HEAT DISSIPATION DEVICE

- ASUSTeK COMPUTER INC.

A heat dissipation device is provided. The heat dissipation device is applied to an electronic device with a first heat source and a second heat source. The heat dissipation device includes a housing, an impeller, a first heat conductive assembly, a second heat conductive assembly and an switch. The housing includes an accommodating space, a first outlet and a second outlet. The first outlet and the second outlet are connected to and through the accommodating space. The impeller is disposed in the accommodating space. The first heat conductive assembly is connected to the first outlet and the first heat source. The second heat conductive assembly is connected to the second outlet and the second heat source. The switch is disposed at the first outlet to open or dose the first outlet.

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Description
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application claims the priority benefit of U.S. provisional application Ser. No. 61/716,627, filed on Oct. 22, 2012 and CN application serial No. 201310409860.6, filed on Sep. 10, 2013. The entirety of the above-mentioned patent application are hereby incorporated by reference herein and made a part of specification.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The invention relates to a heat dissipation device.

2. Description of the Related Art

An electronic device usually generates heat while operation, if the heat cannot dissipate out efficiently, the electronic device is easily crashed, and the electronic components of the electronic device may be even burned out, which causes property damage or injury to users.

Fans, cooling fins, heat pipes and other cooling components are currently used in the electronic device for reducing the temperature of chips. For example, when a central processing unit (CPU) and a graphics processing unit (GPU) are equipped in the electronic device, a set of fans, cooling fins and heat pipes can be used to cool down the CPU, another set of fans, cooling fins and heat pipes are used to cool down the GPU. However, two sets of cooling components not only increase the cost, but also occupies more space inside the electronic device.

In another example, a heat pipe is simultaneously contacted the CPU and the GPU, and the fan is disposed at one end of the heat pipe to dissipate the heat of the CPU and the GPU synchronously. Although this method saves the cost of the cooling components and the space inside the electronic device, the temperature of the CPU and that of the GPU are influenced by each other, and thus the temperature sensor is difficult to detect the actual temperature of the CPU and that of the GPU.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

A heat dissipation device is provided. The heat dissipation device is applied to an electronic device with a first heat source and a second heat source.

A heat dissipation device includes a housing, an impeller, a first heat conductive assembly, a second heat conductive assembly and a switch. The housing includes an accommodating space, a first outlet and a second outlet. The first outlet and the second outlet are connected to and through the accommodating space. The impeller is disposed in the accommodating space. The first heat conductive assembly is connected to and through the first outlet and the first heat source. The second heat conductive assembly is connected to the second outlet and the second heat source. The switch is disposed at the first outlet to open or dose the first outlet.

Since the housing includes the first outlet and the second outlet, and the switch is disposed at the first outlet, when the impeller rotates, the switch opens or closes the first outlet, which affects the air volume of the first outlet and the second outlet. When the switch opens the first outlet, the airflow outflows from the first outlet and the second outlet, thus, the heat of the first heat source and that of the second heat source can be dissipated synchronously When the switch doses the first outlet, the airflow outflows alone the second outlet, and thus the air volume of the second outlet is increased and further the cooling effect of the second heat source is improved.

The heat dissipation device adjusts the switch at the first outlet according to the temperature of the first heat source and that of the second heat source, therefore, the heat generated from the second heat source can be dissipated, even the heat generated from the first heat source and the second heat source can he dissipated synchronously by the impeller 120 of the heat dissipation device, and thus saves the cost and space of the heat dissipation device.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a three-dimensional schematic diagram showing a heat dissipation device in an embodiment;

FIG. 2 is a three-dimensional schematic diagram showing the heat dissipation device in FIG. 1 of which an upper cover of a housing is removed;

FIG. 3 is a partial enlarged drawing showing that the switch in FIG. 2 of which a first outlet is closed;

FIG. 4 is a three-dimensional schematic diagram showing, that the switch in FIG. 2 of which a first outlet is partially opened;

FIG. 5 is a three-dimensional schematic diagram showing that the switch in FIG. 2 of which a first outlet is fully opened;

FIG. 6 is a three-dimensional schematic diagram showing a heat dissipation device in another embodiment;

FIG. 7 is a three-dimensional schematic diagram showing the heat dissipation device in FIG. 6 of which an upper cover of a housing is removed; and

