Abstract:
An air conditioning apparatus and method for cooling enclosures containing electronic equipment. More particularly, one aspect of the present invention comprises a low cost passive heat removal system that utilizes a plurality of flat tubing or low profile extrusions. The flat tubing or low profile extrusions are arranged in parallel to create an air-to-air passive heat exchanger which may be incorporated into an air conditioning apparatus constructed in accordance with the present invention. The flat tubes or low profile extrusions offer a greater surface area and more efficient cooling than conventional folded fin designs having the same overall dimensions or volume. Moreover, the flat tubes or low profile extrusions may be manufactured with dimples, fins, or other surface enhancements with little additional labor or manufacturing steps. The air-to-air passive heat exchanger may be arranged in various configurations including cross flow, counterflow or concurrent flow.

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
         [0001]    1. Field of the Invention  
           [0002]    The present invention relates to air conditioning systems, and more particularly, but not by way of limitation, to a passive heat removal system for conditioning the air in an enclosure which shelters heat producing equipment such as a microwave repeater station or other electronic equipment housed in a remote location.  
           [0003]    2. History of the Prior Art  
           [0004]    It is well known that heat producing equipment such as that found in remote microwave repeater stations or remote cell sites for cellular phone systems, are frequently subjected to very high enclosure temperatures which may have an adverse affect on the equipment. For this very reason, several systems are available for the cooling or conditioning of the air in the electronic enclosures. The technology used for cooling relate to and include passive cooling systems, compressor-based cooling systems, thermoelectric cooling systems and combinations thereof.  
           [0005]    Currently, in the electronic enclosures cooling market, there are generally two types of passive heat exchangers in use. The first type is a folded fin heat exchanger that takes thin sheets of aluminum and folds these sheets into a heat exchanger core with manifolds or seals at the ends to isolate one air path from another. However, this type of heat exchanger core has watt density limitations which drive up the costs of such a design. This type of heat exchanger core is discussed further in commonly assigned U.S. Pat. No. 6,058,712 for use in the passive portion of a hybrid (active/passive) cooling system. The second type of heat exchanger is a heat pipe core as set forth and described in commonly assigned U.S. Pat. No. 5,890,371 for use as the passive heat exchanger in a hybrid system. This particular type of heat exchanger can support higher watt densities, but it usually cannot be configured to a low depth design due to the need for gravity to assist in the phase change process.  
           [0006]    In both types of passive cooling systems, the air to be cooled is circulated over an air-to-air heat exchanger, which includes folded fin heat exchangers, heat pipes, etc. The heat is then exchanged with the outside ambient air. As the amount of heat to be removed from the enclosure increases, the size of the air-to-air heat exchanger must also be increased in size. In cases where watt densities are particularly high, the amount of surface area required for passive heat removal makes prior art systems rather difficult to implement. This is because it is typically very difficult to create a passive heat exchanger unit with the required amount of surface area without making the unit nearly as large as the enclosure which it is intended to cool.  
           [0007]    In compressor based systems, a refrigerant is used and the cooling function is achieved by the compression and expansion of that refrigerant. The compressor based systems are efficient but are bulky, have relatively high maintenance costs and consume large amounts of electricity. Also, all the cooling is done actively, which may not be necessary when, for example, the ambient outside air is sufficiently cool.  
           [0008]    In thermoelectric temperature control systems, thermoelectric devices pump heat using the Peltier effect. The thermoelectric devices are highly reliable and very economical in low wattage applications. As the number of watts to be removed are increased, the cost of this type of system increases as the cost is directly related to the number of thermoelectric devices that are needed for the particular function. The cooling capacity of a thermoelectric system may also be limited by power supply requirements as large numbers of thermoelectric devices require a significant amount of power to operate.  
