Classifications

• • H—ELECTRICITY
  • H10—SEMICONDUCTOR DEVICES; ELECTRIC SOLID-STATE DEVICES NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
  • H10N—ELECTRIC SOLID-STATE DEVICES NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
  • H10N10/00—Thermoelectric devices comprising a junction of dissimilar materials, i.e. devices exhibiting Seebeck or Peltier effects
  • H10N10/10—Thermoelectric devices comprising a junction of dissimilar materials, i.e. devices exhibiting Seebeck or Peltier effects operating with only the Peltier or Seebeck effects
  • H10N10/17—Thermoelectric devices comprising a junction of dissimilar materials, i.e. devices exhibiting Seebeck or Peltier effects operating with only the Peltier or Seebeck effects characterised by the structure or configuration of the cell or thermocouple forming the device
• • F—MECHANICAL ENGINEERING; LIGHTING; HEATING; WEAPONS; BLASTING
  • F25—REFRIGERATION OR COOLING; COMBINED HEATING AND REFRIGERATION SYSTEMS; HEAT PUMP SYSTEMS; MANUFACTURE OR STORAGE OF ICE; LIQUEFACTION SOLIDIFICATION OF GASES
  • F25B—REFRIGERATION MACHINES, PLANTS OR SYSTEMS; COMBINED HEATING AND REFRIGERATION SYSTEMS; HEAT PUMP SYSTEMS
  • F25B21/00—Machines, plants or systems, using electric or magnetic effects
  • F25B21/02—Machines, plants or systems, using electric or magnetic effects using Peltier effect; using Nernst-Ettinghausen effect
  • F25B21/04—Machines, plants or systems, using electric or magnetic effects using Peltier effect; using Nernst-Ettinghausen effect reversible
• • H—ELECTRICITY
  • H10—SEMICONDUCTOR DEVICES; ELECTRIC SOLID-STATE DEVICES NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
  • H10N—ELECTRIC SOLID-STATE DEVICES NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
  • H10N10/00—Thermoelectric devices comprising a junction of dissimilar materials, i.e. devices exhibiting Seebeck or Peltier effects
• • F—MECHANICAL ENGINEERING; LIGHTING; HEATING; WEAPONS; BLASTING
  • F25—REFRIGERATION OR COOLING; COMBINED HEATING AND REFRIGERATION SYSTEMS; HEAT PUMP SYSTEMS; MANUFACTURE OR STORAGE OF ICE; LIQUEFACTION SOLIDIFICATION OF GASES
  • F25B—REFRIGERATION MACHINES, PLANTS OR SYSTEMS; COMBINED HEATING AND REFRIGERATION SYSTEMS; HEAT PUMP SYSTEMS
  • F25B2321/00—Details of machines, plants or systems, using electric or magnetic effects
  • F25B2321/02—Details of machines, plants or systems, using electric or magnetic effects using Peltier effects; using Nernst-Ettinghausen effects
  • F25B2321/021—Control thereof
  • F25B2321/0212—Control thereof of electric power, current or voltage

Definitions

• thermoelectric devices relate to thermoelectric devices and their operation.
• Thermoelectric devices are solid state semiconductor devices that, depending on the particular application, can be either Thermoelectric Coolers (TECs) or Thermoelectric Generators (TEGs). TECs are solid state
• thermoelectric devices that utilize the Peltier effect to transfer heat from one side of the device to the other, thereby creating a cooling effect on the cold side of the device. Because the direction of heat transfer is determined by the polarity of an applied voltage, thermoelectric devices can be used generally as temperature controllers. Similarly, TEGs are solid state semiconductor devices that utilize the Seebeck effect to convert heat (i.e., a temperature difference from one side of the device to the other) directly into electrical energy.
• a thermoelectric device includes at least one N-type leg and at least one P-type leg. The N-type legs and the P-type legs are formed of a thermoelectric material (i.e., a semiconductor material having sufficiently strong thermoelectric properties). In order to effect thermoelectric cooling, an electrical current is applied to the thermoelectric device.
