Apparatuses for controlling environmental conditions and associated methods

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-11472264-B2
Application number	US-201815914939-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Mar 7, 2018
Priority date	Mar 7, 2018
Publication date	Oct 18, 2022
Grant date	Oct 18, 2022

Abstract

The present disclosure relates to apparatuses/systems and associated methods for controlling an environmental condition inside a container or housing. The apparatus includes (1) a thermoelectric cooling unit having a first side facing away from an inner surface of the housing and a second side facing the inner surface of the housing; (2) a capillary unit having a first part and a second part; and (3) a sensor positioned inside the housing and configured to sense a humidity value and a temperature value inside the housing. The first part is coupled to the thermoelectric cooling unit and is positioned inside the housing. The second part is positioned outside the housing. If the humidity value is greater than a humidity threshold and the temperature value is greater than a temperature threshold, the thermoelectric cooling unit removes moisture in the housing, and the first part of the capillary unit collects the removed moisture and transmits the removed moisture to the second part of the capillary unit.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. An apparatus for controlling an environmental condition inside a housing, comprising:
a thermoelectric cooling unit comprising a first side facing away from an inner surface of the housing and a second side facing the inner surface of the housing;
a capillary unit comprising a first part and a second part, wherein the first part and the second part are integrally formed, and wherein the first part is coupled to the thermoelectric cooling unit and is positioned inside the housing, and wherein the second part is positioned outside the housing;
a sensor positioned inside the housing and configured to sense a humidity value and a temperature value inside the housing; and
a controller configured to communicate with the sensor and the thermoelectric cooling unit, wherein the controller receives information regarding the humidity value and the temperature value from the sensor; and
wherein the housing has a cover, and wherein the cover of the housing is positioned to form an acute angle relative to a horizontal plane;
wherein the thermoelectric cooling unit is positioned in alignment with the cover so as to facilitate the thermoelectric cooling unit removing the moisture in the housing,
wherein in an event that the humidity value is greater than a humidity threshold and the temperature value is greater than a temperature threshold, the controller is configured to control the thermoelectric cooling unit to remove moisture in the housing, and wherein the first part of the capillary unit collects the removed moisture and transmits the removed moisture to the second part of the capillary unit, and wherein the humidity threshold is a relative humidity of 50%.

2. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the controller sets a target temperature of the first side of the thermoelectric cooling unit to be 7° C.

3. The apparatus of claim 1 , further comprising a heat sink coupled to the second side of the thermoelectric cooling unit, wherein the second part of the capillary unit is coupled to the heat sink, and wherein the controller enables the thermoelectric cooling unit to heat the second part of the capillary unit to evaporate liquid inside the second part of the capillary unit.

4. The apparatus of claim 3 , wherein the apparatus further comprises a heat conductor positioned between the thermoelectric cooling unit and the heat sink.

5. The apparatus of claim 1 , further comprising a U-shaped structure coupled to the first side of the thermoelectric cooling unit, wherein the U-shaped structure is coupled to the first part of the capillary unit.

6. The apparatus of claim 5 , wherein the U-shaped structure includes a sloped-shape, and wherein the first part of the capillary unit is in contact with a side portion of the U-shaped structure.

7. The apparatus of claim 1 , further comprising a funnel-shaped structure coupled to the first side of the thermoelectric cooling unit, wherein the funnel-shaped structure is coupled to the first part of the capillary unit.

