Reliable outdoor instrument cooling system

• US 6,951,114 B2
• Filed: 07/15/2003
• Issued: 10/04/2005
• Est. Priority Date: 07/15/2003
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Weatherford Technology Holdings, LLC (Weatherford International PLC)
• Original Assignee: Weatherford/Lamb Incorporated (Weatherford International PLC)
• Inventors: Perry, Leslie Wayne, Meadows, Michael M., Sallwasser, Alan J., Grisham, John N.
• Primary Examiner(s): Jones, Melvin
• Application Number:
  US10/619,936
• Publication Number:
  US 20050011199A1
• Time in Patent Office: 812 Days
• Field of Search: 62/32, 62/33, 62/36, 622/351, 622/592
• US Class Current: 62/3.7
• CPC Class Codes: F25B 21/02 using Peltier effect; using Nernst-Ettinghausen effect
• CPC Class Codes: F25B 2321/0212 of electric power, current or voltage
• CPC Class Codes: F25B 27/002 using solar energy
• CPC Class Codes: F25B 2700/2104 of an indoor room or compartment
• CPC Class Codes: F25D 2700/16 Sensors measuring the temperature of products
• CPC Class Codes: G05D 23/1919 characterised by the type of controller
• CPC Class Codes: H10N 10/00 Thermoelectric devices comprising a junction of dissimilar materials, i.e. devices exhibiting Seebeck or Peltier effects integrated devices or assemblies of multiple devices H10N19/00

Abstract

A method, system, and apparatus for controlling the temperature within a remotely located enclosure that contains temperature sensitive equipment is provided. For some embodiments, the system includes an array of thermoelectric cooling (TEC) devices that act as an active cooling device and an active heating device. The system may also include a temperature controller that receives signals from a temperature sensor located at or near the temperature sensitive equipment. The controller may be configured to supply DC power to the thermoelectric coupling devices based on the output signal of the temperature sensor. The polarity of the DC power can be reversed by the controller in order to cause the thermoelectric device to heat or to cool the enclosure. The system also contains a passive cooling device. The system includes an independent electrical power source with a battery and solar cell to supply power to the temperature control devices and the equipment contained in the enclosure.

Claims

1. An apparatus for regulating temperature of one or more temperature-sensitive components within a main enclosure, comprising:

a self-contained power supply;

one or more thermoelectric coolers;

a temperature sensor for measuring temperature within a temperature-controlled zone at or near the temperature-sensitive components;

an inner enclosure within the main enclosure, the inner enclosure made of a thermally conductive material that is thermally coupled to the thermoelectric coolers; and

a temperature controller configured to regulate power supplied from the independent power supply to the thermoelectric coolers to maintain the temperature within the temperature-controlled zone within a specified range by conduction between the thermoelectric coolers and the inner enclosure.

2. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the self-contained power supply comprises one or more batteries.

3. The apparatus of claim 2, wherein the apparatus further comprises one or more solar cells adapted to charge the one or more batteries.

4. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the temperature controlled zone is defined by the inner enclosure.

5. The apparatus of claim 1, further comprising one or more heat exchangers thermally coupled with the thermoelectric coolers.

6. The apparatus of claim 5, wherein the inner enclosure is thermally coupled to the one or more heat exchangers via the thermoelectric coolers.

7. The apparatus of claim 6, wherein contact surfaces of the inner enclosure thermally coupled with the thermoelectric coolers are spaced to minimize regions of high temperature in the heat exchangers.

8. The apparatus of claim 6, wherein the temperature-sensitive components are thermally coupled to the inner enclosure with a thermal interface material.

9. The apparatus of claim 1, further comprising an insulative material disposed within the main enclosure.

10. The apparatus of claim 5, wherein the heat exchangers are attached to exterior walls of the main enclosure.

11. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the temperature controller is configured to regulate power supplied from the independent power supply to the at least one thermoelectric cooler by varying a duty cycle of a pulse width modulated signal.

12. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the temperature controller is configured to:

supply the thermoelectric coolers with a voltage signal having a first polarity to cool the temperature-sensitive components; and

supply the thermoelectric coolers with a voltage signal having a second polarity, opposite the first polarity, to heat the temperature-sensitive components.

13. The apparatus of claim 1, further comprising a thermal switch responsive to a temperature within the temperature controlled zone, wherein power is removed from the at least one thermal electric cooler in response to the thermal switch changing states.

14. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the controller is configured to maintain the temperature of the temperature-sensitive components at or above an anticipated dewpoint for a geographic area in which the apparatus is deployed or is to be deployed.

