JP2004127288A - Cooling module in liquid cooling system of notebook type personal computer - Google Patents

Abstract

An object of the present invention is to provide a cooling technique that is useful when applied to a notebook personal computer having a liquid crystal display device, and to obtain a unique heat radiation effect not found in the prior art.
A cooling module of a computer having a plurality of heat generating units including at least a CPU and a flat display, wherein the cooling module is connected to the heat receiving head fixed to at least one heat generating unit including the CPU. And a tube disposed inside the computer, the tube using a circulating coolant as a heat transfer medium, absorbing heat generated in the heat generating portion by a part of the tube during the installation of the tube, Dissipate heat in other areas. In addition, a part of the tube is disposed between the flat display and the display unit housing of the computer in a meandering or zigzag shape to dissipate heat generated by the heat generating unit. In addition, the meandering or zigzag portion of the tube has a heat radiating plate for thermal connection, and the heat radiating plate is disposed between the flat display and the display unit housing of the computer.
[Selection diagram] Fig. 1

Description

The present invention relates to a notebook computer integrated with a liquid crystal display unit, and more particularly to a liquid cooling technique for a heating element in the notebook computer.

The related art of a cooling device for an electronic device includes a metal plate or a heat pipe interposed between a heat generating member in the electronic device and a metal housing wall to thermally connect the heat generating member to the metal housing wall. The heat generated by the heat generating member is radiated by the metal housing wall.

Further, as a conventional technique, a technique of liquid cooling a heating member of an electronic device is disclosed (see, for example, Patent Document 1). According to this technology, heat generated by a semiconductor element heating member in the electronic device receives heat. The cooling liquid in the heat receiving head is transported through the flexible tube to the heat radiating head provided on the metal casing of the display device, and the heat generated by the semiconductor element heat generating member is transferred to the heat radiating head via the cooling liquid. The structure is such that heat is efficiently radiated from the through metal case. Further, the above-mentioned publication discloses an example in which a heat pipe is used as a heat transport device, and heat generated in a semiconductor element is transmitted to the heat pipe via a metal heat receiving plate, and further, a metal heat dissipation surface is formed. There is disclosed a structure in which heat is connected to the other end of a heat pipe directly attached to a wall surface of a housing to dissipate heat.

Further, as a conventional technology of a liquid cooling system of a notebook type personal computer including a personal computer main body having an operation button group and an electronic circuit group such as a CPU and a display unit having a liquid crystal display device, heat generated by the CPU is received by a heat receiving head. Receiving and filling a cooling liquid into a silicon-based flexible tube connected to the heat receiving head as a heat transfer medium, bringing the flexible tube to a heat radiating head provided in the display unit to form a circulation path, and using the heat receiving head to generate heat generated by the CPU. There is disclosed a cooling system that receives heat and radiates the transmitted heat with a radiating head. That is, the known technique is a local heat radiation mechanism in the heat radiation head.
JP-A-7-142886

A notebook personal computer generates heat from a CPU, an MPU, or the like (hereinafter, referred to as a CPU) incorporated in a main body. However, the generated heat may cause unstable circuit operation or thermal deformation of mechanisms. is there. In particular, recently, the amount of heat generated has increased as the operating frequency of the CPU has further increased, and it has been desired to efficiently radiate the increased heat to the outside.

In the prior art, cooling with a refrigerant liquid for electronic devices in general, cooling using a heat pipe, and the like are disclosed. However, as described above, the cooling technology for a notebook personal computer collects and displays heat generated by a heat receiving head. In fact, only a cooling system that locally radiates heat by a heat radiating head is disclosed.

In order to cope with the increase in the amount of heat generated by a notebook computer, it is conceivable to provide a fan near the CPU to increase the airflow capacity, but this would cause noise or vibration from the wind noise generated by the fan. However, it is conceivable to increase the size of an air-cooling heat sink (heat radiating plate) for radiating heat in a heating element such as a CPU to increase the heat radiation capacity. This is incompatible with the demand for miniaturization of portable computers.

