Heat dissipation apparatus for electronic device, and communication device

Abstract

The present application relates to the technical field of communication devices, and in particular to a heat dissipation apparatus for an electronic device, and a communication device. The heat dissipation apparatus comprises a heat sink and a floating assembly. The floating assembly comprises a base plate, an elastic member, and a floating member. The base plate is arranged on the surface of the heat sink; the surface of the base plate facing away from the heat sink is provided with a slot; the floating member extends into the slot and is slidably connected to the slot; the elastic member is arranged between a bottom wall of the slot and the floating member, and the slot is filled with a thermally conductive material; and the surface of the floating member facing away from the elastic member is configured to make contact with the electronic device.

Description

A heat dissipation device for electronic devices and a communication device

[0001] Cross-reference to related applications

[0002] This application claims priority to Chinese Patent Application No. 202510371756.5, filed on March 27, 2025, entitled "A Heat Dissipation Device and Communication Equipment for Electronic Devices", the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference. Technical Field

[0003] This application relates to the field of communication equipment technology, and in particular to a heat dissipation device for electronic devices and a communication device. Background Technology

[0004] With the rapid development of artificial intelligence technology, communication equipment, such as switches, requires higher bandwidth and throughput to support high-speed data transmission. Optical modules are the core components of switches that enable high-speed fiber optic communication, and their performance directly affects the communication capabilities of the switch and the overall network performance. Therefore, the transmission rate requirements for optical modules are also increasing dramatically. Correspondingly, the overall power consumption of optical modules is also increasing significantly. Because optical modules contain laser components with extremely high heat dissipation requirements, heat dissipation has become a bottleneck in switch design. Summary of the Invention

[0005] Exemplary embodiments of this application disclose a heat dissipation device for electronic devices and a communication device.

[0006] In a first aspect, this application provides a heat dissipation device for an electronic device, which includes a heat sink and a floating component. The floating component includes a base plate, an elastic element, and a floating element. The base plate is disposed on the surface of the heat sink, and a groove is provided on the surface of the base plate opposite to the heat sink. The floating element extends into the groove and is slidably connected to the groove. An elastic element is provided between the bottom wall of the groove and the floating element, and the groove is filled with a thermally conductive material. The surface of the floating element opposite to the elastic element is used to contact the electronic device.

[0007] When the electronic device is inserted into the cage assembly and comes into contact with the floating component, the floating component moves towards the base plate under the pressure of the electronic device. The elastic component undergoes elastic deformation after being compressed. Simultaneously, the thermally conductive material fills the space between the floating component and the base plate, thereby compressing and expelling the air in the groove to the external space, reducing the thermal resistance between the floating component and the heat sink, and improving the thermal conductivity of the floating assembly. When the electronic device is pulled out of the cage assembly, the electronic device separates from the floating component, the elastic component returns to its original shape, and drives the floating component to move away from the base plate. The heat dissipation device in this application is ingeniously designed and has a simple process. When electronic devices of different heights are inserted into the cage assembly, the floating assembly can absorb the tolerance caused by the insertion and removal of electronic devices, ensuring normal insertion and removal of electronic devices, and ensuring full contact between the heat sink and the electronic device, reducing thermal resistance and improving the heat dissipation efficiency and reliability of the heat dissipation device.

[0008] Furthermore, the thermally conductive material is an elastic material.

[0009] Furthermore, the thermally conductive material is a fluid material.

[0010] Furthermore, the thermally conductive material is selected from at least one of liquid metal, phase change material, and nanofluid.

[0011] Furthermore, the surface of the groove is provided with an overflow groove, which allows the heat-conducting material to diffuse into the overflow groove under the pressure of the floating component.

[0012] Furthermore, an overflow channel is provided on the side wall of the groove, and the overflow channel includes a guide surface facing the bottom wall of the groove, and the angle between the guide surface and the bottom wall is an acute angle.

[0013] Furthermore, the floating component includes a floating plate and a side plate connected to the floating plate. The side plate is slidably connected to the groove, and the side plate, the floating plate, and the groove together form a receiving cavity.

[0014] Furthermore, the elastic element includes a sheet or a spring.

[0015] Furthermore, the radiator includes a heat sink plate, which is fixedly connected to the base plate.

[0016] Secondly, this application provides a communication device, which includes electronic components and a heat dissipation device as described in the first aspect, wherein the electronic components are in contact with a floating component. Attached Figure Description

[0017] To more clearly illustrate the technical solutions in the embodiments of this application, the accompanying drawings used in the description of the embodiments will be briefly introduced below. Obviously, the accompanying drawings described below are only some embodiments of this application. For those skilled in the art, other drawings can be obtained based on these drawings without creative effort.

