JPH0618093A - Instrument utilizing thermal power generation - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To contrive stabilized power generation and elongation of life of thermal power generating element by correcting the position of the thermal power generating element in accordance with the power of a heat source to provide the thermal power generating element with optimal heating, in the instrument utilizing thermal power generation employing thermal power generating element. CONSTITUTION:In an instrument in which a thermal power generating element 1 is heated by the heat of the flame of a burner and a thermal electromotive force, obtained by the heating, is utilized, the position of the thermal power generating element 1 from the flame port of the burner is corrected by a thermal actuator main body 4 in accordance with the temperature of the heat sensible unit 3 of the thermal actuator, which receives heat same as the thermal power generating element 1, whereby the change of temperature of the thermal power generating element 1 is mitigated and the temperature of the thermal power generating element 1 can be kept in the optimum temperature range.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a device that utilizes thermoelectromotive force generated by a heated thermoelectric generator, and more specifically, the position of the thermoelectric generator is adjusted according to the thermal power of a burner flame that is a heat source. The present invention relates to a thermoelectromotive force utilizing device that appropriately heats a thermoelectric generation element according to the length of a flame by controlling separation from or approaching from a flame mouth to generate stable electric power.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, in heating equipment such as a fan heater, a part of thermal energy of a burner flame, which is a heat source, is converted into electric power by a thermoelectric generator, and the electric power is used to drive mechanical parts. ing. In such a device, it is necessary to stably supply electric power for driving mechanical parts and the like. On the other hand, thermoelectric generators are generally vulnerable to excessive temperature,
If the overheated state continues, the temperature may deteriorate and the necessary thermoelectromotive force may not be generated. Therefore, the thermoelectric generator must be maintained at a temperature high enough to generate the necessary thermoelectromotive force during the operation of the equipment, but not so high that deterioration of the device occurs.

However, in the case of a heating device, since it is necessary to adjust the heat output depending on the conditions such as the temperature, the heating power of the burner flame, which is the heat source, varies depending on the operating state. Since this fluctuation range of thermal power is quite large, it is not ideal as a heat source for maintaining the thermoelectric generator in a certain temperature range as described above. Therefore, some kind of correction mechanism is required in order to give stable heating to the thermoelectric generator by such a flame. As the means, the following three methods are conventionally known. Means 1: A thermoelectric element position changing mechanism interlocking with the thermal power adjusting mechanism is provided. Means 2: A flame dedicated to the thermoelectric generator, which is independent of the thermal power adjustment mechanism, is provided. Means 3: The position of the thermoelectric generator is controlled by electrical control according to the electromotive force of the thermoelectric generator.

[0004]

However, each of the above-mentioned means has a problem. These problems will be described. First, the means 1 requires a mechanical interlocking structure between the thermal power adjustment mechanism and the thermoelectric element position changing mechanism, which complicates the structure and the thermal power does not directly correspond to the position of the thermoelectric element. However, there is a problem that the electromotive force of the thermoelectric generator cannot always be obtained accurately.

Next, in the case of the means 2, even if a flame dedicated to the thermoelectric generator (hereinafter referred to as "sub flame") is provided independently of the flame power adjusting mechanism for the flame (hereinafter referred to as "main flame") as a heating heat source Since the fuel is often supplied from the same source due to the configuration, especially in the case of gas fuel, if the fuel consumption rate changes with the output change of the main flame, the supply pressure to the secondary flame will also be affected. There is a problem of not getting
A very complicated structure is required to clear this. Another problem is that it is difficult to install the main flame and the secondary flames apart from each other due to the need to compact the heating equipment, so the temperature distribution of the secondary flame changes due to the effect of the heat output of the main flame, which The generation of thermoelectromotive force becomes unstable.

The problem with the means 3 is that the control circuit and mechanism are complicated, and that part of the electric power generated by the thermoelectric generator is used for control, which is the original purpose. It is mentioned that effective use of electromotive force cannot be achieved sufficiently.

The present invention has been made in order to solve the above-mentioned problems, and an object thereof is to provide a thermal actuator adapted to receive heating equivalent to that of a thermoelectric generator.
It is to provide a thermoelectric power generation utilizing device that controls the position of the thermoelectric power generation element and gives the thermoelectric power generation element proper heating corresponding to the heat quantity of the flame of the burner to realize stable power generation and long life of the thermoelectric power generation element. .