FIG. 8 is a three-dimensional schematic diagram showing, that the switch in FIG. 6 opens the first outlet.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENTS

FIG. 1 is a three-dimensional schematic diagram showing a heat dissipation device in an embodiment. FIG. 2 is a three-dimensional schematic diagram showing the heat dissipation device in FIG. 1 where an upper cover of a housing is removed. Please refer to FIG. 1 and FIG. 2, the heat dissipation device 100 is applied to an electronic device with a first heat source 210 and a second heat source 220. The electronic device may be a notebook computer, a desktop computer or a tablet computer. The first heat source 210 and the second heat source 220 may be chips on a circuit board (such as a mainboard). The first heat source 210 may be graphics processing unit (GPU), and the second heat source 220 may be central processing unit (CPU), however, the types of the first heat source 210 and the second heat source 220 are not limited herein.

The heat dissipation device 100 includes a housing 110, an impeller 120, a first heat conductive assembly 130, a second heat conductive assembly 140 and a switch 150. The housing 110 and the impeller 120 together are defined as a fan unit. The housing 110 includes an accommodating space 114, a first outlet 116 and a second outlet 118. The first outlet 116 and the second outlet 118 are connected to and through the accommodating space 114. The impelled 20 is disposed in the accommodating space 114 and rotates in the housing 110 to generate airflow. In the embodiment, the direction of the opening of the first outlet 116 is approximately perpendicular to the direction of the opening of the second outlet 118, which is not limited herein.

The first heat conductive assembly 130 is connected between the first outlet 116 and the first heat source 210. The first heat conductive assembly 130 includes a first cooling fin 132 and a first heat pipe 134. The first cooling fin 132 is at the first outlet 116; the first heat pipe 134 is connected between the first cooling fin 132 and the first heat source 210 to improve the heat conduction between the first cooling fin 132 and the first heat source 210. Thus, the operation temperature of the first heat source 210 can be reduced through the first heat conductive assembly 130 and the airflow from the first outlet 116.

In addition, the second heat conductive assembly 140 is connected between the second outlet 118 and the second heat source 220. The second heat conductive assembly 140 includes a second cooling fin 142 and a second heat pipe 144. The second cooling fin 142 is disposed at the second outlet 118. The second heat pipe 144 is connected between the second cooling fin 142 and the second heat source 220 to accelerate the heat conduction between the second cooling fin 142 and the second heat source 220. Thus, the operation temperature of the second heat source 220 can be reduced through the second heat conductive assembly 140 and the airflow from the second outlet 118.

The switch 150 is disposed at the first outlet 116 to open (such as completely open or partially open) or close the first outlet 116. The switch 150 includes a wind deflector 152 and a control element 154. The control element is a motor in the embodiment. The wind deflector 152 is movably disposed in the first outlet 116. The motor 154 is connected to one end of the wind deflector 152. When the motor 154 works, it drives the wind deflector 152 to rotate in the first outlet In the following descriptions, the structure of the wind deflector 152 which is connected to the housing 110 and the motor 154 is illustrated.

FIG. 3 is a partial enlarged drawing showing that the switch in FIG. 2 of which a first outlet is closed. Please refer to FIG. 2 and FIG. 3, the switch 150 closes the first outlet 116. The housing 110 includes a positioning slot 113 and a through hole 115 located at the two opposite ends of the first outlet 116. The opposite ends of the wind deflector 152 include rotating shafts 153, 155, respectively, The rotating shaft 153 is coupled to the positioning slot 113. The rotating shaft 155 is coupled to the through hole 115 and connected to the motor 154. When the motor 154 works, the wind deflector 152 rotates along with the rotate of the rotating shaft 155 which is connected to the motor 154.

As a result, the angle between the wind deflector 152 and the open direction D of the first outlet 116 can be from 0 to 90 degrees. When the angle is 90 degrees, the wind deflector 152 closes the first outlet 116 to make the airflow generated by the impeller 120 only outflow from the second outlet 118. When the angle between the wind deflector 152 and the open direction D is less than 90 degrees, the wind deflector 152 is partially or completely opened to expose the first outlet 116 for making the airflow generated by the impelled 20 outflow from the first outlet 116 and the second outlet 118.