[0018] Figure 1 is a schematic diagram of the structure of a heat dissipation device according to an embodiment of this application;

[0019] Figure 2 is a schematic diagram of the heat dissipation device according to another embodiment of this application;

[0020] Figure 3 is a magnified view of a portion of point A shown in Figure 2;

[0021] Figure 4 is a schematic diagram of the structure of a heat dissipation device in the inserted state of an electronic device according to an embodiment of this application;

[0022] Figure 5 is a schematic diagram of the heat dissipation device in the removed state of an electronic device according to an embodiment of this application;

[0023] Figure 6 is a schematic diagram of the structure of a heat dissipation device in the inserted state of an electronic device according to another embodiment of this application.

[0024] Reference numerals: 100-Radiator; 110-Heat plate; 120-Heat fins; 200-Floating assembly; 210-Base plate; 220-Elastic component; 230-Floating component; 231-Floating plate; 232-Side plate; 300-Thermal conductive material; 400-Flow guide surface; 20-Electronic components; 30-Cage assembly; 01-Groove; 02-Overflow groove. Detailed Implementation

[0025] The technical solutions of the embodiments of this application will be clearly and completely described below with reference to the accompanying drawings. Obviously, the described embodiments are only some embodiments of this application, and not all embodiments. Based on the embodiments of this application, all other embodiments obtained by those skilled in the art without creative effort are within the scope of protection of this application.

[0026] In the description of the embodiments of this application, unless otherwise stated, " / " means "or". For example, A / B can mean A or B. The "and / or" in the text is merely a description of the relationship between related objects, indicating that there can be three relationships. For example, A and / or B can mean: A exists alone, A and B exist simultaneously, and B exists alone. In addition, in the description of the embodiments of this application, "multiple" means two or more.

[0027] The terms "first" and "second" are used for descriptive purposes only and should not be construed as indicating or implying relative importance or implicitly specifying the number of technical features indicated. Therefore, a feature defined as "first" or "second" may explicitly or implicitly include one or more of that feature. In the description of this application, unless otherwise stated, "a plurality of" means two or more.

[0028] When using the terms "comprising," "having," and "including" as described in this application, another component may be added unless explicitly qualifying terms such as "only," "consisting of," etc. are used. Unless otherwise stated, singular terms may include plural forms and should not be construed as having only one quantity.

[0029] Currently, optical modules are mainly cooled using two methods: the first method is to surround the optical module with a cold plate to achieve the best heat dissipation effect; the second method is to conduct heat to the cold plate through heat pipes to achieve the purpose of heat dissipation.

[0030] The first approach involves installing cold plates around the optical module for heat dissipation, but this increases the overall space required for the equipment. Furthermore, the lack of a floating mechanism can lead to poor contact between the optical module and the cold plates, affecting the module's heat dissipation performance and stability. The second approach addresses the floating issue by extending heat pipes, but this increases thermal resistance, reducing the cold plate's heat dissipation performance. Inconsistent heat pipe design also affects heat dissipation. Moreover, the heat pipes need to exit from the rear of the optical module's heatsink, further increasing the horizontal space requirements for the equipment.

[0031] The above-mentioned heat dissipation methods have problems such as poor contact between the optical module and the heat sink or high thermal resistance, resulting in low heat dissipation efficiency and reliability.

[0032] To better understand the heat dissipation device for electronic devices provided in the embodiments of this application, the application scenarios of the heat dissipation device for electronic devices will be described in detail first.

[0033] Electronic devices are typically connected to communication equipment via a component called a cage assembly. The cage assembly is a mechanical and electrical interface that allows electronic devices to be quickly and easily inserted and removed from the communication equipment, while ensuring the stability and reliability of the optical and electrical connections. Specifically, the cage assembly has multiple slots for mounting electronic devices, with one part of the device extending into the slot and the other part exposed outside.

[0034] With the continuous development of optoelectronic communication systems, the capacity of data information carried by these systems is increasing, and the data transmission rate is also rising. When processing large amounts of data, the power consumption of communication equipment increases significantly, leading to a substantial increase in heat generation and overall power consumption of electronic components. To improve the heat dissipation efficiency of electronic components, elastic elements are typically placed between the electronic components and the cold plate. However, these elastic elements are prone to fatigue and loss of elasticity under the long-term influence of the weight of the electronic components and the cold plate, failing to fundamentally solve the problem of floating contact of the electronic components. Furthermore, the cage assembly requires customization, increasing production costs.

