Patent Publication Number: US-2011075369-A1

Title: Electronic device

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION 
     This application claims the priority benefit of Taiwan application serial no. 98133048, filed Sep. 29, 2009. The entirety of the above-mentioned patent application is hereby incorporated by reference herein and made a part of this specification. 
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     1. Field of the Invention 
     The present invention relates to an electronic device, and more particularly, to an electronic device with a heat dissipation structure. 
     2. Description of Related Art 
     Following the development of technology, portable electronic devices such as notebook computers are being widely used in people&#39;s work and daily life because they can enhance the working efficiency and convenience in the daily life. In order to be easy to carry, the small size and light weight requirements have been continuously imposed on the notebook computers. At the same time, faster and faster computing and executing speed of the notebook computers have been continuously demanded. As a result, the internal electronic elements of the notebook computers generate more and more heat during operation. The heat is typically dissipated via a heat dissipation device consisting of a heat sink and a fan. 
       FIG. 1  illustrates an interior structure of a conventional notebook computer. Referring to  FIG. 1 , in the notebook computer  10 , the heat generated by a system chip  11  (e.g. a central processing unit) is conducted to a heat sink  13  via a heat pipe  12  connected between the system chip  12  and the heat sink  13 . The heat on the heat sink  13  is then taken off the notebook computer  10  via the fan  14 . However, under the current trend that the notebook computers are being developed to be lighter, thinner, shorter and smaller, the heat dissipation structure using the fan  14  described above can no longer meet the heat dissipation requirements. What is needed, therefore, is an improved heat dissipation device that can quickly dissipate the heat. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     Accordingly, the present invention is directed to an electronic device in which a heat pipe and a heat generation element are disposed on a bottom surface of a heat dissipation plate. 
     The present invention is also directed to an electronic device in which a heat dissipation plate and a heat pipe are used to dissipate the heat of a system chip. 
     The present invention is also directed to an electronic device in which a keyboard support and a heat pipe are used to dissipate the heat of a heat generation element. 
     One embodiment of the present invention provides an electronic device including a heat generation element, a heat dissipation plate, and a heat pipe. The heat dissipation plate includes a top surface, a bottom surface, a pair of longitudinal side surfaces, and a pair of lateral side surfaces. The pair of longitudinal side surfaces includes a first side surface and a second side surface. The pair of lateral side surfaces includes a third side surface and a fourth side surface. The first side surface, the second side surface, the third side surface and the fourth side surface connected to both the top surface and the bottom surface. The heat pipe is disposed in contact with the heat dissipation plate, and the heat pipe and the heat generation element are disposed on the bottom surface of the heat dissipation plate. The heat pipe is disposed on the heat dissipation plate and extension of the heat pipe is not beyond the first side surface, the second side surface, the third side surface, and the fourth side surface. 
     Another embodiment of the present invention provides an electronic device including a base, a circuit board, a system chip, a heat dissipation plate, and a heat pipe. The circuit board is disposed on the base. The system chip is packaged on the circuit board. The heat dissipation plate is disposed on the base and in contact with the system chip. The heat pipe is disposed in contact with the heat dissipation plate. 
     Another embodiment of the present invention provides an electronic device including a bracket, a keyboard, a heat generation element, and a heat pipe. The keyboard is disposed on the bracket such that the bracket is for strutting the keyboard. The heat generation device is disposed in contact with the bracket. The heat pipe is disposed on the bracket. 
     According to one embodiment of the present invention, the heat pipe includes a first end and a second end. The heat generation element is disposed adjacent to the third side surface of the heat dissipation plate. The first end of the heat pipe is disposed adjacent to the heat generation element. The second end of the heat pipe is disposed away from the heat generation element and extends toward the fourth side surface of the heat dissipation plate. 
     According to one embodiment of the present invention, the heat dissipation plate includes a first section, a second section, and a connection section interconnecting the first section and the second section. The heat pipe includes a first end and a second end. The heat generation device is disposed on the first section. The first end of the heat pipe is disposed in contact with the first section and the second end of the heat pipe is disposed in contact with the second section. 
     According to one embodiment of the present invention, peripheries of the first section, the second section and the connection section of the heat dissipation plate define a notch or a through opening. 
     According to one embodiment of the present invention, the heat generation element and the heat pipe are disposed on the top surface and the bottom surface of the heat dissipation plate, respectively. 
     According to one embodiment of the present invention, the heat generation element and the heat pipe are both disposed on the top surface or the bottom surface of the heat dissipation plate. 
