System for cooling an electronic device
Patent Information
- Authority / Receiving Office
- WO · WO
- Patent Type
- Applications
- Current Assignee / Owner
- IMPACT COOLING INC
- Filing Date
- 2026-01-30
- Publication Date
- 2026-08-06
Smart Images
Figure US2026013232_06082026_PF_FP_ABST
Abstract
Description
SYSTEM FOR COOLING AN ELECTRONIC DEVICECROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION
[0001] The present application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No.63 / 751 ,949, filed on January 31 , 2025, which is hereby incorporated herein in its entirety.FIELD
[0002] The present disclosure relates to systems and methods for cooling electronic devices.SUMMARY
[0003] This Summary is provided to introduce a selection of concepts that are further described below in the Detailed Description. This Summary is not intended to identify key or essential features of the claimed subject matter, nor is it intended to be used as an aid in limiting the scope of the claimed subject matter.
[0004] According to one example of the present disclosure, a cooling system is configured for an electronic component. The cooling system includes at least one heat spreader plate located adjacent the electronic component. The cooling system also includes a plurality of heatsink fins located adjacent the at least one heat spreader plate. The at least one heat spreader plate at least partially surrounds the plurality of heatsink fins and is configured to transport heat away from the electronic component to the plurality of heatsink fins.
[0005] According to some independent embodiments, the plurality of heatsink fins may include a first plurality of heatsink fins and a second plurality of heatsink fins. The at least one heat spreader plate may comprise first and second heat spreader plates. The first heat spreader plate may at least partially surround the first plurality of heatsink fins and the second heat spreader plate may at least partially surround the second plurality of heatsink fins. The second plurality of heatsink fins and the second heat spreader plate may be stacked on top of or adjacent to the first plurality of heatsink fins and the first heat spreader plate.
[0006] According to some independent embodiments, the at least one heat spreader plate may include a third heat spreader plate. The third heat spreader plate may be located adjacent both of the first and second heat spreader plates.
[0007] According to some independent embodiments, the third heat spreader plate may at least partially surround all of the first and second heat spreader plates and the first and second pluralities of heatsink fins.
[0008] According to some independent embodiments, the at least one heat spreader plate may be a two-phase passive flow heat transfer device. In such an embodiment, the two-phase passive flow heat transfer device may comprise a conductive enclosure and a working fluid and a passive two-phase fluid pumping architecture located within the conductive enclosure. In some embodiments, the passive two-phase fluid pumping architecture may be a wick. In some embodiments, the two-phase passive flow heat transfer device may be a vapor chamber or “3D vapor chamber”.
[0009] According to some independent embodiments, the at least one heat spreader plate may surround the plurality of heatsink fins on at least two sides of the plurality of heatsink fins.
[0010] According to some independent embodiments, the at least one heat spreader plate may surround the plurality of heatsink fins on at least three sides of the plurality of heatsink fins.
[0011] According to some independent embodiments, the at least one heat spreader plate may surround the plurality of heatsink fins on all four sides of the plurality of heatsink fins.
[0012] According to some independent embodiments, the at least one heat spreader plate is thermally connected to the electronic component by way of a thermal interface material.
[0013] According to some independent embodiments, a vapor chamber is thermally connected between the electronic component and at least one heat spreader plate.
[0014] According to some independent embodiments, the plurality of heatsink fins are thermally connected with the at least one heat spreader plate.BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0015] The present disclosure is described with reference to the following Figures. The same numbers are used throughout the Figures to reference like features and like components.
[0016] FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an embodiment of a cooling system according to the present disclosure.
[0017] FIG. 2 is another perspective view of the cooling system of FIG. 1.
[0018] FIG. 3 is an exploded perspective view of the cooling system of FIG. 2.
[0019] FIG. 4 is a front elevation view of the cooling system of FIG. 3.
[0020] FIG. 5 is a view of section 5-5, taken in FIG. 1.
[0021] FIG. 6 is a schematic section view of an exemplary flat vapor chamber.
[0022] FIG. 7 is a schematic section view of a heat spreader plate of the cooling system of FIG. 4 configured as a vapor chamber.
[0023] FIG. 8 is a perspective view of another embodiment of a cooling system that includes a plurality of stacked cooling devices.
[0024] FIG. 9 is another perspective view of the cooling system of FIG. 8.
[0025] FIG.10 is an exploded perspective view of the cooling system of FIG. 9.
[0026] FIG. 11 is a front elevation view of the cooling system of FIG. 10.
[0027] FIG. 12 is a view of section 12-12, taken in FIG. 8.
[0028] FIGS. 13-29 schematically illustrate various embodiments of a cooling system according to the present disclosure.
[0029] FIG. 30 illustrates one example of the cooling system situated above an electronic component to be cooled, the lid acting as a heat and area spreader for the heat source.
[0030] FIG. 31 illustrates one example of the cooling system situated directly above an electronic component to be cooled.
[0031] FIG. 32 shows a plan view of an impingement cooling device of the cooling system with converging and diverging fins.
[0032] FIG. 33 is a perspective view of the inlet end of the impingement cooling device of FIG. 32.
[0033] FIG. 34 is a perspective view of an outlet end of the impingement cooling device of FIG. 32.
[0034] FIG. 35 shows a perspective view of the impingement cooling device of FIG. 32 with a cover plate intact.
[0035] FIG. 36 is a plan view of the impingement cooling device of FIG. 32 with some of the fins removed.
[0036] FIG. 37 is a perspective view of the impingement cooling device of FIG. 32 with more of the fins removed.DETAILED DESCRIPTION
[0037] Before any embodiments of the invention are explained in detail, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited in its application to the details of construction and the arrangement of components set forth in the following description or illustrated in the following drawings. The invention is capable of other embodiments and of being practiced or of being carried out in various ways. Also, it is to be understood that the phraseology and terminology used herein is for the purpose of description and should not be regarded as limiting. The use of “including,” “comprising,” or “having” and variations thereof herein is meant to encompass the items listed thereafter and equivalents thereof as well as additional items.
[0038] Unless otherwise specified or limited, the phrases “at least one of A, B, and C,” “one or more of A, B, and C,” and the like, are meant to indicate A, or B, or C, or any combinationof A, B, and / or C, including combinations with multiple instances of A, B, and / or C. Likewise, unless otherwise specified or limited, the terms “mounted,” “connected,” “linked,” “supported,” and “coupled” and variations thereof are used broadly and encompass both direct and indirect mountings, connections, supports, and couplings. Further, unless otherwise specified or limited, “connected” and “coupled” are not restricted to physical or mechanical connections or couplings.
[0039] As used herein, unless otherwise limited or defined, discussion of particular directions is provided by example only, with regard to particular embodiments or relevant illustrations. For example, discussion of “top,” “bottom,” “front,” “back,” “left,” “right,” “lateral” or “longitudinal” features is generally intended as a description only of the orientation of such features relative to a reference frame of a particular example or illustration. Correspondingly, for example, a “top” feature may sometimes be disposed below a “bottom” feature (and so on), in some arrangements or embodiments. Additionally, use of the words “first,” “second”, “third,” etc. is not intended to connote priority or importance, but merely to distinguish one of several similar elements from another.
[0040] FIGS. 1 and 2 illustrate an embodiment of a novel cooling system 100 configured for cooling an electronic device or component(s), such as for example a central processing unit (CPU), graphics processing unit (GPU), application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC), field-programmable gate array (FPGA), laser diode, inverter, etc. (not shown here, but see generic printed circuit board “PCB” holding integrated circuit “IC” in FIGS. 30 and 31). The cooling system 100 may include a mounting assembly 104 configured to support the cooling system 100 on or adjacent to the electronic component to be cooled, at least one heat spreader plate 102 located adjacent the electronic component, and a plurality of heatsink fins 116 located adjacent the at least one heat spreader plate 102. The at least one heat spreader plate 102 at least partially surrounds the plurality of heatsink fins 116 and is configured to transport heat away from the electronic component to the plurality of heatsink fins 116. In the illustrated embodiments, the plurality of heatsink fins 116 are part of an impingement cooling device 110 that is partially surrounded by the heat spreader plate 102. Some embodiments, however, may be differently configured and may use conventional or topology optimized fins.
