JP2019220654A - Thermoelectric generator and cooling device - Google Patents

Abstract

To provide a thermoelectric generator and a cooling device that can obtain a larger total power generation amount while suppressing manufacturing cost.SOLUTION: A thermoelectric generator generates electricity according to temperature difference and includes a plurality of thermoelectric generator units that generate power according to the temperature difference. The thermoelectric generator unit includes one or more thermoelectric conversion modules that generate power according to a temperature difference between a first surface into which the amount of heat from a heat source flows and a second surface facing the first surface, and a cooling unit provided on the second surface side for each of the thermoelectric conversion modules, and having a thermal resistance having a thermal resistance ratio of 0.1 to 0.5 with respect to the thermal resistance of the thermoelectric conversion module.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 13

Description

  The present invention relates to a thermoelectric generator that generates electric power according to a temperature difference, and a cooling device used for the thermoelectric generator.

  2. Description of the Related Art A thermoelectric conversion module conventionally used in a thermoelectric generator generates power in accordance with a temperature difference between a high-temperature surface to which heat from a heat source is supplied and a low-temperature surface opposed to the high-temperature surface. When such a thermoelectric conversion module is used, in order to increase the temperature difference, in other words, to increase the amount of power generation, it is necessary to lower the temperature of the surface on the low-temperature side. Therefore, it is common to configure a thermoelectric power generation unit having a cooling device attached to the low temperature side.

  In order to lower the temperature of the low-temperature side surface, recently, a cooling device of a natural air cooling system using a heat pipe is employed in a thermoelectric power generation unit (for example, see Patent Document 1). Since the heat pipe has excellent heat conductivity, when a cooling device using the heat pipe is employed, the heat amount on the low-temperature side surface can be efficiently radiated.

Japanese Patent No. 3776065

  The cooling performance of a natural air cooling type cooling device strongly depends on the size. This is because the larger the area in contact with the air, the better the cooling performance. Therefore, by employing a larger cooling device, the temperature difference between the high-temperature side surface and the low-temperature side surface can be further increased.

  In many cases, a plurality of thermoelectric generation units are used. Since the space that can be used as a heat source is limited, if the cooling device is simply increased, the number of thermoelectric power generation units that can be installed is reduced. Therefore, even if the amount of power generation of each thermoelectric generation unit can be made desirable, if the number of thermoelectric generation units that can be installed is not sufficiently ensured, the desired amount of power generation is not necessarily obtained in the entire thermoelectric generation device. In addition, the manufacturing cost of the cooling device is large, and generally increases as the weight increases. For these reasons, when employing a cooling device, it is important to consider the total amount of power generated by the entire thermoelectric generator and the manufacturing cost.

  The present invention has been made to solve such a problem, and an object of the present invention is to provide a thermoelectric generator and a cooling device capable of obtaining a larger total power generation amount while suppressing manufacturing costs. .

  The thermoelectric generator according to the present invention generates power in accordance with a temperature difference, has a plurality of thermoelectric generators that generate power in accordance with a temperature difference, and the thermoelectric generator receives heat from a heat source. One or more thermoelectric conversion modules that generate electric power in accordance with a temperature difference between the first surface and a second surface facing the first surface, and a thermoelectric conversion module provided separately on the second surface side And a cooling unit having a thermal resistance having a thermal resistance ratio of 0.1 to 0.5 with respect to the thermal resistance of the thermoelectric conversion module.

  According to the present invention, it is possible to obtain a larger total power generation amount while suppressing manufacturing costs.

It is a figure which shows the example of the installation environment of the thermoelectric generator which concerns on Embodiment 1 of this invention. It is a perspective view showing an example of installation of a thermoelectric generator concerning Embodiment 1 of the present invention. It is a figure which shows the example of arrangement | positioning of the thermoelectric generation unit with which the thermoelectric generation apparatus which concerns on Embodiment 1 of this invention is provided. It is a figure which shows the other example of installation of the thermoelectric generator which concerns on Embodiment 1 of this invention. FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a thermoelectric generation unit included in the thermoelectric generation device according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention. FIG. 2 is an exploded view illustrating a configuration example of a power generation unit included in the thermoelectric generator according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention. FIG. 3 is a perspective view illustrating an example of a cooling unit used in the thermoelectric generator according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention. FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing another example of the cooling unit used in the thermoelectric generator according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention. FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating an example of a cooling unit when a cooling performance ratio is 0.3. It is a figure showing an example of a cooling section when a cooling performance ratio is 0.1. It is a figure explaining each example of a change of the amount of power generation of a thermoelectric conversion module by a cooling performance ratio, and a change of a weight ratio. It is a figure explaining each example of a change of the total electric power generation amount of the thermoelectric generator by a cooling performance ratio, and a change of the number of thermoelectric generator units which can be installed. It is a figure explaining each example of a change of a weight ratio in a thermoelectric generator according to a cooling performance ratio, and a change of the number of thermoelectric generation units required to obtain a fixed power generation amount. It is a perspective view which shows the example of installation of the thermoelectric generator concerning Embodiment 2 of this invention. It is a figure showing an example of arrangement of a thermoelectric generation unit with which a thermoelectric generation device concerning Embodiment 2 of the present invention is provided. FIG. 13 is a perspective view illustrating an example of a cooling unit used in the thermoelectric generator according to Embodiment 2 of the present invention. FIG. 13 is a perspective view showing another example of the cooling unit used in the thermoelectric generator according to Embodiment 2 of the present invention. It is a perspective view showing an example of installation of a thermoelectric generator concerning Embodiment 3 of the present invention. It is a figure showing an example of arrangement of a thermoelectric generation unit with which a thermoelectric generation device concerning Embodiment 3 of the present invention is provided. FIG. 14 is a perspective view illustrating an example of a cooling unit used in a thermoelectric generator according to Embodiment 3 of the present invention. FIG. 13 is a perspective view illustrating another example of the cooling unit used in the thermoelectric generator according to Embodiment 3 of the present invention.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of a thermoelectric generator according to the present invention and a cooling device used for the thermoelectric generator will be described with reference to the drawings.

