A configurable multi-zone cooling plate and cooling method

Abstract

The application discloses a configurable multi-zone cooling plate and a cooling method. The configurable multi-zone cooling plate comprises a multi-layer plate assembly and a controller. The multi-layer plate assembly is formed with a cooling plane. At least two cooling sub-zones are formed inside the multi-layer plate assembly. The cooling sub-zones comprise a gas inlet and a detachable cover plate provided with a corresponding gas outlet array. The controller is in communication connection with independent gas flow control devices corresponding to the cooling sub-zones, and independently or jointly controls the gas flow of the cooling sub-zones. The projection areas of the corresponding gas outlet arrays of at least two adjacent cooling sub-zones on the cooling plane overlap with each other. A liquid cooling channel is arranged in the multi-layer plate assembly, and the liquid cooling channel is in thermal coupling with the cooling plane. The application realizes the precise temperature control of special-shaped or heterogeneous components and the uniform heat dissipation of the whole domain through the multi-layer plate structure to construct multiple fluid-independent cooling sub-zones and the staggered arrangement of the special gas outlet array.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This application relates to the fields of semiconductor manufacturing and electronic packaging technology, and in particular to a configurable multi-zone cooling plate and a cooling method. Background Technology

[0002] Vacuum reflow ovens are widely used in the field of electronic assembly and soldering. The cooling stage after reflow soldering plays a decisive role in the final quality, reliability, and yield of semiconductor packaging, especially in the soldering of power devices and advanced substrates, where reducing void formation and managing thermal stress are crucial. Currently, cooling technologies for vacuum reflow ovens are mainly based on single-medium or multi-medium heat transfer mechanisms, commonly including gas convection cooling systems, liquid conduction cooling systems, and hybrid cooling systems combining both.

[0003] In existing gas convection cooling systems, heat is typically removed by forcing an inert gas (such as nitrogen) through the assembled PCB board. However, due to the low specific heat capacity and thermal conductivity of gases, their heat transfer capacity has a physical limit, thus restricting the cooling rate. More seriously, during continuous production, the high-temperature gas that has absorbed a large amount of heat from the workpiece flows through the equipment cavity, transferring heat a second time to the equipment substrate. Without efficient heat dissipation methods, the substrate temperature will gradually rise, causing products processed sequentially within the same batch to face different initial cooling environments, resulting in deviations in cooling rates within the batch and affecting the consistency of the welding process.

[0004] To improve the cooling rate, existing technologies also employ liquid conduction cooling systems, where heat is transferred through direct contact between the cold plate of the internal circulating coolant and the product tray. However, in practical applications, this cooling method suffers from uneven heat conduction due to the unavoidable gaps and point contact thermal resistance between the workpiece and the cooling surface. Areas with good contact cool quickly, while areas with poor contact or under high-heat-capacity components cool slowly, resulting in severe thermal gradients on the board material. This can easily induce mechanical stress and damage solder joints.

[0005] To balance cooling rate and uniformity, existing technologies have further developed gas-liquid hybrid cooling systems. For example, a water-cooled plate is placed within a vacuum chamber as the main heat source, while circulating cooling gas assists in heat exchange. However, such hybrid systems typically have a global approach to gas distribution and liquid cooling, meaning the cooling effect is applied to the entire chamber or tray, lacking spatially addressable and precise control. On the same PCB board, different components (e.g., large-volume BGAs and small-size resistors and capacitors) have vastly different heat capacities, and a globally uniform cooling mode cannot provide differentiated treatment for local hot spots. This spatially non-configurable cooling method often results in insufficient cooling of high-heat-capacity components, leading to hot spots, while low-heat-capacity areas are over-cooled, generating thermal stress, making it difficult to simultaneously meet the optimal cooling requirements of different areas.

[0006] Therefore, how to eliminate the uneven thermal resistance between cooling contact surfaces to alleviate the local thermal gradient, and how to achieve differentiated and independent adjustment of the spatial distribution of the cooling medium to meet the cooling needs of components with different heat capacities, are technical problems that urgently need to be solved by those skilled in the art.

[0007] The statements herein provide only background information in relation to this invention and do not necessarily constitute prior art. Summary of the Invention

[0008] The purpose of this invention is to provide a configurable multi-zone cooling plate and cooling method, which has the advantage of accurate temperature reduction in each zone.

