U.S. patent application number 13/534027 was filed with the patent office on 2013-01-03 for passive heat exchanger for gimbal thermal management.
This patent application is currently assigned to BAE SYSTEMS INFORMATION AND ELECTRONIC SYSTEMS INTEGRATION INC.. Invention is credited to Dennis P. Bowler, Gerard A. Esposito, Barry Lavoie.
Application Number | 20130000881 13/534027 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 47389408 |
Filed Date | 2013-01-03 |
United States Patent
Application |
20130000881 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Lavoie; Barry ; et
al. |
January 3, 2013 |
PASSIVE HEAT EXCHANGER FOR GIMBAL THERMAL MANAGEMENT
Abstract
A passive heat exchanger for gimbal thermal management is
disclosed. In one embodiment, a thermal management system includes
one or more electronics and/or sensor equipment. Further, the
thermal management system includes a thermally conductive shell
configured to house the electronics and/or sensor equipment.
Furthermore, the thermally conductive shell includes an external
surface and an internal surface. In addition, at least some portion
of the external surface and the internal surface of the thermally
conductive shell include an extended surface configured to reduce
thermal resistance between an interior region of the thermally
conductive shell and ambient air.
Inventors: |
Lavoie; Barry; (Lowell,
MA) ; Esposito; Gerard A.; (Chelmsford, MA) ;
Bowler; Dennis P.; (Sudbury, MA) |
Assignee: |
BAE SYSTEMS INFORMATION AND
ELECTRONIC SYSTEMS INTEGRATION INC.
Nashua
NH
|
Family ID: |
47389408 |
Appl. No.: |
13/534027 |
Filed: |
June 27, 2012 |
Related U.S. Patent Documents
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Application
Number |
Filing Date |
Patent Number |
|
|
61502441 |
Jun 29, 2011 |
|
|
|
Current U.S.
Class: |
165/185 |
Current CPC
Class: |
H05K 7/20409 20130101;
H05K 7/20436 20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
165/185 |
International
Class: |
F28F 7/00 20060101
F28F007/00 |
Claims
1. A thermal management system, comprising: one or more electronics
and/or sensor equipment; and a thermally conductive shell
configured to house the one or more electronics and/or sensor
equipment, wherein the thermally conductive shell includes an
external surface and an internal surface, and wherein at least some
portion of the external surface and the internal surface of the
thermally conductive shell include an extended surface configured
to reduce thermal resistance between an interior region of the
thermally conductive shell and ambient air.
2. The thermal management system of claim 1, wherein the thermally
conductive shell is configured so that when the extended surface of
the external surface and the internal surface is attached to the
configured thermally conductive shell forming a complete thermally
conductive shell.
3. The thermal management system of claim 1, wherein the thermally
conductive shell is configured such that the extended surface of
the external surface and the internal surface is integral with a
remaining portion of the thermally conductive shell without
including the extended surfaces.
4. The thermal management system of claim 1, wherein the extended
surface of the external surface and the extended surface of the
internal surface comprise a plurality of fins, wherein the
plurality of fins is configured to reduce the thermal resistance
between the interior region of the thermally conductive shell and
the ambient air.
5. The thermal management system of claim 4, wherein the plurality
of fins extends orthogonally or at a slant from the external
surface and the internal surface of the thermally conductive
shell.
6. The thermal management system of claim 4, wherein a material of
the thermally conductive shell including the extended surface of
the external surface and the internal surface is selected from the
group consisting of aluminum, beryllium, and a composite of
aluminum and beryllium.
7. A gimbal, comprising: a thermally conductive sphere configured
to house rotatably one or more electronics and/or sensor equipment,
wherein the thermally conductive sphere includes an external
surface and an internal surface, and wherein at least some portion
of the external surface and the internal surface of the thermally
conductive sphere include an extended surface configured to reduce
thermal resistance between an interior region of the thermally
conductive sphere and ambient air.
8. The gimbal of claim 7, wherein the thermally conductive sphere
is configured so that when the extended surface of the external
surface and the internal surface is attached to the configured
thermally conductive sphere forming a complete thermally conductive
sphere.
9. The gimbal of claim 7, wherein the thermally conductive sphere
is configured such that the extended surface of the external
surface and the internal surface is integral with a remaining
portion of the thermally conductive sphere without including the
extended surfaces.
10. The gimbal of claim 7, wherein the extended surface of the
external surface and the extended surface of the internal surface
comprise a plurality of fins, wherein the plurality of fins is
configured to reduce thermal resistance between the interior region
of the thermally conductive sphere and the ambient air.
