Integrated liquid cooling device with immersed electronic components

• US 20060007656A1
• Filed: 02/10/2005
• Published: 01/12/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 07/09/2004
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Robert S. Symons
• Original Assignee: Robert S. Symons
• Inventors: Symons, Robert S.
• Granted Patent: US 7,165,413 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 361/699
• CPC Class Codes: F28F 2250/08 Fluid driving means, e.g. pumps, fans
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 23/473 by flowing liquids H01L23/4332, H01L23/4338 take 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: H01L 2924/09701 Low temperature co-fired ceramic [LTCC]

Abstract

An integrated liquid cooling device for electronic components addresses the need for efficient cooling created by ever increasing power densities of electronic components. The integrated liquid cooling device has a housing enclosing the electronic component, cooling liquid contained in the housing, a motor immersed in the cooling liquid and mounted to the housing, an impeller driven by the motor, and cooling surfaces on the exterior of the housing. The motor driven impeller creates a turbulent flow in the cooling liquid and a high velocity liquid flow over the electronic component, which rapidly transfers heat from the electronic component and distributes it throughout the interior of the housing. The cooling surfaces on the exterior of the housing dissipate this heat, either by free or forced convection, into the surrounding environment. Alternately, the integrated liquid cooling device may distribute this heat energy over an equipment case by circulating cooling liquid through a baffled enclosure that provides high velocity cooling liquid flow near the heat generating electronic component. Additional cooling capacity can be gained with the described integrated liquid cooling device by selecting a cooling liquid whose boiling point is near the operating temperature of the electronic component.

Claims

1. An apparatus for cooling at least one electronic component comprising:

a housing having cooling surfaces and having an internal mounting space adapted to mount therein at least one electronic component to be cooled;

a cooling liquid contained in the housing; and

a motor mounted inside the housing and having an impeller operatively coupled to the motor, the impeller being adapted to being driven by the motor to circulate the cooling liquid within the housing.

2. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the mounting space for the at least one electronic component is located closely spaced to the impeller.

3. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the at least one electronic component comprises a circuit board and wherein the circuit board is mounted inside the housing.

4. The apparatus of claim 3, wherein the circuit board comprises a mother board of a general purpose personal computer.

5. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the housing has an interior surface having a shape defined by rotating a line generatrix following an arbitrary path between any two points on an axis about that axis.

6. The apparatus of claim 5, wherein the interior surface of the housing is substantially cylindrical.

7. The apparatus of claim 5, wherein the interior surface of the housing is substantially hat-shaped.

8. The apparatus of claim 5, wherein the interior surface of the housing is substantially dome shaped.

9. The apparatus of claim 5, wherein the interior surface of the housing is substantially spherical.

10. The apparatus of claim 5, wherein the line generatrix comprises at least one feature such that the interior surface of the housing comprises at least one corresponding ridge.

11. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the housing is hermetically sealed.

12. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein a package of the at least one electronic component forms a part of the housing.

13. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein a portion of the housing is comprised of a metallic material.

14. The apparatus of claim 1, further comprising a volume of compressible gas contained in the housing such that expansion of the cooling liquid compresses the volume of compressible gas.

15. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the housing further comprises a cooling liquid expansion device and wherein the cooling liquid substantially fills the housing.

16. The apparatus of claim 15, wherein the cooling liquid expansion device comprises an expansion bellows.

17. The apparatus of claim 15, wherein the cooling liquid expansion device comprises a flexible diaphragm.

18. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the cooling liquid has a boiling point that is approximately equal to an operating temperature of the electronic component.

19. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the motor and impeller are mounted concentrically with respect to the housing.

20. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the motor is mounted near an area of relatively high heat generation in the housing.

22. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the motor comprises a direct-current brushless motor.

23. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the impeller further comprises a plurality of vanes extending approximately normal to an inside circumference of the housing.

24. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the cooling surfaces comprise a plurality of air-cooled fins.

25. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the cooling surfaces comprise a thermally conductive and dissipative electronic equipment case.

26. The apparatus of claim 1, further comprising a cooling fluid other than air located outside the housing to cool the cooling surfaces.

27. The apparatus of claim 1, further comprising a magnetic shielding layer configured to surround the motor to reduce an external magnetic field generated by an operation of the motor.

21. The apparatus of claim 21, wherein at least one baffle inside the housing controls direction of cooling liquid flow.

28. An apparatus for cooling at least one high power density electronic component comprising:

a housing having cooling surfaces and a space configured to mount therein at least one high power density electronic component to be cooled;

cooling liquid contained in the housing; and

at least one motor mounted inside the housing and having an impeller operatively coupled thereto, the impeller being driven by the motor to circulate the cooling liquid within the housing.

29. The apparatus of claim 28, further comprising at least one baffle mounted inside the housing and forming a partial enclosure around the motor and the impeller.

30. The apparatus of claim 29, wherein the at least one high power density electronic component is mounted inside the housing at a location enclosed by the partial enclosure formed by the at least one baffle.

31. The apparatus of claim 30, wherein the at least one baffle is comprised of a plurality of baffle segments having a corresponding plurality of openings such that one of the plurality of openings is located between each two adjacent baffle segments of the plurality of baffle segments and each of the plurality of baffle segments comprises a portion of a cylinder wall such that the partial enclosure formed by each baffle is a partially enclosed cylinder, and wherein the impeller further comprises a plurality of vanes oriented normally to an axis of rotation of the impeller.

32. The apparatus of claim 30, wherein each of the at least one baffles comprises a continuous cylindrical wall having a space defined between an edge of each of the at least one baffles, and wherein the impeller further comprises a plurality of vanes oriented at an angle to an axis of rotation of the impeller.

33. The apparatus of claim 31, wherein the plurality of baffle segments comprises two baffle segments, and wherein each of the two baffle segments is a less than 180°

section of a sidewall of a right circular cylinder.

34. The apparatus of claim 28, wherein the housing further comprises a first housing portion and a second housing portion.

35. The apparatus of claim 34, wherein the first housing portion is comprised of a metal material.

36. The apparatus of claim 34, wherein the second housing portion is comprised of a material selected from the group of a partially metallized plastic, a partially metallized glass, or a partially metallized ceramic.

37. The apparatus of claim 28, further comprising a plurality of hermetically-sealed connections through the housing to the at least one high power density electronic component.

38. The apparatus of claim 28, further comprising support chips of relatively low power density mounted inside the housing.

39. A method of cooling an electronic component comprising the steps of:

enclosing the electronic component in a housing containing a cooling liquid; and

circulating the cooling liquid within the housing.

40. The method of claim 39, wherein the cooling liquid has a boiling point that is approximately equal to an operating temperature of the electronic component.