JPH10185390A - Heat exchanging unit having built-in thermoelectric module and refrigerator employing heat exchanging unit - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To improve productivity, maintenance, inspection and interchangeability of parts by a method wherein at least one heat transfer surface of a thermoelectric module, having at least two heat transfer surfaces and one heat transfer surface is heated, while the other heat transfer surface is cooled by energization, is covered with a transparent or semi-transparent shell member. SOLUTION: Three sets of heat exchanging units, respectively having a built-in thermoelectric module 5, are connected in series to a heat exchanging unit, which is the center of a refrigerating series. Respective heat exchanging units are constituted of transparent or semi-transparent lower and upper shells 53, 54, two turbulators 55 and thermoelectric modules 5 while the lower shell 53 is provided with two rows of flow passages formed of cavities in projections provided in parallel. On the other hand, the upper shell 54 is provided with a structure, substantially same as that of the lower shell 53, and two rows of flow passages 70, 71 are formed in the same. Both surfaces of the thermoelectric module 5 are functioned as heat transfer surfaces 80, 81 and the lower shell 53 as well as the upper shell 54 are arranged at the outside of the turbulators 55, arranged on both surfaces, then, are connected integrally with screws 89.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a heat exchange unit incorporating a thermoelectric module, and is particularly suitable as a heat exchange unit using a heat medium mainly composed of water. The present invention also relates to a refrigerator using the thermoelectric module.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, the ozone layer destruction effect of Freon gas has become a global problem, and the development of a cooling device that does not use Freon gas has been urgently required. As one of the cooling devices that do not use Freon gas, a cooling device that uses a thermoelectric module has attracted attention. Here, the thermoelectric module is known as a Peltier module or a thermoelectric heat module. The thermoelectric module has two heat transfer surfaces. One of the heat transfer surfaces is heated by passing an electric current, and the other is heated. Is a member having a function of cooling the heat transfer surface. A cooling device using a thermoelectric module is disclosed in, for example, JP-T-Hei 6-50436.
No. 1.

In the invention disclosed in Japanese Patent Publication No. 6-504361, a thermoelectric module is built in a heat exchange unit, and two cavities are formed in the heat exchange unit with the thermoelectric module interposed therebetween. Then, the cavity facing the heating-side heat transfer surface of the heat exchange unit is connected to a closed circuit formed by the heat exchanger and the pump, and the cavity facing the other cooling-side heat transfer surface is similarly connected to the heat exchanger and the pump. Connected to a closed circuit constituted by In this way, a circulation circuit including the heat transfer surface on the heating side of the thermoelectric module and a circulation circuit including the cooling surface are formed, and a heat medium mainly composed of water is circulated through this circuit. Then, desired cooling is performed by the heat exchanger of the circuit on the cooling side of the two circulation circuits.

[0004]

The invention disclosed in the above-mentioned prior art is a technique capable of performing practical cooling using a thermoelectric module. However, the prior art merely discloses the basic configuration of the cooling device, and in order to actually apply the present invention to a refrigerator, there are a lot of points to be improved and new problems to be solved. I have.

[0005] The present invention proposes an improved technique for the heat exchange unit among these problems, and an object thereof is to provide a heat exchange unit suitable for use in a refrigerator. . That is, a technical object of the present invention is to provide a refrigerator using a thermoelectric module and a heat exchange unit incorporating the thermoelectric module, in which productivity, maintenance and inspection, and compatibility of parts are improved.

[0006]

The present invention for solving the above-mentioned problems has at least two heat-transfer surfaces, and one of the heat-transfer surfaces is heated and the other heat-transfer surface is heated by flowing an electric current. A thermoelectric module to be cooled, and a shell member that covers at least one heat transfer surface of the thermoelectric module and forms a heat medium passage cavity between the heat transfer surface and the shell member is transparent or translucent. A heat exchange unit incorporating a thermoelectric module.

[0007] This facilitates the workability of installation into the refrigerator and the maintenance and inspection.

[0008]

The invention according to claim 1 is a thermoelectric module having at least two heat transfer surfaces, wherein one of the heat transfer surfaces is heated and the other heat transfer surface is cooled by passing an electric current; A thermoelectric module, comprising: a shell member that covers at least one heat transfer surface of the thermoelectric module and forms a heat medium passage cavity with the heat transfer surface, wherein the shell member is transparent or translucent. This is a heat exchange unit with a built-in module.

In the heat exchange unit incorporating the thermoelectric module of the present invention, the shell member is transparent or translucent.
The flow of the internal heat medium can be observed from the outside. The operation of the present invention will be described below in comparison with the problems with the related art.

