Housing Grasping Features for Cooler-Feeling Heat Dissipation
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Solution Overview
Problem
The challenge in managing heat dissipation in compact electronic devices, such as battery chargers and power adapters, leads to user discomfort due to high surface temperatures, as existing heat sinks primarily focus on thermal conductivity rather than reducing perceived temperature through surface area contact.
Innovation Solution
Incorporating grasping features into the housing design that minimize the surface area contacted by the user, creating a thermal break through airspaces and altering the physiological response to temperature, thereby reducing the perceived heat without significantly lowering the actual heat dissipation capabilities.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Temperature
If heat sinks or thermal conductors are used to remove heat from heat generating devices, then heat dissipation efficiency is improved, but housing surface temperature increases causing user discomfort
Solution Approach 1:
The housing surface is segmented into grasping features with reduced surface area contact regions. This segmentation allows the housing to maintain effective heat dissipation while reducing the continuous surface area that contacts the user, thereby decreasing perceived temperature and discomfort.
Solution Approach 2:
The grasping features are designed with specific local surface area characteristics that differ from the rest of the housing surface. These localized regions have reduced surface area contact with the user, creating a thermal break effect that reduces heat transfer to the user while maintaining overall heat dissipation performance.
2Object-affected harmful factors
If the housing surface area is reduced to decrease perceived temperature, then user comfort is improved, but heat dissipation capability may be compromised
Solution Approach 1:
The solution moves from modifying the two-dimensional surface area of the entire housing to creating three-dimensional grasping features with controlled contact surfaces. This dimensional approach allows reduction of user contact surface area while maintaining the overall housing structure and heat dissipation pathways through the bulk material.
Solution Approach 2:
The grasping features act as an intermediary between the heat-generating internal components and the user's hand. These features provide a thermal break that mediates heat transfer, allowing the housing to dissipate heat effectively while presenting a cooler, more comfortable surface to the user.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The design effectively reduces the user's perceived temperature by minimizing contact points and utilizing thermal breaks, enhancing user comfort while maintaining or even increasing heat dissipation efficiency.
Implementation Method 1
the thermal break caused by the airspace between a user's skin and surfaces of the housing
Data Source
AI summary
A housing or surface of a housing containing at least one heat dissipating device configured to be grasped or otherwise held by a user. The housing includes a first housing wall portion with a plurality of grasping features that protrude from the first housing wall portion and a second housing wall portion with a second plurality of grasping features that protrude from the second housing wall portion. The first plurality of grasping features and second plurality of grasping features prevent a user from contacting the first housing wall portion and the second housing wall portion.