Cooling module and electronic device

Abstract

A cooling module capable of maintaining cooling performance for a longer period of time and an electronic device equipped with the cooling module are provided. [Solution] The cooling module is a cooling module to be mounted on an electronic device, and comprises a fan having an outlet, and a heat sink arranged facing the outlet, with multiple fins arranged with gaps between them between a first plate-shaped portion and a second plate-shaped portion extending along the width direction of the outlet, wherein the first plate-shaped portion has an opening capable of discharging a portion of the air discharged from the outlet, and an auxiliary opening provided between one end of the first plate-shaped portion in the longitudinal direction that is located at least downstream in the direction of air flow in the fan and the opening, capable of discharging a portion of the air discharged from the outlet, and the opening area of ​​the auxiliary opening is smaller than the opening area of ​​the opening.

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a cooling module and an electronic device equipped with the cooling module. [Background technology]

[0002] Electronic devices such as notebook PCs are equipped with a cooling module for cooling heat generating elements such as a CPU (see, for example, Patent Document 1). Such cooling modules include a heat pipe that absorbs and transports heat generated by the CPU and the like, and a heat sink and fan that exhaust the heat transported by the heat pipe to the outside of the housing. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] JP 2022-117678 A Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] There is a strong demand for electronic devices such as those mentioned above to be made smaller and thinner. For this reason, efforts are being made to make the heat sinks mounted on these devices smaller and thinner as well. It is also desirable for the heat sink to have a minimum fin pitch in consideration of heat exchange efficiency. For this reason, if an electronic device is used for many years or in a harsh environment with a lot of dust, the heat sink may gradually become clogged with dust, increasing ventilation resistance. This may result in a decrease in the heat exchange performance of the heat sink in the cooling module, raising concerns that the cooling performance may gradually decrease.

[0005] The heat sink of Patent Document 1 can reduce ventilation resistance and increase the air volume of the fan by forming a notched opening in the center of one side in the standing direction of the fins. Furthermore, the opening also contributes to the discharge of dust. However, openings are not formed on both ends in the width direction of the heat sink. This is to prevent air from blowing through to both ends of the heat sink. For this reason, both ends of the heat sink without openings are more likely to become clogged with dust than the center, which raises concerns about a decrease in cooling performance.

[0006] The present invention has been made in consideration of the problems with the conventional technology described above, and has an object to provide a cooling module that can maintain cooling performance for a longer period of time, and an electronic device equipped with the cooling module. [Means for solving the problem]

[0007] A cooling module according to a first aspect of the present invention is a cooling module to be mounted on an electronic device, comprising: a fan having an outlet; and a heat sink arranged facing the outlet, in which a plurality of fins are arranged with gaps between them between a first plate-shaped portion and a second plate-shaped portion extending along the width direction of the outlet, wherein the first plate-shaped portion has an opening capable of discharging a portion of the air discharged from the outlet, and an auxiliary opening provided between one end of the first plate-shaped portion in the longitudinal direction that is located at least downstream in the direction of air flow in the fan and the opening, capable of discharging a portion of the air discharged from the outlet, and the opening area of ​​the auxiliary opening is smaller than the opening area of ​​the opening.

[0008] An electronic device according to a second aspect of the present invention comprises a housing, a heat generating element provided within the housing, and a cooling module provided within the housing for cooling the heat generating element, the cooling module having a fan having an outlet, and a heat sink arranged facing the outlet, the heat sink having a plurality of fins arranged with gaps between them between a first plate-shaped portion and a second plate-shaped portion extending along the width direction of the outlet, the first plate-shaped portion having an opening capable of discharging a portion of the air discharged from the outlet, and an auxiliary opening provided between one end of the first plate-shaped portion in the longitudinal direction that is located at least downstream in the direction of air flow in the fan and the opening, the auxiliary opening being capable of discharging a portion of the air discharged from the outlet, the opening area of ​​the auxiliary opening being smaller than the opening area of ​​the opening. Effect of the Invention