[0009] To achieve the above objectives, the present invention provides a configurable multi-zone cooling plate, comprising: A multilayer board assembly having a cooling plane and at least two fluid-isolated cooling zones inside the multilayer board assembly, each cooling zone including an independent gas inlet and a removable cover plate with a corresponding array of gas outlets; The controller is communicatively connected to the independent gas flow control device corresponding to each of the cooling zones, and the controller is configured to independently or jointly control the gas flow of each of the cooling zones; The corresponding air outlet arrays of at least two adjacent cooling zones are nested in the projection area on the cooling plane; a liquid cooling channel is provided in the multilayer board assembly near the cooling plane, and the liquid cooling channel is thermally coupled to the cooling plane.

[0010] In some embodiments, the multilayer board assembly has a multi-level gas distribution network inside, the multi-level gas distribution network including concealed gas channels formed by a sandwich structure, the concealed gas channels connecting multiple corresponding gas outlet arrays that are not physically continuous to the same gas inlet.

[0011] In some embodiments, the controller is configured to: synchronously adjust the gas flow rate of a plurality of discretely arranged corresponding gas outlet arrays by adjusting the independent gas flow control device corresponding to the gas inlet.

[0012] In some embodiments, the corresponding air outlet arrays of at least two adjacent cooling zones are arranged in a nested manner on the cooling plane, the cooling zones including a first cooling sub-zone and a second cooling sub-zone, wherein the air outlet of the first cooling sub-zone is located inside the boundary enclosed by the air outlet of the second cooling sub-zone.

[0013] In some embodiments, the multilayer plate assembly includes an air outlet cover, the cooling plane is disposed on the air outlet cover, and the corresponding air outlet array corresponds to the opening of the air outlet cover for holding the workpiece to be cooled.

[0014] In some embodiments, the multilayer plate assembly further includes a base plate, an intermediate plate, and a main heat exchange plate; the base plate has a fluid-isolated buffer zone inside, and the buffer zone is connected to the gas inlet; the intermediate plate has distribution holes and is disposed between the base plate and the main heat exchange plate; the main heat exchange plate has a liquid cooling channel inside; and the gas outlet cover is disposed on the main heat exchange plate.

[0015] In some embodiments, the base plate is made of stainless steel, and the main heat exchange plate and the outlet cover are made of aluminum alloy or copper.

[0016] In some embodiments, the liquid cooling channel is configured to cool the gas flowing through the removable cover and to exchange heat with the cooling plane as a conductive heat sink.

[0017] In some embodiments, the multilayer plate assembly includes a base plate, an intermediate plate, and a main heat exchange plate. The main heat exchange plate is disposed on the uppermost layer of the multilayer plate assembly and adjacent to the air outlet cover plate. The liquid cooling channel is disposed inside the main heat exchange plate.

[0018] This application also provides a cooling method, employing a configurable multi-zone cooling plate as described above, comprising: S10. Supply cooling gas to the gas inlets of at least two cooling zones of the configurable multi-zone cooling plate, and distribute the cooling gas evenly to the removable cover plate with a corresponding air outlet array through the air passage inside the multi-layer plate assembly, and blow it to the workpiece to be cooled through the removable cover plate. S20: Heat dissipation is achieved through thermal coupling with the cooling plane via the circulation of coolant in the liquid cooling channel.

[0019] In some embodiments, step S10 further includes: controlling the flow rate of cooling gas delivered to each of the cooling zones via a controller.

[0020] In some embodiments, in step S10, there is a gap between the workpiece being cooled and the configurable multi-zone cooling plate, and the cooling rate is controlled by adjusting the cooling gas flow rate of each of the cooling zones.

[0021] In some embodiments, in step S20, the cooling plane of the configurable multi-zone cooling plate contacts the workpiece to be cooled for cooling.

[0022] In some embodiments, in step S20, the supply of cooling gas to the cooling zone is stopped.

