Patent Publication Number: US-2015062817-A1

Title: Server

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
     This non-provisional application claims priority under 35 U.S.C. §119(a) on Patent Application No(s). 201310382707.9 filed in China, P.R.C. on Aug. 28, 2013, the entire contents of which are hereby incorporated by reference. 
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     1. Technical Field of the Invention 
     The disclosure relates to a server, more particularly to a sever having a heat dissipating module. 
     2. Description of the Related Art 
     As information technology advances, the electronic devices are in widespread use. Meanwhile, for satisfying a variety of people&#39;s needs, the processing capabilities of the electronic devices are significantly improved by related developers. Take a server as an example. It can comprise multiple electronic devices (e.g., multiple central processing units, multiple storage devices, and multiple interface cards). Thereby, the processing speed, storage capability and the functions of the server can be improved. 
     Nevertheless, when the processing speed or the number of the electronic devices increases, the heat generated by the electronic devices increases accordingly. The rising temperature of the electronic devices may affect the normal operation of the server. Hence, a heat dissipating module having multiple fans is usually used to be disposed on the server, so as to accelerate the heat exchange of the electronic devices by the improvement of thermal convection. Thereby, the temperature of the server is reduced. In the related art, high power fans with bigger size are used to improve the heat dissipating efficiency, thereby reducing the temperature of the electronic devices. Additionally, increasing the number of the fans can also improve the heat dissipating efficiency and reduce the temperature of the electronic devices. However, adding additional fans or utilizing bigger fans with high powers may occupy more space where additional electronic device may be disposed and may even produce louder noise. Moreover, when the multiple electronic devices (e.g., two central processing units) are positioned at intervals, the present heat dissipating module cannot dissipate the heat generated from multiple electronic devices effectively simultaneously. Thus, it is required to develop a server and a heat dissipating module which can improve the heat dissipating efficiency without increasing the space for the heat dissipating module. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     A server comprises a housing, a motherboard and a heat dissipating module. The motherboard is disposed inside the housing and comprises a plurality of heat sources. The heat dissipating module comprises a cooling plate disposed inside the housing and in thermal contact with the plurality of heat sources. The cooling plate comprises a substrate, a casing and a plurality of fins. The substrate is in thermal contact with the plurality of heat sources. The casing is disposed on the substrate, while the casing and the substrate form a chamber. The plurality of fins are disposed on the substrate and are inside the chamber. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       The disclosure will become more fully understood from the detailed description given herein below and the drawings are for illustration only, and thus do not limit the present disclosure, wherein: 
         FIG. 1  is a top view of a server according to an embodiment of the disclosure; 
         FIG. 2  is a perspective view of a cooling plate according to an embodiment of the disclosure; and 
         FIG. 3  is an exploded view of a cooling plate according to an embodiment of the disclosure. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
     In the following detailed description, for purposes of explanation, numerous specific details are set forth in order to provide a thorough understanding of the disclosed embodiments. It will be apparent, however, that one or more embodiments may be practiced without these specific details. In other instances, well-known structures and devices are schematically shown in order to simplify the drawing. 
     As seen in  FIG. 1 , a server  10  comprises a housing  100 , a motherboard  200 , a heat dissipating module  300  and a power supply  400 . 
     In this embodiment, the motherboard  200  is disposed inside the housing  100 . The motherboard  200  comprises two heat sources  210 ,  220 , a plurality of sockets  230 , a plurality of interface cards  231 . The heat sources  210 ,  220  are spaced apart, namely they are separated by a distance. In this embodiment, both the heat sources  210 ,  220  are central processing units, but they are not limited thereto. In other embodiment, the heat source may be a chipset, a storage device or a power supply, and the number of the heat sources may be greater than two. When the server  10  operates, the heat sources  210 ,  220  generate heat due to being electrified. In this embodiment, the sockets are located on opposite sides of the hear sources  210 ,  220  respectively, while the interface cards are disposed on the sockets. When the server  10  operates, the interface cards  231  also generate heat due to being electrified. 
     In this embodiment, the heat dissipating module  300  is disposed inside the housing  100 , but the location of the heat dissipating module  300  is not intended to limit the disclosure. The heat dissipating module  300  comprises a cooling plate  380 , a liquid-cooling heat exchanger  310 , a circulation line  360  and a plurality of fans  320 ,  330 ,  340 ,  350 . 