[0009] According to the above aspect of the present invention, the cooling performance can be maintained for a longer period of time. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0010] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is a schematic plan view of an electronic device according to an embodiment viewed from above. [Diagram 2] FIG. 2 is a plan view illustrating a schematic internal structure of the housing. [Diagram 3] FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the heat sink and the fan. [Figure 4A] FIG. 4A is a perspective view of a heat sink. [Figure 4B] FIG. 4B is a perspective view of the heat sink shown in FIG. 4A, seen from the opposite direction. [Diagram 5] FIG. 5 is a plan view of the heat sink. [Figure 6] FIG. 6 is a schematic cross-sectional view taken along line VI-VI in FIG. [Figure 7A] FIG. 7A is an exploded front view of the auxiliary opening of the heat sink and its surroundings. [Figure 7B] FIG. 7B is a front view showing the state in which the fins shown in FIG. 7A are joined together. [Figure 8] FIG. 8 is a plan view of a heat sink having a plate-shaped portion according to a modified example. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0011] DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS A cooling module and an electronic device according to the present invention will be described in detail below with reference to preferred embodiments and the accompanying drawings.

[0012] Fig. 1 is a schematic plan view of an electronic device 10 according to an embodiment, seen from above. As shown in Fig. 1, the electronic device 10 is a clamshell notebook PC in which a display housing 12 and a housing 14 are connected by a hinge 16 so as to be relatively rotatable. The electronic device according to the present invention may be, for example, a desktop PC, a tablet PC, a smartphone, a game machine, or the like, other than a notebook PC.

[0013] The display housing 12 is a thin, flat box. A display 18 is mounted on the display housing 12. The display 18 is configured with, for example, an organic light emitting diode (OLED) or liquid crystal.

[0014] In the following, the housing 14 and each element mounted thereon will be described assuming that the housings 12, 14 are in an open state as shown in FIG. 1, and the posture for viewing the display 18 is used as the reference, with the front side being referred to as the front, the back side being referred to as the rear, the width direction being the left and right, and the height direction (thickness direction of the housing 14) being referred to as the top and bottom.

[0015] The housing 14 is a thin, flat box. The housing 14 is composed of a cover member 14A forming the upper surface and the four side surfaces, and a cover member 14B forming the lower surface. The upper cover member 14A has a substantially bathtub shape with an opening at the bottom. The lower cover member 14B has a substantially flat plate shape and serves as a lid that closes the opening at the bottom of the cover member 14A. The cover members 14A and 14B are stacked in the thickness direction and detachably connected to each other. A keyboard 20 and a touch pad 21 are provided on the upper surface of the housing 14. The rear end of the housing 14 is connected to the display housing 12 using a hinge 16.

[0016] FIG. 2 is a plan view showing a schematic internal structure of the housing 14, and is a schematic cross-sectional plan view of the housing 14 cut slightly below the keyboard 20. As shown in FIG.

[0017] 2, a cooling module 22, a motherboard 24, and a battery device 26 are provided inside the housing 14. Various electronic components, mechanical components, and the like are also provided inside the housing 14.

[0018] The motherboard 24 is a main board of the electronic device 10. The motherboard 24 is disposed toward the rear of the housing 14 and extends in the left-right direction. The motherboard 24 is a printed circuit board on which various electronic components such as a power component, a communication module, a memory, and a connection terminal are mounted in addition to the CPU 30 and the GPU 31. The motherboard 24 is disposed under the keyboard 20 and is screwed to the rear surface of the keyboard 20 and the inner surface of the cover member 14A. The upper surface of the motherboard 24 is the mounting surface for the cover member 14A, and the lower surface is the mounting surface for the CPU 30 and the like.

[0019] The CPU 30 is disposed on the left side of the center of the mounting surface of the motherboard 24. The CPU 30 performs calculations related to the main control and processing of the electronic device 10. The GPU 31 is disposed next to the right of the CPU 30 on the mounting surface of the motherboard 24. The GPU 31 performs calculations necessary for image depiction such as 3D graphics.

[0020] The battery device 26 is a rechargeable battery that serves as a power source for the electronic device 10. The battery device 26 is disposed in front of the motherboard 24, and extends left and right along the front end of the housing 14.

[0021] Next, the configuration of the cooling module 22 will be described.

