Abstract:
A directional thermal siphon type heat column comprises: a column body which is a sealed hollow cavity formed by a lid and a base and contains a liquid; and at least one partition element, being a hood plate fixed into the column body and extended obliquely towards the base and having a first channel formed on a side of the partition element opposite to the base and a second channel formed on one side of the partition element opposite to the lid, so as to avoid an opposite flushing occurred while the liquid inside the heat column is having a liquid/vapor phase change and prevent affecting the heat dissipation and circulation operation efficiency.

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
       [0001]    1. Field of the Invention 
         [0002]    The present invention relates to a heat column, and more particularly to a heat dissipating structure, in particular to the heat column with good thermal conduction and heat dissipation effects. 
         [0003]    2. Brief Description of the Related Art 
         [0004]    As the technologies of computers, electronics and optoelectronics advance rapidly, the CPU performance of the computers is enhanced significantly, resulting in the production of a larger heat source, so that it is necessary to provide a heat dissipating measure to overcome the heat dissipation problem. The development and application of light emitting diodes (LED become important subjects of the illumination industry, and the life and function of the LED are important factors for a good heat dissipating measure which are also the major problems of the present LED development and application. At present, heat dissipating technologies including heat dissipations by fins, fans, heat pipes and vapor chambers are developed and extensively used, wherein a heat column is one of the best heat dissipating technologies. Basically, the heat column is sealed cavity containing an operating liquid, and the operating liquid inside the sealed cavity is circulated continuously for a liquid/vapor phase change and the vapor/liquid fluid flows back and forth between a heat absorbing end and a heat discharging end, so that a uniform temperature at the surface of the cavity can be reached quickly to achieve the thermal conduction effect. With reference to  FIG. 1  for a schematic view of a conventional heat column, the heat column  90  comprises a hollow column body  91 , a lid  92  covered onto the top of the column body  91 , a filling receptacle  93  formed on the lid  92  and provided for filling a liquid into the column body  91 , and finally the heat column  90  is sealed. The column body  91  includes a contact surface  94  disposed at the bottom of the column body  91  contacted with a heat source, and the heat column is operated an operating mechanism as describe below. A liquid at a heat absorbing end (which is the contact surface  94 ) is vaporized into vapor to form an air flow. Now, a local pressure is produced inside the column body  91  to drive the vapor to flow towards a heat discharging end (such as lid  92  or the internal wall of the column body  91 ), and the vapor is operated at the contact area of the heat discharging end and condensed into a liquid phase, and then the liquid loops back to the heat absorbing end (which is the contact surface  94 ) for circulation and heat dissipation through a natural phenomenon of a gravity/capillary siphon by a metal crystal, a metal powder sintered lump or a copper mesh on the internal wall of the column body  91 . 
         [0005]    Although the heat column  90  can achieve the effect of the heat dissipation and circulation by means of the crystal, sintered lump or copper mesh on the internal wall of the column body  91  and changing the liquid/vapor phase to cool the vapor and liquid through the natural phenomenon of the gravity/capillary siphon, yet there is no appropriate partition of space in the column body  91 , so that the air flow formed by the vaporized liquid descends when encountering the lid  92 , and the descended airflow and the rising airflow constitute an opposite flushing, and a smooth circulation operation or a good heat dissipation effect cannot be achieved. Obviously, the conventional heat column requires improvements. Therefore, it is an important subject for related manufacturers to overcome the drawbacks of the conventional heat column. 
         [0006]    In view of the foregoing drawbacks of the applications of the conventional heat column, the inventor of the present invention based on years of experience in the related industry to conduct extensive researches and experiments, and finally developed a directional thermal siphon type heat column with smoother operation and better heat dissipation effects to overcome the drawbacks of the prior art. 
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
       [0007]    Therefore, it is a primary objective of the present invention to provide a directional thermal siphon type heat column with smooth heat dissipation and circulation operations inside the heat column and an excellent path of guiding a heat source to improve the heat dissipation performance significantly. 
         [0008]    To achieve the aforementioned objective, the present invention provides a technical measure, comprising: a column body, being a sealed hollow cavity formed by a lid and a base, and provided for containing a liquid therein; and a partition element, being a hood plate obliquely extended towards the partition element, and fixed into the column body, and the partition element comprising a first channel formed on a side of the partition element opposite to the base, and a second channel formed on another side of the partition element opposite to the lid. 
