BASIC STRUCTURAL BODY FOR CONSTRUCTING HEAT DISSIPATION DEVICE AND HEAT DISSIPATION DEVICE
A basic structural body for constructing heat dissipation device and a heat dissipation device are disclosed. The heat dissipation device includes a first basic structural body having a wick structure formed on one side surface thereof; and the first basic structural body and the wick structure are structural bodies formed layer by layer. Two pieces of first basic structural bodies can be correspondingly closed together to construct a heat dissipation device internally defining an airtight chamber. In this manner, the heat dissipation device can be designed in a more flexible manner.
The present application is a division of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 16/215,645, filed on Dec. 11, 2018.
FIELD OF THE INVENTIONThe present invention relates to a basic structural body for constructing heat dissipation device and a heat dissipation device, and more particularly, to a basic structural body for constructing heat dissipation device and a heat dissipation device that has an integral structure formed layer by layer.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTIONThe currently available electronic apparatus have constantly upgraded performance, and, as a result, heat produced by the electronic elements in the electronic apparatus, particularly the electronic elements for signal processing and data computation, is much higher than that produced by the electronic elements in the conventional electronic apparatus. There are various heat dissipation devices available for removing the produced heat from the electronic elements. Among others, heat pipes, heat radiators and vapor chambers are the most frequently used heat dissipation devices, because they are in direct contact with the heat-producing electronic elements to provide further enhanced heat dissipation effect and effectively prevent the electronic elements from being burned out due to overheat.
Vapor chamber, heat pipe, and loop heat pipe are the most commonly used heat dissipation devices, all of which internally define a vacuum-tight chamber, in which vapor-liquid circulation of a working fluid occurs with the aid of a wick structure provided in the chamber, so as to achieve a heat transfer effect.
More specifically, either the vapor chamber or the heat pipe achieves a heat exchange effect when the working fluid in the vacuum-tight chamber evaporates and condenses alternatively. Since the use of the heat pipe or the vapor chamber is largely restricted by the space in which the vapor chamber or the heat pipe is installed, most of the currently available heat pipes and vapor chambers are manufactured to nominal sizes with limited shapes and dimensions and are therefore relatively inflexible in use.
However, the conventional vapor chamber is formed by closing two plate members to each other and sealing joints between them, so that an airtight chamber is defined in the completed vapor chamber; and the conventional heat pipe has two sealed ends to internally define an airtight chamber. The airtight chamber of the vapor chamber and the heat pipe is then evacuated to produce a vacuum state therein and filled with a working fluid. In the process of manufacturing the vapor chamber and the heat pipe, a defective joint sealing procedure often leads to poor air-tightness and vacuum leakage of the completed vapor chamber and heat pipe. Further, edge portions/end portions reserved on the vapor chamber/the heat pipe for forming the sealed joints of the vapor chamber and the sealed ends of the heat pipe form ineffective zones that do not provide any space for the working fluid to work to therefore cause waste of material and increased manufacturing cost.
According to the conventional vapor chamber and heat pipe manufacturing method, different apparatus must be purchased for independently producing individual structural units for forming a complete vapor chamber and a heat pipe, such as the upper and lower plate members for the vapor chamber and the outer pipe for the heat pipe. Subsequent production can be started only after these individual structural units are produced. Further, at least one wick structure, such as a powder-sintered body, a woven mesh or a plurality of grooves, is to be provided in the airtight chamber of the vapor chamber and the heat pipe. In this case, at least one processing procedure, such as sintering, welding, diffusion bonding, knurling or laser processing, must be performed on the inner wall surfaces of the airtight chamber to provide the wick structure. In the case of a wick structure in the form of a woven mesh, it might not be easily tightly attached to the inner wall surfaces of the airtight chamber to therefore cause the problem of poor capillary force of the wick structure. Further, since the conventional vapor chamber is a structure formed of two superimposed plate members, its design and production is subjected to many restrictions and complicated manufacturing steps.
In summary, in the conventional vapor chamber and heat pipe manufacturing method, individual basic structural elements must be separately manufactured and then assembled together, or must be processed before being assembled together. However, inaccurate or defective assembling or sealing of these individual basic structural elements tends to cause poor joints or leaked airtight chamber and accordingly, defective products of vapor chambers and heat pipes.
