Kerry M Hill

US Patent:

7228894, Jun 12, 2007

Filed:

Apr 30, 2004

Appl. No.:

10/836511

Inventors:

David A. Moore - Tomball TX, US
Mark Tracy - Tomball TX, US
Kerry Hill - Houston TX, US

Assignee:

Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P. - Houston TX

International Classification:

F28F 7/00

US Classification:

165185, 165 802

Abstract:

A device for distributing waste heat from a heat source evenly across an exterior surface of an enclosure is disclosed. The device includes a first layer of material that has a high thermal conductivity along a first plane. One or more layers of material that include a controlled thermal conductivity along a second plane are connected with the first layer. At least one of those layers has a low thermal conductivity (e. g. a thermal insulating material) in the second plane and that layer is positioned between the heat source and the enclosure so that heat flow through that layer is substantially inhibited in the second plane and a majority of the waste heat is thermally transferred through the first layer along the first plane to the exterior surface where the waste heat is uniformly distributed thereby reducing hot spots on the exterior surface which can cause user discomfort.