[0022] The CPU 30 and the GPU 31 are heat generating elements that generate the largest amount of heat among the electronic components mounted in the housing 14. Therefore, the cooling module 22 absorbs and diffuses the heat generated by the CPU 30 and the GPU 31, and further discharges it to the outside of the housing 14. The cooling module 22 is stacked so as to cover, for example, a part of the mounting surface of the motherboard 24.

[0023] As shown in FIG. 2, the cooling module 22 may include a vapor chamber 36, a heat pipe 38, a pair of left and right heat sinks 40, 41, a pair of left and right fans 42, 43, and a thermally conductive plate 44.

[0024] The vapor chamber 36 is a plate-type heat transport device. The vapor chamber 36 is formed by forming a sealed space between two thin metal plates and sealing the working fluid in the sealed space. The metal plates are made of a metal with high thermal conductivity such as aluminum, copper, or stainless steel. The sealed space becomes a flow path through which the sealed working fluid flows while undergoing a phase change. Examples of the working fluid include water, alternative fluorocarbons, acetone, and butane. A wick that transports the condensed working fluid by capillary action is disposed in the sealed space. The wick is formed of a porous body such as a mesh made of thin metal wires woven into a cotton-like shape or a fine flow path.

[0025] The vapor chamber 36 absorbs and dissipates heat from the CPU 30 and the GPU 31, and can transfer the heat to a heat pipe 38 connected to the bottom surface. Reference symbols 30a and 31a in Fig. 2 denote heat receiving plates, for example copper plates, that are interposed between the top surface of the vapor chamber 36 and the top surfaces of the CPU 30 and the GPU 31, respectively.

[0026] The heat pipe 38 is a pipe-type heat transport device. The heat pipe 38 is configured by crushing a metal pipe thin and flat to form an elliptical cross section, and sealing a working fluid in a sealed space formed in the metal pipe. The materials and configurations of the metal pipe, sealed space, working fluid, and wick that constitute the heat pipe 38 may be the same as or similar to the materials and configurations of the metal plate, sealed space, working fluid, and wick that constitute the vapor chamber 36 described above.

[0027] The heat pipe 38 of this embodiment is curved forward near the center, is formed in a substantially U-shape in a plan view, and extends in the left-right direction. The center portion 38a of the heat pipe 38 is connected to the lower surface of the vapor chamber 36 at a position where it overlaps with the CPU 30 and the GPU 31 in the vertical direction. One end 38b of the heat pipe 38 is connected to the lower surface of the heat sink 40, and the other end 38b is connected to the lower surface of the heat sink 41. Two or more heat pipes 38 may be used in parallel. When the cooling module 22 is equipped with only one set of a heat sink and a fan, it is preferable that one end of the heat pipe 28 is connected to the CPU 30 or the GPU 31, and the other end is connected to the heat sink.

[0028] The heat conductive plate 44 is connected to the front edge of the vapor chamber 36 and protrudes forward. The heat conductive plate 44 is a thin plate made of a material having high thermal conductivity, such as a metal such as aluminum or copper, or graphite.

[0029] Next, the configurations of the heat sinks 40 and 41 and the fans 42 and 43 will be described.

[0030] As shown in Fig. 2, the left and right heat sinks 40, 41 may have a substantially symmetrical structure, although the sizes and heat exchange areas are somewhat different. Similarly, the left and right fans 42, 43 may also have a substantially symmetrical structure. Therefore, hereinafter, the right heat sink 41 and fan 43 will be mainly described, and the left heat sink 40 and fan 42 will be given the same reference numerals as those on the left side, and detailed description will be omitted. Note that the fans 42, 43 and heat sinks 40, 41 may be configured as only one, rather than as a pair on the left and right.

[0031] Fig. 3 is a perspective view of the heat sink 41 and the fan 43. Fig. 4A is a perspective view of the heat sink 41. Fig. 4B is a perspective view of the heat sink 41 shown in Fig. 4A when viewed from the opposite direction. Fig. 5 is a plan view of the heat sink 41. Fig. 6 is a schematic cross-sectional view taken along line VI-VI in Fig. 5.