     As seen in  FIG. 1  to  FIG. 3 , the cooling plate  380  is in thermal contact with both heat sources  210 ,  220  simultaneously. In this embodiment, the cooling plate  380  comprises a water inlet end  382 , a water outlet end  384 , a substrate  385 , a casing  387  and a plurality of fins  386 . The substrate  385  is in thermal contact with both heat sources  210 ,  220  simultaneously. The housing  387  is disposed on the substrate  385 . Consequently, the housing  387  and the substrate  385  together form a chamber  388 , and the chamber  388  communicates the water inlet end  382  and the water outlet end  384 . The fins  386  are disposed on the substrate  385  and are inside the chamber  388 . The fins  386  extend from the heat source  210  to another heat source  220 . 
     The liquid-cooling heat exchanger  310  is disposed on one side of the motherboard  200 . Fans  320 ,  330 ,  340 ,  350  are near the liquid-cooling heat exchanger  310 . The circulation line  360  connects the liquid-cooling heat exchanger  310  and the cooling plate  380 . Therefore, the circulation line  360 , the liquid-cooling heat exchanger  310  and the cooling plate  380  together form a circulation water line. A fluid can flow within the range of the circulation water line, so as to make the heat from the cooling plate  380  transfer to the liquid-cooling heat exchanger  310 . The locations and the number of the liquid-cooling heat exchanger  310  and the fans  320 ,  330 ,  340 ,  350 , however, are not intended to limit the disclosure. In other embodiments, the liquid-cooling heat exchanger  310  and the fans  320 ,  330 ,  340 ,  350  may be disposed on outside of the housing  100 , and the number of fans  320 ,  330 ,  340 ,  350  may be greater than one, respectively. 
     The specific locations of the fans are set forth as follows. In this embodiment, fans  320 ,  330 ,  340 ,  350  are disposed between the liquid-cooling heat exchanger  310  and the cooling plate  380 , and the fans  320 ,  330 ,  340 ,  350  are positioned side by side. The fans  320 ,  330 ,  340 , for example, have one air inlet (namely  322 ,  332  and  342  respectively) and one air outlet (namely  324 ,  334  and  344  respectively). The air inlets  322 ,  332 ,  342  face the liquid-cooling heat exchanger  310 . The air outlets  334 ,  344  face the heat source  210 , while the air outlet  324  faces the socket  230 . In this embodiment, the width of the liquid-cooling heat exchanger  310  is substantially equal to the total width of the fans  320 ,  330 ,  340 ,  350 . Thereby, when the server  10  is operating, the fans  320 ,  330 ,  340 ,  350  are capable of improving the heat exchange between the liquid-cooling heat exchanger  310  and outside air. 
     In other embodiments, the heat dissipating module  300  further comprises at least one air duct (not shown in the figures), and the least one air duct are located on the air inlets  322 ,  332  and  342  respectively, or on the air outlets  324 ,  334  and  344  respectively. When being disposed on the air inlets  322 ,  332 ,  342  of the fans  320 ,  330 ,  340 , the air ducts can guide outside air to the fans  320 ,  330 ,  340 . When being disposed on the air outlets  324 ,  334  and  344  of the fans  320 ,  330 ,  340 , the air ducts can guide airflow, and thereby improve the heat dissipation efficiency. 
     In this embodiment, the heat dissipating module  300  further comprises a water pump  370  disposed in the circulation water line  360 . The liquid-cooling heat exchanger  310  has a water inlet  314  and a water outlet  312 . The circulation water line  360  comprises a first pipe  362 , a second pipe  364  and a third pipe  365 . The opposite ends of the first pipe  362  are connected to the water outlet  312  of the liquid-cooling heat exchanger  310  and one end of the water pump  370  respectively; the opposite ends of the second pipe  364  are connected to the other end of the water pump  370  and the water inlet end  382  of the cooling plate  380 ; the opposite ends of the third pipe  365  are connected to the water outlet end  384  of the cooling plate  380  and the water inlet  314  of the liquid-cooling heat exchanger  310 . In other words, the water pump  370  connects the water outlet  312  of the liquid-cooling heat exchanger  310  and the water inlet end  382  of the cooling plate  380 . 
     The air supply  400  is disposed on the other side of the motherboard  200 , but the number and the location of the air supply  400  can be amended when needed. 
