Patent Publication Number: US-2022229477-A1

Title: Heat dissipation system of portable electronic device

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION 
     This application claims the priority benefit of Taiwan application serial no. 110101547, filed on Jan. 15, 2021. The entirety of the above-mentioned patent application is hereby incorporated by reference herein and made a part of this specification. 
     BACKGROUND 
     Technical Field 
     The disclosure relates to a heat dissipation system, and more particularly to a heat dissipation system of a portable electronic device. 
     Description of Related Art 
     With the rapid development of the current electronics industry, the performance of electronic components continues to improve, and as the computing speed increases, the heat generated also increases. Therefore, a portable electronic device, such as a notebook computer, needs to discharge the air in the portable electronic device with a centrifugal fan, so as to reduce the internal temperature of the device. 
     Furthermore, in order to comply with the current trend toward compact, lightweight, and highly efficient devices, heat dissipation components in portable electronic devices also need to be miniaturized, and thus the situation where the heat dissipation efficiency is insufficient often occurs. 
     At the same time, existing fans often have only one flow outlet, and the heat dissipation efficiency thereof is limited. On the premise of not increasing the number of fans, the fan may be designed with two flow outlets, but in the situation where no correspondingly designed airflow path is provided, the fan not only fails to exert the heat dissipation capacity, but also tends to generate a heat dissipation path conflict in the device, or cause an excessive thermal resistance in the device, and thereby causes the situation where the heat accumulation fails to dissipate out of the portable electronic device. For example, if there is no corresponding heat dissipation airflow path, the heat intended to be discharged from the device may be sucked into the device by the fan again. 
     Based on the above, how to configure the fan in the device and match the specific airflow path to smoothly discharge heat and achieve the required heat dissipation effect is actually a problem that persons skilled in the art should think about and solve. 
     SUMMARY 
     The disclosure provides a heat dissipation system of a portable electronic device, which isolates a heat source and a flow inlet of a fan in two independent spaces in a body by using a spacing portion of the fan, so as to ensure that heat dissipation airflow paths generated by the fan do not generate a conflict. 
     The heat dissipation system of the portable electronic device of the disclosure includes a body and at least one fan. A heat source is disposed in the body. The fan is a centrifugal fan disposed in the body. The fan has at least one flow inlet, at least one flow outlet, and at least one spacing portion. The flow outlet faces toward the heat source, and the spacing portion surrounds the flow inlet and abuts against the body, so as to isolate the flow inlet and the heat source in two spaces independent of each other in the body. 
     Based on the above, since the heat dissipation system of the portable electronic device makes the spacing portion of the centrifugal fan surround the flow inlet of the fan and abut against the body, so that the flow inlet and the heat source in the body can be isolated in the two spaces independent of each other, the flow inlet can ensure that air sucked in only comes from an external environment of the body, and avoid a possibility that the heat generated by the heat source is sucked in by the fan again, so as to provide an improved approach to an existing heat accumulation situation generated by the heat dissipation path conflict in the body. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       The accompanying drawings are included to provide a further understanding of the disclosure, and are incorporated in and constitute a part of this specification. The drawings illustrate embodiments of the disclosure and, together with the description, serve to explain the principles of the disclosure. 
         FIG. 1  is a schematic view of a portable electronic device according to an embodiment of the disclosure. 
         FIG. 2  is an exploded view of a heat dissipation system according to an embodiment of the disclosure. 
         FIG. 3  is a top view of the heat dissipation system according to the disclosure. 
         FIG. 4A  and  FIG. 4B  respectively are cross-sectional views of different portions of the heat dissipation system of  FIG. 3 . 
         FIG. 5  is a partial cross-sectional view of a heat dissipation system according to another embodiment of the disclosure. 
         FIG. 6A  and  FIG. 6B  are schematic views of a heat dissipation system in a portable electronic device shown from different visual angles. 
         FIG. 7A  and  FIG. 7B  are schematic views of a fan according to different embodiments of the disclosure. 
     
    
    
     DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENTS 
     Reference will now be made in detail to the exemplary embodiments of the disclosure, examples of which are illustrated in the accompanying drawings. Wherever possible, the same reference numbers are used in the drawings and the description to refer to the same or like parts. 