[0023] In summary, compared with the prior art, the configurable multi-zone cooling plate and cooling method provided by the present invention have the following beneficial effects: This application constructs multiple independent cooling zones through a multi-layer stacked plate structure, and with the help of a staggered array of dedicated air outlets, it achieves precise temperature control and uniform heat dissipation across the entire area for irregularly shaped or heterogeneous components. By using liquid cooling channels thermally coupled with the cooling plane as efficient heat sinks, it breaks through the rate bottleneck of single-medium cooling, significantly shortens the cooling cycle, effectively suppresses the formation of weld voids and thermal stress damage, and balances welding reliability and production efficiency. Furthermore, the modular cover plate design gives the equipment the ability to flexibly adapt to multiple product types. Attached Figure Description

[0024] Figure 1 This is a schematic diagram of the overall structure of a configurable multi-zone cooling plate.

[0025] Figure 2 This is a schematic diagram of the main heat exchange plate, intermediate plate, and base plate that can be configured with multiple cooling zones.

[0026] Figure 3 This is a schematic diagram of a cooling zone system with configurable multi-zone cooling plates.

[0027] Figure 4 This is a schematic diagram of the first and second cooling sub-zones.

[0028] Figure 5 This is a partial schematic diagram of a cooling zone with configurable multi-zone cooling plates.

[0029] Figure 6 This is a flowchart of the cooling method of this application.

[0030] Explanation of reference numerals in the attached figures: Configurable multi-zone cooling plate 1; multi-layer plate assembly 100; cooling zone 110; first cooling sub-zone 111; second cooling sub-zone 112; gas inlet 120; removable cover plate 130; gas outlet cover plate 140; main heat exchange plate 150; liquid cooling channel 151; intermediate plate 160; bottom plate 170; buffer zone 171; cooling plane 180; connecting block 181; concealed air passage 190; controller 200; workpiece to be cooled 300. Detailed Implementation

[0031] The configurable multi-zone cooling plate and cooling method proposed in this invention will be further described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings and specific embodiments. The advantages and features of this invention will become clearer from the following description. It should be noted that the drawings are in a very simplified form and use non-precise proportions, only for the purpose of conveniently and clearly illustrating the embodiments of this invention. Please refer to the drawings to make the objectives, features, and advantages of this invention more apparent and understandable. It should be understood that the structures, proportions, sizes, etc., depicted in the accompanying drawings are only for the purpose of assisting those skilled in the art in understanding and reading the content disclosed in the specification, and are not intended to limit the implementation conditions of this invention. Therefore, they have no substantial technical significance. Any modifications to the structure, changes in the proportional relationships, or adjustments to the size, without affecting the effects and objectives achieved by this invention, should still fall within the scope of the technical content disclosed in this invention.

[0032] like Figure 1 As shown, the present invention provides a configurable multi-zone cooling plate 1, which includes a multi-layer board assembly 100 and a controller 200 (e.g., Figure 3 (As shown).

[0033] like Figure 1 and Figure 2As shown, the multilayer board assembly 100 is formed by stacking and connecting multiple layers of boards. The top surface of the multilayer board assembly 100 has a cooling plane 180 facing the workpiece 300 to be cooled. Inside the multilayer board assembly 100, at least two fluid-isolated cooling zones 110 are formed. Fluid isolation means that in the internal flow channel design of the multilayer board assembly 100, the gas flow paths of different cooling zones 110 are independent of each other, and the gas does not cross-flow between the gas flow paths. Each cooling zone 110 includes an independent gas inlet 120 and a removable cover plate 130 with a corresponding array of gas outlets. The removable cover plate 130 has gas openings, and different removable cover plates 130 have different combinations of gas openings, forming different corresponding arrays of gas outlets, for allowing cooling gas to flow out from the gas openings on the removable cover plate 130 to cool the workpiece. The removable cover plate 130 is replaceable, and different removable cover plates 130 have different combinations of gas openings, thereby changing the flow rate of cooling gas flowing out of the removable cover plate 130. The gas openings on the removable cover plate 130 correspond to the gas inlet 120 of a specific cooling zone 110, and the cooling gas introduced from the gas inlet 120 is finally discharged only from the gas outlet of that specific group, thereby achieving physical decoupling of the gas path.