[0035] In view of the above, the present application provides a heat dissipation device for an electronic device in various exemplary embodiments. FIG1 is a structural schematic diagram of a heat dissipation device according to an embodiment of the present application, and FIG2 is a structural schematic diagram of another state of the heat dissipation device shown in FIG1. ​​Referring to FIG1 and FIG2, the heat dissipation device includes a heat sink 100 and a floating component 200. The floating component 200 includes a base plate 210, an elastic member 220 and a floating member 230. The base plate 210 is disposed on the surface of the heat sink 100. A groove 01 is provided on the surface of the base plate 210 away from the heat sink 100. The groove opening of the groove 01 faces the floating member 230. The floating member 230 extends into the groove 01 and is slidably connected with the groove 01 so that the floating member 230 can enter and exit the groove 01 through the groove opening. An elastic element 220 is provided between the bottom wall of the groove 01 and the floating element 230, and the groove 01 is filled with a thermally conductive material 300. Specifically, the thermally conductive material 300 fills the accommodating space between the inner wall of the groove 01 and the floating element 230. The surface of the floating element 230 facing away from the elastic element 220 is used to contact the electronic device (not shown in the figure). As shown in Figure 1, before the electronic device is inserted into the cage assembly, at least a part of the floating element 230 protrudes from the groove under the action of the elastic element 220. As shown in Figure 2, after the electronic device is inserted into the cage assembly, the electronic device squeezes the floating element 230 so that the floating element 230 moves toward the bottom plate 210 and compresses the elastic element 220.

[0036] The elastic element 220 and the thermally conductive material 300 are both disposed within the aforementioned accommodating space, and the elastic element 220 and the thermally conductive material 300 may be in contact with each other or have a gap between them.

[0037] The heat dissipation devices provided in the exemplary embodiments of this application can be applied to optical modules or other electronic devices plugged into and removed from a cage assembly. Unless otherwise specified, the embodiments in this application are described using an optical module heat dissipation device as an example.

[0038] An optical module is a device used in optoelectronic communication. It can convert electrical signals into optical signals or vice versa. Optical modules are an indispensable component of communication equipment. By enabling efficient, high-speed, and long-distance optical signal transmission, they have promoted the development of global communication networks.

[0039] It should be noted that, unless otherwise specified, the term "optical module" in this application refers to an optical module in a broad sense, meaning a device that has optical signal transmission or reception functions, or that can convert between photoelectric signals. Furthermore, this application does not limit other structures or functions of optical modules.

[0040] It is understandable that the base plate 210 and the floating component 230 are made of materials with good thermal conductivity in order to reduce the thermal resistance between the heat sink 100 and the optical module and improve the heat dissipation performance of the heat dissipation device.

[0041] In some alternative embodiments, the base plate 210 and the floating component 230 can be made of materials selected from metals, alloys, or carbon fiber composites, etc.

[0042] This application does not limit the connection method between the floating member 230 and the groove 01, as long as a sliding connection between the floating member 230 and the groove 01 can be achieved. For example, the floating member 230 and the groove 01 can be connected by a sliding component, which includes a slide rail and a slider that slides with the slide rail. In some possible implementations, the floating member 230 has a slider, and the side wall of the groove 01 has a corresponding slide rail. In other possible implementations, the floating member 230 has a slide rail, and the side wall of the groove 01 has a corresponding slider.

[0043] In some optional embodiments, Figure 3 is a partial enlarged view of area A shown in Figure 2. Referring to Figure 3, only a portion of the structure of the heat sink 100 and the floating assembly 200 within area A shown in Figure 2 is shown in Figure 3. The floating member 230 includes a floating plate 231 and a side plate 232 connected to the floating plate 231. The side plate 232, the floating plate 231, and the groove 01 surround and form a receiving cavity. An elastic member 220 and a thermally conductive material 300 are disposed within the receiving cavity. The side plate 232 extends into the groove 01 and is slidably connected to the groove 01. The side plate 232 facilitates the sliding connection between the floating member 230 and the groove 01 and helps to increase the space of the receiving cavity.

[0044] In some optional embodiments, the side plate 232 may be an annular plate, which is perpendicularly connected to the floating plate 231 and slidably connected to the groove 01. Optionally, the annular plate and the groove 01 are sealed together to prevent the heat-conducting material 300 from diffusing from the cavity to the external space.

[0045] It should be noted that the flatness and roughness of the contact surface between the floating plate 231 and the optical module should be minimized in order to reduce the thermal resistance between the floating plate 231 and the optical module and improve the heat conduction efficiency.

