Intellectual Property Law

US Patent 7900690 - Moving carbon nanotube heat sink

A variety of different strategies have been patented by Intel and other companies for using carbon nanotubes to cool integrated circuits. Most of these designs are based on static heat sinks. In contrast this patent from Saudi researchers teaches a circulating belt structure having nanotubes for enhancing thermal convection and conduction. Claim 1 reads:

1. A moving carbon nanotube heat sink for cooling an electronic device, the moving carbon nanotube heat sink comprising:

a belt configured for heat transfer and having a bottom outer surface and a top outer surface;

a plurality of carbon nanotubes, the carbon nanotubes being disposed within the belt, an axial orientation of each of the nanotubes extending laterally across a width of the belt;

the plurality of carbon nanotubes forming a structure of nanotubes that extends from proximate the bottom surface of the belt to proximate the top surface of the belt;

a C channel disposed on a heat emanating surface of the electronic device, the belt being slidably disposed therein, to thereby cause mechanical and thermal contact between a portion of the belt outer surfaces and the heat emanating surface of the electronic device; and

means for moving the belt relative to the heat emanating surface of the electronic device so as to continuously bring different portions of the heat transfer belt in slipping contact with the heat emanating surface of the electronic device.

Full post as published by TinytechIP on March 09, 2011 (boomark / email).