Furthermore, in the chipset and the display controller, the operation clock is increased to improve performance such as higher display performance and memory access performance. In the HDD, the number of rotations of the spindle is increasing to improve the disk access performance. In addition, high integration of electronic components is progressing for miniaturization. As described above, the amount of generated heat other than the CPU is increasing, and cooling has been required at a plurality of heat generating portions inside the notebook computer.

目的 An object of the present invention is to provide a useful liquid cooling technique applied to a notebook personal computer, and to propose a configuration capable of obtaining a unique heat radiation effect not found in the prior art.

In order to solve the above problems, the present invention employs the following configuration.
A cooling module of a computer having a plurality of heat generating units including at least a CPU and a flat display,
The cooling module has a heat receiving head fixed to at least one heat generating unit including the CPU, and a tube connected to the heat receiving head and disposed inside a computer,
The tube uses a circulating coolant as a heat transfer medium to absorb heat generated in the heat generating part in a part of the tube and dissipate heat in another part during the installation of the tube.

Further, in the cooling module, a part of the tube is disposed between the flat display and the display unit housing of the computer in a meandering or zigzag shape, and dissipates heat generated by the heat generating unit. I do.

Further, in the cooling module, a meandering or zigzag portion of the tube has a radiator plate for thermal connection, and the radiator plate is arranged between the flat display and a display unit housing of a computer. .

In the cooling module, a part of the tube is disposed in a palm rest of the computer to absorb heat generated in the palm rest.

冷却 In the cooling module, the outer layer of the tube has a permeation preventing means for preventing the moisture of the cooling liquid from evaporating.

According to the present invention, heat generated from a high heat source such as a CPU disposed in a main body of a notebook personal computer can be efficiently radiated to the outside, and a heat source of a chipset including a CPU and an HDD. The heat generated from the main body can also be radiated to the outside, and a uniform temperature environment can be achieved over the entire surface of the main body.

Also, by employing a metal tube having high heat radiation efficiency and laying the metal tube on the display unit, heat generated in the main body unit can be radiated to the outside of the display unit.

In addition, by providing tube inlet / outlet ports of a heat receiving head mounted on a CPU or the like on opposing side surfaces of the heat receiving head, the efficiency of heat conversion from the heat source to the cooling liquid in the tubes is improved, and the left and right sides of the display unit are improved. A tube circulation path for passing the tube through both hinge portions provided in the fin can be formed.

The liquid cooling technology of the notebook personal computer according to the embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 shows an overall configuration relating to liquid cooling of a notebook personal computer according to an embodiment of the present invention. According to FIG. 1, the notebook personal computer includes a personal computer main body 1 having a group of operation buttons, and a display unit 2 having a liquid crystal display panel which is rotatably supported by the main body 1. A motherboard (control circuit board) 3 supported by a case or the like is arranged, and various electric / electronic elements, integrated circuits, and electronic circuits necessary for operating the computer are mounted on the motherboard 3. A CPU 4 serving as a heat source and a chip set 5 such as an electronic element such as an IC are also arranged on the motherboard 3. Further, an HDD (hard disk drive) 6, a battery unit 7, and a CD-ROM unit 8, which are heat sources, are also housed in the main body. In FIG. 1, the CPU 4 is disposed under a W / J (water jacket as a heat receiving head), and efficiently transfers heat generated from the CPU 4 to the heat receiving head.

The basic configuration of the liquid cooling according to the embodiment of the present invention is as follows. A heat receiving head (W / J) 10 is fixed on a CPU 4 which is a largest heat source housed in a personal computer main body, and heat generated by the CPU is received by the heat receiving head. The tube 12 connected to the heat receiving head 10 and filled with the coolant passes through the left and right hinges 14 of the display unit 2 (see FIG. 7) between the liquid crystal display panel of the display unit 2 and the front cover. It is brought in and dissipated heat through the surface cover or housing. Here, fresh water, water containing ethylene glycol, or the like is used as the cooling liquid.

In FIG. 1, the heat receiving head 10 is installed only on the CPU 4 which is the largest heating element disposed in the personal computer main body 1, and the other heating elements such as the chipset 5, the HDD 6, etc. Although the structure is such that the tube is formed in a meandering or zigzag shape, the present invention is not limited to this structure. For example, a heat receiving head may be installed in the chipset 5 in consideration of the size and the amount of heat generated by the heating element.