Embodiment 1 FIG.
FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating an example of an installation environment of a thermoelectric generator according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention. The thermoelectric generator according to Embodiment 1 is installed in a factory for utilizing waste heat.

  The factory equipment 1 generates a high-temperature gas, that is, a heat source fluid that enables thermoelectric power generation, for example, by burning fuel, dust, and the like. This high-temperature gas is discharged to the atmosphere via the pipe 2 and the chimney 3. The thermoelectric generator according to the first embodiment is assumed to be attached to the pipe 2 and to generate electric power by using a high-temperature gas discharged into the atmosphere as a heat source.

  Note that the thermoelectric generator according to Embodiment 1 is not limited to use in a factory. The thermoelectric generator according to Embodiment 1 can be widely used as long as a heat source for performing thermoelectric generation exists.

  FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing an example of installation of the thermoelectric generator according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention, and FIG. 3 is an example of arrangement of thermoelectric generator units included in the thermoelectric generator according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention. FIG.

  As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the thermoelectric generator 10 according to the first embodiment is mounted outside the pipe 2. The thermoelectric generation device 10 includes a plurality of thermoelectric generation units 11, and the plurality of thermoelectric generation units 11 are attached to the outside of the pipe 2 in a circumferential direction. FIG. 3 shows an example of the arrangement of the thermoelectric generation units 11 from a viewpoint in the axial direction of the pipe 2.

  The thermoelectric generator 10 is attached to a portion where the pipe 2 is horizontal or almost horizontal, in other words, the axial direction of the pipe 2 is vertical or almost vertical to the vertical direction indicated by the arrow in FIG. Part. In the first embodiment, as shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the thermoelectric power generation unit 11 constituting the thermoelectric power generation device 10 is installed in a range of about the upper half of the pipe 2. Each thermoelectric generation unit 11 is sandwiched and fixed between the mounting member 15 and the pipe 2 by the mounting member 15.

  In the attachment member 15, a connection plate 15a to which one thermoelectric generation unit 11 can be attached is connected in a hinge manner. Thereby, the relative positional relationship of each thermoelectric generation unit 11 is maintained by the attachment member 15. After the positional relationship is maintained, for example, if the connection plates 15a located at both ends of the mounting member 15 are connected by a belt-shaped member, each thermoelectric power generation unit 11 can be fixed to the pipe 2. The fixing of each thermoelectric generation unit 11 to the pipe 2 may be performed by turning each connection plate 15a of the mounting member 15 toward the pipe 2 using another belt-shaped member. The method of attaching each thermoelectric generation unit 11 to the pipe 2, that is, the method of fixing each thermoelectric generation unit 11 is not particularly limited. The same applies to the case where each thermoelectric generation unit 11 is attached to the pipe 2 whose cross-sectional shape is not circular, and the case where it is attached to an object other than the pipe 2.

  As shown in FIG. 3, the pipe 2 is a pipe having a circular cross section along the radial direction. However, the cross-sectional shape of the pipe 2 is not limited to a circle. For example, as shown in FIG. 4, the cross-sectional shape of the pipe 2 may be rectangular.

  FIG. 5 is a perspective view of a thermoelectric generation unit included in the thermoelectric generation device according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention. The thermoelectric generation unit 11 is roughly divided into a power generation unit 51 and a cooling unit 52, as shown in FIG. The power generation unit 51 is provided with an electric wire 53 for outputting electric power obtained by thermoelectric generation to the outside.

