WO2019178674A1 - Improved fanless rail cooled electronic apparatus - Google Patents

Improved fanless rail cooled electronic apparatus Download PDF

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Publication number
WO2019178674A1
WO2019178674A1 PCT/CA2019/050323 CA2019050323W WO2019178674A1 WO 2019178674 A1 WO2019178674 A1 WO 2019178674A1 CA 2019050323 W CA2019050323 W CA 2019050323W WO 2019178674 A1 WO2019178674 A1 WO 2019178674A1
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WO
WIPO (PCT)
Prior art keywords
thermal shield
heat
computer system
electronic computer
thermal
Prior art date
Application number
PCT/CA2019/050323
Other languages
French (fr)
Inventor
Niall Thomas Davidson
Original Assignee
Adc Technologies Inc.
Priority date (The priority date is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the date listed.)
Filing date
Publication date
Application filed by Adc Technologies Inc. filed Critical Adc Technologies Inc.
Publication of WO2019178674A1 publication Critical patent/WO2019178674A1/en

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Classifications

    • G—PHYSICS
    • G06—COMPUTING; CALCULATING OR COUNTING
    • G06F—ELECTRIC DIGITAL DATA PROCESSING
    • G06F1/00—Details not covered by groups G06F3/00 - G06F13/00 and G06F21/00
    • G06F1/16—Constructional details or arrangements
    • G06F1/1613—Constructional details or arrangements for portable computers
    • G06F1/1615—Constructional details or arrangements for portable computers with several enclosures having relative motions, each enclosure supporting at least one I/O or computing function
    • G06F1/1616—Constructional details or arrangements for portable computers with several enclosures having relative motions, each enclosure supporting at least one I/O or computing function with folding flat displays, e.g. laptop computers or notebooks having a clamshell configuration, with body parts pivoting to an open position around an axis parallel to the plane they define in closed position
    • G—PHYSICS
    • G06—COMPUTING; CALCULATING OR COUNTING
    • G06F—ELECTRIC DIGITAL DATA PROCESSING
    • G06F1/00—Details not covered by groups G06F3/00 - G06F13/00 and G06F21/00
    • G06F1/16—Constructional details or arrangements
    • G06F1/1613—Constructional details or arrangements for portable computers
    • G06F1/1633—Constructional details or arrangements of portable computers not specific to the type of enclosures covered by groups G06F1/1615 - G06F1/1626
    • G06F1/1656—Details related to functional adaptations of the enclosure, e.g. to provide protection against EMI, shock, water, or to host detachable peripherals like a mouse or removable expansions units like PCMCIA cards, or to provide access to internal components for maintenance or to removable storage supports like CDs or DVDs, or to mechanically mount accessories
    • G—PHYSICS
    • G06—COMPUTING; CALCULATING OR COUNTING
    • G06F—ELECTRIC DIGITAL DATA PROCESSING
    • G06F1/00—Details not covered by groups G06F3/00 - G06F13/00 and G06F21/00
    • G06F1/16—Constructional details or arrangements
    • G06F1/18—Packaging or power distribution
    • G06F1/183—Internal mounting support structures, e.g. for printed circuit boards, internal connecting means
    • G06F1/184—Mounting of motherboards
    • G—PHYSICS
    • G06—COMPUTING; CALCULATING OR COUNTING
    • G06F—ELECTRIC DIGITAL DATA PROCESSING
    • G06F1/00—Details not covered by groups G06F3/00 - G06F13/00 and G06F21/00
    • G06F1/16—Constructional details or arrangements
    • G06F1/20—Cooling means
    • G06F1/203—Cooling means for portable computers, e.g. for laptops
    • G—PHYSICS
    • G06—COMPUTING; CALCULATING OR COUNTING
    • G06F—ELECTRIC DIGITAL DATA PROCESSING
    • G06F2200/00—Indexing scheme relating to G06F1/04 - G06F1/32
    • G06F2200/20—Indexing scheme relating to G06F1/20
    • G06F2200/201—Cooling arrangements using cooling fluid

Definitions

  • Benefits of the apparatus embodying features of the present disclosure include, but are not limited to, apparatus which has a low component count with low cost mass producible and easy to assemble components and the potential to be operated without the need for forced air cooling.
  • An exemplary electronic computer system is described, the electronic computer system comprising a thermally conductive thermal shield and a motherboard.
  • the thermal shield is manufactured at least in part from a thermally conductive material, for example aluminium, the thermal shield operating as a heat transmitting component transferring heat from heat generating components of a motherboard to a heat removal portion of the computer server.
  • the exemplary electronic computer system may also comprise a daughterboard and a plurality of heat-pipes.
  • FIG. 1 A shows an isometric view of an electronic computer system in accordance with a non-limiting embodiment of the disclosure
  • FIG. 1B shows an isometric cutaway view of the electronic computer system of Figure 1 A showing a location of a variety of components of the electronic computer system;
  • Fig. 1C shows an exploded isometric view of the electronic computer system of Figure 1A
  • Fig. 2A shows an isometric view of the electronic computer system of Figure 1 A with a location of dual in-line memory modules (DIMMs) appearing thereon;
  • DIMMs dual in-line memory modules
  • Fig. 2B shows an isometric cutaway view of the electronic computer system of Figure 1 A showing the location of the DIMMs of Fig. 2A;
  • Fig. 3A shows an isometric view of a DIMM of Figs. 2A and 2B;
  • Fig. 3B shows an isometric exploded view of the DIMM of figure 3A;
  • FIG. 4A shows an exploded cutaway isometric view of an urging mechanism with an actuating mechanism that may be used to urge a rail portion of the electronic computer system of Figure 1A against a cooled surface of a cooled enclosure;
  • Fig. 4B shows an isometric view of the actuating mechanism of Fig. 4A
  • Figs. 4C and 4D show side-elevation and side-elevation cutaway views of the urging mechanism of Fig. 4A, respectively, whereby an interaction of inclined ramps may be observed.
  • a non-limiting embodiment of a clam-shell electronic computer system 1000 is disclosed, wherein the electronic computer system 1000 is configured to reduce its number of components and simplify manufacture and assembly of the electronic computer system 1000 whilst also improving cooling efficiency.
  • the electronic computer system 1000 is of a type which can be cooled by installation into a cooled enclosure, the cooled enclosure being of a type similar to that described previously by this inventor in WIPO publications WO/2014/030046- Al, WO/2017/004531-A1 and WO/2017/004528-A1 which are each incorporated herein by reference in their entirety.
  • the electronic computer system is intended, but not required, to be operated without a fan or necessitating air-cooling.
  • the electronic computer system 1000 notably comprises a clam-shell chassis 1001 comprising two-halves, an upper-half 1100 which is a thermally conductive thermal shield, a lower-half 1200, and a motherboard 1300.
  • the upper-half 1100 may be manufactured from a thermally conductive material, such as but not limited to aluminium. Any other suitable thermally conductive material may be used in other embodiments, as further discussed below.
  • the upper-half 1100 operates as a heat transmitting component, transferring heat from heat generating components of the clam-shell electronic computer system 1000 to a heat-removal portion, in this case rail-portion 1110 of the clam-shell chassis 1001.
  • the lower-half 1200 may also operate as a heat transmitting component in other embodiments.
  • the lower-half 1200 may be manufactured from a non-thermally conductive thermoplastic and provide features which reduce assembly complexity and support the installation of the various components of the clam-shell electronic computer system 1000, thereby reducing the part count by providing for the combination of many features into a single manufactured article.
  • the motherboard 1300 installed within the clam-shell chassis 1001 may comprise at least one heat-generating component and may also include heat-generating components (e.g., CPU, GPU and the likes) that have thermal design powers (TDP) of at least 10W, is some cases between 10W and 160W, in some cases at least 160W, in some cases no more than 300W and in some cases even more.
  • TDP thermal design powers
  • the upper-half 1100 and lower- half 1200 generally comprise a pattern of recesses protruding away from a surface of each one of the upper-half 1100 and lower-half 1200.
  • the pattern of recesses generally corresponds to a pattern of protrusions of the motherboard 1300, each protrusion corresponding to a heat generating component of the motherboard 1300.
  • the upper-half 1100 of the clam-shell chassis 1001 is manufactured from a sheet of aluminium which is shaped such that when the motherboard 1300 is installed into the clam shell chassis 1001 one or more heat-generating components of the motherboard 1300 are brought into thermal contact with the upper-half 1100, either via a thermal interface material (TIM) or directly via physical contact between the motherboard 1300 and the upper-half 1100.
  • TIM thermal interface material
  • the upper-half 1100 may be manufactured from a sheet of aluminium by stamping, pressing or any other suitable sheet metal manufacturing process. Apertures may be created through which various components protrude as may be required according to the configuration of the motherboard 1300. The sheet may then be electroless nickel-plated to allow a subsequent, optional, soldering process.
  • the upper-half 1100 may be designed by first creating a three-dimensional model of the motherboard 1300 and the various components installed thereon within the clam-shell electronic computer system 1000. The location of the various components of the motherboard 1300 may then be adjusted, for example to position components of a similar height in a close proximity from each other as permitted by the electronic needs of the motherboard 1300. This would in turn simplify the configuration, and therefore manufacture, of the upper-half 1100.
  • the upper-half 1100 may also be configured to follow the contours of the motherboard 1300 and the various components installed thereon, for example to allow sufficient space between the various components of the motherboard 1300 and the upper-half 1100 so as to include a thermal interface material therebetween. This would allow the thermal interface material to establish contact with components of a varying height over a given planar surface of the upper-half 1100, such that the upper-half 1100 may comprise of a given number of planar surfaces, possibly with different heights.
  • the upper-half 1100 may be manufactured from copper, silver, gold, steel or any other suitable metal, conductive plastics, thermoplastics, including thermoplastics subsequently coated with a thermally conductive material, composite materials, including composite materials incorporating thermally conductive materials such as a thermally conductive metal or graphite, graphene or other non-metal material, as well as any other suitable material.
  • the clam-shell electronic computer system 1000 does not require the use of separate heatpipe assemblies, or any other heat-transmitting means, configured to transfer heat from high power heat-generating components to the area of the rail-portion 1110 of the clam-shell chassis. Instead, the heat generated by the high power heat-generating components is transmitted to the area of the rail-portion 1110 directly via the upper-half 1100 of the clam shell chassis 1001.
  • the upper-half 1100 of the clam-shell chassis 1001 comprises a plurality of heat-pipes 1120-1135 which at least augment its heat-transmitting characteristics.
  • the plurality of heat-pipes 1120-1135 are thermally coupled to the upper-half 1100 such that they allow heat to be transmitted from heat-generating components of the motherboard 1300 to the rail-portion 1110 of the clam-shell chassis 1001.
  • the heat-pipes 1120-1135 are shaped (routed) in such a way that they make contact with the upper-half 1100 at one or more locations where increased heat-transfer is required, illustrated are heat-pipes positioned proximal to CPUs 1302, RAM 1304, Voltage Regulators (VRM) 1306, 2.5” SFF storage devices 1308 and M.2 storage devices 1310 as well as chipset 1312 and various other heat-generating components which each have different heat-generating and cooling needs.
  • Each heat-pipe 1120-1135 or cluster of heat-pipes 1120-1135 is configured to provide the necessary heat-transfer characteristics to allow heat to be adequately removed from the proximal heat-generating component.
  • the heat-pipes 1120-1138 are configured to cool a single heat-generating component or multiple heat-generating components.