8. An apparatus for controlling an environmental condition inside a housing, comprising:
a thermoelectric cooling unit comprising a first side facing away from an inner surface of the housing and a second side facing the inner surface of the housing;
a capillary unit comprising a first part and a second part, wherein the first part and the second part are integrally formed, and wherein the first part is coupled to the thermoelectric cooling unit and is positioned inside the housing, and wherein the second part is positioned outside the housing;
a sensor positioned inside the housing and configured to sense a humidity value and a temperature value inside the housing; and
a controller configured to communicate with the sensor and the thermoelectric cooling unit, wherein the controller receives information regarding the humidity value and the temperature value from the sensor; and
wherein the housing has a cover, and wherein the cover of the housing is positioned to form an acute angle relative to a horizontal plane;
wherein the thermoelectric cooling unit is positioned in alignment with the cover so as to facilitate the thermoelectric cooling unit removing the moisture in the housing,
wherein in an event that the humidity value is greater than a humidity threshold and the temperature value is greater than a temperature threshold, the controller is configured to control the thermoelectric cooling unit to remove moisture in the housing, and wherein the first part of the capillary unit collects the removed moisture and transmits the removed moisture to the second part of the capillary unit, and wherein the temperature threshold is 25° C.

9. An apparatus for controlling an environmental condition inside a housing, comprising:
a thermoelectric cooling unit comprising a first side facing away from an inner surface of the housing and a second side facing the inner surface of the housing;
a capillary unit comprising a first part and a second part, wherein the first part and the second part are integrally formed, and wherein the first part is coupled to the thermoelectric cooling unit and is positioned inside the housing, and wherein the second part is positioned outside the housing;
a sensor positioned inside the housing and configured to sense a humidity value and a temperature value inside the housing; and
a controller configured to communicate with the sensor and the thermoelectric cooling unit, wherein the controller receives information regarding the humidity value and the temperature value from the sensor; and
wherein the housing has a cover, and wherein the cover of the housing is positioned to form an acute angle relative to a horizontal plane;
wherein the thermoelectric cooling unit is positioned in alignment with the cover so as to facilitate the thermoelectric cooling unit removing the moisture in the housing,
wherein in an event that the humidity value is greater than a humidity threshold and the temperature value is less than a temperature threshold, the controller is configured to set a target temperature of the first side of the thermoelectric cooling unit to be the temperature threshold.

10. An apparatus for controlling an environmental condition inside a housing, comprising:
a thermoelectric cooling unit comprising a first side facing away from an inner surface of the housing and a second side facing the inner surface of the housing;
a capillary unit comprising a first part and a second part, wherein the first part and the second part are integrally formed, and wherein the first part is coupled to the thermoelectric cooling unit and is positioned inside the housing, and wherein the second part is positioned outside the housing;
a sensor positioned inside the housing and configured to sense a humidity value and a temperature value inside the housing; and
a controller configured to communicate with the sensor and the thermoelectric cooling unit, wherein the controller receives information regarding the humidity value and the temperature value from the sensor; and
wherein the housing has a cover, and wherein the cover of the housing is positioned to form an acute angle relative to a horizontal plane;
wherein the thermoelectric cooling unit is positioned in alignment with the cover so as to facilitate the thermoelectric cooling unit removing the moisture in the housing,
wherein in an event that the relative humidity value is equal to or less than a humidity threshold and the temperature value is less than a temperature threshold, the controller is configured to set a target temperature of the first side of the thermoelectric cooling unit to be the temperature threshold.

11. An apparatus for controlling an envi

Assignees

• Gogoro Inc

Inventors

• Hsieh Sheng-Meng

Classifications

• H10W90/00

  Package configurations · CPC title

• G06F1/20

  Cooling means · CPC title

• B60H1/32 Primary

  Cooling devices {(B60H1/00478, B60H1/005 take precedence)} · CPC title

• B60H2001/3286

  Constructional features · CPC title

• G06F1/1656 Primary

  Details related to functional adaptations of the enclosure, e.g. to provide protection against EMI, shock, water, or to host detachable peripherals like a mouse or removable expansions units like PCMCIA cards, or to provide access to internal components for maintenance or to removable storage supports like CDs or DVDs, or to mechanically mount accessories (mounting of accessories to a computer display G06F1/1607; display hoods G06F1/1603; cooling arrangements for portable computers G06F1/203) · CPC title