Electronics package for synthetic jet ejectors

• US 8,035,966 B2
• Filed: 02/22/2007
• Issued: 10/11/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 02/23/2006
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Nuventix, Inc. (LTI Flexible Products Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Nuventix, Inc. (LTI Flexible Products Inc.)
• Inventors: Reichenbach, Robert T., Booth, John Stanley
• Primary Examiner(s): HOFFBERG, ROBERT JOSEPH
• Application Number:
  US11/710,586
• Publication Number:
  US 20070272393A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,692 Days
• Field of Search: 361/690, 361694-695, 361/679.46, 361/679.48, 454/184, 700/300, 700/299, 165/288, 165/908, 181/206, 381/71.1
• US Class Current: 361/694
• CPC Class Codes: F28D 2021/0031 Radiators for recooling a coolant of cooling systems
• CPC Class Codes: F28F 2265/28 for preventing noise
• CPC Class Codes: F28F 27/00 Control arrangements or safety devices specially adapted for heat-exchange or heat-transfer apparatus control arrangements in general G05
• CPC Class Codes: G05D 23/1917 using digital means

Abstract

A thermal management system (101), comprising (a) a synthetic jet actuator (103), and (b) a processor (107) in communication with the synthetic jet actuator, the processor being adapted to receive programming instructions, and being further adapted to modify the operation of the synthetic jet actuator in response to the programming instructions.

Claims

1. A thermal management device, comprising:

a synthetic jet ejector which operates at a variable operating characteristic selected from the group consisting of a frequency and an amplitude;

a microphone which provides audio feedback to the thermal management device based on operation of said synthetic jet ejector, said audio feedback generated by the operation of said synthetic jet ejector;

a controller adapted to modify the variable operating characteristic of the synthetic jet ejector based on receiving said audio feedback; and

a programming bus, in communication with said controller, which provides programming instructions to said controller, wherein the programming instructions are modifiable to reduce said audio feedback generated by the operation of said synthetic jet ejector;

wherein said programming bus is in communication with, and is programmable over, a communications network, and

wherein said synthetic jet ejector dissipates heat from a heat source by directing a synthetic jet onto or across a surface of the heat source.

2. The thermal management device of claim 1, wherein the communications network is the Internet.

3. The thermal management device of claim 1, wherein said thermal management device is incorporated into a host system, and wherein said programming bus is programmable by the host system.

4. The thermal management device of claim 1, wherein said synthetic jet ejector is driven by a fixed voltage power source.

5. The thermal management device of claim 1, wherein said synthetic jet ejector is driven by a variable voltage power source.

6. The thermal management device of claim 5, wherein said controller is a microprocessor, and further comprising a voltage regulator which provides said microprocessor with a predefined voltage.

7. The thermal management device of claim 5, further comprising an H bridge integrated circuit electrically disposed between the variable voltage power source and the synthetic jet ejector.

8. The thermal management device of claim 7, wherein the H bridge has an input current and an output current, and further comprising a current sampling resistor which samples the input current.

9. The thermal management device of claim 1, wherein said thermal management device is equipped with a temperature input.

10. The thermal management device of claim 1, wherein said thermal management device is equipped with a tachometer output.

11. The thermal management device of claim 1, wherein said thermal management device is equipped with a pulse width modulation (PWM) input.

12. A thermal management system, comprising:

a synthetic jet actuator;

a microphone adapted to receive audio feedback from operation of said synthetic jet actuator; and

a controller in communication with said synthetic jet actuator which receives programming instructions over a network, and which modifies the operation of said synthetic jet actuator in response to the programming instructions;

wherein the programming instructions are modifiable based upon said audio feedback from the operation of said synthetic jet actuator to reduce said audio feedback from the operation of said synthetic jet actuator, and

wherein said synthetic jet actuator dissipates heat from a heat source by directing a synthetic jet onto or across a surface of the heat source.

13. The thermal management system of claim 12, wherein the programming instructions modify a frequency at which the synthetic jet actuator operates.

14. A thermal management system embedded in a host system, the thermal management system comprising:

a plurality of synthetic jet ejectors, wherein each member of said plurality of synthetic jet ejectors has an associated microphone; and

a processor which controls operation of said plurality of synthetic jet ejectors over a network in accordance with programming instructions received from the host system;

wherein said microphone is adapted to receive audio feedback from the operation of the associated member of said plurality of synthetic jet ejectors;

wherein said programming instructions are modifiable to reduce said audio feedback from the operation of said plurality of synthetic jet ejectors; and

wherein said each of said plurality of synthetic jet ejectors dissipates heat from a heat source by directing a synthetic jet onto or across a surface of the heat source.

15. The thermal management system of claim 14, wherein said processor is in communication with the host system.

16. The thermal management system of claim 14, wherein said programming instructions are received from said host system.

17. The thermal management system of claim 14, wherein said programming instructions are modifiable by said host system.

18. The thermal management system of claim 14, wherein said each of said plurality of synthetic jet ejectors has a dedicated H bridge integrated circuit associated with said each of said plurality of synthetic jet ejectors.

19. The thermal management system of claim 14, wherein said processor samples a current supplied to said each of said plurality of synthetic jet ejectors.

20. The thermal management system of claim 14, further comprising a programming bus, in communication with said processor, which provides said programming instructions to said processor.

21. The thermal management system of claim 20, wherein said programming bus is in communication with a communications network.

22. The thermal management system of claim 21, wherein said programming bus is programmable over the communications network.

23. The thermal management system of claim 22, wherein the communications network is the Internet.

24. The thermal management system of claim 20, wherein said programming bus is programmable by the host system.

25. The thermal management system of claim 14, wherein said thermal management system is equipped with a temperature input.

26. The thermal management system of claim 14, wherein said thermal management system is equipped with a tachometer output.

27. The thermal management system of claim 14, wherein said audio feedback received by said microphone relates to the operation of said each of said plurality of synthetic jet ejectors that said microphone is associated with.

28. The thermal management system of claim 27, wherein said microphone transmits data relating to said audio feedback to said processor.

29. The thermal management system of claim 14, wherein said thermal management system is equipped with a pulse width modulation (PWM) input.