Remote directional vapor chamber heat sink

Abstract

A vapor chamber for a heatsink comprises: a housing having an exterior surface with an area to be positioned adjacent to a heat source, an interior surface to enclose contiguous chambers including an evaporator chamber adjacent to the area, a condenser chamber spaced from the evaporator chamber, and a connector chamber connecting the evaporator chamber to the condenser chamber, and interior walls that partition the contiguous chambers into channels that extend from their open near ends adjacent to the evaporator chamber into the condenser chamber, to provide fluid communication between the evaporator chamber and the condenser chamber; a wick on interior surfaces of the housing and on walls of the channels; and a working fluid in the contiguous chambers to circulate between the evaporator chamber and the condenser chamber via the channels to transfer heat away from and cool the heat source.

1 . A vapor chamber for a heatsink comprising:
 a housing having an exterior surface with an area to be positioned adjacent to a heat source, an interior surface to enclose contiguous chambers including an evaporator chamber adjacent to the area, a condenser chamber spaced from the evaporator chamber, and a connector chamber connecting the evaporator chamber to the condenser chamber, and interior walls that partition the contiguous chambers into channels that have open near ends adjacent to the evaporator chamber, wherein the channels extend from the open near ends, through the connector chamber, and into the condenser chamber, to provide fluid communication between the evaporator chamber and the condenser chamber;   a wick on the interior surface of the housing that contains the evaporator chamber, the condenser chamber, and the connector chamber, and on the interior walls of the channels; and   a working fluid in the contiguous chambers to circulate between the evaporator chamber and the condenser chamber via the channels to transfer heat away from and cool the heat source.   
     
     
         2 . The vapor chamber of  claim 1 , wherein:
 the housing has a length and a width that is transverse to the length;   the evaporator chamber is spaced from the condenser chamber along the length; and   the channels include first channels and second channels that extend through the connector chamber in parallel with each other on a first side and a second side of the width, respectively, and branch away from each other in the condenser chamber.   
     
     
         3 . The vapor chamber of  claim 1 , wherein the open near ends of the channels terminate at an edge of the evaporator chamber so as not to enter the evaporator chamber, and the channels terminate at open far ends of the channels within the condenser chamber. 
     
     
         4 . (canceled) 
     
     
         5 . The vapor chamber of  claim 1 , wherein the housing comprises:
 top and bottom area plates, spaced-apart from each other by a height that is transverse to a length and a width of the housing, the top and bottom area plates having respective edges that are joined together to form contiguous housing sections that enclose the contiguous chambers.   
     
     
         6 . The vapor chamber of  claim 5 , wherein the contiguous housing sections form an evaporator, a condenser spaced-apart from the evaporator along the length, and a connector section connecting the evaporator to the condenser that respectively contain the evaporator chamber, the condenser chamber, and the connector chamber. 
     
     
         7 . The vapor chamber of  claim 6 , wherein an outer surface of the evaporator comprises the area to be positioned adjacent to the heat source. 
     
     
         8 . The vapor chamber of  claim 7 , wherein, to cool the heat source:
 the evaporator is configured to spread the heat from the heat source across the evaporator to cause the working fluid to vaporize from a liquid to a vapor;   the channels are configured to direct the vapor from the evaporator to the condenser;   the condenser is configured to condense the vapor to the liquid; and   the wick is configured to transport the liquid from the condenser, along the interior walls forming the channels, to the evaporator.   
     
     
         9 . The vapor chamber of  claim 6 , wherein the housing has a T-shape such that the evaporator and the connector section are connected in series to form a leg of the T-shape and the condenser forms a crossbar of the T-shape that is joined to the leg of the T-shape. 
     
     
         10 . The vapor chamber of  claim 6 , wherein the interior walls are configured to form first channels and second channels of the channels that extend through the connector section in parallel with each other on a first side and a second side of the width, respectively, and extend away from each other in the condenser. 
     
