Attenuation systems with cooling functions and related components and methods
View Patent ↗Attenuation systems have cooling components that produce power in response to heat generated by the attenuator. The cooling components can be used to power cooling fans if a primary power source of the fans fails.
1. A communication system, comprising:
a signal source;
a system communicatively coupled to the signal source in order to receive signals from the source, the system including remote units configured to wirelessly transmit RF signals into a respective coverage area and to receive wireless RF signals from the coverage area; and
an attenuation system interposed between the signal source and the system to attenuate signals from the source, the attenuation system comprising:
an attenuator configured to attenuate signals;
a thermoelectric cooling component configured to absorb heat generated by the attenuator and to generate electrical current in response to the heat; and
a cooling device in electrical communication with the thermoelectric cooling component and arranged to cool the attenuator when powered by the thermoelectric cooling component.
2. The communication system of claim 1 , wherein the thermoelectric cooling component comprises a plurality of thermoelectric modules configured to generate electrical current in response to heat flow.
3. The communication system of claim 2 , wherein the thermoelectric modules comprise a first semiconductor of a first electron density and a second semiconductor of a second electron density different than the first electron density.
4. The communication system of claim 3 , wherein the first semiconductor is a p-type semiconductor and the second semiconductor is an n-type semiconductor.
5. The communication system of claim 1 , wherein the cooling device comprises at least one fan.
6. The communication system of claim 1 , wherein the cooling device is coupled to a power source, and wherein the thermoelectric cooling component is configured to provide electric power to the cooling device when the power source fails.
7. The communication system of claim 1 , wherein the signal source is a radio frequency (RF) signal source configured to provide RF signals to the system.
8. The communication system of claim 7 , wherein the system is a distributed communication system comprising head end equipment communicatively coupled to the remote units configured to receive and distribute the RF signals.
9. The communication system of claim 1 , wherein:
the thermoelectric cooling component comprises a plurality of thermoelectric modules configured to generate electrical current in response to heat flow, the thermoelectric modules comprising a first semiconductor of a first electron density and a second semiconductor of a second electron density different than the first electron density; and
the cooling device comprises at least one fan coupled to a power source, and wherein the thermoelectric cooling component is configured to provide electric power to the cooling device when the power source fails.
10. The communication system of claim 9 , wherein:
the system is a distributed communication system comprising head end equipment communicatively coupled to the remote units configured to receive and distribute the RF signals; and
the signal source is a radio frequency (RF) signal source configured to provide downlink RF signals to the system and receive uplink signals from the head equipment.
11. A method of operating a communication system having an attenuation system comprising an attenuator configured to attenuate signals, a thermoelectric cooling component configured to absorb heat generated by the attenuator, and a cooling device in electrical communication with the thermoelectric cooling component and arranged to cool the attenuator, the method comprising:
providing a signal to the attenuation system;
attenuating the signal in the attenuation system so that the attenuator generates heat in response to attenuating the signal;
at the thermoelectric cooling component, generating an electrical current in response to the heat generation;
providing the electrical current to the cooling device; and
from a plurality of remote units, wirelessly transmitting signals into respective coverage areas.
12. The method of claim 11 , wherein the thermoelectric cooling component comprises a plurality of thermoelectric modules configured to generate electrical current in response to heat flow.
13. The method of claim 12 , wherein the thermoelectric modules comprise a first p-type semiconductor of a first electron density and a second n-type semiconductor of a second electron density different than the first electron density.
14. The method of claim 13 , wherein the cooling device comprises at least one fan.
15. The method of claim 14 , wherein the cooling device is coupled to a power source, and wherein providing electrical current to the cooling device occurs when the power source fails.
16. The method of claim 14 , wherein providing a signal to the attenuation system comprises transmitting an RF signal.
17. The method of claim 14 , further comprising providing the attenuated signals to a distributed communication comprising the remote units, and head end equipment configured to receive and distribute the attenuated signal to the remote units.
18. An attenuation system, comprising:
an attenuator configured to attenuate signals from a source;
a thermoelectric cooling component configured to absorb heat generated by the attenuator and to generate electrical current in response to the heat; and
a cooling device in electrical communication with the thermoelectric cooling component and arranged to cool the attenuator when powered by the thermoelectric cooling component.
19. The attenuation system of claim 18 , wherein the source is an RF signal source.
20. The attenuation system of claim 18 , wherein the thermoelectric cooling component comprises a plurality of thermoelectric modules configured to generate electrical current in response to heat flow.
21. The attenuation system of claim 20 , wherein the thermoelectric modules comprise a first semiconductor of a first electron density and a second semiconductor of a second electron density different than the first electron density.
22. The attenuation system of claim 21 , wherein the first semiconductor is a p-type semiconductor and the second semiconductor is an n-type semiconductor.
23. The attenuation system of claim 22 , wherein the cooling device comprises a plurality of fans.
24. The attenuation system of claim 22 , wherein the cooling device is coupled to a power source, and wherein the thermoelectric cooling component is configured to provide electric power to the cooling device when the power source fails.