Controllable heat transmission panels
AssigneeMassachusetts Institute of Technology
InventorBruce Shawn Buckley
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A controllable heat-transmission device, herein called a thermic device or panel, uses temperature changes to modulate heat flow between two regions. A fluid, in thermal contact with both regions, varies its non-radiative heat transfer in response to the temperature of either or both regions. The variation in heat transfer is due only to the thermal energy of the two regions; no other energy is required.
Claims21
Apparatus for controlling energy transmission between two closely-spaced regions in a system, that comprises:
- an isolating structure disposed in the space between the two closely-spaced regions, a liquid disposed within said structure and adapted to flow or move therein, control means other than the character of the liquid itself responsive to a temperature parameter of the system and using only thermal energy acting to control automatically the movement of the liquid flow in said structure, said liquid, mostly by virtue of the convective properties of the liquid, using only thermal energy and without change of state thereof, acting to modulate the energy transmission between the two closely-spaced regions of the system, said isolating structure comprising a thermal insulator interposed between the two regions and serving to divide the isolating structure into a first section adjacent the first region of the two regions and a second section adjacent the second region of the two regions, said liquid being disposed within the first section and the second section and adapted to flow by convective flow from one to the other of the two sections, the control means acting to affect said convective flow;
- and a heat transfer mechanism that comprises fluid means whereby a fluid is caused to flow adjacent to said second section to exchange energy with the liquid in said second section.
A method of controlling energy transmission between two closely-spaced regions in a system, that comprises:
- interposing a liquid in the space between the two regions;
- effecting movement of the liquid in said space on the basis of a temperature parameter in the system, said temperature parameter acting to modulate automatically the direction and/or the rate of liquid flow in said space by a mechanism other than the character of the liquid itself, said mechanism being in physical contact with the liquid, and said liquid mostly by virtue of the convective properties of the liquid and without change of state thereof, acting to modulate the energy transmission between the two closely-spaced regions of the system, and introducing a fluid into the system to flow adjacent to the liquid and exchange energy therewith.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.