JPH11177003A - Fan cooling device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a fan cooling device which can be mounted so as to be freely attachable and detachable regardless of the shape of a heat generator in a relatively simple structure. SOLUTION: A device 13 constituted of a semiconductor element 22 attached to a circuit board 10, heat sink 2 having plural cooling fins 8 thermoelectrically joined with the semiconductor element 22, and the device case 4 which is mounted on the heat sink 2 so as to be freely attachable and detachable. In this case, the device case 4 is provided with a cooling fan 20, and the heat sink 2 is forcedly cooled by this cooling fan 20. The device case 4 is provided with an upper wall 26, and a pair of engaging members 58 and 60 extended from the both edge parts of an upper wall 26 downward in a substantially vertical direction. The pair of engaging parts 58 and 60 are positioned at both sides of the heat sink 2. Moreover, the pair of engaging members 58 and 60 are respectively provided with a safety lug 62 which is engaged with through- holes 16 and 17 formed on the circuit board 10 so as to be freely attachable and detachable.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

The present invention relates to a fan cooling device for cooling a heating element such as a semiconductor element.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art As a fan cooling device for cooling a heating element such as a semiconductor element, for example, US Pat.
There is one disclosed in the specification of No. 84,013.
This known fan cooling device includes a heat sink attached to a heating element and a device case detachably attached to the heat sink. A fan means is provided in the device case, and the heat sink is forcibly cooled by the fan means.

As shown in FIG. 4, a fan cooling device 100 for cooling a semiconductor device such as a microprocessor is generally used.
In order to facilitate the mounting operation of the device case 102 and securely connect the device case 102 and the heat sink 104, the device case 102 is rotated relative to the heat sink 104 about an axis extending in the vertical direction. It is attached and detached by doing. Further, the device case 102 and the heat sink 104 are provided with first and second locking means 106a and 106b for releasably locking them in a predetermined positional relationship. First
Is constituted by a combination of, for example, a flange 107 and an engagement claw 108 which is detachably engaged with the flange 107 and is relatively movable. For example, the flange 107 is provided on the apparatus case 102. The engaging claw 108 is provided on the heat sink 104. Also,
The second locking means 106b is composed of a combination of a protrusion 110 and a recess 112 which are detachable from each other. For example, the protrusion 110 is provided on the device case 102 and the recess 1 is provided.
12 is provided on the heat sink 104.

In such a known fan cooling device 100, the flange 107 of the first locking means 106a is provided.
When the device housing 102 is rotated in a predetermined direction with respect to the heat sink 104 to a mounting position in a state where the engagement claws 108 are connected to each other, the second locking means 106 b
The projection 110 and the recess 112 are engaged with each other, and thus the device case 102 is detachably mounted on the heat sink 104. On the other hand, in the mounting state described above, the heat sink 1
When the device case 102 is rotated in the opposite direction to the predetermined direction with respect to
The engagement state between the flange 107 of the first locking means 106a and the engagement claw 108 is released, and the apparatus case 102 is detached from the heat sink 104.

[0005]

However, the above-described connection structure between the device case and the heat sink can be applied when the shape of the heating element such as a semiconductor element is a square. It cannot be applied when the shape is rectangular (correspondingly, the shape of the device case and the heat sink also becomes rectangular),
What can be applied regardless of the shape of the heating element has been desired.

In the specification of US Pat. No. 5,484,013, in addition to the above-described fan cooling device,
A configuration in which the device case is moved in the axial direction with respect to the heat sink and connected to each other is also disclosed. However, in this embodiment, the connection structure for releasably connecting the heat sink and the device case to each other is relatively complicated.

An object of the present invention is to provide a fan cooling device which has a relatively simple structure and can be applied to, for example, a heating element having a rectangular outer shape.

[0008]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention comprises a heating element mounted on a circuit board, a heat sink thermally conductively connected to the heating element, and an apparatus case detachably mounted on the heat sink. A cooling fan provided in the device case, wherein the heat sink is forcibly cooled by the cooling fan, wherein the device case extends substantially vertically downward from an upper wall and both sides of the upper wall. A pair of side walls, the pair of side walls being positioned on both sides of the heating element and the heat sink, and the pair of side walls being detachably engaged with through holes formed on the circuit board; A fan cooling device characterized in that a joining member is provided.