     According to one embodiment of the present invention, the heat pipe includes a first end and a second end. The system chip is disposed adjacent to the third side surface of the heat dissipation plate. The first end of the heat pipe is disposed adjacent to the system chip. The second end of the heat pipe is disposed away from the system chip and extends toward the fourth side surface of the heat dissipation plate. 
     According to one embodiment of the present invention, the heat pipe is disposed in contact with the heat generation element. 
     According to one embodiment of the present invention, the heat pipe is disposed in contact with the system chip. 
     In view of the foregoing, in embodiments of the present invention, the bracket or heat dissipation plate is disposed in contact with the heat generation element such that the heat generated by the heat generation element can be dissipated via the bracket or heat dissipation plate. In addition, the heat pipe is disposed on the bracket or heat dissipation plate, such that the heat conducted from the heat generation element to the bracket or heat dissipation plate can be uniformly distributed over the entire bracket or heat dissipation plate. A large amount of heat within the electronic device can thus be quickly removed by making the heat distribution uniform. 
     In order to make the aforementioned and other features and advantages of the present invention more comprehensible, embodiments accompanied with figures are described in detail below. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         FIG. 1  illustrates an interior structure of a conventional notebook computer. 
         FIG. 2  illustrates an electronic device according to one embodiment of the present invention. 
         FIG. 3  is a partial exploded view of the electronic device of  FIG. 2 . 
         FIG. 4  is a partial perspective view of the electronic device of  FIG. 2 . 
         FIG. 5  illustrates the bracket of  FIG. 3 . 
     
    
    
     DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENTS 
       FIG. 2  illustrates an electronic device according to one embodiment of the present invention.  FIG. 3  is a partial exploded view of the electronic device of  FIG. 2 .  FIG. 4  is a partial perspective view of the electronic device of  FIG. 2 . Referring to  FIGS. 2 ,  3  and  4 , the electronic device  100  is, for example, a notebook computer and only a host of the notebook computer is partially illustrated herein. The electronic device  100  includes a housing  110 , a circuit board  120 , a keyboard  130 , a bracket  140 , at least one heat generation element  150 , and a heat pipe  160 . The bracket  140  is disposed in the housing  110  and the keyboard  130  is disposed on the bracket  140  such that the bracket  140  acts as a supporting structure for the keyboard  130 . 
     The circuit board  120  is, for example, a motherboard of the notebook computer and is disposed between a bottom of the housing  110  and the bracket  140 . The heat generation element  150  is, for example, a system chip packaged on the circuit board  120 , such as, a central processing unit, a north bridge chip, or a south bridge chip. The heat generation element  150  may also be a high power electronic element such as a graphic chip. Only two heat generation elements  150  are illustrated in the present embodiment. The bracket  140  is in contact with the heat generation elements  150  and the heat pipe  160  is disposed on the bracket  140 . Therefore, the heat generated by the heat generation elements  150  can be conducted and dissipated out of the electronic device  100  via the bracket  140  and the heat pipe  160 . 
       FIG. 5  illustrates the bracket of  FIG. 3 . Referring to  FIG. 5 , the bracket  140  includes a top surface  142 , a bottom surface  144 , a pair of longitudinal side surfaces  141 ,  143 , and a pair of lateral side surfaces  145 ,  147 . The longitudinal side surfaces  141 ,  143  include a first side surface  141  and a second side surface  143 . The lateral side surfaces  145 ,  147  include a third side surface  145  and a fourth side surface  147 . The first side surface  141 , the second side surface  143 , the third side surface  145  and the fourth side surface  147  are all connected between the top surface  142  and the bottom surface  144 . 
     Referring to  FIG. 4  and  FIG. 5 , in the present embodiment, both the heat pipe  160  and the heat generation element  150  are disposed on the bottom surface  144  of the bracket  140 . Extension of the heat pipe  160  is not beyond the first side surface  141 , the second side surface  143 , the third side surface  145  and the fourth side surface  147 , i.e., the heat pipe  160  is substantially disposed on the geometry plane of the bracket  140 . In another embodiment not illustrated, the heat generation element  150  and the heat pipe  160  may be disposed on the top surface  142  and the bottom surface  144  of the bracket  140 , respectively, according to actual requirements, which can likewise achieve the heat dissipation result of the present embodiment. 