The coolant-filled tube connected to the heat receiving head forms a circulation path arranged in a meandering or zigzag shape on the back side of the liquid crystal display panel (in the structure shown in FIG. 1). The tube may be a tube made of a metal such as Al, Mg, Cu, Ti, SUS, or an alloy thereof, as well as a silicon-based tube or a rubber-based tube. In particular, a tube made of a metal or an alloy thereof has a high heat radiation efficiency and is suitable for being arranged on the back side of a liquid crystal display panel. However, tubes made of these metals or their alloys may be difficult to deform and the assemblability may be reduced. In this case, in combination with a silicon-based tube or a rubber-based tube, a cooling liquid circulation path is used. It is also conceivable to configure

{Circle around (5)} The metal tube fixed and crawled on the housing on the back of the display unit dissipates heat to the outside through the housing or surface cover that is in contact with the metal tube. Here, the heat dissipation to the outside is not the local heat dissipation by the heat dissipation head as in the prior art, but the heat dissipation from the metal tube laid on the entire surface of the housing behind the display unit. Therefore, in addition to using a material having good heat dissipation efficiency for the cooling liquid circulation tube, a material having good heat dissipation efficiency is also used for the housing or the front cover behind the display unit. This housing may be made of a plastic material having good heat dissipation efficiency in addition to the metal material.

Further, as shown in FIGS. 12 and 13, a heat dissipation plate for heat diffusion is provided between the display unit and the housing or the surface cover, and the tube is brought into contact with the heat dissipation plate so as to crawl in a meandering or zigzag shape. Is also good. FIG. 12 is a diagram showing an outline of an embodiment in which a heat sink is provided, and FIG. 13 is a diagram showing a cross section of the display unit at this time. A heat dissipation plate for heat diffusion (corresponding to a metal plate in FIG. 13) is provided inside the housing at the back of the liquid crystal panel, and the tube is arranged in a meandering or zigzag shape so as to contact the heat dissipation plate. The provision of the heat radiating plate facilitates heat diffusion in the surface direction outside the display unit, so that the temperature distribution of the housing or the front cover becomes uniform and the heat radiation efficiency is improved. At this time, when the heat radiating plate is thermally connected to the housing or the front cover, the heat radiating efficiency is further improved. Further, since the heat radiation efficiency is improved by installing the heat radiating plate, the amount of heat radiated per unit length of the tube is increased, and the length of the tube in contact can be shortened. If the tube length can be shortened, the circulation resistance when circulating the cooling liquid through the tube is also reduced, so that the pump capacity of the cooling liquid can be reduced, and there is also an effect that the size and power consumption of the device can be reduced. It is needless to say that a similar effect can be obtained even if a heat radiating plate is provided on the bottom case of the housing and a tube is provided on this heat radiating plate.

In FIG. 2, the tube connected to the heat receiving head (W / J) on the CPU 4 causes the bottom surface of the personal computer main unit 1 to crawl in a meandering or zigzag shape, thereby dissipating heat from the housing on the bottom surface of the main unit. Indicates that you can do it. FIG. 2 discloses that the tube is disposed on the back side of the display unit after passing through the bottom surface of the main body unit, so that heat is also radiated from the housing of the display unit.

In the present embodiment, it is natural that the heat receiving head is installed on the CPU that generates a large amount of heat, and the heat receiving head is also installed on a chip set or the like, which is a heating element other than the CPU, and the tubes are arranged on the plurality of heating elements in order. Heat recovery. FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram showing a heat recovery path in the heating element in this case.

