LIQUID-COOLING HEAT DISSIPATION APPARATUS FOR ELECTRONIC ELEMENTS

Abstract

A liquid-cooling heat dissipation apparatus for electronic elements comprises an air fan and a liquid-cooling heat dissipation module. The air fan includes a frame and a vane installed on the frame to provide cooling airflow. The liquid-cooling heat dissipation module includes a liquid delivery duct, a liquid return duct, a heat collection element connected to the liquid delivery duct and liquid return duct and coupled with an electronic element to absorb heat, a heat dissipation element to receive the heat from the heat collection element through the liquid return duct and receive the cooling airflow to lower the heat, and a liquid delivery element to provide kinetic energy to drive circulation of the heat from the liquid delivery duct to the liquid return duct. The heat dissipation element and liquid delivery element form a housing space to hold the vane of the air fan.

Description

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to a liquid-cooling heat dissipation apparatus for electronic elements and particularly to a liquid-cooling heat dissipation apparatus equipped with an air fan located between a heat dissipation element and a liquid delivery element to reduce number of ducts and shrink the size thereof.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The performance of central processors often is critical to the performance of computer information equipments. With advance of semiconductor manufacturing process, these days the clock cycle of the central processors is much faster than the past. On the other hand, the central processors also consume a greater amount of power and generate much more waste heat. If the waste heat is not being properly handled and is accumulated in the central processors, the performances of the central processors are affected and result in not proper functioning.

To resolve the problem caused by the waste heat, most central processors nowadays are equipped with a cooling means to transfer or disperse heat. In the past the cooling means disperses heat via air cooling through a cooling fan to continuously blow external cooled air to the surface of the central processor. But the air cooling approach cannot effectively dispel heat due to constraints of cooling fan structure and the deployable quantity. Thus liquid cooling using cooling fluid as heat conductive medium has gradually being adopted. Compared with air-cooling heat dissipation, the liquid-cooling heat dissipation can dispel waste heat of the central processor more efficiently.

A conventional liquid-cooling heat dissipation apparatus mainly includes a pump, a radiator and a heat sink. These elements are distributed in computer information equipments and connected to each other through a plurality of ducts. The ducts are filled with cooling fluid which flows among the elements and absorbs waste heat generated by the central processor through the heat sink, and disperses the waste heat via the radiator. While liquid-cooling heat dissipation provides many advantages over the air cooling heat dissipation, it has to use the cooling fluid as the heat conductive medium and requires multiple sets of ducts to connect various elements. As a result, the internal elements of the computer information equipments cannot be changed or repaired and maintained easily due to the constraints of the ducts.

To remedy the problems caused by the ducts, some liquid-cooling heat dissipation apparatus with simplified ducts have been developed, such as U.S. Pat. Nos. 7,971,632 and 7,325,591. They disclose a liquid-cooling heat dissipation apparatus that combines a heat sink and a pump to reduce the ducts. The heat sink mainly is designed according to the central processor. The flow speed of the cooling liquid is determined by the pressure provided by the pump that depends on the pump structure, such as the size of impeller. The pump is installed on the heat sink, thus is constrained and cannot be adjusted as required. On the other hand, although the pump mounted onto the heat sink can effectively channel the cooling liquid to dissipate the waste heat via the heat sink, the cooling liquid is driven by the pump to the radiator for cooling before heat exchange of the waste heat is finished. As a result, cooling effect is not as desirable as expected.

There are also other conventional techniques that combine the pump and radiator. For instance, U.S. Pat. No. 7,527,085 discloses such a technique. While it overcomes the problem resulted from the ducts, it installs the pump on a corner of the radiator, thus most of the pump would extend outside the radiator that results in a bigger size after installation. As miniaturization is the prevailing trend of the computer information equipments now, the aforesaid conventional structure does meet the present requirement.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The primary object of the present invention is to solve the problem of the conventional liquid-cooling heat dissipation apparatus that results in difficulty for changing or repairing and maintenance of internal elements of computer information equipments.

Another object of the invention is to reduce space needed for installation of the liquid-cooling heat dissipation apparatus.

To achieve the foregoing objects, the present invention provides a liquid-cooling heat dissipation apparatus for electronic elements. It comprises an air fan and a liquid-cooling heat dissipation module. The air fan includes a frame and a vane installed on the frame to provide cooling airflow. The liquid-cooling heat dissipation module includes a liquid delivery duct, a liquid return duct, a heat collection element connected to the liquid delivery duct and liquid return duct and coupled with an electronic element to absorb heat, a heat dissipation element to receive the heat from the heat collection element through the liquid return duct and receive the cooling airflow to lower the heat, and a liquid delivery element to provide kinetic energy to drive circulation of the heat from the liquid return duct to the liquid delivery duct. The heat dissipation element and liquid delivery element form a housing space between them to hold the vane of the air fan.

