Patent Publication Number: US-2015060033-A1

Title: Cooling system with a passive heat dissipation structure

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     1. Technical Field 
     The present invention relates to cooling systems, and more particularly, to a cooling system with a passive heat dissipation structure. 
     2. Description of Related Art 
     Electronic/electrical products and apparatuses are in wide use nowadays, and thus a cooling system is required to maintain the well-functioning of an apparatus in its entirety and components therein. Hence, cooling systems, large and small, intricate and simple, expensive and cheap, are installed in apparatuses which range from space shuttles to lamps with a view to maintaining the well-functioning of the apparatuses and components therein and extending the service life of the apparatuses and components therein. 
     Heat-generating apparatuses are cooled down nowadays in two ways, namely passive and active. Active cooling systems are driven by external energy through, for example, hydrocooling or fan-based forced convection. Passive cooling systems require no external energy and dissipate heat by radiation or cooling fin-based free convection. 
     However, the active cooling systems not only incur high operating costs but also pose a serious risk—once the active cooling system malfunctions, the whole apparatus will fail to operate soon, and the apparatus will even break down and cause great economic loss, or will even endanger human life or properties. 
     Although the conventional passive cooling systems are free from the aforesaid drawbacks of the active cooling systems, the conventional passive cooling systems manifest relatively low efficiency in free convection-based cooling, and their heat dissipation efficiency is usually less than one-tenth of the heat dissipation efficiency of the active cooling systems. 
     Accordingly, it is imperative for the cooling technology-based industrial sector, the electronic/electrical industrial sector, and even the technological industrial sector to develop a low-cost, low-risk, and high-efficiency cooling system with a passive heat dissipation structure. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention provides a cooling system with a passive heat dissipation structure, comprising a plurality of flow-guiding pipes coupled together to form the passive heat dissipation structure. The flow-guiding pipes are enclosed collectively by a shielding tube. The cooling system with a passive heat dissipation structure has the following advantages: easy to install, easy to use, requires no external energy, and low-cost. Furthermore, the cooling system with a passive heat dissipation structure is advantageously characterized in that a hot fluid generated from a heat source fixed to the shielding tube from inside or from below exits the heat source quickly via the passive heat dissipation structure to thereby cool down the heat source quickly. 
     The present invention provides a cooling system with a passive heat dissipation structure, comprising: a shielding tube being an upright hollow-core pipe and having an upper opening facing upward and a lower opening facing downward; and a plurality of flow-guiding pipes fixed to the shielding tube from inside to form the passive heat dissipation structure, wherein the flow-guiding pipes are each a hollow-core pipe with a first opening facing upward and a second opening facing downward, the first opening being higher than the second opening. 
     The present invention further provides a cooling system with a passive heat dissipation structure, comprising a plurality of flow-guiding pipes coupled together to form the passive heat dissipation structure, wherein the flow-guiding pipes are each a hollow-core pipe with a first opening facing upward and a second opening facing downward, the first opening being higher than the second opening. 
     Implementation of the present invention at least involves the following inventive steps: 
     1. require no external energy, incur no operating costs;
 
2. easy to install, easy to use; and
 
3. enable a hot fluid generated from a heat source to exit the heat source quickly to thereby ensure the functional stability of the heat source and extend the service life thereof.
 