     
         11 . The vapor chamber of  claim 5 , wherein the interior walls (i) have top and bottom edges joined to the top and bottom area plates along lengths of the interior walls, and (ii) are spaced-apart from each other across the width so as to be parallel with each other along the lengths of the interior walls. 
     
     
         12 . The vapor chamber of  claim 1 , wherein the housing comprises copper and the wick comprises sintered copper. 
     
     
         13 . A vapor chamber heatsink comprising:
 a vapor chamber including:
 a housing to form an evaporator that contains an evaporator chamber, a condenser spaced-apart from the evaporator and that contains a condenser chamber, and a connector section that connects the evaporator to the condenser and contains a connector chamber, the housing including interior walls that partition the connector chamber and the condenser chamber into channels that have open near ends adjacent to the evaporator chamber, wherein the channels extend from the open near ends, through the connector chamber, and into the condenser chamber, to provide fluid communication between the evaporator chamber and the condenser chamber; 
 a wick on an interior surface of the evaporator, the connector section, and the condenser, and on the interior walls of the channels; and 
 a working fluid to circulate between the evaporator chamber and the condenser chamber via the channels; 
   a cold plate fixed to the evaporator to apply heat from a heat source to the evaporator; and   a heat fin stack fixed to the condenser.   
     
     
         14 . The vapor chamber heatsink of  claim 13 , wherein:
 the channels extend in parallel through the connector chamber along a length of the connector chamber, and the channels extend in parallel along a width of the condenser chamber that is transverse to the length.   
     
     
         15 . The vapor chamber heatsink of  claim 14 , wherein:
 the channels include first channels and second channels that (i) extend through the connector chamber in parallel on a first side and a second side of the width, respectively, and (ii) branch away from each other in the condenser chamber.   
     
     
         16 . The vapor chamber heatsink of  claim 13 , wherein the housing has a T-shape such that the evaporator and the connector section are connected in series to form a leg of the T-shape and the condenser forms a crossbar of the T-shape that is joined to the leg of the T-shape. 
     
     
         17 . The vapor chamber heatsink of  claim 13 , wherein, to cool the heat source:
 the evaporator is configured to spread the heat across the evaporator to cause the working fluid to vaporize from a liquid to a vapor;   the channels are configured to direct the vapor from the evaporator to and across the condenser;   the condenser is configured to condense the vapor to the liquid; and   the wick is configured to transport the liquid from the condenser, along the channels, to the evaporator.   
     
     
         18 . A method comprising:
 providing a housing having an exterior surface with an area to be positioned adjacent to a heat source, an interior surface to enclose contiguous chambers including an evaporator chamber adjacent to the area, a condenser chamber spaced from the evaporator chamber, and a connector chamber connecting the evaporator chamber to the condenser chamber, and interior walls that partition the contiguous chambers into channels that have open near ends adjacent to the evaporator chamber, wherein the channels extend from the open near ends, through the connector chamber, and into the condenser chamber, to provide fluid communication between the evaporator chamber and the condenser chamber;   providing a wick on the interior surface of the housing that contains the evaporator chamber, the condenser chamber, and the connector chamber, and on the interior walls of the channels;   providing a working fluid in the contiguous chambers;   by the evaporator chamber, receiving heat from the heat source, which causes the working fluid to vaporize from a liquid to a vapor;   by the channels, directing the vapor from the evaporator chamber to the condenser chamber;   by the condenser chamber, condensing the vapor to the liquid; and   by the wick, transporting the liquid from the condenser chamber, along the interior walls forming the channels, to the evaporator chamber.   
     
     
         19 . The method of  claim 18 , wherein the interior walls form first channels and second channels of the channels that extend through the connector chamber in parallel with each other on a first side and a second side of a width of the connector chamber, respectively, and extend away from each other in the condenser chamber. 
     
     
         20 . The method of  claim 19 , wherein the open near ends of the channels terminate at an edge of the evaporator chamber so as not to enter the evaporator chamber, and the channels terminate at open far ends of the channels in the condenser chamber. 
     
     
         21 . The vapor chamber of  claim 1 , wherein the working fluid includes water.