US 2016/0079510 A1Published application

Cascade thermoelectric module configurable for either common or separate power

AssigneePhononic Devices, Inc.

InventorsDevon Newman, Abhishek Yadav, Arthur Prejs, Ravi Kiran Chilukuri

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Abstract

Embodiments described herein include a cascade Thermoelectric Module (TEM) that includes at least three headers. A first header and a first surface of a second header electrically connect first legs to form a stage of thermoelectric devices electrically connected in series, and define first and second leg placement positions for a subset of the first legs. A second surface of the second header and a third header electrically connect second legs to form another stage of thermoelectric devices electrically connected in series, and define first and second leg placement positions for a subset of the second legs. The stages are electrically coupled in series when the subsets of the first and second legs are positioned in their respective first leg placement positions, and the stages are electrically decoupled when the subsets of the first and second legs are positioned in their respective second leg placement positions.

Claims19

Dependent claims

A cascade thermoelectric module, comprising:

a plurality of headers comprising a first header, a second header, and a third header,
the first header and a first surface of the second header configured to electrically connect a first plurality of legs to form a first stage of thermoelectric devices electrically connected in series, the first header and the first surface of the second header defining a first set of leg placement positions for a subset of the first plurality of legs and a second set of leg placement positions for the subset of the first plurality of legs;
a second surface of the second header and the third header configured to electrically connect a second plurality of legs to form a second stage of thermoelectric devices electrically connected in series, the second surface of the second header and the third header defining a first set of leg placement positions for a subset of the second plurality of legs and a second set of leg placement positions for the subset of the second plurality of legs;
and
the second header being further configured such that:
the first and second stages of thermoelectric devices are electrically coupled in series when the subsets of the first and second pluralities of legs are positioned in the respective first sets of leg placement positions;
and
the first and second stages of thermoelectric devices are electrically decoupled within the cascade thermoelectric module when the subsets of the first and second pluralities of legs are positioned in the respective second sets of leg placement positions.

5 more elements

A thermoelectric system comprising:

a cascade thermoelectric module, comprising:
a plurality of headers comprising a first header, a second header, and a third header,
the first header and a first surface of the second header configured to electrically connect a first plurality of legs to form a first stage of thermoelectric devices electrically connected in series, the first header and the first surface of the second header defining a first set of leg placement positions for a subset of the first plurality of legs and a second set of leg placement positions for the subset of the first plurality of legs;
a second surface of the second header and the third header configured to electrically connect a second plurality of legs to form a second stage of thermoelectric devices electrically connected in series, the second surface of the second header and the third header defining a first set of leg placement positions for a subset of the second plurality of legs and a second set of leg placement positions for the subset of the second plurality of legs;
and
the second header being further configured such that:
the first and second stages of thermoelectric devices are electrically coupled in series when the subsets of the first and second pluralities of legs are positioned in the respective first sets of leg placement positions;
and
the first and second stages of thermoelectric devices are electrically decoupled within the cascade thermoelectric module when the subsets of the first and second pluralities of legs are positioned in the respective second sets of leg placement positions;
and
a control system configured to power the cascade thermoelectric module in accordance with one or more modes of operation.

8 more elements

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.