Aluminum pipe and heat pipe package and its packaging method

(a) Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to heat pipe technology, and more particularly to an aluminum pipe and heat pipe package made through a series of extrusion molding steps.

(b) Description of the Prior Art

A heat pipe is a closed evaporator-condenser system consisting of a sealed, hollow tube whose inside walls are lined with a capillary structure or wick. It combines both thermal conductivity and phase transition to efficiently manage the transfer of heat between two solid interfaces. Conventional heat pipes are made from copper. Due to the effects of the material properties, the copper body of a heat pipe is prone to burst in the casting mold in high-temperature environments, and brass body is prone to burst at a high temperature of die casting. An aluminum pipe can be wrapped about a heat pipe to enhance the overall structural strength, avoiding burst under a high temperature environment. Taiwan Patent M345223 discloses a sheathed flat heat pipe, which comprises a flat heat pipe, and a flat sleeve wrapped about the flat heat pipe in such a manner that the evaporator end of the flat heat pipe is exposed to the outside of the flat sleeve. Further, in Taiwan Patent 1429489, a heat pipe is inserted into a hollow metal pipe (made of aluminum), and then the hollow metal pipe is stretched to extend its length and to reduce its diameter, and thus, the hollow metal pipe is tightly wrapped about the heat pipe to form a metal-wrapped heat pipe.

According to the cited 1429489 design, the hollow metal pipe is stretched to extend its length and to reduce its diameter, however, this method needs to employ a secondary machining process to block up the two opposite open ends of the hollow metal pipe in order to completely wrap the heat pipe inside the hollow metal pipe.

The present invention has been accomplished under the circumstances in view. It is therefore the main object of the present invention to provide an aluminum pipe and heat pipe package, which is formed by inserting a heat pipe into a hollow aluminum pipe, and then processing the combination of the heat pipe and hollow aluminum pipe through a series of extrusion molding steps by means of opposing top and bottom extrusion dies and opposing left and right necking dies to reduce the gap between the hollow aluminum pipe and the heat pipe, and to have the hollow aluminum pipe and the heat pipe to be peripherally tightly fitted together, and the two opposite open ends of the hollow aluminum pipe to be completely blocked up. Thus, the aluminum pipe and heat pipe package can easily be made without a secondary machining process, saving the manufacturing procedure and reducing the manufacturing cost.

FIG. 1 is an exploded view of a hollow aluminum pipe and a heat pipe in accordance with the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a schematic drawing illustrating the arrangement of opposing top and bottom extrusion dies and opposing left and right necking dies in opposing top and bottom molds in accordance with the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a sectional assembly view of FIG. 2 .

FIG. 4 is a longitudinal sectional view illustrating the heat pipe inserted into the hollow aluminum pipe in accordance with the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a cross sectional view of the assembly of FIG. 4 .

FIG. 6 is a schematic drawing illustrating the combination of the hollow aluminum pipe and heat pipe after a primary processing through a first stage extrusion molding step.

FIG. 7 is a schematic drawing illustrating the combination of the hollow aluminum pipe and heat pipe after a secondary processing through a second stage extrusion molding step.

FIG. 8 is a schematic drawing illustrating the combination of the hollow aluminum pipe and heat pipe processed after a third processing through a third stage extrusion molding step.

FIG. 9 is a perspective view of an aluminum pipe and heat pipe package.

FIGS. 1-3 illustrate an aluminum pipe and heat pipe package and its packaging method in accordance with the present invention. At first, insert a heat pipe 1 into a hollow aluminum pipe 2 , and then the combination of the heat pipe 1 and hollow aluminum pipe 2 is processed through a series of extrusion molding steps. The extrusion molding steps are performed by means of opposing top and bottom extrusion dies 31 a , 32 a ( 31 b , 32 b ; 31 c , 32 c ) and opposing left and right necking dies 41 a , 42 a ( 41 b , 42 b ; 41 c , 42 c ) to reduce the gap G between the hollow aluminum pipe 2 and the heat pipe 1 (see FIG. 4 and FIG. 5 ). This will cause the hollow aluminum pipe 2 and the heat pipe 1 to be peripherally tightly fitted together, and the two opposite open ends 21 , 21 ′ of the hollow aluminum pipe 2 to be completely blocked up. Consequently, the hollow aluminum pipe 2 and the heat pipe 1 are packaged together.

