Thermoelectric Management Unit

Abstract

Embodiments of the invention provide a thermal management unit including a housing, at least one fan, a plurality of thermoelectric modules, at least one heat sink assembly coupled to the plurality of thermoelectric modules, and controller providing power to the plurality of thermoelectric modules. The thermal management unit also includes a printed circuit board incorporating the plurality of thermoelectric modules and electrically connecting the plurality of thermoelectric modules to the controller. The printed circuit board separates an ambient side of the thermal management unit and an enclosure side of the thermal management unit.

1 . A thermal management unit for an enclosure, the thermal management unit comprising:
 a housing;   at least one fan to direct air flow through the housing;   a plurality of thermoelectric modules;   at least one heat sink assembly coupled to the plurality of thermoelectric modules;   a controller providing power to the plurality of thermoelectric modules; and   a printed circuit board incorporating the plurality of thermoelectric modules and electrically connecting the plurality of thermoelectric modules to the controller, the printed circuit board separating an ambient side of the thermal management unit and an enclosure side of the thermal management unit.   
     
     
         2 . The thermal management unit of  claim 1  wherein the plurality of thermoelectric modules comprises a first plurality of thermoelectric modules positioned in an area of higher air flow in the housing and a second plurality of thermoelectric modules position in an area of lower air flow in the housing, wherein the controller provides higher power to the first plurality of thermoelectric modules and lower power to the second plurality of thermoelectric modules. 
     
     
         3 . The thermal management unit of  claim 1  wherein the controller further provides power to the at least one fan using pulse width modulation. 
     
     
         4 . The thermal management unit of  claim 3  wherein the controller modulates the speed of the at least one fan in substantially real-time. 
     
     
         5 . The thermal management unit of  claim 4  wherein the at least one fan includes at least one enclosure fan positioned in the enclosure side of the thermal management unit and at least one ambient fan positioned in the ambient side of the thermal management unit, wherein the controller individually modulates the speed of the at least one enclosure fan and the at least one ambient fan separately. 
     
     
         6 . The thermal management unit of  claim 1  wherein the at least one heat sink assembly includes an ambient heat sink on the ambient side of the thermal management unit and an enclosure heat sink on the enclosure side of the thermal management unit. 
     
     
         7 . The thermal management unit of  claim 1  wherein the at least one fan includes an ambient fan on the ambient side of the thermal management unit and an enclosure air fan on the enclosure side of the thermal management unit. 
     
     
         8 . The thermal management unit of  claim 1  wherein the controller provides regulated voltage levels to the plurality of thermoelectric modules. 
     
     
         9 . The thermal management unit of  claim 1  wherein the plurality of thermoelectric modules includes one of four, eight, twelve, and sixteen thermoelectric modules. 
     
     
         10 . The thermal management unit of  claim 1  wherein the ambient side of the thermal management unit and the enclosure side of the thermal management unit are positioned inside the enclosure, and the ambient side is in communication with air outside the enclosure. 
     
     
         11 . The thermal management unit of  claim 1  wherein the ambient side of the thermal management unit is positioned outside of the enclosure and the enclosure side of the thermal management unit is positioned inside of the enclosure. 
     
     
         12 . The thermal management unit of  claim 1  wherein the ambient side of the thermal management unit and the enclosure side of the thermal management unit are positioned outside the enclosure, and the enclosure side is in communication with air inside the enclosure. 
     
     
         13 . The thermal management unit of  claim 1  further comprising a thermal transfer material applied at an interface between the plurality of thermoelectric modules and the at least one heat sink assembly. 
     
     
         14 . The thermal management unit of  claim 1  further comprising a tachometer to measure a speed of the at least one fan, the tachometer being in communication with the controller. 
     
     
         15 . The thermal management unit of  claim 1  wherein the printed circuit board includes electrical connections to at least electrically connect the controller to the plurality of thermoelectric modules, the electrical connections being positioned on the enclosure side of the thermal management unit. 
     
     
         16 . The thermal management unit of  claim 1  further comprising at least one temperature sensor in communication with the controller. 
     
     
         17 . The thermal management unit of  claim 16  wherein the at least one temperature sensor is a thermistor and is positioned to monitor temperature of the air flow through the housing. 
     
     
         18 . The thermal management unit of  claim 17  wherein the at least one temperature sensor is positioned along at least one of an inlet of the ambient side of the thermal management unit, an outlet of the ambient side of the thermal management unit, an inlet of the enclosure side of the thermal management unit, and an outlet of the enclosure side of the thermal management unit. 
     
     
         19 . The thermal management unit of  claim 1  wherein the controller is adapted to change a polarity of the power to the plurality of thermoelectric modules. 
     
     
         20 . The thermal management unit of  claim 1  further comprising an alarm in communication with the controller, the alarm being activated by the controller when the controller senses a fault in the thermal management unit. 
     
     
         21 . The thermal management unit of  claim 20  wherein the alarm includes at least one of a visual alarm and an audio alarm. 
     
     
         22 . The thermal management unit of  claim 1  further comprising an external communication link connected to the controller. 
     
     
         23 . The thermal management unit of  claim 1  further comprising one of an RS-232 port, an I2C communications port, an RS-485 port, a USB port, and an ETHERNET port connected to the controller 
     
     
         24 . A thermal management unit for an enclosure, the thermal management unit comprising:
 a housing;   at least one fan to direct air flow through the housing;   a first plurality of thermoelectric modules positioned in an area of higher air flow in the housing;   a second plurality of thermoelectric modules position in an area of lower air flow in the housing;   a first heat sink assembly coupled to the first plurality of thermoelectric modules;   a second heat sink assembly coupled to the second plurality of thermoelectric modules; and   a controller providing power to the first plurality of thermoelectric modules and the second plurality of thermoelectric modules, the controller providing a higher power to the first plurality of thermoelectric modules and a lower power to the second plurality of thermoelectric modules.   
     
     
         25 . The thermal management unit of  claim 24  further comprising a printed circuit board incorporating the first plurality of thermoelectric modules and the second plurality of thermoelectric modules, the printed circuit board electrically connecting the first plurality of thermoelectric modules and the second plurality of thermoelectric modules to the controller, the printed circuit board separating an ambient side of the thermal management unit and an enclosure side of the thermal management unit. 
     
     
         26 . A thermal management unit for an enclosure, the thermal management unit comprising:
 a housing;   at least one fan to direct air flow through the housing;   a plurality of thermoelectric modules;   at least one heat sink assembly coupled to the plurality of thermoelectric modules;   a controller providing regulated power independently to at least one of the plurality of thermoelectric modules to optimize thermal management unit performance; and   a printed circuit board incorporating the plurality of thermoelectric modules and electrically connecting the plurality of thermoelectric modules to the controller, the printed circuit board separating an ambient side of the thermal management unit and an enclosure side of the thermal management unit.   
     
     
         27 . A thermal management unit for an enclosure, the thermal management unit comprising:
 a housing;   at least one fan to direct air flow through the housing;   a plurality of thermoelectric modules;   at least one heat sink assembly coupled to the plurality of thermoelectric modules;   a controller providing power independently to at least one of the at least one fan to vary airflow to the plurality of thermoelectric modules and the at least one heat sink assembly to optimize thermal management unit performance; and   a printed circuit board incorporating the plurality of thermoelectric modules and electrically connecting the plurality of thermoelectric modules to the controller, the printed circuit board separating an ambient side of the thermal management unit and an enclosure side of the thermal management unit.