According to the invention, the device case has a pair of side walls, which are located on both sides of the heating element and the heat sink. Also, on the pair of side walls, respectively,
An engaging member is provided, and the engaging member is removably engaged with a through hole formed on the circuit board to which the heating element is attached.
Therefore, the heat sink and the device case are releasably connected by the pair of side walls and the engagement member.

[0010]

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG.

FIG. 1 is a sectional view showing an embodiment of a fan cooling device according to the present invention. FIGS. 2 and 3 are exploded perspective views showing a heat sink and an apparatus case of the fan cooling device of FIG. It is sectional drawing.

1 to 3, a fan cooling device according to the present invention is provided with a heat sink 2 which is conductively joined to a heating element such as a semiconductor element mounted on a circuit board, and is formed so as to surround the heat sink 2. It is composed of a device case 4 which is detachably mounted on a circuit board. The heat sink 2 is disposed on the upper surface of the rectangular bottom wall 6 (the surface opposite to the surface mounted on the heating element) in the lateral direction (the direction perpendicular to the paper surface in FIG. 1, the direction from the lower right to the upper left in FIG. 2). A plurality of cooling fins 8 are integrally arranged side by side at intervals. The cooling fins 8 extend linearly in the longitudinal direction of the heat sink 2 (the left-right direction in FIG. 1 and the direction from the lower left to the upper right in FIG. 2). At the center of the heat sink 2, a circular concave portion 18 is provided by cutting out a part of the plurality of cooling fins 8. The circular concave portion 18 has a cooling fan 20 provided in the apparatus case 4.
Is stored.

The heat sink 2 can be formed, for example, from an aluminum die-cast. As shown in FIGS. 1 to 3, the heat sink 2 is, for example, a semiconductor element 22 such as a microprocessor as a heating element.
It is attached in a state where it is thermally conductively bonded to the cable. Semiconductor element 2
The outer shape of the heat sink 2 is almost equal to the outer shape of the heat sink 2 for cooling the heat sink 2, and the heat sink 2 is attached so as to cover the entire area of the semiconductor element 22. The circuit board 10 on which the semiconductor element 22 is mounted is provided with through holes 16, 17 penetrating the semiconductor element 22 in a vertical direction at positions on both sides of the semiconductor element 22.

The device case 4 includes a rectangular upper wall 26,
The cooling fan 20 has a pair of side walls 28 and 30 extending substantially vertically downward from both side portions of the upper wall 26, and the cooling fan 20 is provided at a central portion of the upper wall 26. The cooling fan 20 has a hollow cylindrical fan housing 32, and the fan housing 32 is formed integrally with the device case 4 from a synthetic resin material. A support cylindrical wall 34 is provided inside the fan housing 32, and the housing 32 and the support cylindrical wall 34 are provided.
Are connected via connecting portions 36 arranged at intervals in the circumferential direction, and a suction opening 38 for sucking cooling air is formed between adjacent connecting portions 36. A shaft member 42 is rotatably supported on the support cylindrical wall 34 via a pair of bearings 40. A cup-shaped rotor 44 is fixed to one end of the shaft member 42. A plurality of blades 46 are integrally provided on the outer peripheral surface of the rotor 44 at intervals in the circumferential direction. On the other hand, a rotor magnet 50 is attached to the inner peripheral surface of the rotor 44 via an annular yoke 48. A stator 52 is provided to face the rotor magnet 50. The stator 52 has a stator core 54 attached to the outer peripheral surface of the support cylindrical wall 34, and a coil 56 wound around the stator core 54.

The side walls 28, 30 of the device case 4 are provided with two pairs of engaging members 58, 60. One side wall 2
A pair of slits extending upward from the lower end to the upper wall 26 are formed near both ends of the pair 8, respectively, and the engaging member 58 is separated from the side wall 28 by the pair of slits. It is formed so that it can be elastically deformed. Similarly, a pair of slits is formed in the other side wall 30, and an engaging member 60 extending to the circuit board 10 is formed by the pair of slits. The width of each of the engagement members 58 and 60 is set to be substantially equal to the width of the corresponding through-holes 16 and 17 of the circuit board 10. With such a configuration, the engaging members 58 and 60 can swing by elastic deformation of their bases (connection portions with the upper wall 26), and by being elastically deformed somewhat inward, , Engagement member 5
8 and 60 are received in the corresponding through holes 16 and 17.

