Thermoelectric cooling device arrays
First Claim
1. An apparatus, comprising:
- a plurality of thermoelectric cooling devices (TEC devices) forming a TEC device array; and
a controller coupled to at least two TEC devices in the TEC device array;
wherein the controller is operable to control a cooling rate of each of the at least two TEC devices in the TEC device array;
wherein the controller is operable to control a cooling rate of at least one TEC device of the at least two TEC devices in the TEC device array separately from another TEC device of the at least two TEC devices in the TEC device array.
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Accused Products
Abstract
In various embodiments, a TEC device array may be coupled to a chip and a heat sink to cool the chip. The TEC device array may include multiple TEC devices separately controlled to provide different cooling rates at different points in the TEC device array coupled to the chip. In some embodiments, temperature data for areas on the chip or for separate electronic components may be determined using one or more thermal sensors and then sent to a controller. The controller may then determine an appropriate response for the TEC devices in the TEC device array near the area of the thermal sensor(s). The controller may thus control the cooling rates (which may be different) of several TEC devices in the TEC device array.
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Citations
20 Claims
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1. An apparatus, comprising:
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a plurality of thermoelectric cooling devices (TEC devices) forming a TEC device array; and a controller coupled to at least two TEC devices in the TEC device array; wherein the controller is operable to control a cooling rate of each of the at least two TEC devices in the TEC device array; wherein the controller is operable to control a cooling rate of at least one TEC device of the at least two TEC devices in the TEC device array separately from another TEC device of the at least two TEC devices in the TEC device array. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5)
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6. An apparatus, comprising:
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an electronic element comprising a plurality of electronic components; a plurality of thermoelectric cooling devices (TEC devices) forming a TEC device array coupled to the electronic element; a controller coupled to at least two TEC devices in the TEC device array; and a thermal sensor coupled to the controller; wherein the controller is operable to control a cooling rate of at least one TEC device of the at least two TEC devices in the TEC device array separately from another TEC device of the at least two TEC devices in the TEC device array. - View Dependent Claims (7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15)
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16. An apparatus, comprising:
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an electronic element, wherein the electronic element comprises a plurality of electronic components; a package lid coupled to the electronic element; a heat sink coupled to the package lid, wherein the heat sink is operable to remove heat from the package lid; a plurality of TEC devices, forming a TEC device array, coupled to the package lid, wherein the TEC device array is operable to transfer heat from the electronic components to the package lid; and a controller coupled to at least two TEC devices in the TEC device array; wherein the controller is operable to control a cooling rate of at least one TEC device of the at least two TEC devices in the TEC device array separately from another TEC device of the at least two TEC devices in the TEC device array. - View Dependent Claims (17, 18, 19, 20)
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Specification