It is therefore tried by the inventor to overcome the drawbacks of conventional heat dissipation devices.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTIONA primary object of the present invention is to overcome the drawbacks of the conventional heat dissipation devices by providing a basic structural body for constructing heat dissipation device and a heat dissipation device that can be more flexibly designed while ensures absolute air tightness thereof.
To achieve the above and other objects, a first embodiment of the heat dissipation device provided according to the present invention includes a first basic structural body having a wick structure formed on one side surface thereof, and the first basic structural body and the wick structure are integral structural bodies formed layer by layer.
To achieve the above and other objects, a second embodiment of the heat dissipation device provided according to the present invention includes a plurality of first basic structural bodies respectively having a wick structure formed on one side surface thereof, and the first basic structural bodies and the wick structures are structures formed layer by layer. The first basic structural bodies are fixedly closed together in pairs to construct a desired heat dissipation device that internally defines an airtight chamber, and a working fluid is filled in the airtight chamber.
The first basic structural body and the wick structure can be formed using gold, silver, copper, aluminum, titanium, stainless steel, ceramic, non-metal materials, or any combination thereof.
Since the heat dissipation device according to the present invention is formed layer by layer in a special manufacturing manner, it can be more flexibly designed. The flexibly designed heat dissipation device of the present invention not only solves the disadvantages in the conventional heat dissipation devices caused by the joint sealing process, but also largely reduces the procedures and time needed in manufacturing the conventional heat dissipation devices while enables firm attachment of the wick structure to the inner wall surfaces of the heat dissipation devices. In summary, the present invention enables upgraded overall flexibility in designing and manufacturing a heat dissipation device.
The structure and the technical means adopted by the present invention to achieve the above and other objects can be best understood by referring to the following detailed description of the preferred embodiments and the accompanying drawings, wherein
The present invention will now be described with some preferred embodiments thereof and by reference to the accompanying drawings. For the purpose of easy to understand, elements that are the same in the preferred embodiments are denoted by the same reference numerals.
The present invention provides a heat dissipation device having an integral structure constructed layer by layer or part by part based on the concept of creating something from zero. This type of manufacturing is implemented mainly through 3D printing, electrochemical processing, printing, thermal spraying, or any combination thereof. For this purpose, a primary fundamental carrier or member is first formed, and other secondary structural parts or structural bodies are then sequentially formed on the primary fundamental carrier or member lay by layer to finally form an integral structure.
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The titanium material for forming the first basic structural body 1 can be commercially pure titanium or a titanium alloy, both of which are characterized by the following nine advantages of high specific strength, good corrosion resistance, low elastic modulus, good heat resistance, good low-temperature performance, high biocompatibility, low heat transfer coefficient, colorful oxide film and being non-magnetic, and have been widely applied to livelihood-related industry, petrochemical industry, aerospace industry, military industry and medical industry. Up to date, there are already more than 100 types of titanium alloys that have been developed by different countries in the world, and about 40 to 50 types of these titanium alloys have already become commercialized. According to other chemical elements contained therein, these titanium alloys can be generally classified into three major categories, namely, alpha (α) alloys, alpha and beta (α-β) alloys, and beta (13) alloys. According to the types and contents of different chemical elements contained therein, alpha titanium alloys can be further classified into commercially pure titanium, alpha titanium alloys and near-alpha titanium alloys. Commercially pure titanium does not contain other chemical elements but only a trace amount of oxygen, carbon, nitrogen, hydrogen and iron. The oxygen in the pure titanium is an interstitial element, and the amount of oxygen contained in the pure titanium has a relatively big influence on the strength of the pure titanium. Generally speaking, the strength of titanium will increase 100˜120 mPa (megapascal) when the content of oxygen in the titanium is increased by 0.1 wt %. According to the oxygen content thereof, the commercially pure titanium can be classified into four grades, namely, Grade 1 to Grade 4. The Grade 1 pure titanium has oxygen content lower than 0.18 wt % and the advantages of low strength, good ductility and good formability, and is primarily used as a material for roofing and plate-type heat exchanger. The Grade 2 pure titanium has a tensile strength ranged between 350 and 450 mPa, and is the most frequently used one among the four grades of pure titanium, mainly used in the manufacture of seamed or seamless pipes and chemical tanks and containers. The Grade 3 pure titanium has a strength ranged between 500 and 600 mPa and is mainly used in the manufacture of pressure chemical tanks and containers. The Grade 4 pure titanium has a strength close to 700 mPa and is the strongest one of the four grades of pure titanium, and is mainly used in the manufacture of some fasteners and relatively complicate parts that have to be formed around 300° C. Alpha titanium alloys contain alpha stabilizers, such as aluminum and oxygen, as well as neutral alloying elements, such as tin and zinc. Alpha titanium alloys having been subjected to annealing has a single-phase alpha structure that has good structural stability, heat resistance and weldability, as well as a metal strength higher than that of industrially pure titanium.