[0008]

In order to achieve this object, a thermoelectric generator utilizing apparatus according to claim 1 of the present invention is a thermoelectric generator that generates electromotive force when heated, and the thermoelectric generator. Is a device for utilizing electric power obtained by the thermoelectric generator heated by the heating unit, the device being provided in tandem with the thermoelectric generator, The gist of the present invention is to include a thermal actuator that receives heating equivalent to that of (1) and position control means that variably controls the position of the thermoelectric generation means from the burner flame port in relation to the heating change of the thermal actuator.

A thermoelectric power generation utilizing apparatus according to a second aspect of the present invention is the apparatus described above, wherein the thermoelectric generating means and the thermal actuator are integrally provided, and the thermal actuator is a burner flame outlet reference. It is arranged such that heat can be moved from the position in the flame length direction, and the thermoelectric generator is arranged so as to be separated from or approachable from the burner flame port according to the amount of movement of the thermal actuator. To do.

[0010]

According to the thermoelectric power generation equipment having the above-mentioned structure according to the first aspect of the present invention, since the thermoelectric power generation means and the thermal actuator are heated equally by the heating means, the thermoactuator is the thermoelectric power generation means. Have substantially equal temperatures,
The position control means controls the position of the thermoelectric generation means from the burner flame opening in relation to the heat transfer of the thermal actuator. As a result, the thermoelectric generator is always kept in an appropriate heating state, so that stable thermoelectromotive force is generated and the thermoelectric generator is not deteriorated due to overheating.

Further, according to the thermoelectric generator utilizing apparatus of the present invention, in addition to the above-mentioned operation, the thermal actuator provided integrally with the thermoelectric generator is also moved by the position control unit, so that the temperature of the thermal actuator can be controlled. The temperature of the thermoelectric generator becomes closer to that of the thermoelectric generator, and the heating state of the thermoelectric generator becomes more appropriate. Therefore, the stability of thermoelectromotive force generation and the life of the thermoelectric generator are further improved.

[0012]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment in which the thermoelectric power generation utilizing device of the present invention is embodied as a part of a heating appliance will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a thermoelectric generator using a thermoelectric generator, a thermal actuator integrally provided with the thermoelectric generator, and a heating burner. 2 is a top view thereof, and FIG. 3 is a side view thereof.

The thermoelectric generator 1 is supported by a holder 2, and the holder 2 is fixedly installed on the thermoactuator main body 4 so that the thermoelectric generator 1 is juxtaposed close to the thermoactuator heat-sensitive portion 3. There is. The thermal actuator body 4 is installed on the support portion 6 via the expansion / contraction portion 5.

A bimetal (not shown) is installed inside the thermal actuator body 4. The upper end of the bimetal is connected to the thermoactuator heat-sensitive part 3, and the temperature sensed by the heat-actuator heat-sensitive part 3 is transmitted, and the temperature causes a change in curvature. Since the lower end of the bimetal is connected to the axis of the expandable portion 5, the change in the curvature of the bimetal acts as the expandable function of the expandable portion 5 and changes the distance indicated by the arrow D in FIGS. 2 and 3.

Here, when the thermal actuator heat-sensitive part 3 feels a higher temperature, the expansion / contraction part 5 contracts, and when the thermal actuator heat-sensitive part 3 feels a lower temperature, the expansion / contraction part 5 extends in such a direction that the bimetal bottom end is extended. It is connected to the axis of the expansion / contraction part 5.

Therefore, since the expansion / contraction part 5 expands / contracts according to the temperature of the thermoactuator thermosensitive part 3, the thermoactuator main body 4 includes the thermoactuator thermosensitive part 3, the holder 2 and the thermoelectric generator 1 as one body. Move in the direction of expansion and contraction indicated by the arrow.

A burner 7 is provided above the supporting portion 6, and a flame 9 (not shown in FIG. 2) of the burner 7 is a heat source for heating and simultaneously heats the thermoelectric generator 1. The electric power generated by the heated thermoelectric generator 1 is
Retrieved via code 10. The extracted electric power is used to drive a mechanical part (not shown) such as a blower fan.

A thermoactuator heat-sensitive section 3 is provided in the vicinity of the thermoelectric generator 1, and the positional relationship between the thermoelectric generator 1 and the thermoactuator heat-sensitive section 3 is as shown in FIG. Since the distances from 8 are the same, the flame 9 also applies the same heating as the thermoelectric generator 1 to the thermal actuator heat sensitive section 3.

Therefore, the temperature of the thermal actuator heat-sensitive portion 3 during operation becomes almost equal to the temperature of the thermoelectric generator element 1, so that the thermal actuator heat-sensitive portion 3 functions as a temperature monitor of the thermoelectric generator element 1, and the expansion / contraction portion 5 eventually becomes hot. It can be considered that the power generation element 1 expands and contracts according to the temperature.