FIG. 4 is a three-dimensional schematic diagram showing that the switch in FIG. 2 of which a first outlet is partially opened. Please refer to FIG. 2 and FIG. 4, the heat dissipation device 100 further includes a temperature sensor 170. The temperature sensor 170 is electronically connected to the motor 154 of the switch 150, and detects the temperature of the first heat source 210 and the second heat source 220. In the embodiment, the temperature sensor 170 controls the rotate time and rotate range of the motor 154 through the Basic Input/output System (BIOS) or other applications and software.

For example, when the first heat source 210 is at low load or zero load, the first heat source 210 is detected at a low temperature (such as 30 to 40 degrees) by the temperature sensor 170. At the moment, the motor 154 rotates the wind deflector 152 to close the first outlet 116 as shown in FIG. 2), the airflow outflows from the second outlet 118, and thus increases the air volume of the second outlet 118 and further increases the cooling effect of the second heat source 220.

When the first heat source 210 is at a normal load, a medium temperature (such as 60 to 70 degrees) is detected by the temperature sensor 170. At the moment, the motor 154 rotates the wind deflector 152 to partially or completely expose the first outlet 116 (as shown in FIG. 4). For example, the angle between the wind deflector 152 and the open direction D is 45 degrees, thus the airflow outflows from the first outlet 116 and the second outlet 118, as a result, the heat of the first heat source 210 and the second heat source 220 dissipated out synchronously.

The temperature sensor 170 is disposed outside the first heat source 210 and the second heat source 220 in the embodiment. The number and the position of the temperature sensor 170 can be varied by demand, For example, two temperature sensors 170 are included and are disposed at the first heat source 210 and the second heat source 220 respectively, which is not limited herein.

FIG. 5 is a three-dimensional schematic diagram showing that the switch in FIG. 2 where a first outlet is frilly opened. When the first heat source 210 is at a high load, a high temperature (such as 90 to 100 degrees) detected by the temperature sensor 170. At the moment, the motor 154 rotates the wind deflector 152 to completely expose the first outlet 116 for making the airflow outflow from the first outlet 116 and the second outlet 118 and dissipating the heat of the first heat source 210 and the second heat source 220 out synchronously. In the embodiment, the angle between the wind deflector 152 and the open direction D is 0 degree, therefore, the air volume of the first outlet 116 in FIGS is greater than the air volume of the first outlet 116 in FIG. 4, which can increase the cooling effect of the first heat source 210.

FIG. 2, FIG. 4 and FIG. 5 respectively shows three states of the switch 150, the states are not limited to the three states. Designers can adjust the relationship between the state of the wind deflector 152 and the temperature of the first heat source 210 according to the practical requirement. For example, when the temperature sensor 170 senses that the temperature of the first heat source 210 is 80 degrees, the motor 154 can control the angle between the wind deflector 152 and the open direction D at 60 degrees.

The heat dissipation device 100 adjusts the switch 150 at the first outlet 116 according to the temperature of the first heat source 210 and that of the second heat source 220, therefore the heat generated from the second heat source 220 can be dissipated, even the heat generated from the first heat source 210 and the second h at source can be dissipated synchronously by the impeller 120 of the heat dissipation, and thus saves the cost and space of the heat dissipation device 100.

The connection relations of the components of the heat dissipation device described above is omitted herein. In the following description, a heat dissipation device with other types of switches will be described.

FIG. 6 is a three-dimensional schematic diagram showing a heat dissipation device in another embodiment FIG. 7 is a three-dimensional schematic diagram showing the heat dissipation device in FIG. 6 where an upper cover of the housing is removed. Please refer to FIG. 6 and FIG. 7, the heat dissipation device 100 includes a housing 110, an impeller 120, a first heat conductive assembly 130, a second heat conductive assembly 140 and a switch 160. The difference of the embodiments in FIG. 2 and FIG. 7 is that the switch 160 of the embodiment in FIG. 7 includes a wind deflector 162 and an electromagnet 164. One end of the wind deflector 162 is connected to the housing 110, and the other end is a free end. A distance is existed between the electromagnet 164 and the free end of the wind deflector 162.

When the electromagnet 164 is energized, the state of the wind deflector 162 is as shown in FIG. 7. The free end of the wind deflector 162 moves toward the electromagnet 164 under the magnetic force to close the first outlet 116. The wind deflector 162 may be a curved flexible metal sheet (such as a copper sheet), and the length of the wind deflector 162 is greater than the length of the first outlet 116.

