Heat transfer device

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9606586-B2
Application number	US-201213355914-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Jan 23, 2012
Priority date	Jan 23, 2012
Publication date	Mar 28, 2017
Grant date	Mar 28, 2017

Abstract

A heat transfer device is described. In one or more implementations, a device includes a housing that is moveable through a plurality of orientations involving at least two dimensions during usage, a heat-generating device disposed within the housing, and a heat transfer device disposed within the housing. The heat transfer device has a plurality of heat pipes configured to transfer heat using thermal conductivity and phase transition from the heat-generating device, the plurality of heat pipes arranged to provide generally uniform heat transfer from the heat-generating device during movement of the housing through the plurality of orientations.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A device comprising:
a housing that is moveable through a plurality of orientations involving at least two dimensions during usage;
a heat-generating device disposed within the housing; and
a heat transfer device disposed within the housing comprising:
a thermal storage enclosure disposed proximal to the heat-generating device and configured to transfer heat from the heat-generating device using thermal conductivity and phase transition by a phase change material included within the thermal storage enclosure, the phase change material configured to undergo the phase transition at a temperature above a first temperature achieved by the heat-generating device operating at a low power state and below a second temperature achieved by the heat-generating device operating at a high power state; and
a plurality of enclosed heat pipes configured to:
transfer heat using thermal conductivity and phase transition from the thermal storage enclosure;

the plurality of enclosed heat pipes arranged to:
transfer heat from the heat-generating device during movement of the housing through the plurality of orientations;

the plurality of enclosed heat pipes including:
first and second heat pipes arranged in opposing directions, each of the first and second heat pipes having an evaporator portion and a condenser portion, the condenser portions of the first and second heat pipes are positioned further from each other than the evaporator portions of the first and second heat pipes, each of the plurality of enclosed heat pipes including the same phase change material within the thermal storage enclosure or a different phase change material configured to undergo a different phase transition than the phase transition of the phase change material within the thermal storage enclosure.

2. A device as described in claim 1 , wherein:
the thermal storage enclosure includes an amount of the phase change material within the thermal storage enclosure, the amount of the phase change material effective to allow a portion of the phase change material to not undergo the phase transition when the heat-generating device is operating in the high power state for a threshold period of time.

3. A device as described in claim 1 , further comprising a plurality of fans disposed within the housing such that at least two of the plurality of enclosed heat pipes is configured to be cooled by a respective said fan.

4. A device as described in claim 1 , further comprising a display device and wherein the housing is configured to assume at least one orientation in which the display device is viewable by a user in a landscape orientation and at least two of the plurality of enclosed heat pipes are arranged horizontally when in the landscape orientation.

5. A device as described in claim 1 , wherein the housing is configured to be held by one or more hands of a user and moved through the at least two dimensions during usage.

6. A device as described in claim 5 , wherein the housing is configured for use as a mobile communications device.

7. A device as described in claim 1 , wherein each of the plurality of enclosed heat pipes is thermally coupled to the heat-generating device through use of a single spreading plate.

8. A device as described in claim 1 , wherein the heat-generating device is a processing system and the device is a computing device.

9. A device as described in claim 1 , wherein the plurality of enclosed heat pipes are arranged such that an effect of gravity on one of the heat pipes to perform heat transfer is counteracted by another one of the heat pipes.

10. A heat transfer device comprising:
a thermal storage enclosure disposed proximal to a heat-generating device and configured to transfer heat from the heat-generating device using thermal conductivity and an amount of phase change material included within the thermal storage enclosure, the heat-generating device operates in a low power state configured to lessen resources utilized by the heat-generating device or a high power state configured to increase resources utilized by the heat-generating device, the phase change material configured to melt at a temperature above a first temperature achieved by the heat-generating device during the low power state and below a second temperature achieved by the heat-generating device during the high power state; and
first and second enclosed heat pipes configured to transfer heat using thermal conductivity and phase transition from the thermal storage enclosure, the first and second enclosed heat pipes arranged to transfer heat from the heat-generating device towards opposing sides of a computing device, each of the first and second heat pipes having an evaporator portion and a condenser portion, the condenser portions of the first and second heat pipes are positioned further from each other than the evaporator portions of the first and second heat pipes, each of the first and second heat pipes including the same phase change material within the thermal storage enclosure or a different phase change material configured to undergo a different phase transition than the phase transition of the phase change material within the thermal storage enclosure.

11. A heat transfer device as described in claim 10 , wherein the first and second enclosed heat pipes are oriented in the opposing directions away from the heat-generating device such that performance of the heat transfer device to transfer heat from the heat-generating device remains uniform during movement of a device that incorporates the heat transfer device and the heat-generating device.

12. A heat transfer device as described in claim 11 , wherein the device includes a housing that is configured to be held by one or more hands of a user, the housing including the heat transfer device and the heat-generating device.

13. A heat transfer device as described in claim 11 , wherein the heat-generating device is a processing system of a computing device that includes the heat transfer device.

14. A computing device comprising:
a housing configured in a handheld form factor that is sized to be held by one or more hands of a user;
a processing system disposed within the housing;
a heat transfer device disposed proximal to the processing system in the housing and configured to transfer heat in opposing directions away from the processing system and comprising:
a thermal storage enclosure configured to transfer heat from the processing system using thermal conductivity and an amount of phase change material included within the thermal storage enclosure, the phase change material configured to undergo a phase transition at a temperature above a first temperature achieved by the processing system operating at a low power state and below a second temperature achieved by the processing system operating at a high power state;
a plurality of enclosed heat pipes including first and second heat pipes arranged in opposing directions, each of the first and second heat pipes having an evaporator portion and a condenser portion, the condenser portions of the first and second heat pipes are positioned further from each other than the evaporator portions of the first and second heat pipes, each of the plurality of enclosed heat pipes including the same phase change material within the thermal storage enclosure or a different phase change material configured to undergo a different phase transition than the phase transition of the phase change material within the thermal storage enclosure; and
a plurality of fans disposed within the housing, at least two of which positioned at the opposing directions of the heat transfer dev

Assignees

• Rubenstein Brandon A
• Microsoft Technology Licensing Llc

Inventors

• Rubenstein Brandon A

Classifications

• H10W40/73

  for cooling by change of state · CPC title

• H10W40/43

  by flowing gases, e.g. forced air cooling · CPC title

• G06F1/20 Primary

  Cooling means · CPC title

• G06F2200/201

  Cooling arrangements using cooling fluid · CPC title

• H01L2924/00

  Electricity · mapped topic