Cooler

• US 6,386,278 B1
• Filed: 07/27/1999
• Issued: 05/14/2002
• Est. Priority Date: 08/04/1998
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Elektrowatt AG (Siemens AG)
• Original Assignee: Jurgen Schulz-Harder
• Inventors: Schulz-Harder, Jurgen
• Primary Examiner(s): Lazarus, Ira S.
• Assistant Examiner(s): Duong, Tho V
• Application Number:
  US09/361,301
• Time in Patent Office: 1,022 Days
• Field of Search: 165/80.4, 165/146, 165/147, 165/168, 165/167, 361/689, 361/699
• US Class Current: 165/167
• CPC Class Codes: F28F 13/06 by affecting the pattern of flow of the heat-exchange media F28F13/003 takes precedence; static flow control means in header boxes F28F9/026
• CPC Class Codes: F28F 2210/02 with particular branching, e.g. fractal conduit arrangements
• CPC Class Codes: F28F 3/083 capable of being taken apart
• CPC Class Codes: F28F 3/086 having one or more openings therein forming tubular heat-exchange passages
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 23/3672 Foil-like cooling fins or heat sinks being part of lead-frames H01L23/49568
• 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

Abstract

A cooler has a plurality of layers arranged in a stack and connected to one another along their surfaces. Each layer has openings allowing for three-dimensional flow of the coolant between an intake and an outlet. The flow resistance or the gradient of flow resistance increases from the intake to the outlet so that the coolant is increasingly forced to concentrate at the cooling surface as coolant flows from the intake to the outlet.

Claims

1. A cooler for using as a heat sink for electrical or electronic components such as component elements, electronic circuits, modules, where the cooler forms at least one cooling surface for the electrical or electronic components and comprises a plurality of cooler layers arranged in a stack and connected to each other on a surface, said layers being structured by providing with a number of openings or passages to form a cooler structure with at least a two dimensional branching flow routes for a coolant in at least two spatial axes (X-axis;

Y-axis, Z-axis) in an interior of the cooler between at least one intake and at least one outlet for the coolant, at least part of the plurality of cooler layers forming the cooler structure being structured in such a way, that ratio of the surface area occupied by the openings or passages to the surface area not occupied by the openings or passages decreases in a direction from the intake to the outlet such, that within the cooler structure a flow resistance between areas of cooler structure located closer to said at least one cooling surface and areas of cooler structure located further away from said at least one cooling surface increases respectively from the at least one intake toward the at least one outlet.

2. The cooler according to claim 1, wherein at least part of the plurality of cooler layers are structured so that the flow resistance between the areas of cooler structure located closer to the at least one of the cooling surfaces and areas of cooler structure located further away from the cooling surface increases continuously or in several stages from the at least one intake toward the at least one outlet, respectively.

3. The cooler according to claim 1, wherein at least part of the plurality of cooler layers are structured in such a way, that the gradient of flow resistance between the areas of cooler structure located closer to the at least one of the cooling surfaces and areas of cooler structure located further away from the cooling surface increases continuously or in several stages from the at least one intake toward the at least one outlet, respectively.

4. The cooler according to claim 1, wherein the flow resistance for the coolant in the areas of the cooler structure located closer to said at least one of the cooling surfaces is constant from the at least one intake toward the at least one outlet.

5. The cooler according to claim 1, wherein at least one first area of the cooler structure to said at least one cooling surface is formed by at least one first cooler layer which is structured for providing a constant flow resistance for the coolant in the direction of the intake toward the outlet.

6. The cooler according to claim 5, wherein at least one second area is formed by at least one second cooling layer to the at least one first area of the cooler structure and separate from the at least one cooling surface, said at least one second cooling layer having a structure such that the specific flow resistance for the coolant increases from the intake toward the outlet.

7. The cooler according to claim 1, wherein that the cooler layers are structured in such a way that the passages or openings of adjacent cooler layers are only partially congruent, so that continually branching flow routes for the coolant result at least in the cooler structure between the individual cooler layers in two axis directions running vertical to one another, or in three axis directions running vertical to one another (X-axis, Y-axis, Z-axis).

8. The cooler according to claim 1, wherein the cooler structure is between at least one first chamber formed by openings in the cooler layers and serving to supply the coolant and a second chamber formed by openings in the cooler layers and serving to drain off the coolant.

9. The cooler according to claim 1, wherein at least one of the cooler layers are provided with a number of sieve-like openings and material surfaces surrounding these openings.

10. The cooler according to claim 1, wherein the passages or openings form a net-like structure, in which the passages or openings are surrounded by polygon or ring structures formed by stays.

11. The cooler according to claim 6, wherein the second cooler layers have passages or openings decreasing in diameter toward the outlet.

12. The cooler according to claim 6, wherein the at least one second cooler layer is formed in such a way that openings or passages of the at least one second cooler layer are at least partially closed by material stays increasing in width from the intake to the outlet.

13. The cooler according to claim 6, wherein the cooler layers are formed by slotted openings or passages that cross each other from one cooler layer to another and that the number or width of the slotted openings of the at least one second cooler layer is smaller than the corresponding number or width of the openings in the first cooler layer.

14. The cooler according to claim 1, wherein the cooler layers are formed by slotted openings or passages that cross each other from one cooler layer to the next, and that the openings in the second cooler layer become narrower toward the outlet.

15. The cooler according to claim 1, wherein at least the structured cooler layers are formed from metal layers.

16. The cooler according to claim 1, wherein with slotted structures or openings at least part of the structures or openings are enlarged at the intersections, in order to create passages with an enlarged diameter between the channels formed in the adjacent cooler layers.

17. The cooler according to claim 1, wherein the cooler layers are structured in such a way that surface areas of these cooler layers form uninterrupted posts extending vertically to the plane of the cooler layers.

18. The cooler according to claim 1, wherein on two opposite sides of the cooler there is at least one cooling surface, and wherein the cooling layers of the cooler structure between the cooling surfaces are structured such that the flow resistance for the coolant decreases from a plane (E) between the cooling surfaces toward each of the cooling surfaces respectively.

19. The cooler according to claim 6, wherein the second cooler layers have passages or openings decreasing in number toward the outlet.

20. The cooler according to claim 6, wherein the at least one second cooler layer is formed in such a way that openings or passages of the at least one second cooler layer are at least partially closed by material stays increasing in number from the intake to the outlet.

21. A cooler for using as a heat sink for electrical or electronic components such as component elements, electronic circuits, modules, where the cooler forms at least one cooling surface for the electrical or electronic components and comprises a plurality of cooler layers arranged in a stack and connected to each other on a surface, said layers being structured by providing with a number of openings of passages to form a cooler structure with at least a two dimensional branching flow routes for a coolant in at least two spatial axes (X-axis;

Y-axis, Z-axis) in an interior of the cooler between at least one intake and at least one outlet for the coolant, at least part of the plurality of cooler layers forming the cooler structure being structured in such a way, that ratio of the surface area occupied by the openings or passages to the surface area not occupied by the openings or passages decreases in a direction from the intake to the outlet such, that within the cooler structure a gradient of a flow resistance between areas of cooler structure located closer to said at least one cooling surface and areas of cooler structure located further away from said at least one cooling surface increases respectively from the at least one intake toward the at least one outlet.