JPH05168264A - Generation device using thermocouple semiconductor element - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To obtain a thermocouple-type generation device which can increase and decrease the number of thermocouple semiconductor elements relatively easily, does not cause an output to fluctuate greatly, enables connection and take-out of a lead wire and repairing of disconnection to be made easily, and can be used under a strict environment. CONSTITUTION:A title item is provided with a thermocouple unit 30 which is formed by hardening (n) thermocouple semiconductor elements 31 (Fetid) with a heat-insulating material in a ring disc shape in one piece so that an inside becomes an edge to be heated, a heating member which is formed by enclosing a heat-accumulation agent 15 whose melt point ranges from 700 deg. to 850 deg.C into a copper pipe 11, and a conductive cooling member which consists of n-1 metal capillaries 51 which connect edges to be cooled of the adjacent thermocouple semiconductor elements 31 of the same each thermocouple unit 30 in series and at the same time connect edges to be cooled of the recent thermocouple semiconductor element 31 of the adjacent thermocouple unit 30 in parallel. Furthermore, it is a generation device using the thermocouple semiconductor elements 31 so that thermoelectromotive force can be taken out of the edge to be cooled of the thermocouple semiconductor element 31 where no metal capillary 51 is mounted by engaging a plurality of thermocouple units 30 into the heating member.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a power generator in which a large number of Fe-Si based thermoelectric semiconductor elements are integrated to efficiently obtain desired power.

[0002]

_2. Description of the Related Art (1) A thermoelectric semiconductor device made of FeSi ₂ is provided. This is Fe made into p-type by adding Mn.
This is an element obtained by pressure-molding and bonding Si ₂ and FeSi ₂ that has been made n-type by adding Co, and sintered and then heat-treated. It has the characteristics of withstanding use in the atmosphere at temperatures as high as 1130 [K], high thermoelectric power, and high mechanical strength. Furthermore, there is an advantage that the thermoelectric characteristics can be controlled by controlling the addition amounts of Mn and Co.

(2) As a power generator using a thermoelectric conversion element, a device described in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 61-254082 has been proposed. This is an inner cylinder (heating source made of a material with good thermal conductivity) that serves as a flow path for high-temperature exhaust gas, and an outer cylinder exposed to the outside air (a cooling source with good thermal conductivity and good electrical insulation). ) And a large number of thermoelectric conversion elements are connected and connected in series and / or in parallel to extract the thermoelectromotive force, which is mounted on an automobile, for example.

[0004]

The device described in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 61-254082 has the following drawbacks. (1) The electric power output from the device is determined by the number of thermoelectric conversion elements. However, the thermoelectric conversion element is integrally incorporated between the inner cylinder and the outer cylinder, and it is difficult to increase or decrease it later. That is, it is difficult to arbitrarily change the output power. (2) The temperature of the inner cylinder, which is the heating source, depends on the temperature of the exhaust gas, etc. and varies greatly. Therefore, the electric power output from the device also varies greatly.

(3) The electrodes of each thermoelectric conversion element are arranged between the inner cylinder and the thermoelectric conversion element, and between the thermoelectric conversion element and the outer cylinder, respectively. Is installed. That is, a space for installing electrodes is required.
Further, since the electrodes are arranged as described above, if a disconnection occurs, it is difficult to repair it. The present invention is
It is an object of the present invention to provide a power generation device that solves these drawbacks.

[0006]

The present invention provides (a) n F
The U-shaped thermoelectric semiconductor elements made of eSi ₂ are arranged in concentric circles so that the heated end of each thermoelectric semiconductor element is located on the inner circumference and the cooled end is located on the outer circumference. A thermoelectric unit integrally formed in a disc shape by a heat insulating material so that each heated end and each cooled end is exposed, and (b) a melting point inside a pipe with good thermal conductivity. A heating member, which is formed by filling both ends of the thermoelectric unit after being filled with a heat storage agent in the range of 700 ° C to 850 ° C, and (c) n-1 The metal thin tubes having good thermal conductivity are connected in series to the cooled ends of the adjacent thermoelectric semiconductor elements of each thermoelectric unit through which the heating member is inserted, and the recent thermoelectric semiconductor elements of the adjacent thermoelectric units are cooled. Each end is attached so that it is connected in parallel. A power generator using a thermoelectric semiconductor element, which includes a conductive cooling member for circulating a coolant inside a metal thin tube, and which extracts electric power from a cooled end of an adjacent thermoelectric semiconductor element to which no metal thin tube is attached. is there.

In the above description, the number n of thermoelectric semiconductor elements is a positive integer, and its value is determined according to the desired output voltage value. That is, the number of elements connected in series required to obtain a desired output voltage value is n.

In the above (a) thermoelectric unit, FeSi
_The thermoelectric semiconductor element made of ₂ is the conventional element described above,
It is an element formed in a U shape (or V shape) conforming to the present invention. Further, the ring disk shape is a disk shape having a through hole in the central portion, and the diameter of the through hole is the diameter of the circumference virtually formed by the arrangement of the heated ends of the thermoelectric semiconductor elements. It almost agrees. Also, the heat insulating material for solidifying the thermoelectric unit is rich in fluidity so that it can be easily molded before solidifying, and after solidifying, the thermoelectromotive force element in the unit is solidified in a severe environment. It is a material that can be held. For example, ceramics such as Al ₂ O ₃ or cement can be used.

