JPH02198180A - Thermoelectric device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To reduce a material cost, weight and volume by electrically conducting the ends of an N-type semiconductor, a first semiconductor, a P-type semiconductor, and a second semiconductor in this order, and thermally bringing a first fin and a second fin into contact with the first semiconductor and the second semiconductor, respectively. CONSTITUTION:An N-type semiconductor 15, a conductor 15, a P-type semiconductor 17, and a conductor 16 are sequentially conducted at the ends on an insulating film board 14, and a fin 18 in thermal contact with the conductor 16 is disposed at the film side of the film board, and at the opposite side to the film of the film board 14. Here, since the N-type semiconductor 15 and the P-type semiconductor 17 are alternately aligned, the conductor 16 alternately becomes a heat generator and a heat absorber, and corrugated fins 18 in thermal contact with every other conductor 16 become at one side a heat generating fin and at the other a heat absorbing fin. Thus, it can be formed in a thin state, and the using amount of the material can be reduced in light and compact configuration.

Description

[Detailed Description of the Invention] Industrial Application Field The present invention is useful for air conditioners that electrically cool or heat air using the Beltier effect, or power generation devices that generate electricity using temperature differences due to the Seebeck effect. Relating to thermoelectric devices.

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, a thermoelectric element that converts heat into electricity or electricity into heat has a metal plate 1 and a metal plate 2 that convert an N-type semiconductor 3 or a P-type semiconductor into an N-type semiconductor 3 or a P-type semiconductor. It has a structure in which a semiconductor 4 is sandwiched between the metals on both sides, and generates electricity by using the temperature difference between the metals on both sides, or performs cooling by passing an electric current through the metals on both sides.

For example, the conventional example shown in FIG. 2 is a thermoelectric element in which N-type semiconductors 3 and P-type semiconductors 4 are alternately arranged in series,
When a potential is applied between the metal plate and the terminal 6, one side of the metal plate is cooled and the other side is heated.

FIG. 3 shows an example of a conventional thermoelectric device used for heating and cooling purposes. Such a thermoelectric device has a thermoelectric cable 7 as shown in FIG. 2 arranged in the center, and two fans 8. A fan 9 guides outside air 10.11 to the surface of the thermoelectric element. The outside air 10, 11 is fed through a grid 12 that is in thermal contact with the surface of the thermoelectric element 7 to ensure a heat transfer area between the surface of the thermoelectric element 7 and the outside air 10, 11.
From ゜13, it is heated or cooled and the grid 12゜1
It is blown out from 3.

Problems to be Solved by the Invention However, such conventional thermoelectric devices are configured to use semiconductor materials and metal plates in bulk, so 1. They require large amounts of rare materials such as Te and Bi; The weight and volume of the thermoelectric element increases, which increases the material cost. 2. When joining a semiconductor and a metal plate, brazing, etc. is required to reduce the electrical resistance and thermal resistance of the contact area. 3. , Since the cross-sectional area of the semiconductor is large, there are problems such as a large heat flow from the heating part to the cooling part, reducing efficiency, etc. Also, due to the configuration of the thermoelectric element and grid, 4. Heat exchange area with outside air The contact thermal resistance between the grid and the thermoelectric element is large to ensure the There were problems such as the length of the fins becoming longer and the efficiency of the fins decreasing, and the need to maintain a large temperature difference between the metal plate and the outside air, resulting in a decrease in efficiency.

The present invention takes into consideration the problems of the prior art described above, and significantly reduces the material cost, weight, and volume of thermoelectric elements, and
It is an object of the present invention to provide a thermoelectric device having a structure that improves thermoelectric performance by suppressing contact resistance and heat flow within a semiconductor, and suppressing a temperature difference with the outside air.

Means for Solving the Problems A thermoelectric device according to the present invention has N on an insulating film substrate.
(or P-type) semiconductor, conductor (1), P-type (or N-type) semiconductor, and conductor (2) in this order, so that the ends of each semiconductor/conductor are electrically conductive. , conductor (1)
The fins that are in thermal contact with the conductor (2) are located on the film-forming side of the film substrate, and the fins that are in thermal contact with the conductor (2) are located on the film-forming side of the film substrate.

Effects The effects of the present invention obtained by the above configuration or means are as follows.

1. A thermoelectric element in the form of a film can be constructed thinly, resulting in a compact and lightweight device. Additionally, the amount of material used can be much smaller than when used in bulk.

2. Since the cross-sectional area of the semiconductor is small, heat conduction from the heating part to the cooling part can be reduced.

3. Since the semiconductor and the conductor are deposited almost simultaneously in a vacuum, there is almost no electrical contact resistance between the semiconductor and the conductor.

4. Since the structure has fins for each semiconductor, heat exchange with air is easy.

5. The structure of the fin portion is not restricted by the structure of the semiconductor and can be freely designed according to the heat transfer conditions on the air side.

In this way, the temperature difference between the thermoelectric element and the air can be reduced,
Performance can be improved.

