Back to results
US 2020/0350482 A1Published application
Shock resistant, efficient, low power radioisotope thermoelectroc generator
OwnerKavon Kazemzadah, John McCoy +3inventors
InventorsKavon Kazemzadah, John McCoy, Frederick Leavitt, Carmen Brown, Xiao Bing
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
This invention brings three new elements to the design of a low-power RTG; 1) an RHU suspension system, 2) a module tensioning system, and 3) a flexible thermal conductor. Taken together, these three elements enable the design of a system which finds optimal balancing of shock resistance with energy conversion efficiency.
Claims12
A shock resistant, efficient, low-power radioisotope thermoelectric generator (RTG) comprising:
- A) A radioisotope heat unit (RHU) designed to produce heat energy from radioactive decay.
- B) a thermoelectric module (TEM) defining a hot side and a cold side and adapted to convert heat generated by the RHU into electric power,
- C) a RHU suspension system adapted to suspend the RHU independent of the TEM,
- D) a flexible thermal connector, flexibly connecting the RHU to the hot side of the TEM,
- E) a module tension system designed to suspend the TEM in tension within opposite regions of the RTG independent of the RHU.
2 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.