HEAT PIPE MANUFACTURING METHOD AND HEAT PIPE THEREOF
A heat pipe includes a step pipe, a mesh, and a supporting component. The step pipe has an evaporating section and two condensing sections. The condensing sections are on the two ends of the step pipe, respectively. The evaporating section lies between the two condensing sections. The inner spaces of the two condensing sections and the evaporating section are interconnected. The peripheral dimension of the evaporating section is larger than the peripheral dimension of each of the condensing sections. The mesh is contained in the step pipe and located inside the evaporating section. The supporting component is contained in the step pipe and wrapped in the mesh. The combination of these structures increases air's flow rate inside the heat pipe and improves the heat pipe's heat conduction efficiency.
Latest Patents:
1. Technical Field
The present invention generally relates to a heat pipe, and more particularly, to a method of manufacturing a heat pipe and a heat pipe thereof.
2. Related Art
The exacerbating problems caused by electronic heat sources can be resolved by using heat pipes to dissipate heat in electronic products. Replacing cooling structures formed by cooling fins with heat pipes is apparently the future development trend. In addition to fit in with the premises that electronic products need to be light, thin, short, and small, it's also desirable to further enhance a heat pipe's heat-conduction efficiency.
A conventional heat pipe generally includes a round pipe with a fixed diameter, a capillary structure, and a working fluid. The round pipe has a containing chamber in its interior. The capillary structure is set inside the containing chamber and stuck to the inner surface of the pipe. The working fluid is filled in the containing chamber and accumulated in the capillary structure. As a whole, these parts form a conventional heat pipe.
However, because the diameter of the round pipe is fixed, the inner working fluid could not speed up the heat dissipation rate when it evaporates. Therefore, the heat pipe's heat conduction efficiency is relatively limited. Furthermore, because the capillary structure is a homogeneous structure, its flow-back rate is relatively low and hence might not prevent the heat pipe from drying out. In addition, because the heat pipe's evaporation section has a small sectional area, the heat pipe cannot provide a large area to contact with the heat source. Therefore, the heat pipe can only generate a small amount of steam, and the amount is insufficient to prevent heat accumulation. As a result, it's difficult to effectively improve the conventional heat pipe's heat dissipation efficiency.
BRIEF SUMMARYEmbodiments of the present invention provide a method of manufacturing a heat pipe and a heat pipe thereof. Because in each of the embodiments the peripheral dimension of an evaporating section is different from the peripheral dimensions of a plurality of condensing sections, the embodiments can increase air's flow rate inside the heat pipe and improve the heat pipe's heat conduction efficiency.
An embodiment of the present invention provides a method of manufacturing a heat pipe. The method includes the following steps: a) providing a hollow pipe, a mesh, and a supporting component, wrapping the supporting component with the mesh and then inserting the supporting component and the mesh into the hollow pipe; b) inserting an insertion rod into the step pipe and letting the insertion rod contact the supporting component; and c) after step b) shrinking a part of the hollow pipe and the insertion rod so as to convert the hollow pipe into a step pipe having varying peripheral dimensions.
Another embodiment of the present invention provides a heat pipe. The heat pipe includes a step pipe, a mesh, and a supporting component. The step pipe has an evaporating section and two condensing sections. The two condensing sections are on two ends of the step pipe, respectively. The evaporating section lies between the two condensing sections. The inner spaces of the two condensing sections and the evaporating section are interconnected. The peripheral dimension of the evaporating section is larger than the peripheral dimension of each of the condensing sections. The mesh is contained in the step pipe and located inside the evaporating section. The supporting component is contained in the step pipe and wrapped in the mesh.
The embodiments have the following advantages. The composite capillary structure in each of the condensing sections improves the liquid flow-back rate and hence prevents dry out. The relatively larger sectional area of the evaporating section increases the contact area between the evaporating section and a heat source, allows more steam to be generated, and hence improves the heat dissipation efficiency. Because the sectional area of the evaporating section is larger than the sectional areas of the condensing sections and because sectional area is inversely proportional to flow rate, when the working fluid receives enough heat and evaporates, the resulting air will have a higher flow rate.
It is to be understood that both the foregoing general description and the following detailed description are exemplary and explanatory only and are not restrictive of the invention, as claimed.
