Patent Publication Number: US-2012039040-A1

Title: Electronic device and inductor thereof

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
     This application claims all benefits accruing under 35 U.S.C. §119 from Taiwanese Patent Application No. 99126687, filed on Aug. 10, 2010, in the Taiwan Intellectual Property Office, the contents of which are hereby incorporated by reference. 
     BACKGROUND 
     1. Technical Field 
     The present disclosure relates to electronic devices, and more particularly to an inductor for an electronic device. 
     2. Description of Related Art 
     Inductors are used in electronic devices where current and voltage change with time due to their ability to delay and reshape alternating currents. Generally, the inductor generates heat during operation which requires immediate dissipation. As a heat dissipation efficiency of the inductor depends on an outer surface area thereof, a size of the inductor is typically increased to accelerate the heat dissipation, which deviates from compactness requirements for the electronic device. 
     Therefore, an improved inductor is desired to overcome the described limitations. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         FIG. 1  is an assembled, isometric view of an electronic device incorporating a plurality of inductors in accordance with one embodiment of the present disclosure. 
         FIG. 2  is an inverted, exploded view of one inductor of the electronic device of  FIG. 1 . 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
       FIG. 1  shows an electronic device  100  including an enclosure  10 , a plurality of cooling fans  20  mounted on the enclosure  10 , a circuit board  30  received in the enclosure  10  and a plurality of inductors  40  mounted on the circuit board  30 . 
     The enclosure  10  includes a substantially rectangular bottom panel  12  and four sidewalls extending upward from four edges of the bottom panel  12 . In this FIG. only one sidewall  14  is shown and the others omitted for clarity. The circuit board  30  is attached to a top surface of the bottom panel  12 . The inductors  40  and other electronic components (not labeled), such as central processing unit (CPU), Southbridge and Northbridge, are mounted on the circuit board  30 . The cooling fans  20  are secured on the sidewall  14  and arranged in a line along the sidewall  14 . The inductors  40  are arranged in front of the cooling fans  20 . Airflow generated by the cooling fans  20  flows to the inductors  40  and the other electronic components to dissipate heat therefrom. 
       FIG. 2  is an inverted view of the inductor  40 , so the following descriptions are based on the orientation indicated in  FIG. 1 . 
     The inductor  40  includes a casing  42 , a coil assembly  44  received in the casing  42 , and a bottom plate  46  attached to a bottom end of the casing  42 . The casing  42  has a substantially cubic profile, and defines a substantially cylindrical receiving space  420  therein for receiving the coil assembly  44 . The casing  42  defines an opening  422  at a bottom surface communicating with the receiving space  420  through which the coil assembly  44  enters the receiving space  420 . A top surface  423 , a left side surface  424 , and a right side surface  425  of the casing  42 , substantially parallel to the direction of airflow of the cooling fans  20 , are uneven surfaces. More specifically, each of the top surface  423 , the left side surface  424 , and the right side surface  425  defines a plurality of linear grooves  426  therein. The grooves  426  are substantially parallel to and substantially equidistant from each other. Each groove  426  extends along the direction of the airflow of the cooling fans  20 . A protruding rib  427  is thus formed between every two neighboring grooves  426 . The grooves  426  and the protruding ribs  427  are alternately arranged. 
     The coil assembly  44  includes a core  442  and a plurality of coils  444  wound on the core  442 . The core  442  is substantially cylindrical. A central section of the core  442  along an axis thereof has a diameter less than that of each of the top and bottom ends of the core  442 . The coils  444  are wound on the central section of the core  442 . The coils  444  form four free ends  446 . 
     The bottom plate  46  includes a main body  462  and four pins  464  depending from a bottom side thereof. The main body  462  defines a through hole  462  at the center thereof. The pins  464  are respectively located at the corners of the main body  462 . 
     In assembly of the inductor  40 , the coil assembly  44  is received in the receiving space  420  of the casing  42 . A top side of the bottom plate  46  is connected to the bottom end of the casing  42 , with the through hole  460  of the bottom plate  46  aligned with the receiving space  420  of the casing  42 . That is, the casing  42  and the pins  464  are respectively located at two opposite sides of the bottom plate  46 . The free ends  446  of the coil assembly  44  extend through the through hole  460  of the bottom plate  46 , and the free ends  446  are respectively connected with the pins  464  and electrically connected with the circuit board  30 . 
     Because the grooves  426  are defined on the top surface  423 , the left side surface  424 , and the right side surface  425  of the inductor  40 , an outer surface area of the inductor  40  is increased without increasing a size of the inductor  40 . Accordingly, the heat dissipation efficiency of the inductor  40  is increased. In addition, the grooves  426  and the protruding ribs  427  of the inductor  40  extend along the direction of the airflow of the cooling fans  20 , thereby facilitating airflow of the cooling fans  20  through the inductor  40 . Furthermore, the grooves  426  and the protruding ribs  427  of the top surface  423 , the left side surface  424  and the right side surface  426  extend along the same axis, thus the grooves  426  and the protruding ribs  427  of the three surfaces  423 ,  424 ,  425  can be formed simultaneously by molding or cutting. Accordingly, manufacturing cost of the inductor  40  remains low. 
     It is to be understood, however, that even though numerous characteristics and advantages of the disclosure have been set forth in the foregoing description, together with details of the structure and function of the embodiments, the disclosure is illustrative only, and changes may be made in detail, especially in matters of shape, size, and arrangement of parts within the principles of the disclosure to the full extent indicated by the broad general meaning of the terms in which the appended claims are expressed.