That is, in a cooling device using a thermoelectric module, a liquid, particularly a liquid containing water, is used as a heat medium. And in a cooling device using a thermoelectric module,
Heat exchange is performed directly between the heat transfer surface of the thermoelectric module and the heat medium. Therefore, in a cooling device using a thermoelectric module, the cooling capacity greatly depends on whether or not the flow of the heat medium in the heat exchange unit is smooth. In particular, air entrapment in the heat exchange unit must be strictly prevented.

Therefore, when incorporating a cooling device using a thermoelectric module into a refrigerator or the like, it is necessary to check whether air is trapped in the heat exchange unit. However, in the related art, it was difficult to confirm that no air was trapped in the heat exchange unit. For this reason, assembling the refrigerator and injecting the heat medium required careful operation, and the workability of assembling was poor.

The first object of the present invention is to solve this problem. In the heat exchange unit incorporating the thermoelectric module according to the first aspect, since the shell member is transparent or translucent, the flow condition of the internal heat medium can be observed from the outside. Therefore, it is possible to confirm that air is not trapped in the heat exchange unit after assembling the heat exchange unit into the refrigerator, and it is not necessary to pay much attention to injecting the heat medium. Therefore, the heat exchange unit incorporating the thermoelectric module according to the first aspect has good workability in assembling to a refrigerator or the like.

[0013] Also, when performing maintenance and inspection of a refrigerator, there is a strong demand for confirming whether or not air is trapped in the heat exchange unit. That is, the cooling device using the thermoelectric module has a very simple structure, and has a limited number of failure points. It is expected that most of the specific failure factors are a failure of the pump for circulating the heat medium, leakage of the heat medium, and clogging of foreign matter in the heat exchange unit. Since the heat exchange unit incorporating the thermoelectric module of the present invention can observe the flow of the heat medium in the heat exchange unit, the cause of the failure can be easily determined. That is, if the heat medium is not circulating in the heat exchange unit, a failure of the pump is suspected, and if air bubbles are observed in the heat exchange unit, a leak of the heat medium is suspected, and the heat medium is partially discharged in the heat exchange unit. If it is stagnant, clogging of foreign matter in the heat exchange unit is suspected.

A second aspect of the present invention for solving the same problem.
The invention described in the above, a thermoelectric module having a heating-side heat transfer surface and a cooling-side heat transfer surface and having a heating-side heat transfer surface heated by passing an electric current, and a cooling-side heat transfer surface being cooled, A shell member that covers a heating-side heat transfer surface of the thermoelectric module and forms a heat medium passage cavity between the heat transfer surface and the shell member; and a cooling plate that is in contact with a cooling-side heat transfer surface of the thermoelectric module.
A heat exchange unit incorporating a thermoelectric module, wherein a cooling object can be placed on the cooling plate.

In the heat exchange unit incorporating the thermoelectric module of the present invention, a heat medium such as water is passed through the heat medium passage cavity, and the heat medium removes heat from the heating-side heat transfer surface. Then, the temperature of the heat transfer surface on the cooling side is reduced, the temperature of the cooling plate is reduced, and the cooling object is directly cooled through the cooling plate.

According to a third aspect of the present invention which is an improvement of the above aspect, the cooling plate can be replaced with a shell member.
By replacing the cooling plate with a shell member, a heat exchange unit incorporating a thermoelectric module having a heat medium passage cavity in contact with the heating-side heat transfer surface of the thermoelectric module and a heat medium passage cavity in contact with the cooling-side heat transfer surface is configured. A heat exchange unit incorporating the thermoelectric module according to claim 2.

In the heat exchange unit incorporating the thermoelectric module of the present invention, the cooling plate and the shell member can be replaced, and a common member can be used for the shell member covering the heating-side heat transfer surface. Therefore, in the heat exchange unit incorporating the thermoelectric module of the present invention, the compatibility of parts is high.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided a refrigerator using the heat exchange unit, comprising the heat exchange unit, a cooling device, and a refrigerator housing, wherein the cooling device cools the interior of the refrigerator. A heat exchanger to be circulated, and a pump for circulating a heat medium, wherein the heat exchange unit and a cooling device are connected by piping, and a cooling plate of the heat exchange unit is in a refrigerator, and the refrigerator is cooled by the heat exchanger. In addition, a refrigerator using the heat exchange unit is characterized in that a part having a low temperature is partially provided in the storage body by a cooling plate of the heat exchange unit.