           [0009]    The most typical thermoelectric (TEC) device incorporates a thermoelectric module/component that utilizes electrical current to absorb heat from one side of the module and dissipate that heat on the opposite side. If the current direction is reversed, so is the heat pumping. Generally, cold sides and hot sides are developed necessitating an effective means of removing or adding heat from or to a solid, liquid or a gas (typically air).  
           [0010]    Yet another system conditions the air in an electronic enclosures utilizing the above referenced TEC device in a low cost, reliable, efficient manner. The hybrid systems set forth in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,890371 and 6,058,712, as noted above, provide an improvement over the prior art by eliminating the need for refrigerant while providing high energy efficiency with improved cooling capacity, low maintenance, low cost, and low noise, and which is light weight and compact.  
           [0011]    However, a need still exists for a passive cooling system which conditions the air in an electronic enclosure in a low cost, reliable manner, that maximizes efficiency. The present invention provides such a system by providing a heat exchanger core that uses a multiplicity of low profile extrusions and the ability to design-in performance enhancing characteristics such as internal and external fins as discussed herein. The use of low profile extrusions reduces size for the same amount of cooling as compared with folded fin approaches due to the ability to tailor the distance between the low profile extrusions and dimensions of the extrusions to optimize its performance.  
           [0012]    As used in this document, the term “low profile extrusion” refers to an integral or unitary piece of metal having a series of micro extruded hollow tubes or channels formed therein for containing a fluid (i.e., liquid or gas). The micro tubes or channels will typically have an effective diameter ranging from about 0.0625 inches to about 0.5000 inches, but can also have significantly smaller or larger diameters.  
           [0013]    Preferred low profile extrusions are sold by Thermalex, Inc. of Montgomery, Ala. A brochure entitled “Thermalex, Inc.—Setting A Higher Standard in Aluminum Extrusions” (hereinafter the “Thermalex Brochure”) provides additional detail regarding the Thermalex low profile extrusions and is incorporated herein by reference. U.S. Pat. No. 5,342,189, which is incorporated herein by reference, provides additional detail regarding an extrusion die for making such low profile extrusions. U.S. Pat. No. 5,353,639, which is incorporated herein by reference, provides additional detail regarding a method and apparatus for sizing a plurality of micro extruded tubes used in such low profile extrusions. These low profile extrusions are commercially available in strip form (having a generally rectangular geometry) or coil form (a continuous strip which is coiled along its length for efficient transport).  
           [0014]    It is notable, that although the micro tubes or channels described herein have an effective diameter, because the low-profile extrusion is formed of a single piece of metal which is extruded, it is possible to form channels with square, rectangular, or almost any geometry. Moreover, it is possible to extrude fins, grooves or wick structures on the interior of the channels without any additional machining steps. The low profile extrusions preferably have multi-void micro extruded tubes designed to operate under the pressures and temperatures required by modern environmentally safe refrigeration fluids and to resist corrosion. Such low profile extrusions are preferably formed from aluminum, although it is possible to use other metals or alloys which are sufficiently malleable to be extruded and have relatively high heat conductivity.  
         SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
         [0015]    The present invention relates to an air conditioning apparatus and method for cooling enclosures containing electronic equipment. More particularly, one aspect of the present invention comprises a low cost passive heat removal system that utilizes a plurality of flat tubing or low profile extrusions. The flat tubing or low profile extrusions are arranged in parallel to create an air-to-air passive heat exchanger which may be incorporated into an air conditioning apparatus constructed in accordance with the present invention. The flat tubes or low profile extrusions offer a greater surface area and more efficient cooling than conventional folded fin designs having the same overall dimensions or volume. Moreover, the flat tubes or low profile extrusions may be manufactured with dimples, fins, or other surface enhancements with little additional labor or manufacturing steps. The air-to-air passive heat exchanger may be arranged in various configurations including cross flow, counter flow or concurrent flow, and a variety of heat exchange fluids may be utilized. 