[0041] Referring to FIGS. 2 and 3, the mounting assembly 104 is configured to support the cooling system 100 and to transfer heat from the electronic component to be cooled to the plurality of heatsink fins 116. In the illustrated embodiments, the mounting assembly 104 includes a heat spreader 106, here in the form of a vapor chamber, and a stiffener plate 108 on which the heat spreader 106 is stacked. The stiffener plate 108 may be made of steel or another material that is stiffer than the material (e.g., copper, aluminum or another high thermal conductivitymaterial) of the heat spreader 106 in order to prevent the heat spreader 106 from bending or warping. A top side of the heat spreader 106 includes a mounting surface 136 on which the heat spreader plate 102 is configured to be thermally connected via solder, or a TIM (thermal interface material), which may in some embodiments be one fluidically connected body (e.g. a singular heat spreader plate). A central body 132 of the heat spreader 106 may extend downwardly from the mounting surface 136 and is received in a corresponding opening 134 in the stiffener plate 108, thereby locating the central body 132 closer to the heat source, or in some examples in direct contact with the heat source via a thermal interface material (TIM). In some embodiments, the heat spreader central body 132 may define an internal cavity (not shown) in which a fluid may be provided in order to efficiently transfer thermal energy from the electronic component to the heat spreader plate 102. For example, as illustrated in FIG. 2, when the heat spreader 106 is in the form of a vapor chamber, a fill port 130 for filling the central body 132 of the vapor chamber may be provided. More specifically, a small amount of a fluid such as water, ammonia, or methanol is provided via the fill port 130, a vacuum is drawn so as to remove air from the internal cavity and control the boiling point, and the fill port 130 is then sealed. As noted, in some embodiments, the central body 132 may be configured as a vapor chamber, which may be useful in order to transfer heat from the electronic component to the heat spreader plate 102 and impingement cooling device 110, conventional heatsink fins or topology-optimized fins. Some embodiments, however, may be differently configured. For example, in some embodiments, the central body 132 may be solid, the central body 132 may have an inlet and an outlet for passage of a coolant through the central body 132, and / or a cooling system 100 may be configured with a differently configured heat spreader 106.
[0042] As previously mentioned, the cooling system 100 includes an impingement cooling device 110 with a plurality of heatsink fins 116 configured to transfer heat away from the electronic device. Referring to FIGS. 3-5, the impingement cooling device 110 may include abase plate 112, a cover plate 114, and a plurality of heatsink fins 116 supported between the base plate 112 and the cover plate 114. In the illustrated embodiments, the heatsink fins 116 are grouped into subsets of parallel, or near parallel, heatsink fins 116 that are angled with respect to at least one other subset of heatsink fins 116 such that each subset of heatsink fins 116 converges or diverges from the adjacent subsets of heatsink fins 116 to form a plurality of channels. The heatsink fins 116 are received in slots 113 formed in the base plate 112 and openings 115 formed in the cover plate 114, thereby holding the subsets of heatsink fins 116 in their converging of diverging orientations. Openings 117 are formed through each of the heatsink fins 116 and are configured to allow air to pass through each subset of heatsink fins 116. Although only one or two columns of openings117 are shown in each heatsink fin 116, it should be understood that openings 117 could be provided over a majority of the surface area of each heatsink fin 116, as shown in FIG. 33 herein and as described in International Application No. PCT / US24 / 20903, published as WO 2024 / 197143 A2, which is hereby incorporated by reference herein. This may be useful, for example, so air (or another fluid) may flow into the impingement cooling device 110 via a converging inlet channel 119 (formed by converging subsets of heatsink fins 116), through the openings 117 in the converging heatsink fins 116, and out from the impingement cooling device 110 via a diverging outlet channel 121 (formed by diverging subsets of heatsink fins 116). See FIG. 5. Some embodiments, however, may be differently configured. For example, in some embodiments, the plurality of heatsink fins 116 may be part of a differently configured impingement cooling device, and / or part of a different type of cooling device. Additionally or alternatively, at least one of the heatsink fins 116 may be configured as a vapor chamber and / or another two-phase heat transfer device, which may optionally be fluidically connected with the heat spreader.
[0043] Referring to FIGS. 32-37, a more detailed explanation of an embodiment of an impingement cooling device will be provided. The impingement cooling device 3300 has first and second distributor plates 3310a, 3310b (corresponding to a subset of heatsink fins 116 of FIGS.1-5) with injection ports (a subset of openings 117 of FIGS. 1-5) that accelerate cooling fluid onto respective first and second target impingement plates 3312a, 3312b (corresponding to a different subset of heatsink fins 116), each of which comprises extraction ports (a different subset of openings 117) that lead to a common outlet channel 3328. A third distributor plate 3310c is coupled to and projects perpendicularly with respect to a base plate 3302 (akin to base plate 112 of FIG. 3). The third distributor plate 3310c includes an upstream side 3342, a downstream side 3344 opposite the upstream side 3342, and a plurality of injection ports extending through the third distributor plate 3310c from the upstream side 3342 to the downstream side 3344 and configured to accelerate the cooling fluid as the cooling fluid passes therethrough from the upstream 3342 side to the downstream side 3344 of the third distributor plate 3310c. A third impingement target plate 3312c is coupled to and projects perpendicularly with respect to the base plate 3302. The third impingement target plate 3312c includes an upstream side 3331, a downstream side 3332 opposite the upstream side 3331 , and a plurality of extraction ports extending through the third impingement target plate 3312c from the upstream side 3331 to the downstream side 3332. The third impingement target plate 3312c is arranged adjacent the third distributor plate 3310c such that the accelerated cooling fluid is directed onto the upstream side 3331 of the third impingement target plate 3312c and thereafter through the extraction ports tothe downstream side 3332 of the third impingement target plate 3312c. The second and third distributor plates 3310b, 3310c are arranged laterally beside one another with the upstream side 3342 of the second distributor plate 331 Ob opposing the upstream side 3342 of the third distributor plate 3310c so as to form an inlet channel 3329 therebetween.
[0044] As shown in FIG. 32, the inlet channel 3329 is configured to receive cooling fluid via an inlet end 3398 of the impingement cooling device 3300. The outlet channel 3328 is configured to direct the cooling fluid to an outlet end 3399 of the impingement cooling device 3300. The inlet channel 3329 has a width that decreases from the inlet end 3398 toward the outlet end 3399 of the impingement cooling device 3300. The outlet channel 3328 has a width that increases from the inlet end 3398 toward the outlet end 3399 of the impingement cooling device 3300. In fact, a plurality of pairs of distributor plates 3310 and impingement target plates 3312 are provided connected to the base plate 3302, forming a plurality of inlet channels 3329 and outlet channels 3328 therebetween, each of which varies in width as described hereinabove. Thus, each inlet channel in the plurality of inlet channels 3329 has a width that decreases from the inlet end 3398 toward the outlet end 3399 of the impingement cooling device 3300. Each outlet channel in the plurality of outlet channels 3328 has a width that increases from the inlet end 3398 toward the outlet end 3399 of the impingement cooling device 3300. Having the inlet channels 3329 be wider at the inlet end 3398 of the impingement cooling device 3300 prevents maldistribution of fluid in the impingement cooling device 3300 and reduces pressure drop, thereby improving cooling efficiency.
[0045] The plurality of inlet channels 3329 are configured to receive cooling fluid via the inlet end 3398 of the impingement cooling device 3300, and the plurality of outlet channels 3328 are configured to direct the cooling fluid to the outlet end 3399 of the impingement cooling device 3300. To that end, as shown in FIG. 32, the impingement cooling device 3300 may further comprise an inlet manifold 3364 coupled each inlet channel in the plurality of inlet channels 3329 and an outlet manifold 3366 coupled to each outlet channel in the plurality of outlet channels 3328. The inlet manifold 3364 is configured to provide cooling fluid from a cooling fluid source to the plurality of inlet channels 3329. The outlet manifold 3366 is configured to provide the cooling fluid from the plurality of outlet channels 3328 to an exhaust area. As shown in FIG. 35, the impingement cooling device 3300 may include a cover plate 3368 (similar to cover plate 114 in FIG. 3) placed over the distributor and target impingement plates. FIGS. 32 and 33 therefore are cross-sectional views taken just below the cover plate 3368 so that the inlet and outlet channels 3329, 3328 can be seen. An end cap 3370 closes off the near ends of the outlet channels 3328, while leaving the entrances to the inlet channels 3329 open to the inlet manifold, which would sitimmediately in front of and would be flu idically connected to the inlet end 3398 of the device. FIG.35 also shows how the cover plate 3368 and end cap 3370 can be one piece (i.e., a manifold 3367), and can include a clip 3372, which is configured to attach the manifold 3367 to a barshaped portion 3374 of a support plate 3375 (akin to mounting assembly 104 of FIGS. 1-5) to be placed over the object to be cooled. FIG. 34 meanwhile shows the outlet end 3399 of the device, where an end cap 3376 can be provided over ends of the inlet channels 3329 to prevent fluid from leaving the device without going through the outlet channels 3328. The inlet manifold 3364 and / or outlet manifold 3366 are optional, and in other examples cooling fluid enters the inlet end 3398 of the device from the surrounding atmosphere and / or exits the outlet end 3399 of the device to the surrounding atmosphere.
