Abstract:
A water block is used to be adhered to a heat-generating element and includes a cavity. The cavity has a chamber therein. One side or both sides of the chamber is provided with an inlet pipeline and an outlet pipeline respectively, thereby communicating with the chamber. Further, the chamber is provided therein with a heat-exchanging means for performing a heat-exchanging action with a working fluid. Finally, the top face of the cavity is provided with a membrane. An activating element is adhered on the membrane for driving the membrane to swing up and down, thereby forcing the working fluid within the chamber to circulate in single direction. The activating element is used as a power source, and in addition, the water block can be made much thinner.

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
   1. Field of the Invention 
   The present invention relates to a heat-dissipating structure, and in particular to a water block that is adhered to a heat-generating element. 
   2. Description of Prior Art 
   Since the products made by modern technology are developed to a more precise extent, the volume thereof is more and more miniaturized but the heat generated is increasing substantially. Especially in a computer, since the operational performance thereof is enhanced continuously, the number of peripheral electronic components increases and thus the amount of heat generated by the whole computer also increases to a substantial extent. Therefore, in order to make the computer to operate normally in an allowable range of working temperature, it is necessary to provide an additional heat-dissipating device to reduce the influence of the heat exerted on the operation of computer. 
   Among current heat-dissipating devices, the fan is a kind of heat-dissipating device that is simplest and most commonly used. The other way of heat dissipation that is most commonly used is a water-cooling heat-dissipating system. The water-cooling heat-dissipating system utilizes a water block that is adhered on a heat-generating element (such as a CPU or disc driver). Via a pump, a cooling liquid is drawn from a water tank and is introduced into the water block. After the cooling liquid performs a heat-exchanging action with the water block that has absorbed heat from the heat-generating element, the cooling liquid flows from the water block to a heat-dissipating module, and is delivered back to the water tank after being cooled. The circulation of the cooling liquid facilitates to dissipate the heat and lowers the temperature of the heat-generating element. In this way, the whole computer can operate smoothly. 
   In addition to a necessary water block, the conventional heat-dissipating system also includes a pump, a water tank and a water cooler. All components are connected and communicated with each other via conduits, so that a working fluid can flow among each component. 
   In order to solve the problem of limited space, in the conventional art, the water block and the pump of the water-cooling heat-dissipating system are combined with each other, so that the water block can not only absorb the heat, but also generate a thrust for driving the working fluid. Via this arrangement, the necessary volume of the water-cooling heat-dissipating system can be reduced. However, under a condition that the traditional pump uses a set of fan blades as a power source, although the water block and the pump are combined together to reduce one component, the combined structure of the water block still cannot reduce the volume substantially. In order to meet the demands of electronic products for the water-cooling heat-dissipating system, it is an important issue to propose another solution to overcome the above problems existed in prior art. 
   SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
   In view of the above drawbacks, the present invention is to provide a water block that uses an activating element as a power source. The top of the water block is provided with an activating element that swings up and down at one side, thereby compressing the space within the water block. In this way, not only the working fluid can enter or exit the water block via the activating element, but also the water block can be made much thinner. 
   The present invention provides a water block including a cavity. The cavity has a chamber therein. One side or both sides of the chamber is provided with an inlet pipeline and an outlet pipeline respectively, thereby communicating with the chamber. Further, the chamber is provided therein with a heat-exchanging means for performing a heat-exchanging action with a working fluid. Finally, the top of the cavity is provided with a membrane. An activating element is adhered on the membrane for driving the membrane to swing up and down, thereby forcing the working fluid within the chamber to circulate in single direction. 

   
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       FIG. 1  is an exploded view showing the structure of the present invention; 
       FIG. 2  is an assembled view showing the structure of the present invention; 
       FIG. 3  is a cross-sectional view (I) showing the operation of the present invention; 
       FIG. 4  is a cross-sectional view (II) showing the operation of the present invention; 
       FIG. 5  is an exploded view showing the structure of a second embodiment of the present invention; 
       FIG. 6  is a cross-sectional view (I) showing the operation of the second embodiment the present invention; 
       FIG. 7  is a cross-sectional view (II) showing the operation of the second embodiment the present invention; 
       FIG. 8  is a schematic view showing the pipeline of the present invention; and 
       FIG. 9  is a schematic view showing the comparison between the swinging actions generated by the membranes of the present invention and prior art. 
   

   DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
   The technical contents of the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings. 
     FIG. 1  and  FIG. 2  are an exploded perspective view and an assembled view showing the structure of the present invention respectively. As shown in these figures, the water block of the present invention is mainly constituted of a cavity  1 . Left and right sides of the cavity  1  are provided with an inlet pipeline  11  and an outlet pipeline  12  respectively. The interior of the cavity  1  is provided with a camber  13  that is communicated with the inlet pipeline  11  and the outlet pipeline  12  respectively. Further, the chamber  13  is provided therein with a heat-exchanging means  14  that is constituted of a plurality of heat-dissipating fins arranged at intervals. Any two neighboring heat-dissipating fins form a heat-dissipating pathway  15 . 