  • CPUs 1302 which have a TDP of 160W are cooled using four dedicated heat-pipes 1120 proximal to each CPU 1302, while other heat-generating components such as the M.2 storage devices 1310, chipset 1312 and a number of misc IC’s 1314 are cooled using a single heat- pipe 1122 being shaped (routed) and configured such that it is thermally connected to the upper-half 1100 proximal to each of the M.2 storage devices 1310, chipset 1312 and IC components 1314.
  • One heat-pipe 1124 is also shown which is not routed to the rail-portion 1110 of the clam-shell chassis 1001, instead transmitting heat to another area of the upper-half 1100 which is then further transmitted to the rail-portion 1110 of the clam-shell chassis by either the upper-half 1100 or the proximate heat-pipe 1126.
  • heat-pipes 1120-1135 While a number of the heat-pipes 1120-1135 are shown as being located on a surface of the upper-half 1100 which is not brought into direct contact with components located on the motherboard 1300 or installed in the clam-shell electronic computer system 1000, it is to be appreciated that the heat-pipes 1120-1138 may or may not be brought into direct contact with components located on the motherboard 1300 in other embodiments. However, configuring the heat-pipes 1120-1138 to have at least a portion in direct contact, possibly via a thermal interface material, with the various components may yield improved thermal efficiencies. In the embodiment of Figs.
  • the heat-pipes 1128 are routed on one-side of the upper-half 1100 and are connected through apertures to an opposite side of the upper-half 1100.
  • the heat-pipes 1120-1135 may therefore be located on any side of the upper-half 1100 in other embodiments.
  • the heat-pipes 1120-1135 may be thermally connected to the upper-half 1100 via a mechanical fastening device such as an adhesive (possibly thermally conductive).
  • the heat- pipes 1120-1135 may also be thermally connected via soldering, welding or any other suitable mean by which a thermal connection is made. In the specific example of Figs.
  • the heat-pipes 1120-1138 are thermally and mechanically connected to the upper-half 1100 via the use of a low-temperature SnBiAg solder which has a melting point of l38°C, the heat-pipes 1120-1135 being soldered to the upper-half 1100 by the use of a CNC manufactured tool which holds the heat-pipes in position while heat is applied to the joints until the solder flows.
  • the heat-pipes being of a water-filled copper type that is electroless-nickel plated with the upper-half 1100 being similarly electroless-nickel plated to ASTM B733 specifications, this allows the solder to wet the surfaces appropriately and bond the two together with a low thermal resistance joint.
  • heat-pipes 1120-1135 are described herein as a method of augmenting the heat- transmitting characteristics of the upper-half 1100
  • alternative means of augmenting the heat- transmitting characteristics of the upper-half 1100 may be used in other embodiments, such as but not limited to any apparatus having a condensing portion and an evaporative portion (e.g., vapor chambers), any other suitable heat transfer apparatus which operates in a similar fashion to a heat-pipe, thermosyphons, thermally conductive materials such as copper, silver, gold or any other suitable thermally conductive metal or non-metallic material such as graphite or graphene to all or portions of the upper-half 1100, or any other means of transmitting heat from one location to another.
  • the upper-half 1100 is further configured to thermally isolate parts of the upper-half 1100, that is to provide features that prevent heat from flowing or reduce heat flow from one area of the upper-half 1100 to another.
  • the portion 1140 of the upper-half 1100 proximal to each CPU 1302 is physically isolated by a series of isolating cuts 1141, having thermal connectivity via the upper-half 1100 to the rail-portion 1110 of the clam shell chassis 1001 only.
  • heat being generated by each CPU 1302 is directed towards the rail-portion 1110 of the clam-shell chassis 1001, thermally isolating the upper-half 1100 in the area 1140 of each CPU 1302 and protecting other components in contact with the upper-half 1100 from the heat being generated by each CPU 1302.
  • the gap in the upper-half 1100 from the isolating cuts 1141 may then be blocked by the use of a foil.
  • Any other suitable thermal isolation configuration is possible in other embodiments.
  • the upper-half 1100 is further configured to contain the rail-portion 1110 of the clam shell chassis 1001 which is brought into contact with a cooled enclosure when the clam-shell electronic computer system 1000 is installed.
  • the rail-portion 1110 has a width of 40mm which is suitable to fit side-by-side three 8mm diameter heat-pipes flattened to a 4mm height. This was determined to be a good fit to the approximately 150W per lOcm length cooling characteristics exposed by a corresponding enclosure with channels having similar dimensions as is described in a previous application by the present inventor.
  • the surface of the rail-portion 1110 of the upper-half 1100 which is brought into contact with the cooled enclosure may benefit from the application of a thermal interface material, including but not limited to thermal greases, thermal interface pads, thermal gap pads, graphite pads and any other suitable thermal interface material.
  • a thermal interface material including but not limited to thermal greases, thermal interface pads, thermal gap pads, graphite pads and any other suitable thermal interface material.
  • the use of a graphite thermal interface material applied to the surface of the rail-portion 1110 of the upper- half 1100 allowed for both improved thermal contact between the cooled enclosure and the rail-portion 1100 but also provided a lower coefficient of friction that enabled the clam-shell electronic computer system 1000 to be more easily installed and removed from the cooled enclosure.
  • Thermal gap pads may provide a superior heat transfer when less pressure is being applied to the thermal interface such as may occur when the weight of the clam-shell electronic computer system 1000 is being used to ensure contact between the rail-portion 1110 and the channel of the cooled enclosure.
  • a number of components 1302-1313, 1400 are also installed in the clam-shell electronic computer system 1000 that are each cooled by contact with the upper-half 1100 of the clam-shell electronic computer system 1000. These include the following.
  • a plurality of RAM chips 1304 with a total TDP of 36W which are installed on the motherboard 1300 and contacted to the upper-half 1100 via an electrically insulating gap pad type thermal interface material and serviced by two 8mm heat-pipes 1132, 1133 flattened to 4mm which are routed to the rail-portion 1110 of the clam-shell chassis 1001;
  • a daughterboard 1400 as further described below, with a TDP of 23.5 W, the daughterboard 1400 contacting the upper-half 1100 via a thermally conductive contact component 1102, in this case an aluminium part, which is permanently affixed to the upper- half 1100 via a thermal adhesive or solder joint in a similar fashion to which the heat-pipes 1120-1135 are joined to the upper-half 1100 described above.
  • a thermally conductive contact component 1102 in this case an aluminium part, which is permanently affixed to the upper- half 1100 via a thermal adhesive or solder joint in a similar fashion to which the heat-pipes 1120-1135 are joined to the upper-half 1100 described above.
  • the contact component 1102 providing a planar surface 1103 to which heat-generating components installed on-board the daughterboard 1400 can be contacted while also providing a good thermal connection to the heat-pipe 1126 affixed to the upper-half 1100 below the contact component 1102, the heat- pipe 1126 being a 6mm part flattened to 4mm and being routed to the rail-portion 1110 of the upper-half 1100.
  • the daughterboard 1140 is a field replaceable component while still allowing good thermal contact to the heat-pipe 1126 and the upper-half 1100.
  • the daughterboard 1400 may also be contacted directly to the upper-half 1100 omitting the contact component 1102, for example by either running a heat- pipe beneath the contacting surface of upper-half 1100, running a heat-pipe that is proximate to the contacting location, directly to a heat-pipe or if the power does not require a heat-pipe;
  • VRMs 1306 comprising a plurality of components with a total TDP of 14W for each of the two VRMs 1306, the VRMs 1306 contacted to the upper-half 1100 via an electrically insulating gap pad type thermal interface material and serviced by two 8mm heat-pipes 1133, 1135 flattened to 4mm which are routed to the rail- portion 1110 of the clam-shell chassis, and;
  • the heat-pipe 1124 is not directly in contact with the rail-portion 1110 of the clam-shell chassis 1001, instead augmenting heat transfer from one portion of the upper-half 1100 to another portion of the upper-half 1100 whereby another heat-pipe 1126 transmits heat to the rail- portion 1110 of the clam-shell chassis 1001.
  • the clam-shell electronic computer system 1000 further comprises a plurality of DIMMs 1600, that is a plurality of circuit boards containing a number of heat-generating components, each circuit board having an edge connector that fits into a connector on the motherboard 1300.
  • the DIMMs 1600 are installed on the motherboard 1300 so as to be vertical with regards to the motherboard 1300, that is each DIMM 1600 is comprised of a circuit board that is installed on the motherboard 1300 with the plane of the circuit board being nonparallel to the motherboard 1300.
  • the DIMMs 1600 protrude through an aperture in the upper-half 1100 and do not directly contact the upper-half 1100.
  • any other suitable configuration of the clam-shell electronic computer system 1000 that is of the 2.5” SFF storage devices 1308, the M.2 expansion cards 1310, the IC component 1312, the plurality of RAM chips 1304, the CPUs 1302, the daughterboard 1400, the VRMs 1306 and the DIMMs 1600 is possible in other embodiments.
  • the daughterboard 1400 (also known as a mezzanine or expansion card or board) is positioned such that the upper-half 1100 of the clam-shell chassis 1001 is located between the motherboard 1300 and the daughterboard 1400.
  • the daughterboard 1400 may comprise at least one heat-generating component which is in thermal contact with the upper-half 1100 of the clam-shell chassis 1001, at least a portion of the heat being generated by the at least one heat-generating component of the daughterboard 1400 being transmitted to the area of the rail-portion 1110 via the upper-half 1100 of the clam-shell chassis 1001.
  • the daughterboard 1400 is electrically connected to the motherboard 1300 and has at least one heat-generating component with a TDP of approximately 25W. It is appreciated that the daughterboard 1400 may be electrically independent from the motherboard 1300 in other embodiments and share the cooling only. The daughterboard 1400 may also exhibit a lower power or a higher power, for example in other embodiments the daughterboard 1400 may be a CPU or GPU with a TDP of 300W with the upper-half 1100 of the clam-shell chassis 1001 being configured with the appropriate heat- transfer characteristics for the TDP of 300W.
  • the daughterboard 1400 is of a size suitable for use as a network interface card, the daughterboard 1400 may be of any suitable type and/or dimensions in other embodiments. Also, while in the embodiment of Figure 1C one daughterboard 1400 is shown, it is appreciated that the clam-shell electronic computer system 1000 may not comprise any daughterboard 1400 or may comprise any other suitable number of daughterboards 1400, each daughterboard 1400 having the same or different TDP or other characteristics.
  • the lower-half 1200 may also be thermally conductive and perform the same function and have similar characteristics as the upper-half 1100 described herein. For example this would allow two sides of motherboard 1300 to be cooled by a thermally conductive lower- half 1200 and a thermally conductive upper-half 1100 while locating daughterboards 1400 on either the lower 1200 or upper halves 1100. It is further not intended that the terms upper-half or lower-half are interpreted to require a particular orientation in any embodiments embodying principles of the present disclosure.
  • the DIMMs 1600 which are field replaceable, comprise one or more heat- spreaders 1602 which are in thermal contact via a thermal interface material 1604 with a plurality of heat-generating components 1606 installed on circuit board 1601, the heat- spreaders 1602 being configured to transmit heat to contact surfaces 1608 which are configured such that when the DIMMs 1600 are installed in the motherboard 1300 they may be brought into thermal contact, possibly via optional thermal interface material 1610, with another surface through which the DIMMs 1600 can be cooled.