In one embodiment the liquid delivery element is installed on one side of the air fan opposing to the heat dissipation element and formed at a diameter smaller than that of the vane. The liquid delivery element is preferably located in the center of the vane.

In another embodiment the liquid delivery element is installed on one side of the air fan via the liquid delivery duct and liquid return duct that serve as support racks. The frame of the air fan is fastened to the heat dissipation element through fastening elements and interposed between the heat dissipation element and liquid delivery element.

In yet another embodiment the frame of the air fan is extended to form a housing portion between the frame and the vane to hold the liquid delivery element. The vane and liquid delivery element have a same drive bearing. The frame of the air fan is fastened to the heat dissipation element through fastening elements.

In yet another embodiment the frame of the air fan is extended to form a housing portion on one side opposing the vane to hold the liquid delivery element. The vane and liquid delivery element have a same drive bearing. The frame of the air fan is fastened to the heat dissipation element through fastening elements.

By means of the construction set forth above, compared with the conventional liquid-cooling heat dissipation apparatus, the invention provides features as follow:

1. Resolve the problem of difficult replacement or repair and maintenance of the internal elements in the computer information equipment due to the ducts. The invention has the air fan installed between the liquid delivery element and heat dissipation element without installing longer ducts between them, hence the internal elements of the computer information equipment are not constrained by the ducts anymore, and replacement or repair and maintenance of the internal elements in the computer information equipment are simpler.

2. Smaller installation space. The invention couples the air fan and liquid delivery element in such a way that can save extra location and space needed for installation of the pump.

The foregoing, as well as additional objects, features and advantages of the invention will be more readily apparent from the following detailed description, which proceeds with reference to the accompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an embodiment of the liquid-cooling heat dissipation apparatus for electronic elements of the invention.

FIG. 2 is an exploded view of an embodiment of the liquid-cooling heat dissipation apparatus for electronic elements of the invention.

FIG. 3 is an exploded view of the air fan and pump according to an embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 4 is a sectional view of the heat dissipation element according to an embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 5 is a schematic view of cooling fluid flow according to an embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 6 is a schematic view of installation of the air fan and liquid delivery element according to another embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 7 is an exploded view of the air fan and liquid delivery element according to another embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 8 is a schematic view of yet another embodiment of the invention with multiple sets of the liquid-cooling heat dissipation apparatus.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

Please refer to FIGS. 1, 2 and 3 for an embodiment of the liquid-cooling heat dissipation apparatus 1 for electronic elements of the invention. It is mainly installed in computer information equipment or electromechanical equipment to dispel heat generated by electronic elements thereof during operation. The liquid-cooling heat dissipation apparatus 1 comprises an air fan 10 and a liquid-cooling heat dissipation module 20. The air fan 10 includes a frame 11 and a vane 12 installed on the frame 11 to provide cooling airflow. The liquid-cooling heat dissipation module 20 includes a liquid delivery duct 21, a liquid return duct 22, a heat collection element 23 connected to the liquid delivery duct 21 and liquid return duct 22 and coupled with the electronic element to absorb heat, a heat dissipation element 24 to receive the heat from the heat collection element 23 through the liquid return duct 22 and receive the cooling airflow to lower the heat, and a liquid delivery element 25 to provide kinetic energy to drive circulation of the heat from the liquid delivery duct 21 to the liquid return duct 22. The heat dissipation element 24 and liquid delivery element 25 form a housing space S1 between them to hold the air fan 10. The liquid delivery element 25 can be a pump. The heat collection element 23 can be a liquid-cooling heat conductive head or a heat sink.

The liquid-cooling heat dissipation module 20 can be constructed according to varying requirements. The embodiments depicted herein serve merely for illustrative purpose and are not the limitations of the invention. Please refer to FIGS. 1 and 2, in this embodiment the liquid delivery duct 21 includes a first liquid delivery duct 211 bridging the heat collection element 23 and heat dissipation element 24, and a second liquid delivery duct 212 bridging the heat dissipation element 24 and liquid delivery element 25. The liquid return duct 22 has a first liquid return duct 221 bridging the heat dissipation element 24 and liquid delivery element 25, and a second liquid return duct 222 bridging the heat collection element 23 and heat dissipation element 24. The heat collection element 23 has a flow duct 231 inside and a water inlet 232 and a water outlet 233 at two ends of the flow duct 231. The water inlet 232 is connected to the second liquid return duct 222. The water outlet 233 is connected to the first liquid delivery duct 211. In addition, the flow duct 231 has at least one heat collection fin on the inner side to absorb heat generated by the electronic element while the heat collection element 23 is coupled with the electronic element.

