Claims
- 1. A cooling device comprising:
a casing surrounding
at least one sorbent section containing a sorbent for a liquid refrigerant; at least one liquid passageway section adjacent the sorbent section, the liquid passageway section defining a liquid passageway through at least a portion of the cooling device to the sorbent section; a vapor-permeable membrane separating adjacent sorbent and liquid passageway sections; a liquid refrigerant reservoir adjacent the liquid passageway section; and a valve for controlling liquid communication between the liquid passageway section and the liquid refrigerant reservoir.
- 2. The cooling device of claim 1, further comprising a heat-removing material in thermal contact with the sorbent and surrounded by the casing.
- 3. The cooling device of claim 2, wherein the heat-removing material is a phase-change material.
- 4. The cooling device of claim 2, further comprising at least one liquid barrier interposed between the heat-removing material and the sorbent and surrounded by the casing.
- 5. The cooling device of claim 1, further comprising at least one wicking material disposed in the liquid passageway section.
- 6. The cooling device of claim 1, further comprising at least one thermal spacer interposed between the sorbent section and the vapor-permeable membrane and surrounded by the casing.
- 7. The cooling device of claim 1, further comprising at least one thermal spacer interposed between the vapor-permeable membrane and the liquid passageway section and surrounded by the casing.
- 8. The cooling device of claim 1, wherein the casing is made from a flexible material.
- 9. The cooling device of claim 8, wherein the flexible material is metallicized plastic.
- 10. A cooling device comprising:
a casing surrounding
at least one sorbent section containing a sorbent for a liquid refrigerant; at least one liquid passageway section adjacent the sorbent section, the liquid passageway section defining a liquid passageway through at least a portion of the cooling device to the sorbent section; at least one wicking material disposed in the liquid passageway section; at least one thermal spacer in contact with the sorbent section; a vapor-permeable membrane interposed between the liquid passageway section and the thermal spacer; a heat-removing material in thermal contact with the sorbent; at least one liquid barrier interposed between the heat-removing material and the sorbent; a liquid refrigerant reservoir adjacent the liquid passageway section; and a valve for controlling liquid communication between the liquid passageway section and the liquid refrigerant reservoir.
- 11. The cooling device of claim 10, wherein the heat-removing material is a phase-change material.
- 12. The cooling device of claim 10, wherein the casing is made from a flexible metallicized plastic.
DIVISIONAL APPLICATION
[0001] This application is a divisional of co-pending application Ser. No. 09/691,436, filed on Oct. 18, 2000, which claims the previously unelected group of claims in that application from which the elected group of claims now has issued as U.S. Pat. No. 6,xxx,yyy, on ______, 2002.
Divisions (1)
|
Number |
Date |
Country |
Parent |
09691436 |
Oct 2000 |
US |
Child |
10184344 |
Jun 2002 |
US |