• thermoelectric devices The direction of current transference in the N-type legs and the P-type legs is parallel to the direction of heat transference in the thermoelectric device. As a result, cooling occurs at the top surface of the thermoelectric device, and the heat is released at the bottom surface of the thermoelectric device.
• thermoelectric devices with increased performance and longer lifespans.
• a switch architecture for multi-mode operation of a thermoelectric device includes one or more inputs operable to receive power from one or more power supplies.
• the switch architecture also includes multiple outputs operable to provide power to respective channels of the thermoelectric device.
• the switch architecture also includes multiple solid-state switches operable to connect the one or more inputs to the outputs and a controller operable to toggle the solid-state switches to provide multiple modes of operation of the thermoelectric device.
• the thermoelectric device can be operated in a more efficient way while decreasing the size and increasing the reliability of the switch architecture. Also, this may allow the use of standard and less expensive power supplies. This may result in a significant reduction in cost and an increase in reliability.
• the controller is operable to toggle the solid- state switches to provide power to at least a subset of the outputs in series. In some embodiments, the controller is operable to toggle the solid-state switches to provide power to at least a subset of the outputs in parallel.
• the controller is operable to toggle the solid- state switches to provide power to at least a subset of the outputs to provide a high capacity mode of operation of the thermoelectric device. In some embodiments, the controller is operable to provide the high capacity mode of operation of the thermoelectric device when a temperature of a region being cooled by the thermoelectric device exceeds a steady state range including a set point temperature.
• the controller is operable to toggle the solid- state switches to provide power to at least a subset of the outputs to provide a high efficiency mode of operation of the thermoelectric device. In some embodiments, the controller is operable to provide the high efficiency mode of operation of the thermoelectric device when the temperature of the region being cooled by the thermoelectric device is within the steady state range including the set point temperature.
• thermoelectric device includes multiple thermoelectric coolers and the channels of the thermoelectric device are disposed on an interconnect board that enables selective control of multiple different subsets of the thermoelectric coolers.
• a cartridge includes the switch architecture and the thermoelectric device.
• each of the solid-state switches is a transistor. In some embodiments, each of the solid-state switches is a metal-oxide- semiconductor field-effect transistor (MOSFET).
• MOSFET metal-oxide- semiconductor field-effect transistor
• a method of operating a switch architecture for multi-mode operation of a thermoelectric device includes determining a first mode of operation of the thermoelectric device and toggling one or more of the solid-state switches to provide the first mode of operation of the thermoelectric device.
• the method also includes determining a second mode of operation of the thermoelectric device that is different than the first mode of operation and toggling one or more of the solid-state switches to provide the second mode of operation of the thermoelectric device.
• toggling the one or more of the solid-state switches includes toggling the one or more of the solid-state switches to provide power to at least a subset of outputs in series. In some embodiments, toggling the one or more of the solid-state switches includes toggling the one or more of the solid-state switches to provide power to at least a subset of outputs in parallel.
• toggling the one or more of the solid-state switches includes toggling the one or more of the solid-state switches to provide power to at least a subset of the outputs to provide a high capacity mode of operation of the thermoelectric device.
• determining the first mode of operation or the second mode of operation includes determining the high capacity mode of operation of the thermoelectric device when a temperature of a region being cooled by the thermoelectric device exceeds a steady state range including a set point temperature.
• toggling the one or more of the solid-state switches includes toggling the one or more of the solid-state switches to provide a high efficiency mode of operation of the thermoelectric device.
• determining the first mode of operation or the second mode of operation includes determining when the temperature of the region being cooled by the thermoelectric device is within the steady state range including the set point temperature.
