Thermal management system including an elastically deformable phase change device

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9733680-B1
Application number	US-201615072323-A
Country	US
Kind code	B1
Filing date	Mar 16, 2016
Priority date	Mar 16, 2016
Publication date	Aug 15, 2017
Grant date	Aug 15, 2017

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 adjacent or physically connected to the heat generating component, the phase change device comprising a first portion and a second portion, the first portion being closer to the heat generating component than the second portion, and the second portion being opposite the first portion,
wherein the phase change device is elastically compressible, such that when a force is applied to a portion of the outer surface of the housing, the inner surface of the housing flexes towards the second portion of the phase change device and the phase change device is compressed, the phase change device is elastically expandable, such that when a force is applied to the phase change device from within the phase change device, the phase change device moves into physical contact with the inner surface of the housing, or a combination thereof.

2. The computing device of claim 1 , wherein the phase change device comprises a heat pipe, a vapor chamber, or a combination thereof.

3. The computing device of claim 2 , wherein the phase change device comprises a bellows heat pipe.

4. 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 c expands or contracts.

5. The computing device of claim 4 , wherein the housing is flexible away from the phase change device when the applied forced is removed, such that the second portion of the phase change device is at a distance from the inner surface of the housing after the applied force is removed.

6. The computing device of claim 1 , wherein the phase change device abuts the heat generating component.

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

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

9. The computing device of claim 1 , wherein the heat generating component comprises a processor.

10. A thermal management system comprising:
a computing device comprising:
a housing; and
a heat generating component supported by the housing; and

a thermal dock comprising:
a housing; and
a thermal management device supported by the housing,

wherein the computing device comprises a first phase change device, the thermal dock comprises a second phase change device, or a combination thereof, the first phase change device being physically connected to the heat generating component of the computing device, the second phase change device being physically connected to the thermal management device of the thermal dock, or a combination thereof, and
wherein the first phase change device, the second phase change device, or the first phase change device and the second phase change device are compressible, such that the first phase change device, the second phase change device, or the first phase change device and the second phase change device are compressed and the heat generating component of the computing device and the thermal management device of the thermal dock are physically and conductively connected when the computing device is docked with the thermal dock.

11. The thermal management system of claim 10 , wherein the thermal management device of the thermal dock comprises a Peltier device.

12. The thermal management system of claim 10 , wherein the housing of the computing device comprises an outer surface and an inner surface,
wherein the computing device comprises the first phase change device, the first phase change device comprising a first side and a second side, the first side being closer to the heat generating component than the second side, and the second side being opposite the first side, and
wherein the first phase change device is compressible, such that when a force is applied to the outer surface of the housing of the computing device, the inner surface flexes towards the second side of the first phase change device and the first phase change device is compressed.

13. The thermal management system of claim 12 , wherein the force applied to the outer surface of the housing of the computing device is a force applied to the outer surface when the computing device is docked with the thermal dock.

14. The thermal management system of claim 12 , wherein the first phase change device, the second phase change device, or the first phase change device and the second phase change device are made of an elastic spring metal.

15. The thermal management system of claim 14 , wherein the first phase change device made of the elastic spring metal is operable to decompress when the computing device is removed from the thermal dock and the inner surface of the housing of the computing device flexes away from the first phase change device.

16. The thermal management system of claim 10 , wherein the computing device is a mobile phone operable to run a desktop environment when the mobile phone is docked with the thermal dock.

17. The thermal management system of claim 10 , wherein the first phase change device comprises a heat pipe, a vapor chamber, or a combination thereof, and the second phase change device comprises a heat pipe, a vapor chamber, or a combination thereof.

18. A method for transferring heat from a heat generating component of a computing device to a thermal management device of a thermal dock, the method comprising:
flexing a housing of the computing device towards a phase change device physically connected to the heat generating component of the computing device in response to a force applied to an external surface of the housing by the thermal dock, the housing supporting the heat generating component;
compressing, by the housing of the computing device, in response to the flexing, the phase change device physically connected to the heat generating component; and
conducting heat from the heat generating component of the computing device to the thermal management device of the thermal dock via the phase change device and the housing of the computing device.

19. The method of claim 18 , wherein the flexing comprises moving an internal surface of the housing from a position at a distance from the phase change device into contact with the phase change device.

20. The method of claim 18 , 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 thermal management device of the thermal dock.

Assignees

• Microsoft Technology Licensing Llc

Inventors

• Voth David William
• Delano Andrew Douglas

Classifications

• G06F1/203 Primary

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

• F28D15/04

  with tubes having a capillary structure · CPC title

• F28D15/0241

  the tubes being flexible · CPC title

• G06F1/206

  comprising thermal management · CPC title

• H05K7/20309

  Evaporators · CPC title