WO2013153518A4

WO2013153518A4 - Hot side management of thermoelectric cooling module

Info

Publication number: WO2013153518A4
Application number: PCT/IB2013/052843
Authority: WO
Inventors: Pradip SUBRAMANIAM; Girish Baluja; Tanmaya VATS; Ashish SOOD; Parikh DEWANG
Original assignee: The Concentrate Manufacturing Company Of Ireland
Priority date: 2012-04-10
Filing date: 2013-04-10
Publication date: 2014-03-20
Also published as: RU2578059C1; WO2013153518A3; EP2836773A2; WO2013153518A2

Abstract

A thermoelectric cooling system includes a hot side that includes a first temperature. A cold side, in relation to the hot side, within the thermoelectric cooling system, is configured to accept a cooling load. Further, an ambient region configured around the hot side includes an ambient temperature as well. In particular, the system includes a mechanism, configured to be in engagement with the thermoelectric cooling system, and adapted to keep the first temperature of the hot side below the ambient temperature at all times, aiming to increase a cooling capacity of the thermoelectric cooling system.

Claims

AMENDED CLAIMS received by the International Bureau on 14 January 2014 (14.01.2014)

1. A thermoelectric cooling system comprising:

a hot side at a first temperature, with an ambient temperature configured around the hot side;

a cold side configured to accept a cooling load;

a mechanism adjacent the hot side for maintaining the first temperature of the hot side below the ambient temperature, the mechanism including a combination of air, fluid, pump and an evaporative pad, the pad being adapted to be wetted by the fluid, the fluid being pumped over the pad, the air blown across the wetted pad to cool both the fluid and air below the ambient temperature through an evaporative cooling process; and

a safety interlock to deactivate the thermoelectric cooling system upon one of the following conditions:

when the fluid runs below a predetermined threshold quantity; and

when a fan, configured to blow air, becomes inoperative.

2. The system of claim 1 , wherein the evaporative pad is in a cartridge.

3. The system of claim 1 , wherein the first temperature is kept below the ambient temperature through one of the following conditions:

when the cooled fluid is configured to be pumped around the hot side; and when the cooled air is configured to be pumped around the hot side.

4. The system of claim 1, wherein the mechanism, adjacent the hot side for maintaining the first temperature of the hot side below the ambient temperature, includes an accumulator filled with a fluid, the accumulator having a pressure head enabled through the fluid, an open micro porous absorbent pad adapted to be wetted through a capillary action when the pad contacts the fluid, a sump to hold the fluid dripping from the pad, the pad configured to be attached to the hot side.

5. The system of claim 6 4, wherein the open micro porous absorbent pad is in a cartridge.

6. The system of claim 4, wherein the first temperature is kept below the ambient temperature by attachment of the absorbent pad to the hot side, accompanied by a gravity feed of the fluid and natural convection of air flowing across the pad, cooling the fluid and air, along with the hot side.

7. The system of claim 4, wherein the open micro porous absorbent pad includes a phase change material.

8. The system of claim 1 , wherein the mechanism, adjacent the hot side for maintaining the first temperature of the hot side below the ambient temperature, further includes a phase change material to keep the first temperature lower than the ambient temperature by solidifying when the ambient temperature is lower than when the ambient temperature is higher.

9. The system of claim 1 further comprising a controller to activate and deactivate the thermoelectric cooling system with a programmable dwell period, the dwell period being the period between two consecutive activations of the thermoelectric cooling system.

10. A method, of cooling through a thermoelectric module, the module including a hot side having a first temperature, an ambient temperature configured around the hot side, and a cold side configured to accept a cooling load, the method comprising: maintaining the first temperature of the hot side below the ambient temperature through a mechanism, the mechanism comprising:

an arrangement of air, fluid, and a pad, the pad adapted to be wetted by the fluid, the fluid stored in a sump and distributed therefrom over the pad, the air flowing across the pad wetted by the fluid thereby cooling both the fluid and air;

cooling the hot side with the cooled air and thereby cooling the cooling load through the thermoelectric module when the first temperature is below the ambient temperature; and

deactivating the thermoelectric cooling system upon occurrence of either one of the following conditions:

when the fluid runs below a predetermined threshold quantity; and when a fan, configured to blow air, becomes inoperative.

1 1. The method of claim 10, wherein the pad is one of the following:

an evaporative pad, configured to be applied and removed through a cartridge, the fluid configured to wet the pad by being pumped and distributed over the pad through a pump; and

a open micro porous absorbent pad, configured to be applied and removed through a cartridge and configured to be wetted through a capillary action when the absorbent pad contacts the fluid, the fluid configured to be filled in an accumulator having a pressure head enabled through the filled fluid, the sump configured to hold the fluid dripping from the pad.

12. The method of claim 1 1, wherein the first temperature is kept below the ambient temperature through one of the following conditions:

when the cooled fluid is configured to be pumped around the hot side;

when the cooled air is configured to be pumped around the hot side;

when an attachment of the open micro porous absorbent pad to the hot side is accompanied by a gravity feed of the fluid and a natural convection of air flowing across the pad cools the fluid, air, and the hot side, keeping the hot side below the ambient temperature.

13. The method of claim 1 1, wherein the open micro porous absorbent pad includes a phase change material.

14. The method of claim 10 further comprising a controller to activate and deactivate the thermoelectric module with a programmable dwell period, the dwell period being the period between two consecutive activations of the thermoelectric module.

15. The method of claim 10 further comprising a safety interlock to deactivate the thermoelectric module upon one of the following conditions:

when the fluid runs below a predetermined threshold quantity; and

when a fan, configured to make the air flow across the pad, becomes inoperative.

16. The method of claim 10, wherein the mechanism further includes a phase change material to keep the first temperature lower than the ambient temperature by solidifying when the ambient temperature is lower than when the ambient temperature is higher.