The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document.
The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge covers the following: Patent number, Date patent was issued, Date patent was filed, Title of the patent, Applicant, Inventor, Assignee, Attorney firm, Primary examiner, Assistant examiner, CPCs, and Abstract. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document (in Adobe Acrobat format, aka pdf). To download or print any patent click here.
Patent No.:
Date of Patent:
Jun. 04, 2002
Filed:
May. 12, 2000
Christopher J. Crowley, Orford, NH (US);
Nabil A. Elkouh, Meriden, NH (US);
Creare Inc., Hanover, NH (US);
Abstract
A freeze tolerant condenser ( ) for a two-phase heat transfer system is disclosed. The condenser includes an enclosure ( ) and a porous artery ( ) located within and extending along the length of the enclosure. A vapor space ( ) is defined between the enclosure and the artery, and a liquid space ( ) is defined by a central passageway within the artery. The artery includes a plurality of laser-micromachined capillaries ( ) extending from the outer surface of the artery to its inner surface such that the vapor space is in fluid communication with the liquid space. In one embodiment of the invention, the capillaries ( ) are cylindrical holes having a diameter of no greater than 50 microns. In another embodiment, the capillaries ( ′) are slots having widths of no greater than 50 microns. A method of making an artery in accordance with the present invention is also disclosed. The method includes providing a solid-walled tube and laser-micromachining a plurality of capillaries into the tube along a longitudinal axis, wherein each capillary has at least one cross-sectional dimension transverse to the longitudinal axis of less than 50 microns.