A claw 62 (shown on the engaging member 58) protruding outward is integrally provided at the tip of the engaging members 58 and 60. Each engagement member 58, 60
1 is inserted into the corresponding through hole 16 as understood from FIG.
And engages with the opening thereof so as to be freely disengaged.

At both ends of the upper wall 26 of the device case 4, rectangular cutouts 66 are formed extending inward from both ends toward the fan housing 32. Notch 6 like this
By forming 6, both ends of the plurality of cooling fins 8 are exposed to the outside, so that the cooling effect of the cooling fins 8 is enhanced.

Next, the manner of assembling the fan cooling device having the above configuration will be described. To mount the fan cooling device on the circuit board 10, first, the heat sink 2 is attached to the upper surface of the semiconductor element 22 attached to the surface of the circuit board 10 by soldering or the like.

Next, the device case 4 is attached to the heat sink 2. When mounting the device case 4, the pair of side walls 2
8 and 30 are positioned outside the cooling fins 8 on both outer sides of the heat sink 2, and the engaging members 5 on the side walls 28 and 30.
8 and 60 are pressed somewhat inward so that the through holes 1 in the circuit board 10 are
6 and 17, and in this state, the device case 4 may be moved downward toward the heat sink 2 and mounted. When mounted in this manner, the distal ends of the engaging members 58 and 60 protrude through the through holes 16 and 17, and the engaging members 58 and 60
Due to the elastic restoring force of the through hole 60, the claw portion 62 is
17 and thus the device case 4 is removably attached to the heat sink 2 as shown in FIG. In order to prevent erroneous attachment of the device case 4 to the heat sink 2, for example, a pair of engaging members 58 provided on the side wall 28 side and the corresponding through holes 16 and
It is also possible to make the size of each 17 different.

In this mounted state, the side walls 28 and 30 of the device case 4 are connected to the cooling fins 8 on both sides of the heat sink 2.
And the engaging members 58, 60 of the side walls 28, 30
Of the corresponding through holes 16, 17 of the circuit board 10.
Thus, the device case 4 is detachably and securely mounted on the heat sink 2. Then, the rotor 44 and the blade 46 of the cooling fan 20 provided in the device case 4 are accommodated in the recess 18 of the heat sink 2.

When the rotor 44 is driven to rotate in a predetermined direction in this mounted state, the action of the blade 46 causes
The cooling fins 8 sucked through the suction opening 38 of the device case 4
An airflow is generated that flows longitudinally along The heat from the semiconductor element 22 is transferred to the heat sink 2 which is thermally connected.
The cooling fins 8 are transmitted to the plurality of cooling fins 8 through the bottom wall 6 of the cooling fins 8 and are forcibly cooled when the inhaled air flows along the cooling fins 8. And the air flow from the cooling fan 20 cools as required. When removing the device case 4 from the heat sink 2, the engagement members 58,
60 is pressed somewhat inward, and the claw portion 62 and the through holes 16 and 17 are pressed.
Is disengaged from the opening, and the device case 4 may be moved upward with respect to the circuit board 10.

To heat conductively attach the heat sink 2 to the semiconductor element 22, as shown in FIG. 3, the cooling fins 8a and 8b (see FIG.
Are formed in the vertical direction (the direction perpendicular to the paper surface in FIG. 3) relatively larger than the other cooling fins, and the upper wall 26 of the device case 4 is formed.
Grooves 26a, 2 formed on the lower surface (the surface facing the cooling fin) corresponding to the outer cooling fins 8a, 8b
6b, the upper ends of the outer cooling fins 8a, 8b are housed,
When the device case 4 is engaged with the circuit board 10, the bottom wall 6 of the heat sink 2 can be pressed and fixed to the upper surface of the semiconductor element 22 with the device case 4. Alternatively, the heat sink 2 may be fixed to the device case 4 by means such as screwing, and the heat sink 2 may be joined to the semiconductor element 22 by attaching the device case 4 to the circuit board 10.
When the heat sink 2 is fixed to the semiconductor element 22 in advance, projections such as pins are provided on the lower surface of the bottom wall 6 of the heat sink 2 (the surface opposite to the surface on which the heat radiation fins 8 are formed). The heat sink 2 can also be connected to the semiconductor element 22 by means such as forming a recess in a corresponding portion of the semiconductor element 22 and inserting a pin into the recess, or bonding the two.
It is possible to fix to.