         [0009]    The technical contents of the present invention will become apparent by the detailed description of the preferred embodiments together with the illustration of related drawings as follows: 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
         [0010]      FIG. 1  is a perspective view of a conventional heat column; 
           [0011]      FIG. 2  is an exploded view of a first preferred embodiment of the present invention; 
           [0012]      FIG. 3  is a cross-sectional view of the first preferred embodiment of the present invention; 
           [0013]      FIG. 4  is a schematic view of an operation of the heat column in accordance with the first preferred embodiment of the present invention; 
           [0014]      FIG. 5  is a schematic view of a second preferred embodiment t of the present invention; 
           [0015]      FIG. 6  is an exploded view of a third preferred embodiment t of the present invention; 
           [0016]      FIG. 7  is a cross-sectional view of a third preferred embodiment t of the present invention; and 
           [0017]      FIG. 8  is a cross-sectional view of a fourth preferred embodiment t of the present invention. 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
       [0018]    The above and further objects and novel features of the invention will more fully appear from the following detailed description when the same is read in connection with the accompanying drawing. It is to be expressly understood, however, that the drawing is for purpose of illustration only and is not intended as a definition of the limits of the invention. 
         [0019]    With reference to  FIGS. 2 and 3  for a directional thermal siphon type heat column in accordance with a first preferred embodiment of the present invention, the heat column  1  comprises a column body  12 , a guide element  16  and a partition element  26 , wherein the column body  12  is a hollow cavity; in other words, the column body  12  includes an operating space  120  therein, and a capillary structure such as a metal crystal, a metal powder sintered lumps, a copper mesh, a groove tube or a mesh tube is formed on a surface of the internal wall of the operating space  120  of the column body  12 , and a connecting edge  121  is protruded from the bottom of the column body  12  (wherein the up, down, front and rear directions referred in the description of the present invention are used for the purpose of illustrating the invention only, but not intended for limiting the configuration of the invention in an erect position), and the connecting edge  121  includes a plurality of fixing holes  122  formed thereon, and a lid  14  is covered to the top of the column body  12 , and the lid  14  includes a filling receptacle  141  for filling a liquid  40  into the column body  12 . Finally, the column body  12  is vacuumed and sealed. In one embodiment, the surface of the internal wall of the lid  14  also has the same capillary structure formed on the internal wall of the column body  12 , and the lid  14  is tilted downward to facilitate guiding the airflow towards the column body  12 , and a base  10  and an insulation gasket  28  (which is a hollow plate corresponding to the base in this preferred embodiment) include a plurality of fixing holes  101 ,  281  formed around the peripheries of the base  10  and the insulation gasket  28 . During an assembling process, the insulation gasket  28  is installed between the connecting edge  121  of the column body  12  and the base  10  and fixed into the fixing holes  122 ,  101  by a plurality of fasteners  30  (such as bolts)  281 , so that the column body  12  and the base  10  are combined to form a sealed space of the column body for containing a liquid  40 . 
         [0020]    The guide element  16  is fixed into the operating space  120  of the column body  12 , and the guide element  16  includes an expanding circular portion  18  at the bottom and a guided ascending portion  20  at the top, and the expanding circular portion  18  is a circular plate slightly extended downward, and the width of the bottom of the expanding circular portion  18  is slightly smaller than the internal diameter of the column body  12  in this preferred embodiment, and the expanding circular portion  18  has a plurality of separately protruded positioning plates  181  installed at the bottom periphery of the expanding circular portion  18 , and the positioning plate  181  (or another fixing method) is fixed onto the internal wall of the column body  12 . The guided ascending portion  20  is a substantially vertical cylindrical plate, and a top plate  24  is installed at the top of the guided ascending portion  20 , and a middle tube  22  is penetrated through the top plate  24  and includes a plurality of through holes  24  formed at the periphery of the middle tube  22  and disposed apart from one another, and the guide element  16  becomes a penetrating guide space  160 , wherein a guided passing space  220  is formed inside the middle tube  22 . 
         [0021]    The partition element  26  is fixed into the operating space  120  of the column body  12  and disposed at the top of the guide element  16 , and the partition element  26  has a through hole  261  formed at the top, such that the whole partition element  26  is a hood plate expanded obliquely towards the base  10  to facilitate guiding an airflow towards the column body  12 , and the partition element  26  has a bottom with a width slightly smaller than the internal diameter of the column body  12  in this preferred embodiment, and the partition element  26  includes a plurality of separately protruded positioning plates  262  installed at the bottom periphery of the partition element  26 . The positioning plate  262  (or another fixing method) is fixed to the internal wall of the column body  12 . After the partition element  26  is positioned and assembled, the middle tube  22  is penetrated through and protruded from the through hole  261  of the partition element  26 , and a circulation space  263  is formed between the top of the middle tube  22  and the lid  14 , and the bottom of the middle tube  22  is disposed inside the guide space  160  of the guide element  16 , and preferably situated at the bottom of the guided ascending portion  20 . In addition, a first channel A is formed between the partition element  26  and the guide element  16  and led to the internal wall of the column body  12 , and a second channel B is formed between the lid  14  and the partition element  26  and led to the internal wall of the column body  12 , and the plurality of partition elements  26  can be installed into the column body  12 . 