Please also refer to FIG. 3, the liquid delivery element 25 has a pressurized chamber 251 formed therein and a liquid delivery port 252 and a liquid return port 253 located on the pressurized chamber 251. The liquid delivery port 252 is connected to the first liquid return duct 221. The liquid return port 253 is connected to the second liquid delivery duct 212. The pressurized chamber 251 has an impeller 254 inside to provide kinetic energy.

Please refer to FIG. 4, the heat dissipation element 24 has a plurality of fluid ducts 241 and radiation fins 242 between any two neighboring fluid ducts 241. The fluid ducts 241 have two ends formed respectively a first water intake portion 243 connected to the first liquid delivery duct 211, a first water discharge portion 244 connected to the second liquid delivery duct 212 and the first water intake portion 243 via the fluid ducts 241, a second water intake portion 245 connected to the first liquid return duct 221, and a second water discharge portion 246 connected to the second liquid return duct 221 and second water intake portion 245 via the fluid ducts 241.

Please refer to FIG. 5, when the liquid-cooling heat dissipation apparatus 1 of the invention is in operation, all the aforesaid elements are filled with cooling fluid. When the invention is energized by electricity, the air fan 10 and liquid delivery element 25 are driven at the same time. The vane 12 of the air fan 10 spins to generate cooling airflow blowing to the heat dissipation element 24 to generate heat exchange in the cooling fluid. The liquid delivery element 25 provides the kinetic energy to drive the cooling fluid filled in the elements to flow. Also referring to FIGS. 4 and 5, take the heat collection element 23 as a start point for instance, the cooling fluid flows in the direction as follows: flow duct 231→water outlet 233→first liquid delivery duct 211→first water intake portion 243→first water discharge portion 244→second liquid delivery duct 212→liquid return port 253→pressurized chamber 251→liquid delivery port 252→first liquid return duct 221→second water intake portion 245→second water discharge portion 246→second liquid return duct 222→water inlet 232→flow duct 231. Thus a circulation continues. The heat collection element 23 absorbs heat from the electronic element 30 and performs heat exchange with the cooling fluid in the flow duct 231. The cooling fluid is driven to flow to the heat dissipation element 24 which receives the cooling airflow from the air fan 10 to disperse the heat absorbed by the cooling airflow; when the cooling fluid flows again through the heat collection element 23, another cycle of heat exchange takes place. As such circulation continues, the electronic element coupled with the heat collection element 23 can be cooled as desired. The flow direction of the cooling fluid previously discussed serves merely as an example and is not the limitation of the invention.

In one embodiment, the liquid delivery element 25 is installed on one side of the air fan 10 and formed at a diameter smaller than that of the vane 12. The liquid delivery element 25 is preferably located in the center of the vane 12.

Please also refer to FIG. 6 for another embodiment in which, as previously discussed, the first liquid delivery duct 211 and second liquid delivery duct 212 of the liquid delivery duct 21 and first liquid return duct 221 and second liquid return duct 222 of the liquid return duct 22 can be respectively a flexible pliable duct or a fixed hard duct. If the liquid delivery duct 21 and liquid return duct 22 are the pliable ducts, they can be installed as desired; but if they are hard ducts, they can function as the support racks. When the second liquid delivery duct 212 and first liquid return duct 221 are hard ducts, they serve as support racks to provide a bracing force for the liquid delivery element 25. As shown in the drawings, the liquid delivery element 25 is supported via the second liquid delivery duct 212 and first liquid return duct 221 in a suspended manner at one side of the air fan 10. Hence the liquid delivery element 25 can be installed opposing the air fan 10 through the liquid delivery duct 21 and liquid return duct 22 that serve as support racks.

Please refer to FIG. 7 for another embodiment of the invention. The frame 11 of the air fan 10 further includes a housing portion 111 extended to one side opposing the vane 12 to hold the liquid delivery element 25. Also referring to FIG. 3, aside from the housing portion 111 previously discussed, the liquid delivery portion 25 also can be located in the housing portion 111 formed between the frame 11 and vane 12. Further referring to FIGS. 2 and 7, the frame 11 can be fastened to the heat dissipation element 24 via fastening elements 13 which can be rivets or screws. Furthermore, after installation of the air fan 10 and liquid delivery element 25, the air fan 10 and liquid delivery element 25 can be coupled on the same drive bearing. Hence with merely one element being electrically energized, such as the liquid delivery element 25, the impeller 254 can be driven to spin to drive another element to spin as well. In addition to employing the same drive bearing, different drive bearings also can be used, but is limited to coaxial drive bearings.