[0046] Turning to FIGS. 36 and 37, a part of the impingement cooling device 3300 is shown without the portions that make up the distributor plates 3310. This allows the baseplate 3302 to be seen more clearly. Further, it allows alignment pins 3382 to be seen. The alignment pins 3382 are situated within recesses 3383 formed in the top surface of the base plate 3302. Longitudinal grooves 3384 are also formed in the baseplate 3302. Lower ends of the impingement target plates 3312 are slotted into the grooves 3384, which lower ends are provided with female cutouts that receive the alignment pins 3382 therein so as to locate the impingement target plates 3312 in the longitudinal direction L. In some examples, soft solder paste within the grooves 3384 can be used to bond the impingement target plates 3312 to the base plate 3302. After the impingement target plates 3312 are correctly located on and attached to the base plate 3302, the distributor plates 3310 maybe added to the device. In the present example, the distributor plates 3310 are integrally formed with the cover plate 3368 and end caps 3370 and 3376, and thus a single manifold 3367 (FIG. 35) including all these components may be placed over the base plate 3302 and impingement target plates 3312.
[0047] In another example, the assembly of FIG. 36 can be used without the distributor plates 3310. In some cases, the distributor plates are not required for adequate cooling, and instead heat is transferred as it passes through the extraction ports of the impingement target plates 3312 (which in this case function as distributor plates as well). This solution provides a very low pressure drop across the device, while still removing heat from the object to be cooled. Thus, the present disclosure contemplates an impingement cooling device 3300 comprising a first plate 3312a including an upstream side 3331, a downstream side 3332 opposite the upstream side 3331 , and a first plurality of ports extending through the first plate 3312a from the upstream side 3331 to the downstream side 3332 and configured to accelerate a cooling fluid as the cooling fluid passes therethrough from the upstream side 3331 to the downstream side 3332 of the first plate3312a. A second plate 3312b includes an upstream side 3331 , a downstream side 3332 opposite the upstream side 3331 , and a second plurality of ports extending through the second plate 3312b from the upstream side 3331 to the downstream side 3332 and configured to accelerate the cooling fluid as the cooling fluid passes therethrough from the upstream side 3331 to the downstream side 3332 of the second plate 3312b. The first plate 3312a is arranged adjacent the second plate 3312b such that the accelerated cooling fluid from the first plurality of ports is directed onto the downstream side 3332 of the second plate 3312b and such that accelerated cooling fluid from the second plurality of ports is directed onto the downstream side 3332 of the first plate 3312a. The first plate 3312a is non-parallel with the second plate 3312b, thereby forming a diverging outlet channel 3328'. Plate 3312b and adjacent non-parallel plate 3312c form a converging inlet channel 3329'. The converging inlet channel 3329’ and diverging outlet channel 3328' have the benefits of channels 3329, 3328 described hereinabove.
[0048] Referring back to FIGS. 1-4, as previously mentioned, a heat spreader plate 102 at least partially surrounds the plurality of heatsink fins 116. In the embodiments of FIGS. 1 -4, the heat spreader plate 102 has a generally C-shaped profile that extends around three sides of the impingement cooling device 110. A lower panel 122 of the heat spreader plate 102 is configured to be stacked on the mounting surface 136 of the heat spreader 106, and the base plate 112 of the impingement cooling device 110 is supported on a top surface of the lower panel 122. A vertical panel 124 of the heat spreader plate 102 extends upwardly from the lower panel 122 to an upper panel 120 that is generally parallel to the lower panel 122. The upper panel 120 of the heat spreader plate 102 abuts the top surface of the cover plate 114 of the impingement cooling device 110, thereby sandwiching the impingement cooling device 110 and the plurality of heatsink fins 116 between the upper and lower panels 120, 122 of the heat spreader plate 102. In some embodiments, the heat spreader plate 102 may be coupled to the impingement cooling device 110. For example, the base plate 112, the cover plate 114, and / or at least one of the heatsink fins 116 may be connected to a portion of the heat spreader plate 102 via solder, a braised connection, diffusion bonding, thermal epoxy, friction welds, and / or another thermally conductive material of joining process. Additionally, in some embodiments, the base plate 112 and cover plate 114 may be stamped, machined, etched, braised, diffusion bonded or otherwise manufactured into the heat spreader plate 102. Some embodiments, however, may be differently configured.
[0049] In some embodiments, the heat spreader plate 102 of the cooling system 100 may be configured as a two-phase passive flow heat transfer device. For example, embodiments of a heat spreader plate 102 may be configured as a vapor chamber that may be constructed with agenerally C-shaped profile or bent into the desired shape. FIG. 6 schematically illustrates an exemplary embodiment of a generally planar vapor chamber 70 that extends laterally between a first end 71 and a second end 73. The vapor chamber 70 comprises a conductive enclosure 75 that defines an interior chamber 76 between a first surface 72 and an opposing second surface 74 of the enclosure 75. The conductive enclosure 75 may be formed, 3D printed, machined, stamped and diffusion bonded, stamped and braised, or otherwise manufactured from copper, aluminum, and / or another thermally conductive material. In some embodiments, at least one support member 86 may extend between the opposing first and second surfaces 72, 74. The interior chamber 76 of the vapor chamber 70 contains a working fluid (e.g., water, ammonia, methanol, etc.) that is induced to passively flow throughout the interior chamber 76 as it changes between fluid and gas states in order to distribute heat across the vapor chamber 70. At least one wick 82, 84 is disposed within the interior chamber 76 and is configured to assist in transporting working fluid in a liquid state throughout the interior chamber 76. In the illustrated embodiment, the vapor chamber 70 includes a first wick 82 disposed along the first surface 72 and a second wick 84 disposed along the second surface 74. Some embodiments, however, may be differently configured.
[0050] In general, the two-phase passive flow heat transfer device may comprise a conductive enclosure and a working fluid and a passive two-phase fluid pumping architecture located within the conductive enclosure, the latter of which may comprise a wick or may be wickless. For example, the two-phase passive flow heat transfer device may be arranged as a heat pipe or a series of heat pipes, a 3D vapor chamber, an oscillating (or pulsating) heat pipe, or a heat pipe thermosiphon. In some embodiments, such as vapor chambers, 3D vapor chambers (which combine flat vapor chambers with vertical heat pipes), and heat pipes, the passive two-phase fluid pumping architecture is a wick. The wick (capillary) structure may comprise, without limitation, a sintered porous wick, a screen / mesh wick, a grooved or microchannel wick (including re-entrant grooves), a fibrous / felt wick, a foam or porous-network wick, an arterial wick, a composite / multilayer / graded-porosity wick, a micropillar / microstructure array wick, an additively manufactured lattice wick, and / or a nano-structured wick. In other embodiments, the two-phase passive flow heat transfer device is wickless, and the passive two-phase fluid pumping architecture is an oscillating / meandering capillary tube (as with oscillating or pulsating heat pipes) or is configured as a wickless vertical heat pipe in which convection and density differences result in fluid circulation within the vertical heat pipe (i.e., a heat pipe thermosiphon).