To satisfy the requirement for strength, neutral elements are added to the alpha titanium alloys to increase their strength. A typical example of the strengthened alpha titanium alloys is Grade 6 titanium alloy, also known as Ti-5A1-2.5Sn, which has good fracture toughness and thermal strength at both room temperature and high temperature, and has a long-term working temperature about 500° C. Further, a low interstitial Ti-5A1-2.5Sn can be used in a low-temperature environment. As having been mentioned above, both the commercially pure titanium and the titanium alloys have the advantages of high specific strength, good corrosion resistance, low elastic modulus, good heat resistance, good low-temperature performance, high biocompatibility, low heat transfer coefficient, colorful oxide film and being non-magnetic. Therefore, different types of pure titanium or titanium alloys can be selected for manufacturing different portions of a loop heat pipe. That is, by using pure titanium and titanium alloys of different properties to replace the use of copper, aluminum or stainless steel that are conventionally used in the manufacture of loop heat pipes, it is able to advantageously largely upgrade the overall heat dissipation efficiency and structural strength of the loop heat pipes while largely reduce the overall weight thereof.
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The heat dissipation device in the second embodiment is generally denoted by reference numeral 3, and, as shown in
The heat dissipation device 3 constructed by correspondingly closing two pieces of first basic structural bodies 1 together internally defines an airtight chamber 31, in which a wick structure 2 and a working fluid 4 are provided.
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The frame section 8 can be optionally formed of other materials showing different structural properties, so that the frame section 8 can give the first basic structural body 1 enhanced heat dissipation property or increased structural strength. For example, the frame section 8 can be otherwise formed of a titanium alloy having good shape memory property, an aluminum material having good heat dissipation property, a copper material having good heat absorption property, or graphite sheet or graphene having excellent temperature evenness effect without being limited to any particular material. Other materials can also be selected for forming the frame section 8.
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The intermediate body 9 has a first side 91 and an opposite second side 92, and is provided with a plurality of through holes 93 and a recess structure 94. The recess structure 94 can be provided on any one or both of the first side 91 and the second side 92. In the illustrated ninth embodiment, the recess structure 94 is provided on the first side 91. The through holes 93 are extended through the intermediate body 9 to communicate the first side 91 with the second side 92. The recess structure 94 and the through holes 93 can be alternately arranged or not on the intermediate body 9. In the illustrated ninth embodiment, the recess structure 94 and the through holes 93 are alternately arranged on the intermediate body 9. However, it is understood the arrangement of the recess structure 94 and the through holes 93 in the ninth embodiment is only illustrative and not intended to limit the present invention in any way.
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The supporting structure 10 in the tenth embodiment can be differently configured. As shown in
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In either configuration, the supporting structure 10 is formed along with the first basic structural bodies 1 layer by layer to construct an integral and complete heat dissipation device. In this manner, it is able to save the manufacturing cost that is required in the conventional heat dissipation device for additional forming and processing two different elements, i.e. the first basic structural bodies 1 and the supporting structure 10. Therefore, the heat dissipation device according to the present invention can be manufactured at less time and labor as well as reduced waste to largely lower the manufacturing cost thereof.
For the wick structure 2, the first basic structural body 1 and the supporting structure 10 that are not particularly described in some of the above-mentioned embodiments, they can be made of gold, silver, copper, aluminum, titanium, stainless steel, ceramic, plastic, or any combination thereof. In the present invention, the wick structure 2 is a structural layer consisting of one single porous body or a plurality of superimposed porous bodies. The porous body can be a powder-sintered body, a woven mesh, a fibrous member, or a structural body combining superimposed layers of powder-sintered body, woven mesh and fibrous member.
