Patents by Inventor James Hom

James Hom has filed for patents to protect the following inventions. This listing includes patent applications that are pending as well as patents that have already been granted by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO).

  • Publication number: 20070256825
    Abstract: A cooling system includes a cooling unit configured to fit within a single drive bay of a personal computer. The cooling unit includes a fluid-to-air heat exchanger, an air mover, a pump, fluid lines, and control circuitry. The cooling system also includes a cooling loop configured to be coupled to one or more heat generating devices. The cooling loop includes the pump and the fluid-to-air heat exchanger from the cooling unit, and at least one heat exchanger coupled together via flexible fluid lines. The heat exchanger is thermally coupled to the heat generating device. The cooling unit is configured to maintain noise below a specified acoustical specification. To meet this acoustical specification, the size, position, and type of the components within the cooling unit are specifically configured.
    Type: Application
    Filed: May 3, 2007
    Publication date: November 8, 2007
    Inventors: Bruce Conway, Richard Brewer, Paul Tsao, James Hom, Douglas Werner, Peng Zhou, Girish Upadhya, Madhav Datta, Ali Firouzi, Fredric Landry
  • Publication number: 20070256815
    Abstract: A scalable and modular cooling system is disclosed. The cooling system includes an air plenum with a plurality of expansion slots. Each expansion slot is configured to receive a modularly configured fluid-to-air heat exchanger, such as a radiator. The air plenum also include one or more air movers for blowing air through the expansion slots, and therefore through any radiators fitted within the expansion slots. For those expansion slots that are not used, a blanking plate is fitted to each unused expansion slot. Each blanking plate is modularly configured in a manner similar to the modularly configured radiators. In this manner, air bypass is substantially prevented. Each radiator is part of an independent cooling loop, used directly or indirectly to cool heat generating devices.
    Type: Application
    Filed: May 3, 2007
    Publication date: November 8, 2007
    Inventors: Bruce Conway, Richard Brewer, James Hom
  • Publication number: 20070235167
    Abstract: A cooling system is used to cool heat generating devices within a personal computer. The cooling system has a first fluid loop and an expandable array of one or more second fluid loops. For each of the second fluid loops, heat generating devices transfer heat to fluid flowing through corresponding heat exchanging devices in the loop. Heat is transferred from the fluid in each second fluid loop to a thermal bus of the first fluid loop via a thermal interface. The second fluid loop can be a pumped fluid loop or can include a heat pipe. Within the first fluid loop, a fluid is continuously pumped from the thermal bus to a fluid-to-air heat exchanging system and back to the thermal bus. Heat transferred to the thermal bus from the first fluid loop is transferred to the fluid in the second fluid loop passing through the thermal bus. The heated fluid is pumped through the fluid-to-air heat exchanging system where the heat is transferred from the fluid to the ambient.
    Type: Application
    Filed: April 6, 2007
    Publication date: October 11, 2007
    Inventors: Richard Grant Brewer, Norman Chow, James Hom
  • Publication number: 20070227708
    Abstract: An integrated cooling system for cooling systems such as laptops or subsystems such as a graphics card is disclosed. An integrated cooling system includes a first layer having a contact area configured for coupling to a heat source, wherein the first layer has a fluid path passes adjacent to the contact area where the heat source is in thermal contact with first layer. Coupled to the first layer is a second layer to which a number of air fins are attached. The invention includes a pump that is connected to the fluid path forming a closed path for circulating a fluid through the first layer. Within the first layer, the fluid path will contain a plurality of fluid fins which control the flow of a fluid within the fluid path. Within the fluid path, a structure providing a double-counter flow adjacent to one or more electronic devices. Additionally the fluid path can include a microchannel plate structure.
    Type: Application
    Filed: March 30, 2007
    Publication date: October 4, 2007
    Inventors: James Hom, Girish Upadhya, Douglas E. Werner, Mark Munch, Paul Tsao, Bruce Conway, Peng Zhou, Richard Brewer
  • Publication number: 20070175621
    Abstract: A heat exchanging system uses a metallic TIM for efficient heat transfer between a heat source and a heat exchanger. The heat source is preferably an integrated circuit coupled to a circuit board. The metallic TIM preferably comprises indium. The metallic TIM is comprised of either a separate metallic TIM foil or as a deposited layer of metal material. The metallic TIM foil is mechanically joined to a first surface of the heat exchanger and to a first surface of the integrated circuit by applying sufficient pressure during clamping. Disassembly is accomplished by un-clamping the heat exchanger, the metallic TIM foil, and the integrated circuit from each other. Once disassembled, the heat exchanger and the metallic TIM foil are available to be used again. If the metallic TIM is deposited onto the heat exchanger, disassembly yields a heat exchanging sub-assembly that is also reusable.