[0051] As previously mentioned, the heat spreader plate 102 of the cooling system 100 of FIGS. 1-5 may be a vapor chamber that has been formed or 3D printed into a desired shape that surrounds at least two sides of the plurality of heatsink fins 116 of the impingement cooling device 110, conventional fins, or topology optimized fins. For example, the generally flat vapor chamber 70 of FIG. 6 may be bent into a generally C-shaped heat spreader plate 102 that is configured to extend around the bottom, a lateral side, and the top of the impingement cooling device 110. As illustrated in FIG. 7, the resulting heat spreader plate 102 has an internal chamber 76 that extends through the entire C-shaped profile of the heat spreader plate 102. This may be useful, for example, to efficiently transport heat both horizontally through the upper and lower panels 120, 122 of the heat spreader plate 102 and vertically through the vertical panel 124 of the heat spreader plate 102. Thus, heat from the electronic device to be cooled may be distributed through the cooling system 100 by the heat spreader plate 102.
[0052] In the embodiments of FIGS. 1-5, the cooling system 100 includes a single impingement cooling device 110 having a plurality of heatsink fins 116 and one heat spreader plate 102 that partially surrounds the heatsink fins 116. Some embodiments, however, may be differently configured. For example, FIGS. 8 and 9 illustrate an embodiment of a cooling system 200 that includes a plurality of impingement cooling units 210a-210f that are stacked upon each other, and each impingement cooling unit 210a-210f includes a unit heat spreader plate 202a-202f that at least partially surrounds the plurality of heatsink fins of said impingement cooling unit 210a-210f. In the embodiments of FIGS. 8-12, each of the impingement cooling units 210a-210f is generally similar or the same as the impingement cooling device 110 of FIGS. 1-5 and is therefore not described in detail again.
[0053] Referring to FIGS. 8-11, the illustrated cooling system 200 includes six impingement cooling units 210a-210f that are stacked upon each other and an exterior heat spreader plate 251 that at least partially surrounds the stack of the six impingement cooling units 210a-210f. The exterior heat spreader plate 251 and the impingement cooling units 210a-210f are supported on a mounting assembly 204, which supports the cooling system 200 on or adjacent to the electronic component to be cooled. Similarly to the mounting assembly 104 of FIGS. 1-5, the mounting assembly 204 of FIGS. 8-11 includes a heat spreader 206, which may be in the form of a vapor chamber, and a mounting member 208 on which the heat spreader 206 is stacked. Each of the impingement cooling units 210a-210f may be coupled to an adjacent impingement cooling unit 210a-210f, the exterior heat spreader plate 251, and / or the mounting assembly 204 via solder, a braised connection, diffusion bonding, thermal epoxy, friction welds, and / or anotherthermally conductive material of joining process. Some embodiments, however, maybe differently configured.
[0054] The impingement cooling units 210a-210f are stacked so that the unit heat spreader plate 202a-202f of each impingement cooling unit 210a-210f abuts the unit heat spreader plates 202a-202f of any adjacent impingement cooling units 210a-210f. For example, the upper panel 220a of the first unit heat spreader plate 202a abuts the lower panel 222b of the second unit heat spreader plate 202b, the upper panel 220b of the second unit heat spreader plate 202b abuts the lower panel 222c of the third unit heat spreader plate 202c, and so on. Additionally, each of the unit heat spreader plates 202a-202f includes at least a portion that abuts the exterior heat spreader plate 251. For example, the lower panel 222a of the first unit heat spreader plate 202a is supported on and thermally connected to the top surface of the lower panel 252 of the exterior heat spreader plate 251 , the upper panel 220f of the sixth unit heat spreader plate 202f abuts the bottom surface of the upper panel 250 of the exterior heat spreader plate 251 , and the vertical panels 224a-224f of each of the unit heat spreader plates 202a-202f abut the vertical panel 254 of the exterior heat spreader plate 251. Thus, the plurality of heatsink fins in each of the impingement cooling units 210a-210f is at least partially surrounded by the corresponding unit heat spreader plate 202a-202f and the exterior heat spreader plate 251.
[0055] In some embodiments, at least one of the unit heat spreader plates 202a-202f and / or the exterior heat spreader plate 251 may be configured as a vapor chamber or another two-phase passive flow heat transfer device. For example, as illustrated in FIG. 12, each of the unit heat spreader plates 202a-202f and the exterior heat spreader plate 251 are configured as vapor chambers with conductive enclosures 75 that define interior chambers 76 that contain a working fluid (e.g., water, ammonia, methanol, etc.) and at least one wick 82, 84, for transporting the liquid portion of the working fluid through the interior chambers 76. In other embodiments, each or any of the unit heat spreader plates 202a-202f and / or the exterior heat spreader plate 251 could be any of the two-phase passive flow heat transfer devices described hereinabove (e.g., oscillating / pulsating heat pipes, 3D vapor chambers, heat pipe thermosiphons, etc.) In some embodiments, different types of two-phase passive flow heat transfer devices are used for different unit heat spreader plates 202a-202f. For example, some of the unit heat spreader plates 202a-202f can be vapor chambers, while others of the unit heat spreader plates 202a-202f can be oscillating / pulsating heat pipes. Similarly, the exterior heat spreader plate 251 could be the same type of two-phase passive flow heat transfer device as the unit heat spreader plates, or it could be a different type.
[0056] As heat is transferred through the cooling system 200, the heat is distributed to each of the impingement cooling units 210a-210f by the exterior heat spreader plate 251. In particular, as the lower panel 252 of the exterior heat spreader plate 251 is heated, a portion of the working fluid within the exterior heat spreader plate 251 is evaporated and forced to flow throughout the interior chamber 76 thereof, for example via the pressure gradient. A portion of the vapor then condenses into a liquid at or near the wall, and then is forced to flow throughout the interior chamber 76 thereof via, for example, capillary action. (It should be understood that in wickless two-phase passive flow heat transfer devices, fluid flow could be gravity driven or pressure gradient driven.) Advantageously, use of a vapor chamber as the exterior heat spreader plate 251 helps to efficiently transport and evenly distribute heat vertically through the vertical exterior panel 254 and horizontally through the upper and lower exterior panels 250, 252. Heat transported by the exterior heat spreader plate 251 is then transferred to each of the impingement cooling units 21 Oa-21 Of via the corresponding unit heat spreader plate 202a-202f. Like the exterior heat spreader plate 251, use of vapor chambers for the unit heat spreader plates 202a-202f efficiently transports and evenly distributes heat vertically and horizontally around the plurality of heatsink fins in each of the impingement cooling units 21 Oa-21 Of. This may be useful, for example, so that heat is transferred into the heatsink fins from both above and below to increase the cooling efficiency of the cooling system and increase the effectiveness of the heatsink per given mass flow rate. In some embodiments, heat may be transferred to the impingement cooling units 21 Oa-21 Of via the unit heat spreader plates 202a-202f of adjacent impingement cooling units 21 Oa-21 Of. Heat that is transferred to the impingement cooling units 210a-21 Of is then removed from the cooling system 200 by flow of air or another fluid through the inlet channels (on the far side 201 of the system 200 shown in FIGS. 8-11) formed by the heatsink fins 216, through the openings 217 formed in the heatsink fins 216, and then through the outlet channels 221 formed by the heatsink fins 216, as described above with respect to FIG. 5.
[0057] Thus, the cooling system 200 of FIGS. 8-11 allows for the efficient transport of heat away from an electronic device and into different groups of heatsink fins via nested heat spreader plates 202a-202f and 251 configured as vapor chambers. Advantageously, the heat spreader plates 202a-202f and 251 , which are each bent to have vertical and horizontal panels, can efficiently transport thermal energy in the vertical direction to each of the vertically stacked impingement cooling units 21 Oa-21 Of and in the horizontal direction to each of the laterally spaced heatsink fins, thereby increasing fin efficiency by improved heat spreading.
[0058] In the illustrated embodiments, the interior chambers 76 in the unit heat spreader plates 202a-202f and the exterior heat spreader plate 251 are fluidically isolated from each otherso that the working fluid only flows within the corresponding heat spreader plate 202a-202f or 251 . Some embodiments, however, may be differently configured. For example, a cooling system 200 may be configured with at least two adjacent impingement cooling units 210a-21 Of that have fluidically connected interior chambers 76. Referring to FIG. 12, the interior chamber 76 formed throughout the sixth unit heat spreader plate 202f may be fluidically connected to the interior chamber 76 formed throughout the adjacent fifth unit heat spreader plate 202e. Other embodiments may be configured with different combinations of fluidically connected and fluidically disconnected vapor chambers. In some embodiments, the interior chamber 76 of at least one of the unit heat spreader plates 202a-202f may be fluidically connected to the interior chamber 76 extending through the exterior heat spreader plate 251. In other embodiments, the heat spreader 206 in the form of a vapor chamber may be fluidically connected with the heat spreader plate 251 and fluidically connected with any combination of unit heat spreader plates 202a-202f.
