# US 6,719,040 B2 · Cooling apparatus boiling and condensing refrigerant with improved tunnel structure > Agents: this data is available as JSON from the patentgrep API and MCP server — see https://patentgrep.com/llms.txt - Number: US 6,719,040 B2 - Document ID: US6719040B2 - Status: Granted - Kind: B2 - Application number: 10/244,004 - Filed: 2002-09-13 - Published: 2003-05-01 - Granted: 2004-04-13 - Earliest claimed: 2001-09-14 - Assignees: Denso Corporation - Inventors: Hajime Sugito; Hiroyuki Osakabe; Shinichi Morihira; Yuhei Kunikata - Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US6719040B2 ## CPC - F28F 13/187: {especially adapted for evaporator surfaces or condenser surfaces, e.g. with nucleation sites} - F28D 15/0266: {with separate evaporating and condensing chambers connected by at least one conduit; Loop-type heat pipes; with multiple or common evaporating or condensing chambers (F28D15/043 takes precedence)} - H05K 7/1418: {Card guides, e.g. grooves (H05K7/1425 takes precedence)} - H10W 40/47: by flowing liquids, e.g. forced water cooling - F28F: DETAILS OF HEAT-EXCHANGE AND HEAT-TRANSFER APPARATUS, OF GENERAL APPLICATION (water and air traps, air venting F16) - F28D: HEAT-EXCHANGE APPARATUS, NOT PROVIDED FOR IN ANOTHER SUBCLASS, IN WHICH THE HEAT-EXCHANGE MEDIA DO NOT COME INTO DIRECT CONTACT (fluid heaters having heat generating means and heat transferring means F24H; furnaces F27; details of heat-exchange apparatus of general) - H05K: PRINTED CIRCUITS; CASINGS OR CONSTRUCTIONAL DETAILS OF ELECTRIC APPARATUS; MANUFACTURE OF ASSEMBLAGES OF ELECTRICAL COMPONENTS - H10W: GENERIC PACKAGES, INTERCONNECTIONS, CONNECTORS OR OTHER CONSTRUCTIONAL DETAILS OF DEVICES COVERED BY CLASS H10 ## Abstract A first intermediate plate 5C adjacent to a heat receiving plate 5A and a second intermediate plate 5D adjacent to the first intermediate plate 5C are provided so that the slit width of the openings (first opening 5a) in the first intermediate plate 5C is wider than that (second opening 5b) in the second intermediate plate 5D. In this way, when the first intermediate plate 5C and the second intermediate 5D are stacked, a tunnel structure is formed in which the opening dimension L3 (the opening dimension of the second openings 5b) of the communicating sections through which the first openings 5a and the second openings 5b communicate with each other is smaller than the length L2 (the opening dimension of the first openings 5a) of the tunnel portions (L2>L3). Therefore, a heat-generating member with large density of heat generation can be effectively cooled. ## Claims ### Claim 1 A cooling apparatus boiling and condensing refrigerant: comprising a refrigerant container with a structure in which plural intermediate plates having plural openings penetrating therethrough in the direction of their thickness are stacked and both ends of the stacked intermediate plates, in the direction of stacking, are stacked by external plates, respectively, to form an inner space by the plural openings, within which a refrigerant is stored; wherein a heat-generating member, which is attached to the surface of the external plate and from which the refrigerant stored in the refrigerant container receives heat and is evaporated into vapor, is cooled by releasing the latent heat of the refrigerant vapor to the outside; wherein the intermediate plates include a first intermediate plate and a second intermediate plate that are stacked sequentially upon the external plate; and wherein if the openings provided in the first intermediate plate are referred to as first openings and the openings provided in the second intermediate plate are referred to as second openings, then the first openings and the second openings communicate with each other and the opening dimension of the communicating sections is smaller than that of the first openings. ### Claim 2 (depends on 1) A cooling apparatus boiling and condensing refrigerant, as set forth in claim 1, wherein both the first openings and the second openings are formed into an elongate slit-shape, and the width of the slits of the first openings is wider than that of the second openings. ### Claim 3 (depends on 1) A cooling apparatus boiling and condensing refrigerant, as set forth in claim 1, wherein the shapes of the first openings and the second openings are substantially similar to each other, and the opening dimension of the first openings is larger than that of the second openings. ### Claim 4 (depends on 1) A cooling apparatus boiling and condensing refrigerant, as set forth in claim 1, wherein parts of the second openings communicate with the first openings so that the opening dimension of the communicating sections, through which the first openings and the second openings communicate with each other, is kept within a fixed value. ### Claim 5 (depends on 1) A cooling apparatus boiling and condensing refrigerant, as set forth in claim 1, wherein at least two of the second openings communicate with one of the first openings. ### Claim 6 A cooling apparatus boiling and condensing refrigerant: comprising a refrigerant container with a structure in which plural intermediate plates having plural openings penetrating therethrough in the direction of their thickness are stacked and both ends of the stacked intermediate plates, in the direction of stacking, are stacked by external plates, respectively, to form an inner space by the plural openings, within which a refrigerant is stored; wherein a heat-generating member, which is attached to the surface of the external plate and from which the refrigerant stored in the refrigerant container receives heat and is evaporated into vapor, is cooled by releasing the latent heat of the refrigerant vapor to the outside; wherein the intermediate plates include a first intermediate plate and a second intermediate plate that are stacked sequentially upon the external plate; wherein if the openings provided in the first intermediate plate are referred to as first openings and the openings provided in the second intermediate plate are referred to as second openings, then the first openings and the second openings communicate with each other and the opening dimension of the communicating sections is smaller than that of the first openings; and wherein the first intermediate plate has communication paths through which the plural first openings communicate with each other. ### Claim 7 (depends on 6) A cooling apparatus boiling and condensing refrigerant, as set forth in claim 6, wherein the communication path provided in the first intermediate plate enables the communication between first openings within which a refrigerant is in a state of boiling and another first openings within which a refrigerant is not in a state of boiling.