Cold plate for cooling electronics
First Claim
1. A cold plate for cooling electronic components comprising a plurality of layers which are assembled in stacked relation, said plurality of layers including a heat exchanger layer, means defining a flow path for circulating a cooling liquid through said cold plate for cooling electronic components located in heat conducting relation to said cold plate, said flow path extending through a plurality of cooling zones of said cold plate, respective portions of said heat exchanger layer being located in said cooling zones for heat exchange with coolant circulated along the flow path, said respective portions of the heat exchanger layer including at least one first heat exchanger structure for relatively high efficiency cooling and at least one second heat exchanger structure for relatively lower efficiency cooling, each of said first and second heat exchanger structures being located in a respective one of said cooling zones whereby for heat removal efficiency a relatively high heat producing electronic component can be located adjacent one of said cooling zones with a first heat exchanger structure associated therewith and a relatively lower heat producing electronic component can be located adjacent one of said cooling zones with a second heat exchanger structure associated therewith.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A multi-layered cold plate is customized for cooling a plurality of electronic components to be arranged in thermal communication with the cold plate by dividing the cold plate into a plurality of hypothetical cooling zones, determining the cooling needed for the respective cooling zones for cooling the electronic components adjacent the zones, and tailoring a heat exchanger layer of the multi-layered cold plate with different heat exchanger structures in respective cooling zones to provide relatively high and relatively lower efficiency cooling where needed. A coolant flow, jet impingement heat exchange structure formed of alternately stacked orifice plates and spacer plates provides the high efficiency cooling. The heat exchanger layer is the only layer of the cold plate which must be customized for accommodating a particular arrangement of electronic components to be cooled.
183 Citations
20 Claims
- 1. A cold plate for cooling electronic components comprising a plurality of layers which are assembled in stacked relation, said plurality of layers including a heat exchanger layer, means defining a flow path for circulating a cooling liquid through said cold plate for cooling electronic components located in heat conducting relation to said cold plate, said flow path extending through a plurality of cooling zones of said cold plate, respective portions of said heat exchanger layer being located in said cooling zones for heat exchange with coolant circulated along the flow path, said respective portions of the heat exchanger layer including at least one first heat exchanger structure for relatively high efficiency cooling and at least one second heat exchanger structure for relatively lower efficiency cooling, each of said first and second heat exchanger structures being located in a respective one of said cooling zones whereby for heat removal efficiency a relatively high heat producing electronic component can be located adjacent one of said cooling zones with a first heat exchanger structure associated therewith and a relatively lower heat producing electronic component can be located adjacent one of said cooling zones with a second heat exchanger structure associated therewith.
- 5. A cold plate according to claim wherein said plurality of layers include first and second layers arranged on opposite sides of said heat exchanger layer, said flow path in said cooling zones circulating cooling liquid through said heat exchanger layer from one of said first and second layers to the other.
- 17. A method of customizing a multi-layered cold plate through which a cooling liquid is to be flowed for cooling a plurality of electronic components which produce different amounts of heat and which are to be placed in a particular arrangement in thermal communication with a cold plate, said method comprising dividing the cold plate into a plurality of hypothetical cooling zones, determining the cooling needed for the respective cooling zones for cooling the electronic components to be located adjacent said zones, and tailoring a heat exchanger layer which is to form a part of the multi-layered cold plate by providing at respective portions of the heat exchanger layer at least two different heat exchanger structures having different cooling efficiencies and located in different cooling zones in accordance with the determined needs of the cooling zones.
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20. A method of making a cold plate which is customized for cooling electronic components located in a particular arrangement on the cold plate, comprising forming the cold plate of at least three layers arranged in stacked relation with a liquid coolant flow path being formed therein which extends back and forth through an intermediate layer of said layers at a plurality of spaced located in the cold plate to define respective cooling zones, and wherein said intermediate layer is provided with at least one first heat exchanger structure for relatively high efficiency cooling and at least one second heat exchanger structure for relatively lower efficiency cooling in different cooling zones whereby for heat removal efficiency a relatively high heat producing electronic component can be located adjacent one of said cooling zones with a first heat exchanger structure associated therewith and a relatively lower heat producing electronic component can be located adjacent one of said cooling zones with a second heat exchanger structure associated therewith.
Specification