JP2001210880A - Peltier module - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To improve strength without deteriorating cooling characteristic. SOLUTION: In this Peltier module, a plurality of thermoelectric elements 1 are connected electrically in series with a plurality of electrodes 2, in a plane by connecting adjacent thermoelectric elements 1, 1 with an electrode 2. A reinforcing member 3, which is a stick-like mold, is disposed between rows while being placed at a distance from electrodes opposed thereto between thermoelectric elements 1, 1 arranged into a matrix form. Reinforcement can be achieved by the reinforcing member 3 that can be installed easily. Furthermore, heat leakage can be prevented, since the reinforcing member 3 and the electrode 2 are distant from each other.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a Peltier module in which thermoelectric elements are electrically connected.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A general configuration of a Peltier module is shown in FIG.
0 is shown. The n-type thermoelectric element 1 and the p-type thermoelectric element 1 are alternately connected in a plane by an electrode 2 and π
By adopting a mold arrangement, these thermoelectric elements 1 are connected in series. Further, the thermoelectric elements 1 are arranged in a matrix as a whole, so that the module has a rectangular shape. In the figure, reference numeral 4 denotes a rigid insulating heat conductive plate, which is joined to both surfaces on which the electrodes 2 are arranged.

In the Peltier module, a thermoelectric element as a constituent element is extremely weak in strength. Therefore, when a shock is applied during handling of the module or a thermal stress is applied during use of the module, the thermoelectric element is not used. Destruction often occurs at the interface between the element and its electrode.

For this reason, conventionally, as shown in FIG. 11, an attempt has been made to improve the strength of a Peltier module by filling a reinforcing resin 8 such as a curable liquid resin filler between thermoelectric elements 1 and 1 and between electrodes 2. Have been.

[0005]

However, even though the strength can be reinforced by filling and curing the liquid resin, heat leakage occurs between the electrodes due to the filled resin, resulting in a problem that the cooling performance is greatly reduced.

As shown in FIG. 12, a reinforcing plate 9 for holding each thermoelectric element 1 is provided, and the thickness of the reinforcing plate 9 is made smaller than the thickness of the thermoelectric element 1 so that the electrode 2 and the reinforcing plate 9 are formed.
In order to reduce heat leakage by interposing an air layer between the reinforcing plate and the reinforcing plate, it is difficult to arrange such a reinforcing plate 9 in manufacturing.

[0007] Reinforcement with a thin resin coating has also been attempted, but this has not been able to obtain a sufficient reinforcing effect.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and an object of the present invention is to provide a Peltier module capable of improving strength without lowering cooling performance.

[0009]

According to the present invention, a plurality of thermoelectric elements are electrically connected in series on a plane by a plurality of electrodes by connecting adjacent thermoelectric elements with electrodes. A Peltier module, which has a first feature in that a reinforcing member, which is a bar-shaped molded product, is arranged between each row of thermoelectric elements arranged in a matrix in a state separated from electrodes facing each other. In this case, it is more effective for the reinforcing member to be a hollow cylindrical molded product to reduce a decrease in cooling performance due to heat leakage.

[0010] In the present invention, a reinforcing member, which is a hollow cylindrical molded product, is provided between each row of thermoelectric elements arranged in a matrix in a state separated from electrodes facing each other.
A second feature is that a resin is filled between the reinforcing member, the thermoelectric element, and the electrode.

In any case, when the reinforcing member is in close contact with the thermoelectric element, the reinforcing effect can be further enhanced.

The present invention can also be applied to a skeleton type in which an insulating heat conducting plate is not joined to the outer surface of the electrode plate.

It is also preferable to apply the present invention to an electrode having a staggered electrode arrangement.

A plurality of reinforcing members may be connected to each other at at least one end, or both ends of the plurality of reinforcing members may be connected to a frame-shaped molded product.

Further, it is preferable that at least the reinforcing member and the thermoelectric element are covered with a thin coating resin.

