US 11,930,621 B2
Folding thermal ground plane
Ryan J. Lewis, Boulder, CO (US); Yung-Cheng Lee, Boulder, CO (US); Ali Nematollahisarvestani, Boulder, CO (US); Jason W. West, Broomfield, CO (US); and Kyle Wagner, Minneapolis, MN (US)
Assigned to Kelvin Thermal Technologies, Inc., Boulder, CO (US)
Filed by Kelvin Thermal Technologies, Inc., Boulder, CO (US)
Filed on Jun. 18, 2021, as Appl. No. 17/352,250.
Claims priority of provisional application 63/041,208, filed on Jun. 19, 2020.
Prior Publication US 2021/0400846 A1, Dec. 23, 2021
Int. Cl. H05K 7/20 (2006.01)
CPC H05K 7/20336 (2013.01) [H05K 7/2039 (2013.01); H05K 7/20309 (2013.01); H05K 7/20318 (2013.01)] 17 Claims
OG exemplary drawing
 
1. A thermal ground plane comprising:
a first casing comprising:
a first bonding region extending around a periphery of the first casing;
a first active region comprising a portion of the first casing surrounded by the first bonding region;
a first folding region having a first out-of-plane wavy structure, the valleys and peaks of the out-of-plane wavy structure extend across a width of the first active region substantially parallel with a width of the thermal ground plane, the first folding region overlapping portions of the first bonding region and the first active region; and
a first non-folding region overlapping portions of the first bonding region and the first active region;
a second casing comprising:
a second bonding region extending around a periphery of the second casing;
a second active region comprising a portion of the second casing surrounded by the second bonding region;
a second folding region overlapping portions of the second bonding region and the second active region; and
a second non-folding overlapping portions of the second bonding region and the second active region;
wherein the first casing and the second casing are sealed together at the first bonding region and the second bonding region, and the first folding region and the second folding region are substantially aligned; and
a vapor structure; and
a mesh layer disposed on an interior surface of the second casing within the second active region, the mesh layer comprising a plurality of arteries formed within the mesh layer and extending substantially parallel with a length of the thermal ground plane, wherein the mesh layer is not bonded with the second casing within the second folding region.