In the heating member (b), the material of the pipe may be a metal material having good thermal conductivity such as copper. Further, as the heat storage agent sealed in the pipe, for example, glass, LiH, or the like can be used, and in addition, salts having a large heat capacity can be used. Further, as described in claim 2, at least one end portion (sealing portion) of the pipe is formed of a material transparent to a heat ray such as sunlight, and the sunlight is accumulated from the transparent sealing portion. The heat storage agent may be heated by introducing it into the agent. The heat storage agent may be heated by exposing the end of the pipe to the outside and heating the end by an external heat medium.

In the above-mentioned (c) conductive cooling member, each metal thin tube connects adjacent thermoelectric semiconductor elements in the same thermoelectric unit in series, and is the most thermoelectric semiconductor element of the adjacent thermoelectric unit. Thermoelectric semiconductor elements located close to each other are connected in parallel. For example, as shown in FIG. 1, a metal (copper) thin tube 51 is provided along the axial direction of the cylinder at the cooled end of the thermoelectric semiconductor element exposed from the outer peripheral surface of the present apparatus having a cylindrical shape. It is realized by installing.

[0011]

[Function] The heat storage agent in the pipe of the heating member of the above (b) is
It is heated to about 0 ° C., and at the same time, a coolant such as water is circulated in each metal thin tube of the conductive cooling member of the above (c). Thereby, in each thermoelectric semiconductor element of each thermoelectric unit, for example,
An electromotive force of about 40 [mW] is generated in each case. Therefore, from each thermoelectric unit, ideally, 40 × n [mW] of electric power can be obtained, and as an output of this power generator, ideally, 40 × n × the number of thermoelectric units (= m). Power of [mW] can be obtained.

[0012]

EXAMPLES Examples of the present invention will be described below. 1 is a schematic perspective view showing the appearance of the apparatus of the embodiment, FIG. 2 is a schematic perspective view showing the appearance of a thermoelectric semiconductor element 31 used in the apparatus of FIG.
3 (a) is a schematic cross-sectional view of the device of FIG. 1, and FIG. 3 (b) is a schematic vertical cross-sectional view of a thermoelectric unit 30 used in the device of FIG. 4 is an enlarged view of a main part of the thermoelectric unit 30.

The apparatus of this embodiment has a substantially cylindrical shape as shown in FIG. Heating member that is an inner cylinder (copper pipe 11, heat storage agent)
15 members, etc.) are multiple (m) external cylinders.
The thermoelectric units 30 are fitted so as to be in close contact with each other, and each of the cooled ends 31d (see FIG. 2) of each of the n thermoelectric semiconductor elements 31 exposed from the outer peripheral surface of each thermoelectric unit 30 has A plurality (n-1) of copper thin tubes 51 are connected so as to connect the cooled ends 31d of the adjacent thermoelectric semiconductor elements 31 (see FIG. 4) and along the axial direction of the cylinder (see FIG. 1). Is installed.

As described above, as a result of the n-1 copper thin tubes 51 being attached to the n thermoelectric semiconductor elements 31, each thermoelectric unit 30 has the end to be cooled to which the copper thin tubes 51 are not attached.
Two 31d exist adjacent to each other. Each of these cooled ends 31d has an extraction electrode as shown in FIG.
21 is attached, and a lead wire 20 is led out from the extraction electrode 21. Here, the two extraction electrodes 21 are
Like the copper capillary 51, it extends in the axial direction of the cylinder (see FIG. 1).
As a result, the extraction electrodes 21 of the m thermoelectric units 30 are connected in parallel with each other.

(1) Thermoelectric Unit 30 As shown in FIG. 2, the thermoelectric unit 30 includes a p-type semiconductor F
As shown in FIG. 3, there are n (n is a positive integer) concentric circles of U-shaped (or V-shaped) thermoelectric semiconductor element 31 formed by joining eSi ₂ 31a and n-type semiconductor FeSi ₂ 31b. After the arrangement, the unit is solidified into a disc shape (a disc having a through hole in the center) with a heat insulating material 35 such as Al ₂ O ₃ . The heated ends (junctions of pn) 31c of the thermoelectric semiconductor elements 31 are arranged on the inner circumference of the concentric circle, and the cooled ends 31d are arranged on the outer circumference. , Al ₂ O _3, etc. are exposed from the peripheral surface of the heat insulating material 35.

(2) Heating member The heating member is a member formed by filling the inside of the copper pipe 11 having good thermal conductivity with LiH having a melting point of about 800 ° C. as the heat storage agent 15, and then sealing both ends. Therefore, the heated end 31c of the thermoelectric semiconductor element 31 is heated by this heating member. That is, the thermoelectric units 30 (m is a positive integer) are fitted into the heating member in close contact with each other and heated from the heating member side, so that the heated end 31c of the thermoelectric semiconductor element 31 is heated. It is heated. A gap exists between the outer peripheral surface of the copper pipe 11 and the heated end 31c of each thermoelectric semiconductor element 31 to the extent necessary for fitting the thermoelectric unit 30 into the copper pipe 11.