In general, the temperature distribution of the flame has a peak temperature region in the outer peripheral portion of the flame and the temperature of the central portion of the flame is not so high. Therefore, the distribution shown in the graph of FIG. 4 (a) is shown. From the electromotive force characteristics of the thermoelectric generator 1, if the minimum temperature at which the required electromotive force is stably obtained is T1, and the maximum temperature allowed from the viewpoint of not degrading the element is T2, The temperature range to be taken by the power generation element 1 (hereinafter referred to as an appropriate temperature range) is the range indicated by A in FIG.

Therefore, the distance from the burner flame outlet 8 of the thermoelectric generator 1 must be within the range B or the range C of FIG. 4 (a). Further, if the range B of FIG. 4A is adopted as the position range of the thermoelectric generator 1, the entire heating device can be compactly assembled as compared with the case where the range C is adopted. It is usual to adopt a configuration in which is located.

Therefore, the operation of the expansion / contraction portion 5 in the case where the thermoelectric generator 1 is positioned within the range B of FIG. 4A will be described. First, when the heating device is in an operating state with a normal intermediate thermal power, the flame 9 of the burner 7 heats air as a heat source for heating, and at the same time, heats the thermoelectric generator element 1 and the thermal actuator heat sensitive part 3. If the temperature of the thermoelectric generator 1 reaches the lowest temperature at which the required electromotive force is stably obtained, that is, the temperature T1 in FIG. 4A,
The thermoelectric generator 1 stably generates electric power, and the electric power is stably supplied to the mechanical portion of the heating device (blower, etc., not shown) via the cord 10, and the operating state of the heating device is stable.

If the temperature of the thermoelectric generator 1 is the maximum temperature at which the element does not deteriorate early, that is, the temperature T2 in FIG. 4A, the life of the element is not shortened. At this time, the distance of the thermoelectric generator 1 (and the thermal actuator heat-sensitive portion 3) from the burner flame port 8 is at the position P1 within the range B in FIG. 4 (a). Then, the temperature of the thermoelectric generator 1 at this time is referred to as temperature TP.

When the operating state of the heating device is switched to more powerful heating, the flame 9 of the burner 7 becomes larger,
The temperature distribution in the flame 9 changes as shown in FIG. Figure 4
The temperature of the thermoelectric generator 1 at the position P1 in (b) is a temperature TB that is lower than the temperature TP, and the temperature TB is lower than the lower limit temperature T1 of the appropriate temperature range.

At this time, however, the temperature of the thermal actuator heat-sensitive portion 3 becomes lower than that in the case of FIG. 4A, the curvature of the bimetal changes and the expansion / contraction portion 5 expands, and the thermoelectric generator 1 (and the thermal actuator heat-sensitive portion). The distance from the burner flame mouth 8 of part 3) moves to the position P2 in FIG. 4 (b). At the position P2, the temperature of the thermoelectric generator 1 is a temperature TL higher than the temperature T1, and the thermoelectric generator 1 stably generates electric power.

On the other hand, when the operating state of the heating device is switched to weaker heating, the flame 9 of the burner 7 becomes smaller, and the temperature distribution in the flame 9 changes as shown in FIG. 4 (c). Figure 4
The temperature of the thermoelectric generator 1 at the position P1 in (c) is a temperature TT higher than the temperature TP, and the temperature TT is higher than the upper limit temperature T2 of the appropriate temperature range. Therefore, the thermoelectric generator 1 deteriorates rapidly as it is. I will end up.

At this time, however, the temperature of the thermal actuator heat-sensitive portion 3 also becomes higher than that in the case of FIG. 4A, so that the change in the curvature of the bimetal occurs and the expansion / contraction portion 5 contracts, and the thermoelectric generator 1 (and the thermal actuator heat-sensitive portion 3 The distance from the burner flame mouth 8 of part 3) moves to position P3 in FIG. 4 (c). At the position P3, the temperature of the thermoelectric generator 1 is a temperature TH lower than the temperature T2, so that the thermoelectric generator 1 does not deteriorate early.

From the above, the expansion / contraction of the expansion / contraction portion 5 acts as a buffering effect against the temperature change of the thermoelectric generator 1, and even if the size of the flame 9 changes due to the switching of the operating state, the temperature of the thermoelectric generator 1 changes. It can be seen that the change is minimized.
Therefore, since the temperature of the thermoelectric generator 1 is prevented from deviating from the proper temperature range regardless of the operating state, the generated thermoelectromotive force is stable and the operation of the heating device is also stable.

Further, deterioration of the thermoelectric generator 1 due to excessive temperature can be suppressed to a minimum. Moreover, there is no need for a complicated structure. Furthermore, part of the electric power generated by the thermoelectric generator 1 is not used for purposes other than the original purpose such as electrical control.