       
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0016]    Other advantages and features of the invention will become more apparent with reference to the following detailed description of a presently preferred embodiment thereof in connection with the accompanying drawings, wherein like reference numerals have been applied to like elements, in which:  
         [0017]    [0017]FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram showing the air flow and heat exchange between a cooling system constructed in accordance with the present invention and the heat producing equipment;  
         [0018]    [0018]FIG. 2A is a cross sectional view of a low profile extrusion having a plurality of rectangular tubes or channels with internal fins;  
         [0019]    [0019]FIG. 2B is top perspective view of a folded flat tube which may be used in place of a low profile extrusion;  
         [0020]    [0020]FIG. 3 is an exploded view of one embodiment of the passive cooling system of the present invention;  
         [0021]    [0021]FIG. 4 is a front perspective view of one embodiment of the passive heat exchanger mounted within a housing, with the front panel removed for viewing the elements, and with the heat exchanger installed in a chimney configuration within the enclosure which shelters the heat producing equipment; and  
         [0022]    [0022]FIG. 5 is a side elevational view of another embodiment of the passive heat exchanger mounted within a housing, with the side panel removed for viewing the elements, and with the heat exchanger installed in a wall mounting configuration within the enclosure which shelters the heat producing equipment. 
     
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION  
       [0023]    The low profile extrusion air-to-air heat exchanger was developed to meet two major criteria for the telecommunications industry: 1) high heat transfer capacity and 2) minimum depth/weight requirement for base station temperature control. As watt densities continue to increase with ever increasing power requirements, greater heat transfer capacity is necessary in a smaller package. Also, as heat exchanger equipment is commonly door or wall mounted in base stations for use in the telecommunications industry, the depth and weight of the heat exchanger must be minimized. The high capacity aluminum low profile extrusion air-to-air heat exchanger provides the telecommunications industry with a system that meets their needs by providing a design with maximized heat transfer area and minimized depth and weight measurements.  
         [0024]    With reference now to FIG. 1, a schematic diagram is presented to show airflow and heat exchange between a cooling system constructed in accordance with present invention and the heat producing equipment sealed within an enclosure. This schematic diagram illustrates a simplified version of an air-to-air passive heat exchanger  100 . In operation, heated air  110  is drawn from the enclosure by a fan or blower  120 , passed through the exchanger core  150  where heat is removed and then returned to the enclosure containing electronic equipment. The actual cooling of the internal air  110  is carried out by circulation of ambient external air  130  which is drawn in by a fan or blower  140 , passed through the exchanger core  150  where heat is received and then expelled out into the environment. As shown in FIG. 1, the cooling system  100  will have at least one fan or blower  120  for the enclosure air side and at least one fan or blower  140  for the external air side, but it is to be understood that additional fans  121 ,  141  maybe used for redundancy or greater efficiency and that these fans may be of an axial bladed fan design, a curved impeller blower design, or any other suitable fan or blower means for circulating air throughout the system  100  as known in the art.  
         [0025]    In operation, temperature readings will normally be taken on the enclosure side of the system with a T 1  being measured at the heated enclosure air-in and a T 2  being measured at the cooled air-out. By comparing the value of T 1  and T 2 , it is possible to determine the amount of heat removed by the passive heat exchanger core for a particular rate of airflow. The temperature sensors and the fans on both the enclosure and the external side of the cooling system  100  are all linked together by an electronic control loop, referred to herein as a temperature control unit  160 . The temperature control unit  160  uses a micro controller to take the temperature sensor readings T 1 , T 2  and adjust the fan speeds to maintain the enclosure at a desired temperature or within a predetermined temperature range. As the temperature measured at T 1  increases, it is possible to increase the air flow rates of the fans proportionally. Byway of example only, it is possible to run the internal fans  120 ,  121  at a rate of 50% capacity at all times and to gradually ramp their capacity up to 100% or full capacity as T 1  approaches a maximum acceptable level. Similarly, it is possible to allow the external fans  140 , 141  to run at reduced capacity or to simply be cycled on and off at various times depending on the amount of heat which needs to be removed from the system. By way of example only, it is possible to have the external fan or blower  140  at 50% capacity at a temperature of about 15° C. and then ramp up to 100% capacity at a temperature of about 30° C. The temperature control unit  160  can vary the amount of power which is sent from the power supply  170  to the various fans (e.g.  120 ,  121 ,  140 ,  141 ) to proportionally control the airflow rates through both the enclosure side and the external side of the heat exchanger  100 . It is also possible to monitor fan speeds using Hall effect sensors (not shown) to compute RPM values. The fan performance data may be transmitted to a computer network or other electronic means for signaling equipment failure or unacceptable temperature conditions to a system operator at a remote location.  
