The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document.
The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge covers the following: Patent number, Date patent was issued, Date patent was filed, Title of the patent, Applicant, Inventor, Assignee, Attorney firm, Primary examiner, Assistant examiner, CPCs, and Abstract. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document (in Adobe Acrobat format, aka pdf). To download or print any patent click here.
Patent No.:
Date of Patent:
May. 06, 2003
Filed:
Mar. 27, 2001
Robert E. DeHoff, Mount Joy, PA (US);
Kevin A. Grubb, Niantic, CT (US);
Thermal Corp., Stanton, DE (US);
Abstract
The invention is an apparatus for cooling a portable computer while it is attached to a docking station. Heat transfer surfaces on simple thermally conductive plates are attached to heat pipes in both the portable computer and the docking station, and the installation of the portable computer into the docking station is arranged to put the two heat transfer surfaces into thermally conductive contact. With the portable computer heat pipe attached to a heat generating component and the docking station heat pipe attached to a heat sink, heat is transferred to the heat sink through the heat transfer surfaces when they are in contact. The heat sink can be fan cooled, and the fan can be arranged to discharge through either the back or side of the docking station. The heat transfer surface of the portable computer also functions as a cooling surface when the portable computer is detached from the docking station.