         [0022]    In  FIG. 4 , when the directional thermal siphon type heat column of the present invention is operated, the base  10  of the column body  12  is contacted with a heat source, so that the liquid  40  can absorb heat, and an airflow of the vaporized liquid  40  will rise and a portion of the airflow is passed to the partition element  26  through the guide space  160  of the guide element  16  and the plurality of through holes  241  of the top plate  24 , and a portion of the airflow flows along the first channel A of the partition element  26  and obliquely downward to contact with the internal wall of the column body  12  to start the condensation and capillary (siphon) backflow action, so that the liquefied liquid  40  can achieve the heat absorbing and cooling effects. The other portion of the airflow of the vaporized liquid  40  is passed through the guided passing space  220  of the middle tube  22  to the circulation space  263  under the lid  14 , and the other portion of the airflow flows along the second channel B of the lid  14  and obliquely downward to contact with the internal wall at the top of the column body  12  to start the condensation and capillary (siphon) backflow action, so that the airflow of the vaporized liquid  40  can be divided without causing any opposite flushing phenomenon to provide a smooth heat dissipation and circulation operation and improve the heat dissipating efficiency significantly. 
         [0023]    Since the internal wall of the column body  12  acts as a main area for the condensation, therefore the external wall of column body  12  in contact with the outside must be maintained at a low temperature condition, and the insulation gasket  28  installed between the column body  12  and the base  10  can prevent the heat source from passing through the path formed by the base  10 , the fastener  30  and the connecting edge  121  or increasing the temperature of the external wall of the column body  12 , so as to overcome the drawbacks of lowering the heat dissipating efficiency. 
         [0024]    With reference to  FIG. 5  for a schematic view of a directional thermal siphon type heat column in accordance with the second preferred embodiment of the present invention, this preferred embodiment is based on the structure of the first preferred embodiment, and a modification is made. The second referred embodiment further comprises an accessory heat sink  60  sheathed on an external side of the column body  12 , and the accessory heat sink  60  includes a plurality of heat dissipating fins  61  for dissipating heat from an external wall of the column body  12 . 
         [0025]    With reference to  FIGS. 6 and 7  for schematic views of a directional thermal siphon type heat column in accordance with the third preferred embodiment of the present invention, this preferred embodiment is based on the structure with the column body  12  and the partition element  26  according to the first preferred embodiment, and a modification is made. The third preferred embodiment further comprises a middle tube  50  penetrated through the through hole  261  of the partition element  26  and abutted and positioned between the base  10  and the lid  14 . The middle tube  50  includes a heat dissipating element  52  installed below the partition element  26 , and the heat dissipating element  52  includes a plurality of heat dissipating fins  521  for guiding the air flow of the vaporized liquid  40  to improve the heat dissipation and circulation efficiency. In addition, the middle tube  50  includes a plurality of penetrating holes  51  formed at both upper and lower ends of the middle tube  50 , so that the airflow of the vaporized liquid  40  can pass through the penetrating hole  51  at the lower end and enter into a guided passing space  501  of the middle tube  50  and then into the second channel B from the penetrating hole  51  at the upper end. 
         [0026]    With reference to  FIG. 8  for a schematic view of a directional thermal siphon type heat column in accordance with the fourth preferred embodiment of the present invention, this preferred embodiment is based on the structure with the column body  12 , the partition element  26 , the middle tube  50  and the heat dissipating element  52  according to the third preferred embodiment, and a modification is made, wherein the middle tube  50  is penetrated through the through hole  261  of the partition element  26 , and an appropriate distance from both ends of the middle tube  50  to the base  10  and the lid  14  respectively is maintained, and the partition element  26  includes a plurality of heat dissipating fins  521  installed below and abutted against an internal wall of the column body  12  for supporting the partition element  26  to be fixed into the column body  12 . 
         [0027]    In summation of the description above, the present invention complies with the patent application requirements, and is thus duly filed for patent application. While the invention has been described with reference to a preferred embodiment thereof, it is to be understood that modifications or variations may be easily made without departing from the spirit of this invention, which is defined in the appended claims.