International Business Machines Corporation

Shurong Tian

Todd Edward Takken

Paul William Coteus

Mark Delorman Schultz

Shawn Anthony Hall

Evan G Colgan

Yuan Yao

Christopher Michael Marroquin

Fuad Elias Doany

Thomas Mario Cipolla

Xin Zhang

John Edward Sheets, Ii

Alan G Gara

Eren Kursun

John Peter Karidis

David Paul Paulsen

Kevin O'Connell

William James Anderl

Chen-Yong Cher

Andrew Ferencz

James Dorance Gerken

Brian Andrew Schuelke

Robert W Guernsey, Jr

Joshua M Rubin

Liam McAuliffe

Lisha Zhang

An apparatus includes a cabinet; an air-mover attached to the cabinet; a circuit board mounted in the cabinet; and an air-cooled heat sink attached in thermal contact with a heat-generating component on the circuit board. The heat sink includes a heat sink base; primary heat removal fins protruding from the heat sink base in a direction away from the circuit board; and secondary heat removal fins protruding from the heat sink base in a direction toward the circuit board. The air-mover is configured to force air between the primary heat removal fins and between the secondary heat removal fins.

Heat sinks with beyond-board fins

An approach for reducing unwanted magnetic coupling with conductive elements by keeping the localized magnetic field in a transformer's or inductors magnetic gap far away from any conductive elements is provided. The approach includes the use of spacers to keep the localized magnetic field in a transformer's or inductor's magnetic gap far away from any conductive elements to reduce unwanted magnetic coupling with those conductive elements. The spacers can be made from materials including ferrite, conductors and non-conducting elements.

Spacer to reduce magnetic coupling

A server drawer comprising a plurality of Printed Circuit Boards (PCBs) respectively containing heat-generating electronic devices. The server drawer further comprises a plurality of fans configured to convectively dissipate heat from the heat-generating electronic devices. The server drawer further comprises internal partitions isolating airflow between respective PCBs of the plurality of PCBs.

Dedicated airflow channels for cooling server drawers

An apparatus comprising chips mounted to a substrate, wherein one or more of the chips comprises a first height and one or more of the chips comprises a second height, wherein the first height is taller than the second height. A cold plate located above the plurality of chips, wherein the cold plate includes a bottom wall and a top wall, wherein the cold plate includes a plurality of cooling fins that are attached to the bottom wall of the cold plate, wherein the cold plate accommodates the plurality of chips, wherein the chips includes chips having the first height and the second height.

Flexible cold plate for contacting varied and variable chip heights

A method includes attaching an integrated circuit chip module substrate to a printed circuit board (PCB). First region(s) of a bottom surface of the module include electrical contacts to the board, and second region(s) of the bottom surface of the module lack such contacts. Mechanical structures are assembled into the second regions. These structures allow lateral motion of the module relative to the board, and are sized and placed to inhibit bending of the second regions of the module towards the board under application of a vertical force on a top surface of the module. A package for an integrated circuit may be assembled using the method.

Flex prevention mechanical structure such as a ring for large integrated circuit modules and packages and methods of manufacture using same

In an apparatus for coupling integrated circuits to printed circuit boards, a backing plate with manufactured features on the top surface includes a module lid; a planar structure; a device seated in the planar structure, with the module lid in contact with the top surface of the device; and a backing plate that contains manufactured features on one side. The backing plate is in contact with the planar structure, and a plurality of fastening mechanisms couple together the lid, the device, the planar structure, and the backing plate.

Backing plate with manufactured features on top surface

An assembled circuit board has a topology that defines positions, dimensions and power dissipation of components mounted to the circuit board, including a high power component and one or more low power components. A cold plate makes thermal contact to the high power component through a thermal interface material. A thermally conductive sheet overlays the circuit board and is formed to match the topology of the low power component or components. The sheet has a first portion that makes thermal contact with the cold plate and a second portion that overlays the low power component or components. The cold plate removes heat directly from the high power component and indirectly through the thermally conductive sheet from the low power component or components. The thermally conductive sheet conforms to the topology of the low power components either by preforming or by flexibility.