• Figure 1 illustrates a thermoelectric refrigeration system having a cooling chamber, a heat exchanger including at least one Thermoelectric Module (TEM) disposed between a cold side heat sink and a hot side heat sink, and a controller that controls the TEM according to some embodiments of the present disclosure
• Figures 2A-2C illustrate an architecture for driving multiple channels of a device in parallel
• Figures 3A-3C illustrate an architecture for driving multiple channels of a device in series
• Figure 4 illustrates a solid-state switch architecture for multi-mode operation of a thermoelectric device, according to some embodiments disclosed herein;
• Figure 5A illustrates a configuration of the solid-state switch
• Figure 5B illustrates a configuration of the solid-state switch
• Figure 6 illustrates a process for operating the solid-state switch architecture for multi-mode operation of a thermoelectric device of Figure 4, according to some embodiments disclosed herein;
• Figure 7 is an illustration of a device that includes multiple TECs in multiple channels disposed on an interconnect board that enables selective control of multiple different subsets of the TECs in the array of TECs, according to some embodiments disclosed herein.
• Relative terms such as “below” or “above” or “upper” or “lower” or “horizontal” or “vertical” may be used herein to describe a relationship of one element, layer, or region to another element, layer, or region as illustrated in the Figures. It will be understood that these terms and those discussed above are intended to encompass different orientations of the device in addition to the orientation depicted in the Figures.
• FIG. 1 illustrates a thermoelectric refrigeration system 10 having a cooling chamber 12, a heat exchanger 14 including at least one Thermoelectric Module (TEM) 22 (referred to herein singularly as TEM 22 or plural as TEMs 22) disposed between a cold side heat sink 20 and a hot side heat sink 18, and a controller 16 that controls the TEM 22 according to some embodiments of the present disclosure.
• TEM 22 Thermoelectric Module
• FIG. 1 illustrates a thermoelectric refrigeration system 10 having a cooling chamber 12, a heat exchanger 14 including at least one Thermoelectric Module (TEM) 22 (referred to herein singularly as TEM 22 or plural as TEMs 22) disposed between a cold side heat sink 20 and a hot side heat sink 18, and a controller 16 that controls the TEM 22 according to some embodiments of the present disclosure.
• TEM 22 Thermoelectric Module
• Thermoelectric Cooler (TEC) 22 Thermoelectric Cooler 22.
• the TEMs 22 are preferably thin film devices. When one or more of the TEMs 22 are activated by the controller 16, the activated TEMs 22 operate to heat the hot side heat sink 18 and cool the cold side heat sink 20 to thereby facilitate heat transfer to extract heat from the cooling chamber 12. More specifically, when one or more of the TEMs 22 are activated, the hot side heat sink 18 is heated to thereby create an evaporator and the cold side heat sink 20 is cooled to thereby create a condenser, according to some embodiments of the current disclosure.
• the cold side heat sink 20 facilitates heat extraction from the cooling chamber 12 via an accept loop 24 coupled with the cold side heat sink 20.
• the accept loop 24 is thermally coupled to an interior wall 26 of the thermoelectric refrigeration system 10.
• the interior wall 26 defines the cooling chamber 12.
• the accept loop 24 is either integrated into the interior wall 26 or integrated directly onto the surface of the interior wall 26.
• the accept loop 24 is formed by any type of plumbing that allows for a cooling medium (e.g., a two-phase coolant) to flow or pass through the accept loop 24. Due to the thermal coupling of the accept loop 24 and the interior wall 26, the cooling medium extracts heat from the cooling chamber 12 as the cooling medium flows through the accept loop 24.
• the accept loop 24 may be formed of, for example, copper tubing, plastic tubing, stainless steel tubing, aluminum tubing, or the like.
• the hot side heat sink 18 facilitates rejection of heat to an environment external to the cooling chamber 12 via a reject loop 28 coupled to the hot side heat sink 18.
• the reject loop 28 is thermally coupled to an outer wall 30, or outer skin, of the thermoelectric refrigeration system 10.
• thermoelectric refrigeration system 10 shown in Figure 1 is only a particular embodiment of a use and control of a TEM 22. All embodiments discussed herein should be understood to apply to thermoelectric refrigeration system 10 as well as any other use of a TEM 22.
