Patent ID: 7876564

Claim:
A cooling apparatus for a computer memory module comprising a substrate with memory chips on at least one surface thereof, at least one of the memory chips having a maximum preselected operating temperature, the cooling apparatus comprising: a primary heat spreader having a longitudinal extent and comprising separate and discrete first and second panels configured to engage the memory module therebetween by assembling and securing the first and second panels together, the first and second panels having contact surfaces that face each other when the first and second panels are assembled and secured together and are adapted for thermal contact with the at least one memory chip of the computer memory module when the first and second panels are assembled and secured together with the computer memory module therebetween; at least a first heatpipe fluidically coupled to the first panel of the primary heat spreader and having a remote portion alongside the first panel so as to be oriented substantially parallel to and spaced apart from the primary heat spreader in a lateral direction relative to the longitudinal extent of the primary heat spreader; a secondary heat spreader in thermally conductive contact with the remote portion of the first heatpipe and spaced apart from the primary heat spreader so as to define an air gap therebetween, the secondary heat spreader comprising means for increasing surface dissipation of heat from the first heatpipe into the environment; and a coolant within the first heatpipe and within the primary heat spreader so as to absorb heat from the primary heat spreader while the coolant is within the first panel and conduct the absorbed heat to the secondary heat spreader by flowing from the first panel through the first heatpipe to the remote portion thereof, the coolant having a boiling point at or below the maximum preselected operating temperature of the at least one memory chip; wherein the first heatpipe is fluidically coupled to a fluid-tight passage within the first panel of the primary heat spreader, and the passage has a wall that defines at least a portion of the contact surface of the first panel and thermally contacts the at least one memory chip of the computer memory module when the first and second panels are assembled and secured together with the computer memory module therebetween; and wherein the wall of the passage is a plate bonded to the first panel so as to close the passage and has a flat surface that defines the portion of the contact surface of the first panel.