  • the heat- spreaders 1602 are held in place by two springs 1612 and transmit heat to a plurality of parallel contact surfaces 1608 which are perpendicular to a surface of the circuit board 1601 and lie opposite the edge fingers 1614 that fit into the connector on the motherboard 1300. It is appreciated that in other embodiments the two springs 1612 may be absent and the heat-spreaders 1602 may be mechanically fastened using any other suitable mean such as screws, adhesive and the likes.
  • an auxiliary thermal shield in the form of box 1700 is then positioned such that the DIMMs 1600 are contained within the box 1700 with a surface of the box 1700 being brought into thermal contact with the contact surfaces 1608 of the DIMMs 1600. Heat is then transmitted from the DIMMs 1600 through the contact surfaces 1608 to the box 1700.
  • the box 1700 may be manufactured from a thermally conductive material, such as but not limited to aluminium and may be manufactured from sheet metal.
  • the box 1700 transmits heat from the DIMMs 1600 to the upper-half 1100 of the clam-shell chassis and the heat-transfer characteristics of the box 1700 may be further augmented by using heat-pipes 1702 in a similar fashion as described above for the upper-half 1100.
  • two heat-pipes 1702 which are in contact with the surface of the box 1700 are routed through apertures in a side of the box 1700 to flanges 1704 extending parallel to a surface of the upper-half 1100.
  • the flanges 1704 When installed the flanges 1704 are brought into contact with heat-pipes 1134, 1135 on the upper-surface 1100 which is routed to the rail-portion 1110 of the upper-half 1100 of the clam-shell chassis 1001.
  • heat generated by heat-generating components 1606 on the DIMMs 1600 is routed first through the heat-spreaders 1602, then via a contact surface 1608 on the heat- spreader 1602 into the box 1700 whereby it is transmitted by a combination of the thermal conductivity of the box 1700 and the heat-pipes 1702 in thermal contact with the box 1700 to a flange 1704 of the box 1700 which is in thermal contact with the upper-half 1100 of the clam-shell chassis 1001 whereby heat is then transmitted by the upper-half 1100 to the rail- portion 1110 of the clam-shell chassis 1001.
  • the upper-half 1100 may be manufactured to allow the contact surfaces 1608 of the heat-spreaders 1602 to contact the upper-half 1100 directly and be cooled by the upper-half 1100 in a fashion similar to that described above, which would improve heat-transfer and the temperature of the DIMMs 1600 by removing thermal interfaces.
  • the aperture and box 1700 are however intended to allow the DIMMs 1600 to be replaceable without having to remove the entire upper-half 1100 of the assembly, instead only needing to remove the box 1700.
  • a similar approach may be used to allow the above described M.2 storage devices 1310 and 2.5” storage devices 1308 to be replaceable without having to remove the upper-half 1100 of the electronic apparatus 1000 assembly.
  • CPU clamps 1500 which may be manufactured from a spring steel may be used.
  • the CPU clamps 1500 may be designed such that they provide the force that is called upon for attaching a thermal solution to a socket 2011 type CPU as specified by Intel Corporation, however CPU clamps 1500 are not limited to being used for such a CPU type.
  • each CPU clamp 1500 comprises four lobes 1502 which are not parallel to the clamping surface 1504 of the CPU clamp 1500, the four lobes 1502 being configured such that as screws 1506 are fastened through the hole in each lobe 1502 a clamping force is developed with the correct clamping force being reached when each lobe 1502 is brought parallel to the clamping surface 1504 of the CPU clamp 1500.
  • Such a CPU clamp 1500 removes the need for springs when clamping to a CPU 1302 while still meeting the force specifications for attaching a thermal solution to the delicate CPUs 1302.
  • an optional urging mechanism 1800 is shown. Use of the urging mechanism 1800 may help improve the heat transfer characteristics between a cooling surface of a cooled enclosure and the rail-portion 1110 of the clam-shell electronic computer system 1000. Alternative methods of creating a thermal connection between the rail- portion 1110 and a cooling surface of a cooled enclosure may be used in other embodiments such as but not limited to adhesives or any other suitable urging means. In other embodiments the urging mechanism 1800 is not needed, for example when relying on the weight of the apparatus itself to create thermal connection between the rail-portion 1110 and a cooling surface of a cooled enclosure.
  • the urging mechanism 1800 may be used to urge the rail-portion 1110 of the clam-shell electronic computer system 1000 against the cooling surface of the channel of the cooling enclosure into which the clam-shell electronic computer system 1000 is to be installed by bracing against the opposing surface within the channel, thus improving the heat transfer characteristics of the thermal interface.
  • the urging mechanism 1800 comprises a first linear component 1810 and a second linear component 1820 each linear component 1810, 1820 having a plurality of inclined planes 1812, 1822.
  • the first and second linear components 1810, 1820 may be configured such that when the first linear component 1810 and second linear component 1820 are brought together the opposing inclined planes 1812, 1822 align and are in contact such that moving the first linear component 1810 in the direction defined by the long axis of the linear components 1810, 1812 while holding the second linear component 1822 fixed causes the first linear component 1810 to move in a direction such that the distance X decreases or increases, depending on the direction of movement.
  • the urging mechanism 1800 may further comprise an actuating mechanism which comprises: a bolt 1830; threaded transfer component 1832 which is mechanically fixed to linear component 1810 by two fasteners 1833 and into which bolt 1830 is threaded; and a bolt receiver 1834 which is mechanically fixed to linear component 1820 by fasteners 1835 and receives the end 1831 of bolt 1830 into a groove 1836 that forces the bolt receiver 1834 to follow the movement of bolt 1830.
  • the actuating mechanism may be configured such that when the bolt 1830 is turned the two linear components 1810, 1820 are moved in the direction defined by the long axis of the linear components 1810, 1820 thus increasing or decreasing the distance X.
  • any other suitable actuating mechanism that creates a linear movement of linear component 1810 relative to linear component 1820 may be used, including the use of levers and any other suitable mechanical apparatus.
  • the bolt 1830 has the benefit of reducing the amount of material used for the mechanism, reducing waste and also has the additional benefit of allowing the use of a torque wrench to precisely control the amount of pressure and torque placed upon the urging mechanism 1800.
  • the urging mechanism 1800 may be fitted on top of the rail-portion 1110 of the upper- half 1100 running along at least part of the length of the rail-portion 1110.
  • the bolt 1830 is actuated so as to reduce the distance X and allow the clam-shell electronic computer system 1000 to be easily slid into place.
  • the bolt 1830 is again turned to increase the distance X causing the rail- portion 1110 of the upper-half 1100 to be urged against the cooling surface of the channel.
  • a graphite pad or any other suitable low friction component such as Nylon, Teflon or similar may be installed on the surface of the urging mechanism 1800 that is contacted to the channel of the cooled enclosure when installed and the urging mechanism 1800 actuated.
  • first linear component 1810 and the second component 1820 may be manufactured out of a thermally conductive material such as but not limited to aluminium such that the urging mechanism 1800 may additionally be used to transmit heat via the contact between first linear component 1810 and second linear component 1820 creating an additional path for heat to be transmitted to the cooled enclosure.
  • the clam-shell electronic computer system 1000 in the context of its cooled enclosure exhibits a power usage effectiveness contribution (i.e., the contribution to the ratio of total amount of energy used by the data center facility to the energy delivered to computing equipment) of less than 0.1, in some cases less than 0.05, in some cases less than 0.04, in some cases less than 0.03, in some cases less than 0.02 and in some cases even less.
  • a power usage effectiveness contribution i.e., the contribution to the ratio of total amount of energy used by the data center facility to the energy delivered to computing equipment
  • the electronic computer system which is cooled by installation into a cooled enclosure, comprises a rail-portion configured to be received by a channel in the cooled enclosure and a heat-generating component having a TDP of between 10W and 160W, over 160W or as much as 300W, the heat-generating component being substantially cooled via the rail-portion when the electronic computer system is installed.
  • An electronic computer system comprising: a) a plurality of heat generating components;
  • a heat-removal portion located distinctly from at least one of the plurality of heat generating components, the thermal shield being configured to thermally connect the plurality of heat generating components to the heat-removal portion whereby cooling the heat- removal portion provides cooling for the plurality of heat generating components.
  • the heat- removal portion is configured as a rail-portion extending along a longitudinal direction that corresponds to the direction of installation of the electronic computer system, the rail-portion being adapted to be received by a channel of a cooling enclosure when the electronic computer system is installed within the cooling enclosure, whereby installing the electronic computer system causes the heat generating components to be cooled.
  • the electronic computer system of any one of example embodiments 1 to 3 whereby the plurality of heat generating components comprises at least one of:
  • thermo shield comprises a plurality of surfaces configured such that each of the plurality of surfaces is in thermal contact with one or more of the plurality of heat generating components.
  • thermo shield is contacted to at least one of the plurality of heat generating components via a TIM.
  • thermo shield is directly contacted to at least one of the plurality of heat generating components.
  • thermo shield is a unitary component.
  • thermo shield is comprised of a plurality of thermally conductive parts.
  • thermal shield further comprises a heat-transmitting apparatus comprising an evaporative portion located proximal to at least one of the plurality of heat generating components, and a condensing portion located proximal to the heat-removal portion.
  • the heat- transmitting apparatus is a heat-pipe.
  • thermal shield further comprises features that thermally isolate a first area of the thermal shield from a second area of the thermal shield, preventing heat from flowing from the first area of the thermal shield to the second area of the thermal shield.
  • thermo shield comprises a thermally conductive metal.
  • thermal shield comprises sheet metal.
  • thermal shield comprises aluminum
  • the electronic computer system of any one of example embodiments 1 to 23 further comprising a daughterboard, the daughterboard comprising at least one heat-generating component that is in thermal contact with the thermal shield, at least a portion of the heat being generated by the at least one heat-generating component being transmitted to the heat-removal portion of the electronic computer system.
  • the electronic computer system of any one of example embodiments 1 to 28 further comprising a lower-half, with the lower-half and the thermal shield being brought together to comprise a clam-shell chassis, the motherboard being contained between the lower-half and the thermal shield and within the clam shell chassis.
  • the electronic computer system of example embodiment 29 further comprising a second heat generating component and wherein the lower-half is a second thermal shield in thermal contact with the second heat generating component, the second thermal shield being configured so as to thermally connect the second heat generating component to the heat-removal portion of the electronic computer system.
  • each location being configured such that an installed replaceable heat generating component can be installed into the electronic computer system without requiring removal of the thermal shield and that when installed the installed replaceable heat generating component exposes a contact surface that can contacted to by the auxiliary thermal shield without requiring the removal of the thermal shield; the auxiliary thermal shield being configured to contact the contact surface of the installed replaceable heat generating component and communicate heat generated by the installed replaceable heat generating component to the heat- removal portion.
  • the replaceable heat generating component comprises a circuit board comprising a first connector and the one or more locations comprise a second connector located on the motherboard whereby the circuit board is installed by connecting the first connector to the second connector.
  • the electronic computer system of any one of example embodiments 1 to 33 further comprising an urging mechanism, the urging mechanism comprising a first and second linear components, each of the first and second linear components comprising a plurality of inclined planes and being configured such that when the first and second linear component are brought together the inclined planes align and are in contact such that moving the first linear component in a direction defined by a long axis of the first linear component causes the first and second linear components to move in a direction such that a height of the combined first and second linear components decreases or increases depending on the direction of movement.
