Device for transferring heat energy by capillary forces

A heat energy transfer device has an enclosure defining a closed cavity and including an outer face to be heated or cooled. A heat transfer medium is contained in the cavity. The device has a first capillary arrangement disposed in the cavity for advancing the heat transfer medium in the liquid phase in a first direction parallel to the outer face of the enclosure and a second capillary arrangement disposed in the cavity for advancing the heat transfer medium in the liquid phase in a second direction parallel to the outer face of the enclosure. The first and second directions are non-parallel to one another.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
This invention relates to a device for transferring heat energy to heat or 
cool a surface. 
It is known to transfer heat energy over a distance. For example, in U.S. 
Pat. No. 2,350,348 a rod-like heat conducting device is described. The 
arrangement disclosed therein is based on the principle that heat may be 
transferred in a closed system which is partially filled with a 
vaporizable liquid. At one location of the device, heat is absorbed by 
vaporizing the liquid and at another location, remote from the first 
location, such heat is released by condensation. The vaporization of the 
liquid, that is, the absorption of heat takes place conventionally at a 
location which is situated below the height level of the location where 
the condensation (that is, the heat release) is taking place. In order to 
change this natural circulation, the above-noted United States patent 
proposes the use of a heat transfer element which is a closed tube having 
an internal capillary structure formed, for example, of sintered iron 
powder which, dependent upon the liquid to be used or the height to which 
the heat has to be transferred, may be mixed with other substances. For 
example, in a refrigerator, by virtue of such an arrangement heat may be 
transferred downwardly from above, and cold may be transferred upwardly 
from below. 
A similar arrangement is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,152,774. In manmade 
satellites, a cooling system must be provided for that face of the solar 
panels which are turned towards the sun. The solar panels, in order to 
reduce their weight, should contain only as much metal as necessary for 
ensuring stability of the structure. Water, methyl chloride or a Freon may 
be used as the heat transfer medium. The heat transfer medium is advanced 
from a central reservoir by means of a fiber-like material which lines the 
pipe system and the reservoir and which acts as a wick to advance the 
liquid to the location of use, that is, the location where a vaporization 
takes place. Such an arrangement is expedient primarily because the system 
is in a weightless state and consequently it is not necessary to overcome 
the weight of the liquid during its transfer. 
Similar problems are involved in the field of machinery. Either heat should 
be transferred from a heating element to a heating surface, such as in 
heat sealing shoes in packing machines which work on heat-sealable wrapper 
material or heat should be removed from a working location such as high 
precision machine tools or the like. Problems involved in such an 
application are addressed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,288,968 which discloses a 
system wherein the sealing face of a heat sealing shoe is heated by means 
of a condensating gas. The gas is confined to a cavity or a closed pipe 
system between the heat elements and the sealing face. At all times a sump 
of condensated liquid is present which gathers at the lowest location due 
to gravity. Consequently, the heating mechanism should be arranged at such 
lowest location. The sealing shoes, however, are in most cases rotary 
structures so that the sump, because of centrifugal forces, is at a 
different location. 
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
It is an object of the invention to provide an improved heat transfer 
device whose operation depends neither on gravity nor on any other 
determined force. 
This object and others to become apparent as the specification progresses, 
are accomplished by the invention, according to which, briefly stated, the 
heat energy transfer device has an enclosure defining a closed cavity and 
including an outer face to be heated or cooled. A heat transfer medium is 
contained in the cavity. The device has a first capillary arrangement 
disposed in the cavity for advancing the heat transfer medium in the 
liquid phase in a first direction parallel to the outer face of the 
enclosure and a second capillary arrangement disposed in the cavity for 
advancing the heat transfer medium in the liquid phase in a second 
direction parallel to the outer face of the enclosure. The first and 
second directions are non-parallel to one another.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
Turning to FIGS. 1 and 2, there is provided a housing formed of sealingly 
interfittable shells 1 and 2. Each shell has a reactangular base wall, 
forming the top and the bottom of the housing, respectively. The bottom 
and top wall has respective outer faces 3 and 4 serving as heating or 
cooling surfaces. In the housing 1, 2 there are accommodated two heat 
conducting systems 10 and 20 for transferring a vaporizable liquid in a 
direction parallel to the faces 3 and 4. Each of the heat conducting 
systems 10 and 20 has two mutually spaced capillary structures 11, 12 and 
21, 22, respectively. In the illustrated embodiment, the capillary 
structures are each formed of an array of very thin wires (having a 
diameter of, for example, not exceeding 0.1 mm) which are spread out in a 
plane such that the intermediate spaces between adjoining wires form 
capillary tubes in which the liquid may move by virtue of capillary 
forces. 