11. The gimbal of claim 10, wherein the plurality of fins extends
orthogonally or at a slant from the external surface and the
internal surface of the thermally conductive sphere.
12. The gimbal of claim 10, wherein a material of the thermally
conductive sphere including the extended surface of the external
surface and the internal surface is selected from the group
consisting of aluminum, beryllium, and a composite of aluminum and
beryllium.
Description
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION
[0001] This application claims rights under 35 USC .sctn.119(e)
from U.S. application Ser. No. 61/502,441 filed Jun. 29, 2011, the
contents of which are incorporated herein by reference.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0002] 1. Field of the Invention
[0003] The present invention relates to cooling systems, more
specifically to enclosed volumes containing payloads, such as
electronics and sensor equipment.
[0004] 2. Brief Description of Related Art
[0005] One of the most common and important devices found on
military host platforms today is a high precision, targetable
optical sensor. These sensors are useful for threat detection,
weapons targeting, countermeasure functions, surveillance, and many
other applications. However, in order to achieve the necessary
stability and maneuverability for effective targeting, most such
sensors must be attached to a gimbal.
[0006] Further, gimbals provide stability and many degrees of
freedom, but they require that the optical sensor be encapsulated
by a shell. The shell tends to thermally isolate the optical
sensor, leaving no direct path from the heat generated by the
optical sensor to the exterior of the gimbal. Rather, the heat
generated by the optical sensor must overcome three sources of
thermal resistance by first transferring from the air to the shell,
then transferring through the shell, and finally transferring from
the shell to the outside air. This heat transfer scenario
represents a relatively poor method for managing the dissipation of
a sensor payload.
[0007] In such scenarios, the optical sensors can warp and become
unreliable in extreme thermal conditions and, as a result, poor
thermal management may often limit the environmental conditions in
which these optical sensors may reliably operate.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0008] A passive heat exchanger for gimbal thermal management is
disclosed. According to one aspect of the present subject matter, a
thermal management system includes one or more electronics and/or
sensor equipment. Further, the thermal management system includes a
thermally conductive shell configured to house the electronics
and/or sensor equipment. Furthermore, the thermally conductive
shell includes an external surface and an internal surface. In
addition, at least some portion of the external surface and the
internal surface of the thermally conductive shell include an
extended surface configured to reduce thermal resistance between an
interior region of the thermally conductive shell and ambient
air.
[0009] According to another aspect of the present subject matter, a
gimbal includes a thermally conductive sphere configured to house
rotatably the electronics and/or sensor equipment. Further, the
thermally conductive sphere includes the external surface and the
internal surface. Furthermore, the at least some portion of the
external surface and the internal surface of the thermally
conductive sphere include the extended surface configured to reduce
the thermal resistance between an interior region of the thermally
conductive sphere and the ambient air.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0010] The advantages and features of the present disclosure will
become better understood with reference to the following detailed
description and claims taken in conjunction with the accompanying
drawings, wherein like elements are identified with like symbols,
and in which:
[0011] FIG. 1 illustrates an exemplary sectional view of a
thermally conductive shell of a gimbal, according to an embodiment
of the present subject matter;
[0012] FIG. 2 illustrates an exemplary sectional view of a portion
of the thermally conductive shell of FIG. 1, according to an
embodiment of the present subject matter; and
[0013] FIG. 3 illustrates an exemplary isometric view of the gimbal
and one or more electronics and/or sensor equipment housed in the
thermally conductive shell of FIG. 1, for a thermal management
system, according to an embodiment of the present subject
matter.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
[0014] The exemplary embodiments described herein in detail for
illustrative purposes are subject to many variations in structure
and design.
[0015] The terms "sphere" and "shell" are used interchangeably
throughout the document.
[0016] FIG. 1 illustrates an exemplary sectional view 100 of a
thermally conductive shell 105 of a gimbal, according to an
embodiment of the present subject matter. In one embodiment, the
thermally conductive shell 105 is configured to house rotatably one
or more electronics and/or sensor equipment. As shown in FIG. 1,
the thermally conductive shell 105 includes an external surface 120
and an internal surface 125. Further, at least some portion of the
external surface 120 and the internal surface 125 of the thermally
conductive shell 105 include an external extended surface 110 and
an internal extended surface 115, respectively. In one embodiment,
the thermally conductive shell 105 is configured so that when the
external extended surface 110 and the internal extended surface 115
are attached to the configured thermally conductive shell forming a
complete thermally conductive shell. In another embodiment, the
thermally conductive shell 105 is configured such that the external
extended surface 110 and the internal extended surface 115 are
integral with a remaining portion of the thermally conductive shell
105 without including the extended surfaces. In these embodiments,
a material of the thermally conductive shell 105 including the
external extended surface 110 and internal extended surface 115
includes aluminum, beryllium, a composite of aluminum and beryllium
and the like.