  • the urging mechanism comprising a first and second linear components, each of the first and second linear components comprising a plurality of inclined planes and being configured such that when the first and second linear component are brought together the inclined planes align and are in contact such that moving the first linear component in a direction defined by a long axis of the first linear component causes the first and second linear components to move in a direction such that a height of the combined first and second linear components decreases or increases depending on the
  • a thermal shield configured for an electronic computer system, the thermal shield comprising a thermally conductive material and being configured to contact a plurality of heat generating components of the electronic apparatus, transmitting heat from the plurality of heat generating components to a heat- removal portion of the thermal shield, the heat-removal portion being located distinctly from at least one of the heat generating components and whereby cooling the heat-removal portion provides cooling for the plurality of heat generating components.
  • the thermal shield of example embodiment 37 wherein the thermal shield comprises a thermally conductive metal.
  • the thermal shield of example embodiment 37 or 38 wherein the thermal shield is manufactured by the use of a stamping press.
  • the thermal shield of any one of example embodiments 37 to 42 wherein the one or more of the plurality of heat generating components comprise contact surfaces that lie on a plurality of planes, the thermal shield being adapted to be simultaneously in thermal contact with each of the plurality of heat generating components.
  • the thermal shield of any one of example embodiments 37 to 46 wherein the thermal shield further comprises a heat-transmitting apparatus comprising an evaporative portion located proximal to at least one of the plurality of heat generating components, and a condensing portion located proximal to the heat- removal portion.
  • the thermal shield of example embodiment 47 wherein the heat-transmitting apparatus is a heat-pipe. 49.
  • the thermal shield of example embodiment 47 wherein the heat-transmitting apparatus is a vapor chamber.
  • An electronic computer system which is cooled by installation into a cooled enclosure, the electronic computer system comprising: a) a rail-portion configured to be received by a channel in the cooled enclosure, and;

Abstract

A computer server of a type which can be cooled by installation into a cooled enclosure. The computer server notably comprising a thermally conductive thermal shield and a motherboard. The thermal shield is manufactured at least in part from a thermally conductive material, for example aluminium, the thermal shield operating as a heat transmitting component transferring heat from heat generating components of a motherboard to a heat removal portion of the computer server. The exemplary electronic computer system may also comprise a daughterboard and a plurality of heat-pipes.

Description

IMPROVED FANLESS RATE COOLED ELECTRONIC APPARATUS
BACKGROUND
[0001] Large scale data centers today are driven by a focus on total cost of ownership. To achieve the lowest possible total cost of ownership the data center as a whole must be looked at and efficiencies improved. This includes factors such as energy efficiency and reducing the cost of manufacturing, deploying and disposing of the data center infrastructure and the electronic computer systems deployed within.
[0002] Technologies described in World Intellectual Property Organization [WIPO] publications WO/2014/030046- Al, WO/2016/004531-A1 and WO/2016/004528-A1 comprises of a cooled enclosure apparatus which in cooperation with compatible rail cooled computer servers and other electronic equipment can remove heat efficiently and cost effectively without relying on air as the primary means of transporting heat.
[0003] Previous work by this inventor describes a clamshell type electronic computer system that is cooled by installation into such cooled enclosure. The present disclosure describes a number of improvements to an electronic computer system that is cooled by installation into a cooled enclosure which reduce the manufacture, assembly, installation and deployment costs of an electronic computer system.
SUMMARY
[0004] Disclosed are electronic apparatus which can be cooled by installation into compatible cooled enclosure apparatus.
[0005] Benefits of the apparatus embodying features of the present disclosure include, but are not limited to, apparatus which has a low component count with low cost mass producible and easy to assemble components and the potential to be operated without the need for forced air cooling. [0006] An exemplary electronic computer system is described, the electronic computer system comprising a thermally conductive thermal shield and a motherboard. The thermal shield is manufactured at least in part from a thermally conductive material, for example aluminium, the thermal shield operating as a heat transmitting component transferring heat from heat generating components of a motherboard to a heat removal portion of the computer server. The exemplary electronic computer system may also comprise a daughterboard and a plurality of heat-pipes. DRAWINGS
[0007] These and other features, aspects, and advantages of the present invention will become better understood with regard to the following description, appended claims, and accompanying drawings where:
[0008] Fig. 1 A shows an isometric view of an electronic computer system in accordance with a non-limiting embodiment of the disclosure;
[0009] Fig. 1B shows an isometric cutaway view of the electronic computer system of Figure 1 A showing a location of a variety of components of the electronic computer system;
[0010] Fig. 1C shows an exploded isometric view of the electronic computer system of Figure 1A; [0011] Fig. 2A shows an isometric view of the electronic computer system of Figure 1 A with a location of dual in-line memory modules (DIMMs) appearing thereon;
[0012] Fig. 2B shows an isometric cutaway view of the electronic computer system of Figure 1 A showing the location of the DIMMs of Fig. 2A;
[0013] Fig. 3A shows an isometric view of a DIMM of Figs. 2A and 2B; [0014] Fig. 3B shows an isometric exploded view of the DIMM of figure 3A;
[0015] Fig. 4A shows an exploded cutaway isometric view of an urging mechanism with an actuating mechanism that may be used to urge a rail portion of the electronic computer system of Figure 1A against a cooled surface of a cooled enclosure;
[0016] Fig. 4B shows an isometric view of the actuating mechanism of Fig. 4A, and; [0017] Figs. 4C and 4D show side-elevation and side-elevation cutaway views of the urging mechanism of Fig. 4A, respectively, whereby an interaction of inclined ramps may be observed.
DESCRIPTION
[0018] It is intended that the following description and claims should be interpreted in accordance with Webster's Third New International Dictionary, Unabridged unless otherwise indicated.
[0019] With reference to Figures 1A-1C, a non-limiting embodiment of a clam-shell electronic computer system 1000 is disclosed, wherein the electronic computer system 1000 is configured to reduce its number of components and simplify manufacture and assembly of the electronic computer system 1000 whilst also improving cooling efficiency. The electronic computer system 1000 is of a type which can be cooled by installation into a cooled enclosure, the cooled enclosure being of a type similar to that described previously by this inventor in WIPO publications WO/2014/030046- Al, WO/2016/004531-A1 and WO/2016/004528-A1 which are each incorporated herein by reference in their entirety. The electronic computer system is intended, but not required, to be operated without a fan or necessitating air-cooling.
[0020] The electronic computer system 1000 notably comprises a clam-shell chassis 1001 comprising two-halves, an upper-half 1100 which is a thermally conductive thermal shield, a lower-half 1200, and a motherboard 1300. In this non-limiting embodiment, the upper-half 1100 may be manufactured from a thermally conductive material, such as but not limited to aluminium. Any other suitable thermally conductive material may be used in other embodiments, as further discussed below. In this embodiment, the upper-half 1100 operates as a heat transmitting component, transferring heat from heat generating components of the clam-shell electronic computer system 1000 to a heat-removal portion, in this case rail-portion 1110 of the clam-shell chassis 1001. As will be further discussed below, the lower-half 1200 may also operate as a heat transmitting component in other embodiments.
[0021] The lower-half 1200 may be manufactured from a non-thermally conductive thermoplastic and provide features which reduce assembly complexity and support the installation of the various components of the clam-shell electronic computer system 1000, thereby reducing the part count by providing for the combination of many features into a single manufactured article.
[0022] The motherboard 1300 installed within the clam-shell chassis 1001 may comprise at least one heat-generating component and may also include heat-generating components (e.g., CPU, GPU and the likes) that have thermal design powers (TDP) of at least 10W, is some cases between 10W and 160W, in some cases at least 160W, in some cases no more than 300W and in some cases even more.
[0023] It is appreciated that, in this non-limiting embodiment, the upper-half 1100 and lower- half 1200 generally comprise a pattern of recesses protruding away from a surface of each one of the upper-half 1100 and lower-half 1200. The pattern of recesses generally corresponds to a pattern of protrusions of the motherboard 1300, each protrusion corresponding to a heat generating component of the motherboard 1300. Specifically, in this non-limiting embodiment, the upper-half 1100 of the clam-shell chassis 1001 is manufactured from a sheet of aluminium which is shaped such that when the motherboard 1300 is installed into the clam shell chassis 1001 one or more heat-generating components of the motherboard 1300 are brought into thermal contact with the upper-half 1100, either via a thermal interface material (TIM) or directly via physical contact between the motherboard 1300 and the upper-half 1100.
[0024] The upper-half 1100 may be manufactured from a sheet of aluminium by stamping, pressing or any other suitable sheet metal manufacturing process. Apertures may be created through which various components protrude as may be required according to the configuration of the motherboard 1300. The sheet may then be electroless nickel-plated to allow a subsequent, optional, soldering process. The upper-half 1100 may be designed by first creating a three-dimensional model of the motherboard 1300 and the various components installed thereon within the clam-shell electronic computer system 1000. The location of the various components of the motherboard 1300 may then be adjusted, for example to position components of a similar height in a close proximity from each other as permitted by the electronic needs of the motherboard 1300. This would in turn simplify the configuration, and therefore manufacture, of the upper-half 1100. The upper-half 1100 may also be configured to follow the contours of the motherboard 1300 and the various components installed thereon, for example to allow sufficient space between the various components of the motherboard 1300 and the upper-half 1100 so as to include a thermal interface material therebetween. This would allow the thermal interface material to establish contact with components of a varying height over a given planar surface of the upper-half 1100, such that the upper-half 1100 may comprise of a given number of planar surfaces, possibly with different heights.
[0025] In other embodiments, the upper-half 1100 may be manufactured from copper, silver, gold, steel or any other suitable metal, conductive plastics, thermoplastics, including thermoplastics subsequently coated with a thermally conductive material, composite materials, including composite materials incorporating thermally conductive materials such as a thermally conductive metal or graphite, graphene or other non-metal material, as well as any other suitable material.
[0026] The clam-shell electronic computer system 1000 does not require the use of separate heatpipe assemblies, or any other heat-transmitting means, configured to transfer heat from high power heat-generating components to the area of the rail-portion 1110 of the clam-shell chassis. Instead, the heat generated by the high power heat-generating components is transmitted to the area of the rail-portion 1110 directly via the upper-half 1100 of the clam shell chassis 1001.
[0027] In this non-limiting embodiment, the upper-half 1100 of the clam-shell chassis 1001 comprises a plurality of heat-pipes 1120-1135 which at least augment its heat-transmitting characteristics. The plurality of heat-pipes 1120-1135 are thermally coupled to the upper-half 1100 such that they allow heat to be transmitted from heat-generating components of the motherboard 1300 to the rail-portion 1110 of the clam-shell chassis 1001. The heat-pipes 1120-1135 are shaped (routed) in such a way that they make contact with the upper-half 1100 at one or more locations where increased heat-transfer is required, illustrated are heat-pipes positioned proximal to CPUs 1302, RAM 1304, Voltage Regulators (VRM) 1306, 2.5” SFF storage devices 1308 and M.2 storage devices 1310 as well as chipset 1312 and various other heat-generating components which each have different heat-generating and cooling needs. Each heat-pipe 1120-1135 or cluster of heat-pipes 1120-1135 is configured to provide the necessary heat-transfer characteristics to allow heat to be adequately removed from the proximal heat-generating component. This may be achieved by consulting with heat-pipe manufacturers, running thermal simulations or via experimentation and providing the necessary heat-pipe capacity at that location. [0028] In this non-limiting embodiment, the heat-pipes 1120-1138 are configured to cool a single heat-generating component or multiple heat-generating components. For example, CPUs 1302 which have a TDP of 160W are cooled using four dedicated heat-pipes 1120 proximal to each CPU 1302, while other heat-generating components such as the M.2 storage devices 1310, chipset 1312 and a number of misc IC’s 1314 are cooled using a single heat- pipe 1122 being shaped (routed) and configured such that it is thermally connected to the upper-half 1100 proximal to each of the M.2 storage devices 1310, chipset 1312 and IC components 1314. One heat-pipe 1124 is also shown which is not routed to the rail-portion 1110 of the clam-shell chassis 1001, instead transmitting heat to another area of the upper-half 1100 which is then further transmitted to the rail-portion 1110 of the clam-shell chassis by either the upper-half 1100 or the proximate heat-pipe 1126.