In summary, the present invention mainly provides a heat dissipation basic structural body or a heat dissipation device, such as a vapor chamber, which is constructed layer by layer to complete an integral structural body. More specifically, all the parts of the vapor chamber, including the external upper and lower plate members and the internal wick structure thereof, are sequentially formed layer by layer. Further, according to the present invention, materials of different properties are used and processed at the same time to embody a single structural body that presents more than one material property or characteristic, so that a desired heat dissipation device can be manufactured in a more flexible manner without being limited by mold design, which doubtlessly increases the entire manufacturing flexibility and reduces the manufacturing cost of the heat dissipation device.
The forming of an integral structural body of a desired heat dissipation device layer by layer as disclosed in the present invention breaks through the bottleneck in the conventional heat dissipation device manufacturing methods by using and processing materials of different properties, such as metal and non-metal materials, at the same time and enabling tight and flat attachment of the wick structure to the internal chamber of the heat dissipation device through easier and less complicate processing procedures. The heat dissipation device having an integral structural body constructed layer by layer according to the present invention can be more easily accomplished with simplified manufacturing procedures while provides upgraded heat dissipation performance and ensures the air-tightness of the internal chamber of the heat dissipation device.
In the case the heat dissipation device, i.e. the vapor chamber, constructed layer by layer according to the present invention is manufactured in a vacuum environment, the device can not only have improved air-tightness, but also be formed without the need of performing an evacuation process. In this manner, more time and labor costs can be saved, upgraded yield rate can be achieved, and internal vacuum tightness can be ensured in the vapor chamber manufacturing process.
Claims
1. A heat dissipation device, comprising:
- a plurality of first basic structural bodies, which respectively have a wick structure formed on one side surface thereof; the first basic structural body and the wick structure thereof being structural bodies formed layer by layer, and the basic structural bodies being correspondingly closed together in pairs to construct the heat dissipation device that internally defines an airtight chamber; and a working fluid being filled in the airtight chamber.
2. The heat dissipation device as claimed in claim 1, wherein the first basic structural body is formed using a material selected from the group consisting gold, silver, copper, aluminum, titanium, stainless steel, ceramic, non-metal materials, and any combination thereof.
3. The heat dissipation device as claimed in claim 1, wherein the heat dissipation device has an outlet and an inlet, which are connected to two opposite ends of a vapor and liquid pipe that is extended through a heat dissipation unit; and the vapor and liquid pipe and the heat dissipation unit being structural bodies formed layer by layer through 3D printing.
4. The heat dissipation device as claimed in claim 1, wherein the wick structure is selected from the group consisting of a structural layer including one single porous body, a structural layer including a plurality of superimposed porous bodies, and a plurality of grooves formed between mutually spaced ribs; and is formed through a manner selected from the group consisting of 3D printing, electroforming, electroplating, printing, and thermal spraying; and the porous body being selected from the group consisting of a powder-sintered body, a woven mesh, a fibrous member, and a structural body combining superimposed layers of powder-sintered body, woven mesh and fibrous member.
5. The heat dissipation device as claimed in claim 1, wherein the wick structure is formed using a material selected from the group consisting of copper, aluminum, nickel, gold, silver, titanium, stainless steel, ceramic, plastic, and any combination thereof.
6. The heat dissipation device as claimed in claim 1, further comprising a polymeric layer externally provided on one side of the heat dissipation device opposite to the wick structure; the polymeric layer being formed using a material selected from the group consisting of a natural polymer, a synthetic polymer and an inorganic polymer; the natural polymer being selected from the group consisting of starch, rubber and nucleic acid; the synthetic polymer being selected from the group consisting of polyethylene (PE), polyvinyl chloride (PVC), nylon, Dacron (polyethylene terephthalate or PET), acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS), and styrene-butadiene rubber (SBR); and the inorganic polymer being selected from the group consisting of quartz, asbestos, mica and graphite.
Type: Application
Filed: Aug 28, 2022
Publication Date: Feb 23, 2023
Inventor: Kuei-Feng Chiang (New Taipei City)
Application Number: 17/897,205