Mobile device having a high coefficient of thermal spreading

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-12294668-B2
Application number	US-202418444517-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Feb 16, 2024
Priority date	Nov 11, 2020
Publication date	May 6, 2025
Grant date	May 6, 2025

Abstract

A mobile device, such as a mobile phone, including a housing and active cooling cells is described. The active cooling cells are in the housing. The cooling cells utilize vibrational motion to drive a fluid such that the mobile phone has a coefficient of thermal spreading (CTS) greater than 0.5 for a steady-state power generated by the mobile phone of at least five watts.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A mobile phone, comprising:
a housing; and
a plurality of active cooling cells in the housing, each of the plurality of active cooling cells including at least one cooling element configured to undergo vibrational motion to drive a fluid for transferring heat from a first heat-generating structure in the mobile phone such that the mobile phone has a coefficient of thermal spreading (CTS) greater than 0.5 for a steady-state power generated by a second heat-generating structure of the mobile phone of at least five watts;
wherein the plurality of active cooling cells is connected to the first heat-generating structure, the vibrational motion driving the fluid toward the first heat-generating structure such that a boundary layer adjacent to the first heat-generating structure has apertures formed therein.

2. The mobile phone of claim 1 , wherein the first heat-generating structure forms at least part of the second heat-generating structure.

3. The mobile phone of claim 1 , wherein the first heat-generating structure is a passive cooling element thermally coupled to the second heat-generating structure.

4. The mobile phone of claim 3 , wherein the first heat-generating structure includes a heat spreader.

5. The mobile phone of claim 1 , wherein each of the plurality of active cooling cells includes a chamber and wherein the at least one cooling element is configured to draw the fluid into the chamber through at least one vent, direct the fluid around the at least one cooling element, and drive the fluid out of the chamber through a plurality of orifices different from the at least one vent.

6. The mobile phone of claim 1 , wherein the at least one cooling element drives the fluid from external to the housing through at least a portion of the housing.

7. The mobile phone of claim 1 , wherein the temperature of a portion of the housing aligned with the second heat-generating structure does not exceed forty degrees Celsius.

8. A mobile device, comprising:
a housing having at least one dimension with a length of not more than twenty-five millimeters; and
a cooling system including a plurality of active cooling cells residing in the housing, each of the plurality of active cooling cells including at least one cooling element configured to utilize vibrational motion to drive a fluid for transferring heat from a first heat-generating structure in the mobile device for a steady-state power generated by a second heat-generating structure of the mobile device of at least five watts;
wherein the plurality of active cooling cells is connected to the first heat-generating structure, the vibrational motion driving the fluid toward the first heat-generating structure such that a boundary layer adjacent to the first heat-generating structures has apertures formed therein.

9. The mobile device of claim 8 , wherein the first heat-generating structure forms at least part of the second heat-generating structure.

10. The mobile device of claim 8 , wherein the first heat-generating structure is a passive cooling element thermally coupled to the second heat-generating structure.

11. The mobile device of claim 10 , wherein the first heat-generating structure includes a heat spreader.

12. The mobile device of claim 8 , wherein each of the plurality of active cooling cells includes a chamber and wherein the at least one cooling element is configured to draw the fluid into the chamber through at least one vent, direct the fluid around the at least one cooling element, and drive the fluid out of the chamber through a plurality of orifices different from the at least one vent.

13. The mobile device of claim 8 , wherein the at least one cooling element drives the fluid from external to the housing through at least a portion of the housing.

14. A method for cooling a mobile device having a housing, the method comprising:
driving a plurality of active cooling cells in a cooling system residing in the housing, each of the plurality of active cooling cells including at least one cooling element configured to undergo vibrational motion to drive a fluid for transferring heat from a first heat-generating structure in the mobile device such that the mobile device has a coefficient of thermal spreading (CTS) greater than 0.5 for a steady-state power generated by a second heat-generating structure of the mobile device of at least five watts;
wherein the plurality of active cooling cells is connected to the first heat-generating structure, the vibrational motion driving the fluid toward the first heat-generating structure such that a boundary layer adjacent to the first heat-generating structures is has apertures formed therein.

15. The method of claim 14 , wherein the driving further includes:
driving the plurality of active cooling cells such that the vibrational motion is substantially at a structural resonance for the plurality of active cooling cells and substantially at a fluidic resonance for the plurality of active cooling cells.

16. A mobile phone, comprising:
a housing; and
a plurality of active cooling cells in the housing, each of the plurality of active cooling cells including at least one cooling element configured to undergo vibrational motion to drive a fluid for transferring heat from a first heat-generating structure in the mobile phone such that the mobile phone has a coefficient of thermal spreading (CTS) greater than 0.5 for a steady-state power generated by a second heat-generating structure of the mobile phone of at least five watts and such that a portion of the housing aligned with the second heat-generating structure does not exceed forty degrees Celsius.

Assignees

• Frore Systems Inc

Inventors

• Sathyamurthy Prabhu
• Ganti Suryaprakash
• Madhavapeddy Seshagiri Rao

Classifications

• G06F2200/201

  Cooling arrangements using cooling fluid · CPC title

• G06F1/203

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

• H04M1/026 Primary

  Details of the structure or mounting of specific components · CPC title