Apparatus for cooling electronic components within a computer system enclosure

Abstract

A heat generating component such as a microprocessor, in a small form factor, low profile electronic device such as a laptop computer is cooled by using an elongated hollow heat exchanger with a fan at one end of the heat exchanger. A heat pipe, having two ends, has one end thermally coupled to the heat exchanger and the other end thermally coupled to the heat generating component. A heat sink thermally coupled to the other end of the heat pipe, in thermal contact with the heat producing component may be used. In a laptop computer having a four vertically extending side walls including a front wall a back wall and two side walls where the heat generating component is a microprocessor, the heat exchanger can extends in a direction adjacent and parallel to one of the side walls, with an air outlet formed in one of said front and rear walls and an air inlet in the other of said front or rear walls or the side wall to which the heat exchanger is adjacent.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.