関係 The relationship between the arrangement order of the heating elements and the flow direction of the coolant is determined from the following points. The heating elements according to the present embodiment shown in FIG. 3 are a CPU 4, a chip set 5, and an HDD 6, and their respective power consumptions are generally about CPU 4:10 to 30W, chip set 5: 2 to 3W, and HDD 6: 1 to 5W. It is. Among these, the average power consumption of the HDD is further reduced due to the power saving control during non-access. On the other hand, the allowable operating temperatures of the respective devices are CPU4, chipset 5: 70 to 85 ° C, and HDD 6: 55 ° C. In consideration of these, in the original embodiment, as shown in FIG. 3B, the coolant is pressurized by the pump 11 and circulated in the order of HDD, chipset, and CPU. The meaning of such a circulation path is that the allowable operating temperature of the HDD is lower than the others, and in order to satisfy this, heat is radiated from the bottom part of the main body (see FIG. 2) and the back part of the display part (see FIG. 1). That is, the cooling liquid whose temperature has dropped is used for cooling the HDD. As described above, since the average power consumption of the HDD is small, the temperature rise of the coolant that has absorbed the heat generated by the HDD is small. Since there is a temperature difference from the heating element, the cooling liquid can absorb the heat generated by the chipset and the CPU. From the viewpoint of heat resistance, the pump 11 is located upstream of the heat generating portion and downstream of a tube provided on the bottom surface of the main body and the rear surface of the display portion, as shown in FIGS. 3 (1) and 3 (2). It is desirable to arrange it in. That is, the pump 11 is disposed at the lowest temperature in the coolant circulation path.

Further, as shown in FIG. 3A, when the following condition is satisfied, the cooling liquid may be circulated in the order of the CPU, the chipset, and the HDD, contrary to FIG. 3B described above. Good. In this case, it is necessary that the temperature of the coolant that has absorbed the heat generated by the CPU and the chipset does not exceed the allowable operating temperature of the HDD. Therefore, in order to lower the maximum temperature of the cooling liquid as compared with the previous embodiment shown in FIG. 3 (2), a cooling system having high heat radiation efficiency is required. The heat can be dissipated via.

Next, FIG. 4 is a diagram showing that the heat absorption path by the metal tube is brought to the palm rest portion. In FIG. 4, components that generate heat, for example, HDDs, are provided inside the housing corresponding to the palm rest position, and the heat generated by the HDDs causes the surface of the case at the palm rest position to rise in temperature, causing the case to come into contact with the palm rest position. Your palm may feel hot. In order to prevent this, a tube is arranged at a position corresponding to the palm rest to absorb heat and to prevent a temperature rise in the case at the position of the palm rest.

As described above, in the present embodiment, the generated heat of the heat source is grasped, and the generated heat from all the heat sources is recovered by the cooling liquid, thereby eliminating the local high-temperature portion in the personal computer main body and making the same uniform. It is characterized in that a temperature environment is set as described above and heat is radiated from a wide range of the device.

(5) Next, FIG. 5 shows the structure of the heat receiving head and the tube pipe through which the cooling liquid flows in the liquid cooling technique according to the embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 5 shows the arrangement of a heat receiving head mounted on a heating element such as a CPU and its inlet / outlet piping. The heat receiving head has a zigzag-shaped cooling liquid so that the cooling liquid flows over the entire surface in order to improve heat transfer efficiency. It forms a distribution channel. Further, in the present embodiment, the inlet pipe and the outlet pipe to the heat receiving head are provided at symmetrical positions with respect to the center of the heat receiving head (in FIG. 5, the inlet / outlet port is located at the farthest point). When the heat receiving head has a square or rectangular shape, the pipe connection port may be provided at any position on the side surface that is not a point symmetrical position as long as it is an opposing side surface. Is a route that goes around the entire surface of the heat receiving head.

Next, FIG. 14 shows an example of the structure of the tube according to the embodiment of the present invention. In the liquid cooling system of the present invention, the tube is filled with the cooling liquid, but when a silicon-based material is used for the tube, the moisture of the cooling liquid permeates the tube during a long-term use. The liquid volume may decrease or bubbles may enter the tube. In particular, electronic components used in personal computers have low moisture resistance, and there is a possibility that the life of components and the reliability may be reduced due to the moisture of the coolant. However, the silicon-based tube has features that it is excellent in flexibility, easy to assemble, and inexpensive. Therefore, permeation of water is prevented as follows. One is to cover the outer surface of the tube with a water impermeable membrane as shown in FIG. Thereby, the permeation of the moisture of the cooling liquid can be prevented. Instead of coating the non-permeable membrane, a metal thin film may be applied, or an oil or grease such as grease may be applied. As another method, as shown in FIG. 14 (2), a tubular non-transmissive film may be covered on a tube portion connecting a metal pipe. In this case, although the water content of the cooling liquid permeates through the gap between the tube and the non-permeable film, the volume of the gap is small and is quickly saturated, so that a small amount of moisture can be transmitted. By adopting such a structure, it is possible to maintain the flexibility of the silicon-based tube and prevent evaporation of water of the coolant.