   Please refer to  FIG. 1  again. The upper end face of the cavity  1  is provided with a membrane  2  that is made of materials having a high tension. The size of the membrane  2  is slightly identical to the area of the upper end face of the cavity  1 , thereby covering the chamber  13  completely. An activating element  3  is provided above the membrane  2 . In the present embodiment, the activating element  3  is a piezoelectric piece that is provided above the chamber  13  correspondingly and is adhered to the membrane  2 . The activating element  3  has a fixed end  31  and a swinging end  32 . The fixed end  31  is located on the same side as the outlet pipeline  12 . The fixed end  31  is connected with a plurality of electrode leads  4 , thereby providing the necessary electricity for the activating element  3 . The swinging end  32  is adhered onto the surface of the membrane  2 . After being supplied with electricity, the swinging end  32  generates a swinging action along an arc-shaped trajectory at one side. As shown in  FIG. 9 , under the same swinging angle θ, the amount of deformation δ 2  obtained by swinging along an arc-shaped trajectory is further larger than the amount of deformation δ 1  obtained by swinging in the middle section. In addition, the swinging frequency of the activating element  4  can be adjusted according to different demands. 
   Finally, the cavity  1  can be also combined with a casing  5 , thereby covering the above-mentioned membrane  2  and the activating element  3 . The casing  5  is provided with a plurality of penetrating troughs  51 ,  51   a  thereon that correspond to the activating element  3  and the electrode leads  4  respectively. The penetrating troughs allow the activating element  3  to be exposed to the outside to have a space for expansion. The activating element  3  is also penetrated by the electrode leads  4 . The completely assembled view is shown in  FIG. 2 . 
   With reference to  FIGS. 3 and 4 , they are cross-sectional views showing the operation of the present invention. As shown in these figures, the water block is adhered onto a heat-generating element  6 . The inlet pipeline  11  and the outlet pipeline  12  are connected to conduits  7  of a water-cooling system respectively, so that the water block is communicated with other components included in the water-cooling system (not shown). In this way, a working fluid can enter the water block easily and perform a heat-exchanging action with the heat-exchanging means  14  that has absorbed heat in the water block. Therefore, the working fluid can take the heat source away. When a power supply conducts electricity to the activating element  3  via the leads  4 , the swinging end  32  of the activating element  3  can generate a swinging action along an arc-shaped trajectory at one side, as shown in  FIG. 3 . When the swinging end  32  of the activating element  3  swings downwardly, the membrane  2  is driven to compress the internal space of the chamber  13  to generate a pressure. Via the swinging action along an arc-shaped trajectory, the working fluid can be concentrated to flow in the same direction. In this way, the working fluid can generate a thrust to flow out of the outlet pipeline  12  as indicated by the arrow. When the swinging end  32  of the activating element  3  swings upwardly as shown in  FIG. 4 , the membrane  2  recovers to its original shape to release the space within the chamber  13 . In this way, the internal pressure of the chamber  13  is smaller than the external pressure, so that the working fluid enters the chamber  13  from the inlet pipeline  11  as indicated by the arrow. Via this arrangement, the water block has an effect like a pump to force the working fluid to enter and exit the water block rapidly, so that the working fluid can form a larger amount of flow in single direction. 
   With reference to  FIG. 5 , it is an exploded view showing the structure of the second embodiment of the present invention. As shown in this figure, the water block  1  is mainly constituted of a cavity  1 , in which an internal chamber  13  of the cavity  1  is divided into a first chamber  131  and a second chamber  132 . In the present embodiment, the second chamber  132  is provided on one side of the first chamber  131 . The first chamber and the second chamber are communicated with each other via a through hole  16 . The cavity  1  has an inlet pipeline  11  and an outlet pipeline  12 . The inlet pipeline  11  and the outlet pipeline  12  are communicated with the first chamber  131  and the second chamber  132  respectively. Further, the interior of the first chamber  131  is provided with a heat-exchanging means  14  that is constituted of a plurality of heat-dissipating fins arranged at intervals. A heat-dissipating pathway  15  is formed between any two heat-dissipating fins. Further, an inner wall face of the first chamber  131  is provided with a valve  8  at the position corresponding to the inlet pipeline  11 . In the present embodiment, one end of the valve  8  is provided with a pillar  81  that penetrates into a penetrating trough  133  on the inner wall. A plate  82  extends from the pillar  81  and corresponds to the mouth of the inlet pipeline  11 , thereby blocking the working fluid from flowing into the inlet pipeline  11  from the first chamber  131  to flow out of the cavity  1 . Further, a valve  8   a  is provided on an inner wall face of the second chamber  132  at the position corresponding to the through hole  16 , thereby blocking the working fluid from flowing back to the first chamber  131  from the outlet pipeline  12  and the second chamber  132  via the through hole  16 . The way of arranging the valve  8   a  is the same as the way of arranging the valve  8  in the first chamber  131 . The top surface of the cavity  1  is provided with a membrane  2  for covering the first chamber  131  and the second chamber  132  simultaneously. The upper surface of the membrane  2  is provided with an activating element  3  having a fixed end  31  and a swinging end  32 . The fixed end  31  is electrically connected with a plurality of electrode leads  4 . In the present embodiment, the fixed end  31  is located at the same side as the inlet pipeline  11 , thereby facilitating the swinging end  32  of the activating element  3  to swing along an arc-shaped trajectory at one side. Finally, the cavity  1  can be combined with a casing  5 , thereby covering the membrane  2  and the activating element  3 . Further, the casing is provided with a plurality of penetrating troughs  51  and  51   a  to correspond to the positions of the swinging end  32  and the fixed end  31  of the activating element  3  respectively. Therefore, the swinging end  32  has a space for expansion, and the electrode leads penetrate into the penetrating trough  51   a.    