[0032] As shown in Figs. 2, 3 and 6, the fan 43 has a fan housing 43b with an outlet port 43a formed on one side. The fan 43 is disposed immediately in front of the heat sink 41, and the outlet port 43a, which opens rearward, faces the front surface of the heat sink 41. The fan 43 is a centrifugal fan that rotates an impeller 43c housed inside the fan housing 43b by a motor. The fan housing 43b can be composed of, for example, a cover plate 43d forming the upper surface and the side surface, and a cover plate 43e forming the lower surface. An inlet port 43f is opened in each of the cover plates 43d, 43e. The inlet port 43f may be provided in only one of the cover plates 43d, 43e.

[0033] An air path 43g is formed inside the fan housing 43b. The air path 43g is a flow path for air that runs from the intake port 43f through the periphery of the impeller 43c to the exhaust port 43a. The dashed arrows in Fig. 3 show the air flow diagrammatically, and the same is true in Fig. 6 and other figures.

[0034] Air A in FIG. 3 indicates the flow of air that is introduced from the inlet 43f, and gradually compressed while flowing through the air path 43g formed around the impeller 43c, and reaches the outlet 43a while increasing in wind speed. The outlet 43a is wider than the air path 43g. For this reason, the wind speed of the air A discharged from the outlet 43a gradually decreases from the wall 43b1 located on the upstream side in the width direction (left-right direction) of the outlet 43a toward the wall 43b2 located on the downstream side. As shown in FIG. 3, the air discharged from the outlet 43a has the highest wind speed in the upstream air A1, followed by the air A2 and the air A3, and the air A4 on the downstream side has the lowest wind speed. Note that the wind speed of the air discharged from the outlet 43a of the actual fan 43 is not digitally categorized like the air A1 to A4, but changes analogically, and it is naturally possible that the wind speed is reversed between the upstream side and the downstream side when viewed in a small range. Taking this into consideration, in this embodiment, the wind speed of the air discharged from the discharge port 43a is illustrated as four stages of air A1 to A4.

[0035] 2 to 6, the heat sink 41 (40) has plate-shaped portions 46, 47, a plurality of fins 48 standing vertically and aligned horizontally between the plate-shaped portions 46, 47, an opening 52, and an auxiliary opening 54. The plate-shaped portions 46, 47 and the fins 48 can be made of a metal having high thermal conductivity, such as copper, aluminum, or stainless steel.

[0036] The plate-shaped portions 46, 47 are portions that form the upper and lower surfaces of the heat sink 41, and are parallel to each other with a gap between them that is equal to the height of the fins 48. The plate-shaped portions 46, 47 are disposed parallel to the upper and lower surfaces of the fan housing 43b, respectively. The upper plate-shaped portion (first plate-shaped portion) 46 is disposed substantially flush with the upper surface of the fan housing 43b, and closes the upper openings of the gaps G between the fins 48. The lower plate-shaped portion (second plate-shaped portion) 47 is disposed substantially flush with the lower surface of the fan housing 43b, and closes the lower openings of the gaps G between the fins 48. The end portion 38b of the heat pipe 38 is joined to the outer surface (lower surface) of the plate-shaped portion 47 by welding or the like.

[0037] 7A and 7B, the heat sink 41 of this embodiment has plate pieces 48a, 48b of each fin 48 aligned in the left-right direction to form plate-like portions 46, 47. Each of the plate-like portions 46, 47 may be formed from a single metal plate (see FIG. 8).

[0038] The fins 48 are formed of thin plates that stand up in the vertical direction between the plate-shaped parts 46 and 47 and extend in the front-rear direction. The fins 48 are arranged with gaps G between them along the width direction (left-right direction) of the heat sink 41 along the width direction of the discharge port 43a. As a result, the gaps G between the adjacent fins 48 in the heat sink 41 become air passages through which air from the discharge port 43a passes. The fin pitch (width of the gap G) of each fin 48 can be, for example, 1 mm. As shown in Figures 4A, 4B, and 6, each fin 48 can be provided with an inclined portion 48c in a portion that protrudes toward the discharge port 43a from the edge portion 46a of the plate-shaped part 46, the opening 52, and the auxiliary opening 54. The inclined portion 48c is gradually inclined downward from the outlet side (rear side) of the heat sink 41 toward the discharge port 43a side (front side), and is inserted into the fan housing 43b.