  FIG. 6 is an exploded view showing a configuration example of the power generation unit. The power generation unit 51 is a structure in which a heat transfer medium 61, a thermoelectric conversion module 62, and a heat transfer medium 63 are stacked from the pipe 2 side. The heat transfer medium 61 is a medium that directly contacts the pipe 2, and the heat transfer medium 63 is a medium that directly contacts the cooling unit 52. The thermoelectric conversion module 62 is sandwiched between the two heat transfer media 61 and 63. Thereby, in the thermoelectric conversion module 62, the surface in contact with the heat transfer medium 61 is the surface on the high temperature side, that is, the first surface into which the heat from the pipe 2 flows, and the surface in contact with the heat transfer medium 63, that is, the first surface Is the second surface on the low temperature side. The thermoelectric conversion module 62 generates electric power according to the temperature difference between the two surfaces, and supplies the electric power obtained by the electric power generation to the outside through two electric wires 53. Since the thermoelectric conversion module 62 may be manufactured using a known technique, a detailed description is omitted.

  FIG. 7 is a perspective view illustrating an example of the cooling unit. The cooling unit 52 is a component corresponding to the cooling device according to the first embodiment, and includes a heat receiving plate 71, a heat pipe 72, a heat radiating plate 73, a support member 74, and a fixing member 75, as shown in FIG. Have.

  The heat receiving plate 71 is a medium that is brought into contact with the heat transfer medium 63, and the amount of heat from the second surface, which is the low-temperature side surface of the thermoelectric conversion module 62, is transmitted through the heat transfer medium 63. Therefore, the heat receiving plate 71 has substantially the same shape and the same size as the heat transfer medium 63. The heat pipe 72 is a component fixed so as to be sandwiched between the heat receiving plate 71 and the fixing member 75. The heat pipe 72 is attached to the heat receiving plate 71 along the longitudinal direction of the fixing member 75, as shown in FIG. An example of a method of attaching the heat pipe 72 is brazing. The mounting method is not particularly limited, but it is preferable to adopt a method that can efficiently transfer heat from the heat receiving plate 71 to the heat pipe 72.

  This brazing is classified into brazing and soldering according to the type of the filler material used. Due to the difference in filler material, brazing is performed at a higher temperature than soldering. Brazing is very excellent in both heat resistance and strength as compared with soldering.

  The fixing member 75 is provided with four protruding portions 75 a protruding on the opposite side of the heat receiving plate 71. Each connection plate 15a constituting the mounting member 15 is provided with a hole for inserting the protrusion 75a. Thereby, as shown in FIG. 2, the fixing member 75 is used for fixing each thermoelectric power generation unit 11 to a place where the thermoelectric power generation unit 11 is to be attached, while connecting each thermoelectric power generation unit 11. When each thermoelectric power generation unit 11 is attached to the pipe 2 by a belt-shaped member that comes into contact with the connection plate 15a, the protruding portion 75a functions to prevent the belt-shaped member from shifting in the axial direction of the pipe 2. . The method of attaching the fixing member 75 to the heat receiving plate 71 is not particularly limited, but may be, for example, brazing.

  As shown in FIG. 7, the heat pipe 72 has a straight central portion over the entire length of the heat receiving plate 71. The center portion of the linear shape is in a state where the periphery is covered by the support member 74. Thereby, the heat amount from the heat receiving plate 71 is transmitted to the heat pipe 72 via the support member 74. The reason for adopting such a structure for mounting the heat pipe 72 is to fix the heat pipe 72 more stably by the support member 74 covering the periphery and to increase the area for transmitting heat to the heat pipe 72. It is. By making the area larger, the transfer of heat from the heat receiving plate 71 to the heat pipe 72 can be performed more efficiently.

  The support member 74 may be unnecessary by attaching the heat pipe 72 directly to the heat receiving plate 71. Further, a fixing member 75 may be used for fixing the heat pipe 72. This is because heat transfer from the heat receiving plate 71 to the heat pipe 72 via the fixing member 75 can be expected. In any of the modifications, brazing is preferably employed or used in combination to achieve more efficient heat transfer.

  The heat pipe 72 has a U-shape as a whole, and extends from the portion in contact with the heat receiving plate 71 via the support member 74 to both ends in the direction in which the heat receiving plate 71 and the power generation unit 51 overlap. The distance is getting longer. The heat radiating plates 73 are members for radiating heat, and a plurality of heat radiating plates 73 are attached to both ends of the heat pipe 72. The heat radiating plate 73 is attached to a portion that is parallel or almost parallel to the direction in which the heat receiving plate 71 and the power generation unit 51 overlap. Hereinafter, this overlapping direction is referred to as “height direction”. This height direction basically coincides with the radial direction of the pipe 2.

  The portion of the heat pipe 72 that is in contact with the linear heat receiving plate 71 is an evaporating portion where the working fluid inside evaporates because the heat quantity of the heat receiving plate 71 is transmitted. The portion to which the heat radiating plate 73 is attached is a condensing portion where the vaporized working fluid is liquefied.

  Note that the shape of the heat pipe 72 is not limited to a U-shape. The heat pipe 72 adopts a shape in which the height direction becomes longer as going from the straight central portion to both ends. As the direction becomes longer, in other words, as the distance from the pipe 2 increases, the air having a lower temperature is discharged. This is because it can be expected that the heat sink 73 is brought into contact with the heat sink 73. The shape of the heat pipe 72 may be an arc, a V-shape, or the like, as long as the shape can be expected to come into contact with such air.