[0029] While a number of the heat-pipes 1120-1135 are shown as being located on a surface of the upper-half 1100 which is not brought into direct contact with components located on the motherboard 1300 or installed in the clam-shell electronic computer system 1000, it is to be appreciated that the heat-pipes 1120-1138 may or may not be brought into direct contact with components located on the motherboard 1300 in other embodiments. However, configuring the heat-pipes 1120-1138 to have at least a portion in direct contact, possibly via a thermal interface material, with the various components may yield improved thermal efficiencies. In the embodiment of Figs. 1A-1C, the heat-pipes 1128 are routed on one-side of the upper-half 1100 and are connected through apertures to an opposite side of the upper-half 1100. The heat-pipes 1120-1135 may therefore be located on any side of the upper-half 1100 in other embodiments.
[0030] The heat-pipes 1120-1135 may be thermally connected to the upper-half 1100 via a mechanical fastening device such as an adhesive (possibly thermally conductive). The heat- pipes 1120-1135 may also be thermally connected via soldering, welding or any other suitable mean by which a thermal connection is made. In the specific example of Figs. 1A-1C, the heat-pipes 1120-1138 are thermally and mechanically connected to the upper-half 1100 via the use of a low-temperature SnBiAg solder which has a melting point of l38°C, the heat-pipes 1120-1135 being soldered to the upper-half 1100 by the use of a CNC manufactured tool which holds the heat-pipes in position while heat is applied to the joints until the solder flows. The heat-pipes being of a water-filled copper type that is electroless-nickel plated with the upper-half 1100 being similarly electroless-nickel plated to ASTM B733 specifications, this allows the solder to wet the surfaces appropriately and bond the two together with a low thermal resistance joint.
[0031] While heat-pipes 1120-1135 are described herein as a method of augmenting the heat- transmitting characteristics of the upper-half 1100, alternative means of augmenting the heat- transmitting characteristics of the upper-half 1100 may be used in other embodiments, such as but not limited to any apparatus having a condensing portion and an evaporative portion (e.g., vapor chambers), any other suitable heat transfer apparatus which operates in a similar fashion to a heat-pipe, thermosyphons, thermally conductive materials such as copper, silver, gold or any other suitable thermally conductive metal or non-metallic material such as graphite or graphene to all or portions of the upper-half 1100, or any other means of transmitting heat from one location to another.
[0032] The upper-half 1100 is further configured to thermally isolate parts of the upper-half 1100, that is to provide features that prevent heat from flowing or reduce heat flow from one area of the upper-half 1100 to another. With reference to Fig. 1C, the portion 1140 of the upper-half 1100 proximal to each CPU 1302 is physically isolated by a series of isolating cuts 1141, having thermal connectivity via the upper-half 1100 to the rail-portion 1110 of the clam shell chassis 1001 only. In this manner heat being generated by each CPU 1302 is directed towards the rail-portion 1110 of the clam-shell chassis 1001, thermally isolating the upper-half 1100 in the area 1140 of each CPU 1302 and protecting other components in contact with the upper-half 1100 from the heat being generated by each CPU 1302. The gap in the upper-half 1100 from the isolating cuts 1141 may then be blocked by the use of a foil. Notably to control electromagnetic emissions or prevent convection from occurring and reduce heating to the surrounding area. Any other suitable thermal isolation configuration is possible in other embodiments.
[0033] The upper-half 1100 is further configured to contain the rail-portion 1110 of the clam shell chassis 1001 which is brought into contact with a cooled enclosure when the clam-shell electronic computer system 1000 is installed. In this non-limiting embodiment, the rail-portion 1110 has a width of 40mm which is suitable to fit side-by-side three 8mm diameter heat-pipes flattened to a 4mm height. This was determined to be a good fit to the approximately 150W per lOcm length cooling characteristics exposed by a corresponding enclosure with channels having similar dimensions as is described in a previous application by the present inventor. By having the upper-half 1100 of the clam-shell chassis contain the rail-portion 1110 and be in direct contact with the cooled enclosure the number of thermal interfaces is reduced, improving the heat-transfer characteristics of the apparatus.
[0034] The surface of the rail-portion 1110 of the upper-half 1100 which is brought into contact with the cooled enclosure may benefit from the application of a thermal interface material, including but not limited to thermal greases, thermal interface pads, thermal gap pads, graphite pads and any other suitable thermal interface material. Specifically, the use of a graphite thermal interface material applied to the surface of the rail-portion 1110 of the upper- half 1100 allowed for both improved thermal contact between the cooled enclosure and the rail-portion 1100 but also provided a lower coefficient of friction that enabled the clam-shell electronic computer system 1000 to be more easily installed and removed from the cooled enclosure. Thermal gap pads may provide a superior heat transfer when less pressure is being applied to the thermal interface such as may occur when the weight of the clam-shell electronic computer system 1000 is being used to ensure contact between the rail-portion 1110 and the channel of the cooled enclosure.
[0035] In this non-limiting embodiment, a number of components 1302-1313, 1400 are also installed in the clam-shell electronic computer system 1000 that are each cooled by contact with the upper-half 1100 of the clam-shell electronic computer system 1000. These include the following.
[0036] 2.5” SFF storage devices 1308 with a TDP of 6W each which are held in place by the lower-half 1200 of the clam-shell chassis 1001 and contacted to and cooled by a thermally isolated portion of the upper-half 1100 and serviced by two 5mm heat-pipes 1128 flattened to 4mm which are routed to the rail-portion 1110 of the clam-shell chassis 1001;
[0037] M.2 expansion cards 1310 with a TDP of 6W each which are installed on top of the motherboard 1300 between the upper-half 1100 and the motherboard 1300, each M.2 card 1310 comprising a circuit board and being installed on the motherboard 1300 with the plane of the circuit board being parallel to the motherboard 1300, each M.2 card 1310 being contacted to the upper-half 1100 via an electrically insulating gap pad type thermal interface material, with the four M.2 cards 1310 being serviced by two 8mm heat-pipes 1122, 1130 flattened to 4mm which are routed to the rail-portion 1110 of the clam-shell chassis 1001; [0038] An IC component 1312 with a TDP of 10W installed on the motherboard and contacted to the upper-half 1100 via a thermal interface material and serviced by one of two 8mm heat- pipes 1122 flattened to 4mm that also services the M.2 cards 1310 described above;
[0039] A plurality of RAM chips 1304 with a total TDP of 36W which are installed on the motherboard 1300 and contacted to the upper-half 1100 via an electrically insulating gap pad type thermal interface material and serviced by two 8mm heat-pipes 1132, 1133 flattened to 4mm which are routed to the rail-portion 1110 of the clam-shell chassis 1001;
[0040] Two CPUs 1302 with a TDP of 160W each, each CPU 1302 being contacted to a thermally isolated portion 1140 of the upper-half 1100 and serviced by four 8mm heat-pipes 1120 flattened to 4mm which are routed to the rail-portion 1110 of the clam-shell chassis, each CPU 1302 being in direct physical contact with the upper-half 1100 and using a thermal grease to improve the thermal interface.
[0041] A daughterboard 1400, as further described below, with a TDP of 23.5 W, the daughterboard 1400 contacting the upper-half 1100 via a thermally conductive contact component 1102, in this case an aluminium part, which is permanently affixed to the upper- half 1100 via a thermal adhesive or solder joint in a similar fashion to which the heat-pipes 1120-1135 are joined to the upper-half 1100 described above. The contact component 1102 providing a planar surface 1103 to which heat-generating components installed on-board the daughterboard 1400 can be contacted while also providing a good thermal connection to the heat-pipe 1126 affixed to the upper-half 1100 below the contact component 1102, the heat- pipe 1126 being a 6mm part flattened to 4mm and being routed to the rail-portion 1110 of the upper-half 1100. Using this configuration, the daughterboard 1140 is a field replaceable component while still allowing good thermal contact to the heat-pipe 1126 and the upper-half 1100. In other embodiments, the daughterboard 1400 may also be contacted directly to the upper-half 1100 omitting the contact component 1102, for example by either running a heat- pipe beneath the contacting surface of upper-half 1100, running a heat-pipe that is proximate to the contacting location, directly to a heat-pipe or if the power does not require a heat-pipe;
[0042] Two voltage-regulator modules (VRMs) 1306 comprising a plurality of components with a total TDP of 14W for each of the two VRMs 1306, the VRMs 1306 contacted to the upper-half 1100 via an electrically insulating gap pad type thermal interface material and serviced by two 8mm heat-pipes 1133, 1135 flattened to 4mm which are routed to the rail- portion 1110 of the clam-shell chassis, and;
[0043] Additional miscellaneous components which have low levels of heat output and are cooled by the proximity of a number of the heat-pipes 1120-1135 that service the components described above, in one particular case a number of components are serviced by a single 6mm heat-pipe 1124 flattened to 4mm which is contacted to a plurality of portions of the upper-half 1100, one end of the heat-pipe 1124 terminating below the thermally conductive contact component 1102 that provides cooling to the daughterboard 1400 described above and the other end terminating outside of the rail-portion 1110 of the clam-shell chassis 1001. The heat-pipe 1124 is not directly in contact with the rail-portion 1110 of the clam-shell chassis 1001, instead augmenting heat transfer from one portion of the upper-half 1100 to another portion of the upper-half 1100 whereby another heat-pipe 1126 transmits heat to the rail- portion 1110 of the clam-shell chassis 1001.
[0044] The clam-shell electronic computer system 1000 further comprises a plurality of DIMMs 1600, that is a plurality of circuit boards containing a number of heat-generating components, each circuit board having an edge connector that fits into a connector on the motherboard 1300. In this case the DIMMs 1600 are installed on the motherboard 1300 so as to be vertical with regards to the motherboard 1300, that is each DIMM 1600 is comprised of a circuit board that is installed on the motherboard 1300 with the plane of the circuit board being nonparallel to the motherboard 1300. With further reference to Figs. 2A and 2B, the DIMMs 1600 protrude through an aperture in the upper-half 1100 and do not directly contact the upper-half 1100.
[0045] It is appreciated that any other suitable configuration of the clam-shell electronic computer system 1000, that is of the 2.5” SFF storage devices 1308, the M.2 expansion cards 1310, the IC component 1312, the plurality of RAM chips 1304, the CPUs 1302, the daughterboard 1400, the VRMs 1306 and the DIMMs 1600 is possible in other embodiments.