[0039] 2 to 6, the opening 52 and the auxiliary opening 54 can be formed as concave openings formed by cutting out a part of the edge 46a facing the outlet 43a of the upper plate-like portion 46 in a direction away from the outlet 43a. In Fig. 5, the shape of the plate-like portion 46 is clearly shown by adding a dot pattern.

[0040] First, the opening 52 can be formed in a range including the center in the width direction of the heat sink 41. The opening 52 forms a bypass path that allows a part of the air discharged from the discharge port 43a to bypass the outlet and be discharged. The opening 52 can be provided in a central portion that avoids a predetermined range from the upstream end 41a and a predetermined range from the downstream end 41b based on the width direction of the heat sink 41. In other words, the opening 52 in this embodiment is not provided on both ends 41a, 41b of the heat sink 41.

[0041] As shown in Figures 4A and 4B, each fin 48 (hereinafter sometimes referred to as "fin 48A") located near the upstream end 41a where no opening 52 is provided can be made longer in the air flow direction (front-to-back direction) than the fins 48 in other parts.

[0042] Next, the auxiliary opening 54 can be provided between the opening 52 and the end (one end) 41b located on the downstream side in the air flow direction of the fan 43. The opening area of ​​the auxiliary opening 54 is smaller than the opening area of ​​the opening 52.

[0043] First, the opening area of ​​the auxiliary opening 54 being smaller than the opening area of ​​the opening 52 means that the auxiliary opening 54 is smaller than the opening 52 in terms of the area ratio of the opening portion in a simple plan view. Here, the opening portion of the opening 52 and the auxiliary opening 54 in a plan view is the cutout area from the edge 46a located closest to the discharge port 43a to the edge 46a which is the front edge of the opening 52 and the auxiliary opening 54. As shown in FIG. 5, the width dimension of the opening 52 in the width direction (left-right direction) of the heat sink 41 is referred to as width W1, and the width dimension of the auxiliary opening 54 is referred to as width W2. In the configuration example shown in FIG. 5, the front-rear length of each fin 48 located at a position overlapping the opening 52 and the auxiliary opening 54 in the vertical direction is the same. In this case, the width W2 can be set to, for example, 10 to 30% of the width W1. As described above, when the fin pitch is, for example, 1 mm, the width W1 of the opening 52 can be set to, for example, about 30 to 60 mm, and the width W2 of the auxiliary opening 54 can be set to, for example, about 3 mm to 20 mm.

[0044] Secondly, the opening area of ​​the auxiliary opening 54 being smaller than that of the opening 52 can also be said to mean that the opening area per unit width along the width direction of the heat sink 41 is smaller. In other words, the distance L (see FIG. 6) in the front-rear direction from the edge 46a to the discharge port 43a of the auxiliary opening 54 is shorter than that of the opening 52. In this embodiment, the width W2 of the auxiliary opening 54 is smaller than the width W1 of the opening 52, and the distance L is also smaller than that of the opening 52. This prevents excessive air from blowing through the auxiliary opening 54, as will be described later, while enabling the dust D to be discharged more smoothly.

[0045] The auxiliary opening 54 in this embodiment can be formed so that its opening area gradually decreases from the opening 52 toward the end 41b. That is, the distance L from the edge 46a of the auxiliary opening 54 to the discharge outlet 43a gradually decreases from the boundary with the opening 52 toward the end 41b. As a result, the edge 46a forming the front edge of the auxiliary opening 54 can be formed in a stepped or linear shape inclined with respect to the width direction. Therefore, the portion 46b of the plate-shaped portion 46 adjacent to the auxiliary opening 54 has a substantially trapezoidal shape in plan view.

[0046] In the plate-shaped portion 46, a portion 46c located closer to the end 41a on the opposite side than the opening 52 has a generally rectangular shape in a plan view. An edge portion 46a adjacent to the end 41b of the portion 46b and an edge portion 46a of the portion 46c are aligned or generally aligned in the air flow direction (front-rear direction) of the heat sink 41, and are adjacent to the discharge port 43a (see FIGS. 5 and 6).