• the controller 16 operates to control the TEMs 22 in order to maintain a desired set point temperature within the cooling chamber 12.
• the controller 16 operates to selectively activate/deactivate the TEMs 22, selectively control an amount of power provided to the TEMs 22, and/or selectively control a duty cycle of the TEMs 22 to maintain the desired set point temperature.
• the controller 16 is enabled to separately or
• the controller 16 may be enabled to separately control a first individual TEM 22, a second individual TEM 22, and a group of two TEMs 22.
• the controller 16 can, for example, selectively activate one, two, three, or four TEMs 22 independently, at maximized efficiency, as demand dictates.
• thermoelectric refrigeration system 10 is only an example implementation and that the systems and methods disclosed herein are applicable to other uses of thermoelectric devices as well.
• thermoelectric systems that use thermoelectric devices are
• FIGS 2A-2C illustrate an architecture for driving multiple channels of a device in parallel.
• An Alternating Current (AC) or Direct Current (DC) offline power supply 32 outputs power to a DC to DC converter 34 which then provides power to a device 36.
• the device 36 contains two channels that are being powered in parallel.
• This DC to DC converter 34 may be bulky or expensive.
• Figure 2A shows an example where the DC to DC converter 34 can provide a variable DC voltage to power the device 36. This type of variability may be expensive and difficult to tune for efficiency.
• FIGS 2B and 2C show examples of Pulse Width Modulation (PWM) being used to provide the desired amount of power to the device 36. Since PWM typically switches between some high value and some low (e.g., zero) value, the actual efficiency of the device 36 is determined by that high value and low value and not the average amount of power provided. This can lead to less efficient power levels and heat leakback during the off periods.
• PWM Pulse Width Modulation
• Figures 3A-3C illustrate an architecture for driving multiple channels of a device in series.
• an AC or DC offline power supply 32 outputs power to a DC to DC converter 34 which then provides power to the device 36.
• the device 36 contains two channels that are being powered in series. Again, this DC to DC converter 34 may be bulky or expensive.
• Figure 3A shows an example where the DC to DC converter 34 can provide a variable DC voltage to power the device 36. This type of variability may be expensive and difficult to tune for efficiency.
• Figures 3B and 3C show examples of PWM being used to provide the desired amount of power to the device 36.
• PWM typically switches between some high value and some low (e.g., zero) value
• the actual efficiency of the device 36 is determined by that high value and low value and not the average amount of power provided. This can lead to less efficient power levels and heat leakback during the off periods.
• Thermoelectric devices in cooling applications are operated using DC voltage. To vary the heat pumping, this DC voltage level is increased, decreased, or PWM. Varying the voltage level requires access to the associated power regulator's control loop which may introduce potential instabilities and complexities, or adding secondary DC to DC regulator(s) to the bulk voltage. PWM does not allow for operation of the thermoelectric device at both the maximum Coefficient of Performance (COP) and maximum Q points of its operational curve (since the performance of the device depends on the instantaneous voltage applied to it).
• COP Coefficient of Performance
• FIG. 4 illustrates a solid-state switch architecture 38 for multi-mode operation of a thermoelectric device 40, according to some embodiments disclosed herein.
• the switch architecture 38 for multi-mode operation of a thermoelectric device 40 includes one or more inputs operable to receive power from one or more power supplies 42.
• the switch architecture 38 also includes multiple outputs operable to provide power to respective channels of the thermoelectric device 40.
• the switch architecture 38 also includes multiple solid-state switches 44 operable to connect the one or more inputs to the outputs and a controller 46 operable to toggle the solid-state switches 44-1 through 44-N (for simplicity, these are often referred to as switches 44 or switch 44) to provide multiple modes of operation of the thermoelectric device 40. In this way, the switches 44 or switch 44 are often referred to as switches 44 or switch 44.