Also, in FIG. 6, the tube pipe of the coolant that has absorbed the heat from the heating element passes through the left and right sides of the hinge portion of the display unit (the pivot point where the display unit pivots with respect to the PC main unit). Discloses a piping route that enters the back of the liquid crystal display panel.

The features of the structure of the present embodiment shown in FIGS. 5 and 6 will be described. First, the structure of FIG. 5 showing the present embodiment is different from the prior art in which the arrangement of the connection port to the heat receiving head is on the same side surface. The inlet pipe is not arranged near the outlet pipe whose temperature has risen due to the heat-absorbed coolant (the outlet pipe and the inlet pipe are arranged at a distance from each other). Since the heat is supplied to the heat receiving head without being affected by the heat, the heat is efficiently converted by the heat receiving head.

Further, as a technical feature of sequentially cooling a plurality of heating elements of the personal computer main body, which is one of the features of the present invention, in the present embodiment, the tube entrance to the personal computer display is provided by a hinge of the display. A configuration of being arranged on both sides is adopted, and this configuration is shown in FIG. In the case of a single heating element cooling in the prior art, the entrance / exit piping to the personal computer display unit is collectively arranged on one side surface of the display unit close to the heating unit (whether the one side surface is a hinge portion or not). Or rabbits or horns). This is because such an arrangement has the advantage of shortening the entire piping length. If a single heating element (eg, CPU) is arranged on the upper left side of the main body, the inlet piping is displayed. If the outlet pipe is arranged on the left side of the hinge part on the right side of the display hinge part, it is necessary to secure a space for disposing the outlet pipe in the main body of the personal computer. In view of the configuration and function of this prior art, the entrance and exit pipes to the heat receiving head of the prior art are arranged on the same side surface of the heat receiving head and brought to the display hinge on one side.

As described above, in the embodiment of the present invention, the arrangement of the inlet / outlet pipes from the heat receiving head has a characteristic configuration organically coupled with a continuous cooling technique for a plurality of heating elements.

(7) Next, FIGS. 7, 8 and 9 disclose a related structure between the hinge part and the tube of the liquid crystal display unit according to the present embodiment. According to FIG. 7, the liquid crystal display section is provided with hinge portions at a plurality of positions so as to be rotatable with respect to the personal computer body portion, and the leftmost hinge portion is shown. In the cooling system of the present embodiment in which the tube filled with the cooling liquid is brought to the display unit and heat is radiated by the display unit, a hinge portion is used for the tube path. As a mode of use, FIG. 7 shows a structure in which the hinge portion has a hollow structure and a tube penetrates the hollow portion. According to this tube penetrating structure, no load is applied to the tube due to the rotating operation of the display unit.

FIG. 9 is a view showing the hinge structure shown in FIG. 8 in detail. According to FIGS. 8 and 9, unlike the tube penetrating structure shown in FIG. Is shown. The left and right ends of the hinge portion are constituted by a joint A and a joint B, and constitute a rotatable mechanism by means interposed between the joints A and B. That is, the joints A and B do not rotate even by the rotation operation of the display unit, and have a hollow structure so that the cooling liquid filled in the tube flows between the joints A and B. As shown in FIG. 8, the tube ends are inserted into the joints A and B from the left and right sides of the hinge portion, and the tubes are appropriately fixed to the joints so that the coolant does not leak. According to the structure shown in FIGS. 8 and 9, even if the display unit is rotated, a rotation load is not applied to the tube, and the tube is not rotated.