[0046] In this non-limiting embodiment, the daughterboard 1400 (also known as a mezzanine or expansion card or board) is positioned such that the upper-half 1100 of the clam-shell chassis 1001 is located between the motherboard 1300 and the daughterboard 1400. The daughterboard 1400 may comprise at least one heat-generating component which is in thermal contact with the upper-half 1100 of the clam-shell chassis 1001, at least a portion of the heat being generated by the at least one heat-generating component of the daughterboard 1400 being transmitted to the area of the rail-portion 1110 via the upper-half 1100 of the clam-shell chassis 1001.
[0047] In this non-limiting embodiment, the daughterboard 1400 is electrically connected to the motherboard 1300 and has at least one heat-generating component with a TDP of approximately 25W. It is appreciated that the daughterboard 1400 may be electrically independent from the motherboard 1300 in other embodiments and share the cooling only. The daughterboard 1400 may also exhibit a lower power or a higher power, for example in other embodiments the daughterboard 1400 may be a CPU or GPU with a TDP of 300W with the upper-half 1100 of the clam-shell chassis 1001 being configured with the appropriate heat- transfer characteristics for the TDP of 300W.
[0048] While in the embodiment of Figure 1C the daughterboard 1400 is of a size suitable for use as a network interface card, the daughterboard 1400 may be of any suitable type and/or dimensions in other embodiments. Also, while in the embodiment of Figure 1C one daughterboard 1400 is shown, it is appreciated that the clam-shell electronic computer system 1000 may not comprise any daughterboard 1400 or may comprise any other suitable number of daughterboards 1400, each daughterboard 1400 having the same or different TDP or other characteristics.
[0049] The lower-half 1200 may also be thermally conductive and perform the same function and have similar characteristics as the upper-half 1100 described herein. For example this would allow two sides of motherboard 1300 to be cooled by a thermally conductive lower- half 1200 and a thermally conductive upper-half 1100 while locating daughterboards 1400 on either the lower 1200 or upper halves 1100. It is further not intended that the terms upper-half or lower-half are interpreted to require a particular orientation in any embodiments embodying principles of the present disclosure.
[0050] With further reference to Figs. 3A and 3B, in this non-limiting embodiment the DIMMs 1600, which are field replaceable, comprise one or more heat- spreaders 1602 which are in thermal contact via a thermal interface material 1604 with a plurality of heat-generating components 1606 installed on circuit board 1601, the heat- spreaders 1602 being configured to transmit heat to contact surfaces 1608 which are configured such that when the DIMMs 1600 are installed in the motherboard 1300 they may be brought into thermal contact, possibly via optional thermal interface material 1610, with another surface through which the DIMMs 1600 can be cooled. The heat- spreaders 1602 are held in place by two springs 1612 and transmit heat to a plurality of parallel contact surfaces 1608 which are perpendicular to a surface of the circuit board 1601 and lie opposite the edge fingers 1614 that fit into the connector on the motherboard 1300. It is appreciated that in other embodiments the two springs 1612 may be absent and the heat-spreaders 1602 may be mechanically fastened using any other suitable mean such as screws, adhesive and the likes.
[0051] In this embodiment, when installed in the motherboard 1300, the contacting surfaces 1608 of the DIMMs 1600 are all substantially parallel and lying on the same plane, an auxiliary thermal shield in the form of box 1700 is then positioned such that the DIMMs 1600 are contained within the box 1700 with a surface of the box 1700 being brought into thermal contact with the contact surfaces 1608 of the DIMMs 1600. Heat is then transmitted from the DIMMs 1600 through the contact surfaces 1608 to the box 1700. The box 1700 may be manufactured from a thermally conductive material, such as but not limited to aluminium and may be manufactured from sheet metal.
[0052] The box 1700 transmits heat from the DIMMs 1600 to the upper-half 1100 of the clam-shell chassis and the heat-transfer characteristics of the box 1700 may be further augmented by using heat-pipes 1702 in a similar fashion as described above for the upper-half 1100. In this non-limiting embodiment, two heat-pipes 1702 which are in contact with the surface of the box 1700 are routed through apertures in a side of the box 1700 to flanges 1704 extending parallel to a surface of the upper-half 1100. When installed the flanges 1704 are brought into contact with heat-pipes 1134, 1135 on the upper-surface 1100 which is routed to the rail-portion 1110 of the upper-half 1100 of the clam-shell chassis 1001. In this configuration, heat generated by heat-generating components 1606 on the DIMMs 1600 is routed first through the heat-spreaders 1602, then via a contact surface 1608 on the heat- spreader 1602 into the box 1700 whereby it is transmitted by a combination of the thermal conductivity of the box 1700 and the heat-pipes 1702 in thermal contact with the box 1700 to a flange 1704 of the box 1700 which is in thermal contact with the upper-half 1100 of the clam-shell chassis 1001 whereby heat is then transmitted by the upper-half 1100 to the rail- portion 1110 of the clam-shell chassis 1001.
[0053] In other embodiments, the upper-half 1100 may be manufactured to allow the contact surfaces 1608 of the heat-spreaders 1602 to contact the upper-half 1100 directly and be cooled by the upper-half 1100 in a fashion similar to that described above, which would improve heat-transfer and the temperature of the DIMMs 1600 by removing thermal interfaces. The aperture and box 1700 are however intended to allow the DIMMs 1600 to be replaceable without having to remove the entire upper-half 1100 of the assembly, instead only needing to remove the box 1700. A similar approach may be used to allow the above described M.2 storage devices 1310 and 2.5” storage devices 1308 to be replaceable without having to remove the upper-half 1100 of the electronic apparatus 1000 assembly.
[0054] In some non-limiting embodiments, CPU clamps 1500 which may be manufactured from a spring steel may be used. The CPU clamps 1500 may be designed such that they provide the force that is called upon for attaching a thermal solution to a socket 2011 type CPU as specified by Intel Corporation, however CPU clamps 1500 are not limited to being used for such a CPU type. Before installation each CPU clamp 1500 comprises four lobes 1502 which are not parallel to the clamping surface 1504 of the CPU clamp 1500, the four lobes 1502 being configured such that as screws 1506 are fastened through the hole in each lobe 1502 a clamping force is developed with the correct clamping force being reached when each lobe 1502 is brought parallel to the clamping surface 1504 of the CPU clamp 1500. Such a CPU clamp 1500 removes the need for springs when clamping to a CPU 1302 while still meeting the force specifications for attaching a thermal solution to the delicate CPUs 1302.
[0055] With further reference to Figs. 4A-4D, an optional urging mechanism 1800 is shown. Use of the urging mechanism 1800 may help improve the heat transfer characteristics between a cooling surface of a cooled enclosure and the rail-portion 1110 of the clam-shell electronic computer system 1000. Alternative methods of creating a thermal connection between the rail- portion 1110 and a cooling surface of a cooled enclosure may be used in other embodiments such as but not limited to adhesives or any other suitable urging means. In other embodiments the urging mechanism 1800 is not needed, for example when relying on the weight of the apparatus itself to create thermal connection between the rail-portion 1110 and a cooling surface of a cooled enclosure.
[0056] In this embodiment, the urging mechanism 1800 may be used to urge the rail-portion 1110 of the clam-shell electronic computer system 1000 against the cooling surface of the channel of the cooling enclosure into which the clam-shell electronic computer system 1000 is to be installed by bracing against the opposing surface within the channel, thus improving the heat transfer characteristics of the thermal interface. The urging mechanism 1800 comprises a first linear component 1810 and a second linear component 1820 each linear component 1810, 1820 having a plurality of inclined planes 1812, 1822. The first and second linear components 1810, 1820 may be configured such that when the first linear component 1810 and second linear component 1820 are brought together the opposing inclined planes 1812, 1822 align and are in contact such that moving the first linear component 1810 in the direction defined by the long axis of the linear components 1810, 1812 while holding the second linear component 1822 fixed causes the first linear component 1810 to move in a direction such that the distance X decreases or increases, depending on the direction of movement.
[0057] The urging mechanism 1800 may further comprise an actuating mechanism which comprises: a bolt 1830; threaded transfer component 1832 which is mechanically fixed to linear component 1810 by two fasteners 1833 and into which bolt 1830 is threaded; and a bolt receiver 1834 which is mechanically fixed to linear component 1820 by fasteners 1835 and receives the end 1831 of bolt 1830 into a groove 1836 that forces the bolt receiver 1834 to follow the movement of bolt 1830. The actuating mechanism may be configured such that when the bolt 1830 is turned the two linear components 1810, 1820 are moved in the direction defined by the long axis of the linear components 1810, 1820 thus increasing or decreasing the distance X. While the bolt 1830 is used in this embodiment, any other suitable actuating mechanism that creates a linear movement of linear component 1810 relative to linear component 1820 may be used, including the use of levers and any other suitable mechanical apparatus. The bolt 1830 has the benefit of reducing the amount of material used for the mechanism, reducing waste and also has the additional benefit of allowing the use of a torque wrench to precisely control the amount of pressure and torque placed upon the urging mechanism 1800.
[0058] The urging mechanism 1800 may be fitted on top of the rail-portion 1110 of the upper- half 1100 running along at least part of the length of the rail-portion 1110. When installing the clam-shell electronic computer system 1000 the bolt 1830 is actuated so as to reduce the distance X and allow the clam-shell electronic computer system 1000 to be easily slid into place. Once installed the bolt 1830 is again turned to increase the distance X causing the rail- portion 1110 of the upper-half 1100 to be urged against the cooling surface of the channel. To minimize the risk of the urging mechanism 1800 sticking and to ease installation a graphite pad or any other suitable low friction component such as Nylon, Teflon or similar may be installed on the surface of the urging mechanism 1800 that is contacted to the channel of the cooled enclosure when installed and the urging mechanism 1800 actuated.
[0059] In this non-limiting embodiment, the first linear component 1810 and the second component 1820 may be manufactured out of a thermally conductive material such as but not limited to aluminium such that the urging mechanism 1800 may additionally be used to transmit heat via the contact between first linear component 1810 and second linear component 1820 creating an additional path for heat to be transmitted to the cooled enclosure.
[0060] Setting the angle B of the inclined planes 1812 and 1822 to be equal to approximately 10.5 degrees may provide a satisfactory balance between the force required to turning the bolt 1830 and the linear displacement of linear component 1810 required to generate a change in distance X of approximately 2mm. Increasing the angle B to 15 degrees increases the amount of work that needs to be done when turning the bolt 1830 for the same change in X but does decrease the linear displacement of linear component 1810, decreasing the angle B to 5 degrees or less decreases the amount of force required to turn bolt 1830 but increases the linear displacement that the linear component 1810 to achieve the same change in X. However, it is appreciated that any other suitable configuration is possible in other embodiments.
[0061] In this non-limiting embodiment, the clam-shell electronic computer system 1000 in the context of its cooled enclosure exhibits a power usage effectiveness contribution (i.e., the contribution to the ratio of total amount of energy used by the data center facility to the energy delivered to computing equipment) of less than 0.1, in some cases less than 0.05, in some cases less than 0.04, in some cases less than 0.03, in some cases less than 0.02 and in some cases even less.
[0062] In this non-limiting embodiment the electronic computer system, which is cooled by installation into a cooled enclosure, comprises a rail-portion configured to be received by a channel in the cooled enclosure and a heat-generating component having a TDP of between 10W and 160W, over 160W or as much as 300W, the heat-generating component being substantially cooled via the rail-portion when the electronic computer system is installed.