[0047] As described above, the cooling module 22 of this embodiment includes a heat sink 41 in which a plurality of fins 48 are arranged with gaps G between the plate-shaped parts 46 and 47 extending along the width direction of the discharge port 43a of the fan 43, and which is disposed facing the discharge port 43a. The plate-shaped part 46 has an opening 52 capable of discharging a part of the air discharged from the discharge port 43a. Furthermore, the plate-shaped part 46 has an auxiliary opening 54 provided between the end 41b located at least downstream in the air flow direction of the fan 43 in the longitudinal direction (left-right direction) of the plate-shaped part 46 and the opening 52. The auxiliary opening 54 can also discharge a part of the air discharged from the discharge port 43a. In the heat sink 41, the opening area of ​​the auxiliary opening 54 is smaller than the opening area of ​​the opening 52.

[0048] The cooling module 22 allows a portion of the air from the discharge port 43a to bypass the opening 52 and the auxiliary opening 54. This allows the heat sink 41 to reduce the ventilation resistance of the air passing through the narrow gap G, and increases the air volume of the fan 43, thereby improving the heat exchange performance.

[0049] The opening 52 and the auxiliary opening 54 also function as an outlet for discharging dust D that is sucked into the fan 43 together with air and discharged from the discharge port 43a toward the heat sink 41 (see FIG. 6). Examples of the dust D include dust, dirt, fibers, and hair. As described above, the heat sink 41 has a small fin pitch of the fins 48, for example, about 1 mm, and may be clogged with dust D of, for example, about several mm. If the heat sink 41 is clogged with dust D, the amount of air passing through the heat sink 41 decreases, and there is a concern that the heat exchange performance may decrease. In this regard, the cooling module 22 can smoothly discharge the dust D discharged together with air toward the heat sink 41 to the outside of the housing 12 through the opening 52 and the auxiliary opening 54, and can maintain the heat exchange performance for a long period of time.

[0050] The auxiliary opening 54 is located at least between the end 41b located downstream in the width direction of the heat sink 41 and the opening 52. In other words, the auxiliary opening 54 is located at a position where the air A4 flows at the lowest wind speed in the width direction of the heat sink 41. Therefore, although the heat sink 41 has the auxiliary opening 54, the amount of air passing through the auxiliary opening 54 can be suppressed to a necessary minimum. This allows the heat sink 41 to ensure smooth discharge of the dust D while suppressing excessive air from escaping through the auxiliary opening 54 and a decrease in the overall heat exchange performance. In particular, the auxiliary opening 54 is located at least near the end 41b located downstream in the width direction of the heat sink 41. Therefore, the dust D discharged to the rear surface of the heat sink 41 is pressed against the rear end surfaces of the fins 48, and some of the dust D gradually moves from the upstream side to the downstream side. As a result, the dust D is led to the auxiliary opening 54 located downstream of the heat sink 41 and is more efficiently discharged to the outside.

[0051] In particular, the heat sink 41 has the opening 52 in the central range in the width direction. Therefore, it is relatively difficult for dust D to escape from both ends 41a, 41b where the opening 52 is not provided. In this regard, the heat sink 41 of the present embodiment has an auxiliary opening 54 at least on the end 41b side, so that dust D that has accumulated on the end 41b side can be smoothly discharged.

[0052] The heat sink 41 is configured such that the opening area of ​​the auxiliary opening 54 is smaller than that of the opening 52. Therefore, the heat sink 41 can prevent a part of the air passing through the auxiliary opening 54 from blowing sideways (towards the end 41b) in the width direction and returning to the suction port 43f. In particular, the auxiliary opening 54 has an opening portion located closest to the end 41b blocked up to the vicinity of the discharge port 43a by the part of the portion 46b of the plate-shaped portion 46 located closest to the end 41b. Therefore, the auxiliary opening 54 can more reliably prevent the air from blowing sideways as described above.

[0053] In this way, the cooling module 22 can suppress clogging of the heat sink 41 with dust D even when the electronic device 10 is used for many years or in a harsh environment with a lot of dust, etc. As a result, the cooling module 22 can maintain the heat exchange performance of the heat sink 41 for a long period of time, and can maintain the cooling performance for an even longer period of time.