In the above-described embodiment of the present invention, two engaging members 58 and 60 are provided on the side walls 28 and 30, respectively. However, when the device case 4 can be securely mounted, The engaging members 58, 60 are connected to the respective side walls 28, 3
One may be provided for each of the 0 sides.

Furthermore, in the embodiment of the present invention, the case where the fan cooling device of the present invention is used for a rectangular semiconductor element has been described as an example for easy understanding. As described above, since the heat sink 2 and the device case 4 can be detachably and reliably mounted only by the linear motion in the vertical direction, for example, in addition to the rectangular shape, for example, a square or another polygonal shape or a circular shape may be used. It can also be used in heating elements.

Although the embodiment of the fan cooling device according to the present invention has been described above, the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and various modifications and corrections can be made without departing from the scope of the present invention. Is possible.

[0026]

According to the fan cooling device of the first aspect of the present invention, the device case has a pair of engaging members, and these engaging members are located on both sides of the heat sink. In addition, each of the pair of engaging members is provided with an engaging protrusion, which engages with a through hole formed in the circuit board in a detachable manner. Therefore, the heat sink and the device case are releasably connected to the circuit board on which the semiconductor element is mounted by the pair of engagement members.

According to the fan cooling device of the second aspect of the present invention, since the engagement member is provided separately from the pair of slits by forming the pair of slits in the side wall, the engagement member has a relatively simple configuration. A joining member can be provided.

According to the fan cooling device of the third aspect of the present invention, the outer cooling fin of the heat sink is formed to have a larger height dimension than the other cooling fins, and the surface of the heat sink facing the cooling fin of the device case. A portion of the outer cooling fin that protrudes from the other cooling fins is housed in the groove formed on the heat sink. It can be fixed by pressing.

Further, according to the fan cooling device of the fourth aspect of the present invention, since the size of the pair of engaging members formed on the same side wall and the size of the corresponding through-holes are different, the device case is mounted on the heat sink. When mounting, erroneous mounting can be prevented.

[Detailed description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a sectional view showing an embodiment of a fan cooling device according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view showing a heat sink and a device case of the fan cooling device of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is an exploded sectional view showing a heat sink and a device case of the fan cooling device of FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a plan view showing a mounting method of a conventional fan cooling device.

[Explanation of symbols]

 Reference Signs List 2 heat sink 4 device case 6 bottom wall 8 cooling fins 8a, 8b outer cooling fins 10 circuit board 16 through hole 20 cooling fan 22 semiconductor element 26 upper wall 26a, 26b concave groove 28, 30 side wall 58, 60 engaging member 62 claw portion

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. A heating element mounted on a circuit board, a heat sink having a plurality of cooling fins and thermally conductively connected to the heating element, and an apparatus case detachably mounted on the heat sink. A cooling fan provided in the device case, wherein the heat sink is forcibly cooled by the cooling fan, wherein the device case extends at least substantially vertically downward from an upper wall and both sides of the upper wall. It has a pair of engagement members, the pair of engagement members are located on both sides of the heating element and the heat sink,
Further, the pair of engaging members are provided with engaging projections which are removably engaged with through holes formed on the circuit board, respectively. 2. The apparatus case has a pair of side walls extending substantially vertically downward from both sides of the upper wall, and the engaging member forms a pair of vertical slits in the side wall. 2. The fan cooling device according to claim 1, wherein the projection is provided separately from the side wall, and a projection at a tip of the engagement member is disposed below a lower end of the side wall. 3. The outer cooling fins on both sides of the heat sink are formed so that the upper surface is one step higher than the other cooling fins. 2. The fan cooling device according to claim 1, wherein a groove for accommodating a portion protruding from the cooling fin is formed. 4. At least two pairs of said engaging members are provided, and one pair of engaging members and the width dimension of the corresponding through-hole and the other engaging member and the width of the corresponding through-hole are provided. 2. The method according to claim 1, wherein the dimension of the direction is different.
4. The fan cooling device according to any one of claims 1 to 3.