EXAMPLE EMBODIMENTS
[0063] The following provides a non-limiting list of example embodiments of the present disclosure:
1. An electronic computer system comprising: a) a plurality of heat generating components;
b) a motherboard, at least one of the plurality of heat generating components being installed on the motherboard;
c) a thermally conductive thermal shield in thermal contact with the plurality of heat generating components, and;
d) a heat-removal portion located distinctly from at least one of the plurality of heat generating components, the thermal shield being configured to thermally connect the plurality of heat generating components to the heat-removal portion whereby cooling the heat- removal portion provides cooling for the plurality of heat generating components.
2. The electronic computer system of example embodiment 1 wherein the heat- removal portion is configured as a rail-portion extending along a longitudinal direction that corresponds to the direction of installation of the electronic computer system, the rail-portion being adapted to be received by a channel of a cooling enclosure when the electronic computer system is installed within the cooling enclosure, whereby installing the electronic computer system causes the heat generating components to be cooled. The electronic computer system of example embodiment 1 or 2 wherein the thermal shield covers a substantial portion of the motherboard. The electronic computer system of any one of example embodiments 1 to 3 whereby the plurality of heat generating components comprises at least one of:
1) a heat generating component having thermal design power of at least 10W;
2) a heat generating component having thermal design power between 10W and 160W;
3) a heat generating component having thermal design power over 160W;
4) a heat generating component having thermal design power over 300W;
5) a central processing chip;
6) a CPU or GPU;
7) a CPU or GPU with a thermal design power of 300W and over;
8) an integrated circuit;
9) a chipset;
10) a voltage regulator;
11) one or more circuit boards installed on the motherboard with the plane of the circuit board being parallel to the motherboard;
12) one or more circuit boards installed on the motherboard with the plane of the circuit board being nonparallel to the motherboard;
13) one or more storage devices;
14) an SFF compatible storage device;
15) computer RAM, or;
16) computer RAM in the form of DIMM style circuit boards. 5. The electronic computer system of any one of example embodiments 1 to 4 wherein the one or more of the plurality of heat generating components have different heights above the motherboard and the thermal shield is adapted to be simultaneously in thermal contact with each of the plurality of heat generating components.
6. The electronic computer system of any one of example embodiments 1 to 5 wherein the thermal shield comprises a plurality of surfaces configured such that each of the plurality of surfaces is in thermal contact with one or more of the plurality of heat generating components.
7. The electronic computer system of example embodiment 6 wherein the plurality of surfaces are planar and parallel to each other.
8. The electronic computer system of any one of example embodiments 1 to 7 wherein the thermal shield is contacted to at least one of the plurality of heat generating components via a TIM.
9. The electronic computer system of any one of example embodiments 1 to 8 wherein the thermal shield is directly contacted to at least one of the plurality of heat generating components.
10. The electronic computer system of any one of example embodiments 1 to 9 wherein the thermal shield is a unitary component.
11. The electronic computer system of any one of example embodiments 1 to 9 wherein the thermal shield is comprised of a plurality of thermally conductive parts.
12. The electronic computer system of any one of example embodiments 1 to 11 wherein the thermal shield further comprises a heat-transmitting apparatus comprising an evaporative portion located proximal to at least one of the plurality of heat generating components, and a condensing portion located proximal to the heat-removal portion. 13. The electronic computer system of example embodiment 12 wherein the heat- transmitting apparatus is a heat-pipe.
14. The electronic computer system of example embodiment 12 wherein the heat- transmitting apparatus is a vapor chamber.
15. The electronic computer system of any one of example embodiments 12 to 14 wherein the heat-transmitting apparatus is mechanically fixed to the thermal shield.
16. The electronic computer system of any one of example embodiments 12 to 14 wherein the heat-transmitting apparatus is soldered onto the thermal shield.
17. The electronic computer system of any one of example embodiments 12 to 14 wherein the heat-transmitting apparatus is fixed to the thermal shield using adhesive.
18. The electronic computer system of any one of example embodiments 1 to 17 wherein the thermal shield further comprises features that thermally isolate a first area of the thermal shield from a second area of the thermal shield, preventing heat from flowing from the first area of the thermal shield to the second area of the thermal shield.
19. The electronic computer system of any one of example embodiments 1 to 18 wherein the thermal shield comprises a thermally conductive metal.
20. The electronic computer system of any one of example embodiments 1 to 19 wherein the thermal shield comprises sheet metal.
21. The electronic computer system of any one of example embodiments 1 to 20 wherein the thermal shield is manufactured by the use of a stamping press.
22. The electronic computer system of any one of example embodiments 1 to 21 wherein the thermal shield comprises aluminum.
23. The electronic computer system of any one of example embodiments 1 to 22 wherein the thermal shield is plated.
24. The electronic computer system of any one of example embodiments 1 to 23 further comprising a daughterboard, the daughterboard comprising at least one heat-generating component that is in thermal contact with the thermal shield, at least a portion of the heat being generated by the at least one heat-generating component being transmitted to the heat-removal portion of the electronic computer system.
25. The electronic computer system of example embodiment 24 wherein the daughterboard is located such that the thermal shield is located between the motherboard and the daughterboard.
26. The electronic computer system of example embodiment 24 or 25 wherein the daughterboard is field-removable.
27. The electronic computer system of any one of example embodiments 24 to 26 wherein the at least one heat-generating component is a GPU or CPU.
28. The electronic computer system of any one of example embodiments 24 to 27 wherein the at least one heat-generating component has a TDP of less than or up to 25 W, or as much as 300W or higher.
29. The electronic computer system of any one of example embodiments 1 to 28 further comprising a lower-half, with the lower-half and the thermal shield being brought together to comprise a clam-shell chassis, the motherboard being contained between the lower-half and the thermal shield and within the clam shell chassis.
30. The electronic computer system of example embodiment 29 wherein the lower- half is formed predominantly from thermoplastic.
31. The electronic computer system of example embodiment 29 further comprising a second heat generating component and wherein the lower-half is a second thermal shield in thermal contact with the second heat generating component, the second thermal shield being configured so as to thermally connect the second heat generating component to the heat-removal portion of the electronic computer system.
32. The electronic computer system of any one of example embodiments 1 to 31 further comprising: e) an auxiliary thermal shield, the auxiliary thermal shield being thermally conductive, and;
f) one or more locations where a replaceable heat generating component can be installed, each location being configured such that an installed replaceable heat generating component can be installed into the electronic computer system without requiring removal of the thermal shield and that when installed the installed replaceable heat generating component exposes a contact surface that can contacted to by the auxiliary thermal shield without requiring the removal of the thermal shield; the auxiliary thermal shield being configured to contact the contact surface of the installed replaceable heat generating component and communicate heat generated by the installed replaceable heat generating component to the heat- removal portion.
33. The electronic computer system of example embodiment 30 wherein the replaceable heat generating component comprises a circuit board comprising a first connector and the one or more locations comprise a second connector located on the motherboard whereby the circuit board is installed by connecting the first connector to the second connector.
34. The electronic computer system of any one of example embodiments 1 to 33 further comprising an urging mechanism, the urging mechanism comprising a first and second linear components, each of the first and second linear components comprising a plurality of inclined planes and being configured such that when the first and second linear component are brought together the inclined planes align and are in contact such that moving the first linear component in a direction defined by a long axis of the first linear component causes the first and second linear components to move in a direction such that a height of the combined first and second linear components decreases or increases depending on the direction of movement. The electronic computer system of example embodiment 34 wherein the urging mechanism further comprises an actuating mechanism which when actuated causes the first linear component to move in the direction defined by the long- axis of the first linear component thereby causing the height of the combined first and second linear components to change. The electronic computer system of example embodiment 34 or 35 wherein the inclined planes have angle B between approximately 5 degrees and 15 degrees, preferably approximately 10.5 degrees. A thermal shield configured for an electronic computer system, the thermal shield comprising a thermally conductive material and being configured to contact a plurality of heat generating components of the electronic apparatus, transmitting heat from the plurality of heat generating components to a heat- removal portion of the thermal shield, the heat-removal portion being located distinctly from at least one of the heat generating components and whereby cooling the heat-removal portion provides cooling for the plurality of heat generating components. The thermal shield of example embodiment 37 wherein the thermal shield comprises a thermally conductive metal. The thermal shield of example embodiment 37 or 38 wherein the thermal shield is manufactured by the use of a stamping press. The thermal shield of any one of example embodiments 37 to 39 wherein the thermal shield comprises aluminum. The thermal shield of any one of example embodiments 37 to 40 wherein the thermal shield is plated. The thermal shield of any one of example embodiments 37 to 41 wherein the heat-removal portion is configured as a rail-portion extending along a longitudinal direction and is adapted to be received by a channel of a cooling enclosure when the thermal shield is installed on the electronic computer system and the electronic computer system is installed within a cooling enclosure, whereby installing the electronic computer system causes the heat generating components to be cooled. The thermal shield of any one of example embodiments 37 to 42 wherein the one or more of the plurality of heat generating components comprise contact surfaces that lie on a plurality of planes, the thermal shield being adapted to be simultaneously in thermal contact with each of the plurality of heat generating components. The thermal shield of example embodiment 43 wherein the contact surfaces are planar and parallel to each other. The thermal shield of any one of example embodiments 37 to 44 wherein the thermal shield is configured to be contacted to at least one of the plurality of heat generating components via a TIM. The thermal shield of any one of example embodiments 37 to 45 wherein the thermal shield is configured to be directly contacted to at least one of the plurality of heat generating components. The thermal shield of any one of example embodiments 37 to 46 wherein the thermal shield further comprises a heat-transmitting apparatus comprising an evaporative portion located proximal to at least one of the plurality of heat generating components, and a condensing portion located proximal to the heat- removal portion. The thermal shield of example embodiment 47 wherein the heat-transmitting apparatus is a heat-pipe. 49. The thermal shield of example embodiment 47 wherein the heat-transmitting apparatus is a vapor chamber.
50. The thermal shield of any one of example embodiments 47 to 49 wherein the heat-transmitting apparatus are mechanically fixed to the thermal shield.
51. The thermal shield of any one of example embodiments 47 to 49 wherein the heat-transmitting apparatus are soldered onto the thermal shield.
52. The thermal shield of any one of example embodiments 47 to 49 wherein the heat-transmitting apparatus are fixed to the thermal shield using adhesive.
53. The thermal shield of any one of example embodiments 37 to 52 wherein the thermal shield further comprises features that thermally isolate a first area of the thermal shield, preventing heat from flowing from the first area of the thermal shield to a second area of the thermal shield.
54. The thermal shield of any one of example embodiments 37 to 53 wherein the thermal shield is configured to cover a substantial portion of a motherboard.
55. The thermal shield of any one of example embodiments 37 to 54 wherein the thermal shield is a unitary component.
56. The thermal shield of any one of example embodiments 37 to 54 wherein the thermal shield is comprised of a plurality of thermally conductive parts.
57. An electronic computer system which is cooled by installation into a cooled enclosure, the electronic computer system comprising: a) a rail-portion configured to be received by a channel in the cooled enclosure, and;
b) a heat-generating component having a TDP of between 10W and 160W, over 160W or as much as 300W, the heat-generating component being substantially cooled via the rail-portion when the electronic computer system is installed. [0064] Although specific embodiments of the invention have been shown and described herein, it is to be understood that these embodiments are merely illustrative of the many possible specific arrangements that can be devised in application of the principles of the invention. Numerous and varied other arrangements can be devised by those of ordinary skill in the art without departing from the scope and spirit of the invention. These include but are not limited to computer servers and other microprocessor based systems, telecommunications systems, network apparatus including switches and routers and any other equipment that can be installed within a data center environment.