   With reference to  FIGS. 6 and 7 , they are schematic views showing the operation of the present invention. The water block is adhered onto a heat-generating element  6  and absorbs the heat generated by the heat-generating element. When the activating element  3  on the cavity  1  is supplied with electricity, the swinging end  32  of the activating element  3  can generate a swinging action along an arc-shaped trajectory at one side. When the swinging end  32  swings downwardly, the membrane  2  is driven to compress the internal space of the first chamber  131  to increase the pressure within the first chamber  131 . As a result, the working fluid that has performed a heat-exchanging action with the heat-exchanging means  14  in the first chamber  131  can generate a thrust to move along the heat-dissipating pathway  15  toward the inlet pipeline  11  and the outlet pipeline  12  simultaneously. When the working fluid flows toward the inlet pipeline  11 , the thrust generated may press the valve  8  located at the position corresponding to the inlet pipeline  11 , so that the valve  8  closes the inlet pipeline  11  tightly to avoid the working fluid from entering the inlet pipeline  11  to generate a reflow. At the same time, the working fluid flowing toward the outlet pipeline  12  generates a thrust to push away the valve  8   a , so that the working fluid flows toward other components through the second chamber  132 . When the activating element  3  swings upwardly, the membrane  2  returns to its original shape to recover the pressure in the first chamber  131 , and thus the external pressure is caused to be larger than the internal pressure of the first chamber  131 . As a result, the working fluid enters the inlet pipeline  11  to push away the valve  8  and then enters the first chamber  131 . Further, the working fluid existing in the second chamber  132  also generates an thrust due to the pressure, thereby pressing the valve  8   a  located on the through hole  16 . Therefore, the valve  8   a  closes the through hole  16  tightly to block the working fluid from flowing back into the first chamber  131 . In this way, the working fluid in the water block can generate a circulation in single direction. 
   Furthermore, in addition to the left and right sides of the cavity  1 , the positions of the inlet pipeline  11  and the outlet pipeline  12  can be changed according to different demands. As shown in  FIG. 8 , the inlet pipeline  11  and the outlet pipeline  12  are provided on the same side of the cavity  1 . Via this arrangement, after the water block is adhered to the heat-generating element  6  and performs a heat-exchanging action with the heat generated by the heat-generating element  6 , the heat can be absorbed in the water block and then dissipated by the heat-exchanging means  14  in the first chamber  131 . Then, the working fluid performs a heat-exchanging action to take the heat away from the water block. After the activating element  3  on the cavity  1  is supplied with electricity, the swinging end  32  of the activating element  3  can generate a swinging action along an arc-shaped trajectory at one side. When the swinging end  32  swings downwardly, the membrane  2  is driven to compress the internal space of the first chamber  131  to increase the pressure within the first chamber  131 . As a result, the working fluid that has performed a heat-exchanging action with the heat-exchanging means  14  in the first chamber  131  can generate a thrust to move along the heat-dissipating pathway  15  toward the inlet pipeline  11  and the outlet pipeline  12  simultaneously. When the working fluid flows toward the inlet pipeline  11 , the thrust generated may press the valve  8  located at the position corresponding to the inlet pipeline  11 , so that the valve  8  closes the inlet pipeline  11  tightly to avoid the working fluid from entering the inlet pipeline  11  to generate a reflow. At the same time, the working fluid flowing toward the outlet pipeline  12  generates a thrust to push away the valve  8   a , so that the working fluid flows toward other components through the second chamber  132 . When the activating element  3  swings upwardly, the membrane  2  returns to its original shape to recover the pressure in the first chamber  131 , and thus the external pressure is caused to be larger than the internal pressure of the first chamber  131 . As a result, the working fluid enters the inlet pipeline  11  to push away the valve  8  and then enters the first chamber  131 . Further, the working fluid existing in the second chamber  132  also generates a thrust due to the pressure, thereby pressing the valve  8   a  located on the through hole  16 . Therefore, the valve  8   a  closes the through hole  16  tightly to block the working fluid from flowing back into the first chamber  131 . In this way, the working fluid in the water block can generate a circulation in single direction. 
   Although the present invention has been described with reference to the foregoing preferred embodiments, it will be understood that the invention is not limited to the details thereof. Various equivalent variations and modifications may still occur to those skilled in this art in view of the teachings of the present invention. Thus, all such variations and equivalent modifications are also embraced within the scope of the invention as defined in the appended claims.