Self-assembled or reconfigurable structures for heat flow control devices

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-11248857-B2
Application number	US-201916435704-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Jun 10, 2019
Priority date	Mar 17, 2015
Publication date	Feb 15, 2022
Grant date	Feb 15, 2022

Abstract

Devices configured to direct heat flow are disclosed, as well as methods of forming thereof. A device may include a self-assembling heat flow object. The self-assembling heat flow object may include a material having one or more self-assembling properties that cause the material to react to an environmental stimulus and one or more thermal pathways. An application of the environmental stimulus causes the self-assembling heat flow object to deploy and arrange the one or more thermal pathways for directing thermal energy to one or more locations.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A self-assembling heat flow object comprising:
a material having one or more self-assembling properties that cause the material to be reactive to an environmental stimulus selected from at least one of a magnetic field, an electrical current, and an induced illumination; and
one or more thermal pathways,
wherein:
application of the environmental stimulus causes the self-assembling heat flow object to deploy from an undeployed state to a deployed state where the self-assembling heat flow object is uncompacted and folded into a three dimensional shape to arrange the one or more thermal pathways for directing thermal energy, and
the self-assembling heat flow object is disposed on a printed circuit board.

2. The self-assembling heat flow object of claim 1 , further comprising a second material disposed on the material having the self-assembling properties, wherein the second material defines the one or more thermal pathways.

3. The self-assembling heat flow object of claim 2 , wherein the second material is a thermally conductive material configured as a plurality of thermally conductive traces.

4. The self-assembling heat flow object of claim 1 , wherein the environmental stimulus further comprises an induced temperature change.

5. The self-assembling heat flow object of claim 1 , wherein the material is a ferromagnetic material, a diamagnetic material, or a paramagnetic material.

6. The self-assembling heat flow object of claim 1 , wherein the material comprises at least one of iron, nickel, cobalt, copper, silver, gold, magnesium, molybdenum, lithium, and tantalum.

7. The self-assembling heat flow object of claim 1 , wherein the material is an alloy comprising at least one of silver, copper, gold, aluminum, magnesium, molybdenum, zinc, lithium, tungsten, nickel, iron, cobalt, palladium, platinum, tin, lead, titanium, tantalum, and mercury.

8. The self-assembling heat flow object of claim 1 , wherein the material comprises a shape memory polymer.

9. The self-assembling heat flow object of claim 1 , wherein:
the deployed state is a first deployed state; and
an application of a second environmental stimulus causes the self-assembling heat flow object to arrange into a second deployed state to further arrange the one or more thermal pathways for directing the thermal energy to the one or more locations.

10. The self-assembling head flow object of claim 9 , wherein an application of a third environmental stimulus causes the self-assembling heat flow object to arrange into a third deployed state to further arrange the one or more thermal pathways for directing the thermal energy to the one or more locations.

11. A method of forming a device configured to direct heat flow, the method comprising:
placing one or more materials having one or more of self-assembling properties on a printed circuit board;
providing one or more thermal pathways by placing a thermally conductive material on the one or more materials to form a self-assembling heat flow object; and
causing an environmental stimulus such that the one or more materials deploy from an undeployed state where the self-assembling heat flow object is compacted to a deployed state where the self-assembling heat flow object is uncompacted and folded into a three dimensional shape to arrange the one or more thermal pathways for movement of heat at one or more locations adjacent to the device, wherein the environmental stimulus is selected from at least one of an introduction of a magnetic field adjacent to the self-assembling heat flow object, an introduction of an electrical current to the self-assembling heat flow object, and an illumination of the self-assembling heat flow object.

12. The method of claim 11 , wherein causing the environmental stimulus is further selected from a heating or a cooling of the substrate.

13. The method of claim 11 , further comprising:
applying a second environmental stimulus such that the one or more materials deploy from the deployed state to a second deployed state to further arrange the one or more thermal pathways for movement of heat.

14. The method of claim 13 , further comprising:
applying a third environmental stimulus such that the one or more materials deploy from the second deployed state to a third deployed state to further arrange the one or more thermal pathways for movement of heat.

15. A device configured to direct heat flow, the device comprising:
a plurality of self-assembling heat flow objects disposed on a printed circuit board, each one of the plurality of self-assembling heat flow objects comprising:
a shape memory material disposed on the printed circuit board, wherein the shape memory material comprises one or more self-assembling properties that cause the shape memory material to be reactive to an environmental stimulus selected from at least one of an introduction of a magnetic field adjacent to the self-assembling heat flow object, an introduction of an electrical current, and an induced illumination; and
one or more thermal pathways,

wherein an application of the environmental stimulus causes the plurality of self-assembling heat flow objects to deploy from an undeployed state where the plurality of self-assembling heat flow objects are compacted to a deployed state where each one of the plurality of self-assembling heat flow objects are uncompacted and folded into a three dimensional shape to arrange the one or more thermal pathways for directing thermal energy to one or more locations adjacent to the self-assembling heat flow object.

16. The device of claim 15 , further comprising a second material disposed on the shape memory material having the self-assembling properties, wherein the second material comprises the one or more thermal pathways.

17. The device of claim 16 , wherein the second material is a thermally conductive material.

Assignees

• Toyota Eng & Mfg North America

Inventors

• Dede Ercan Mehmet

Classifications

• H10W40/10

  Arrangements for heating · CPC title

• H10W40/00

  Arrangements for thermal protection or thermal control (integrated devices comprising arrangements for thermal protection H10D89/60) · CPC title

• F03G7/0645

  Clamping, fixing or crimping parts · CPC title

• F03G7/06147

  Magnetic shape memory alloys, e.g. ferro-magnetic alloys · CPC title

• F03G7/0614

  using shape memory elements · CPC title