In order to maintain the wires of the wire arrays in a spread-out 
condition, there are provided two grid-like holder frames 13, 14 and 23, 
24 for the conductor systems 10 and 20, respectively, which are positioned 
at a distance from one another by spacer strips 15 and 25. If the holder 
frames 13, 14, 23, 24, are so structured that they are capable of 
maintaining the wires in their position and preventing them from sagging, 
one pair of spacers 15, 25 suffices at opposite side walls of the housing 
as shown. Between the holder frames 11, 12 and between the holder frames 
21, 22 respective spaces 16 and 26 are defined. 
As may be observed in FIGS. 1 and 2, the capillary structures 11, 12 and 
21, 22 of the two conductor systems 10, 20 are offset at 90.degree. with 
respect to one another. 
In the description which follows, the operation of the heat transfer device 
will be described with particular reference to FIG. 2. 
In case of a saturated capillary system, thin liquid layers lie on the 
capillary structures 11, 21. Upon a heating in the left portion of the 
construction as viewed in FIG. 2, the liquid vaporizes in the capillary 
structures at that location. By virtue of the pressure differential that 
has developed due to the vaporizaton, the vapor moves in the spaces 16, 26 
- which serve as vapor transfer chambers - to the colder, non-illustrated 
right-hand part of the housing, where it is condensated and thus heats the 
shells 1 and 2 at the right-hand portion thereof. In this manner, a 
temperature equalization in the shells 1 and 2 is obtained. The condensate 
is moved back into the left part of the housing 1, 2 by capillary forces 
in the capillary structures 11, 12. 
Turning now to the embodiment illustrated in FIG. 3, each heat transfer 
system 10', 20' has but a single capillary structure 37, 38 which are, 
similarly to the embodiment of FIGS. 1 and 2, oriented at 90.degree. to 
one another and between which a vapor transfer chamber 36 is defined. 
It will be readily understood that the orientations described above may be 
varied, as requirements dictate. The heat is transferred in every 
direction between a heat generator and a consumer, that is, for example, 
also transversely across the housing between two oppositely located end 
faces. By virtue of the directional capillary forces the condensated 
liquid is transferred back to the vaporizing zone. 
Turning now to FIG. 4, there is schematically illustrated therein a sealing 
station of a packing machine for sequentially making two spaced transverse 
sealing seams on heat-sealable superposed wrapper sheets. For this 
purpose, there are provided two sealing shoes 30, 31 secured to two 
oppositely rotating spaced shafts 32 and 33. The sealing faces 34a, 34b 
and 35a, 35b rollingly engage while the superposed heat-sealable films F 
pass therebetween. As the mutually cooperating sealing shoes contact, they 
engage the film on opposite sides and seal them together. Such sealing 
shoes are known in general and are described, for example, in U.S. Pat. 
No. 4,455,808. 
For the heating of the sealing shoes heating bars 40 are provided which are 
arranged parallel to the rotary axis within the sealing shoes, that is, 
parallel to the sealing faces. By virtue of such a conventional 
arrangement, the heat energy propagates in every direction in the entire 
sealing shoe. 
By incorporating the heat energy transfer device according to the invention 
in the sealing shoes 30 and 31, a directional, more channelled heat energy 
transfer to the heat sealing faces of the sealing shoes may be effected. 
In the construction shown in FIG. 4, for each sealing face 34a, 34b, 35a, 
35b there is provided a radial and a tangential heat energy transfer 
device 41 according to the invention for transferring the heat energy. In 
this manner, the heat is, from the heating bars 40, transferred in a 
purposeful manner to the location of utilization and is, on the heating 
faces uniformly distributed over the entire face of the housing and 
transferred to the sealing faces. It is to be understood that the 
adjoining radial and tangential heat energy transfer devices - each 
structured, for example, according to FIG. 2 - are so dimensioned that the 
sealing face of the sealing shoes is uniformly heated. It is feasible to 
provide more than two - and accordingly smaller-devices in each sealing 
shoe. 
In FIG. 5 there is shown a sealing shoe variant which has two lateral, 
radially arranged heat energy transfer devices 41 according to the 
invention. 
In the FIG. 6 variant, similarly to FIG. 5, two radially arranged heat 
energy transfer devices 41 are provided. These, however, are situated 
inside the sealing shoe, in radial alignment with the one and the other 
heating bar 40. 
In the variant illustrated in FIG. 7, two tangentially arranged heat energy 
transfer devices 41 according to the invention are provided in the 
immediate vicinity of the working faces of the sealing shoes. The two 
devices are associated with the one and the other heating bar 40. 
The present disclosure relates to subject matter contained in Swiss Patent 
Application No. 1631/87-6 (filed Apr. 28th, 1987) which is incorporated 
herein by reference. 
It will be understood that the above description of the present invention 
is susceptible to various modifications, changes and adaptations, and the 
same are intended to be comprehended within the meaning and range of 
equivalents of the appended claims.