(3) Conductive Cooling Member The conductive cooling member is n-1 copper thin tubes 51 and the copper thin tubes 51.
It consists of a coolant 55 such as water circulated therein. Each copper capillary 51
As described above, the adjacent cooled ends 31d of the thermoelectric semiconductor elements 31 exposed from the outer peripheral surface of the heat insulating member 35 are connected in series (see FIG. 4), and the adjacent thermoelectric units are connected. The cooled end 31d of the thermoelectric semiconductor element 31 located closest to 30 is connected in parallel (see FIG. 1),
The ceramic solder 40 is attached along the axial direction of the cylinder. Thus, the cooled end 31d of the adjacent thermoelectric semiconductor element 31 in the same thermoelectric unit 30.
Are connected in series and adjacent thermoelectric units 30
End 31d to be cooled of the thermoelectric semiconductor element 31 located closest to
Are connected in parallel. The exposed surface of each copper thin tube 51 is coated with an insulating material 53 by painting or the like.

According to the present power generator configured as described above, for example, by disposing 40 to 50 thermoelectric semiconductor elements 31 in the thermoelectric unit 30, an output voltage of about 16 [V] can be obtained. You can Further, as described above, the desired power can be obtained by increasing the number of thermoelectric units 30 connected in parallel. As a method of heating the heat storage agent 15 in the heating member, for example, one end of the copper pipe 11 is extended and the extended portion is heated by a heat medium, or, as in the following example, There is a method such as heating with sunlight.

FIG. 5 schematically shows a vertical cross section of another embodiment apparatus, and FIG. 6 shows an example of use of the other embodiment apparatus. In the illustrated apparatus, the transparent glass 13 is used as the material for the sealing portion at the upper end of the copper pipe 11 of the heating member, and the sunlight L condensed by the lens 90 is passed through the transparent glass 13 to the inside of the copper pipe 11. The heat storage agent 15 is heated to obtain the above-mentioned thermoelectromotive force. Therefore, in this device, a member for rotating the device in a desired direction is provided as shown in FIG. 6 so that the transparent glass 13 always faces the sun.

[0020]

As described above, according to the present invention, the output power can be adjusted to a desired value by a relatively simple operation of increasing or decreasing the number of thermoelectric units. Further, since an Fe-Si based element is used as the thermoelectric semiconductor element, it can be used in a severe environment such as direct burning.
Moreover, since the metal thin tubes for connecting the thermoelectric semiconductor elements to each other and the electrodes for extracting the electric power are present on the surface, the repair at the time of disconnection is easy. Further, since the heat storage agent is used as the heating source, there is not much temperature variation, and therefore the variation in output power is small.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic perspective view showing an appearance of an apparatus according to an embodiment.

FIG. 2 is a schematic perspective view showing an appearance of a thermoelectric semiconductor element used in the apparatus of FIG.

FIG. 3 is an explanatory view schematically showing a part of a horizontal cross section and a vertical cross section of the apparatus of FIG.

4 is an enlarged view of a main part of a thermoelectric unit used in the apparatus of FIG.

FIG. 5 is an explanatory view schematically showing a vertical cross section of another embodiment of the device.

FIG. 6 is an explanatory diagram showing a usage example of the apparatus of FIG.

[Explanation of symbols]

11 Copper pipe, 15 Heat storage agent, 20 Lead wire, 21
Extraction electrode, 30 thermoelectric unit, 31 FeSi ₂ thermoelectric semiconductor element, 40 solder, 51 copper tube, 53 cooling water, 55 insulator,

Claims (2)

[Claims] 1. A n-shaped FeSi ₂ U-shaped thermoelectric semiconductor element, wherein the heated end of each thermoelectric semiconductor element is located on the inner circumference and the cooled end is located on the outer circumference. As shown in the figure, the thermoelectric units are integrally arranged in a disc shape with a heat insulating material so that each heated end and each cooled end is exposed, and a material with good thermal conductivity. Inside the pipe, the melting point is 700
After filling a heat storage agent in the range of ℃ to 850 ℃, sealing both ends, a heating member inserted to fit into the rings of the plurality of thermoelectric units, and n-1 heat conduction members. A thin metal tube having good properties is connected in series to the cooled ends of the adjacent thermoelectric semiconductor elements of each thermoelectric unit through which the heating member is inserted, and the cooled ends of the recent thermoelectric semiconductor elements of the adjacent thermoelectric units are connected in parallel. And a conductive cooling member that circulates a coolant inside each metal thin tube, and the electric power is taken out from the cooled end of the adjacent thermoelectric semiconductor element to which the metal thin tube is not attached. A power generator using the thermoelectric semiconductor element. 2. The member for sealing the pipe of the heating member according to claim 1, wherein the member for sealing the pipe is transparent to heat rays, and sunlight is guided into the pipe through the transparent sealing member. A power generator using a thermoelectric semiconductor element, configured to heat a heat storage agent enclosed in the pipe.