Compact electronic device with thermal management

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-11680677-B2
Application number	US-202217657733-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Apr 1, 2022
Priority date	May 25, 2017
Publication date	Jun 20, 2023
Grant date	Jun 20, 2023

Abstract

This application is directed to a passively-cooled electronic device including a housing, a plurality of electronic assemblies and a plurality of thermally conductive parts. The electronic assemblies are enclosed in the housing and include a first electronic assembly and a second electronic assembly. The first and second electronic assemblies are disposed proximately to each other within the housing, and the second electronic assembly is substantially sensitive to heat, including heat generated by operation of the first electronic assembly. The thermally conductive parts are coupled between the first electronic assembly and the housing, and configured to create a first plurality of heat conduction paths to conduct the heat generated by the first electronic assembly away from the second electronic assembly without using a fan. At least a subset of the thermally conductive parts mechanically supports one or both of the first and second electronic assemblies.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. An electronic device, comprising:
a first structure having a recess, the first structure configured to:
be thermally coupled to a first electronic assembly; and
create a first plurality of heat conduction paths to conduct heat generated by the first electronic assembly away from a second electronic assembly without using a fan; and

a second structure configured to:
be thermally coupled to the second electronic assembly;
be disposed at least partially within the recess of the first structure; and
mechanically support the second electronic assembly within the first structure.

2. The electronic device of claim 1 , further comprising a housing, wherein the second structure is positioned relative to the first structure within the housing such that the first and second electronic assemblies are proximate to each other within the housing.

3. The electronic device of claim 1 , wherein at least a portion of the first structure is configured to mechanically support one or both of the first and second electronic assemblies.

4. The electronic device of claim 1 , wherein:
the first structure includes a receiver structure configured to be disposed on a first surface of the first electronic assembly; and
the second structure includes a mount structure configured to fit into the receiver structure and support the second electronic assembly on a front-facing interior surface of the mount structure.

5. The electronic device of claim 4 , wherein the receiver and mount structures are separated by one or more separation spots that are equally distributed on a respective edge of each of the receiver structure and the mount structure.

6. The electronic device of claim 5 , wherein:
the receiver structure is configured to absorb a first part of the heat generated by the first electronic assembly; and
the mount structure is configured to create a second plurality of heat conduction paths to conduct heat from the second electronic assembly to a housing of the electronic device without using the fan, the mount structure configured to contact the receiver structure via the one or more separation spots that thermally separate the receiver structure and the mount structure.

7. The electronic device of claim 6 , further comprising one or more thermal pads configured to physically and thermally couple a peripheral exterior surface of the receiver structure to an interior surface of the housing, the one or more thermal pads being configured to conduct the first part of the heat generated by the first electronic assembly from the receiver structure to the housing of the electronic device in accordance with a first heat conduction path of the first plurality of heat conduction paths.

8. The electronic device of claim 7 , wherein:
the first structure includes a speaker box configured to be thermally coupled to a second surface of the first electronic assembly via a thermally conductive sheet; and
the speaker box is configured to absorb and conduct a second part of the heat generated by the first electronic assembly in accordance with a second heat conduction path of the first plurality of heat conduction paths.

9. The electronic device of claim 8 , wherein at least part of the speaker box includes a thermal plastic material configured to absorb and conduct the second part of the heat generated by the first electronic assembly.

10. The electronic device of claim 8 , further comprising one or more antennas configured to be attached to an exterior surface of the speaker box and contained within the housing, wherein:
the thermally conductive sheet includes a cut substantially near a center of the thermally conductive sheet; and
the cut has a width that is less than a threshold cut width thereby reducing crosstalk among the one or more antennas below a threshold crosstalk level.

11. The electronic device of claim 4 , wherein a bottom exterior surface of the mount structure is separated from a bottom interior surface of the receiver structure by an air gap.

12. The electronic device of claim 4 , wherein a bottom exterior surface of the mount structure is separated from a bottom interior surface of the receiver structure by a piece of solid thermal insulator.

13. The electronic device of claim 4 , wherein a bottom exterior surface of the receiver structure is coupled to the first surface of the first electronic assembly via one or more first thermal pads that are disposed on one or more hot spots of the first electronic assembly.

14. The electronic device of claim 1 , further comprising a lens assembly disposed on the second structure, wherein the lens assembly is at least partially disposed in the recess of the first structure and configured to be aligned with an image sensor array coupled to the second electronic assembly.

15. The electronic device of claim 1 , wherein:
the first structure includes a speaker box; and
the speaker box and the second structure are configured to be positioned on opposing sides of the first electronic assembly.

16. The electronic device of claim 1 , wherein the second structure includes a mount structure configured to support the second electronic assembly when a first surface of the second electronic assembly sits on a front-facing interior surface of the mount structure.

17. The electronic device of claim 16 , further comprising a housing, wherein:
the mount structure is configured to create a second plurality of heat conduction paths to conduct heat from the second electronic assembly to the housing of the electronic device without using a fan; and
the mount structure is configured to at least partially absorb and conduct heat generated by the second electronic assembly in accordance with a heat conduction path of the second plurality of heat conduction paths.

18. The electronic device of claim 17 , wherein:
the second structure further includes a front thermal dissipater attached on a front interior surface of the housing and opposite the front-facing interior surface of the mount structure;
the mount structure is thermally coupled to the front thermal dissipater via one or more thermal pads; and
the front thermal dissipater is configured to at least partially absorb and conduct the heat generated by the second electronic assembly in accordance with a second heat conduction path of the second plurality of heat conduction paths.

19. The electronic device of claim 18 , wherein a front portion of the housing is covered by a cover glass, and the front thermal dissipater is attached to the cover glass.

20. The electronic device of claim 18 , wherein the mount structure is:
disposed in contact with the front thermal dissipater; and
thermally coupled to the front thermal dissipater.

Assignees

• Google Llc

Inventors

• Raghupathy Arun
• Niewood Benjamin
• Lee Cheng-Jung
• Kilgore Adam Scott

Classifications

• H04N23/51

  Housings · CPC title

• F16M11/105

  the horizontal axis being the roll axis, e.g. for creating a landscape-portrait rotation · CPC title

• G03B17/08

  Waterproof bodies or housings · CPC title

• F21V21/088

  Clips; Clamps · CPC title

• F16M11/14

  with ball-joint (ball-jointed hinges F16C11/06 {; adjustable mountings employing universal joints for lighting devices F21V21/26 - F21V21/30}) · CPC title