  In the first embodiment, the number of heat pipes 72 is one, but the number of heat pipes 72 may be two or more. For example, as shown in FIG. 8, two heat pipes 72 (1) and 72 (2) may be arranged in the short direction of the heat receiving plate 71 and attached to the heat receiving plate 71. In FIG. 8, since two heat pipes 72 are used, the height of the heat pipe 72 from the heat receiving plate 71 is lower than that of the heat pipe 72 shown in FIG.

  The amount of power generated by the thermoelectric generation unit 11, that is, the thermoelectric conversion module 62 is proportional to the square of the temperature difference between the high-temperature side surface and the low-temperature side surface. Assuming that the installation environment of the thermoelectric generator 10 is constant, in order to increase the temperature difference, the thermal resistance of the cooling unit 52 is reduced, that is, the surface area of the cooling unit 52 involved in heat dissipation is increased. It is necessary to further improve the cooling performance.

  The smaller the thermal resistance of the cooling unit 52, the larger the space required for installing the cooling unit 52, and the heavier the cooling unit 52. This is because it is necessary to increase the area of the cooling unit 52 that contacts the air. In order to increase the area, the number of heat radiating plates 73 is increased, and the length of the heat pipe 72 is increased. The contact area of the evaporating portion, which is the contact portion between the heat receiving plate 71 and the heat pipe 72, is increased. Is also effective, so that the length of the heat receiving plate 71 in the longitudinal direction is increased, and the thickness is increased so that the amount of heat from the thermoelectric conversion module 62 is transmitted to the end of the heat receiving plate. is necessary. Therefore, the manufacturing cost of the cooling section 52, that is, the manufacturing cost of the thermoelectric generator 10 is further increased.

  On the other hand, as the thermal resistance of the cooling unit 52 increases, the temperature difference between the high-temperature side surface and the low-temperature side surface of the thermoelectric conversion module 62 decreases, and the power generation of the thermoelectric conversion module 62, that is, the thermoelectric generation unit 11 The amount will be less. Therefore, when the amount of power generation of the thermoelectric generator 10 is set to a certain level or more, the number of necessary thermoelectric conversion modules 62 increases.

  As described above, the thermal resistance of the cooling section 52 greatly affects the configuration and structure of the thermoelectric generator 10. Therefore, based on the thermal resistance of the thermoelectric conversion module 62, changes in various characteristics due to the thermal resistance ratio between the thermal resistance of the thermoelectric conversion module 62 and the thermal resistance of the cooling unit 52 were calculated by simulation. The thermal resistance ratio is a value obtained by dividing the thermal resistance of the cooling unit 52 by the thermal resistance of the thermoelectric conversion module 62. This thermal resistance ratio is hereinafter referred to as “cooling performance ratio”.

  When the cooling performance ratio is small, the cooling unit 52 has a smaller thermal resistance than the thermoelectric conversion module 62, so that the temperature difference between the high-temperature side surface and the low-temperature side surface of the thermoelectric conversion module 62 becomes larger. Since the temperature difference increases, the amount of power generated by the thermoelectric conversion module 62, that is, the thermoelectric power generation unit 11 increases.

  Before describing changes in various characteristics depending on the cooling performance ratio, changes in the outer shape of the cooling unit 52 depending on the cooling performance ratio will be specifically described with reference to FIGS. 9 and 10. FIG. 9 is a diagram illustrating an example of the cooling unit when the cooling performance ratio is 0.3, and FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating an example of the cooling unit when the cooling performance ratio is 0.1.

  Here, as shown in FIG. 9 and FIG. 10, a portion including one end is attached to the heat receiving plate 71 as the cooling portion 52, and the heat increases from the portion to the other end. The cooling section 52 using a pipe 72, that is, a heat pipe 72 having an L-shaped overall shape is taken as an example.

  In terms of the shape, regardless of the members and the like, as shown in FIG. 9, the length in the longitudinal direction of the heat receiving plate 71 is the length L, the length in the short direction is the width W, and the heat receiving plate 71 The length in the direction in which the parts 51 overlap is described as a height H. The height H of the cooling unit 52 is expressed based on the bottom surface of the heat receiving plate 71, that is, the surface in contact with the heat transfer medium 63.

  Removal of heat, that is, heat radiation is mainly performed by the heat radiating plate 73. As the amount of heat radiated to the heat radiating plate 73 increases, the amount of heat transferred from the heat receiving plate 71 to the heat pipe 72 needs to be increased. From this, as shown in FIGS. 9 and 10, the smaller the thermal resistance of the cooling unit 52 and the smaller the cooling performance ratio, the larger the number of heat radiating plates 73 and the longer the length of the heat pipe 72. There is a need to. In addition, as shown in FIG. 10, it is necessary to make the heat receiving plate 71 itself larger, for example, make the length L longer so that a larger amount of heat is transmitted to the heat pipe 72. Therefore, the smaller the cooling performance ratio, the larger the volume of the cooling unit 52 and the heavier the weight. The volume of the cooling unit 52 is, for example, a value obtained by multiplying the width W, the length L, and the height H of the cooling unit 52 itself.

