Volume 4, Number 1 March/April 1996
On October 26, 1996, Thermacore, Inc., of Lancaster, Pennsylvania, received the Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Technology of the Year Award in the Computer/Electronics category for its innovative work in the cooling of computers. The award was presented and sponsored by the Technology Utilization Foundation at the Technology Transfer Awards Dinner, held in conjunction with the Technology 2005 Conference at the Chicago Hilton Hotel. The Conference itself was sponsored by NASA, NASA Tech Briefs, and the Technology Utilization Foundation.
Competition for the award was widespread among the winners of SBIR contracts nationwide. The award was accepted on Thermacore's behalf by Nelson J. Gernert and Larry M. Ray, representing Thermacore's Development Operation and Thermacore's Thermal Product Operation, respectively.
The basis of the award was Thermacore's success in commercializing heat transfer technology partially acquired under SBIR contracts with NASA. NASA funded the original project for systems that require heat rejection, such as the Space Shuttle and Space Station. The new devices, called heat pipes, are used to cool the main central processor "chip" in notebook computers. The Thermacore heat pipes provide industry-leading performance and have received strong market acceptance both domestically and overseas since their introduction in May 1995. Production rates currently exceed 1,000 units per day and are expected to pass 5,000 per day by the spring of 1995.
A heat pipe is a highly efficient heat transfer device that moves heat from point to point with little loss in temperature. It requires no external power for its operation. Other cooling techniques require battery power to run a fan or thermoelectric, which ultimately reduces the useful operating time of the laptop.
Heat is carried within the heat pipe by evaporation and condensation of a fluid. Condensate is returned to the evaporator by means of a capillary pump, or wick. Thermacore includes a specially prepared powder metal wick in these heat pipes so the user of a notebook computer can operate the computer in any position without loss of performance.
Although much of the underlying technology was acquired on an SBIR contract with the government, Thermacore has used its own funds to adapt the technology to the commercial marketplace, to develop the manufacturing processes and to build a factory to mass-produce the products.
Pictured is a variety of heat pipe geometries available for use in notebook computers. (Source: Thermacore, Inc.)
For more information about the heat pipes, contact Yale Eastnan at Thermacore, Inc. Phone: 717/569-6551. Please mention that you read about it in Innovation.