• thermoelectric device 40 can be operated in a more efficient way while decreasing the size and increasing the reliability of the switch architecture 38. Also, this may allow the use of standard and less expensive power supplies 42. This may result in a significant reduction in cost and an increase in reliability.
• each of the solid-state switches is a transistor. In some embodiments, each of the solid-state switches is a metal-oxide- semiconductor field-effect transistor (MOSFET).
• MOSFET metal-oxide- semiconductor field-effect transistor
• the proposed solid-state electronic circuit architecture in combination with an associated thermoelectric heat pump device allows for operation of the device at both the maximum COP and maximum Q modes without the need for varying the bulk voltage level provided by the power supply 42.
• the controller 46 is operable to toggle the solid- state switches to provide power to at least a subset of the outputs in parallel.
• Figure 5A illustrates a configuration of the solid-state switch architecture 38 of Figure 4 for driving multiple channels of the thermoelectric device 40 in parallel, according to some embodiments disclosed herein. In this example, switches 44- 1 and 44-N are closed, allowing current to flow through these switches.
• switches 44-2 and 44-3 are open, prohibiting current to flow through these switches. This connects both Channel 1 and Channel N of the
• thermoelectric device 40 in parallel. In this example, this provides the most current to each of the Channels and may be configured to be a high capacity mode of operation of the thermoelectric device 40.
• the controller 46 is operable to provide the high capacity mode of operation of the thermoelectric device 40 when a temperature of a region being cooled by the thermoelectric device 40 exceeds a steady state range including a set point temperature.
• the controller 46 is operable to toggle the solid- state switches 44 to provide power to at least a subset of the outputs in series.
• Figure 5B illustrates a configuration of the solid-state switch architecture of Figure 4 for driving multiple channels of the device in series, according to some embodiments disclosed herein.
• switches 44-2 and 44-3 are closed, allowing current to flow through these switches.
• switches 44-1 and 44-4 are open, prohibiting current to flow through these switches.
• This connects both Channel 1 and Channel N of the thermoelectric device 40 in series. In this example, this provides the least current to each of the Channels and may be configured to be a high efficiency mode of operation of the
• thermoelectric device 40 the controller is operable to provide the high efficiency mode of operation of the thermoelectric device when the temperature of the region being cooled by the thermoelectric device is within the steady state range including the set point temperature.
• thermoelectric device 40 Note that while only two Channels are shown, the embodiments disclosed herein are not limited thereto. For instance, there could be any number of Channels and some could be connected in series while others are connected in parallel. This could enable many different modes of operation of the thermoelectric device 40.
• FIG. 6 illustrates a process for operating the solid-state switch architecture 38 for multi-mode operation of a thermoelectric device 40 of Figure 4, according to some embodiments disclosed herein.
• the controller 46 determines a first (or subsequent) mode of operation of the thermoelectric device 40 (step 100).
• the controller 46 toggles one or more of the solid-state switches 44 to provide the first (or subsequent) mode of operation of the thermoelectric device 40 (step 102).
• this process can then repeat as the controller 46 determines a subsequent (e.g., a second) mode of operation of the thermoelectric device 40.
• thermoelectric device 40 could be any mode discussed in US Patent Publication US 2013/0291560, entitled “CARTRIDGE FOR MULTIPLE THERMOELECTRIC MODULES", which is hereby incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.
• thermoelectric device 40 includes multiple thermoelectric coolers and the channels of the thermoelectric device are disposed on an interconnect board that enables selective control of multiple different subsets of the thermoelectric coolers.
• FIG. 7 is an illustration of a device that includes multiple TECs in multiple channels disposed on an interconnect board that enables selective control of multiple different subsets of the TECs in the array of TECs, according to some embodiments disclosed herein.
• a cartridge 48 includes TECs 50a through 50f (more generally referred to herein collectively as TECs 50 and individually as TEC 50) disposed on an interconnect board 52.
• the TECs 50 are thin film devices. Some non-limiting examples of thin film TECs are disclosed in U.S. Patent No. 8,216,871 , entitled METHOD FOR THIN FILM THERMOELECTRIC MODULE FABRICATION, which is hereby incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.