[0065] Certain additional elements that may be needed for operation of some embodiments have not been described or illustrated as they are assumed to be within the purview of those of ordinary skill in the art. Moreover, certain embodiments may be free of, may lack and/or may function without any element that is not specifically disclosed herein.
[0066] Any feature of any embodiment discussed herein may be combined with any feature of any other embodiment discussed herein in some examples of implementation. [0067] In case of any discrepancy, inconsistency, or other difference between terms used herein and terms used in any document incorporated by reference herein, meanings of the terms used herein are to prevail and be used.
[0068] Although various embodiments and examples have been presented, this was for the purpose of describing, but not limiting, the invention. Various modifications and enhancements will become apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art and are within the scope of the invention.

Claims

1. An electronic computer system comprising: a) a plurality of heat generating components;
b) a motherboard, at least one of the plurality of heat generating components being installed on the motherboard;
c) a thermally conductive thermal shield in thermal contact with the plurality of heat generating components, and;
d) a heat-removal portion located distinctly from at least one of the plurality of heat generating components, the thermal shield being configured to thermally connect the plurality of heat generating components to the heat-removal portion whereby cooling the heat-removal portion provides cooling for the plurality of heat generating components.
2. The electronic computer system of claim 1 wherein the heat-removal portion is configured as a rail-portion extending along a longitudinal direction that corresponds to the direction of installation of the electronic computer system, the rail-portion being adapted to be received by a channel of a cooling enclosure when the electronic computer system is installed within the cooling enclosure, whereby installing the electronic computer system causes the heat generating components to be cooled.
3. The electronic computer system of claim 1 or 2 wherein the thermal shield covers a substantial portion of the motherboard.
4. The electronic computer system of any one of claims 1 to 3 whereby the plurality of heat generating components comprises at least one of:
1) a heat generating component having thermal design power of at least 10W;
2) a heat generating component having thermal design power between 10W and 160W;
3) a heat generating component having thermal design power over 160W;
4) a heat generating component having thermal design power over 300W;
5) a central processing chip; 6) a CPU or GPU;
7) a CPU or GPU with a thermal design power of 300W and over;
8) an integrated circuit;
9) a chipset;
10) a voltage regulator;
11) one or more circuit boards installed on the motherboard with the plane of the circuit board being parallel to the motherboard;
12) one or more circuit boards installed on the motherboard with the plane of the circuit board being nonparallel to the motherboard;
13) one or more storage devices;
14) an SFF compatible storage device;
15) computer RAM, or;
16) computer RAM in the form of DIMM style circuit boards.
5. The electronic computer system of any one of claims 1 to 4 wherein the one or more of the plurality of heat generating components have different heights above the motherboard and the thermal shield is adapted to be simultaneously in thermal contact with each of the plurality of heat generating components.
6. The electronic computer system of any one of claims 1 to 5 wherein the thermal shield comprises a plurality of surfaces configured such that each of the plurality of surfaces is in thermal contact with one or more of the plurality of heat generating components.
7. The electronic computer system of claim 6 wherein the plurality of surfaces are planar and parallel to each other.
8. The electronic computer system of any one of claims 1 to 7 wherein the thermal shield is contacted to at least one of the plurality of heat generating components via a TIM.
9. The electronic computer system of any one of claims 1 to 8 wherein the thermal shield is directly contacted to at least one of the plurality of heat generating components.
10. The electronic computer system of any one of claims 1 to 9 wherein the thermal shield is a unitary component.
11. The electronic computer system of any one of claims 1 to 9 wherein the thermal shield is comprised of a plurality of thermally conductive parts.
12. The electronic computer system of any one of claims 1 to 11 wherein the thermal shield further comprises a heat-transmitting apparatus comprising an evaporative portion located proximal to at least one of the plurality of heat generating components, and a condensing portion located proximal to the heat-removal portion.
13. The electronic computer system of claim 12 wherein the heat-transmitting apparatus is a heat-pipe.
14. The electronic computer system of claim 12 wherein the heat-transmitting apparatus is a vapor chamber.
15. The electronic computer system of any one of claims 12 to 14 wherein the heat- transmitting apparatus is mechanically fixed to the thermal shield.
16. The electronic computer system of any one of claims 12 to 14 wherein the heat- transmitting apparatus is soldered onto the thermal shield.
17. The electronic computer system of any one of claims 12 to 14 wherein the heat- transmitting apparatus is fixed to the thermal shield using adhesive.
18. The electronic computer system of any one of claims 1 to 17 wherein the thermal shield further comprises features that thermally isolate a first area of the thermal shield from a second area of the thermal shield, preventing heat from flowing from the first area of the thermal shield to the second area of the thermal shield.
19. The electronic computer system of any one of claims 1 to 18 wherein the thermal shield comprises a thermally conductive metal.
20. The electronic computer system of any one of claims 1 to 19 wherein the thermal shield comprises sheet metal.
21. The electronic computer system of any one of claims 1 to 20 wherein the thermal shield is manufactured by the use of a stamping press.
22. The electronic computer system of any one of claims 1 to 21 wherein the thermal shield comprises aluminum.
23. The electronic computer system of any one of claims 1 to 22 wherein the thermal shield is plated.
24. The electronic computer system of any one of claims 1 to 23 further comprising a daughterboard, the daughterboard comprising at least one heat-generating component that is in thermal contact with the thermal shield, at least a portion of the heat being generated by the at least one heat-generating component being transmitted to the heat-removal portion of the electronic computer system.
25. The electronic computer system of claim 24 wherein the daughterboard is located such that the thermal shield is located between the motherboard and the daughterboard.
26. The electronic computer system of claim 24 or 25 wherein the daughterboard is field- removable.
27. The electronic computer system of any one of claims 24 to 26 wherein the at least one heat-generating component is a GPU or CPU.
28. The electronic computer system of any one of claims 24 to 27 wherein the at least one heat-generating component has a TDP of less than or up to 25 W, or as much as 300W or higher.
29. The electronic computer system of any one of claims 1 to 28 further comprising a lower-half, with the lower-half and the thermal shield being brought together to comprise a clam-shell chassis, the motherboard being contained between the lower-half and the thermal shield and within the clam-shell chassis.
30. The electronic computer system of claim 29 wherein the lower-half is formed predominantly from thermoplastic.
31. The electronic computer system of claim 29 further comprising a second heat generating component and wherein the lower-half is a second thermal shield in thermal contact with the second heat generating component, the second thermal shield being configured so as to thermally connect the second heat generating component to the heat- removal portion of the electronic computer system.
32. The electronic computer system of any one of claims 1 to 31 further comprising: e) an auxiliary thermal shield, the auxiliary thermal shield being thermally conductive, and;
f) one or more locations where a replaceable heat generating component can be installed, each location being configured such that an installed replaceable heat generating component can be installed into the electronic computer system without requiring removal of the thermal shield and that when installed the installed replaceable heat generating component exposes a contact surface that can contacted to by the auxiliary thermal shield without requiring the removal of the thermal shield; the auxiliary thermal shield being configured to contact the contact surface of the installed replaceable heat generating component and communicate heat generated by the installed replaceable heat generating component to the heat-removal portion.
33. The electronic computer system of claim 30 wherein the replaceable heat generating component comprises a circuit board comprising a first connector and the one or more locations comprise a second connector located on the motherboard whereby the circuit board is installed by connecting the first connector to the second connector.
34. The electronic computer system of any one of claims 1 to 33 further comprising an urging mechanism, the urging mechanism comprising a first and second linear components, each of the first and second linear components comprising a plurality of inclined planes and being configured such that when the first and second linear component are brought together the inclined planes align and are in contact such that moving the first linear component in a direction defined by a long axis of the first linear component causes the first and second linear components to move in a direction such that a height of the combined first and second linear components decreases or increases depending on the direction of movement.
35. The electronic computer system of claim 34 wherein the urging mechanism further comprises an actuating mechanism which when actuated causes the first linear component to move in the direction defined by the long-axis of the first linear component thereby causing the height of the combined first and second linear components to change.
36. The electronic computer system of claim 34 or 35 wherein the inclined planes have angle B between approximately 5 degrees and 15 degrees, preferably approximately 10.5 degrees.
37. A thermal shield configured for an electronic computer system, the thermal shield comprising a thermally conductive material and being configured to contact a plurality of heat generating components of the electronic apparatus, transmitting heat from the plurality of heat generating components to a heat-removal portion of the thermal shield, the heat-removal portion being located distinctly from at least one of the heat generating components and whereby cooling the heat-removal portion provides cooling for the plurality of heat generating components.
38. The thermal shield of claim 37 wherein the thermal shield comprises a thermally conductive metal.
39. The thermal shield of claim 37 or 38 wherein the thermal shield is manufactured by the use of a stamping press.
40. The thermal shield of any one of claims 37 to 39 wherein the thermal shield comprises aluminum.
41. The thermal shield of any one of claims 37 to 40 wherein the thermal shield is plated.
42. The thermal shield of any one of claims 37 to 41 wherein the heat-removal portion is configured as a rail-portion extending along a longitudinal direction and is adapted to be received by a channel of a cooling enclosure when the thermal shield is installed on the electronic computer system and the electronic computer system is installed within a cooling enclosure, whereby installing the electronic computer system causes the heat generating components to be cooled.
43. The thermal shield of any one of claims 37 to 42 wherein the one or more of the plurality of heat generating components comprise contact surfaces that lie on a plurality of planes, the thermal shield being adapted to be simultaneously in thermal contact with each of the plurality of heat generating components.
44. The thermal shield of claim 43 wherein the contact surfaces are planar and parallel to each other.
45. The thermal shield of any one of claims 37 to 44 wherein the thermal shield is configured to be contacted to at least one of the plurality of heat generating components via a TIM.
46. The thermal shield of any one of claims 37 to 45 wherein the thermal shield is configured to be directly contacted to at least one of the plurality of heat generating components.
47. The thermal shield of any one of claims 37 to 46 wherein the thermal shield further comprises a heat-transmitting apparatus comprising an evaporative portion located proximal to at least one of the plurality of heat generating components, and a condensing portion located proximal to the heat-removal portion.
48. The thermal shield of claim 47 wherein the heat-transmitting apparatus is a heat-pipe.
49. The thermal shield of claim 47 wherein the heat-transmitting apparatus is a vapor chamber.
50. The thermal shield of any one of claims 47 to 49 wherein the heat-transmitting apparatus are mechanically fixed to the thermal shield.
51. The thermal shield of any one of claims 47 to 49 wherein the heat-transmitting apparatus are soldered onto the thermal shield.
52. The thermal shield of any one of claims 47 to 49 wherein the heat-transmitting apparatus are fixed to the thermal shield using adhesive.
53. The thermal shield of any one of claims 37 to 52 wherein the thermal shield further comprises features that thermally isolate a first area of the thermal shield, preventing heat from flowing from the first area of the thermal shield to a second area of the thermal shield.
54. The thermal shield of any one of claims 37 to 53 wherein the thermal shield is configured to cover a substantial portion of a motherboard.
55. The thermal shield of any one of claims 37 to 54 wherein the thermal shield is a unitary component.
56. The thermal shield of any one of claims 37 to 54 wherein the thermal shield is comprised of a plurality of thermally conductive parts.
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