  FIG. 11 is a diagram illustrating each example of a change in the power generation amount of the thermoelectric conversion module and a change in the weight ratio depending on the cooling performance ratio. In FIG. 11, the horizontal axis indicates the cooling performance ratio, the right vertical axis indicates the weight ratio, and the left vertical axis indicates the power generation amount. The weight ratio is a value based on the cooling unit 52 having a cooling performance ratio of 0.05. The weight ratio when the cooling performance ratio is x is a value obtained by cooling the weight of the cooling unit 52 when the cooling performance ratio is x. It is calculated by dividing by the weight of the cooling unit 52 when the performance ratio is 0.05 and multiplying by 100. The unit is%.

  In FIG. 11, a change in the amount of power generation according to the cooling performance ratio is indicated by a line with a circle, and a change in the weight ratio according to the cooling performance ratio is indicated with a line with a triangle.

  As shown in FIG. 11, in order to increase the power generation amount of the thermoelectric conversion module 62, that is, the thermoelectric power generation unit 11, it is necessary to reduce the cooling performance ratio. This is because, as described above, as the cooling performance ratio decreases, the temperature difference between the high-temperature side surface and the low-temperature side surface of the thermoelectric conversion module 62 increases. However, as the cooling performance ratio decreases, as described above, the volume of the cooling unit 52 increases, and the weight ratio increases. Considering that the amount of power generated by one thermoelectric power generation unit 11 is as large as possible and the weight ratio is reduced, the weight ratio is greatly reduced while the cooling performance ratio is changed from 0.05 to 0.1. The decrease in the amount is only about 10%.

  Note that the weight of the cooling unit 52 strongly depends on the volume, and is substantially proportional to the volume. For this reason, the volume ratio may be used instead of the weight ratio. The volume ratio is, for example, as in the case of the weight ratio, the volume of the cooling unit 52 when the cooling performance ratio is x is the reference volume, and the volume ratio when the cooling performance ratio is x is the volume ratio when the cooling performance ratio is x. The volume may be calculated by dividing the volume of the cooling unit 52 by the reference volume and multiplying by 100.

  FIG. 12 is a diagram illustrating each example of a change in the total power generation amount of the thermoelectric generator according to the cooling performance ratio and a change in the number of thermoelectric generator units that can be installed. In FIG. 12, the horizontal axis indicates the cooling performance ratio, the right vertical axis indicates the number of installable thermoelectric power generation units 11 that can be installed, and the left vertical axis indicates the total power generation amount. The change in the total power generation amount according to the cooling performance ratio is indicated by a line with a circle, and the change in the installable number according to the cooling performance ratio is indicated with a line with a square.

  The increase in the total power generation amount can be realized by increasing the power generation amount of each thermoelectric generation unit 11, increasing the number of thermoelectric generation units 11, and the like. In order to increase the amount of power generated by each thermoelectric power generation unit 11, it is necessary to reduce the cooling performance ratio as shown in FIG. However, as shown in FIG. 12, the smaller the cooling performance ratio, the smaller the number that can be installed. While the cooling performance ratio changes from 0.5 to 1, even if the number of installable units increases, the total power generation amount does not greatly increase. This is because while the cooling performance ratio changes from 0.5 to 1, the decrease in the temperature difference in each thermoelectric generation unit 11 becomes relatively large. Since the power generation amount of the thermoelectric generation unit 11 decreases as the square of the temperature difference, the power generation amount of each thermoelectric generation unit 11 decreases while the cooling performance ratio changes from 0.5 to 1 due to the decrease in the temperature difference. Tend to be.

  FIG. 13 is a diagram illustrating each example of a change in the weight ratio in the thermoelectric generator according to the cooling performance ratio and a change in the number of thermoelectric generator units required to obtain a constant power generation amount. In FIG. 13, the horizontal axis indicates the cooling performance ratio, the right vertical axis indicates the required number which is the required number of thermoelectric power generation units 11, and the left vertical axis indicates the weight ratio. The change in weight ratio is indicated by a line with △, and the change in the required number is indicated by a line with □. The weight in the thermoelectric generator is a value obtained by multiplying the weight of the thermoelectric generator unit 11 by the required number, and the weight ratio is the same as that of the thermoelectric generator unit 11 when the cooling performance ratio is 0.05. The value is based on the device 10. The thermoelectric generator 10 having a cooling performance ratio of 0.05 refers to a thermoelectric generator 10 employing a thermoelectric generator unit 11 having a cooling performance ratio of 0.05.

  As shown in FIG. 13, in order to obtain a constant power generation amount, the required number increases as the cooling performance ratio increases, and the weight of the thermoelectric generator 10 decreases as the required amount increases. Since the weight is almost proportional to the volume, the smaller the weight, the smaller the thermoelectric generator 10 becomes.