    Type: Application
    Filed: January 31, 2006
    Publication date: August 2, 2007
    Inventors: Madhav Datta, Peng Zhou, James Hom, Mark Munch, Mark McMaster
  • Publication number: 20070156645
    Abstract: A method for non-text-based identification of a selected item of stored music. The first broad portion of the method focuses on building a music identification database. That process requires capturing a tag of the selected musical item, and processing the tag to develop reference key to the same. Then the tag is stored, together with the reference key and an association to the stored music. The database is built by collecting a multiplicity of tags. The second broad portion of the method is retrieving a desired item of stored music from the database. That process calls for capturing a query tag from a user, and processing the query tag to develop a query key to the same. The query tag is compared to reference keys stored in the database to identify the desired item of stored music.
    Type: Application
    Filed: November 9, 2006
    Publication date: July 5, 2007
    Applicant: Melodis Corporation
    Inventors: Keyvan Mohajer, Majid Emami, Michal Grabowski, James Hom
  • Publication number: 20040188066
    Abstract: A device, method, and system for a fluid cooled micro-scaled heat exchanger is disclosed. The fluid cooled micro-scaled heat exchanger utilizes a micro-scaled region and a spreader region with specific materials and ranges of dimensions, to yield high heat dissipation and transfer area per unit volume from a heat source. The micro-scaled region preferably comprises microchannels, but in alternate embodiments, comprises a micro-porous structure, or micro-pillars, or is comprised from the group of microchannels, a micro-porous structure, and micro-pillars.
    Type: Application
    Filed: October 30, 2003
    Publication date: September 30, 2004
    Applicant: Cooligy, Inc.
    Inventors: Girish Upadhya, Richard Herms, Peng Zhou, Kenneth Goodson, James Hom
  • Publication number: 20040112571
    Abstract: A method and apparatus for cooling a hat source configured along a lane. The heat exchanger comprises an interface layer that perform thermal exchanger with the heat source and configured to pass fluid from a first side to a second side. The manifold layer comprises a first layer in contact with the heat source and has an appropriate thermal conductivity to pass heat to the interface layer. The manifold layer further comprises a second layer couple to the first layer and in contact with the second side of the interface layer. The first layer comprises a recess area having a heat conducting region in contact with the heat exchanging layer. The first layer includes at least one inlet and/or outlet port. The second layer includes at least one inlet and/or outlet port. At least one inlet and/or outlet port is positioned substantially parallel or perpendicular with respect to the plane.
    Type: Application
    Filed: October 30, 2003
    Publication date: June 17, 2004
    Applicant: Cooligy, Inc.
    Inventors: Thomas W. Kenny, Mark Munch, Peng Zhou, James Gill Shook, Girish Upadhya, Kenneth Goodson, Dave Corbin, Mark McMaster, James Lovette, James Hom
  • Publication number: 20040112585
    Abstract: A method of controlling temperature of a heat source in contact with a heat exchanging surface of a heat exchanger, wherein the heat exchanging surface is substantially aligned along a plane. The method comprises channeling a first temperature fluid to the heat exchanging surface, wherein the first temperature fluid undergoes thermal exchange with the heat source along the heat exchanging surface. The method comprises channeling a second temperature fluid from the heat exchange surface, wherein fluid is channeled to minimize temperature differences along the heat source. The temperature differences are minimized by optimizing and controlling the fluidic and thermal resistances in the heat exchanger. The resistances to the fluid are influenced by size, volume and surface area of heat transferring features, multiple pumps, fixed and variable valves and flow impedance elements in the fluid path, pressure and flow rate control of the fluid, and other factors.
    Type: Application
    Filed: October 30, 2003
    Publication date: June 17, 2004
    Applicant: Cooligy Inc.
    Inventors: Kenneth Goodson, Thomas Kenny, Peng Zhou, Girish Upadhya, Mark Munch, Mark McMaster, James Hom