Thermal management system including an elastically deformable phase change device

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10656688-B2
Application number	US-201715647067-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Jul 11, 2017
Priority date	Mar 16, 2016
Publication date	May 19, 2020
Grant date	May 19, 2020

Abstract

Thermal management systems and corresponding use methods are described herein. A thermal management system includes components of a computing device. The computing device includes a housing. The housing includes an outer surface and an inner surface. The computing device also includes a heat generating component supported by the housing. The computing device includes a phase change device adjacent or physically connected to the heat generating component. The phase change device includes a first side and a second side. The first side is closer to the heat generating component than the second side. The second side is opposite the first side. The phase change device is compressible, such that when a force is applied to the outer surface of the housing, the inner surface of the housing flexes towards the second side of the phase change device and the phase change device is compressed.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. A computing device comprising:
a housing comprising an outer surface and an inner surface;
a heat generating component supported by the housing;
a phase change device physically connected to the heat generating component, wherein the phase change device comprises a heat pipe, a vapor chamber, or a combination thereof,
wherein the heat pipe, the vapor chamber, or the combination thereof is elastically deformable, such that when a force is applied to a portion of the housing, the housing flexes towards heat pipe, the vapor chamber, or the combination thereof and deforms the heat pipe, the vapor chamber, or the combination thereof.

2. The computing device of claim 1 , wherein the phase change device is made of an elastic spring metal, such that when the applied force is removed, the phase change device expands.

3. The computing device of claim 2 , wherein the housing is flexible away from the phase change device when the applied forced is removed, such that the phase change device is at a distance from the housing after the applied force is removed.

4. The computing device of claim 1 , wherein the computing device is a mobile phone operable to run a desktop environment.

5. The computing device of claim 1 , wherein the force applied to the outer surface of the housing is applied to the outer surface of the housing when the computing device is docked with a thermal dock.

6. The computing device of claim 5 , wherein the thermal dock comprises a thermal dock housing and a thermal management device supported by the thermal dock housing, the thermal management device applying the force to the thermal dock housing when the computing device is docked with the thermal dock.

7. The computing device of claim 6 , wherein the thermal management device comprises a Peltier device, an outer surface of the Peltier device being offset relative to an outer surface of the thermal dock housing, the outer surface of the Peltier device applying the force to the housing when the computing device is docked with the thermal dock.

8. A thermal management system comprising:
a thermal dock having a thermal dock housing;
a thermal management device supported by the thermal dock housing; and
a phase change device physically connected to the thermal management device, the phase change device being deformable when a force is applied to the phase change device by the thermal management device, wherein the force applied to the phase change device is a force applied to the phase change device when a computing device is docked with the thermal dock,
wherein the phase change device is made of an elastic spring metal.

9. The thermal management system of claim 8 , wherein the thermal management device comprises a Peltier device.

10. The thermal management system of claim 8 , wherein the phase change device made of the elastic spring metal is operable to compress when the computing device is docked with the thermal dock and decompress when the computing device is removed from the thermal dock.

11. The thermal management system of claim 8 , wherein the phase change device comprises a heat pipe, a vapor chamber, or a combination thereof.

12. A method for transferring heat from a heat generating component of a computing device to a Peltier device of a thermal dock, the method comprising:
thermally connecting the heat generating component of the computing device to the Peltier device of the thermal dock, the thermally connecting comprising deforming a heat pipe or a vapor chamber of the computing device, the deformed heat pipe or vapor chamber abutting a housing of the computing device; and
conducting heat from the heat generating component of the computing device to the Peltier device of the thermal dock via the heat pipe or the vapor chamber and the housing of the computing device,
wherein deforming the heat pipe or the vapor chamber of the computing device comprises flexing the housing of the computing device towards the heat pipe or the vapor chamber in response to a force applied to an external surface of the housing by the Peltier device of the thermal dock.

13. The method of claim 12 , wherein the flexing comprises moving an internal surface of the housing from a position at a distance from the heat pipe or the vapor chamber into physical contact with the heat pipe or the vapor chamber.

14. The method of claim 12 , wherein the force applied to the external surface of the housing of the computing device comprises a normal force opposing a gravitational force acting on the computing device applied by the Peltier device of the thermal dock.

15. The method of claim 12 , wherein deforming the heat pipe or the vapor chamber of the computing device comprises elastically deforming the heat pipe or the vapor chamber, where the heat pipe or vapor chamber is made of an elastic spring metal.

Assignees

• Microsoft Technology Licensing Llc

Inventors

• Voth David William
• Delano Andrew Douglas

Classifications

• G06F1/1632

  External expansion units, e.g. docking stations · CPC title

• G06F1/203 Primary

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

• H05K7/20309

  Evaporators · CPC title

• H05K7/20336

  Heat pipes, e.g. wicks or capillary pumps · CPC title

• F28D15/04

  with tubes having a capillary structure · CPC title