U.S. patent application number 10/204439 was filed with the patent office on 2003-07-31 for cooling system, especially for electrical appliances.
Invention is credited to Kornmayer, Ingbert.
Application Number | 20030141038 10/204439 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 7636979 |
Filed Date | 2003-07-31 |
United States Patent
Application |
20030141038 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Kornmayer, Ingbert |
July 31, 2003 |
Cooling system, especially for electrical appliances
Abstract
In order to cool an electrical appliance, a fuel storage tank
(1) is provided, which has a connection (3) to a fuel cell (2) in
order to feed fuel to it. Electrical consumers (4) are connected to
the fuel cell (2). In their operating mode, the electrical
consumers (4) represent heat sources (6). The electrical consumers
are cooled by means of a thermally conductive connection (8)
between heat sources (6) and a heat sink (7). The heat sink (7)
results from the withdrawal of fuel from the fuel storage tank (1)
for the operation of the fuel cell. The described cooling works
without noise and is therefore particularly suitable for the use in
PC systems.
Inventors: |
Kornmayer, Ingbert;
(Augsburg, DE) |
Correspondence
Address: |
NEIFELD IP LAW, PC
2001 JEFFERSON DAVIS HIGHWAY
ARLINGTON
VA
22202
US
|
Family ID: |
7636979 |
Appl. No.: |
10/204439 |
Filed: |
December 12, 2002 |
PCT Filed: |
March 22, 2001 |
PCT NO: |
PCT/DE01/01113 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
165/80.2 |
Current CPC
Class: |
G06F 1/203 20130101;
Y02E 60/50 20130101; H01M 8/065 20130101; H01M 8/04014
20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
165/80.2 |
International
Class: |
F28F 007/00 |
Foreign Application Data
Date |
Code |
Application Number |
Mar 30, 2000 |
DE |
100158293 |
Claims
1) cooling arrangement, in particular for elecrical appliances with
one fuel cell (2), at least one electrical consumer (4), which is
connected to the fuel cell (2) via an electrically conductive
connection (5), and which in its operating mode is a heat source
(6), a fuel storage tank (1), which is connected to the fuel cell
(2) for the purpose of feeding fuel into it, and which in its
operating state, characterized by the withdrawal of fuel, is a heat
sink (7), and a thermally conductive connection (8) between heat
source (6) and heat sink (7).
2) Cooling arrangement according to claim 1, characterized by the
fact that the electrical appliance is a portable computer
system.
3) Cooling arrangement according to claim 1 or 2, characterized by
the fact that the fuel storage tank (1) is a hydride storage
tank.
4) Cooling arrangement according to one of the claims 1 through 3,
characterized by the fact that at least one electrical consumer (4)
is a central processing unit in a computer system.
Description
[0001] The invention in question pertains to a cooling arrangement
with electrical consumers that require cooling.
[0002] When electrical energy is transformed into other forms of
energy, as well as when energy is transferred, losses occur. Losses
also occur in all electrical consumers, such as electronic
circuits. Waste heat is thus generated. This generation of waste
heat is increasingly problematic, because of increasingly high
integration density and pulse rates in electronic circuits. While
just a few years ago, it was still possible to cool microprocessors
of computer systems with passive components such as heat sinks or
the natural convection of the air; today's processors in PC or
notebook systems currently on the market require active, typically
electrically driven ventilators in order to dissipate waste heat.
Waste heat in power receptacles, storage components, and drives of
computer systems also frequently needs to be dissipated with the
help of additional components such as ventilators or so-called heat
pipes.
[0003] The dissipation of waste heat in electronic systems is
absolutely necessary in order to prevent an unacceptable increase
in temperature in the components or elements in question, thus
preventing the possible destruction as well as other resultant
damage.
[0004] When active cooling elements such as ventilators are used,
the resulting increase in total weight of the electrical system in
question, as well as additional requirements regarding assembly,
logistics and qualification of personnel pose a problem. Another
problem lies in the possible failure of active components such as
ventilators, which can cause expensive resultant damage. In
addition to this, the operation of electrical ventilators causes
unwanted background noise. These unwanted noises are especially
inconvenient when ventilators are used in PC systems or notebooks,
because at such work places the user requires an increased ability
to concentrate.
[0005] In the magazine "c't Magazin fur Computer Technik", edition
11, 1998, page 41, published by Heise Verlag, Hannover, Germany, an
article by Dr. Jurgen Rink, titled "Dauerlufer, Brennstoffzellen
fir Notebooks" ("long-distance runners, fuel cells for notebooks")
mentions a notebook with a fuel cell for electrical power
supply.
[0006] The task of the invention at hand is to present a cooling
arrangement which cools without sound, in particular for electrical
appliances.
[0007] With regards to the arrangement, this task is realized with
a cooling arrangement, particularly for electrical appliances,
which contains
[0008] a fuel cell,
[0009] at least one electrical consumer which is connected to the
fuel cell by means of an electrically conductive connection, and
which in its operating state is a heat source,
[0010] a fuel storage tank which is connected to the fuel cell for
the purpose of feeding fuel to it, and which is a heat sink in its
operating state (characterized by the withdrawal of fuel), and
[0011] a thermally conductive connection between heat source and
heat sink.
[0012] The invention is based on the principle of withdrawing heat
from, or cooling electrical consumers which generate waste heat, by
creating a thermally well-conductive connection between the
electrical consumer and a heat sink. A heat sink results from the
removal of fuel from a fuel storage tank, for example by means of
an expansion of the fuel or other thermodynamic processes which
draw heat from their environment.
[0013] The described principle has the advantage that it cools
without sound. This is particularly significant for the application
of this principle in electrical systems that are used at office
work places. In addition to this, the described principle can be
realized easily and in a cost-effective manner.