       FIG. 1  is a schematic view of a portable electronic device according to an embodiment of the disclosure.  FIG. 2  is an exploded view of a heat dissipation system according to an embodiment of the disclosure.  FIG. 3  is a top view of the heat dissipation system according to the disclosure. The embodiment also provides a Cartesian coordinate system X-Y-Z to facilitate component identification. Referring to all  FIG. 1  to  FIG. 3 , in the embodiment, a heat dissipation system  100  is adapted for a portable electronic device  10  (e.g., a notebook computer), and the heat dissipation system  100  includes a body  110  and at least one fan  120 . Heat sources  11  and  12  (e.g., CPU and GPU) are disposed in the body  110 . The fan  120  is a centrifugal fan disposed in the body  110 . The fan  120  has at least one flow inlet (according to what  FIG. 1  to  FIG. 3  currently show, the fan  120  has a flow inlet N 1 , but on an opposite side thereof, there is another flow inlet N 2 , which is disclosed in a following figure), at least one flow outlet (according to what  FIG. 1  to  FIG. 3  currently show, the fan  120  has a second flow outlet N 3  and a first flow outlet N 4 ), and at least one spacing portion (according to what  FIG. 1  to  FIG. 3  currently show, the fan  120  has spacing portions  122  and  123  disposed on two opposite surfaces of a fan body  121 ). The first flow outlet N 4  faces toward the heat sources  11  and  12 , and the spacing portions  122  and  123  surround the corresponding flow inlets N 1  and N 2  and respectively abut against the body  110 , so as to isolate the flow inlets N 1  and N 2  and the heat sources  11  and  12  in two spaces independent of each other in the body  110 . 
       FIG. 4A  and  FIG. 4B  respectively are cross-sectional views of different portions of the heat dissipation system of  FIG. 3 . Referring to  FIG. 2  to  FIG. 4A  first, the body  110  includes an upper casing  111  and a lower casing  112 . At least one of the upper casing  111  and the lower casing  112  has an opening corresponding to the flow inlet, and in the embodiment, the upper casing  111  has an (hole-shaped) opening  111   a  corresponding to the flow inlet N 1  of the fan, and the lower casing  112  has an (grid-shaped) opening  112   a  corresponding to the flow inlet N 2 . Accordingly, air in an external environment of the body  110  can flow into the fan  120  through the openings  111   a  and  112   a  and the flow inlets N 1  and N 2 . In addition, because the spacing portions  122  and  123  of the fan  120  respectively are buffer materials, such as foam, which have flexibility and elasticity to abut against the upper casing  111  and the lower casing  112 , a space in the body  110  where the flow inlets N 1  and N 2  are located and a space in the body  110  where the heat sources  11  and  12  are located are isolated from and independent of each other, which ensures that the heat generated by the heat sources  11  and  12  does not affect the space where the flow inlets N 1  and N 2  are located. That is, the flow inlets N 1  and N 2  can only suck in the air from the external environment through the openings  111   a  and  112   a  of the body  110 , which ensures that the air sucked in by the fan  120  is cold air, and helps the cold air perform an effective heat dissipation operation on the heat sources  11  and  12  when blowing out from the second flow outlet N 3  and the first flow outlet N 4 . Here, the flow inlets N 1  and N 2  of the fan  120  are coaxially disposed, and as shown in  FIG. 2 , the spacing portions  122  and  123  are respectively disposed along a periphery of a structure of the fan body  121  of the fan  120  and form a closed contour. 
     Referring to  FIG. 3 ,  FIG. 4A , and  FIG. 4B , in general, the body  110  of the embodiment has at least one opening, and an airflow generated by the fan  120  flows out from the flow outlet, and dissipates heat from the heat sources  11  and  12  or related heat dissipation components, and then flows out of the body  110  from the opening. In detail, the fan  120  of the embodiment operates to suck in the cold air of the external environment of the body  110  from the flow inlets N 1  and N 2 , which is an airflow F 1  as shown in the figure. Furthermore, as shown in  FIG. 2 ,  FIG. 3 , and  FIG. 4B , the body  110  has a plurality of openings  111   b  and  111   c , and the heat dissipation system  100  of the portable electronic device  10  further has a heat conducting component  130  and a heat dissipating component  140 . As shown in  FIG. 2  and  FIG. 3 , the heat conducting component  130  is, for example, a heat pipe, and the heat dissipating component  140  is, for example, a heat dissipation fin (the figure of the embodiment is only a simple illustration). The heat conducting component  130  is in thermal contact between the heat sources  11  and  12  and the heat dissipating component  140 , so as to transfer the heat generated by the heat sources  11  and  12  to the heat dissipating component  140 . Moreover, since the fan  120  has the first flow outlet N 4  and the second flow outlet N 3 , air flows F 2  and F 3  generated by the fan  120  respectively flow out from the first flow outlet N 4  and the second flow outlet N 3 . The heat dissipating component  140  is located between the second flow outlet N 3  and the opening  111   b . The airflow F 2  flowing out from the second flow outlet N 3  passes through the heat dissipating component  140  and flows out of the body  110  from the opening  111   b , and the airflow F 3  flowing out from the first flow outlet N 4  passes through the heat sources  11  and  12  and then flows out of the body  110  from the opening  111   c.    
