Patent ID: 8695353

Claim:
A cooling system, comprising: a refrigerant unit comprising: a layered electrocaloric membrane and electrode structure comprising an electrocaloric membrane intermediate a first electrode layer and a second electrode layer, wherein the electrocaloric membrane is adapted to polarize to a low entropy state in response to application of a polarization voltage across the first electrode layer and the second electrode layer, and wherein the electrocaloric membrane is adapted to depolarize to a high entropy state in response to removal of the polarization voltage; a heat sink; a heat sink electrode configured in thermal communication with the heat sink; a cooling load; and a cooling load electrode configured in thermal communication with the cooling load, wherein the layered electrocaloric membrane and electrode structure is suspended between the heat sink electrode and the cooling load electrode; and a bias source configured to bias the heat sink electrode to bring, by movement of the layered electrocaloric membrane and electrode structure within the refrigerant unit, the layered electrocaloric membrane and electrode structure into thermal communication with the heat sink electrode and out of thermal communication with the cooling load electrode in response to polarization of the electrocaloric membrane to the low entropy state such that heat transfer is promoted from the refrigerant unit to the heat sink, and configured to bias the cooling load electrode to bring, by movement of the layered electrocaloric membrane and electrode structure within the refrigerant unit, the layered electrocaloric membrane and electrode structure into thermal communication with the cooling load electrode and out of thermal communication with the heat sink electrode in response to depolarization of the electrocaloric membrane to the high entropy state such that heat transfer from the cooling load electrode to the heat sink electrode is promoted; wherein the layered electrocaloric membrane and electrode structure is a flexible structure, wherein movement of the layered electrocaloric membrane and electrode structure into thermal communication with the heat sink electrode comprises flexure of the electrocaloric membrane and electrode structure toward the heat sink electrode, and wherein movement of the layered electrocaloric membrane and electrode structure into thermal communication with the cooling load electrode comprises flexure of the electrocaloric membrane and electrode structure toward the cooling load electrode.