  Similarly to the thermoelectric power generation unit 11, the weight ratio of the thermoelectric power generation device 10 greatly decreases while the cooling performance ratio changes from 0.05 to 0.1, but the increase in the required number is relatively small. Further, while the cooling performance ratio changes from 0.5 to 1.0, the required number greatly increases even if the change in weight is small. This is because the power generation amount of each thermoelectric power generation unit 11 decreases as described above. From this, the cost-effectiveness, that is, the production cost versus the total power generation amount, becomes higher when the thermoelectric power generation unit 11 having the cooling unit 52 having the cooling performance ratio of 0.1 to 0.5 is adopted. Understand.

  From the above, in the first embodiment, the cooling performance ratio is between 0.1 and 0.5, that is, the thermal resistance of the cooling unit 52 is 10% or more and 50% or less of the thermal resistance of the thermoelectric conversion module 62. And By using the cooling section 52 having such a thermal resistance, an optimal thermoelectric generator 10 can be obtained. That is, it is possible to realize the thermoelectric generator 10 that can obtain a larger total power generation amount while suppressing an increase in size, weight, and manufacturing cost. The reduction in size, weight, and manufacturing cost is achieved by adopting a thermoelectric generator that does not employ a large and heavy cooling unit 52 that is not cost-effective, that cannot be expected to increase the total amount of power, or that can generate a small amount of power. This can be realized by not installing the unit 11. Due to such suppression, it is possible to obtain the thermoelectric generator 10 having a larger total power generation amount at a lower cost.

  In the first embodiment, the cooling performance ratio is between 0.1 and 0.5, but the range may be slightly changed. For example, as shown in FIG. 13, the change in the weight ratio of the thermoelectric generator 10 during the change in the cooling performance ratio from 0.1 to 0.2 is larger than that in the other parts. . Considering this, the cooling performance ratio may be set between 0.2 and 0.5.

Embodiment 2 FIG.
In the first embodiment, it is assumed that the thermoelectric generator 10 is attached to a portion where the pipe 2 is horizontal or almost horizontal as described above. On the other hand, in the second embodiment, it is assumed that the pipe 2 is attached to a part that changes the position in the vertical direction, for example, a part that is vertical or almost vertical. Here, the same or corresponding components as those in the first embodiment are denoted by the same reference numerals, and the description will be given focusing on only the portions different from the first embodiment.

  FIG. 14 is a perspective view illustrating an example of installation of a thermoelectric generator according to Embodiment 2 of the present invention, and FIG. 15 is an example of arrangement of thermoelectric generator units included in the thermoelectric generator according to Embodiment 2 of the present invention. FIG.

  As shown in FIGS. 14 and 15, the thermoelectric generator 10 according to the second embodiment has a vertical or almost vertical portion of the pipe 2, that is, a vertical axis indicated by an arrow in FIG. 14. It is attached to a part that is parallel or almost parallel to the direction. In the thermoelectric generator 10, as shown in FIG. 15, a thermoelectric generator unit 11 is arranged all around the pipe 2.

  In the first embodiment, the heat pipe 72 has a U-shape, and is attached to the heat receiving plate 71 along the axial direction of the pipe 2 as shown in FIG. If the axial direction is vertical, one of the two condensing parts of the heat pipe 72 is below the evaporating part. The state in which the condensing section is lower than the evaporating section is called top heat, and the heat transport amount of the heat pipe 72 is significantly reduced. In the first embodiment, the reason why the thermoelectric power generation unit 11 is provided only above the pipe 2 is to avoid this top heat.

  FIG. 16 is a perspective view illustrating an example of a cooling unit used in the thermoelectric generator according to Embodiment 2 of the present invention. The cooling unit 52 is a component corresponding to the cooling device according to the second embodiment.

  In the second embodiment, as shown in FIG. 16, heat pipes 72 (1) and 72 (2) 2 having an L-shaped overall shape are attached to a heat receiving plate 71. What is attached to the heat receiving plate 71 is a linear portion including one end of each of the heat pipes 72 (1) and 72 (2), and the heat radiating plate 73 is separated from the linear portion. It is mounted between the remote location and the other end. As shown in FIG. 14, when the thermoelectric generator 10 is attached to the pipe 2, the portion to which the heat sink 73 is attached is located on the upper side. The positions of the heat pipes 72 (1) and 72 (2) in the vertical direction and the positions in the orthogonal direction perpendicular to the vertical direction are made different from each other as shown in FIG. ing. The width W and the length L of the heat radiating plate 73 are both shorter than in the case where only one heat pipe 72 is provided.

  By using such a cooling unit 52, even when the thermoelectric generator 10 is attached to a vertical portion of the pipe 2, it is possible to avoid top heat. Therefore, when the thermoelectric generator 10 is attached to a vertical portion of the pipe 2, the thermal resistance with the same volume and the same weight can be made smaller than in the first embodiment. Therefore, it becomes possible to realize the thermoelectric generator 10 having a larger total power generation amount at a lower cost.

