JPH05126372A - Ventilator requiring no commercial power source - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To obtain a ventilator in which a motor-driven ventilation fan can be driven by utilizing heat of a heat generation source. CONSTITUTION:A ventilator has a ventilation fan 14 to be driven by an electric motor and ventilates a space existing in a heat generation source. Thermoelectric elements 34, 62 are operatively disposed between the source and an atmosphere at a lower temperature than that of the source, and output terminals 46, 48 of the elements are electrically connected to an electric motor of the fan. Thus, ventilation can be conducted without necessity of a commercial power source.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

[Object of the Invention]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a ventilation device for ventilating a kitchen or other space where a heat source is present. More specifically, the present invention generates electric power in response to the generation of heat in a heat source, and supplies this electric power to an electric ventilation fan to automatically perform ventilation with the operation of the heat source, The present invention relates to a ventilation device that does not require commercial power.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Heat generated from a heat source in a room is removed from an indoor space, exhaust gas generated from a combustion appliance such as a gas appliance is removed to the outside of the room, and fresh air required for combustion is introduced into the room, and Ventilation fans are used to remove smoke and steam generated in the indoor space.

The conventional ventilation fan is typically of an electric type and is driven by a commercial power source, and its control is generally performed by a manual switch. When automatically controlling the electric ventilation fan, a heat responsive switch is provided, or a temperature sensor such as a thermocouple and a control circuit are used.

[0004]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to provide a ventilator which does not require a commercial power source and can drive an electric ventilation fan by utilizing the heat of a heat source.

In another aspect, it is an object of the present invention to provide a ventilator which does not require a thermally actuated switch or switching element and which can be activated automatically in response to heat generation. ..

[0006] In still another aspect, an object of the present invention is to provide a ventilation device having a simple structure, which does not require a temperature sensor or a control circuit.

[0007]

[Constitution of the invention]

The ventilation device of the present invention includes a ventilation fan driven by an electric motor. A heat source (for example, a gas appliance such as a gas stove, a gas range, a gas oven, an instant water heater, or an electric heating appliance such as an electric range) existing in a space to be ventilated (for example, a kitchen), and an atmosphere of a lower temperature than that. A thermoelectric element is placed in operative relationship between the and. The output terminal of the thermoelectric element is electrically connected to the electric motor of the ventilation fan, and the thermoelectric element and the motor of the ventilation fan can form a closed electric circuit.

[0008]

According to the operation of the heat source such as the gas stove, one end of the thermoelectric element is heated and a temperature gradient is generated between the other end of the thermoelectric element and the other end in contact with a lower temperature atmosphere. A voltage is generated at the output terminal of the thermoelectric element due to the Seebeck effect, and a current flows through the motor of the ventilation fan to drive the ventilation fan.

The above features and advantages of the invention, and
Other features and advantages will be more apparent as described in the examples below.

[0010]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS The present invention will now be described in more detail with reference to the accompanying drawings showing the embodiments of the present invention.

FIG. 1 shows a ventilation device 10 according to an embodiment of the present invention.
Is installed in the kitchen, and a range hood 16 provided with an electric ventilation fan 14 is installed on one wall 12 of the kitchen according to a known mode. The range hood 16 and the ventilation fan 14 are adapted to discharge exhaust gas generated from a gas appliance described later and smoke and steam generated by cooking to the outside through a well-known duct structure (not shown).

In the illustrated embodiment, a quadruple gas stove unit 20 is installed on the cooking table 18 below the range hood 16, and a gas range 22 with a microwave oven is arranged on the floor below it. There is.

FIG. 2 is a partial cutaway view of one of the gas stoves shown in FIG. Referring to FIG. 2, each gas stove 24 has a gas burner 26, a blowout spill pan 28 arranged around the gas burner 26, and a Gotoku 30 placed on the pan 28. The Gotoku 30 has six arms 32, for example.

Thermoelectric elements 34 are attached to both side surfaces of each arm 32 of Gotoku. In the embodiment shown in FIG. 2, each thermoelectric element 34 is elongated along the arm 32 from near the one end 36 of the arm 32 closer to the gas burner 26 toward the radially outer end 38. It has been extended. Therefore, when the gas burner 26 is ignited, the radially inner end of the thermoelectric element 34 is heated by the flame and / or flue gas of the gas burner to a high temperature, while the outer end of the thermoelectric element 34 is colder. You will come into contact with the atmosphere.

As schematically shown in FIG. 3, each thermoelectric element 34 has a p-type semiconductor thin film 40 and an n-type semiconductor thin film 4.
It can be constructed by joining 2 and 2 in the form of a thermocouple using a metal thin film 44. The p-type semiconductor thin film 40 and the n-type semiconductor thin film 42 are respectively joined to a plus terminal 46 and a minus terminal 48 made of a metal thin film, and lead wires 50 and 52 are connected to these terminals, respectively. In FIG. 3, reference numeral 54 is an insulating thin film made of alumina ceramic. For simplification of the drawing, FIG. 3 shows only a pair of thermoelectric elements 34 provided on one side of the Gotoku arm 32, but a plurality of pairs of thermoelectric elements 34 are stacked and electrically connected to each other in series. Can be connected to.