[0046] In some optional embodiments, the elastic element 220 includes a sheet or a spring. When the elastic element 220 is a sheet, it can be selected from a metal sheet or a shape memory alloy. For example, when the elastic element 220 is a metal sheet, it can extend towards the sidewall of the groove 01 under the compression of the floating element 230. When the elastic element 220 is a spring, it can be a compression spring that undergoes compression deformation under the compression of the floating element 230.

[0047] In this application, there is no limit to the number of elastic elements 220. The number of elastic elements 220 can be one, two or more, depending on the actual needs.

[0048] In some optional embodiments, the thermally conductive material 300 is an elastic material. As shown in Figures 1 and 2, the elastic material will expand in the direction D near the sidewall of the groove 01 under compression to fill the space of the receiving cavity, thereby squeezing and discharging the air in the receiving cavity to the external space, so as to reduce the thermal resistance between the floating member 230 and the heat sink 100 and improve the thermal conductivity of the floating component 200.

[0049] In some optional embodiments, the thermally conductive material 300 is a fluid material. The fluid material has good flowability, and under the compression of the floating member 230, the fluid material can more effectively fill the receiving cavity formed by the floating member 230 and the groove 01, ensuring good contact between the floating member 230 and the heat sink 100, thereby improving the heat dissipation performance of the heat dissipation device.

[0050] In some alternative embodiments, the thermally conductive material 300 is selected from at least one of liquid metal, phase change material, and nanofluid.

[0051] For example, when the thermally conductive material 300 is a phase change material, in its initial state, the phase change material can be an elastic solid material. Under the compression of the floating member 230, the phase change material can expand to a certain extent in the direction D closer to the sidewall of the groove 01, thereby reducing the thermal resistance between the floating member 230 and the heat sink 100. When the electronic device operates for a long time, the temperature of the electronic device gradually increases. The heat of the electronic device is transferred to the phase change material. When the phase change temperature of the phase change material is reached, the phase change material changes from solid to liquid, thereby better filling the cavity and effectively improving the heat conduction efficiency between the electronic device and the heat sink 100.

[0052] It should be noted that the type of phase change material in the embodiments of this application needs to be selected according to the operating temperature of the heat dissipation device, and the phase change material is not limited to the transformation between solid and liquid states.

[0053] Referring to Figure 3, the surface of the groove 01 is provided with an overflow groove 02. The thermally conductive material 300 can diffuse into the overflow groove 02 under the pressure of the floating member 230. That is, when the thermally conductive material 300 fills the receiving cavity, the excess thermally conductive material 300 can overflow into the overflow groove 02 for storage, so that the heat dissipation device in this application can be matched with electronic devices of different heights.

[0054] In some optional embodiments, continuing to refer to FIG3, an overflow channel 02 may be provided on the side wall of the groove 01. The overflow channel 02 includes a guide surface 400 facing the bottom wall of the groove 01, and the angle between the guide surface 400 and the bottom wall is an acute angle. When the electronic device is pulled out of the cage assembly and the floating member 230 moves away from the bottom plate 210, the guide surface 400 can guide the heat-conducting material 300 back to the receiving cavity.

[0055] Figure 4 is a schematic diagram of the heat dissipation device in the inserted state of an embodiment of this application. As shown in Figures 3 and 4, when the electronic device 20 is inserted into the cage assembly 30, the electronic device 20 compresses the elastic member 220 through the floating member 230, so that the elastic member 220 undergoes elastic deformation along the depth direction D1 of the groove 01. Under the action of the elastic member 220, the electronic device 20 and the floating member 230 are in full contact, thereby improving the heat conduction efficiency between the electronic device 20 and the floating member 230. At the same time, the floating member 230 is close to the bottom wall of the groove 01, the space of the receiving cavity becomes smaller, and the heat-conducting material 300 will fill the space in the receiving cavity. Excess heat-conducting material 300 can overflow into the overflow groove 02 for storage, and the air in the groove 01 is compressed and discharged to the external space to reduce the thermal resistance between the floating member 230 and the heat sink 100, improve the thermal conductivity of the floating assembly 200, and thus improve the performance and stability of the electronic device 20.

[0056] Figure 5 is a schematic diagram of the heat dissipation device in the state of the electronic device being pulled out according to an embodiment of this application. As shown in Figure 5, when the electronic device 20 is pulled out of the cage assembly 30, the electronic device 20 separates from the floating member 230. The elastic member 220 returns to its original state and drives the floating member 230 to move away from the bottom wall of the groove 01. The space of the receiving cavity becomes larger, and the heat-conducting material 300 can flow back into the receiving cavity due to gravity, thereby solving the problem of floating contact of the electronic device 20. It can also meet different tolerance scenarios and ensure that no additional thermal resistance is generated in any scenario, thereby improving the stability and reliability of the electronic device 20.

