System for discharging heat out of head-mounted display based on hybrid fan and heat pipe

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10379583-B2
Application number	US-201715491522-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Apr 19, 2017
Priority date	Apr 19, 2017
Publication date	Aug 13, 2019
Grant date	Aug 13, 2019

Abstract

A head-mounted display (HMD) includes a hybrid fan, a printed circuit board (PCB) with one or more electronic components and a heat pipe to dissipate heat. The hybrid fan has a center axis extending from a rear side of the HMD to a front side of the HMD. The hybrid fan pulls air from a rear side of the HMD. The heat pipe has an end coupled to the PCB. The heat pipe partially surrounds a periphery of the hybrid fan and transfers heat away from at least the PCB. The HMD further includes a side cover and a front cover. The side cover encloses the hybrid fan, the PCB and the heat pipe. The front cover is attached to the side cover with a slit between an outer edge of the front cover and an outer edge of the side cover to discharge air from the hybrid fan.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A head-mounted display (HMD) comprising:
a fan having a center axis extending from a rear side of the HMD to a front side of the HMD, the fan configured to pull air from a rear side of the HMD;
a printed circuit board (PCB) with one or more electronic components;
a heat pipe having an end coupled to the PCB, the heat pipe at least partially surrounding a periphery of the fan and transferring heat away from the PCB; and
an integrated metal frame onto which the PCB is directly mounted, the integrated metal frame in contact with the heat pipe and configured to function as a heat sink that receives the heat from the heat pipe and dissipates the heat, the integrated metal frame formed with a hole to receive the fan.

2. The HMD of claim 1 , further comprising:
a side cover enclosing the fan, the PCB and the heat pipe; and
a front cover attached to the side cover with a slit between an outer edge of the front cover and an outer edge of the side cover to discharge air from the fan.

3. The HMD of claim 2 , wherein the integrated metal frame is enclosed within the side cover.

4. The HMD of claim 2 , wherein the integrated metal frame has edges shaped with contours that match an internal contour of the side cover to support the side cover.

5. The HMD of claim 1 , wherein the air is pulled from a cavity between a face of a user and the HMD to cool down temperature in the cavity.

6. The HMD of claim 1 , wherein the one or more electronic components of the PCB comprise a central processing unit (CPU) and wherein the end of the heat pipe is coupled to the CPU via a thermal interface material.

7. The HMD of claim 1 , wherein the heat pipe is horseshoe shaped with a first member connected to the PCB, a second member extending parallel to the first member and a third member connecting the first member and the second member.

8. The HMD of claim 1 , wherein the heat pipe comprises a first member connected to the PCB and a second member extending parallel to the first member.

9. The HMD of claim 1 , wherein the heat pipe transfers the heat away from the one or more electronic components of the PCB to the integrated metal frame.

10. The HMD of claim 1 , wherein the heat pipe is secured to the PCB by a metal bracket.

11. The HMD of claim 1 , wherein the fan is a hybrid fan that exhausts the air at sides of the fan after pulling the air from the rear side of the HMD.

12. The HMD of claim 1 , wherein the fan pulls air from front slots located on the fan and exhausts the air at sides of the fan.

13. A head-mounted display (HMD) comprising:
a fan having a center axis extending from a rear side of the HMD to a front side of the HMD, the fan configured to pull air from a rear side of the HMD;
a printed circuit board (PCB) with one or more electronic components;
a side cover enclosing the fan and the PCB;
a front cover attached to the side cover with a slit between an outer edge of the front cover and an outer edge of the side cover to discharge air from the fan; and
an integrated metal frame onto which the PCB is directly mounted, the integrated metal frame configured to function as a heat sink that receives heat originating from the PCB and dissipates the heat, the integrated metal frame formed with a hole to receive the fan.

14. The HMD of claim 13 , wherein the air is pulled from a cavity between a face of a user and the HMD to cool down temperature in the cavity.

15. The HMD of claim 13 , further comprising a heat pipe having an end coupled to a central processing unit (CPU) in the PCB.

16. The HMD of claim 13 , further comprising a heat pipe that includes a first member connected to the PCB and a second member extending parallel to the first member.

17. The HMD of claim 16 , wherein the heat pipe is secured to the PCB by a metal bracket.

18. The HMD of claim 13 , wherein the integrated metal frame is enclosed within the side cover.

19. The HMD of claim 13 , wherein the integrated metal frame has edges shaped with contours that match an internal contour of the side cover to support the side cover.

20. The HMD of claim 13 , wherein the fan is a hybrid fan that exhausts the air at sides of the fan after pulling the air from the rear side of the HMD.

Assignees

• Facebook Tech Llc

Inventors

• Allin Boyd Drew
• Miller Robin Michael

Classifications

• G06F1/163 Primary

  Wearable computers, e.g. on a belt · CPC title

• G06F3/011

  Arrangements for interaction with the human body, e.g. for user immersion in virtual reality (blind teaching G09B21/00) · CPC title

• G06F1/20

  Cooling means · CPC title

• G06F1/203 Primary

  for portable computers, e.g. for laptops · CPC title

• H05K7/2099 Primary

  Liquid coolant with phase change · CPC title