[0034] like Figure 3 and Figure 4 As shown, the controller 200 is communicatively connected to the independent gas flow control device (such as a mass flow controller (MFC) or proportional valve) corresponding to each cooling zone 110. The controller 200 is installed on the gas delivery path into the cooling zone 110. Figure 3 and Figure 4 The arrows in the diagram schematically illustrate the gas delivery path, but are not intended to limit it; the gas delivery path can be set as needed. The controller 200 is configured to independently or jointly control the gas flow rate of each cooling zone 110 according to a preset cooling process curve. In this embodiment, because the gas paths of each cooling zone 110 are isolated and the flow rate is controllable, differentiated gas cooling intensities can be applied to areas of the workpiece 300 surface with different heat capacities or different heat dissipation requirements.

[0035] To eliminate the thermal boundary effect between adjacent cooling zones, the projection areas of corresponding air outlet arrays of at least two adjacent cooling zones 110 on the cooling plane 180 are nested. This nested layout causes the air outlets, originally belonging to different cooling zones 110, to be spatially arranged in an interlaced or staggered pattern. When airflows of different temperatures or velocities are ejected from the gas openings of the nested corresponding air outlet arrays, the airflows mix below the cooled workpiece 300, reducing regional temperature gradients that may result from zone control. The thermal boundary effect refers to the abrupt temperature change at the boundary between two adjacent cooling zones in the configurable multi-zone cooling plate 1 with independent zone control, i.e., the formation of a temperature gradient on the configurable multi-zone cooling plate 1, and the resulting mutual interference of heat flow.

[0036] Furthermore, such as Figure 2 As shown, a liquid cooling channel 151 is provided within the multilayer plate assembly 100 near the cooling plane 180, and the liquid cooling channel 151 is thermally coupled to the cooling plane 180. The liquid cooling channel 151 is located inside the main heat exchange plate 150, as shown in the figure. Figure 1 As shown, a connecting block 181 is provided between the main heat exchange plate 150 and the cooling plane 180 to achieve heat conduction between them. Thermal coupling means that there is no insulating air layer or low thermal conductivity medium between the liquid cooling channel 151 and the cooling plane 180. Instead, they are directly adjacent or integrally formed by a high thermal conductivity metal entity (such as aluminum or copper), so that the heat on the cooling plane 180 can be efficiently and with low thermal resistance transferred to the coolant in the liquid cooling channel 151 by thermal conduction. The liquid cooling channel 151 not only acts as a heat sink to quickly remove the heat conducted by contact, but also cools the gas flowing through the removable cover plate 130, maintaining the cooling plane 180 at a low temperature reference state.

[0037] The configurable multi-zone cooling plate 1 in this embodiment achieves independent and precise control of local temperature zones through the fluid isolation of the physical structure and the nested arrangement of the corresponding air outlet array in the spatial layout. At the same time, it breaks through the heat dissipation rate bottleneck by using a hybrid mechanism of liquid cooling and air cooling.

[0038] Furthermore, in one embodiment, the multilayer board assembly 100 has a multi-level gas distribution network inside, the multi-level gas distribution network including concealed air passages 190 formed by a sandwich structure. For example... Figure 3 and Figure 4As shown, since the corresponding air outlet arrays are discretely or nestedly distributed on the cooling plane 180, their physical locations are often discontinuous. The concealed air passage 190 extends laterally in the interlayer, connecting these multiple corresponding air outlet arrays with discontinuous physical locations to the same gas inlet 120. Correspondingly, the controller 200 is configured to synchronously adjust the gas flow of the discretely set multiple corresponding air outlet arrays by adjusting the independent gas flow control device of the corresponding gas inlet 120, realizing precise synchronization of single-point air intake control and multi-point dispersed air output.

[0039] like Figure 4 and Figure 5 As shown, in another embodiment, at least two adjacent cooling zones 110 have their corresponding air outlet arrays nested on the cooling plane 180. Specifically, the cooling zone 110 includes a first cooling sub-zone 111 and a second cooling sub-zone 112, with the air outlet of the first cooling sub-zone 111 located within the boundary formed by the air outlets of the second cooling sub-zone 112. This nested structure (such as a nesting of rings and circles) can blur the physical boundaries of the zones to the greatest extent, achieving cross-neutralization of heat between the center and the edges. It should be noted that in Figure 4 The nested configuration of the first cooling sub-partition 111 and the second cooling sub-partition 112 is only illustrated by example and does not constitute a limitation on the first cooling sub-partition 111 and the second cooling sub-partition 112. The first cooling sub-partition 111 and the second cooling sub-partition 112 can be configured according to actual needs and are not limited here.