     The processes of the heat dissipation performed by the heat dissipating module  300  are set forth below. Firstly, when the server  10  is operating, the electronic components on the heat sources  210 ,  220 , interface card  231 , power supply  400  and the motherboard  200  generate heat, accordingly. By the pumping force from the operation of the water pump  370 , a fluid with lower temperature in the liquid-cooling heat exchanger  310  flows into the water pump  379  from the water outlet  312  via the first pipe  362 . Subsequently, the fluid flows to the second pipe  364 , water inlet end  382  and the cooling plate  380  in sequence. Since the heat sources  210 ,  220  are in thermal contact with the substrate  385  of the cooling plate  380  simultaneously, the heat generated by the heat sources  210 ,  220  transfers to the substrate  385 . This leads to the heat exchange between the heat sources  210 ,  220  and the cooling plate  380 . Then, the heat transfers from the substrate  385  to the fins  386 . When the heat transfers to the fluid, the fluid absorbs the heat and the temperature thereof rises. As a result, the high temperature fluid flows from the water outlet end  384  of the cooling plate  380  to the water inlet  314  of the liquid-cooling heat exchanger  310  via the third pipe  365 . The heat of the high temperature fluid transfers to the liquid-cooling heat exchanger  310  configured for performing heat exchange with outside air and thereby dissipating heat. Therefore, the temperature of the fluid drops rapidly. Furthermore, the operation of the fans  320 ,  330 ,  340 ,  350  can accelerate the heat convection with outside air. Fans, in the mean time, guide the outside air to the inside of the server  10 , so that the heat exchange between the air and electronic components on the heat sources  210 ,  220 , interface card  231 , power supply  400  and motherboard  200  occurs for heat dissipation. Consequently, the temperature inside the server  10  decreases rapidly and this can maintain the stability of the server  10 . After the temperature of the fluid inside the liquid-cooling heat exchanger  310  drops, the fluid is configured for flowing out from the liquid-cooling heat exchanger  310 , so as to exchange heat with the cooling plate  380  again. 
     Overall, since the heat sources  210 ,  220  are main heat sources of the server  10 , when the heat from the heat sources  210 ,  220  is taken away from the heat dissipating module  300 , the temperature in the server  10  drops significantly. Therefore, the server  10  can work in a stable state. Even though the airflow, which is guided by the fans  320 ,  330 ,  340 ,  350  to the inside of the server  10 , has absorbed the heat of the liquid-cooling heat exchanger  310 , it does not affect the following heat exchange between the airflow and other electronic components in the server  10 . 
     Moreover, since the cooling plate  380  is in thermal contact with the heat sources  210 ,  220  simultaneously, the heat dissipating module  300  can dissipate heat of the heat sources  210 ,  220  effectively. Also, the fins extends from heat source  210  to heat source  220 , which utilizes the space between the heat sources  210 ,  220  to transfer heat. This increases the number and the heat dissipating area of the fins and therefore improve the heat dissipation efficiency overall. 
     Compared to the sever of the related art which has more fans or has fans with higher efficiencies (e.g., product number 4056 fan), the heat dissipating module  300  of the server  10  according to the disclosure has less fans and utilizes fans with lower efficiencies (e.g., product number 4028 fan) and smaller sizes. However, the heat dissipating module  300  of the disclosure can still improve the heat dissipation efficiency of the sever  10  effectively. As a result, the server can equip with additional electronic components or more central processing units to enhance the capability or operational efficiency of the server  10 . 
     To sum up, in the server of the disclosure, the cooling plate is configured for being in thermal contact with multiple heat sources and the fins of the cooling plate extend from one heat source to another, so that the cooling plate can exchange heat with the multiple heat sources effectively. Therefore, compared to the related art, the cooling plate increases the quantity of the fins and the contact area thereof, so the heat is dissipated rapidly and the temperature drops quickly. That is, the heat dissipation efficiency of the server has been improved dramatically. Hence, the server of the disclosure solves the problem of the ineffective heat dissipation efficiency regarding the server of the related art. Furthermore, the operation of the fan(s) can accelerate the speed of the heat exchange between the liquid-cooling heat exchanger and outside air and improve the heat dissipation efficiency of the server. Moreover, the server of the disclosure reduces the number of the fans or the size of the fan, while improving the heat dissipation efficiency of the server and saving energy.