• the interconnect board 52 includes electrically conductive Channels 54a through 54d (more generally referred to herein collectively as Channels 54 and individually as Channel 54) that define four subsets of the TECs 50a through 50f.
• the TECs 50a and 50b are electrically connected in series with one another via the Channel 54a and, as such, form a first subset of the TECs 50.
• the TECs 50c and 50d are electrically connected in series with one another via the Channel 54b and, as such, form a second subset of the TECs 50.
• the TEC 50e is connected to the Channel 54d and, as such, forms a third subset of the TECs 50
• the TEC 50f is connected to the Channel 54c and, as such, forms a fourth subset of the TECs 50.
• the controller 46 can, in no particular order, selectively control the first subset of TECs 50 (i.e., the TECs 50a and 50b) by controlling a current applied to the Channel 54a, selectively control the second subset of the TECs 50 (i.e., the TECs 50c and 50d) by controlling a current applied to the Channel 54b, selectively control the third subset of the TECs 50 (i.e., the TEC 50e) by controlling a current applied to the Channel 54d, and selectively control the fourth subset of the TECs 50 (i.e., the TEC 50f) by controlling a current applied to the Channel 54c.
• the controller 46 can selectively activate/deactivate the TECs 50a and 50b by either removing current from the Channel 54a (deactivate) or by applying a current to the Channel 54a (activate), selectively increase or decrease the current applied to the Channel 54a while the TECs 50a and 50b are activated, and/or control the current applied to the Channel 54a.
• the interconnect board 52 includes openings 56a and 56b (more generally referred to herein collectively as openings 56 and individually as opening 56) that expose bottom surfaces of the TECs 50a through 50f.
• openings 56a and 56b When disposed between a hot side heat sink and a cold side heat sink, the openings 56a and 56b enable the bottom surfaces of the TECs 50a through 50f to be thermally coupled to the appropriate heat sink.
• the controller 46 can selectively activate or deactivate any combination of the subsets of the TECs 50 by applying or removing current from the corresponding Channels 54a through 54d. Further, the controller 46 can control the operating points of the active TECs 50 by controlling the amount of current provided to the corresponding Channels 54a through 54d.
• the controller 46 provides the current lcopmax to the Channel 54a to thereby activate the TECs 50a and 50b and operate the TECs 50a and 50b at QcoPma and removes current from the other Channels 54b through 54d to thereby deactivate the other TECs 50c through 50f.
• the cartridge 48 includes the TECs 50a through 50f.
• the cartridge 48 may include any number of TECs 50.
• the cartridge 48 includes the switch
• thermoelectric device 40 e.g., TECs 50. This would enable to the cartridge 48 to be used with a standard power supply 42 that could be less complex and less expensive. Additionally, since the switch architecture 38 is solid-state, the inclusion in the cartridge 48 would not have much of an impact on the size or durability of cartridge 48.

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• Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
• Physics & Mathematics (AREA)
• Mechanical Engineering (AREA)
• Thermal Sciences (AREA)
• General Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
• Devices That Are Associated With Refrigeration Equipment (AREA)
• Cooling Or The Like Of Semiconductors Or Solid State Devices (AREA)
• Control Of Temperature (AREA)
• Power Conversion In General (AREA)

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• 2018
  • 2018-03-08 EP EP18712403.7A patent/EP3577697A2/de not_active Withdrawn
  • 2018-03-08 JP JP2019549429A patent/JP2020510807A/ja active Pending
  • 2018-03-08 WO PCT/US2018/021524 patent/WO2018165414A2/en not_active Ceased
  • 2018-03-08 US US15/915,638 patent/US20180259231A1/en not_active Abandoned
  • 2018-03-08 KR KR1020197029775A patent/KR20190122848A/ko not_active Ceased
  • 2018-03-08 CN CN201880024438.XA patent/CN110537263A/zh active Pending

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