[0054] The auxiliary opening 54 may be provided between the end 41a located on the upstream side and the opening 52. However, it is preferable that the auxiliary opening 54 is not provided on the end 41a side. That is, when only the discharge efficiency of the dust D is considered, it is preferable that the auxiliary opening 54 is also provided on the end 41a side. However, the air A1 with a high wind speed passes through the gap G between the fins 48A on the end 41a side. For this reason, if the auxiliary opening 54 is also provided on the end 41a side, there is a concern that the heat exchange performance of the entire heat sink 41 will be greatly reduced. Therefore, in the heat sink 41 of this embodiment, in order to achieve both the heat exchange performance and the discharge efficiency of the dust D, the auxiliary opening 54 is provided only on the downstream end 41b side. In this case, the upper surface of the end 41a side of the heat sink 41 is blocked by the portion 46c of the plate-shaped portion 46 up to the vicinity of the discharge port 43a. Therefore, the heat sink 41 can also prevent a part of the air A1 from blowing sideways (towards the end 41a) in the width direction of the heat sink 41, further improving the heat exchange performance.

[0055] The auxiliary opening 54 can be configured so that the opening area gradually decreases from the opening 52 toward the end 41b. This allows the auxiliary opening 54 to more reliably prevent air from blowing through to the side (toward the end 41b) as described above, while ensuring smooth discharge of the dust D. That is, as shown in Fig. 5, the auxiliary opening 54 is configured to widen the side of the opening 52 in a skirt shape, thereby ensuring even smoother discharge of the dust D from the opening 52.

[0056] The fin 48 may have an inclined portion 48c at least in the portion vertically overlapping with the opening 52 and the auxiliary opening 54. The inclined portion 48c is gradually inclined in the direction from the plate-shaped portion 46 to the plate-shaped portion 47 from the air outlet side toward the air inlet side (discharge port 43a side) in the longitudinal direction of the fin 48. This allows an expanded space to be secured between the opening 52 and the auxiliary opening 54 and the upper end surfaces of the fins 48 for the dust D to pass through, making the discharge of the dust D even smoother.

[0057] Here, an example of a manufacturing method for the heat sink 41 (40) of this embodiment will be described. Fig. 7A is an exploded front view of the auxiliary opening 54 and its surroundings of the heat sink 41. Fig. 7B is a front view showing the state in which the fins 48 shown in Fig. 7A are joined together.

[0058] As shown in Figures 4A, 4B, 7A and 7B, the heat sink 41 (40) can be constructed by stacking a plurality of fins 48, each having plate pieces 48a, 48b bent at the upper and lower ends in the standing direction, and joining them together. The plate piece 48a is a fin-shaped portion formed by bending one end (upper end) of the fin 48 in the standing direction. The plate piece 48b is a fin-shaped portion formed by bending the other end (lower end) of the fin 48 in the standing direction. Each of the plate pieces 48a, 48b protrudes toward the adjacent fin 48. Each of the plate pieces 48a, 48b protrudes in the same direction.

[0059] In the present embodiment, each fin 48 has its plate pieces 48a arranged in succession to one another to form a plate shape, thereby constituting the plate-like portion 46. Each fin 48 has its plate pieces 48b arranged in succession to one another to form a plate shape, thereby constituting the plate-like portion 47.

[0060] A predetermined number of fins 48 constituting the auxiliary opening 54 are prepared with the plate pieces 48a forming the plate-shaped portion 46 having a different length in the front-rear direction than the other fins 48. A predetermined number of fins 48 constituting the opening 52 are prepared with the plate pieces 48a having a shorter length in the front-rear direction than the fins 48 constituting the auxiliary opening 54. This allows the heat sink 41 to easily form the auxiliary opening 54 by simply arranging and joining the fins 48. That is, the auxiliary opening 54 can be efficiently manufactured by stacking the fins 48 in which the lengths of the plate pieces 48a in the air flow direction are different between adjacent fins 48. The fins 48A only need to be configured to have a longer length in the front-rear direction than the fins 48 constituting the opening 52.

[0061] FIG. 8 is a plan view of a heat sink 41 having a plate-shaped portion 46A according to a modified example. As shown in FIG. 8, the plate-shaped portion forming the upper surface of the heat sink 41 can be constituted by the plate-shaped portion 46A formed of a single metal plate. The plate-shaped portion 46A formed of a single metal plate can have the opening 52 and the auxiliary opening 54 formed by performing a predetermined notch processing on the edge portion 46a. In this case, the auxiliary opening 54 may be formed by an inclined end surface 46d that gradually inclines from the opening 52 toward the end 41b toward the discharge port 43a (front side). The plate-shaped portion 47 forming the lower surface can also be formed of a single metal plate similar to the plate-shaped portion 46A.