[0059] In the embodiment of FIGS. 8-11 , the cooling system 200 includes six impingement cooling units 210a-21 Of that are stacked on each other, each including a generally C-shaped unit heat spreader plate 202a-202f, and a generally C-shaped exterior heat spreader plate 251 that at least partially surrounds the six impingement cooling units 210a-210f. However, some embodiments may be differently configured. For example, a cooling system 200 may be configured with fewer than six stacked impingement cooling units 210 or more than six impingement cooling units 210. Additionally or alternatively, at least one of the impingement cooling units 210, the unit heat spreader plates 202a-f, and / or the exterior heat spreader plate 251 may be differently shaped, sized, oriented, or otherwise configured differently than those of the illustrated embodiments. For example, there may be two exterior heat spreader plates, each having a generally C-shaped profile, on opposite sides of the stacked impingement cooling units 21 Oa-21 Of, which exterior heat spreader plates may partially surround the stacked impingement cooling units 210a-21 Of to the same or different extents. Moreover, FIGS. 13-29 illustrate various further exemplary configurations for arranging cooling units and heat spreader plates in a cooling system.
[0060] FIG. 13 schematically illustrates an embodiment of a cooling system 300 that includes a plurality of cooling units 304 (e.g., impingement cooling units similar to impingement cooling device 110 described with respect to FIGS. 1 -5 and / or another cooling device including a plurality of heatsink fins) that are stacked and enclosed within a generally rectangular exterior heat spreader plate 302. In this embodiment, each cooling unit 304 includes a unit heat spreader plate 306 that surrounds the plurality of heatsink fins on four sides thereof. Each unit heat spreader plate 306 is similarly surrounded on four sides by the exterior heat spreader plate 302.The heat spreader plates 302, 306 may be vapor chambers constructed similarly to the heat spreader plates 202a-f, 251 described above or any of the other two-phase passive flow heat transfer devices discussed herein.
[0061] FIG. 14 schematically illustrates an embodiment of a cooling system 310 that includes a plurality of cooling units 314 (e.g., impingement cooling units similar to impingement cooling device 110 described with respect to FIGS. 1 -5 and / or another cooling device including a plurality of heatsink fins) that are stacked on each other and partially surrounded by an exterior heat spreader plate 312. In the embodiment of FIG. 14 (and similarly to the cooling system 200 of FIGS. 8-11), each of the cooling units 314 is surrounded on three sides by a generally C-shaped unit heat spreader plate 316, and the stack of cooling units 314 are surrounded on three sides by a generally C-shaped exterior heat spreader plate 312. Both the exterior heat spreader plate 312 and the unit heat spreader plates 316 are open on one lateral side, thereby providing access to the cooling units 314, to improve the ability to assemble the cooling system 310 and increase manufacturability. The heat spreader plates 312, 316 may be vapor chambers constructed similarly to the heat spreader plates 202a-f, 251 described above or any of the other two-phase passive flow heat transfer devices discussed herein. In an alternative embodiment, a system includes the cooling units 314 and C-shaped unit heat spreader plates 316 of FIG. 14, but the exterior heat spreader plate is a vertical plate with no top or bottom panels.
[0062] FIG. 15 schematically illustrates an embodiment of a cooling system 320 that includes a plurality of stacked cooling units 324 (e.g., impingement cooling units similar to impingement cooling device 110 described with respect to FIGS. 1 -5, impingement cooling device 3300 described with respect to FIGS. 32-37, and / or another cooling device including a plurality of heatsink fins) that are each surrounded by a generally rectangular unit heat spreader plate 326. In the embodiment of FIG. 15, the stack of cooling units 324 is surrounded on three sides by an exterior heat spreader plate 322 that is differently shaped than the unit heat spreader plates 326. In particular, the illustrated exterior heat spreader plate 322 is generally C-shaped and opens downwardly such that the top and lateral sides of the stack of cooling units 324 are surrounded by the exterior heat spreader plate 322. The heat spreader plates 322, 326 may be vapor chambers constructed similarly to the heat spreader plates 202a-f, 251 described above or any of the other two-phase passive flow heat transfer devices discussed herein.
[0063] FIG. 16 schematically illustrates an embodiment of a cooling system 330 that includes a plurality of stacked cooling units 334 (e.g., impingement cooling units similar to impingement cooling device 110 described with respect to FIGS. 1 -5, impingement cooling device 3300 described with respect to FIGS. 32-37, and / or another cooling device including a plurality ofheatsink fins) partially surrounded by a generally L-shaped unit heat spreader plate 336. In particular, each cooling unit 334 includes a unit heat spreader plate 336 that extends across at least a portion of the top surface and a lateral side of the heatsink fins of said cooling unit 334. In this embodiment, the exterior heat spreader plate 332 is also generally L-shaped and at least partially surrounds the stack of cooling units 334 on two sides thereof, thereby providing a manufacturable, low-cost design with limited waste material. The heat spreader plates 332, 336 may be vapor chambers constructed similarly to the heat spreader plates 202a-f, 251 described above or any of the other two-phase passive flow heat transfer devices discussed herein.
[0064] Some embodiments of a cooling system may be configured with multiple exterior heat spreader plates that at least partially surround the stack of cooling units. For example, referring to FIG. 17, an embodiment of a cooling system 340 may be configured with a plurality of individual cooling units 344, each of which includes a unit heat spreader plate 346, that are stacked and at least partially surrounded on three sides by two exterior heat spreader plates 342, 343. In FIG. 17, the exterior heat spreader plates 342, 343 are generally L-shaped and each extend around two sides of the stack of cooling units 344. A first exterior heat spreader plate 342 extends around the bottom side and a first lateral side of the stack of cooling units 344 and a second exterior heat spreader plate 343 extends around the bottom side and an opposite second lateral side of the stack of cooling units 344, thereby improving heat spreading to the first lateral side and second lateral side and improving its manufacturability. The cooling units 344 may be impingement cooling units similar to impingement cooling device 110 described with respect to FIGS. 1-5, impingement cooling device 3300 described with respect to FIGS. 32-37, and / or another cooling device including a plurality of heatsink fins. The heat spreader plates 342, 343, 346 may be vapor chambers constructed similarly to the heat spreader plates 202a-f, 251 described above or any of the other two-phase passive flow heat transfer devices discussed herein.
[0065] FIG. 18 schematically illustrates an embodiment of a cooling system 350 that includes a plurality of stacked cooling units 354, each of which includes a unit heat spreader plate 356, and two exterior heat spreader plates 352, 353. In the embodiment of FIG. 18, each of the unit heat spreader plates 356 is generally rectangular and surrounds the respective cooling unit 354 on four sides, while each exterior heat spreader plate 352, 353 extends along one lateral side of the stack of cooling units 354, thereby reducing the conduction resistance between the heat source (typically located below the cooling system 350) and the unit heat spreader plate 356 in closest contact therewith. The cooling units 354 may be impingement cooling units similar to impingement cooling device 110 described with respect to FIGS. 1 -5, impingement cooling device3300 described with respect to FIGS. 32-37, and / or another cooling device including a plurality of heatsink fins. The heat spreader plates 352, 353, 356 may be vapor chambers constructed similarly to the heat spreader plates 202a-f, 251 described above or any of the other two-phase passive flow heat transfer devices discussed herein.
