Heat pipe with sintered powder wick

• US 20070089860A1
• Filed: 06/28/2006
• Published: 04/26/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 10/21/2005
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Foxconn Technology Co., Ltd.
• Original Assignee: Foxconn Technology Co., Ltd.
• Inventors: Hou, Chuen-Shu, Tung, Chao-Nien, Liu, Tay-Jian
• Application Number:
  US11/478,392
• Publication Number:
  US 20070089860A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 165/80.400
• CPC Class Codes: B22F 1/05 Metallic powder characterised by the size or surface area of the particles
• CPC Class Codes: B22F 1/148 Agglomerating
• CPC Class Codes: B22F 2998/00 Supplementary information concerning processes or compositions relating to powder metallurgy
• CPC Class Codes: B22F 3/1103 with particular physical characteristics
• CPC Class Codes: F28D 15/046 characterised by the material or the construction of the capillary structure
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 29/49353 Heat pipe device making

Abstract

A heat pipe includes a casing and a sintered powder wick arranged at an inner surface of the casing. The sintered powder wick is made of spherical metal powder (300), the spherical metal powder having an apparent density ranging from 3.3 g/cm³ to 4.8 g/cm³ to reduce micro pores of the sintered powder wick and improve ability of heat transfer of the heat pipe.

Claims

1. A heat pipe comprising:

a casing;

working fluid received in the casing; and

a wick structure sintered at an inner surface of the casing, the wick structure comprising spherical metal powder, the spherical metal powder having an apparent density ranging from 3.3 g/cm³ to 4.8 g/cm³.

2. The heat pipe of claim 1, wherein fine powder acting as an additive is added to the spherical metal powder to improve the strength of the wick structure, wherein the fine powder have a particle size smaller than that of the spherical metal powder.

3. The heat pipe of claim 2, wherein a weight of the fine powder is 1˜

10% of a weight of the metal powder.

4. The heat pipe of claim 1, wherein a particle diameter of the spherical metal powder ranges from 80 μ

m to 300 μ

m.

5. The heat pipe of claim 4, wherein the particle diameter of the spherical metal powder ranges from 100 μ

m to 250 μ

m.

6. The heat pipe of claim 1, wherein a particle diameter of the spherical metal powder ranges from 30 μ

m to 300 μ

m.

7. The heat pipe of claim 1, wherein the spherical metal powder is made from superfine powder having a particle diameter below 10 μ

m.

8. A method for manufacturing a heat pipe comprising steps of:

providing a hollow casing;

inserting a mandrel into the casing;

filling spherical metal powder into a space between the mandrel and the inner surface of the casing, wherein an apparent density of the spherical metal powder ranges from 3.3 g/cm³ to 4.8 g/cm³; and

conducting sintering process to the casing and the filled spherical metal powder, whereby a sintered wick structure made of the spherical metal powder is formed inside the casing.

9. The method for manufacturing a heat pipe as in claim 8, wherein each of the spherical metal powder consists of superfine powder having a particle diameter below 10 μ

m and sintered at 600˜

800 degrees Celsius.

10. The method for manufacturing a heat pipe as in claim 8, wherein fine powder acting as an addictive supplement is added to the spherical metal powder to improve the strength of the wick structure, the fin powder having a particle diameter smaller than that of the spherical metal powder.

11. The method for manufacturing a heat pipe as in claim 10, wherein a weight of the fine powder is 1˜

10% of a weight of the metal powder.

12. The method for manufacturing a heat pipe as in claim 8, wherein a particle diameter of the spherical metal powder ranges from 80 μ

m to 300 μ

m.

13. The method for manufacturing a heat pipe as in claim 8, wherein the particle diameter of the spherical metal powder ranges from 100 μ

m to 250 μ

m.

14. The method for manufacturing a heat pipe as in claim 8, wherein a particle diameter of the spherical metal powder ranges from 30 μ

m to 300 μ

m.

15. The method for manufacturing a heat pipe as claim 8, wherein the spherical metal powder is made from superfine powder having a particle diameter below 10 μ

m.