Variable thermal resistance
US10365670B2 · kind B2 · utility
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | Jan 26, 2017 |
| Grant date | Jul 30, 2019 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Dec 1, 2037 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC F)Mechanical Engineering; Lighting; Heating
- CPC primaryF28F2013/008
- WIPO fieldThermal processes and apparatus
- WIPO sectorMechanical engineering
Abstract
Electrical and electromechanical devices often require maintaining a specific temperature, or a narrow range or temperatures, during operation. An assembly regulates the temperature of a device by providing a variable thermal resistance between the device and a heatsink. The device can be mounted to a base having a high thermal resistance, the base thermally isolating the device from the heatsink. At low environmental temperatures, the base enables the device to rise to its operating temperature as a result of the device's waste heat, and with no or minimal use of a heater. As the environmental temperature increases, a working fluid, having a low thermal resistance, undergoes thermal expansion to fill a portion of a volume in the base between the device and the heat sink, lowering the thermal resistance between the device and the heatsink to maintain the device at the required operating temperature.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.