     The features and advantages of the present invention are detailed hereinafter with reference to the preferred embodiments. The detailed description is intended to enable a person skilled in the art to gain insight into the technical contents disclosed herein and implement the present invention accordingly. In particular, a person skilled in the art can easily understand the objects and advantages of the present invention by referring to the disclosure of the specification, the claims, and the accompanying drawings. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       The invention as well as a preferred mode of use, further objectives and advantages thereof will be best understood by reference to the following detailed description of illustrative embodiments when read in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, wherein: 
         FIG. 1A  is a cross-sectional view of a cooling system with a passive heat dissipation structure according to an embodiment of the present invention; 
         FIG. 1B  is a top view of the cooling system according to an embodiment of the present invention; 
         FIG. 1C  is a cross-sectional view of flow-guiding pipes according to an embodiment of the present invention, showing a position of the flow-guiding pipes; 
         FIG. 1D  is a cross-sectional view of the flow-guiding pipes according to an embodiment of the present invention, showing another position of the flow-guiding pipes; 
         FIG. 1E  is a cross-sectional view of the flow-guiding pipes according to an embodiment of the present invention, showing yet another position of the flow-guiding pipes; 
         FIG. 2A  is a lateral view of another cooling system with a passive heat dissipation structure according to an embodiment of the present invention; 
         FIG. 2B  is a partial cross-sectional view of  FIG. 2A ; 
         FIG. 2C  is a top view of  FIG. 2A ; 
         FIG. 3A  is a cross-sectional view of yet another cooling system with a passive heat dissipation structure according to an embodiment of the present invention; 
         FIG. 3B  is a cross-sectional view of a further cooling system with a passive heat dissipation structure according to an embodiment of the present invention; 
         FIG. 4  is a cross-sectional view of a cooling system with a passive heat dissipation structure according to an embodiment of the present invention, showing the transfer of a hot fluid generated from a heat source; 
         FIG. 5A  is a cross-sectional view of another cooling system with a passive heat dissipation structure according to an embodiment of the present invention, showing the transfer of a hot fluid generated from a heat source; 
         FIG. 5B  is a cross-sectional view of yet another cooling system with a passive heat dissipation structure according to an embodiment of the present invention, showing the transfer of a hot fluid generated from a heat source; 
         FIG. 6  is a cross-sectional view of a cooling system with a passive heat dissipation structure, including a turbulence structure disposed on the inner surface of a shielding tube, according to an embodiment of the present invention; and 
         FIG. 7  is a top view of a cooling system with a passive heat dissipation structure, including a meshwork disposed at a lower opening of the shielding tube, according to an embodiment of the present invention. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
     Referring to  FIG. 1A , in this embodiment, a cooling system  100  with a passive heat dissipation structure comprises a shielding tube  10  and a plurality of flow-guiding pipes  20 . The flow-guiding pipes  20  together form a passive heat dissipation structure  20 ′. 
     Referring to  FIG. 1B , there is shown a top view of the cooling system  100  with a passive heat dissipation structure in this embodiment previously illustrated with  FIG. 1A . As shown in  FIG. 1B , the flow-guiding pipes  20  are hollow-core pipes arranged inside the shielding tube  10 . 
     Referring to  FIG. 1A  and  FIG. 1B , the shielding tube  10  is an upright hollow-core pipe with an upper opening  11  which opens upward and a lower opening  12  which opens downward. The present invention is not restrictive of the shape of the shielding tube  10 ; and, the shielding tube  10  will function well, provided that the shielding tube  10  is an upright hollow-core pipe. The shielding tube  10  is made of any material as appropriate, for example, a material which is heat-resistant or wearing proof, or a material which is not readily affected and thus damaged by the surroundings, such as moisture. 
     Referring to  FIG. 1A  and  FIG. 1B , the flow-guiding pipes  20  are fixed to the shielding tube  10  from inside to form the passive heat dissipation structure  20 ′. The flow-guiding pipes  20  are each of a caliber and length less than that of the shielding tube  10 . 
     The flow-guiding pipes  20  each have the first opening  21  facing upward and the second opening  22  facing downward. 
     Referring to  FIG. 1A  and  FIG. 1B , the flow-guiding pipes  20  disposed inside the shielding tube  10  are upright, and thus the first opening  21  is higher than the second opening  22 . In practice, a hot fluid H enters the second opening  22  and exits the first opening  21 . The structure of the flow-guiding pipes  20  is designed to prevent the hot fluid H leaving the first opening  21  from returning to the vicinity of the second opening  22 . 