[0066] In some embodiments, at least one unit heat spreader plate surrounding at least a portion of an individual cooling unit may be integrated with the exterior heat spreader plate. For example, FIG. 19 schematically illustrates an embodiment of a cooling system 360 including a plurality of stacked cooling units 364 that are supported on, and at least partially surrounded by, an exterior heat spreader plate 362. The exterior heat spreader plate 362 of FIG. 19 has a generally rectangular outer profile that extends around the stack of cooling units 364. Each cooling unit 364 in the cooling system 360 is supported on lateral heat spreader panel 368 that extends between opposing lateral sides of the rectangular exterior heat spreader plate 362. In embodiments in which the exterior heat spreader plate 362 is a vapor chamber, the lateral heat spreader panels 368 may be fluidically connected with the exterior heat spreader plate 362. The base 365 of the exterior heat spreader plate 362 is also extruded downwardly, so as to increase the fluid reservoir volume, thereby increasing the heat dissipation potential of the cooling system 360. While not shown, a stiffener plate 108 may be included in any of the embodiments in FIGS.13-22 to increase the structural integrity of the system and facilitate mounting. This may be manufactured by 3D printing, or may be diffusion bonded, braised, epoxied or otherwise sealed. The cooling units 364 may be impingement cooling units similar to impingement cooling device 110 described with respect to FIGS. 1 -5, impingement cooling device 3300 described with respect to FIGS. 32-37, and / or another cooling device including a plurality of heatsink fins. The heat spreader plate 362 and heat spreader panels 368 may be vapor chambers constructed similarly to the heat spreader plates 202a-f, 251 described above or any of the other two-phase passive flow heat transfer devices discussed herein.
[0067] FIG. 20 schematically illustrates an embodiment of a cooling system 370 with a plurality of stacked cooling units 374 that are surrounded by a generally rectangular exterior heat spreader plate 372. Similar to the embodiment of FIG. 19, each individual cooling unit 374 is supported on lateral heat spreader panel 378 that extends between opposing lateral sides of the rectangular exterior heat spreader plate 372. Unlike the embodiment of FIG. 19, however, the lateral heat spreader panels 378 of FIG. 20 are angled and slope downwardly from one lateral side of the exterior heat spreader plate 372 to the other. The downward slope of the lateral heat spreader panels 378 may be useful, for example, in order to promote the flow of vapor upwardly, or liquid working fluid downwardly within the vapor chamber(s), where they may be fluidicallyconnected. The cooling units 374 may be impingement cooling units similar to impingement cooling device 110 described with respect to FIGS. 1-5, impingement cooling device 3300 described with respect to FIGS. 32-37, and / or another cooling device including a plurality of heatsink fins. The exterior heat spreader plate 372 and heat spreader panels 378 may be vapor chambers constructed similarly to the heat spreader plates 202a-f, 251 described above or any of the other two-phase passive flow heat transfer devices discussed herein.
[0068] FIG. 21 illustrates an embodiment of a cooling system 380 with a plurality of stacked cooling units 384 that are surrounded by a generally rectangular exterior heat spreader plate 382. Similar to the embodiment of FIG. 20, each individual cooling unit 384 is supported on a sloped lateral heat spreader panel 388 that extends between opposing lateral sides of the rectangular exterior heat spreader plate 382. Unlike the embodiment of FIG. 19, however, the lateral heat spreader panels 388 of FIG. 21 are each generally V-shaped and slope downward from a highest central point towards the lateral sides of the exterior heat spreader plate 382. The downward slope of the lateral heat spreader panels 388 may be useful, for example, in order to promote the flow of liquid working fluid downwardly within the vapor chamber(s). The cooling units 384 may be impingement cooling units similar to impingement cooling units similar to impingement cooling device 110 described with respect to FIGS. 1 -5, impingement cooling device 3300 described with respect to FIGS. 32-37, and / or another cooling device including a plurality of heatsink fins. The exterior heat spreader plate 382 and heat spreader panels 388 may be vapor chambers constructed similarly to the heat spreader plates 202a-f, 251 described above, or any of the other two-phase passive flow heat transfer devices discussed herein, and may be fluidically connected to one another.
[0069] FIG. 22 illustrates an embodiment of a cooling system 390 with a plurality of horizontally arranged cooling units 394 that are separated by vertically oriented interior heat spreader plates 396, sets of which cooling units 394 and interior heat spreader plates 396 are stacked on top of one another in the vertical direction. Horizontal heat spreader plates 398 may be provided between each set / level of cooling units 394. The stacked sets of cooling units 394 and heat spreader plates 396, 398 are surrounded on all four sides by a generally rectangular exterior heat spreader plate 392. The cooling units 394 may be impingement cooling units similar to impingement cooling device 110 described with respect to FIGS. 1-5, impingement cooling device 3300 described with respect to FIGS. 32-37, and / or another cooling device including a plurality of heatsink fins. The heat spreader plates 392, 396, 398 may be vapor chambers constructed similarly to the heat spreader plates 202a-f, 251 described above, or any of the othertwo-phase passive flow heat transfer devices discussed herein, and may be fluidically connected to one another.
[0070] FIG. 23 schematically illustrates an embodiment of a cooling system 400 that includes a plurality of stacked cooling units 404a-n. The lowest two stacked cooling units 404a, 404b share a common unit heat spreader plate 406, which surrounds the stacked cooling units 404a and 404b on the bottom horizontal side of cooling unit 404a, on one vertical side of each of units 404a and 404b, and on the top horizontal side of cooling unit 404b which can make assembly faster and less expensive. An exterior heat spreader plate 402 is provided and surrounds the plurality of stacked cooling units 404a-n on three sides: the bottom side, one vertical side, and the top side. Because the exterior heat spreader plate 402 has a horizontal bottom panel 407, it can transfer heat from the electronic device (typically located below the cooling system 400) directly to the upper cooling units (e.g., cooling unit 404n), as well as to the lower cooling units (e.g., 404a, 404b) via the unit heat spreader plate 406. Additional repeating units of two stacked cooling units, which share a common unit heat spreader plate, may be provided on top of the cooling units 404a and 404b. The top cooling unit 404n may be provided as part of a stacked configuration with another cooling unit with which it shares a unit heat spreader plate 406, or may be partially surrounded by only the exterior heat spreader plate 402 as shown in FIG. 23. Because the exterior heat spreader plate 402 and unit heat spreader plate 406 are C-shaped and face in opposite directions, only one of the heat spreader plates 402 or 406 needs to be removed to access the lower cooling units 404a, 404b. The cooling units 404a-n may be impingement cooling units similar to impingement cooling device 110 described with respect to FIGS. 1 -5, impingement cooling device 3300 described with respect to FIGS. 32-37, and / or another cooling device including a plurality of heatsink fins. The heat spreader plates 402, 406 may be vapor chambers constructed similarly to the heat spreader plates 202a-f, 251 described above, or any of the other two-phase passive flow heat transfer devices discussed herein, and may be fluidically connected to one another.
[0071] FIG. 24 schematically illustrates an embodiment of a cooling system 410 that includes a plurality of cooling units 414 that are stacked on each other and partially surrounded by a primary exterior heat spreader plate 412 and a secondary exterior heat spreader plate 413. In the embodiment of FIG. 24 (and similarly to the cooling system 200 of FIGS. 8-11 ), each of the cooling units 414 is surrounded on three sides by a generally C-shaped unit heat spreader plate 416, and the stack of cooling units 414 is surrounded on three sides by the generally C-shaped primary exterior heat spreader plate 412. The primary exterior heat spreader plate 412 and the unit heat spreader plates 416 are all C-shaped in cross-section, with their open sides facing inthe same direction (here, on the left side of the stack). The secondary exterior heat spreader plate 413 is C-shaped and opens in the opposite direction of the primary exterior heat spreader plate 412, thereby covering the otherwise open left sides of the two bottommost cooling units 414 in the stack of cooling units 414. The cooling units 414 may be impingement cooling units similar to impingement cooling device 110 described with respect to FIGS. 1 -5, impingement cooling device 3300 described with respect to FIGS. 32-37, and / or another cooling device including a plurality of heatsink fins. The heat spreader plates 412, 413, 416 may be vapor chambers constructed similarly to the heat spreader plates 202a-f, 251 described above or any of the other two-phase passive flow heat transfer devices discussed herein.
