Refrigeration – Using electrical or magnetic effect – Thermoelectric; e.g. – peltier effect
Reexamination Certificate
2000-04-06
2001-07-03
Buiz, Michael Powell (Department: 3744)
Refrigeration
Using electrical or magnetic effect
Thermoelectric; e.g., peltier effect
C062S003300, C361S688000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06253556
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention is used in systems where the source of power for low voltage electronics is a high voltage power supply.
2. Description of the Prior Art
In certain applications, the source of power for electronic circuitry is substantially higher than the operational voltage required by the electronic circuitry. For example, in aircraft, the available power supply voltage may be +28 volts, while the operational voltage for the electronic circuitry is +5 volts or +3.3 volts. As illustrated in
FIG. 1
, such systems usually employ a voltage regulator
10
interposed between the supply voltage
11
and the electronic circuitry
12
to provide the proper operating voltage to the electronic circuitry
12
. When, for example, the supply voltage
11
is +28 volts and the operational voltage of the electronic circuitry
12
is +5 volts, the regulator
10
includes suitable circuitry which drops the supply voltage by 23 volts.
The type of regulator which is often used in such systems is a linear regulator. The large voltage difference between the supply voltage and the operating voltage of the electronic circuitry multiplied by the current consumed by the electronic circuitry results in a large amount of power being generated as heat in the regulator, and this power is essentially wasted. While the above-described heating problem may be overcome by use of a switching type regulator, such switching regulators are not always reliable at high operating temperatures, such as those encountered in downhole or jet aircraft applications.
A thermoelectric heat pump, which is commonly known as a Peltier thermoelectric heat pump, is a device that is semiconductor based, and the use of thermoelectric heat pumps to heat or cool electronic circuitry has been disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,931,000; 5,079,618; 5,724,818; 2,984,077; and 5,887,435. However, none of the devices in the foregoing patents describe a system where the thermoelectric heat pump is driven by power that would otherwise be wasted. This advantageous result has been achieved by the apparatus of the present invention.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
In accordance with the present invention, an electrical system is provided which includes a supply voltage and electronic circuitry which requires an operational voltage that is less than the supply voltage. A thermoelectric heat pump which has two terminals is interposed between the supply voltage and the electronic circuitry, with one of the terminals of the thermoelectric heat pump being operatively connected to the supply voltage and the other terminal operatively connected to the electronic circuitry. The current flowing in the thermoelectric heat pump causes heating or cooling to be provided to the electronic circuitry, depending on the direction of the current flow. The thermoelectric heat pump is designed such that the voltage which is dropped across the heat pump is less than the difference between the supply voltage and the operational voltage of the electronic circuitry. An electric system in accordance with the present invention also includes a regulator having an input and an output. The input to the regulator is operatively connected to the second terminal of the thermoelectric heat pump, and the output of the regulator is connected to the electronic circuit to supply power to the electronic circuit. The amount of heat which is dissipated in this regulator is small, because the regulator does not have a large voltage differential across it.
With the foregoing arrangement, the amount of power that would otherwise be wasted is utilized by the thermoelectric heat pump to cool or to heat the electronic devices in the electronic circuit.
REFERENCES:
patent: 2984077 (1961-05-01), Gaskill
patent: 4812733 (1989-03-01), Tobey
patent: 4838032 (1989-06-01), Maslaney et al.
patent: 5079618 (1992-01-01), Farnworth
patent: 5724818 (1998-03-01), Iwata
patent: 5887435 (1999-03-01), Morton
patent: 5931000 (1999-08-01), Turner et al.
patent: 6082115 (2000-07-01), Strnad
Buiz Michael Powell
Erikson Clarence E.
Jiang Chen-Wen
Stafford McGlinchey
Texas Components Corporation
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