Please refer to
a) Provide a hollow pipe 10, a mesh 20, and a supporting component 30, cover the supporting component 30 with the mesh 20, and place the two into the hollow pipe 10. Please refer to
b) Insert an insertion rod 6 into the hollow pipe 10 and cause the insertion rod 6 to contact the supporting component 30. Please refer to
c) Shrink some areas of the hollow pipe 10, which contains the insertion rod 6, so as to convert the hollow pipe 10 into a step pipe 10a with varying peripheral dimensions. Please refer to
In addition, the embodiment can further include a step d) after step c). At step d), an insertion rod 7 is inserted into the step pipe 10a and a metal powder 40 is filled in the space between the insertion rod 7 and the step pipe 10a. Please refer to
Moreover, the embodiment can further include a step e) after step d). At step e), the step pipe 10a and the insertion rod 7 are sintered so that a sintered powder structure 40a is formed on the inner wall of the step pipe 10a. At this step, the step pipe 10a and the insertion rod 7 are sent into a sintering furnace for sintering and then the insertion rod 7 is extracted from the step pipe 10a. As a result, the metal powder 40 will attach to the areas on the two ends of the step pipe 10a and become the sintered powder structure 40a shown in
In addition, the embodiment can further include a step f) after step e). At step f), the step pipe 10a is sealed up, filled with a working fluid 30, and degassed. Please refer to
Moreover, the embodiment can further include a step g) after step f). At step g), the step pipe 10a is flattened. Please refer to
Please refer to
In addition to the aforementioned configuration, the followings are some alternative configurations. In a first alternative, the evaporating section 101 is round and the condensing sections 102 and 103 are flat. In a second alternative, the evaporating section 101 is flat and the condensing sections 102 and 103 are round. In a third alternative, the evaporating section 101 is semicircular, as shown in
The above description is given by way of example, and not limitation. Given the above disclosure, one skilled in the art could devise variations that are within the scope and spirit of the invention disclosed herein. Further, the various features of the embodiments disclosed herein can be used alone, or in varying combinations with each other and are not intended to be limited to the specific combination described herein. Thus, the scope of the claims is not to be limited by the illustrated embodiments.
Claims
1. A method of manufacturing a heat pipe, comprising:
- a) providing a hollow pipe, a mesh, and a supporting component, wrapping the supporting component with the mesh and then inserting the supporting component and the mesh into the hollow pipe;
- b) inserting an insertion rod into the step pipe and letting the insertion rod contact the supporting component; and
- c) after step b) shrinking a part of the hollow pipe and the insertion rod so as to convert the hollow pipe into a step pipe having varying peripheral dimensions.
2. The method of claim 1, further comprising a step d) of filling a metal powder into a space between the insertion rod and the step pipe.
3. The method of claim 2, further comprising a step e) of sintering the step pipe and the insertion rod so as to form a sintered powder structure on an inner wall of the step pipe after step d).
4. The method of claim 3, further comprising a step f) of sealing the step pipe, filling in a working fluid, and degassing the step pipe after step e).
5. The method of claim 4, further comprising a step g) of flatting the step pipe after step f).
6. A heat pipe, comprising:
- a step pipe, having a evaporating section and two condensing sections, wherein the two condensing sections are formed on two ends of the step pipe, respectively, the evaporating section lies between the two condensing sections, inner spaces of the two condensing sections and the evaporating section are interconnected, and a peripheral dimension of the evaporating section is larger than a peripheral dimension of each of the condensing sections.
- a mesh, contained in the step pipe and located inside the evaporating section; and
- a supporting component, contained in the step pipe and wrapped in the mesh.
7. The heat pipe of claim 6, wherein the heat pipe is a straight step pipe with round traverse sections.
8. The heat pipe of claim 6, wherein the heat pipe is a straight step pipe with flat traverse sections.
9. The heat pipe of claim 6, wherein the evaporating section is round, semicircular, or flat.
10. The heat pipe of claim 9, wherein the condensing sections are round or flat.
11. The heat pipe of claim 6, wherein the supporting component is a helical spring.
12. The heat pipe of claim 6, further comprising a sintered powder structure, the sintered powder structure being formed inside either or both of the condensing sections.
13. The heat pipe of claim 12, further comprising a working fluid, the working fluid being filled inside the step pipe.
Type: Application
Filed: Aug 25, 2011
Publication Date: Feb 28, 2013
Applicant:
Inventors: Chun-Hung Lin (New Taipei City), Han-Lin Chen (New Taipei City), Chang-Yin Chen (New Taipei City)
Application Number: 13/218,424
International Classification: F28D 15/04 (20060101); B21D 53/02 (20060101);