Patent ID: 9326423
Filing Date: 2016-04-26
CPC Classification: F25B,H01L,H05K

Claim Text:
1. A method for limiting temperature variation of an electrical component comprising a heat evacuation face, said method comprising acquiring one or more values of one or more physical quantities, said one or more values being representative of one of a temperature of said electrical component and a physical quantity representative of a rate at which heat is produced by said electrical component, detecting, based at least in part on said one or more values of said physical quantities thus acquired, when said electrical component switches between an active state, in which said electrical component must be cooled, and a passive state, in which said electrical component may be heated, in response to detection of said electrical component as having switched from said passive state to said active state, causing a voltage source to vary a potential difference between first and second electrodes of a capacitor from a first value to a second value, and if said second value is reached before a next time said electrical component is detected as having switched from said active state to said passive state, causing said voltage source to maintain said second value provided said electrical component remains in said active state, said electrodes being mechanically and electrically insulated from each other by a layer of electrocaloric dielectric material, said first electrode making conductive thermal contact with said heat evacuation face of said electrical component, and said first and second values being such that variation in potential difference causes heat to be absorbed by said layer of electrocaloric dielectric material, and in response to detection of said electrical component as having switched from said active state to said passive state, causing said voltage source to vary said potential difference between said first and second electrodes of said capacitor from said second value to said first value and, if said first value is reached before a next time said electrical component is detected as having switched from said passive state to said active state, to maintain said first value provided said electrical component remains in said passive state.