[0016]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS The present invention will be described in detail below with reference to an example of an embodiment. An n-type thermoelectric element 1 and a p-type thermoelectric element 1 are alternately connected in a plane by an electrode 2 and π By adopting a mold arrangement, these thermoelectric elements 1 are connected in series. Further, a reinforcing member 3 which is a molded product of a rod is disposed between the pair of thermoelectric elements 1 and 1 connected by the electrodes 2. This reinforcing member 3 is, as shown in FIG.
The modules are arranged so as to straddle a plurality of columns between rows of the thermoelectric elements 1 arranged in a matrix, and are assembled by being inserted between rows from the side surface of the module.
In addition, the reinforcing member 3 shown in FIG. 1 is not only slightly separated from the electrode 2 so that an air layer is interposed between the reinforcing member 3 but also the side surfaces of the thermoelectric elements 1 and 1. However, as shown in FIG. 2, they may be in contact with the side surfaces of the thermoelectric elements 1 and 1 of the pair. The material of the reinforcing member 3 is not particularly limited as long as it has insulating properties, but a resin molded product having a low thermal conductivity can be suitably used. The cross-sectional shape of the reinforcing member 3 is arbitrary, such as circular, semicircular, square, or star-shaped. In addition to the solid cross-sectional shape shown in FIG.
As shown in FIG. A hollow one is more advantageous in terms of suppressing heat leakage, but a solid one is preferred in terms of the effect of reinforcing the strength. Having a certain high modulus of elasticity is advantageous in terms of reinforcing strength.

It is preferable to use a reinforcing member 3 that is long in a direction orthogonal to the longitudinal direction of the electrode 2 from the viewpoint of securing reinforcing strength.

As shown in FIG. 3, the space between the thermoelectric element 1, the electrode 2, and the reinforcing member 3 may be filled with a resin 5. In this case, the reinforcing effect is very high. The resin 5 is desirably a liquid curable resin such as an epoxy resin, a urethane resin, or a silicone resin in terms of low thermal conductivity and workability. However, in this case, the reinforcing member 3 is of a hollow type in terms of heat leakage.

FIG. 4 shows another example. This is because a reinforcing member 3 made of a rod-shaped (cylindrical) molded product having a low elastic modulus is used so that the reinforcing member 3 is in close contact with the side surface of the thermoelectric element 1 when inserted between rows of the thermoelectric element 1. Things. Since the reinforcing member 3 is in contact with the thermoelectric element 1 with a certain contact pressure, the strength reinforcing effect is further enhanced.

In each of the above embodiments, the insulating heat conducting plate 4 is provided on both sides. However, as shown in FIG.
Of course, the reinforcing member 3 can be applied to a skeleton type which is not provided with a skeleton type and which has a low strength at the time of handling because it does not have the insulating heat conducting plate 4. This greatly improves the handling characteristics.

Due to the arrangement of the p-type thermoelectric element 1 and the n-type thermoelectric element 1 and the connection by the electrodes 2, there is a Peltier module in which the electrodes 2 are arranged in a staggered pattern as shown in FIG. When the member 3 is applied to the Peltier module, the reinforcing member 3 does not easily come off, so that the strength can be reinforced in a well-balanced manner.

By the way, as shown in FIG. 7, it is preferable to connect one end of the bar-shaped (tubular) reinforcing member 3 with a connection connecting portion 30. In this case, in addition to the connection and connection frame 30 that is connected to the reinforcing member 3 by retrofitting, a frame in which a plurality of reinforcing members 3 are integrally molded can be used.

As shown in FIG. 8, the connecting and connecting portion 30 may be a frame-shaped molded product surrounding the Peltier module. In this case, the manufacturing can be greatly simplified by forming the seal frame usually used for the module into an integral structure with the frame-shaped connecting and connecting portion 30. In addition, the rod-shaped reinforcing member 3
It is preferable that the frame and the surrounding frame-shaped coupling / coupling portion 30 be formed as an integrated product in view of workability.

FIG. 9 shows a rod-shaped reinforcing member 3 inserted and arranged between the rows of the thermoelectric elements 1 and then fixed and fixed with a coating resin 6. Thin coating resin 6
Is filled by the capillary phenomenon between the reinforcing member 3 and the thermoelectric element 1, so that the strength reinforcing effect is greatly improved. When the coating resin 6 also covers the surface of the electrode 2, if the thickness is too large, the heat transfer is deteriorated. The type of the coating resin 6 is not particularly limited, but an epoxy resin, a urethane resin, an acrylic resin, a silicone resin, or the like can be preferably used.