[0040] like Figure 1 As shown, to improve the adaptability of the multilayer plate assembly 100 to different cooled workpieces 300, enabling it to accommodate more workpieces 300 of different shapes, the multilayer plate assembly 100 includes an exhaust port cover 140, a cooling plane 180 disposed on the upper surface of the exhaust port cover 140, and a removable cover 130 disposed within the exhaust port cover 140. When producing different models of cooled workpieces 300, only the exhaust port cover 140 with different hole distribution and hole diameter needs to be replaced, without replacing the entire multilayer plate assembly 100, significantly reducing changeover costs and downtime.

[0041] In one embodiment, the multilayer plate assembly 100 includes a base plate 170, an intermediate plate 160, a main heat exchange plate 150, and an outlet cover plate 140. The base plate 170 has a fluid-isolated buffer zone 171 connected to the gas inlet 120, thereby eliminating the intake jet effect and ensuring initial gas distribution. The intermediate plate 160 has distribution holes and is positioned between the base plate 170 and the main heat exchange plate 150 for secondary distribution and guidance of the airflow. The main heat exchange plate 150 has a liquid cooling channel 151 inside. The outlet cover plate 140 is positioned above the main heat exchange plate 150. The multilayer plate assembly 100's stacked structure from bottom to top rationally divides the gas path distribution and liquid cooling channel 151 at a physical level.

[0042] In this embodiment, the concealed air duct 190 has grooves with a specific orientation formed on the opposing surfaces of two adjacent plates (e.g., the bottom plate 170 and the middle plate 160, or the middle plate 160 and the main heat exchange plate 150) of the multilayer plate assembly 100 through machining (milling, etching, 3D printing, or other processing methods are not limited here). After the two plates are pressed and fastened (welding, bolting, or other connection methods are not limited here), the opening of the groove is closed by the solid surface of the other plate, thereby forming a closed flow channel with a flat or irregular cross-section inside the interlayer, which is the concealed air duct 190. Since this air duct is concealed inside the plate and does not occupy the space of the cooling plane 180, it is called the concealed air duct 190.

[0043] Furthermore, to achieve a discrete distribution of corresponding air outlet arrays that overlap or nest on the cooling plane 180 (for example, multiple air outlet groups belonging to the same cooling zone 110 are physically separated by air outlet groups of other cooling zones 110), these air outlet groups are physically discontinuous on the two-dimensional plane. The concealed air passage 190 extends laterally within the sandwich structure (i.e., parallel to the cooling plane 180), concealingly passing through the area below other cooling zones 110. Because the upper and lower plates of the sandwich structure provide physical isolation, the gas inside the concealed air passage 190 will not experience fluid crosstalk with the flow channels of other zones it passes through when it laterally crosses below them, thus achieving fluid isolation. Through this lateral extension, the concealed air passage 190 connects multiple physically discontinuous, discretely distributed corresponding air outlet arrays to the same gas inlet 120 within the internal flow path.

[0044] Based on the interconnected structure of the concealed air duct 190, the controller 200 is configured to synchronously regulate the gas flow of multiple discretely arranged corresponding outlet arrays by adjusting the independent gas flow control device (such as the mass flow controller 200) corresponding to the gas inlet 120. This single-point inlet control and multi-point dispersed outlet design simplifies the control system and reduces hardware costs. To achieve synchronous control of multiple discretely distributed outlet groups, the conventional approach requires configuring an independent inlet and an independent flow control device for each outlet group, which would result in a significant increase in the number of control elements and an extremely cumbersome system piping. However, the technical solution of this application merges multiple discrete outlet groups into a single control node through the internal confluence of the concealed air duct 190, requiring only one independent gas flow control device to manage the entire logical partition, greatly reducing the number of peripheral control hardware and the complexity of piping. In addition, this arrangement ensures a high degree of synchronization of the gas output from the discrete outlet groups within the same cooling partition 110. Since the discrete air outlet arrays belonging to the same cooling zone 110 share the same gas inlet 120 and the same concealed air duct 190, when the controller 200 issues an adjustment command, the gas pressure wave is transmitted to each discrete air outlet almost simultaneously within the concealed air duct 190. This ensures that the flow rate change response time of each air outlet is consistent, avoiding the response lag or flow deviation that may be caused by multi-channel independent control. This guarantees the spatial consistency of the cooling zone 110 when implementing temperature control on the surface of the cooled workpiece 300. Finally, the concealed air duct 190 provides the underlying flow path support for the overlapping and nested arrangement of the air outlet arrays. The concealed air duct 190 can run horizontally across the interlayer without interfering with other zones, allowing the air outlet array on the cooling plane 180 to break free from the constraints of traditional air ducts that must be straight up and down or physically adjacent. It can freely intersect, overlap, and nest with the air outlets of other zones in space, eliminating the thermal boundary effect and improving the temperature consistency of different areas.

