Patent ID: 7311044

Claim:
A cooling system in a print imaging device having an element that generates heat, the cooling system comprising: a thermoelectric generator thermally coupled to the element to convert heat from the element to electrical energy, wherein a first surface of the thermoelectric generator is mechanically coupled and thermally coupled to a housing of the imaging device and a second surface is thermally coupled only to the element to thereby allow removal of the element from the imaging device; a cooling device powered by the electrical energy to thereby cool the print imaging device; and a controller adapted to receive and configured to monitor a level of electrical energy from a power supply internal to the imaging device, configured to receive the electrical energy from the thermoelectric generator, and configured to cause the cooling device to be normally powered by the electrical energy from the power supply and to be alternately powered by the electrical energy from the thermoelectric generator upon detecting the level of electrical energy from the power supply is substantially at or below a threshold level.