[0025]

As described above, according to the present invention, the reinforcing member, which is a bar-shaped molded product, is disposed between each row of thermoelectric elements arranged in a matrix and separated from the facing electrode. Therefore, the reinforcing member can be reinforced, and of course, the reinforcing member only needs to be inserted between the rows, so that there is a great advantage in manufacturing, and furthermore, it is possible to suppress a decrease in cooling performance due to heat leakage.

It is more effective that the reinforcing member is a hollow cylindrical molded product to reduce a decrease in cooling performance due to heat leakage.

In addition, a reinforcing member, which is a hollow cylindrical molded product, is arranged between each row of thermoelectric elements arranged in a matrix in a state separated from the facing electrode, and the reinforcing member and the thermoelectric element are arranged. In the case of having resin filling between the electrode and the electrode, although it is slightly disadvantageous with respect to heat leakage,
A reliable reinforcing effect can be obtained.

When the reinforcing member is in close contact with the thermoelectric element,
The reinforcing effect of the thermoelectric element by the reinforcing member can be further enhanced.

Further, the present invention can be applied to a skeleton type in which an insulating heat conducting plate is not joined to the outer surface of the electrode plate, and at this time, the handleability of the skeleton type can be improved.

Further, if the electrodes are applied in a staggered arrangement, the electrodes can be prevented from dropping off the reinforcing member, so that the handleability can be improved.

If a plurality of reinforcing members are connected to each other at at least one end, workability in assembling the reinforcing members can be improved.

If both ends of a plurality of reinforcing members are connected to a frame-shaped molded product, an extremely high reinforcing effect can be obtained, and the frame-shaped molded product can also serve as a moisture-proof seal frame. .

Further, it is also preferable to coat at least the reinforcing member and the thermoelectric element with a thin coating resin from the viewpoint of improving the strength reinforcing effect.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 shows an example of an embodiment of the present invention, in which (a)
Is a sectional view, and (b) is a horizontal sectional view.

FIG. 2 is a sectional view of another example.

FIG. 3 is a sectional view showing still another example.

4A and 4B show another example, wherein FIG. 4A is a cross-sectional view and FIG. 4B is a horizontal cross-sectional view.

5A and 5B show still another example, in which FIG. 5A is a cross-sectional view, and FIG.
Is a plan view.

FIG. 6 is a plan view of another example.

FIG. 7 is a plan view of another example.

FIG. 8 is a plan view of still another example.

FIG. 9 is a cross-sectional view of another example.

10A and 10B show a conventional example, in which FIG. 10A is a cross-sectional view and FIG. 10B is a horizontal cross-sectional view.

FIG. 11 is a sectional view of another conventional example.

FIGS. 12A and 12B show still another conventional example, in which FIG. 12A is a sectional view and FIG. 12B is a plan view of a reinforcing plate.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 thermoelectric element 2 electrode 3 reinforcing member

Claims (9)

[Claims] 1. A Peltier module in which a plurality of thermoelectric elements are electrically connected in series in a plane by a plurality of electrodes by connecting adjacent thermoelectric elements by electrodes. A Peltier module, wherein a reinforcing member, which is a bar-shaped molded product, is disposed between rows in a state in which the reinforcing members are separated from electrodes facing each other between the arranged thermoelectric elements. 2. The Peltier module according to claim 1, wherein the reinforcing member is a hollow cylindrical molded product. 3. A Peltier module in which a plurality of thermoelectric elements are electrically connected in series in a plane by a plurality of electrodes by connecting adjacent thermoelectric elements by electrodes. A reinforcing member, which is a hollow cylindrical molded product, is arranged between each row in a state separated from the facing electrode between the arranged thermoelectric elements, and the space between the reinforcing member, the thermoelectric element and the electrode is filled. A Peltier module, comprising a resin. 4. The Peltier module according to claim 1, wherein the reinforcing member is in close contact with the thermoelectric element. 5. The Peltier module according to claim 1, wherein the Peltier module is of a skeleton type in which an insulating heat conducting plate is not joined to an outer surface of the electrode plate. 6. The Peltier module according to claim 1, wherein the electrodes are arranged in a staggered arrangement. 7. The method according to claim 1, wherein the plurality of reinforcing members are connected to each other at at least one end.
6. The Peltier module according to any one of the above items 6. 8. The Peltier module according to claim 1, wherein both ends of the plurality of reinforcing members are connected to the frame-shaped molded product. 9. The Peltier module according to claim 1, wherein at least the reinforcing member and the thermoelectric element are covered with a thin coating resin.