     In addition, since the heat pipe  160  can be configured to have different curve structures according to actual requirements, when the heat pipe  160  and the heat generation element  150  are both disposed on the top surface  142  or bottom surface  144  of the bracket  140 , the heat pipe  160  can also contact the heat generation element  150 , such that the heat generation element  1500  can be cooled via the heat pipe  160  and the bracket  140  at the same time to increase the capabilities of the heat pipe  160  and the bracket  140  of dissipating the heat of the heat generation element  150 . 
     Specifically, as shown in  FIG. 3  and  FIG. 5 , the bracket  140  includes a first section A 1 , a second section A 2 , and a connection section A 3 . The connection section A 3  is interconnected between the first section A 1  and the second section A 2  and has a surface area substantially smaller than a surface area of the first section A 1  and a surface area of the second section A 2 . In addition, peripheries of the first section A 1 , the second section A 2  and the connection section A 3  define a first notch  146  for allowing a keyboard cable (not shown) to pass through the first notch  146  to connect the keyboard  130  above the bracket  140  with the circuit board  120  below the bracket  140 . 
     In addition, the bracket  140  has a plurality of second notches  148  which are distributed in the first section A 1 , the second section A 2  or the connection section A 3 . In addition to acting as a connection channel between the top and bottom surfaces  142  and  144  of the bracket  140  as the first notch  146 , the second notches  148  can also be used as receiving spaces for receiving internal elements (e.g. antenna, pivot or the like) within the housing  110 . 
     On the other hand, the first section A 1  is disposed adjacent to the third side surface  145  of the bracket  140 , and the second section A 2  is disposed adjacent to the fourth side surface  147  of the bracket  140 . The heat generation element  150  is in contact with the first section A 1  and, therefore, the heat generated by the heat generation element  150  is distributed over the entire first section A 1  and then conducted from the first section A 1  to the second section A 2  via the connection section A 3 . However, the surface area of the connection area A 3  is smaller than the surface area of the first section A 1  and the surface area of the second section A 2 . In other words, the heat of the first section A 1  needs to pass the first notch  146  in order to be conducted to the second section A 2 . This hinders the heat transfer and, as a result, causes a heat concentration on the first section A 1  and the connection section A 3 , which in effect reduces the heat dissipation area for dissipating heat of the heat generation element  150 . 
     As shown in  FIG. 4  and  FIG. 5 , in order for the heat to be uniformly distributed over the entire bracket  140  such that the heat generation element  150  can be cooled via the entire bracket  140 , a heat pipe  160  is disposed on the bracket  140 . The heat pipe  160  includes a first end E 1  and a second end E 2 . The first end E 1  of the heat pipe  160  contacts the first section A 1  of the bracket  140 . The heat pipe  160  extends from the third side surface  145  toward the fourth side surface  147  of the bracket  140 . The heat pipe  160  extends over the connection section A 3  such that the second end E 2  of the heat pipe  160  contacts the second section A 2  of the bracket  140 . 
     Therefore, the heat of the heat generation element  150  can be conducted to the second end E 2  positioned away from the heat generation element  150  through the first end E 1  of the heat pipe  160 . In other words, the heat of the first section A 1  can be conducted to the connection area A 3  and the second section A 2  through the heat pipe  160 , such that the heat can be uniformly distributed over the entire bracket  140  thus increasing the heat dissipation area to avoid the heat concentration on the first section A 1  and improve the heat dissipation result. 
     On the other hand, as shown in  FIG. 3 , in the present embodiment, the electronic device  100  further includes a thermally conductive pad  170  disposed between the bracket  140  and the heat generation element  150 . In addition to conducting the heat generated by the heat generation element  150  to the bracket  140 , the thermally conductive pad  170  can also absorb the assembly tolerance of the bracket  140  and heat generation element  150  to reduce the fabrication cost of relevant elements within the housing  110  and increase the assembly yield of assembling the bracket  140  to the housing  110 . 
     In summary, in the present invention, the bracket for supporting the keyboard is in contact with the heat generation element. Therefore, the heat generated by the heat generation element can be conducted and dissipated out of the electronic device via the bracket. In addition, the heat generated by the heat generation element can be conducted from one section to another section of the bracket via the heat pipe disposed on the bracket, which allows the heat to be uniformly distributed over the entire bracket. A large amount of heat within the electronic device can be quickly removed by making the heat distribution uniform. 
     It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various modifications and variations can be made to the structure of the present invention without departing from the scope or spirit of the invention. In view of the foregoing, it is intended that the present invention cover modifications and variations of this invention provided they fall within the scope of the following claims and their equivalents.