[0057] In some optional embodiments, FIG6 is a schematic diagram of the structure of a heat dissipation device in the inserted state of an electronic device according to another embodiment of the present application. Referring to FIG6, the heat sink 100 may include a heat sink 110, which is fixedly connected to the base plate 210. The heat sink 110 and the base plate 210 may be fixedly connected by a connector, or they may be integrally formed.

[0058] Optionally, the heat sink 110 can be a cold plate. The cold plate is filled with coolant, which can absorb the heat transferred from the electronic device 20. It is understood that the shape and size of the cold plate are not limited in this application, and the shape and size of the cold plate can be designed according to the structure and size of the cage assembly 30.

[0059] In some optional embodiments, the heat sink 100 may be provided with multiple floating components 200, and each floating component 200 corresponds one-to-one with an electronic device 20. Of course, each heat sink 100 may also have only one floating component 200, with the heat dissipation device corresponding one-to-one with the electronic device 20.

[0060] In some optional embodiments, referring to FIG6, the heat sink 100 further includes a plurality of heat dissipation fins 120 disposed on the surface of the heat sink 110, thereby increasing the heat dissipation area of ​​the heat sink 110 and thus improving the heat dissipation effect of the electronic device 20. Specifically, the heat dissipation fins 120 may be fixed on the surface of the heat sink 110 opposite to the electronic device 20, or may be disposed at other positions on the surface of the heat sink 110, which is not limited in this application.

[0061] Based on the same technical concept, this application embodiment also provides a communication device, which includes an electronic device 20 and a heat dissipation device in various possible embodiments of this application. The electronic device 20 is in contact with the floating member 230. Because the floating member 230 can move along the depth direction D1 of the groove 01, when electronic devices 20 of different heights are inserted into or pulled out of the cage assembly 30, the floating member 230 can move along the depth direction D1 of the groove 01 under the action of the electronic device 20, so that the electronic device 20 can be smoothly inserted and pulled out. Under the action of the elastic member 220, the floating member 230 is in full contact with the electronic device 20, thereby reducing thermal resistance and improving the heat dissipation performance of the heat dissipation device.

[0062] It is understood that communication equipment includes, but is not limited to, data center switches, routers, servers, firewalls, etc. Because of the heat dissipation device included in the electronic device 20 of this application, the operating performance and stability of the electronic device 20 are improved, thereby enabling the aforementioned communication equipment to have higher stability and reliability.

[0063] Obviously, those skilled in the art can make various modifications and variations to the embodiments of this application without departing from the spirit and scope of this application. Therefore, if these modifications and variations of this application fall within the scope of the claims of this application and their equivalents, this application also intends to include these modifications and variations.

Claims

1. A heat dissipation device for an electronic device, comprising a heat sink and a floating assembly, wherein, The floating component includes a base plate, an elastic element, and a floating element. The base plate is disposed on the surface of the heat sink. A groove is provided on the surface of the base plate opposite to the heat sink. The floating element extends into the groove and is slidably connected to the groove. The elastic element is disposed between the bottom wall of the groove and the floating element. The groove is filled with a thermally conductive material. The surface of the floating element opposite to the elastic element is used to contact the electronic device.

2. The heat dissipation device according to claim 1, wherein, The thermally conductive material is an elastic material.

3. The heat dissipation device according to claim 1 or 2, wherein, The thermally conductive material is a fluid material.

4. The heat dissipation device according to claim 3, wherein, The thermally conductive material is selected from at least one of liquid metal, phase change material, and nanofluid.

5. The heat dissipation device according to claim 3, wherein, The surface of the groove is provided with an overflow groove, and the thermally conductive material can diffuse into the overflow groove under the compression of the floating component.

6. The heat dissipation device according to claim 5, wherein, The overflow channel is located on the side wall of the groove, the guide surface faces the bottom wall of the groove, and the angle between the guide surface and the bottom wall is an acute angle.

7. The heat dissipation device according to any one of claims 1-6, wherein, The floating component includes a floating plate and a side plate connected to the floating plate. The side plate is slidably connected to the groove, and the side plate, the floating plate, and the groove together form a receiving cavity.

8. The heat dissipation device according to any one of claims 1-6, wherein, The elastic element includes a sheet or a spring.

9. The heat dissipation device according to any one of claims 1-6, wherein, The radiator includes a heat sink plate, which is fixedly connected to the base plate.

10. A communication device comprising electronic components and a heat dissipation device as described in any one of claims 1-9, wherein the electronic components are in contact with the floating element.

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