Self-assembled or reconfigurable structures for heat flow control devices
AssigneeToyota Motor Engineering & Manufacturing North America, Inc.
InventorErcan Mehmet Dede
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Abstract
Devices configured to direct heat flow are disclosed, as well as methods of forming thereof. A device may include a self-assembling heat flow object. The self-assembling heat flow object may include a material having one or more self-assembling properties that cause the material to react to an environmental stimulus and one or more thermal pathways. An application of the environmental stimulus causes the self-assembling heat flow object to deploy and arrange the one or more thermal pathways for directing thermal energy to one or more locations.
Claims17
A self-assembling heat flow object comprising:
- a material having one or more self-assembling properties that cause the material to be reactive to an environmental stimulus selected from at least one of a magnetic field, an electrical current, and an induced illumination;
- and
- one or more thermal pathways,
- wherein:
- application of the environmental stimulus causes the self-assembling heat flow object to deploy from an undeployed state to a deployed state where the self-assembling heat flow object is uncompacted and folded into a three dimensional shape to arrange the one or more thermal pathways for directing thermal energy, and
- the self-assembling heat flow object is disposed on a printed circuit board.
A method of forming a device configured to direct heat flow, the method comprising:
- placing one or more materials having one or more of self-assembling properties on a printed circuit board;
- providing one or more thermal pathways by placing a thermally conductive material on the one or more materials to form a self-assembling heat flow object;
- and
- causing an environmental stimulus such that the one or more materials deploy from an undeployed state where the self-assembling heat flow object is compacted to a deployed state where the self-assembling heat flow object is uncompacted and folded into a three dimensional shape to arrange the one or more thermal pathways for movement of heat at one or more locations adjacent to the device, wherein the environmental stimulus is selected from at least one of an introduction of a magnetic field adjacent to the self-assembling heat flow object, an introduction of an electrical current to the self-assembling heat flow object, and an illumination of the self-assembling heat flow object.
A device configured to direct heat flow, the device comprising:
- a plurality of self-assembling heat flow objects disposed on a printed circuit board, each one of the plurality of self-assembling heat flow objects comprising:
- a shape memory material disposed on the printed circuit board, wherein the shape memory material comprises one or more self-assembling properties that cause the shape memory material to be reactive to an environmental stimulus selected from at least one of an introduction of a magnetic field adjacent to the self-assembling heat flow object, an introduction of an electrical current, and an induced illumination;
- and
- one or more thermal pathways,
- wherein an application of the environmental stimulus causes the plurality of self-assembling heat flow objects to deploy from an undeployed state where the plurality of self-assembling heat flow objects are compacted to a deployed state where each one of the plurality of self-assembling heat flow objects are uncompacted and folded into a three dimensional shape to arrange the one or more thermal pathways for directing thermal energy to one or more locations adjacent to the self-assembling heat flow object.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.