Please refer to FIG. 8 for yet another embodiment with multiple sets adopted. As previously discussed, in addition to the aforesaid effect achieved through the elements set forth above, multiple sets of the liquid-cooling heat dissipation apparatus 1 can be deployed in the computer information equipment or electromechanical equipment to solve the problem of lower cooling efficiency occurring to the conventional liquid-cooling heat dissipation apparatus by connecting various electronic elements through ducts and circulating the flow of the cooling fluid through the same liquid delivery element. As shown in the drawings, the liquid-cooling heat dissipation apparatus 1 and 1a can be installed in the computer information equipment in a distributed fashion, or at the same location in a juxtaposed manner with the heat collection element 23 of one liquid-cooling heat dissipation apparatus 1 connected to a central processor 31 and another heat collection element 23a of another liquid-cooling heat dissipation apparatus 1a connected to a graphic processor 32 to perform cooling for the electronic elements 31 and 32 connected thereto. While only two sets of the liquid-cooling heat dissipation apparatus 1 and 1a are depicted in this embodiment as an example, in practice even more sets can be employed, and they also can use the same heat dissipation element 24 to disperse heat.

As a conclusion, the liquid-cooling heat dissipation apparatus for electronic elements of the invention mainly provides the housing space between the heat dissipation element and liquid delivery element to hold the air fan without installing longer ducts between them, thus can resolve the problem occurring to the conventional techniques, and the concerns of additionally providing installation location and housing space for the liquid delivery element also can be eliminated. It provides significant improvements over the conventional techniques.

While the preferred embodiments of the invention have been set forth for the purpose of disclosure, they are not the limitations of the invention, modifications of the disclosed embodiments of the invention as well as other embodiments thereof may occur to those skilled in the art. Accordingly, the appended claims are intended to cover all embodiments which do not depart from the spirit and scope of the invention.

Claims

1. A liquid-cooling heat dissipation apparatus for electronic elements, comprising:

an air fan including a frame and a vane installed on the frame to provide cooling airflow; and

a liquid-cooling heat dissipation module including a liquid delivery duct and a liquid return duct, a heat collection element connecting to the liquid delivery duct and the liquid return duct and coupling with an electronic element to absorb heat, a heat dissipation element to receive the heat from the heat collection element via the liquid return duct and receive the cooling airflow to lower the heat, and a liquid delivery element to provide kinetic energy to drive circulation of the heat from the liquid return duct to the liquid delivery duct;

wherein the heat dissipation element and the liquid delivery element form a housing space between them to hold the vane of the air fan.

2. The liquid-cooling heat dissipation apparatus of claim 1, wherein the liquid delivery element is installed on one side of the air fan opposing the heat dissipation element and formed at a diameter smaller than that of the vane.

3. The liquid-cooling heat dissipation apparatus of claim 2, wherein the liquid delivery element is located in a center of the vane.

4. The liquid-cooling heat dissipation apparatus of claim 1, wherein the liquid delivery element is installed on one side of the air fan via the liquid delivery duct and the liquid return duct that serve as support racks.

5. The liquid-cooling heat dissipation apparatus of claim 4, wherein the frame of the air fan is fastened to the heat dissipation element through fastening elements and interposed between the heat dissipation element and the liquid delivery element.

6. The liquid-cooling heat dissipation apparatus of claim 1, wherein the frame of the air fan is extended to form a housing portion between the frame and the vane to hold the liquid delivery element.

7. The liquid-cooling heat dissipation apparatus of claim 6, wherein the vane of the air fan and the liquid delivery element are coupled on a same drive bearing.

8. The liquid-cooling heat dissipation apparatus of claim 6, wherein the frame of the air fan is fastened to the heat dissipation element through fastening elements.

9. The liquid-cooling heat dissipation apparatus of claim 1, wherein the frame of the air fan is extended to form a housing portion on one side opposing the vane to hold the liquid delivery element.

10. The liquid-cooling heat dissipation apparatus of claim 9, wherein the vane of the air fan and the liquid delivery element are coupled on a same drive bearing.

11. The liquid-cooling heat dissipation apparatus of claim 9, wherein the frame of the air fan is fastened to the heat dissipation element through fastening elements.