US 4,057,963 AGranted

Heat pipe capable of operating against gravity and structures utilizing same

AssigneeHughes Aircraft Company

InventorAlgerd Basiulis

Life of this patent

Estimating the term…

Loading patent…

Abstract

A heat pipe has its evaporator at its upper end and its condenser at its lower end and an adiabatic section separating the two so that capillary wicks or grooves do not extend through the heat pipe. A central liquid return tube extends between the evaporator and condenser. A vapor bubble generator is placed at the condenser section in the reservoir where the liquid state of the working fluid collects. When the vapor bubble generator is operated, bubbles form which, because of their buoyancy, will rise to the top of the central tube. As they rise, small amounts of working fluid in its liquid state will be carried with the bubbles and spill over the top of the tube and onto the evaporator wick. As a consequence, the heat pipe is insensitive to its vertical height and can operate against gravitational forces.

Claims9

Dependent claims

A heat pipe capable of operating against gravity comprising:

means for defining a heat pipe envelope;
means for defining a working fluid in said envelope means;
means for defining evaporator and condenser sections in said envelope means with means therein for exerting capillary attraction on said working fluid means in its liquid state, said evaporator means being gravitationally higher than said condenser means;
means in said envelope means for maintaining a physical separation between said capillary attraction means of said evaporator and condenser section means;
means for defining a conduit coupled between said evaporator and condenser section means for said working fluid means in its liquid state;
and
means producing bubbles for transporting said working fluid means in its liquid state through said conduit means from said condensing section means to said evaporator section means.

4 more elements

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.