     In this way, the cold air sucked into the fan  120  may respectively flow out from the first flow outlet N 4  and the second flow outlet N 3 . The cold air (the airflow F 3 ) flowing out from the first flow outlet N 4  may directly blow toward the heat sources  11  and  12  in the body  110  and dissipate heat, and then blow out of the body  110  through the opening  111   c  of the body  110 , and the cold air (the airflow F 2 ) flowing out from the second flow outlet N 3  blows toward the heat dissipating component  140  and dissipates heat, and then blows out of the body  110  through the opening  111   b  of the body  110 . In other words, the fan  120  of the embodiment, particularly the centrifugal fan, axially takes in the air, and makes the spacing portions  122  and  123  respectively surround a place where the air axially enters and form independent spaces, so as to ensure that the air axially entering the fan  120  is the cold air of the external environment of the body  110 , and is isolated from the spaces where the heat sources  11  and  12  and the heat dissipating component  140  are located with respect to the first flow outlet N 4  and the second flow outlet N 3 , and can provide heat dissipation airflow paths that are unidirectional and non-conflicting with each other, and improve a heat dissipation capacity of the fan  120 . 
       FIG. 5  is a partial cross-sectional view of a heat dissipation system according to another embodiment of the disclosure. Referring to  FIG. 5 , different from the spacing portions  122  and  123  that protrude from the fan body  121  of the fan  120  according to the above embodiment, in the embodiment as shown in  FIG. 5 , a spacing portion  221  is also the fan body. That is to say, in the embodiment, the spacing portion  221  and the fan body are regarded as an integrated structure, and are structurally abutted against the body  110  directly; as shown in  FIG. 5 , the spacing portion  221  includes an upper top board  221   a  and a lower top board  221   b , which respectively abut against the upper casing  111  and the lower casing  112  of the body  110 . In this way, the opening  111   a  at the upper casing  111  can be regarded as a same structure of the flow inlet N 1 , and the opening  112   a  at the lower casing  112  can be regarded as a same structure of the flow inlet N 2 . 
       FIG. 6A  and  FIG. 6B  are schematic views of a heat dissipation system in a portable electronic device shown from different visual angles, and the visual angles of the two are substantially opposite to each other. That is,  FIG. 6A  and  FIG. 6B  can be regarded as a top view and a bottom view of an inside of a main body of the notebook computer. Referring to  FIG. 6A  and  FIG. 6B , in the embodiment, the heat dissipation system includes two fans, and the fan bodies  121  thereof are respectively located on two opposite sides of the heat sources  11  and  12 . Similarly, each of the fans has two flow outlets, and generates the airflows F 2  and F 3  as shown in the figure; the airflow F 2  serves to perform heat dissipation on the heat dissipating component  140 , and the airflow F 3  serves to perform heat dissipation on the heat sources  11  and  12 ; a related description thereof may be known from the above embodiment, and thus is not repeated here. That is, the embodiment further provides the two fans as heat dissipation parts. The flow outlets (equivalent to the first flow outlet N 4  of the aforementioned embodiment) generating the airflow F 3  face each other and all face toward the heat sources  11  and  12 , and the flow outlets (equivalent to the second flow outlet N 3  of the aforementioned embodiment) generating the airflow F 2  face away from each other and all face toward an outside of the body  110 , and through such a configuration, a better heat dissipation efficiency is provided. 
     It should also be mentioned that the embodiment, besides forming independent spaces SP 1  and SP 2  by surrounding the flow inlet with spacing portions  122 B and  123 B of the fans, further provides barriers  150  and  160  in the body  110 , and the barriers  150  and  160  respectively abut between the spacing portions  122 B and  123 B of the fans, and define different spaces in the body  110  again. As shown in  FIG. 6A , the barrier  150 , the spacing portions  122 B, and a part of the body  110  form a space SP 3 , and the heat sources  11  and  12  are located in the space SP 3 ; moreover, as shown in  FIG. 6B , the barrier  160 , the spacing portions  123 B, and a part of the body  110  form a space SP 6 , and the heat sources  11 ,  12 , and  15  (e.g., a memory module) are located in the space SP 6 . 
