Variable Thermal Insulation Assembly for Dynamic Window Control
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current window technologies fail to provide both high optical transmission for sunlight and effective thermal insulation, often requiring frequent adjustment, being costly, or overly complex, especially during varying weather conditions.
Innovation Solution
A variable thermal insulation assembly with an array of air-enclosing thermal cells that can expand or compress, using flexible sheets and a position controller to adjust the volume and reduce heat loss through convective gas flow or thermal conduction, allowing for optimal light transmission and insulation based on weather conditions.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Illumination intensity
If windows are used to maximize optical transmission for sunlight, then light transmission is improved, but thermal insulation deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The patent employs a dynamically adjustable thermal cell array that can transition between expanded and compressed states. The thermal cells are constructed with flexible sheets that allow the array to change its volume and density, enabling it to adapt its thermal insulation properties while maintaining optical transmission capabilities when needed.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention changes the physical parameters of the thermal insulation system by varying the expansion state of the thermal cells. When compressed, the thermal cells provide minimal resistance to light transmission; when expanded, they increase thermal insulation through increased gas volume and reduced convective heat transfer. This parameter change allows the system to optimize between light transmission and thermal insulation based on environmental conditions.
2Loss of energy
If thermal insulation is maximized to minimize heat loss, then energy loss is reduced, but light transmission deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The thermal cell array is designed with flexible bonding regions that enable dynamic adjustment between expanded and compressed configurations. This dynamic capability allows the system to provide maximum thermal insulation when heat loss prevention is prioritized, while allowing full light transmission when natural lighting is desired, eliminating the need for fixed compromises.
Solution Approach 2:
The thermal cells are nested within the window assembly structure, with multiple layers of flexible sheets bonded together to form cavities filled with insulating gas. This nested configuration allows the thermal insulation mechanism to be integrated within the window frame without significantly increasing the overall footprint, enabling both insulation and light transmission functions within the same spatial envelope.
3Loss of energy
If a variable thermal insulation system is implemented, then thermal performance is improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The thermal insulation system is segmented into multiple discrete thermal cells arranged in an array. Each thermal cell is an independent unit with flexible sheets and bonding regions, allowing the overall system to achieve complex thermal management functionality through simple, repetitive modular units. This segmentation reduces the complexity of controlling each individual cell while maintaining effective thermal insulation when expanded.
Solution Approach 2:
The flexible sheets and bonding regions are designed to enable automatic expansion and compression of the thermal cell array in response to environmental conditions or control signals. The system uses the inherent elasticity and mechanical properties of the flexible materials to achieve state transitions without requiring complex actuators or control mechanisms for each thermal cell, thereby reducing overall system complexity.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The solution effectively manages heat transfer and light transmission by adjusting the thermal cell array's state, providing enhanced thermal insulation when needed and allowing sunlight in when desired, while maintaining low operational complexity and cost.
Implementation Method 1
the distance between each pair of bonding regions is sufficiently small that the total heat loss arising from convective gas flow within the thermal cells is less than total heat loss arising from thermal conduction of the gas present within the thermal actuation region
Implementation Method 2
an array of air-enclosing cavities or pockets, referred to herein as thermal cells, that is adjustable between an expanded state and a compressed state
Data Source
AI summary
A variable thermal insulation assembly includes a plurality of sheets of film, wherein each sheet is bonded to an adjacent sheet along a plurality of longitudinally extending regions to form a plurality of longitudinally extending cavities, wherein the plurality of flexible sheets of each of the thermal cell arrays are formed of an electrically insulative material that is coated on one side with an electrically conductive material, a controller electrically coupled to the plurality of flexible sheets and configured to apply an electric potential difference between electrically conductive material of each pair of flexible sheets such that the electrically conductive coatings of the pair of flexible sheets attract each other to cause the thermal cell array to transition from an expanded state to a compressed state.