[0072] FIG. 25 schematically illustrates an embodiment of a cooling system 420 that includes a plurality of stacked cooling units 424a-d. The lowest cooling unit 424a is partially surrounded on three sides by a C-shaped first unit heat spreader plate 426a, the bottom side of which is configured to be located closest to the electronic device to be cooled. A second unit heat spreader plate 426b surrounds the stacked combination of the lowest cooling unit 424a and the cooling unit 424b above it, with the bottom panel 427b of the unit heat spreader plate 426b being sandwiched between the bottom panel 427a of the second unit heat spreader plate 426a and the bottom side of the lowest cooling unit 424a. The second unit heat spreader plate 426b is also C-shaped, but is open on a lateral side that is opposite the lateral side on which the C-shaped first unit heat spreader plate 426a is open. This configuration allows the first unit heat spreader plate 426a to thermally transfer heat from the electronic device directly to both of the first and second cooling units 424a and 424b (via the top of the first cooling unit 424a and the bottom of the second cooling unit 424b), while heat transferred from the first unit heat spreader plate 426a to the second unit heat spreader plate 426b is also transferred to both the first and second cooling units 424a, 424b (via the bottom of the first cooling unit 424a and the top of the second cooling unit 424b). A third unit heat spreader plate 426c partially surrounds the third cooling unit 424c on three sides and transfers heat from the second unit heat spreader plate 426b to the third cooling unit 424c. A fourth unit heat spreader plate 426d partially surrounds the fourth cooling unit 424d on three sides and transfers heat from the third unit heat spreader plate 426c to the fourth cooling unit 424d. The third and fourth unit heat spreader plates 426c and 426d are C-shaped with opposite open sides. In other embodiments, the third and fourth unit heat spreader plates 426c and 426d could be C-shaped and have the same open sides, or they could be rectangular and surround all four sides of the respective cooling unit 424c or 424d. The cooling units 424a-d may be impingement cooling units similar to impingement cooling device 110 described with respect to FIGS. 1 -5, impingement cooling device 3300 described with respect to FIGS. 32-37, and / or another cooling deviceincluding a plurality of heatsink fins. The unit heat spreader plates 426a-d may be vapor chambers constructed similarly to the heat spreader plates 202a-f, 251 described above or any of the other two-phase passive flow heat transfer devices discussed herein.
[0073] FIG. 26 schematically illustrates an embodiment of a cooling system 430 that includes a plurality of stacked cooling units 434a-d, each of which includes a respective unit heat spreader plate 436a-d, and two exterior heat spreader plates 432, 433. In the embodiment of FIG.26, each of the unit heat spreader plates 436a-d is generally C-shaped and partially surrounds the respective cooling unit 434a-d on three sides. The open side of each unit heat spreader plate 436a-d alternates up the stack of cooling units 434a-d. Each exterior heat spreader plate 432, 433 extends along one lateral side of the stack of cooling units 434a-d, thereby reducing the conduction resistance between the heat source (typically located below the cooling system 430) and the unit heat spreader plate 436a in closest contact therewith. The cooling units 434a-d may be impingement cooling units similar to impingement cooling device 110 described with respect to FIGS. 1-5, impingement cooling device 3300 described with respect to FIGS. 32-37, and / or another cooling device including a plurality of heatsink fins. The heat spreader plates 436a-d, 432, 433 may be vapor chambers constructed similarly to the heat spreader plates 202a-f, 251 described above. In another embodiment similar to that of FIG. 26, the adjacent top and bottom panels of each pair of unit heat spreader plates (e.g., top panel 437a of unit heat spreader plate 436a and bottom panel 437b of unit heat spreader plate 436b) are combined into a single connected panel, such that the heat spreader plate is a single fluidically connected plate that weaves a serpentine path around each cooling unit 434a-d.
[0074] FIG. 27 schematically illustrates an embodiment of a cooling system 440 that includes a plurality of stacked cooling units 444a-d. The lowest cooling unit 444a is partially surrounded on three sides by a unit heat spreader plate 446a that is generally C-shaped and is open on one lateral side. The upper cooling units 444b-d are each partially surrounded by a respective generally L-shaped unit heat spreader plate 446b-d. Thus, each cooling unit 444a-d includes a unit heat spreader plate 446a-d that extends across at least a portion of the top surface and a lateral side of the heatsink fins of the cooling unit 444a-d. In this embodiment, the exterior heat spreader plate 442 vertically extends along one lateral side of the stack of cooling units 444a-d, on the same side as the vertically oriented panel 447a of the C-shaped unit heat spreader plate 446a and the vertically oriented panels 447b-d of the L-shaped unit heat spreader plates 446b-d; therefore, the cooling units 444a-d are each accessible from one open side. The cooling units 444a-d may be impingement cooling units similar to impingement cooling device 110 described with respect to FIGS. 1-5, impingement cooling device 3300 described with respect to FIGS. 32-37, and / or another cooling device including a plurality of heatsink fins. The heat spreader plates 446a-d and 442 may be vapor chambers constructed similarly to the heat spreader plates 202a-f, 251 described above.
[0075] FIG. 28 schematically illustrates an embodiment of a cooling system 450 that includes a plurality of stacked cooling units 454a-d. The lower cooling units 454a-c are each partially surrounded by a respective unit heat spreader plate 456a-c that is generally L-shaped. Thus, each cooling unit 454a-c includes a unit heat spreader plate 456a-c that extends across at least a portion of the top surface and a lateral side of the heatsink fins of the cooling unit 454a-c. In this embodiment, the exterior heat spreader plate 452 is generally C-shaped and surrounds the stack of cooling units 454a-d on the bottom, lateral side, and top thereof. This arrangement allows for a heat spreader plate to thermally contact the top and bottom sides of each cooling unit 454a-d, while reducing the amount of material required to manufacture the cooling system 450. The cooling units 454a-d may be impingement cooling units similar to impingement cooling device 110 described with respect to FIGS. 1 -5, impingement cooling device 3300 described with respect to FIGS. 32-37, and / or another cooling device including a plurality of heatsink fins. The heat spreader plates 456a-c and 452 may be vapor chambers constructed similarly to the heat spreader plates 202a-f, 251 described above.
[0076] Similar to the embodiment of FIG. 19, FIG. 29 shows another embodiment in which at least one unit heat spreader plate surrounding at least a portion of an individual cooling unit may be integrated with the exterior heat spreader plate. FIG. 29 schematically illustrates an embodiment of a cooling system 460 including a plurality of stacked cooling units 464 that are supported on, and at least partially surrounded by, an exterior heat spreader plate 462. The exterior heat spreader plate 462 of FIG. 29 has a generally C-shaped outer profile that extends partially around the stack of cooling units 464 on the bottom side, one lateral side, and the top side thereof. Each cooling unit 464 in the cooling system 460 is supported on lateral heat spreader panel 468 that extends from the vertically upright panel 467 of the C-shaped exterior heat spreader plate 462. In embodiments in which the exterior heat spreader plate 462 is a vapor chamber, the lateral heat spreader panels 468 may be fluidically connected with the exterior heat spreader plate 462. The cooling units 464 may be impingement cooling units similar to impingement cooling device 110 described with respect to FIGS. 1 -5, impingement cooling device 3300 described with respect to FIGS. 32-37, and / or another cooling device including a plurality of heatsink fins. The exterior heat spreader plate 462 and heat spreader panels 468 may be vapor chambers constructed similarly to the heat spreader plates 202a-f, 251 described above.
[0077] It should be noted that any of the repeating units shown in FIGS. 13-29, each repeating unit comprising one or two cooling units and a respective unit heat spreader plate, can be used alone (i.e., not stacked with other units) and combined with the exterior heat spreader plate configurations shown and described above.
[0078] It should be understood that any of the cooling systems described with respect to FIGS. 1-29 could be configured such that an exterior heat spreader plate is in direct fluidic communication with any one or more individual (“unit”) heat spreader component(s) in the assembly. Furthermore, any two or more individual heat spreader components in physical contact with one another could be configured such that they are in direct fluidic communication with each other. It should be further understood that any of the cooling systems described with respect to FIGS. 1-29 could be configured such the exterior heat spreader plate is omitted entirely.
[0079] FIG. 30 shows the exemplary cooling system 300 of FIG. 13 situated over an electronic device, more specifically, an integrated circuit (IC) 2302 mounted to a printed circuit board (PCB) 2304. The cooling system 300 is described with respect to FIG. 13 and will not be discussed further here. The cooling system 300 is mounted to a lid 2306 over the IC 2302 with thermal interface material (TIM) 2308 connecting the two. The IC 2302 is thermally connected to the lid 2306 also by way of TIM 2310. Heat from the IC 2302 is conducted through the TIM 2310, through the lid 2306, and through the TIM 2308 to the exterior heat spreader plate 302 of the cooling system 300. Heat is conducted from the exterior heat spreader plate 302 to the unit heat spreader plates 306, and then out of the system via the cooling units 304.
