Abstract:
The disclosed embodiments relate to a system and method that is adapted to cool a heat generating device. An electronic device in accordance with an exemplary embodiment of the present invention comprises an enclosure that contains a source of heat, and a cooling structure adjacent to the enclosure, the cooling structure being adapted to draw an internal intake comprising heat generated by the source of heat and to draw an external intake from outside the enclosure, the cooling structure being further adapted to combine the internal intake with the external intake to form an exhaust.

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
       [0001]    This application is a National Phase 371 Application of PCT Application No. PCT/US06/08017, filed Mar. 3, 2006, entitled “COOLING STRUCTURE FOR HEAT GENERATING DEVICE”. 
     
    
     FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
       [0002]    The present invention relates generally to the removal from heat from electronic devices. More specifically, the present invention relates to an improved cooling structure that removes heat from an enclosure such as a projection television system. 
       BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
       [0003]    This section is intended to introduce the reader to various aspects of art, which may be related to various aspects of the present invention that are described and/or claimed below. This discussion is believed to be helpful in providing the reader with background information to facilitate a better understanding of the various aspects of the present invention. Accordingly, it should be understood that these statements are to be read in this light, and not as admissions of prior art. 
         [0004]    Many components that make up electronic devices or systems such as projection televisions generate heat during normal operation. It is typically desirable to disperse generated heat to prevent overheating and facilitate efficient operation of the system. An example of an electronic component that generates a large amount of heat in an associated system is a high power lamp in a digital light projection (DLP) or liquid crystal display (LCD) television system. The high power lamp is used to generate a video display for viewing by a user. 
         [0005]    Many systems comprise enclosures into which electrical and/or electronic components are placed in very close proximity to reduce overall system size. In such systems, space within the enclosure is at a premium. Dispersing heat from a high-power lamp disposed in a relatively confined television system enclosure is a difficult challenge. 
         [0006]    This problem is compounded by a further need to meet standard requirements on many consumer electronic devices. For example, rigorous standards on many aspects of device operation are imposed by organizations such as Underwriters Laboratories (UL). One such requirement relates to the temperature of external surfaces of the device, which must remain cool enough to prevent injury to users of the system. This means that heat may not be dispersed from a device through an external surface at a rate that would cause the temperature of the external surface to exceed maximum UL temperature requirements. 
         [0007]    An additional design constraint is overall system cost. Materials that are able to effectively disperse heat while remaining cool are relatively expensive. A system and method that effectively disperses heat generated in an enclosure in a cost-effective manner while also facilitating compliance with external surface temperature requirements is desirable. 
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
       [0008]    Certain aspects commensurate in scope with the disclosed embodiments are set forth below. It should be understood that these aspects are presented merely to provide the reader with a brief summary of certain forms the invention might take and that these aspects are not intended to limit the scope of the invention. Indeed, the invention may encompass a variety of aspects that may not be set forth below. 
         [0009]    The disclosed embodiments relate to a system and method that is adapted to cool a heat generating device. An electronic device in accordance with an exemplary embodiment of the present invention comprises an enclosure that contains a source of heat, and a cooling structure adjacent to the enclosure, the cooling structure being adapted to draw an internal intake comprising heat generated by the source of heat and to draw an external intake from outside the enclosure, the cooling structure being further adapted to combine the internal intake with the external intake to form an exhaust. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0010]    Advantages of the invention may become apparent upon reading the following detailed description and upon reference to the drawings in which: 
           [0011]      FIG. 1  is a perspective view, including a blown up portion, of an electronic enclosure in accordance with an exemplary embodiment of the present invention; 
           [0012]      FIG. 2  is a cutaway view of an electronic enclosure in accordance with an exemplary embodiment of the present invention; and 
           [0013]      FIG. 3  is a flow chart of a method in accordance with exemplary an embodiment of the present invention. 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
       [0014]    One or more specific embodiments of the present invention will be described below. In an effort to provide a concise description of these embodiments, not all features of an actual implementation are described in the specification. It should be appreciated that in the development of any such actual implementation, as in any engineering or design project, numerous implementation-specific decisions must be made to achieve the developers&#39; specific goals, such as compliance with system-related and business-related constraints, which may vary from one implementation to another. Moreover, it should be appreciated that such a development effort might be complex and time consuming, but would nevertheless be a routine undertaking of design, fabrication, and manufacture for those of ordinary skill having the benefit of this disclosure. 
         [0015]      FIG. 1  is a perspective view, including a blown up portion, of an electronic enclosure in accordance with an exemplary embodiment of the present invention. The enclosure, which may comprise a projection television system, is generally referred to by the reference number  100 . The enclosure  100  comprises a chassis cover  102 . The chassis cover  102  allows access to the internal components contained in the enclosure  100 . 
         [0016]    A lamp access door  104  is also disposed on the back of the enclosure  100 . The lamp access door  104  provides access to a lamp to facilitate periodic replacement thereof. A cooling structure  106  is disposed adjacent to the lamp access door  104 . As explained below, the cooling structure  106  is adapted to remove heat from inside the enclosure  100  via a chimney effect while preventing access by a user to portions of the enclosure  100  that may be hot enough to cause injury. 