[0045] The base plate 170 is preferably made of stainless steel, which utilizes the high rigidity of stainless steel to withstand internal air pressure and prevent overall deformation. The main heat exchange plate 150 and the air outlet cover plate 140 are preferably made of high thermal conductivity materials such as aluminum alloy or copper. Specifically, in the application scenario of this application, high thermal conductivity materials refer to materials with a thermal conductivity greater than or equal to 100 W / (m·K), and the high thermal conductivity of aluminum alloy or copper is used to enhance the thermal coupling efficiency between the liquid cooling channel 151 and the cooling plane 180.

[0046] Furthermore, the main heat exchange plate 150 is disposed on the uppermost layer of the multi-layer plate assembly 100 and adjacent to the air outlet cover plate 140, and the liquid cooling channel 151 is disposed inside the main heat exchange plate 150. This layout allows the liquid cooling channel 151 to be as close as possible to the cooling plane 180. The liquid cooling channel 151 is configured not only to cool the gas flowing through the removable cover plate 130 (i.e., as a gas-cooled heat sink), but also to act as a conductive heat sink for heat exchange when the cooling plane 180 comes into contact with the workpiece 300 being cooled.

[0047] like Figure 6 As shown, this application also provides a cooling method, which uses the configurable multi-zone cooling plate 1 as described above for cooling, including the following steps: S10. Cooling gas is supplied to the gas inlets 120 of at least two cooling zones 110 of the configurable multi-zone cooling plate 1. The cooling gas is evenly distributed to the corresponding air outlet array on the removable cover plate 130 through a multi-level distribution network such as the concealed air passage 190 inside the multi-layer plate assembly 100, and blown to the workpiece 300 to be cooled via the removable cover plate 130. In this step, the flow rate of cooling gas delivered to each cooling zone 110 is controlled by the controller 200.

[0048] In step S10, during the initial cooling phase, there is a gap between the workpiece 300 being cooled and the configurable multi-zone cooling plate 1. The cooling rate is controlled by adjusting the cooling gas flow rate of each cooling zone 110. A non-contact gap is maintained between the workpiece 300 being cooled and the air outlet cover 140 of the configurable multi-zone cooling plate 1, allowing the gas ejected from the removable cover 130 to be sprayed onto the workpiece 300 for cooling. The controller 200 controls the cooling gas flow rate delivered to each cooling zone 110, thereby controlling the cooling rate by adjusting the cooling gas flow rate of each cooling zone 110. Because there is no direct contact, thermal stress tearing of the solder joints caused by rapid cooling is avoided. Furthermore, a spatially variable temperature distribution is achieved through overlapping or nested air outlet arrays, ensuring uniform cooling of the irregularly shaped components. The non-contact air cooling state is maintained until the solder sheet has solidified.

[0049] S20. Coolant circulates within the liquid cooling channel 151, achieving thermal coupling heat dissipation with the cooling plane 180. In this step, the cooling plane 180 of the multi-zone cooling plate 1 can be configured to contact the workpiece 300 being cooled for cooling. Cooling gas supply to the cooling zone 110 is then stopped.

[0050] In step S20, after the weld joints of the workpiece 300 being cooled solidify, the configurable multi-zone cooling plate 1 is moved relative to the workpiece 300 being cooled (e.g., the cooling plate is lifted by a lifting mechanism) until the cooling plane 180 is in direct contact with the workpiece 300 being cooled or the carrier plate supporting the workpiece 300 being cooled. The cooling liquid circulates in the liquid cooling channel 151 and is thermally coupled with the cooling plane 180 to dissipate heat.

