Enclosure for surveillance hardware

Abstract

The enclosure for surveillance hardware provided herein protects the hardware from external elements and from damage. The enclosure may be configured for a node of a peer to peer surveillance architecture or other devices, and for mobile or other applications. The enclosure may comprise a sealed component chamber and an adjacent support chamber. The sealed component chamber may enclose the components therein in an air or watertight manner. The support chamber may comprise an airflow system and thermal conductor which regulates the temperature in the component chamber. The enclosure may be formed from a multilayer material having various protective qualities. A controller may be provided to control operation of the airflow system and thermal conductor in response to changes in temperature.

1 . A mobile enclosure comprising:
 a sealed component chamber configured to enclose one or more components;   one or more vibration dampening assemblies configured to reduce vibration of at least one of the one or more components;   a thermal conductor having a first portion within the sealed component chamber and a second portion outside the sealed component chamber, the first portion configured to cool the one or more components in the sealed component chamber; and   a thermal dissipater mounted to an exterior portion of the sealed component chamber, the thermal dissipater connected to the second portion of the thermal conductor, wherein the thermal dissipater transfers heat away from the thermal conductor.   
   
   
       2 . The enclosure of  claim 1 , wherein the sealed component chamber is formed from a multilayer material. 
   
   
       3 . The enclosure of  claim 1 , wherein the thermal conductor is a Peltier device. 
   
   
       4 . The enclosure of  claim 3  further comprising a controller configured to increase power to the thermal conductor to increase cooling at the first portion of the thermal conductor and configured to decrease power to the thermal conductor to decrease cooling at the first portion of the thermal conductor. 
   
   
       5 . The enclosure of  claim 1 , wherein the one or more components are mounted to at least one of the one or more vibration dampening assemblies. 
   
   
       6 . The enclosure of  claim 1  further comprising one or more direct conduction thermal conductors in contact with at least one of the one or more components and with the thermal dissipater, wherein the thermal dissipater transfers heat away from the one or more direct conduction thermal conductors. 
   
   
       7 . The enclosure of  claim 1  further comprising an airflow system adjacent the first portion of the thermal conductor, the airflow system configured to generate at least one airflow within the sealed component chamber. 
   
   
       8 . The enclosure of  claim 1 , wherein the second portion of the thermal conductor is embedded into the thermal dissipater. 
   
   
       9 . A mobile enclosure comprising:
 a thermal conductor having a cooled portion and a heated portion;   a sealed component chamber configured to enclose one or more components, the cooled portion of the thermal conductor positioned within the sealed component chamber;   an airflow system adjacent the thermal conductor, the airflow system configured to circulate air within the sealed component chamber;   a vibration dampening assembly configured to isolate the sealed component chamber from vibration;   a thermal dissipater external to the sealed component chamber, the thermal dissipater coupled with the thermal conductor to receive and dissipate heat from the heated portion of the thermal conductor; and   a power system having one or more outputs to provide processed power to the one or more components.   
   
   
       10 . The mobile enclosure of  claim 9  further comprising one or more thermal isolation materials between the component chamber and the thermal dissipater. 
   
   
       11 . The mobile enclosure of  claim 9  further comprising a direct conduction thermal conductor in contact with at least one of the one or more components to directly cool the at least one of the one or more components. 
   
   
       12 . The mobile enclosure of  claim 9 , wherein the component chamber comprises an opening to accept the heated portion of the thermal conductor. 
   
   
       13 . The mobile enclosure of  claim 9  further comprising one or more external fans mounted to the thermal dissipater, the one or more external fans configured to break a thermal barrier around the thermal dissipater. 
   
   
       14 . A method for protecting one or more components within a mobile enclosure comprising:
 protecting the one or more components within a sealed component chamber of the mobile enclosure;   cooling the sealed component chamber with a cooled end of a thermal conductor;   generating at least one airflow within the component chamber and across at least a portion of the cooled end of the thermal conductor   cooling a heated end of the thermal conductor with a thermal dissipater coupled to the heated end, the thermal dissipater external to the sealed component chamber; and   isolating at least a portion of the component chamber from heat dissipated by the thermal dissipater with one or more thermal isolation materials.   
   
   
       15 . The method of  claim 14  further comprising:
 measuring at least one temperature within the component chamber;   increasing power to the thermal conductor to generate additional cooling at the cooled end of the thermal conductor if the at least one temperature is above a first temperature threshold; and   decreasing power to the thermal conductor to reduce cooling at the cooled end of the thermal conductor if the at least one temperature is below a second temperature threshold.   
   
   
       16 . The method of  claim 14  further comprising generating an external airflow at the thermal dissipater to break a thermal barrier around the thermal dissipater. 
   
   
       17 . The method of  claim 14  further comprising directly cooling at least one of the one or more components with a direct conduction thermal conductor, the direct conduction thermal conductor in contact with the at least one of the one or more components. 
   
   
       18 . The method of  claim 17  further comprising:
 measuring at least one temperature of at least one of the one or more components;   increasing power to the direct conduction thermal conductor to generate additional cooling at a cooled end of the direct conduction thermal conductor if the at least one temperature is above a first temperature threshold; and   decreasing power to the direct conduction thermal conductor to reduce cooling at the cooled end of the direct conduction thermal conductor if the at least one temperature is below a second temperature threshold.   
   
   
       19 . The method of  claim 14  further comprising isolating the component chamber from vibrations from the thermal dissipater with one or more vibration dampeners. 
   
   
       20 . The method of  claim 14 , wherein the component chamber comprises a multilayer material including layers selected from the group consisting of at least one rigid layer and at least one insulating layer.