  In the second embodiment, two heat pipes 72 are attached to the heat receiving plate 71. However, as shown in FIG. 9, one heat pipe 72 may be used. The number of heat pipes 72 may be three or more. When the thermoelectric generator 10 is attached to a horizontal or almost horizontal portion of the pipe 2, as shown in FIG. 17, the heat radiating plates 73 are positioned on both sides in the longitudinal direction of the heat receiving plate 71. The heat pipe 72 may be attached to the heat receiving plate 71. In view of this, it is desirable that the heat pipe 72 be attached to any portion of the heat receiving plate 71 in the longitudinal direction where the heat radiating plate 73 is provided.

Embodiment 3 FIG.
In the second embodiment, as shown in FIG. 15, the heat pipe 72 protrudes along the radial direction of the pipe 2. Therefore, when attaching the thermoelectric generator 10 to the pipe 2, the condition is that there is no obstacle in a wide range in the radial direction of the pipe 2. For this reason, in the third embodiment, the required range in the radial direction of the pipe 2, that is, the installation space in the radial direction is made smaller. By making the range smaller, it is possible to install the thermoelectric generator in a place where it cannot be installed in the second embodiment. Here, as in the second embodiment, the same or corresponding components as those in the first embodiment are denoted by the same reference numerals, and the description will be given focusing on only the portions different from the second embodiment.

  FIG. 18 is a perspective view illustrating an installation example of a thermoelectric generator according to Embodiment 3 of the present invention. FIG. 19 is an arrangement example of a thermoelectric generator unit included in the thermoelectric generator according to Embodiment 3 of the present invention. FIG. FIG. 20 is a perspective view illustrating an example of a cooling unit used in the thermoelectric generator according to Embodiment 3 of the present invention. The cooling unit 52 is a component corresponding to the cooling device according to the third embodiment.

  As shown in FIG. 18 and FIG. 19, the thermoelectric generator 10 according to the third embodiment has a vertical or almost vertical portion of the pipe 2, that is, FIG. It is attached to a portion that is parallel or almost parallel to the vertical direction indicated by the arrow inside. In the thermoelectric generator 10, as shown in FIG. 19, a thermoelectric generator unit 11 is arranged all around the pipe 2.

  In the second embodiment, as shown in FIG. 16, the heat pipe 72 has an L-shape, and one end protrudes along the radial direction of the pipe 2. In order to further reduce the height H in the radially protruding portion, that is, in the third embodiment, as shown in FIGS. 18 and 20, the portion where the heat radiating plate 73 of the heat pipe 72 is attached Are made to protrude from the heat receiving plate 71 along the axial direction of the pipe 2. The number of heat pipes 72 is two.

  In the third embodiment, as shown in FIG. 20, the heat pipe 72 has a crank-shaped overall shape, that is, a shape obtained by bending in the opposite direction twice at a right angle or an angle close to a right angle. (1) and 72 (2) are used. Therefore, each heat pipe 72 has two bent portions 72a and 72b having different bending directions.

  What is attached to the heat receiving plate 71 is a linear portion including one end of each of the heat pipes 72 (1) and 72 (2), and the heat radiating plate 73 is separated from the linear portion. It is mounted between the remote location and the other end. As shown in FIG. 18, when the thermoelectric generator 10 is attached to the pipe 2, the portion where the heat sink 73 is attached is vertically above the heat receiving plate 71. In order to prevent the heat radiating plate 73 from interfering with each other, the radial position of the heat pipes 72 (1) and 72 (2) in the pipe 2 and the circumferential position thereof are different as shown in FIG. . The width W and the length L of the heat radiating plate 73 are both shorter than in the case where only one heat pipe 72 is provided.

  By adopting such a structure of the cooling unit 52, as shown in FIG. 19, the space required for installation of the thermoelectric generator 10 in the radial direction of the pipe 2 is larger than that of the second embodiment. Can be smaller. Therefore, in the third embodiment, the thermoelectric generator 10 can be installed in a place where it cannot be installed in the second embodiment.

  In the third embodiment, the angle at which the bending portions 72a and 72b bend is a right angle or an angle close to a right angle, but is not limited to this angle. For this reason, the heat pipe 72 may be Z-shaped. Also, the direction of the turn need not be the opposite direction.

  For example, assume a two-dimensional plane having axes in the height direction and the length direction, respectively. In the two-dimensional plane, an angle between a portion between the bent portion 72a and the bent portion 72b and the height direction is α, and an angle between a portion beyond the bent portion 72a and the height direction is β. The portion between the bent portion 72a and the bent portion 72b is, for example, the axial direction of the portion of the heat pipe 72 between them. The portion beyond the bent portion 72a is, for example, the axial direction of the portion of the heat pipe 72 beyond the bent portion 72a.