         [0026]    Still referring to FIG. 1, the operation of the present invention will be discussed. Upon activation of the heat producing equipment (not shown) and the temperature control unit  160  by an electrical power source (not shown) the temperature sensors begin to monitor the temperature within enclosure. When the signal to the power supply  170 , from the temperature control unit  160 , indicates that the temperature of the air within enclosure has reached a first predetermined value, the microprocessor and software in the temperature control unit  160  will cause the power supply  170  to activate internal fan assembly  120 . The warm or heated air  110  will be drawn from enclosure, passed over the surfaces of the passive heat exchanger which are on the enclosure side of the cooling system, and then will be discharged back into enclosure. It will be appreciated that during the flow of the warm or heated air  110  some of the heat therein will be transferred through the wall to the surfaces of the passive heat exchanger which are on the outside-air side of the wall.  
         [0027]    In some particularly cold environments, it may be desirable to add a heater  190  to the enclosure side of the passive heat exchanger  100 . If the temperature control unit  160  receives a T 1  temperature reading below a predetermined threshold value, it could activate the internal fan assembly  120  and the heater  190  to warm the air within the enclosure to the threshold value. Once the desired minimum T 1  value is achieved, the heater  190  is turned off. The heater  190  may be powered by AC or DC voltage and be of any number of designs or configurations, as known in the art, which will not significantly interfere with airflow through the heat exchanger. One preferred heater design would be a substantially flat or very low profile heating element which may be mounted directly to the exterior surfaces of the flat tubing or low profile extrusions. Thus, the heater may be located within the heat exchanger core itself and require little or no additional space within the enclosure.  
         [0028]    By way of example only, a brief summary of exemplary temperature control and system operating steps might be as follows. For a −45° C. outside cold start, the temperature control unit  160  would turn on an AC heater  190  and draw on an AC/DC power supply  170  for one or more internal fans  120 . Once the interior of the enclosure is heated to about −5° C., the DC power is available and would take over the internal fans  120 . The external fans  140  would be needed to run only when the internal temperature T 1  is in excess of about 20° C. At about 20° C., the external fans  120  might be run at 50% speed and ramp to 100% speed at 35° C. to improve fan life, reduce noise and provide the needed air movement for the cooling the air within the enclosure.  
         [0029]    It will be appreciated that each fan assembly can be controlled separately so that both fan assemblies can be on at the same time, both fan assemblies can be off at the same time and each fan assembly can be on at different times. Fan assembly  120  provides movement of the air  110  from the enclosure through a portion of the passive heat exchanger  100 , and will be shown in more detail in the discussion of FIGS. 4 and 5. Similarly, fan assembly  140  provides movement of the ambient or outside air  130  through a different portion of the passive heat exchanger  100 , and will be also shown in more detail in the discussion of FIGS. 4 and 5.  
         [0030]    As previously noted, the temperature control unit  160  regulates a DC voltage from the power supply  170  to be passed the fans or blowers (e.g.  120 ,  121 ,  140 ,  141 ) throughout the system  100 . Also connected to temperature control unit  160  is a battery backup  180 . In one embodiment, the temperature control unit  160  may include a switching device having a normally open relay operatively connected such that, if the DC power from the electrical power supply  170  fails, the switching device will engage the battery backup  180  to power the cooling system  100  so that it will remain operable. In one preferred embodiment, the battery backup  180  will be either 24 volt DC or 48 volt DC.  
