Thermally-enhanced and deployable structures
US12398704B2 · kind B2 · utility
Assignees
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | Apr 17, 2019 |
| Grant date | Aug 26, 2025 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Aug 30, 2043 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC F)Mechanical Engineering; Lighting; Heating
- CPC primaryF03G7/0614
- WIPO fieldThermal processes and apparatus
- WIPO sectorMechanical engineering
Abstract
An apparatus includes a structure configured to receive thermal energy and to reject the thermal energy into an external environment. The structure includes a lid and a body. The structure also includes (i) multiple inline and interconnected thermomechanical regions and (ii) one or more oscillating heat pipes embedded in at least some of the thermomechanical regions. Different portions of at least one of the lid and the body form the thermomechanical regions. The one or more oscillating heat pipes are configured to transfer the thermal energy between different ones of the thermomechanical regions. At least one of the thermomechanical regions includes one or more shape-memory materials configured to cause a shape of the structure to change. Each of the one or more oscillating heat pipes includes at least one channel in the structure.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.