[0051] During this contact cooling stage, due to the thermal coupling between the liquid cooling channel 151 and the cooling plane 180, heat is carried away by the coolant through conduction. At this point, it is possible to further choose to stop supplying cooling gas to the cooling zone 110 and rely solely on contact conduction for heat dissipation, thereby saving cooling gas while achieving rapid cooling of the workpiece 300; alternatively, a small flow rate of gas can be maintained to form a dual-mixture rapid heat dissipation of air cooling and liquid cooling.

[0052] The cooling method of this application, through two-stage dynamic switching, takes into account both stress control in the early stage of cooling and rate requirements in the later stage of cooling.

[0053] The configurable multi-zone cooling plate and cooling method of this application employs fluid-isolated cooling zones 110 combined with overlapping or nested corresponding air outlet arrays. This overcomes the temperature discontinuity caused by flow differences between adjacent areas in traditional zoned cooling. Airflows from different zones mix below the workpiece 300 to cool it, achieving smooth temperature gradient control and effectively suppressing welding defects caused by local hot or cold spots. By setting a liquid cooling channel 151 thermally coupled to the cooling plane 180 near it, the gas in the air cooling stage can be pre-cooled by the liquid cooling plate, increasing the air cooling heat exchange temperature difference. In the contact cooling stage, the liquid cooling channel 151 directly acts as a heat sink, avoiding the problem of high air contact thermal resistance, and achieving rapid switching from controlled slow cooling to rapid cooling, shortening the production cycle. In addition, the design of the outlet cover plate 140 allows for the reconstruction of the outlet array layout by simply replacing the outlet cover plate 140 when changing products with different heat distribution characteristics. Core gas-liquid distribution components such as the base plate 170 and the main heat exchange plate 150 can be reused, reducing equipment maintenance and upgrade costs.

[0054] The configurable multi-zone cooling plate 1 of the present invention is installed in the cooling chamber of the furnace body of a vacuum reflow oven, which also includes a heating chamber. In the heating chamber, the PCB (Printed Circuit Board) with components mounted is heated until the solder melts, achieving reflow soldering. After soldering, the PCB is subjected to controlled cooling in the cooling chamber, allowing the solder joints to solidify quickly and uniformly, thereby reducing voids and thermal stress.

[0055] It should be noted that, in this document, relational terms such as "first" and "second" are used only to distinguish one entity or operation from another, and do not necessarily require or imply any such actual relationship or order between these entities or operations. Furthermore, the terms "comprising," "including," or any other variations thereof are intended to cover non-exclusive inclusion, such that a process, method, article, or apparatus that comprises a list of elements includes not only those elements but also other elements not expressly listed, or elements inherent to such a process, method, article, or apparatus. Without further limitations, an element defined by the phrase "comprising one..." does not exclude the presence of other identical elements in the process, method, article, or apparatus that includes said element.

[0056] In the description of this invention, it should be understood that the terms "center," "height," "thickness," "upper," "lower," "vertical," "horizontal," "top," "bottom," "inner," "outer," "axial," "radial," and "circumferential," etc., indicating orientation or positional relationships, are based on the orientation or positional relationships shown in the accompanying drawings and are only for the convenience of describing the invention and simplifying the description, and do not indicate or imply that the device or element referred to must have a specific orientation, or be constructed and operated in a specific orientation, and therefore should not be construed as a limitation of the invention. In the description of this invention, unless otherwise stated, "a plurality of" means two or more.

[0057] In the description of this invention, unless otherwise explicitly specified and limited, the terms "installation," "connection," "linking," and "fixing" should be interpreted broadly. For example, they can refer to a fixed connection, a detachable connection, or an integral part; they can refer to a mechanical connection or an electrical connection; they can refer to a direct connection or an indirect connection through an intermediate medium; they can refer to the internal communication of two components or the interaction between two components. Those skilled in the art can understand the specific meaning of the above terms in this invention based on the specific circumstances.