[0014] Additionally, a fuel cell is provided, which is connected to
the fuel storage tank in order to feed fuel to the fuel cell. The
fuel cell is also electrically connected to at least one electrical
consumer. A fuel cell is a galvanic cell, in which chemical energy
is transformed into electrical energy. The process within the fuel
cell is hereby referred to as cold fire. Fuel cells can be operated
for example with hydrogen and oxygen. Since the oxygen can be taken
from the surrounding air, only the hydrogen needs to be storable as
fuel in a hydrogen storage tank. Moreover, the hydrogen can be
stored in the form of liquefied gas, or it can be bound in a
hydride storage tank. When hydrogen is taken from a hydride storage
tank, heat is withdrawn from the environment. There thus exists a
heat sink. The fuel taken from the tank is fed into a fuel cell, in
which electrical energy is produced, whereas the amount of produced
energy depends on the amount of fuel taken from the tank.
Electrical consumers can be connected to the fuel cell. These
electrical consumers can produce waste heat. This waste heat in the
electrical consumers is thus linked to the withdrawal of hydrogen
from the fuel storage tank. If the electrical consumers
representing the heat source are thermally linked to the heat sink,
the thus achieved cooling of the electrical consumers is
advantageous, since the cooling effect is especially good when a
lot of waste heat is incurred and, vice versa, the cooling effect
is less when only a little waste heat is incurred.
[0015] If the electrical system is a portable computer system, the
described cooling is particularly advantageous, since no additional
electrical energy is required for the active coolers, such as
ventilators, and since noisy cooling elements are especially
inconvenient for the user during operation of portable computer
systems.
[0016] Fuel cells that are used to produce electrical energy for
portable computer systems, in connection with hydride storage
tanks, allow for a long operating period independent from external
power supply. With traditional batteries and accumulators,
operation independent from an external power source is limited to a
few hours. The described cooling arrangement can for instance be
used in portable computers (notebooks, laptops) for energy supply
and cooling, in order to combine the advantage of long periods of
operation independent from external power supply with the cooling
of high-performance components, such as processors.
[0017] The application of the described principle also makes sense
in other electrically driven small appliances, especially in the
field of information and communication technology, when the desire
for long operating periods without recharging externally meets with
the need for active cooling. Such applications could for instance
be organizers, PDAs (Personal Digital Assistants), and mobile
phones.
[0018] Moreover, the application of the described principle is
conceivable in motor vehicles, which are electrically driven by
means of a fuel cell, and which contain an electrical motor which
produces heat during operation and requires cooling, and to that
end is thermally connected with the fuel storage tank necessary for
the operation of the fuel cell.
[0019] In another advantageous model of the invention in question,
the fuel storage tank is a hydride storage tank. Hydrogen or
another fuel suitable for the reaction within fuel cells is bound
in hydride storage tanks, for example in the form of lithium
hydride or metal hydrides.
[0020] In another advantageous model of the invention in question,
at least one of the electrical consumers requiring cooling is the
processor of a computer system. Central processing units (CPU) of
computer systems show especially high integration density and pulse
rates. Therefore, the power dissipation per area or per volume is
especially high. The deflection of the waste heat is thus of great
significance.
[0021] Other model variants of the invention in question are
mentioned in the sub claims.
[0022] Below, the invention in question is explained further, based
on one model, with reference to the drawings.
[0023] Showing as follows:
[0024] The FIGURE shows a block diagram of a principle-adhering
model of the invention in question.
[0025] The FIGURE shows a fuel storage tank 1, which is connected
to a fuel cell 2. Between the fuel storage tank 1 and the fuel cell
2, a connection 3 is provided. This connection 3 is made gastight,
in order to feed for example gaseous hydrogen to the fuel cell 2.
Electrical consumers 4 are connected to the fuel cell 2. In order
to accommodate this, electrical lines 5 are arranged in-between the
fuel cell 2 and the electrical consumers 4. In the operating mode,
the fuel cell produces electrical energy, which is led to the
electrical consumers 4 via the lines 5. These electrical consumers
act as heat sources 6 during operation. The fuel storage tank 1,
from which fuel is taken during operation, represents a heat sink
7, since heat is withdrawn from the surroundings, for instance
through the expansion of the fuel. In order to cool the electrical
consumers 4, thermally conductive connections 8 are arranged
in-between the heat sources 6 and the heat sink 7. Heat is
transported from the heat sources 6 to the heat sink 7 by means of
the thermally conductive connections 8.
[0026] The described arrangement has the advantage that the
electrical consumers can be cooled with a fuel storage tank, which,
in connection with a fuel cell, is required anyway in order to
supply power to the electrical system. Moreover, it is advantageous
that the cooling effect is especially good when a particularly high
amount of waste heat needs to be dissipated. This is the case when
a lot of energy is produced in the fuel cell and thereby a lot of
fuel is withdrawn from the fuel storage tank.
[0027] When the described cooling method is used in a portable
computer system such as a notebook, which has a fuel cell in order
to produce the necessary electrical energy, the otherwise
indismissible noise-producing ventilators for active cooling of
electrical components can be omitted.
[0028] In the model in question, the fuel storage tank 1 is filled
with hydrogen, which reacts with oxygen in the fuel cell 2 in order
to produce energy. However, an operation with other fuels, such as
methanol, is also conceivable. The hydrogen is bound in a hydride
storage tank in a reversible process. When hydrogen is taken from
the hydride storage tank and hydrogen expands, a heat sink results.
Since the hydride storage tank can be recharged, the described
arrangement can be put to use in portable computer systems in an
advantageous manner.
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