Hybrid capillary cooling apparatus

• US 6,990,816 B1
• Filed: 12/22/2004
• Issued: 01/31/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 12/22/2004
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Advanced Cooling Technologies, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Advanced Cooling Technologies, Inc.
• Inventors: Sarraf, David, Zuo, Jon
• Primary Examiner(s): Jones, Melvin
• Application Number:
  US11/022,391
• Time in Patent Office: 405 Days
• Field of Search: 62/37, 62/79, 623/18, 625/12, 625/13, 625/15, 165/104.25
• US Class Current: 62/3.7
• CPC Class Codes: B64G 1/50 for temperature control
• CPC Class Codes: F25B 21/02 using Peltier effect; using Nernst-Ettinghausen effect
• CPC Class Codes: F25B 2339/021 Evaporators in which refrigerant is sprayed on a surface to be cooled
• CPC Class Codes: F25B 25/00 Machines, plants or systems, using a combination of modes of operation covered by two or more of the groups F25B1/00 - F25B23/00
• CPC Class Codes: F25B 39/02 Evaporators
• CPC Class Codes: F28D 15/0266 with separate evaporating and condensing chambers connected by at least one conduit; Loop-type heat pipes; with multiple or common evaporating or condensing chambers F28D15/043 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: F28D 15/046 characterised by the material or the construction of the capillary structure

Abstract

The apparatus is a hybrid cooler which includes one loop within which a heated evaporator forms vapor that moves to a condenser because of the vapor pressure which also drives the liquid condensate from the condenser to a liquid reservoir. A second loop is powered by a mechanical pump that supplies liquid from the reservoir to the evaporator and the second loop also returns excess liquid not vaporized to the reservoir. An optional reservoir cooler can be used to assure that the reservoir temperature and vapor pressure are always lower that the temperatures and pressures of the evaporator and condenser.

Claims

1. A cooling apparatus comprising;

at least one evaporator comprising an enclosure from which all non-condensable gases have been evacuated, the enclosure including a capillary wick in contact with an interior surface receiving heat from means external to the evaporator, a vapor space for receiving vapor evaporating from the wick, a liquid inlet admitting liquid into the enclosure, at least one liquid source supplying liquid to a surface of the wick, an excess liquid outlet for removing excess liquid from the enclosure, and a vapor outlet accessible to the vapor space for removing vapor from the enclosure;

a condenser comprising an enclosure, a vapor inlet interconnected with the evaporator vapor outlet by a vapor transporting structure, an interior surface cooled by a means external to the enclosure, and a condensate outlet removing liquid condensed within the enclosure;

a reservoir comprising an enclosure holding liquid, a condensate inlet interconnected with the condensate outlet of the condenser by a liquid transporting structure, a liquid outlet interconnected with the evaporator liquid input by a liquid transporting structure, and an excess liquid inlet interconnected with the excess liquid outlet of the evaporator by a liquid transporting structure; and

a pump interconnected with the reservoir and the evaporator and moving liquid to the evaporator from the reservoir.

2. The cooling apparatus of claim 1 further including a sub-cooler maintaining the reservoir at a temperature and a vapor pressure below the temperatures and the vapor pressures of the evaporator and the condenser.

3. The cooling apparatus of claim 1 further including a sub-cooler attached to the reservoir and maintaining the reservoir at a temperature and a vapor pressure below the temperatures and the vapor pressures of the evaporator and the condenser.

4. The cooling apparatus of claim 1 further including a sub-cooler attached to the reservoir and maintaining the reservoir at a temperature and a vapor pressure below the temperatures and the vapor pressures of the evaporator and the condenser wherein the sub-cooler is a thermoelectric cooler.

5. The cooling apparatus of claim 1 further including a sub-cooler maintaining the condenser at a temperature and a vapor pressure below the temperature and the vapor pressure of the evaporator.

6. The cooling apparatus of claim 1 wherein the evaporator wick comprises a porous structure that functions as a phase separator.

7. The cooling apparatus of claim 1 wherein the evaporator wick comprises a porous structure with grooves and the surfaces of the grooves are made of porous material.

8. The cooling apparatus of claim 1 wherein the evaporator wick comprises a porous structure with grooves and the grooves collect excess liquid.

9. The cooling apparatus of claim 1 wherein the evaporator wick comprises a porous structure with lands and grooves, the surfaces of the grooves are made of porous material, and the cross section of the lands has a triangular shape.

10. The cooling apparatus of claim 1 wherein the evaporator, the reservoir, and the pump are enclosed within a single structure.

11. The cooling apparatus of claim 1 wherein the evaporator, the reservoir, and the pump are enclosed within a single structure and a sub-cooler cools the reservoir, with the sub-cooler being a thermoelectric cooler and a heat transfer device moves heat from the thermoelectric cooler to the evaporator.

12. The cooling apparatus of claim 1 wherein the pump is located within the reservoir and the pump input and output are immersed in the liquid.

13. The cooling apparatus of claim 1 wherein there are multiple evaporators and the evaporators have a common vapor manifold, a common liquid supply manifold, and a common excess liquid return manifold.

14. The cooling apparatus of claim 1 wherein the evaporator is constructed as a planar structure.

15. The cooling apparatus of claim 1 wherein the evaporator is constructed as a planar structure with at least one liquid source supplying liquid to a planar wick from an input liquid chamber and with an excess liquid chamber collecting excess liquid from at least one location on the wick.