         [0031]    Referring now to FIG. 2A, an exemplary low profile extrusion  200  is shown in a cross sectional view. As illustrated here, the low profile extrusion  200  is generally rectangular in shape with a flat top  210  and bottom  220  portions and rounded at the extreme left and right edges. Internally, the low profile extrusion  200  is shown having a plurality of generally rectangular tubes or channels  230  through which air or other fluids may pass. Still referring to FIG. 2A, it is seen that the channels  230  may have internal fins  240  or other structures for providing additional surface area and for creating turbulent flow. It is also to be understood that other channel or tube geometries may be selected, various fin shapes may be used and that external fins (not shown) may be designed into the low profile extrusion as well. Although some mechanical strength may be lost, it is also possible to form low profile extrusion such as these without internal partitions forming individual tubes or channels. Thus, it is possible to form a low profile extrusion having a single internal flow path extending through its length with a plurality of fins or wick structures formed on the inside.  
         [0032]    With reference now to FIG. 2B, a folded flat tube conduit  250  is shown. The folded flat tube  250  may be used as an alternative to the low profile extrusion  200  as illustrated in FIG. 2A. The folded flat tube  250  may be constructed from a single sheet of metal  260  which is folded over at the edges and welded  270  to form a flat conduit  250  with a relatively large surface area and a low profile. Typically, a folded flat tube for use with the present invention may be about 1.0 to about 4.0 inches across and about 0.20to about 0.50 inches in thickness. Although it would be difficult to create internal fins in a folded flat tube, it is possible to dimple or emboss the internal surface of the tube to promote turbulent fluid flow. Of course, fins or other surface enhancements may be added to the external surface with additional welding or machining steps.  
         [0033]    Referring now to FIG. 3, an exploded view of an air-to-air passive heat exchanger core  300  is set forth and described. The passive heat exchanger core  300  is constructed from an arrangement of folded flat tubing  250  or low profile extrusions  200  which have been arranged in a parallel manner with a predetermined gap or spacing between each of the flattened tubes  250  or extrusions  200 . The low profile extrusions  200  are held in proper spacing and parallel alignment by upper  310  and lower  320  endcaps. Both the upper  310  and lower  320  endcaps have openings  315  passing completely therethrough for each of the low profile extrusions  200  and provide a solid cap or seal at both the top and bottom of the exchanger core  300  between the extrusions  200 . By using this type of construction, it is possible to completely isolate two distinct air flow paths. The first air flow path passes internally through the channels  230  within each of the low profile extrusions  200  and in one embodiment enters at the bottom  330  or lowermost portion of the heat exchanger  300  and exits at the top  340  or uppermost portion of the heat exchanger  300 . The second airflow path passes between the low profile extrusions  200  or through the gaps between the extrusions  200 . This may be done in a cross flow manner simply by blowing air between the extrusions  200 . In yet another embodiment, a solid back plate  350  is placed on one side of the heat exchanger  300  completely covering all of the gaps or spaces between the low profile extrusions  200  and a front plate  360  is placed on the opposite side of the heat exchanger  300  with an intake opening  370  cut slightly below the upper endcap  310  and an output opening  380  cut slightly above the lower endcap  320 . By allowing air from the enclosure to enter  370  and exit  380  at only these points, the airflow will be counter-current to the air flow within the low profile extrusions  200 .  