  In this case, it is only necessary to determine the bending angle and the bending direction of the bending portions 72a and 72b so as to satisfy the relationship of the absolute value of the angle α <the absolute value of the angle β. When the relationship is satisfied, if the lengths of the heat pipes 72 are the same, the height H when only the bent portion 72b exists> the height H when the bent portions 72a and 72b exist, and Because it becomes. In other words, the length L when only the bent portion 72b exists <the length L when the bent portions 72a and 72b exist. Therefore, the space required for installing the thermoelectric generator 10 in the radial direction of the pipe 2 can be made smaller than in the second embodiment. The number of bends may be three or more, but if the reference angle is assumed to be α, it is necessary to provide one or more bends that realize the angle β that satisfies the above relationship.

  In the third embodiment, two heat pipes 72 are used. However, as shown in FIG. 21, only one heat pipe 72 may be used. The number of heat pipes 72 may be three or more. When the thermoelectric generator 10 is attached to a horizontal or substantially horizontal portion of the pipe 2, as shown in FIG. 17, the heat radiating plates 73 are located on both sides in the longitudinal direction of the heat receiving plate 71. Alternatively, two heat pipes 72 may be attached to the heat receiving plate 71. Alternatively, heat radiating plates 73 may be provided at both ends of one heat pipe 72, and a central portion of the heat pipe 72 may be attached to the heat receiving plate 71. Two or more heat pipes 72 may be attached to the heat receiving plate 71.

  In the first to third embodiments, one cooling unit 52 is attached to one thermoelectric conversion module 62, that is, one power generation unit 51. This is because a circular shape is assumed as the cross-sectional shape of the pipe 2 on which the thermoelectric generator 10 is to be mounted. However, the attachment of the thermoelectric generator 10 is not limited to the pipe 2, and the thermoelectric generator 10 may be installed on a flat portion. Due to this, one cooling unit 52 may be attached to a plurality of power generation units 51, in other words, a plurality of thermoelectric conversion modules 62 may be used for one thermoelectric generation unit 11.

  In the first to third embodiments, the thermoelectric generator 10 includes a plurality of thermoelectric generator units 11, that is, a plurality of thermoelectric conversion modules 62. However, the number of thermoelectric conversion modules 62 is not particularly limited. .

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Factory equipment, 2 piping, 10 thermoelectric generators, 11 thermoelectric generator units, 51 power generation units, 52 cooling units (cooling devices), 61, 63 heat transfer media, 62 thermoelectric conversion modules, 71 heat receiving plates, 72, 72 (1 ), 72 (2) heat pipe, 73 heat sink.

Claims (7)

A thermoelectric generator that generates electric power according to a temperature difference,
A plurality of thermoelectric generation units that perform the power generation in accordance with the temperature difference,
The thermoelectric generation unit,
A first surface into which heat from a heat source flows, and one or more thermoelectric conversion modules that generate power according to a temperature difference between a second surface facing the first surface and
A cooling unit provided on the second surface side for each of the thermoelectric conversion modules, and having a thermal resistance having a thermal resistance ratio of 0.1 to 0.5 with respect to a thermal resistance of the thermoelectric conversion module;
A thermoelectric generator comprising: The cooling unit includes:
A heat receiving plate to which heat from the second surface is supplied;
One or more heat pipes attached to the heat receiving plate;
A plurality of heat sinks provided in the heat pipe,
The thermoelectric generator according to claim 1, comprising: The heat pipe has a shape in which a length in a direction in which the first surface and the second surface overlap with each other increases from a portion attached to the heat receiving plate to an end portion,
The thermoelectric generator according to claim 2. The portion of the heat pipe attached to the heat receiving plate includes one end of the heat pipe.
The thermoelectric generator according to claim 3. The heat pipe has a shape in which at least two bending directions having different bending directions exist between at least one end from a portion attached to the heat receiving plate,
The thermoelectric generator according to claim 2. A cooling device used in a thermoelectric power generation unit including at least one thermoelectric conversion module that generates power according to a temperature difference,
A heat receiving plate to which heat is supplied via a second surface facing the first surface into which the heat of the thermoelectric conversion module flows,
A plurality of heat sinks for heat dissipation,
The thermoelectric conversion module and the heat receiving plate are attached to the heat receiving plate while the plurality of heat radiating plates are attached, and a portion including one end is attached to the heat receiving plate, and goes from the portion including the one end to the other end. A heat pipe in a shape in which the length from the heat receiving plate in the direction in which the heat receiving plates are stacked is increased,
A cooling device having: A cooling device used for a thermoelectric generation unit including at least one thermoelectric conversion module that generates power according to a temperature difference,
A heat receiving plate to which heat is supplied via a second surface facing the first surface into which the heat of the thermoelectric conversion module flows,
A plurality of heat sinks for heat dissipation,
The plurality of heat sinks, and the heat pipe is attached to the heat receiving plate, and at least one end from a portion attached to the heat receiving plate, at least two heat directions in a shape in which there is a bent portion having different bending directions. ,
A cooling device having:

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