[0058] In this invention, unless otherwise explicitly specified and limited, "above" or "below" the second feature can include direct contact between the first and second features, or contact between the first and second features through another feature between them. Furthermore, "above," "over," and "on top" of the second feature includes the first feature directly above or diagonally above the second feature, or simply indicates that the first feature is at a higher horizontal level than the second feature. "Below," "below," and "under" the second feature includes the first feature directly below or diagonally below the second feature, or simply indicates that the first feature is at a lower horizontal level than the second feature.

[0059] Although the present invention has been described in detail through the preferred embodiments above, it should be understood that the above description should not be considered as a limitation of the present invention. Various modifications and substitutions to the present invention will be apparent to those skilled in the art after reading the above description. Therefore, the scope of protection of the present invention should be defined by the appended claims.

Claims

1. A configurable multi-zone cooling plate, characterized in that, include: A multilayer board assembly having a cooling plane, and at least two fluid-isolated cooling zones formed inside the multilayer board assembly, each cooling zone including an independent gas inlet and a removable cover plate with a corresponding array of gas outlets; a controller communicatively connected to an independent gas flow control device corresponding to each cooling zone, the controller being configured to independently or jointly control the gas flow of each cooling zone; the projection areas of the corresponding gas outlet arrays of at least two adjacent cooling zones on the cooling plane are nested together; a liquid cooling channel is provided inside the multilayer board assembly near the cooling plane, the liquid cooling channel being thermally coupled to the cooling plane; The multilayer board assembly has a multi-level gas distribution network inside, which includes a concealed gas channel formed by a sandwich structure. The concealed gas channel connects multiple corresponding gas outlet arrays that are not physically continuous to the same gas inlet. The multilayer plate assembly includes an air outlet cover plate, the cooling plane is disposed on the air outlet cover plate, and the corresponding air outlet array corresponds to the opening of the air outlet cover plate for holding the workpiece to be cooled. The multi-layer plate assembly further includes a base plate, an intermediate plate, and a main heat exchange plate; the base plate has a fluid-isolated buffer zone inside, and the buffer zone is connected to the gas inlet; the intermediate plate has distribution holes and is disposed between the base plate and the main heat exchange plate; the main heat exchange plate has a liquid cooling channel inside; and the gas outlet cover is disposed on the main heat exchange plate. The liquid cooling channel is configured to cool the gas flowing through the removable cover plate and to exchange heat with the cooling plane as a heat sink.

2. The configurable multi-zone cooling plate as described in claim 1, characterized in that, The controller is configured to: synchronously adjust the gas flow rate of a plurality of discretely arranged corresponding gas outlet arrays by adjusting the independent gas flow control device corresponding to the gas inlet.

3. The configurable multi-zone cooling plate as described in claim 1, characterized in that, The corresponding air outlet arrays of at least two adjacent cooling zones are arranged in a nested manner on the cooling plane. The cooling zones include a first cooling sub-zone and a second cooling sub-zone, and the air outlet of the first cooling sub-zone is located inside the boundary enclosed by the air outlet of the second cooling sub-zone.

4. The configurable multi-zone cooling plate as described in claim 1, characterized in that, The base plate is made of stainless steel, and the main heat exchange plate and the outlet cover are made of aluminum alloy or copper.

5. A cooling method, characterized in that, Cooling using a configurable multi-zone cooling plate as described in any one of claims 1-4 includes: S10, supplying cooling gas to the gas inlets of at least two cooling zones of the configurable multi-zone cooling plate, distributing the cooling gas evenly to a detachable cover plate with a corresponding air outlet array through the air passage inside the multi-layer plate assembly, and blowing the cooling gas toward the workpiece to be cooled via the detachable cover plate; S20, dissipating heat through thermal coupling with the cooling plane by circulating the coolant in the liquid cooling channel.

6. The cooling method as described in claim 5, characterized in that, Step S10 further includes controlling the flow rate of cooling gas delivered to each of the cooling zones via a controller.

7. The cooling method as described in claim 5, characterized in that, In step S10, there is a gap between the workpiece being cooled and the configurable multi-zone cooling plate, and the cooling rate is controlled by adjusting the cooling gas flow rate of each cooling zone.

8. The cooling method as described in claim 7, characterized in that, In step S20, the cooling plane of the configurable multi-zone cooling plate contacts the workpiece to be cooled for cooling.

9. The cooling method as described in claim 8, characterized in that, In step S20, the supply of cooling gas to the cooling zone is stopped.

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