FIG. 8 is a three-dimensional schematic diagram showing, that the switch in FIG. 6 opens the first outlet. Please refer to FIG. 7 and FIG. 8, where the housing 110 further includes a stopper 111. The stopper 111 is between the impeller 120 and the wind deflector 162.

When the electromagnet 164 is not energized, the state of the wind deflector 162 is as shown in FIG. 8. The wind deflector 162 can move towards the direction far from the electromagnet 164 by its elasticity to make the wind deflector 162 lean against the stopper 111 to open the first outlet 116. However, in order to make sure that the wind deflector 162 can lean against the stopper 111 when the electromagnet 164 is not energized, the material of the stopper 111 may contain a magnetic material to make the stopper 111 attract the wind deflector 161 When the electromagnet 164 is energized, the magnetic force between the electromagnet 164 and the wind deflector 162 is greater than the magnetic force between the stopper 111 and the wind deflector 162, which makes the wind deflector 162 attracted to the housing 110 closed to the electromagnet 164 from the stopper 111.

Although the present disclosure has been described in considerable detail with reference to certain preferred embodiments thereof, the disclosure is not for limiting the scope. Persons having ordinary skill in the art may make various modifications and changes without departing from the scope. Therefore, the scope of the appended claims should not be limited to the description of the preferred embodiments described above.

Claims

1. A heat dissipation device, applied to an electronic device with a first heat source and a second heat source, the heat dissipation device comprising:

a housing including an accommodating, space, a first outlet and a second outlet, wherein the first outlet and the second outlet are connected to and through the accommodating space;
an impeller disposed in the accommodating space;
a first heat conductive assembly connected to the first outlet and the first heat source
a second heat conductive assembly connected to the second outlet and the second heat source; and
an switch disposed at the first outlet to open or close the first outlet:

2. The heat dissipation device according to claim I, wherein the switch includes:

a wind deflector movably disposed at the first outlet:

3. The heat dissipation device according to claim 2, wherein the switch further includes:

control element connected to the wind deflector,

4. The heat dissipation device according to claim 3, wherein the housing includes a positioning slot and a through hole, two opposite ends of the wind deflector include rotating shafts, respectively, one of the two rotating shafts is coupled to the positioning slot, and the other one of the two rotating shaft is coupled to the through hole and connected to the control element.

5. The heat dissipation device according to claim 2, wherein the angle between the wind deflector and the open direction of the first outlet is 0 to 90 degrees.

6. The heat dissipation device according to claim 2, wherein one end of the wind deflector is connected to the housing, and the switch further includes:

an electromagnet located in a distance from the other end of the wind deflector, when the electromagnet is energized, the wind deflector moves towards the electromagnet to close the first outlet.

7. The heat dissipation device according to claim 6, wherein the housing further includes:

a stopper disposed between the impeller and the wind deflector, when the electromagnet, is not energized, the wind deflector leans against the stopper to open the first outlet.

8. The heat dissipation device according to claim 6, wherein the wind deflector is curved, flexible metal sheet, and the length of the wind deflector is greater than the length of the first outlet.

9. The heat dissipation device according to claim 1, further comprising:

a temperature sensor electronically connected to the switch to sense the temperature of the first heat source and the second heat source.

10. The heat dissipation device according to claim 1, Wherein the first heat conductive assembly includes a first cooling fin and a first heat pipe, and the first cooling fin is disposed at the first outlet, the first heat pipe is connected between the first cooling fin and the first heat source; the second heat conductive assembly includes a second cooling fin and a second heat pipe, and the second cooling fin is disposed at the second outlet, the second heat pipe is connected between the second cooling fin and the second heat source.

Patent History
Publication number: 20140110090
Type: Application
Filed: Oct 11, 2013
Publication Date: Apr 24, 2014
Applicant: ASUSTeK COMPUTER INC. (Taipei)
Inventors: Chen-Hsuan MA (TAIPEI), Ing-Jer CHIOU (TAIPEI)
Application Number: 14/051,463
Classifications
Current U.S. Class: Mechanical Gas Pump (165/121)
International Classification: F28F 3/02 (20060101);