As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the thermoelectric element 3
4 is installed in a gas stove, the semiconductor thin film 4 is made of a Fe—Si-based semiconductor material that exhibits high thermoelectromotive force characteristics in the temperature range (700 to 900 ° C.) of the combustion gas of the gas stove
It is preferred to form 0 and 42. Such a semiconductor thin film can be formed by an amorphous thin film forming technique.

As shown schematically in FIG. 4, the leads 50 and 5 of the metal terminals 46 and 48 of each thermoelectric element 34.
2 is connected to the motor 58 of the ventilation fan 14 via an electric cord 56 (FIG. 1) and forms a closed electric circuit. When the gas burner 26 is ignited as described above, the vicinity of the pn junction 44 is heated by the flame and / or the combustion exhaust gas, but the radially outer ends of the respective semiconductors 40 and 42 are cooled by the cooler atmosphere. Was
A temperature gradient occurs in the thermoelectric element 34 along its length direction. As a result, the thermoelectric element 34 generates a thermoelectromotive force due to the Seebeck effect, and a voltage is generated between the terminals 46 and 48. The current is supplied by the lead wires 50 and 52 and the electric cord 5.
6, which is supplied to the motor 58 via a fan 6, which is a ventilation fan.
To drive. Therefore, when using either gas stove 24, the ventilation fan 14 automatically operates to ventilate the kitchen.

The thermoelectric element 34 generates electric power only when the gas stove 24 is used, and does not generate electric power when the gas stove is not used. Therefore, the thermoelectric element 34 also functions as a switching element of the electric circuit for the ventilation fan, which supplies electric power to the ventilation fan only when ventilation is required.

The motor of the ventilation fan used for the range hood usually has a rated voltage of 100V, a rated current of 1A and a rated output of 100W. On the other hand, the output of a pair of thermoelectric elements made of Fe-Si based semiconductor is 800 ° C on the high temperature side and 200 ° C on the low temperature side.
° C, therefore a temperature gradient of 600 ° C, short circuit current 0.2
A, open voltage is 1V. Therefore, it is considered necessary to arrange about 100 pairs of thermoelectric elements 34 in order to drive a normal ventilation fan.

Referring again to FIG. 1, the ventilation fan 14 is
Further, it can be driven by utilizing the heat generated in the gas range 22. For this reason, a plurality of thermoelectric element modules 62 are attached to the housing of the gas range 22, and the terminals of these modules 62 can be electrically connected to the motor 58 of the ventilation fan similarly by an electric cord (not shown). .. As the module 62, a thermo module commercially available from Komatsu Electronics can be used. Each module has 127 thermoelectric element pairs made of a Bi-Te based compound semiconductor connected in series, and exhibits good thermoelectromotive force characteristics in a temperature range up to 100 ° C.

While the gas stove 22 is in use, the heating side of the module 62 in contact with the housing is heated and the opposite side in contact with the atmosphere radiates heat, so thermoelectric conversion is performed by the Seebeck effect, and the ventilation fan 14 is generated by the generated current. Driven.

In the above description of the embodiments, the ventilation device is explained as installed in the kitchen, but the present invention is not limited to this, and other ventilation sources such as bathrooms and laboratories exist. It goes without saying that the present invention can be applied to the environment. Further, it is also possible to store the electric power generated by the thermoelectric element in a power storage place and use it for other purposes. Furthermore, as a semiconductor material for forming the thermoelectric element,
It is also possible to use Fe-Ge based materials and other materials.

[0023]

As is apparent from the above description, according to the present invention, it is possible to generate electric power by using the heat of the heat source and drive the electric ventilation fan. Therefore, the ventilator of the present invention does not require a commercial power source.

In another aspect, the thermoelectric element also functions as a switching element, so that the space can be automatically ventilated in response to the generation of heat.

In yet another aspect, the ventilator of the present invention does not require a heat responsive switch, a temperature sensitive sensor, or a control circuit, resulting in a very simple structure and reduced energy consumption.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a ventilation device according to an embodiment of the present invention installed in a kitchen.

FIG. 2 is a partially cutaway side view showing a part of a gas stove of any one of the gas stove units shown in FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is a schematic cross-sectional view taken along the line III-III in FIG.

FIG. 4 is a schematic circuit diagram showing a thermoelectric element connected to a motor of a ventilation fan.

[Explanation of symbols]

 10: Ventilator 14: Ventilation fan 20, 22: Gas appliances 34, 62: Thermoelectric element 46: Positive terminal of thermoelectric element 48: Negative terminal of thermoelectric element

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A ventilation device for ventilating a space in which a heat source is present, comprising a ventilation fan driven by an electric motor, wherein a thermoelectric element is operatively arranged between the heat source and an atmosphere of a temperature lower than the heat source. Then, the output terminal of the thermoelectric element is electrically connected to the electric motor of the ventilation fan to form an electric circuit, so that the ventilation fan is driven by the current generated in the thermoelectric element according to the operation of the heat source. Characterized by,
Ventilation device that does not require commercial power.