Example Embodiments according to the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 shows the configuration of a thermoelectric device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

An N-type semiconductor 15, a conductor 16, a P-type semiconductor 17, and a conductor 16 are formed in this order on one side of the insulating film substrate 14. The two corrugated fins 18 are attached to the film substrate 1
4, conductors 16 that are in thermal contact with every other conductor 16 are installed in different ways.

The N-type semiconductor 15 and the P-type semiconductor 17 may be placed in either order, and the cooling section and heating section can be switched depending on the direction of the applied voltage. N-type semiconductor 15, conductor 16, P
The type semiconductor 17 has a structure in which each end portion overlaps, so that the electrical resistance and thermal resistance of the contact portion do not become large. As the material of the conductor 16, copper or aluminum, which has low electrical resistance, is used. The current flowing into the thermoelectric device generates or absorbs heat at the interface between the semiconductor 15, 17 and the conductor 16 due to the Beltier effect. At this time, since the N-type semiconductors 15 and the P-type semiconductors 17 are arranged alternately, the conductors 16 alternately act as heat generating parts or heat absorbing parts, and as described above, the corrugated gates that are in thermal contact with every other conductor 16 One of the fins 18 is a heat generating fin and the other is a heat absorbing fin. Therefore, heat is absorbed from the air above the film 14 (or heat is radiated to the air), and heat is radiated to the air below the film 14 (or heat is absorbed from the air). In the present invention, an electrical insulating layer 1 is provided between the corrugated fin 18 located on the upper side and the conductor 16.
There are 9. This is because aluminum is generally used as the material for the corrugated fins 18, so the insulating layer 19
If not, current will flow through the corrugated fins 18 and a sufficient Bertier effect will not be obtained.

By using the thermoelectric device of this example as a wall, a heat pump inside and outside the wall is completed.

In this embodiment, the corrugated fins 18 have the same dimensions on both the upper and lower sides, but it can be said that the shape can easily be manufactured with optimal dimensions depending on the heat absorption/exhaust heat ratio and the respective air side conditions.

Generally, the amount of heat removed is equal to the sum of the amount of heat absorbed and the amount of human power, and if an inefficient thermoelectric element is used, the difference between the amount of heat absorbed and the amount of heat removed becomes large. Therefore, the difference in heat transfer area required for heat transfer with the air side also increases. In the present invention, an optimal shape can be easily obtained by changing the length of the corrugated fins 18 on the heat absorption side and the heat exhaust side. Further, in this embodiment, the surface of the corrugated fin 18 is flat, but it can be said that the shape can be easily fabricated into slit fins or louver fins that improve heat transfer performance with air.

As described above, in the present invention, since the film is formed on the surface of the film, it is possible to have a thin structure, and the device can be made compact and light.

Further, since the thermoelectric element portion and the fin portion can be manufactured independently and then integrated, a thermoelectric device that is easy to manufacture and inexpensive can be provided.

Effects of the Invention The thermoelectric device according to the present invention has N on an insulating film substrate.
(or P-type) semiconductor, conductor (1), P-type (or N-type) semiconductor, and conductor (2) in this order, so that the ends of each semiconductor/conductor are electrically conductive. , conductor (1)
The fins that are in thermal contact with the conductor (2) are located on the film-forming side of the film substrate, and the fins that are in thermal contact with the conductor (2) are located on the side opposite to the film-forming side of the film substrate. be effective.

1. A thermoelectric element in the form of a film can be constructed thinly, resulting in a compact and lightweight device. Additionally, the amount of material used can be much smaller than when used in bulk.

2. Since the cross-sectional area of the semiconductor is small, heat conduction from the heating part to the cooling part can be reduced.

3. Since the semiconductor and the conductor are deposited almost simultaneously in a vacuum, there is almost no electrical contact resistance between the semiconductor and the conductor.

4. Since the structure has fins for each semiconductor, heat exchange with air is easy.

5. The structure of the fin part is not limited by the structure of the semiconductor and can be freely designed according to the heat transfer conditions on the air side, and can be fabricated separately from the semiconductor part and then integrated. It can also be made inexpensive from a structural standpoint.

That is, by carrying out the present invention, it is possible to realize a thermoelectric device that is extremely lightweight, compact, highly economical, and has high performance.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a thermoelectric device according to an embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a partial perspective view of a conventional thermoelectric device, and FIG. 3 is a front view of a conventional thermoelectric device. 3.4, 15, 17... semiconductor, 14... film substrate, 16... conductor.

Claims (5)

[Claims] (1) On an insulating film substrate, an N-type (or P-type) semiconductor, a first conductor, a P-type (or N-type) semiconductor, a second
a first fin that is in thermal contact with the first conductor on the film side of the film substrate, A thermoelectric device characterized in that a second fin that is in thermal contact with a second conductor is located on the opposite side of the film substrate. (2) The thermoelectric device according to claim 1, further comprising an electrically insulating layer provided between the first conductor and the first fin. (3) The thermoelectric device according to claim 1, wherein the first and second fins are integrated into a corrugated shape. (4) The thermoelectric device according to claim 1, wherein the areas of the first and second fins are changed depending on the amount of heat generated and the amount of heat absorbed by the semiconductor. (5) The thermoelectric device according to claim 1, wherein the first and second fins are provided with slits or louvers.