Mechanically flexible cold plates for low power components

A single device having both thermal and alignment features is provided to mechanically align and more efficiently cool multiple heat generating components. The device includes one or more thermal structures and assembly alignment features, in which the one or more thermal structures make thermal contact with a plurality of heat generating components. The assembly alignment features control the positions of the heat generating components during assembly of the heat generating components onto a common substrate.

Multi-device cooling structure having assembly alignment features

A cold plate apparatus includes a top wall and a bottom wall that enclose a plenum for fluid flow; an inlet and an outlet each formed in one of the top wall or the bottom wall; a first active area within the plenum; a second active area within the plenum; and a partition that extends between the top wall and the bottom wall within the plenum and that separates the first active area from the second active area so that a portion of fluid flowing from the inlet to the outlet through the plenum flows through either the first active area or the second active area but not through both active areas.

Flexible cold plate with parallel fluid flow paths

A cold plate structure, wherein a thermally active region includes fins metal injection molded in a single piece with a fin base sufficiently thin so that the active region mechanically conforms to the heat generating device that the cold plate cools. The fin base is formed as a common structure with a bottom wall of the cold plate, reducing thermal resistance between the device and the fins and also enhancing mechanical flexibility. Another cold plate structure can include multiple thermally active regions, with flexible outer walls and a reduced thickness between active regions, allowing for position variation between multiple heat generation devices that are cooled by the common cold plate. A common base having multiple physically separate active regions can be metal injection molded in a single step, or bases of multiple active regions can be formed individually and joined later to form a common single cold plate structure.

Injection-molded flexible cold plate

An method for forming a cooling apparatus for cooling an electronic component. The apparatus has a planar top member of a thermal energy conductive material and a parallel planar bottom member of the material, the planar bottom member including a surface having regions configured for heat exchange contact with the electronic component. The planar top member has a plurality of stamped indent formations at a plurality of locations, each indent formation providing a contact surface such that the planar top member is affixed to the bottom member by braze or solder at each contact surface. Alternatively, the planar bottom member also has a plurality of stamped indent formations in alignment with indent formations of the top member. The planar top member is affixed to the bottom member by brazing or soldering each respective contact surface of an indent formation of the planar top member to an opposing contact surface of a corresponding indent formation of the parallel planar bottom member.

Burst resistant thin wall heat sink

An apparatus includes a top wall and a bottom wall. The top wall and the bottom wall define and enclose a first fin area; a second fin area; and a flex region joining the first fin area to the second fin area. The flex region is connected in fluid communication with the interior of the first fin area and the interior of the second fin area. The flex region is bent or twisted at a nonzero angle around at least one axis relative to the broadest surfaces of the first and second fin areas.

Cold plate with flex regions between fin areas

An inductor includes a conductor having a first end and a second end, wherein the first end, the second end, or both ends are configured to be mounted on a substrate and configured to receive a heat flow; and one or more magnetic cores surrounding a first portion of the conductor, the first portion of the conductor being intermediate the first end and the second end of the conductor. A second portion of the conductor not surrounded by the one or more magnetic cores is configured to transfer the heat flow from the conductor.

Combined inductor and heat transfer device

A cooling apparatus includes a chamber and a pressure-relief element. The chamber includes a coolant in a liquid phase disposed near a heat-generation object. The coolant in the liquid phase dissipates heat from the heat-generation object and is converted from the liquid phase to a vapor phase upon the coolant in the liquid phase reaching a boiling temperature. The pressure-relief element has a conduit. A first end of the conduit is submerged in the coolant in the liquid phase internal to the chamber and a second end of the conduit is connected to atmosphere external to the chamber.

Space-efficient pressure relief mechanism for immersion cooling of computing elements

A structure for a network switch. The network switch may include a plurality of spine chips arranged on a plurality of spine cards, where one or more spine chips are located on each spine card; and a plurality of leaf chips arranged on a plurality of leaf cards, wherein one or more leaf chips are located on each leaf card, where each spine card is connected to every leaf chip and the plurality of spine chips are surrounded on at least two sides by leaf cards.

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Mount Kisco, NY, United States of America

Shurong Tian