to those skilled in the art, and therefore detailed explanation thereof has been omitted in the above description. For example, as shown in FIG. 2, screw holes 131, 132, 133, 134, 135, 136 and 137 may be formed in the inlet pipe unit, the blower fan, the heat sink, the outlet pipe unit and the mounting means, and the adjacent elements may thus be coupled to each other using screws. Of course, alternatively, the elements may be coupled to each other by other coupling means. In the drawings, screw holes in the casing and the outlet surface of the heat sink have been omitted.

[36] Although the preferred embodiment of the present invention has been disclosed for illustrative purposes, those skilled in the art will appreciate that various modifications, additions and substitutions are possible. Industrial Applicability

[37] As described above, the present invention provides a heat sink and a cooling structure using the heat sink and, in particular, a cooling structure which can effectively cool an object, which generates heat in a casing of a device such as a computer.

Claims

[1] A heat sink, comprising: a heat absorbing part (102) provided at a predetermined position on a main body (100), the heat absorbing part in contact at an end thereof with a heat source to absorb heat from the heat source, with a plurality of through holes (106) formed in the main body (100) and extending from an inlet surface (104) of the main body to an outlet surface (105) opposite the inlet surface, so that heat absorbed into the main body through the heat absorbing part is transferred to air that flows through the through holes.

[2] The heat sink according to claim 1, wherein, of the through holes formed through the main body, through holes that are disposed in a central portion of the main body are larger than through holes that are disposed in a perimeter portion of the main body.

[3] The heat sink according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the inlet surface (104) of the main body, in which the through holes are formed, is concave such that air is easily drawn into the through holes.

[4] A cooling structure to cool an interior of a casing using a heat sink, comprising: a heat sink, having a heat absorbing part (102) provided at a predetermined position on a main body (100), the heat absorbing part in contact at an end thereof with a heat source to absorb heat from the heat source, with a plurality of through holes (106) formed in the main body (100) and extending from an inlet surface (104) of the main body to an outlet surface (105) opposite the inlet surface, so that heat absorbed into the main body through the heat absorbing part is transferred to air that flows through the through holes; a blower fan (114) coupled to the inlet surface of the heat sink to forcibly blow air towards the inlet surface of the heat sink; an inlet port (108) formed in the casing; an outlet port (110) formed in the casing; an inlet pipe unit (112) coupled at a first end thereof to the inlet port and coupled at a second end thereof to the blower fan, thus defining a sealed air passage extending from the inlet port to the heat sink; and an outlet pipe unit (116) coupled at a first end thereof to the outlet port and coupled at a second end thereof to the outlet surface of the heat sink, thus defining a sealed air passage extending from the heat sink to the outlet port, so that outside air drawn into the inlet port cools the interior of the casing while passing through the through holes in the heat sink and being discharged outside through the outlet port. [5] The heat sink according to claim 4, wherein the inlet pipe unit (112) and the outlet pipe unit (116) respectively comprise bellows pipes (122) and (128). [6] The heat sink according to claim 5, wherein each of the bellows pipes (122) and

(128) is made of aluminum foil.