Patent ID: 8701422
Filing Date: 2014-04-22
Classification: F25B,Y10T

Abstract:
1. An assembly for a thermoelectric heat pump comprising: an enclosure enclosing a plurality of physically isolated fluid channels; a contiguous single waste fluid inlet configured to accept a waste stream when the thermoelectric heat pump operates and to direct the waste stream into the enclosure; a waste stream divider assembly inside of the enclosure and configured to divide the waste stream and to direct the waste stream into a plurality of waste fluid channels; a contiguous single main fluid inlet configured to accept a main stream when the thermoelectric heat pump operates and to direct the main stream into the enclosure; a main stream divider assembly inside of the enclosure and configured to divide the main stream and to direct the main stream into a plurality of main fluid channels; a heat transfer region comprising a first thermoelectric module operatively connected to the enclosure, the first thermoelectric module comprising a main junction and a waste junction; an elongate heat transfer member extending from at least one of the main junction and the waste junction of the first thermoelectric module into at least one of the plurality of physically isolated fluid channels; at least one gap dividing the elongate heat transfer member into a plurality of heat transfer sections that are at least partially thermally isolated from adjacent heat transfer sections by the at least one gap, the at least one gap oriented such that fluid flows across the at least one gap as fluid flows through the at least one of the plurality of physically isolated fluid channels of the thermoelectric heat pump; and at least one bridge member extending across the at least one gap, the at least one bridge member connecting at least one of the plurality of heat transfer sections to a second heat transfer section; wherein the waste stream has a first flow pattern from the contiguous single waste fluid inlet through the plurality of waste fluid channels, and wherein the main stream has a second flow pattern from the contiguous single main fluid inlet through the plurality of main fluid channels, and wherein the first flow pattern and the second flow pattern create a fluid flow system with counter flow through a stacked array of thermoelectric modules within the heat transfer region when the thermoelectric heat pump operates.