Cooling system for electronic devices

• US 20040004817A1
• Filed: 03/06/2003
• Published: 01/08/2004
• Est. Priority Date: 03/07/2002
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P. (HP Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P. (HP Inc.)
• Inventors: Greco, David
• Granted Patent: US 6,885,555 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 361/697
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 23/467 by flowing gases, e.g. air H01L23/473 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 2924/00 Indexing scheme for arrangements or methods for connecting or disconnecting semiconductor or solid-state bodies as covered by H01L24/00
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 2924/0002 Not covered by any one of groups H01L24/00, H01L24/00 and H01L2224/00
• CPC Class Codes: H05K 7/20163 the components being isolated from air flow, e.g. hollow heat sinks, wind tunnels or funnels

Abstract

A cooling system for an electronic device includes an air flow conduit for causing air outside a housing of the device to flow through a heat dissipation device. The conduit is configured to prevent substantial transfer of heat from air contained within the conduit and air in the remainder of the housing. The conduit walls include thermal and/or acoustic insulation. One or more fans in the conduit draw outside air into the conduit and expel air in the conduit to outside the housing.

Claims

1. An electronic device comprising:

a heat generating component mounted in a housing, and a cooling system operable to cool the heat generating component, said cooling system comprising a conduit for providing an air flow path within the housing for delivering an air flow for cooling said heat generating component, said air flow path being substantially isolated from air in the remainder of the interior of the housing, and at least one fan for generating an air flow along the air flow path.

2. An electronic device as claimed in claim 1, further comprising a heat dissipation device configured to receive heat created by said heat generating component, and wherein said heat dissipation device is positioned within said air flow path and extends over a substantial proportion of a cross-section of the air flow path.

3. An electronic device as claimed in claim 2 wherein the heat dissipation device is a heat sink.

4. An electronic device as claimed in claim 1, wherein the conduit has an outside air intake at a surface of the housing for enabling air outside the housing to flow into the conduit and an air outlet located at a surface of the housing for expelling air heated by heat from the heat generating component, the conduit being arranged so the heated air flowing in the conduit can flow from the conduit to outside the housing, the air flow path extending from said intake to said outlet.

5. An electronic device as claimed in claim 4 wherein at least one of the intake and the outlet comprises deflectors for substantially preventing recycling of air from the outlet to the inlet.

6. An electronic device as claimed in claim 1 wherein the fan is positioned within the air flow path.

7. An electronic device as claimed in claim 1, wherein said conduit has a generally circular cross-section.

8. An electronic device as claimed in claim 1, wherein the conduit includes insulating material configured to generally prevent conduction therethrough of heat and/or sound.

9. An electronic device as claimed in claim 1 wherein the conduit comprises an air inlet conduit and an air outlet conduit, the inlet and outlet conduits having a common wall separating a portion of the air inlet conduit from at least a portion of the air outlet conduit.

10. An electronic device as claimed in claim 9 wherein the air inlet conduit surrounds the air outlet conduit or the air outlet conduit surrounds the air inlet conduit.

11. An electronic device as claimed in claim 10 comprising a heat dissipation device having a base portion and an exterior surface extending from said base portion, said exterior surface comprising a plurality of openings with an intake air flow path extending through a first portion of the said exterior surface and an exhaust air flow path extending through a second portion of the exterior surface, the common wall extending from the exterior surface for separating the intake air flow from the exhaust air flow path.

12. An electronic device as claimed in claim 11 wherein the intake air flow path is substantially parallel to said exhaust air flow path.

13. An electronic device as claimed in claim 9 comprising a heat dissipation device having a base portion and an exterior surface extending from said base portion, said exterior surface comprising a plurality of openings with an intake air flow path extending through a first portion of the said exterior surface and an exhaust air flow path extending through a second portion of the exterior surface, the common wall extending from the exterior surface for separating the intake air flow from the exhaust air flow path.

14. An electronic device as claimed in claim 13 wherein the intake air flow path is substantially parallel to said exhaust air flow path.

15. An electronic device as claimed in claim 1 wherein the device is a personal computer including the housing and a processor, the heat generating component being the processor.