     In the embodiment, the portable electronic device  10  further includes a circuit board  13  and a battery  14 . The heat sources  11 ,  12 , and  15  and the barriers  150  and  160  are respectively disposed on two opposite surfaces of the circuit board  13 , and by using the barriers  150  and  160  described in the previous paragraph, the spaces SP 3  and SP 6  where the heat sources  11 ,  12  and  15  are located can be isolated from the spaces SP 1  and SP 2  where the flow inlets are located, or spaces SP 4  and SP 5  where other components (e.g., the battery  14 ) are located, so as to prevent the heat generated by the heat sources  11 ,  12  and  15  from affecting the fan or the other components in the body. In the embodiment, the barriers  150  and  160  serve as isolation structures between the heat sources  11 ,  12 , and  15  and the battery  14 , which can avoid a situation where the heat transfers from the spaces SP 3  and SP 6  to the spaces SP 4  and SP 5  and causes damage to the battery  14 . 
       FIG. 7A  and  FIG. 7B  are schematic views of a fan according to different embodiments of the disclosure. Referring to  FIG. 7A  first, different from the spacing portions  122  and  123  of the aforementioned embodiment, a spacing portion  122 A of the embodiment is a buffer material, and is disposed on the fan body  121  along a periphery of the flow inlet N 1  and forms a closed contour. Next, referring to  FIG. 7B , in the embodiment, a spacing portion  122 D is a buffer material, and forms a closed contour and is located between the flow inlet N 1  and the periphery of the structure of the fan body  121 . Whether the spacing portions  122  and  123  of the aforementioned embodiment or the spacing portions  122 A and  122 D described in the present paragraph can all achieve a state in which the flow inlet N 1  and the flow outlets (e.g., the first flow outlet N 4  and the second flow outlet N 3 ) of the fan are isolated from each other, and avoid a situation where the heat dissipation airflows conflict with each other. Furthermore, the embodiment does not limit the number of flow inlets, and may provide only a single flow inlet on an impeller shaft of the fan body  121  according to a required heat dissipation condition. For example, taking  FIG. 2  as an example for comparison, the aforementioned single flow inlet may be realized by leaving only the flow inlet N 1  on the fan body  121 , so that the body  110  only needs to reserve the corresponding opening  111   a  on the upper casing  111 , and therefore the opening  112   a  may be removed from the lower casing  112 . Since the opening  111   a  as shown in  FIG. 1  may be shielded by a keyboard configuration of the notebook computer, the body  110  may have a beautiful back structure by removing the opening  112   a , so that the portable electronic device  10  may achieve a better effect of visual appearance. 
     In summary of the above, since the heat dissipation system of the portable electronic device of the disclosure makes the spacing portion of the centrifugal fan surround the flow inlet of the fan and abut against the body, so as to isolate the flow inlet and the heat source in the body in the two spaces independent of each other, the flow inlet can ensure that the air sucked in only comes from the external environment of the body, and avoid a possibility that the heat generated by the heat source is sucked in by the fan again, so as to provide an improved approach to an existing heat accumulation situation generated by the heat dissipation path conflict in the body. 
     Furthermore, for the portable electronic device (the notebook computer), the configuration of the heat dissipation system is always a main factor affecting the performance of the electronic components (e.g., CPU and GPU). A flow field configuration disclosed in the above embodiments of the disclosure provides a corresponding airflow path design for the fan with dual flow outlets, so that the fan can generate forced convection to solve an overheating problem of the body, and thus further improves the performance of the electronic components, and reduces a manufacturing cost of the heat dissipation system. 
     That is to say, the above embodiments of the disclosure form the structure effectively isolating the flow inlet and the flow outlet of the fan by using the spacing portion of the fan, so a mutual interference and the situation where the heat dissipation air flow paths conflict with each other can be effectively avoided, and thus the effective heat dissipation part for the heat source is provided. 
     It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various modifications and variations can be made to the structure of the disclosure without departing from the scope or spirit of the disclosure. In view of the foregoing, it is intended that the disclosure cover modifications and variations of this disclosure provided they fall within the scope of the following claims and their equivalents.