         [0034]    With reference now to FIG. 4, a front perspective view of a sealed enclosure  10  containing electronic equipment (not shown) is illustrated with a passive heat exchanger  400  located near its center in a chimney configuration. This arrangement of the heat exchanger  400  may be referred to as a chimney configuration as cool external air is drawn in through vents  15  at the bottom  20  of the enclosure  10  and fed upwardly through the internal pathway of the low profile extrusions to pick up heat from the exchanger core  400  as it rises and then exits to exhaust the heated air back into the atmosphere from the top  30  of the enclosure  10 . Thus, heat is transferred and removed from the housing  10  to the external environment in a generally upward direction much like smoke rising through a chimney. As depicted in FIG. 4, the internal air flow within the enclosure is in cross-flow but it is understood that suitable baffle plates or ducting maybe used to create counter-current or concurrent flow as well.  
         [0035]    Referring now to FIG. 5, there is shown a side elevational view of a sealed electronic enclosure  10  having a low profile wall mounting heat exchanger  500 . It is noted that the wall mount configuration of the heat exchanger offers a minimal internal footprint within the enclosure  10  and may also be mounted to a door of the enclosure  10  as well as the fixed side walls. As specifically shown in FIG. 5, the wall or door mounting unit  500  may have a lower external air intake  510  with at least one curved impeller type blower  520  for drawing air into and pushing upward through the low profile extrusions  200  and to exit through an upper opening in the door or wall for external air exhaust  530 . The internal side of the wall mounted heat exchanger  500  may feature a plurality of flat axial bladed fans  550  mounted between the upper and lower endcaps and positioned to draw warm air through an upper opening  560  from near the top of the housing  10  and to expel cooled air through an lower opening  570  near the bottom portion of the housing  10 . Heat is exchanged in a counter-current flow arrangement between the cooling external air rising upward within the low profile extrusions and the heated internal air descending downward between or in the gaps of the low profile extrusions. As shown in FIG. 5, if there is space between the low profile extrusions  200  and the front plate or back plate, auxiliary fins  580  may be attached to the edges of the extrusions  200  to ensure that all enclosure side airflow within the heat exchanger  500  is confined to the gaps between the extrusions  200 . Also, it is to be understood that the flow directions may be reversed and that the types of fans or blowers may be switched as appropriate without departing from the spirit of the invention.  
         [0036]    Due to the low depth design feature, this embodiment  500  is ideal for providing high watt density heat removal from the heat producing equipment  50  while minimizing the outer dimension of the electronic enclosure  10 . Still referring to FIG. 5, outside air is moved using fans through the low profile extrusions, and inside air is moved using fans in a counter-flow fashion through the spaces or gaps between the extrusions. The heat transfer in the space between the extrusions can be enhanced using folded fins, plates, or media that are in contact with the outer surfaces of the extrusions to increase surface area and/or air flow turbulence. Heat is removed from the inside air loop before returning into the base station, while heat is gained in the outside air loop and moved to the outdoor environment. Top and bottom endcaps are used to keep the inside and outside air streams separated. Airflow can also be reversed, that is, by moving inside air through the extrusions and outside air through the space between the extrusions.  
         [0037]    From the foregoing detailed description, it can be appreciated that the present invention is capable of conditioning the air in an enclosure which shelters heat producing equipment by a low cost passive heat removal system to remove heat. The method of cooling the air using an efficient passive heat removal system reduces the need for a large number of active cooling devices thus reducing the cost of such systems while making them energy efficient.  
         [0038]    It is to be understood that, although the present system uses air as the working fluid for carrying out heat exchange, it is possible to use other working fluids with the exchanger core as well. By way of example only, the cooling external loop may be closed and filled with working fluids such as freon (H-134A), ethylene glycol, water, etc., which may make use of evaporative cooling at relatively low temperatures. Of course, this type of hybrid cooling system is would add some complexity and would further require a series of pumps and condensers to be incorporated into the external side of the cooling loop.  
         [0039]    While preferred embodiments of the present invention have been described in the examples and foregoing description, it will be understood that the invention is not limited to the embodiments disclosed, but is capable of numerous rearrangements and modifications of parts and elements without departing from the spirit of the invention, as defined in the following exemplary claims. Therefore, the spirit and the scope of the appended exemplary claims should not be limited to the description of the preferred embodiments contained herein.