[0080] FIG. 31 shows the exemplary cooling system 300 of FIG. 13 situated over an electronic device, more specifically, an integrated circuit (IC) 2402 mounted to a printed circuit board (PCB) 2404. The cooling system 300 is described with respect to FIG. 13 and will not be discussed further here. The cooling system 300 is mounted directly over the IC 2402 with thermal interface material (TIM) 2410 connecting the two. Heat from the IC 2402 is conducted through the TIM 2410 to the exterior heat spreader plate 302 of the cooling system 300. Heat is conducted from the exterior heat spreader plate 302 to the unit heat spreader plates 306, and then out of the system via the cooling units 304.
[0081] It should be understood that any of the cooling systems described with respect to FIGS. 1-29 could be situated over an electronic device in the same manner as that shown in FIG.30 or FIG. 31. Various alternative manners of situating the cooling systems of FIGS. 1-29 with respect to an electronic device could also be utilized, and the arrangements of FIGS. 30 and 31 are examples only. It should further be noted that A stiffener plate 108 or heat spreader 106 may be included in any of cooling systems described herein. The lowest heat spreader plate could beprovided with a base that is extruded downwardly (e.g., see FIG. 19), which could fit within the stiffener plate in such an embodiment.Examples
[0082] Example 1 : A cooling system for an electronic component, the cooling system comprising: at least one heat spreader plate configured to be located adjacent the electronic component; and a plurality of heatsink fins located adjacent the at least one heat spreader plate; wherein the at least one heat spreader plate at least partially surrounds the plurality of heatsink fins and is configured to transport heat away from the electronic component and to the plurality of heatsink fins.
[0083] Example 2: The cooling system of Example 1 , wherein the plurality of heatsink fins comprises a first plurality of heatsink fins and a second plurality of heatsink fins; wherein the at least one heat spreader plate comprises first and second heat spreader plates; wherein the first heat spreader plate at least partially surrounds the first plurality of heatsink fins; wherein second heat spreader plate at least partially surrounds the second plurality of heatsink fins; and wherein the second plurality of heatsink fins and the second heat spreader plate are stacked on top of or adjacent to the first plurality of heatsink fins and the first heat spreader plate.
[0084] Example 3: The cooling system of Example 2, wherein the at least one heat spreader plate comprises a third heat spreader plate; and wherein the third heat spreader plate is located adjacent both of the first and second heat spreader plates.
[0085] Example 4: The cooling system of Example 3, wherein the third heat spreader plate at least partially surrounds all of the first and second heat spreader plates and the first and second pluralities of heatsink fins.
[0086] Example 5: The cooling system of any of the above Examples, wherein the at least one heat spreader plate is a two-phase passive flow heat transfer device.
[0087] Example 6: The cooling system of Example 5, wherein the two-phase passive flow heat transfer device comprises: a conductive enclosure; and a working fluid and a passive two-phase fluid pumping architecture located within the conductive enclosure.
[0088] Example 7: The cooling system of Example 6, wherein the passive two-phase fluid pumping architecture is a wick.
[0089] Example 8: The cooling system of Example 6 or Example 7, wherein the two-phase passive flow heat transfer device is a vapor chamber.
[0090] Example 9: The cooling system of any of the above Examples, wherein the at least one heat spreader plate surrounds the plurality of heatsink fins on at least two sides of the plurality of heatsink fins.
[0091] Example 10: The cooling system of Example 9, wherein the at least one heat spreader plate surrounds the plurality of heatsink fins on at least three sides of the plurality of heatsink fins.
[0092] Example 11 : The cooling system of Example 10, wherein the at least one heat spreader plate surrounds the plurality of heatsink fins on all four sides of the plurality of heatsink fins.
[0093] Example 12: The cooling system of any of the above Examples, wherein the heatsink fins in the plurality of heatsink fins are part of an impingement cooling device.
[0094] Example 13: The cooling system of Example 12, wherein the heatsink fins in the plurality of heatsink fins are grouped into subsets of heatsink fins, each subset of heatsink fins being angled with respect to at least one other adjacent subset of heatsink fins such that each subset of heatsink fins converges or diverges from the adjacent subset of heatsink fins to form a plurality of channels of the impingement cooling device.
[0095] Example 14: The cooling system of any of the above Examples, wherein the at least one heat spreader plate is thermally connected to the electronic component by way of a thermal interface material.
[0096] Example 15: The cooling system of any of the above Examples, further comprising a vapor chamber thermally connected between the electronic component and the at least one heat spreader plate.
[0097] Example 16: The cooling system of any of the above Examples, wherein the plurality of heatsink fins is thermally connected with the at least one heat spreader plate.
[0098] In the above description, certain terms have been used for brevity, clarity, and understanding. No unnecessary limitations are to be inferred therefrom beyond the requirement of the prior art because such terms are used for descriptive purposes and are intended to be broadly construed. The order of method steps or decisions shown in the Figures and described herein are not limiting on the appended claims unless logic would dictate otherwise. It should be understood that the decisions and steps can be undertaken in any logical order and / or simultaneously. The different systems and methods described herein may be used alone or in combination with other systems and methods. It is to be expected that various equivalents, alternatives and modifications are possible within the scope of the appended claims.
Claims
CLAIMSWhat is claimed is:1 . A cooling system for an electronic component, the cooling system comprising:at least one heat spreader plate configured to be located adjacent the electronic component; anda plurality of heatsink fins located adjacent the at least one heat spreader plate; wherein the at least one heat spreader plate at least partially surrounds the plurality of heatsink fins and is configured to transport heat away from the electronic component and to the plurality of heatsink fins.
2. The cooling system of claim 1 , wherein the plurality of heatsink fins comprises a first plurality of heatsink fins and a second plurality of heatsink fins;wherein the at least one heat spreader plate comprises first and second heat spreader plates;wherein the first heat spreader plate at least partially surrounds the first plurality of heatsink fins;wherein second heat spreader plate at least partially surrounds the second plurality of heatsink fins; andwherein the second plurality of heatsink fins and the second heat spreader plate are stacked on top of or adjacent to the first plurality of heatsink fins and the first heat spreader plate.
3. The cooling system of claim 2, wherein the at least one heat spreader plate comprises a third heat spreader plate; andwherein the third heat spreader plate is located adjacent both of the first and second heat spreader plates.
4. The cooling system of claim 3,wherein the third heat spreader plate at least partially surrounds all of the first and second heat spreader plates and the first and second pluralities of heatsink fins.
5. The cooling system of claim 1 , wherein the at least one heat spreader plate is a two-phase passive flow heat transfer device.
6. The cooling system of claim 5, wherein the two-phase passive flow heat transfer device comprises:a conductive enclosure; anda working fluid and a passive two-phase fluid pumping architecture located within the conductive enclosure.
7. The cooling system of claim 6, wherein the passive two-phase fluid pumping architecture is a wick.
8. The cooling system of claim 6, wherein the two-phase passive flow heat transfer device is a vapor chamber.
9. The cooling system of claim 1 , wherein the at least one heat spreader plate surrounds the plurality of heatsink fins on at least two sides of the plurality of heatsink fins.
10. The cooling system of claim 9, wherein the at least one heat spreader plate surrounds the plurality of heatsink fins on at least three sides of the plurality of heatsink fins.
11. The cooling system of claim 10, wherein the at least one heat spreader plate surrounds the plurality of heatsink fins on all four sides of the plurality of heatsink fins.1 . The cooling system of claim 1 , wherein the heatsink fins in the plurality of heatsink fins are part of an impingement cooling device.
13. The cooling system of claim 12, wherein the heatsink fins in the plurality of heatsink fins are grouped into subsets of heatsink fins, each subset of heatsink fins being angled with respect to at least one other adjacent subset of heatsink fins such that each subset of heatsink fins converges or diverges from the adjacent subset of heatsink fins to form a plurality of channels of the impingement cooling device.
14. The cooling system of claim 1 , wherein the at least one heat spreader plate is thermally connected to the electronic component by way of a thermal interface material.
15. The cooling system of claim 1 , further comprising a vapor chamber thermally connected between the electronic component and the at least one heat spreader plate.
16. The cooling system of claim 1 , wherein the plurality of heatsink fins is thermally connected with the at least one heat spreader plate.