15. An apparatus for regulating temperature of one or more temperature-sensitive components within a main enclosure, comprising:

a self-contained power supply;

one or more thermoelectric coolers;

a temperature sensor for measuring temperature within a temperature-controlled zone at or near the temperature-sensitive components; and

a temperature controller configured to regulate power supplied from the independent power supply to the thermoelectric coolers to maintain the temperature within the temperature-controlled zone within a specified range, wherein the apparatus is capable of maintaining a temperature within the temperature controlled zone within a range of approximately 0.3 degrees Celsius peak to peak within a predefined target temperature.

16. An apparatus for maintaining a temperature of one or more temperature-sensitive components within a main enclosure, comprising:

one or more solid state cooling devices;

a thermally conductive manifold that is thermally coupled to the one or more solid state cooling devices to conduct heat from the temperature-sensitive components to the solid state cooling devices;

a temperature sensor for measuring temperature at or near the one or more temperature-sensitive components; and

a temperature controller configured to generate a signal to the solid state cooling devices to maintain the temperature at or near the temperature-sensitive components within a specified range.

17. The apparatus of claim 16, wherein the manifold is thermally coupled to one or more heat exchangers on the exterior of the main enclosure, via the one or more solid state cooling devices.

18. The apparatus of claim 16, wherein the manifold is shaped to minimize convective transfer of heat from the manifold to the interior of the main enclosure.

19. The apparatus of claim 18, wherein the manifold comprises one or more protrusions, each having a contact surface shaped to mate with one of the solid state cooling devices, wherein the protrusions are configured to evenly distribute heat among fins of the heat exchangers.

20. A fiber optic sensing system, comprising:

one or more fiber optic sensors for sensing one or more downhole parameters;

one or more optical signal processing components optically coupled to the one or more fiber optic sensors via one or more optical fibers; and

a temperature controlled enclosure housing the one or more optical signal processing components, one or more thermoelectric coolers thermally coupled via at least one thermally conductive manifold with at least one of the optical signal processing components, a temperature sensor for measuring temperature at or near the optical signal processing components, and a temperature controller configured to vary power supplied to the thermoelectric coolers based on a signal from the temperature sensor.

21. The system of claim 20, wherein the temperature controller is configured to vary power supplied to the thermoelectric coolers by varying a duty cycle of a pulse width modulated signal.

22. The system of claim 20, wherein the temperature controller is configured to supply the thermoelectric coolers with a voltage signal of a first polarity to cool the temperature-sensitive components and a voltage signal of a second polarity, opposite the first polarity, to heat the temperature-sensitive components.

23. The system of claim 20, further comprising one or more heat exchangers disposed on an exterior of the enclosure and thermally coupled to the thermoelectric coolers.

24. The system of claim 23, wherein the thermoelectric coolers are spaced to evenly distribute heat across fins of the heat exchangers.

25. The system of claim 24, wherein the at least one thermally conductive manifold comprises a plurality of protrusions, each having a contact surface for mating with a corresponding thermoelectric cooler.

26. The system of claim 20, further comprising a thermal interface material disposed between the optical signal processing components and the thermally conductive manifolds.

27. The system of claim 20, further comprising:

a bank of one or more batteries for supplying power to components within the enclosure; and

an array of one or more solar panels for maintaining a charge on the bank of one or more batteries.

28. The system of claim 27, wherein the array of one or more solar panels is positioned to shade the enclosure.

29. A method of regulating temperature of one or more temperature-sensitive components within an enclosure, comprising the steps of:

thermally coupling the temperature-sensitive components to one or more thermoelectric coolers via at least one thermally conductive manifold;

measuring temperature at or near the temperature-sensitive components; and

varying power supplied to thermoelectric coolers thermally coupled with at least one of the temperature-sensitive components, in response to the measured temperature.

30. The method of claim 29, further comprising thermally coupling the thermoelectric coolers to one or more heat exchangers disposed on an exterior of the enclosure.

31. The method of claim 29, wherein varying power supplied to thermoelectric coolers in response to the measured temperature comprises performing a proportional-integral-differential control algorithm, using the measured temperature as feedback.

32. The method of claim 31, wherein varying power supplied to thermoelectric coolers comprises varying a duty cycle of a pulse width modulated signal.

33. The method of claim 29, wherein varying power supplied to thermoelectric coolers in response to the measured temperature comprises:

applying a voltage signal of a first polarity to the thermoelectric coolers to cool the temperature sensitive components; and

applying a voltage signal of a second polarity to the thermoelectric coolers to heat the temperature-sensitive components, wherein the second polarity is opposite the first polarity.