Next, FIG. 10 and FIG. 11 are diagrams showing the configuration of the reserve tank for replenishing the cooling liquid in the tube and the detailed structure thereof according to the present embodiment. The coolant reserve tank is disposed at the upper corner of the liquid crystal display as shown in FIG. 2, and branches off in the middle of the coolant circulation path in the tube (the flow direction is indicated by an arrow in FIG. 10). It is connected. As shown in FIG. 10, a check valve is provided at the connection between the coolant circulation path and the reserve tank, and the coolant does not flow from the reserve tank to the reserve tank from the circulation path in the tube. The channel is configured to be supplied with a replenisher.

In order to cope with accidental leakage of coolant in the tube and shortage of coolant due to evaporation of coolant, etc., a reserve tank is installed to secure replenisher in the reserve tank and replenish it to the circulation path as needed. is there.

According to FIG. 11, when the shortage of the coolant in the reserve tank is externally replenished, the liquid crystal display portion is set up, the cap provided on the upper portion of the reserve tank is removed, and the coolant is supplied to the reserve tank. refill. Furthermore, in order to check how much coolant is secured in the reserve tank, the reserve tank is made of a transparent material and a part of the housing corresponding to the reserved tank installation location is made of a transparent material. I do. With this configuration, the amount of liquid in the reserve tank can be visually checked from the outside with the liquid crystal display unit standing upright. Further, in addition to making the reserve tank and the casing transparent so as to visually check the liquid amount, a bypass passage of the reserve tank may be formed as a means for visually checking the liquid amount to detect the liquid level in the bypass passage.

It is a figure showing the whole composition concerning the liquid cooling system of the notebook personal computer concerning the embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating a coolant circulation path related to liquid cooling of the notebook personal computer according to the embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating a relationship between a coolant circulation path and a plurality of heating elements of the notebook personal computer according to the embodiment. FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating a routing path of a coolant supply tube of the notebook personal computer according to the embodiment. FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating a connection structure between a heat receiving head and a coolant supply tube according to the embodiment. FIG. 4 is a diagram showing the relationship between a coolant supply tube of the notebook personal computer according to the embodiment and a hinge of a liquid crystal display unit. FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating a relationship between a hinge portion of a liquid crystal display unit and a tube according to the embodiment. It is a figure which shows the detailed structure of FIG. FIG. 4 is an exploded detailed view of a hinge part of the liquid crystal display unit. It is a figure which shows the reserve tank which replenishes the cooling liquid in the tube concerning this embodiment. FIG. 11 is a detailed structural view of a reserve tank in FIG. 10. It is the schematic of the example of a structure which provides a heat sink on the back of the display part concerning this embodiment. 13 is a cross-sectional view of the configuration example shown in FIG. It is a figure which shows the detailed structure of the tube filled with the cooling liquid.

Explanation of reference numerals

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Laptop computer main body 2 Liquid crystal display 3 Motherboard 4 CPU
5 Chipset 6 HDD
7 Battery 8 CD-ROM unit 10 Heat receiving head (water jet; W / J)
11 pump 12 tube 13 reserve tank 14 hinge

Claims (5)

A cooling module of a computer having a plurality of heat generating units including at least a CPU and a flat display,
The cooling module has a heat receiving head fixed to at least one heat generating unit including the CPU, and a tube connected to the heat receiving head and disposed inside a computer,
The cooling module according to claim 1, wherein the tube uses a circulating cooling liquid as a heat transfer medium to absorb heat generated in the heat generating portion in a part of the tube and dissipate heat in another portion during the installation of the tube. The part of the tube is disposed between the flat display and the display unit housing of the computer in a meandering or zigzag shape, and radiates heat generated by the heat generating unit. Cooling module. A meandering or zigzag shaped portion of the tube has a heat radiating plate for thermal connection,
The cooling module according to claim 2, wherein the heat sink is disposed between the flat display and a display housing of the computer. The cooling module according to claim 1, wherein a part of the tube is disposed in a palm rest of the computer, and absorbs heat generated in the palm rest. 2. The cooling module according to claim 1, further comprising a permeation preventing unit on an outer layer portion of the tube for preventing moisture of the cooling liquid from evaporating. 3.

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