         [0017]      FIG. 2  is a cutaway view of the electronic enclosure  100  in accordance with an exemplary embodiment of the present invention. The cutaway diagram is generally referred to by the reference number  200 . A lamp  202  is disposed inside the enclosure  100 . The lamp  202  may comprise a high power bulb for use in generating an image that is displayed by a television system. The lamp  202  produces radiated heat, as indicated by the arrow  204 . 
         [0018]    The enclosure  100  is adapted to provide several airflows to remove the radiated heat  204 , while maintaining the enclosure  100  at a temperature that will reduce the likelihood of injury to a user. One source of airflow may be a fan (not shown) disposed inside the enclosure  100 . 
         [0019]    The enclosure  100  may include louvers in its floor to facilitate entry of a floor intake, as indicated by an arrow  206 . The floor intake  206  is adapted to travel through the interior of the enclosure  100  to facilitate dispersal of the radiated heat  204  through the back of the enclosure  100 . 
         [0020]    A second airflow may be pulled from outside the enclosure  100  through louvers in the lamp access door  104 . This airflow is indicated by an arrow  208  in  FIG. 2 . Like the floor intake  206 , the louver intake  208  assists with moving the radiated heat  204  out of the enclosure  100  via its back. A tunnel  218  may be disposed within the enclosure  100  to contain the radiated heat  204  and the various airflows within a relatively restricted portion of the enclosure  100 . 
         [0021]    In the exemplary embodiment illustrated in  FIG. 2 , the cooling structure  106  is disposed adjacent to the enclosure  100  and external thereto. The cooling structure  106  is adapted to receive an external chimney intake  210  from outside the enclosure  100 . In addition, the cooling structure  106  is adapted to receive an internal chimney intake  212  from inside the enclosure  100 . The cooling structure  106  may be formed integrally with the lamp access door  104  or the chassis of the enclosure  100 . Alternatively, the cooling structure  106  may be a separate piece disposed adjacent to the enclosure  100 . 
         [0022]    In the exemplary embodiment illustrated in  FIG. 2 , the cooling structure is adapted to receive the internal chimney intake  212  through a plurality of louvers  216 . The external chimney intake  210  mixes with the internal chimney intake  212  to create a Venturi flow within the cooling structure  106 . This Venturi flow acts to effectively remove the radiated heat  204  from within the enclosure  100 . The cooling structure  106  expels the mixture of the external chimney intake  210  and the internal chimney intake  212  via a chimney exhaust  214 . 
         [0023]    In the exemplary embodiment illustrated in  FIG. 2 , the cooling structure  106  is disposed such that it poses an obstacle to touching the louvers  216  by a user of the system. This feature makes it more difficult for a user to touch the louvers  216 , which may be hot enough to cause injury. Thus, the cooling structure  106  helps to disperse the radiated heat  204  from within the enclosure  100 , while reducing the chances of accidental injury to a user who may touch the enclosure  100 . In addition, the cooling structure  106  may be positioned to reduce the undesirable escape via the louvers  216  of light rays emitted by the lamp  202  from within the enclosure  100 . 
         [0024]    Exemplary embodiments of the present invention further allow construction of the enclosure  100  with materials that have a relatively low heat resistance. For example, an exemplary embodiment of the present invention may allow the chassis cover  102  ( FIG. 1 ) and/or the tunnel  218  to be constructed of a relatively low heat resistance material, which typically would cost less than a similar material having a higher heat resistance. 
         [0025]      FIG. 3  is a flow chart of a method in accordance with exemplary an embodiment of the present invention. The process is generally referred to by the reference number  300 . At block  302 , the process begins. An interior intake, such as the interior intake  212  ( FIG. 2 ) is received from within the enclosure  100  ( FIG. 2 ) at block  304 . As set forth above, the enclosure  100  ( FIG. 2 ) may comprise a portion of an electronic device, such as a projection television. At block  306 , an exterior intake, such as the exterior intake  210  ( FIG. 2 ) is received from outside the enclosure  100  ( FIG. 2 ). The interior intake  212  ( FIG. 2 ) received at block  304  is combined with the exterior intake  210  ( FIG. 2 ) received from outside the enclosure  100  ( FIG. 2 ), as indicated at block  308 . This combination forms an exhaust flow  214  ( FIG. 2 ), which assists in dispersing heat from inside the enclosure  100  ( FIG. 2 ). As set forth above, the combination of the interior intake  212  ( FIG. 2 ) with the exterior intake  210  ( FIG. 2 ) in a cooling structure such as the cooling structure  106  ( FIG. 2 ) may form a Venturi flow, which assists in the removal of radiated heat  204  ( FIG. 2 ) from within the enclosure  100  ( FIG. 2 ). At block  310 , the process end. 
         [0026]    While the invention may be susceptible to various modifications and alternative forms, specific embodiments have been shown by way of example in the drawings and will be described in detail herein. However, it should be understood that the invention is not intended to be limited to the particular forms disclosed. Rather, the invention is to cover all modifications, equivalents and alternatives falling within the spirit and scope of the invention as defined by the following appended claims.