When the thermoelectric generator 1 is located within the range C in FIG. 4A, the bimetal connection direction is reversed and the thermal actuator heat-sensitive section 3 feels a higher temperature. The same effect can be obtained by connecting so that the expansion / contraction part 5 expands and the expansion / contraction part 5 contracts when the thermal actuator heat-sensitive part 3 feels a lower temperature.

Further, as another embodiment of the present invention, the thermal actuator body 4 is fixed at a position where the expansion / contraction part 5 is present (in this case, the expansion / contraction part 5 is not expanded / contracted), so that the thermal actuator heat sensitive part 3 and the flame outlet 8 are provided. Is constant, and the thermoelectric generator 1 is connected to the thermal actuator body 4
Instead, a thermoelectric power generation utilizing device having a structure fixed to the lower end of the bimetal will be described.

In this configuration, the thermal actuator thermal sensing section 3
Is fixed and does not move integrally with the thermoelectric generator 1, but in an actual heating device, the thermoelectric generator 1 shown in FIG.
Since the range P3 to P1 to P2 in which the position is moved is not large as the displacement width, the fixed position of the thermal actuator heat-sensitive part 3 is set at the center of the position displacement range of the thermoelectric generator 1 so that It is possible to bring about an effect close to that of the thermoelectric generator according to.

Also in the apparatus of this structure, as in the apparatus for utilizing thermoelectric power generation according to the above-mentioned example, the position of the thermoelectric power generating element 1 is
Both the configuration that takes the range B and the configuration that takes the range C in FIG. 4A are possible.

As described in detail above, in the thermoelectric power generation utilizing device of this embodiment, the thermoelectric power generating device 1 is installed in the thermal actuator body 4 according to the temperature sensed by the thermal actuator heat-sensitive part 3 which is subjected to the same heating. Since the bimetal corrects the position of the thermoelectric generator 1 and keeps its temperature within the proper temperature range, there is no complicated structure or unnecessary power consumption, and the thermoelectric generator 1 does not deteriorate early and is stable. Can generate electric power to drive mechanical parts.

The above embodiment is not intended to limit the present invention, and it goes without saying that various modifications and improvements can be made without departing from the gist of the present invention. For example,
Although the bimetal is used as the thermal actuator in the present embodiment, a thermal actuator utilizing liquid expansion may be used instead of the bimetal.

[0036]

As is apparent from the above description, the thermoelectric power generation utilizing apparatus of the present invention heats the thermoelectric power generating element by the heat of the burner flame to obtain a thermoelectromotive force, even if the operating state is changed, A thermal actuator, which is related to the temperature of the thermoelectric generator, corrects the position of the thermoelectric generator from the burner flame mouth, and keeps the temperature of the thermoelectric generator within an appropriate temperature range. As a result, a complicated structure and power consumption for electrical control are not required, thermoelectromotive force is stably generated, and early deterioration of the thermoelectric generator does not occur. Therefore, the thermoelectric power generation utilizing device of the present invention is useful for effective use of energy, and when applied to a fan heater or an infrared stove, the effect exerted is great.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a thermoelectric power generation utilizing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a top view of the thermoelectric power generation utilizing device of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a side view of the thermoelectric power generation utilizing device of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a graph showing a temperature distribution in a burner flame in the thermoelectric power generation utilizing device according to the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 Thermoelectric Generator 3 Thermal Actuator Heat Sensitive Part 4 Thermal Actuator Main Body 5 Expansion / Contraction Part 7 Burner 8 Burner Flame Mouth 9 Flame P1 Reference Position

Claims (2)

[Claims] 1. A thermoelectric generator that generates an electromotive force when heated, and a heating unit that heats the thermoelectric generator with a burner flame, and is obtained by the thermoelectric generator that is heated by the heating unit. In a device that uses electric power, a thermal actuator that is provided so as to be linked to the thermoelectric generator and receives heat equivalent to that of the thermoelectric generator, and a burner flame of the thermoelectric generator in association with a heating change of the thermal actuator. A device for thermoelectric power generation, comprising: a position control means for variably controlling the position from the mouth. 2. The thermoelectric generator and the thermal actuator are integrally provided, and the thermal actuator is arranged so as to be capable of heat transfer in a flame length direction from a reference position of a burner flame opening, and the thermal actuator can be moved by a moving amount. Correspondingly, the said thermoelectric generator is arrange | positioned so that it can separate or approach from the said burner flame port, The thermoelectric generator use apparatus of Claim 1 characterized by the above-mentioned.