[0017] Furthermore as shown in FIG. 1, the external extended
surface 110 and the internal extended surface 115 include a
plurality of fins. In one exemplary implementation, the fins extend
orthogonally or at a slant from the external surface 120 and the
internal surface 125 of the thermally conductive shell 105. In one
embodiment, the external extended surface 110 and the internal
extended surface 115 are configured to reduce thermal resistance
between an interior region of the thermally conductive shell 105
and ambient air. Particularly, the fins are configured to reduce
the thermal resistance between the interior region of the thermally
conductive shell 105 and the ambient air. This is explained in more
detailed with reference to FIG. 3.
[0018] FIG. 2 illustrates an exemplary sectional view 200 of a
portion of the thermally conductive shell 105 of FIG. 1, according
to an embodiment of the present subject matter. Particularly, the
sectional view 200 illustrates the portion of the thermally
conductive shell 105 including the external extended surface 110
and the internal extended surface 115 of the external surface 120
and internal surface 125, respectively. As shown in FIG. 2, the
external extended surface 110 and the internal extended surface 115
include a plurality of fins configured to reduce thermal resistance
between the interior region of the thermally conductive shell 105
and the ambient air. Further as shown in FIG. 2, the fins extend
orthogonally or at a slant from the external surface 120 and the
internal surface 125 of the thermally conductive shell 105.
[0019] FIG. 3 illustrates an exemplary isometric view 300 of the
gimbal and one or more electronics and/or sensor equipment 305
housed in the thermally conductive shell 105 of FIG. 1 for a
thermal management system, according to an embodiment of the
present subject matter. As shown in FIG. 3, the thermal management
system includes the electronics and/or sensor equipment 305 and the
thermally conductive shell 105 configured to house the electronics
and/or sensor equipment 305. Further, thermally conductive shell
105 includes the external surface 120 and the internal surface 125,
such as the one shown in FIG. 1. Furthermore, at least some portion
of the external surface 120 and the internal surface 125 of the
thermally conductive shell 105 include the external extended
surface 110 and internal extended surface 115, respectively. In one
embodiment, the thermally conductive shell 105 is configured so
that when the external extended surface 110 and the internal
extended surface 115 are attached to the configured thermally
conductive shell forming a complete thermally conductive shell. In
another embodiment, the thermally conductive shell 105 is
configured such that the external extended surface 110 and the
internal extended surface 115 are integral with a remaining portion
of the thermally conductive shell 105 without including the
extended surfaces.
[0020] In addition as shown in FIG. 3, the external extended
surface 110 and the internal extended surface 115 include a
plurality of fins. In one exemplary implementation, the fins extend
orthogonally or at a slant from the external surface 120 and the
internal surface 125 of the thermally conductive shell 105. In one
embodiment, the external extended surface 110 and the internal
extended surface 115 are configured to reduce thermal resistance
between an interior region of the thermally conductive shell 105
and ambient air. Particularly, the fins are configured to reduce
thermal resistance between the interior region of the thermally
conductive shell 105 and the ambient air.
[0021] In operation, the internal extended surface 115 of the
thermally conductive shell 105 transfers heat generated by the
electronics and/or sensor equipment 305 to a thermally conductive
shell wall by providing an increased internal surface area.
Further, the generated heat is transferred from the thermally
conductive shell wall to the external extended surface 110. In one
embodiment, the material of the thermally conductive shell 105 is a
highly conductive material which improves the heat transfer through
the thermally conductive shell wall. Furthermore, the external
extended surface 110 transfers the heat to the ambient air by
providing an increased external surface area.
[0022] The foregoing descriptions of specific embodiments of the
present disclosure have been presented for purposes of illustration
and description. They are not intended to be exhaustive or to limit
the present disclosure to the precise forms disclosed, and
obviously many modifications and variations are possible in light
of the above teaching. The embodiments were chosen and described in
order to best explain the principles of the present disclosure and
its practical application, to thereby enable others skilled in the
art to best utilize the present disclosure and various embodiments
with various modifications as are suited to the particular use
contemplated. It is understood that various omission and
substitutions of equivalents are contemplated as circumstance may
suggest or render expedient, but such are intended to cover the
application or implementation without departing from the spirit or
scope of the claims of the present disclosure.
* * * * *