Small volume heat sink/electronic assembly

• US 5,914,860 A
• Filed: 09/30/1998
• Issued: 06/22/1999
• Est. Priority Date: 01/20/1998
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Reliance Electric Industrial Company (ABB Limited)
• Original Assignee: Reliance Electric Industrial Company (ABB Limited)
• Inventors: Janko, Steven P.
• Primary Examiner(s): BERHANE, ADOLF D
• Application Number:
  US09/165,012
• Time in Patent Office: 265 Days
• Field of Search: 363/144, 363/132, 363/137, 363/141, 361/601, 361/611, 361/688, 361/704-711, 361/734, 361/763, 361/775, 361/513, 361/514, 307/147, 307/148, 174/72 B, 174/88 B, 174/99 B, 174/129 B, 174/133 B
• US Class Current: 361/710
• CPC Class Codes: F28F 13/00 Arrangements for modifying heat-transfer, e.g. increasing, decreasing F28F1/00 - F28F11/00 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: F28F 21/084 from aluminium or aluminium alloys
• CPC Class Codes: F28F 21/085 from copper or copper alloys
• CPC Class Codes: H02G 5/005 Laminated bus-bars
• CPC Class Codes: H02M 7/003 Constructional details, e.g. physical layout, assembly, wiring or busbar connections
• CPC Class Codes: H05K 7/20927 Liquid coolant without phase change
• CPC Class Codes: H05K 7/20936 Liquid coolant with phase change

Abstract

A heat sink apparatus including a fluid conduit within a body portion wherein the body portion includes at least first and second walls which are in different planes, each wall forming at least one mounting surface, the conduit passing though each wall and, the apparatus also including at least two electronic devices, at least one device mounted to each of the mounting surfaces for dissipating heat, the assembly having a relatively small volume.

Claims

1. An electronic brick assembly comprising:

a heat sink assembly including;

a metallic main body portion, the main body portion including at least a first wall member and a second wall member which is linked to the first wall member, the first and second wall members linked such that the walls are disposed in first and second different planes, respectively;

an elongate conduit construction which forms a passageway between first and second construction ends, the construction disposed in the body portion such that a portion of the construction is disposed in at least the first wall member, the first and second ends extending from the body portion; and

at least a first electronic device linked to the first wall member and at least a second electronic device linked to the second wall member to facilitate device heat transfer to the first and second wall members, respectively.

2. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein the conduit construction is disposed in the body portion such that a portion of the construction is also disposed in the second wall member.

3. The assembly of claim 2 wherein the assembly is a power brick assembly controllable to provide AC voltage to a motor, the first device includes a plurality of voltage storage devices for storing DC voltage for driving the motor and the second device includes a plurality of inverter switching devices, the inverter devices linked to the storage devices and controllable to convert the DC voltage to AC voltage for driving the motor.

4. The assembly of claim 3 further including rectifier switches which are linked to one of the wall members for transferring heat thereto, the rectifier switches linkable to AC power supply lines for receiving AC voltage and controllable to converter the AC voltage to DC voltage across the storage devices.

5. The apparatus of claim 2 wherein the first electronic device includes a relatively long dimension perpendicular to a heat dissipating surface and a relatively short dimension along the heat dissipating surface and the second device includes a relatively short dimension perpendicular to a heat dissipating surface and a relatively long dimension along the heat dissipating surface, the first and second devices mounted such that their dissipating surfaces contact the wall members and the wall members are arranged such that the long dimensions of the first and second devices are parallel.

6. The apparatus of claim 2 wherein there are several first devices and there are several second devices.

7. The apparatus of claim 2 wherein the second wall member includes at least two wall members which are in different planes.

8. The apparatus of claim 2 wherein the second wall member is perpendicular and connected to the first wall member.

9. The apparatus of claim 2 wherein the first electronic device includes a relatively long dimension which is perpendicular to a heat dissipating surface and a relatively short dimension is along the heat dissipating surface and the second device includes at least first and second devices, each of the second devices characterized by a relatively short dimension perpendicular to a heat dissipating surface and a relatively long dimension along a heat dissipating surface, the first and second devices mounted such that their dissipating surfaces contact the wall members, the second wall member having essentially oppositely facing upper and lower mounting surfaces, the first second device mounted to the upper surface and the second device mounted to the lower surface, the second wall member, positioned with respect to the first wall member such that the first second and second device short dimensions are adjacent to and parallel the long dimension of the of the first device.

10. The apparatus of claim 9 wherein the second wall is parallel to the first wall.

11. The apparatus of claim 9 wherein the body portion includes first and second oppositely facing external walls and third and fourth oppositely facing external walls which together form a box assembly, the first wall member forms a shelf which traverses the distance between the first and second external walls and the second wall member also forms a shelf which traverses the distance between the first and second external walls.