     Referring to  FIG. 1C  through  FIG. 1E , the present invention is not restrictive of the position of the flow-guiding pipes  20  inside the shielding tube  10 . Referring to  FIG. 1C  and  FIG. 1D , the flow-guiding pipes  20  are fully enclosed by the shielding tube  10 . Referring to  FIG. 1D , the first openings  21  of the flow-guiding pipes  20  are as high as the upper opening  11  of the shielding tube  10 . Referring to  FIG. 1E , the flow-guiding pipes  20  protrude from the upper opening  11  of the shielding tube  10 . 
     Referring to  FIG. 2A  through  FIG. 2C , a cooling system  100  with a passive heat dissipation structure comprises a plurality of flow-guiding pipes  20  forming a passive heat dissipation structure  20 ′. The flow-guiding pipes  20  are each a hollow-core pipe with a first opening  21  facing upward and a second opening  22  facing downward, wherein the first opening  21  is higher than the second opening  22 . 
     Referring to  FIG. 2A  through  FIG. 2C , alternatively, the cooling system  100  with a passive heat dissipation structure consists of the flow-guiding pipes  20  which are coupled together, but are not enclosed by the shielding tube  10 , and are still capable of guiding the flow of the hot fluid H. 
     Referring to  FIG. 3A , the flow-guiding pipes  20  are obliquely disposed inside the shielding tube  10  in a manner that the first openings  21  are higher than the second openings  22 . 
     Referring to  FIG. 3B , inside the shielding tube  10 , some said flow-guiding pipes  20  are upright, whereas the other flow-guiding pipes  20  are oblique, wherein the first openings  21  are higher than the second openings  22 . 
     Referring to  FIG. 1A  through  FIG. 3B , the present invention is not restrictive of the pattern of arrangement of the flow-guiding pipes  20 , and the cooling system  100  with a passive heat dissipation structure of the present invention will work, provided that the first openings  21  are higher than the second openings  22 , or, in other words, the point of the admission of the hot fluid H into the flow-guiding pipes  20  is lower than the point of the exit of the hot fluid H from the flow-guiding pipes  20 . 
     Referring to  FIG. 4 , a heat source  30  is fixed to the shielding tube  10  from inside and positioned proximate to the lower opening  12  in a manner that the heat source  30  is not in contact with the shielding tube  10  or the flow-guiding pipes  20 , wherein the hot fluid H from the heat source  30  enters the second openings  22  of the flow-guiding pipes  20  and exits the first openings  21  of the flow-guiding pipes  20 . 
     Referring to  FIG. 5A  and  FIG. 5B , the cooling system  100  with a passive heat dissipation structure  20 ′ is vertically fixed to the heat source  30  from above. Referring to  FIG. 5A , the heat source  30  is fixed to the shielding tube  10  from outside and positioned proximate to the lower opening  12 , wherein the hot fluid H from the heat source  30  enters the lower opening  12  of the shielding tube  10 , enters the second opening  22  of the flow-guiding pipes  20 , and exits the first opening  21  of the flow-guiding pipes  20 . Alternatively, referring to  FIG. 5B , the heat source  30  is fixed to the flow-guiding pipes  20  from below, wherein the hot fluid H from the heat source  30  enters the second opening  22  of the flow-guiding pipes  20  and exits the first opening  21  of the flow-guiding pipes  20 . 
     Referring to  FIG. 4  through  FIG. 5B , the cooling system  100  with a passive heat dissipation structure enables heat generated from the heat source  30  to be dissipated by the Stack effect as described below. The heat source  30 , whose temperature is higher than the ambient temperature of the cooling system  100  with a passive heat dissipation structure, heats up a fluid (i.e., air, in this embodiment) in the vicinity of the heat source  30 , such that the fluid gets hotter and thus undergoes density changes. With the hot fluid being of a significantly lower density than the cool fluid, not only does the hot fluid exit the heat source  30  by means of the open tubular structure of the flow-guiding pipes  20 , but the cool fluid is also drawn in to occupy the place previously occupied by the outgoing hot fluid. The aforesaid guided fluid convection surpasses natural fluid convection in speed and thus enhances the thermal conductivity of the heat source  30 , thereby allowing the heat source  30  to be cooled down efficiently and quickly. 
     Referring to  FIG. 6 , a turbulence structure  40  is disposed on the inner surface of the shielding tube  10  and positioned proximate to the lower opening  12  so as to enhance the efficiency of heat dissipation. Due to the turbulence structure  40 , turbulence occurs to the fluid on the surface of the heat source  30  to thereby speed up the heat dissipation of the heat source  30  and enhance the heat dissipation efficiency thereof, while the cooling system  100  with a passive heat dissipation structure  20 ′ is operating. 
     Referring to  FIG. 7 , a meshwork  50  is disposed at the lower opening  12  of the shielding tube  10 . The meshwork  50  and the turbulence structure  40  have the same purpose, that is, causing turbulence to the fluid on the surface of the heat source  30  to thereby enhance the heat dissipation efficiency of the heat source  30 , while the cooling system  100  with a passive heat dissipation structure is operating. 
     The embodiments described above are intended only to demonstrate the technical concept and features of the present invention so as to enable a person skilled in the art to understand and implement the contents disclosed herein. It is understood that the disclosed embodiments are not to limit the scope of the present invention. Therefore, all equivalent changes or modifications based on the concept of the present invention should be encompassed by the appended claims.