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Industrial Computers & Monitors
The Technology You Need. The Platform Your Application Demands.
Reliability, precision, and efficiency of the products fueling your applications on the factory floor is critical to the overall safety and success of your operation. Failure to implement the correct solution for your application demands can prove to be costly when it comes to line down time, equipment replacement, and loss of production. But in a world where computer options seem endless, how do you make a choice?
Rockwell Automation Industrial Computers and Monitors exceed the rigorous quality standards you depend on for success in today’s harsh industrial environments. Our computers and monitors are built with high grade components such as corrosive resistant metal for chassis, shock-mounted hard drives, and feature integrated LCD displays, touch screens, and alphanumeric keypads specifically designed for 24/7 use in demanding industrial environments.
Integrated Display Computers
Choose between our performance and standard integrated display computers with rugged industrial platforms and enhanced features to help you increase your computing performance.
Non-Display Computers
Provides the functionality needed to run factory operations from small visual interface and maintenance applications to large control and information applications.

* Compact Non-Display Computers
The 200R compact non-display computer provides the functionality and performance you need to run visual interface, maintenance and control applications.

LAPTOPS Description of the Prior Art

The operating speed of computers is constantly being improved to create faster computers. With this, comes an increase in heat generation and a need to effectively dissipate that heat.

Heat exchangers and heat sink assemblies have been used that apply natural or forced convection cooling methods to dissipate heat from electronic elements that are highly concentrated heat sources such as microprocessors and computer chips; however, air has a relatively low heat capacity. Thus, liquid-cooled units called LCUs employing a cold plate in conjunction with high heat capacity fluids have been used to remove heat from these types of heat sources. Although, LCUs are satisfactory for moderate heat flux, increasing computing speeds have required more effective heat sink assemblies.

Thermosiphon cooling units (TCUs) have been used for cooling electronic elements having a high heat flux. A typical TCU absorbs heat generated by the electronic element by vaporizing a working fluid housed on the boiler plate of the unit. The boiling of the working fluid constitutes a phase change from liquid-to-vapor state and as such the working fluid of the TCU is considered to be a two-phase fluid. Vapor generated during boiling of the working fluid is then transferred to a condenser, where it is liquefied by the process of film condensation over the condensing surface of the TCU. The heat is rejected into ambient air flowing over the condenser and fins are commonly employed on the condenser to increase the heat transferred from the vapor. The condensed liquid is returned back to the boiler plate by gravity.

An example of such a TCU includes U.S. Pat. No. 5,529,115 to Paterson. The Paterson patent discloses a heat exchanger assembly including a container defining a circular chamber extending in an endless loop and partially filled with a coolant which forms a coolant pool in the lower portion of the chamber. Heat generated by an integrated circuit device causes the coolant to boil and vaporized coolant rises upwardly from the coolant pool around the circular chamber to an upper portion of the chamber. As the coolant rises to the upper portion of the chamber, it condenses and flows to the coolant pool in the lower portion of the chamber.

The circular chamber in Paterson '115 patent includes internal cooling fins spaced from one another about the interior of the chamber. However, a large volume of cooling air flows through the circular chamber without performing any heat transfer.

Space or volume is at a premium in computer environments and it is essential that thermosiphon cooling units maximize heat transfer while minimizing the space occupied. In addition to minimizing space, it is desirable that TCUs be relatively inexpensive to fabricate. Furthermore, as computer processing speeds continue to increase, it is desirable for TCUs to provide more efficient heat dissipation. The cost to fabricate a TCU is relatively high when the TCU is fabricated from especially dedicated and unique components, as distinguished from being fabricated from stock materials.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION AND ADVANTAGES

The invention provides a heat exchanger assembly for cooling an electronic element comprising a condensing tube extending in an endless loop defining upper and lower chambers with a plurality of internal fins for dissipating heat extending between and engaging the upper and lower chambers of the tube.

Accordingly, the invention provides an alternative design for a thermosiphon that occupies a minimum of space yet efficiently dissipates heat and can be manufactured from stock parts, or efficiently formed parts. The condensing tube can be extruded tubing cut to the desired length and bent into an endless loop. The internal fins are formed in a continuous and inexpensive process to fill the space defined by the upper and lower chambers of the condensing tube.