[0062] It should be noted that the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and can of course be freely modified without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention. [Explanation of symbols]

[0063] 10 Electronic equipment 14. Chassis 22 Cooling module 30 CPU 31 GPU 38 Heat Pipe 40,41 Heat sink 41a,41b edge 42,43 Fan 43a Discharge port 43g Air Path 46, 46A, 47 Plate-shaped part 48,48A Fin 48c Inclined section 52 Opening 54 Auxiliary opening

Claims

1. A cooling module mounted on an electronic device, A fan having an outlet; a heat sink including a first plate-shaped portion and a second plate-shaped portion extending along a width direction of the discharge port, the first plate-shaped portion and a second plate-shaped portion having a plurality of fins arranged with gaps therebetween, the heat sink being disposed facing the discharge port; Equipped with the first plate-shaped portion has an opening through which a portion of the air discharged from the discharge port can be discharged, The opening is A first opening region; a second opening region provided between one end of the first plate-shaped portion located at least downstream in the air flow direction of the fan in the longitudinal direction of the first plate-shaped portion and the first opening region, the second opening region having an opening area per unit width in the width direction of the heat sink along the arrangement direction of the multiple fins smaller than that of the first opening region; having The opening area of ​​the second opening region is smaller than the opening area of ​​the first opening region. A cooling module comprising:

2. 2. The cooling module of claim 1, The second opening region has an opening area that gradually decreases from the first opening region toward the one end. A cooling module comprising:

3. 3. The cooling module of claim 2, The fin is a first plate piece having a first end in a rising direction bent and protruding toward an adjacent fin; a second plate piece having a second end in a rising direction bent and protruding toward an adjacent fin; having The plurality of fins are each configured such that the first plate pieces are continuously arranged in a plate shape to form the first plate-shaped portion, and the second plate pieces are continuously arranged in a plate shape to form the second plate-shaped portion, The second opening region is configured such that the length of the fins of the first plate piece in the air flow direction of the heat sink is made different between adjacent fins. A cooling module comprising:

4. The cooling module according to any one of claims 1 to 3, The fin has an inclined portion that is gradually inclined in a direction from the first plate-shaped portion toward the second plate-shaped portion toward the discharge port at least in a portion that vertically overlaps the first opening region and the second opening region. A cooling module comprising:

5. The cooling module according to any one of claims 1 to 3, Of both ends of the heat sink, the fins located closer to the other end located on the upstream side in the air flow direction of the fan have a longer length in the air flow direction than the fins in other portions. A cooling module comprising:

6. An electronic device, A housing and A heating element provided within the housing; a cooling module provided in the housing and configured to cool the heat generating element; Equipped with The cooling module includes: A fan having an outlet; a heat sink including a first plate-shaped portion and a second plate-shaped portion extending along a width direction of the discharge port, the first plate-shaped portion and a second plate-shaped portion having a plurality of fins arranged with gaps therebetween, the heat sink being disposed facing the discharge port; having the first plate-shaped portion has an opening through which a portion of the air discharged from the discharge port can be discharged, The opening is A first opening region; a second opening region provided between one end of the first plate-shaped portion located at least downstream in the air flow direction of the fan in the longitudinal direction of the first plate-shaped portion and the first opening region, the second opening region having an opening area per unit width in the width direction of the heat sink along the arrangement direction of the multiple fins smaller than that of the first opening region; having The opening area of ​​the second opening region is smaller than the opening area of ​​the first opening region.

1. An electronic device comprising:

7. 7. The electronic device according to claim 6, The second opening region has an opening area that gradually decreases from the first opening region toward the one end.

1. An electronic device comprising:

8. 8. The electronic device according to claim 6, Further, a heat pipe is provided for thermally connecting the heat generating element and the heat sink, The heat pipe is connected to the second plate-shaped portion.

1. An electronic device comprising:

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