In the aforesaid opposing top and bottom extrusion dies 31 a , 32 a ( 31 b , 32 b ; 31 c , 32 c ) and opposing left and right necking dies 41 a , 42 a ( 41 b , 42 b ; 41 c , 42 c ):

The die cavities 311 a , 311 b , 311 c of the top extrusion dies 31 a , 31 b , 31 c , as shown in FIG. 3 , are proportionally decreased in size in the order that 311 a > 311 b > 311 c , and the die cavities 321 a , 321 b , 321 c of the bottom extrusion dies 32 a , 32 b , 32 c are similarly designed, i.e., 321 a > 321 b > 321 c.

The necking die cavities 411 a , 411 b , 411 c of the left necking dies 41 a , 41 b , 41 c , as shown in FIG. 2 , are proportionally decreased in size, i.e., 411 a > 411 b > 411 c , and the necking die cavities 421 a , 421 b , 421 c of the right necking dies 42 a , 42 b , 42 c are similarly designed, i.e., 421 a > 421 b > 421 c.

The opposing top and bottom extrusion dies 31 a , 32 a ( 31 b , 32 b ; 31 c , 32 c ) are respectively fixedly mounted at opposing top and bottom molds 101 , 102 , and the opposing left and right necking dies 41 a , 42 a ( 41 b , 42 b ; 41 c , 42 c ) are respectively fixedly mounted at opposing top and bottom molds 101 , 102 at two opposite lateral sides relative to the respective top and bottom extrusion dies 31 a , 32 a ( 31 b , 32 b ; 31 c , 32 c ). After insertion of the heat pipe 1 into the hollow aluminum pipe 2 , the combination of the heat pipe 1 and hollow aluminum pipe 2 is processed through a series of extrusion molding steps by means of opposing top and bottom extrusion dies 31 a , 32 a ( 31 b , 32 b ; 31 c , 32 c ) and opposing left and right necking dies 41 a , 42 a ( 41 b , 42 b ; 41 c , 42 c ) to reduce the gap G between the hollow aluminum pipe 2 and the heat pipe 1 , causing the hollow aluminum pipe 2 and the heat pipe 1 to be peripherally tightly fitted together, and the two opposite open ends 21 , 21 ′ of the hollow aluminum pipe 2 to be completely blocked up (see FIGS. 6-8 ), and thus, the hollow aluminum pipe 2 and the heat pipe 1 are packaged together.

In the processing, the combination of the heat pipe 1 and hollow aluminum pipe 2 is primarily processed through a first stage extrusion molding step by means of the first top and bottom extrusion dies 31 a , 32 a and the first left and right necking dies 41 a , 42 a to reduce a part of the gap G between the hollow aluminum pipe 2 and the heat pipe 1 and to simultaneously contract the open ends 21 , 21 ′ of the hollow aluminum pipe 2 for the first time (see FIG. 6 ). Thereafter, the primarily processed combination of the heat pipe 1 and hollow aluminum pipe 2 is then processed through a second stage extrusion molding step by means of the second top and bottom extrusion dies 31 b , 32 b and the second left and right necking dies 41 b , 42 b to further reduce the gap G between the hollow aluminum pipe 2 and the heat pipe 1 and to simultaneously contract the open ends 21 , 21 ′ of the hollow aluminum pipe 2 for a second time (see FIG. 7 ). Thereafter, the secondarily processed combination of the heat pipe 1 and hollow aluminum pipe 2 is then processed through a third stage extrusion molding step by means of the third top and bottom extrusion dies 31 c , 32 c and the third left and right necking dies 41 c , 42 c to further reduce the gap G between the hollow aluminum pipe 2 and the heat pipe 1 and to simultaneously contract the open ends 21 , 21 ′ of the hollow aluminum pipe 2 again (see FIG. 8 ), causing the hollow aluminum pipe 2 and the heat pipe 1 to be peripherally tightly fitted together, and the two opposite open ends 21 , 21 ′ of the hollow aluminum pipe 2 to be completely blocked up, and thus, the hollow aluminum pipe 2 and the heat pipe 1 are combined into a package.

In conclusion, the invention enables the combination of the heat pipe 1 and hollow aluminum pipe 2 to be processed through a series of extrusion molding steps by means of multiple sets of opposing top and bottom extrusion dies and multiple sets of opposing left and right necking dies to reduce the gap G between the hollow aluminum pipe 2 and the heat pipe 1 , causing the hollow aluminum pipe 2 and the heat pipe 1 to be peripherally tightly fitted together, and the two opposite open ends 21 , 21 ′ of the hollow aluminum pipe 2 to be completely blocked up, and thus, the hollow aluminum pipe 2 and the heat pipe 1 are packaged together. In this embodiment, the combination of the heat pipe and hollow aluminum pipe is processed through three extrusion molding steps. However, the number of extrusion molding steps can be increased or reduced according to actual requirements without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.