Extended air cooling with heat loop for dense or compact configurations of electronic components

Abstract

A thermosyphon system is employed in conjunction with compact and/or dense configurations of electrical and/or electronic components to provide cooling. The thermosyphon cooling system is particularly advantageous in those systems in which the compact arrangement of circuit modules precludes the use of direct air cooling. The thermosyphon cooling system repositions the air cooling aspect of its cooling function to an exterior cabinet location distant from the circuit modules which can therefore be placed more closely together to shorten signal paths.

The invention claimed is:  
     
         1 . A cooling system for electrical or electronic equipment, said system comprising: 
 a substantially flat evaporator having a thermally conductive surface for thermal contact with said equipment;    a condenser disposed above and sufficiently far from said evaporator so as to avoid interference with close placement of separately coolable portions of said equipment;    a vapor line extending from an upper portion of said evaporator to an upper portion of said condenser; and    a condensate line extending from a lower portion of said condenser to a lower portion of said evaporator, whereby liquid coolant converted to vapor in said evaporator is introduced into said condenser where it returns as liquid form and flows back to said evaporator in a closed loop.    
     
     
         2 . The cooling system of    claim 1    further including a coolant.  
     
     
         3 . The system of    claim 2    in which said coolant is water.  
     
     
         4 . The system of    claim 2    in which said coolant is a mixture of water and alcohol.  
     
     
         5 . The system of    claim 2    in which said coolant comprises a fluorocarbon.  
     
     
         6 . The system of    claim 2    in which said coolant comprises a chlorofluorocarbon.  
     
     
         7 . The cooling system of    claim 1    in which said system is partially filled with liquid coolant and with vapor phase material maintained at a pressure such that boiling of said liquid takes place at a temperature at or below an operation range for the electronics being cooled.  
     
     
         8 . The cooling system of    claim 1    further including an air-moving device for removing heat from said condenser.  
     
     
         9 . The cooling system of    claim 8    in which said air-moving device comprises a pair of fans configured in a push-pull arrangement.  
     
     
         10 . The cooling system of    claim 1    in which said evaporator includes a plurality of separate evaporation chambers having baffles therein for providing a uniform flow of liquid coolant throughout the evaporator plate.