According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a cooling device for cooling a heat medium containing water, the cooling device having a heating-side heat transfer surface and a cooling-side heat transfer surface. A refrigerator using a thermoelectric module according to claim 4, further comprising a thermoelectric module that heats the heat transfer surface on the heating side and cools the heat transfer surface on the cooling side by passing an electric current.

The present invention according to claims 4 and 5 is an invention utilizing the above-described heat exchange unit, and improves the cooling capacity and ice making capacity of a conventional refrigerator. That is, the refrigerator using the thermoelectric module of the related art simply performs heat exchange by the thermoelectric module to refrigerate the inside of the refrigerator, and it has been difficult to lower the temperature in the refrigerator to the extent that ice can be produced. Therefore, it was not possible to make ice with the prior art refrigerator.

An object of the present invention is to solve this problem. That is, in the refrigerator of the present invention, the inside of the refrigerator is cooled by the heat exchanger in the same manner as a normal refrigerator, but at the same time, the heating-side heat transfer surface of the thermoelectric module is cooled by the heat medium flowing through the heat exchanger. Therefore, the heat transfer surface on the cooling side of the thermoelectric module is even lower than the surface temperature of the heat exchanger that cools the inside of the housing. As a result, in the refrigerator of the present invention, a part having a low temperature is partially provided in the refrigerator.

A sixth aspect of the present invention for solving the same problem.
The described invention has a plurality of blocks, each block has at least two heat transfer surfaces, and a current is applied to heat one of the heat transfer surfaces and the other heat transfer surface is cooled. A shell member that covers at least one heat transfer surface of the thermoelectric module and forms a heat medium passage cavity between the heat transfer surface and the shell member. Is a heat exchange unit incorporating a thermoelectric module, wherein the connection portions are fitted to each other to form a series of flow paths.

A heat exchange unit incorporating a thermoelectric module according to the prior art has a fixed heat exchange capacity and needs to be individually designed according to the capacity of the refrigerator. Further, according to the prior art, it is necessary to manufacture individual thermoelectric modules of different sizes according to the capacity of the refrigerator. Therefore, the heat exchange unit of the related art has a problem that the compatibility of the parts is poor and the manufacture and maintenance are difficult.

One object of the heat exchange unit incorporating the thermoelectric module of the present invention is to develop a heat exchange unit capable of responding to refrigerators of various capacities by focusing on this problem and to improve the compatibility of parts. Things. That is, the heat exchange unit incorporating the thermoelectric module of the present invention has a block shape, and a series of flow paths is formed by fitting the connection portions of each block. Therefore, the capacity of the heat exchange unit of the present invention can be changed by changing the number of connected blocks.

According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a computer system comprising:
The described invention is directed to a thermoelectric module having at least two heat transfer surfaces, wherein one heat transfer surface is heated and the other heat transfer surface is cooled by passing an electric current, and at least one heat transfer surface of the thermoelectric module And a shell member for forming a heat medium passage cavity between the heat transfer surface and the heat transfer surface, wherein the shell member is provided with a lead wire insertion hole penetrating to the outside, and the lead wire insertion hole has a center. An elastic sealing material provided with a through hole is provided, and a lead wire of the thermoelectric module is inserted through the through hole of the elastic sealing material and drawn out of the shell member, and a lead wire is inserted through the elastic sealing material. A heat exchange unit incorporating a thermoelectric module, wherein the thermoelectric module is in a compressed state when pressed, and the elastic sealing material compresses the lead wire insertion hole and the lead wire.

In a heat exchange unit incorporating a thermoelectric module, it is important to prevent the heat medium from leaking. However, in a heat exchange unit having a built-in thermoelectric module, the lead wire of the thermoelectric module must be drawn out of the shell member, and it is difficult to liquid seal the lead wire lead-out portion. An object of the present invention is to solve this problem and to reduce the frequency of maintenance and inspection of a heat exchange unit incorporating a thermoelectric module of the present invention. That is,
In the heat exchange unit of the present invention, the lead wire is compressed and held by the elastic sealing material. The elastic sealing material is
The lead wire insertion hole is also compressed. Therefore, in the heat exchange unit incorporating the thermoelectric module of the present invention, there is no leakage of the heat medium from the lead wire lead-out portion.

According to another aspect of the present invention, at least two heat transfer surfaces are provided and one of the heat transfer surfaces is heated and the other heat transfer surface is cooled by passing an electric current. A thermoelectric module, and a shell member that covers at least one heat transfer surface of the thermoelectric module and forms a heat medium passage cavity between the heat transfer surface and the back side of the heat medium passage cavity of the shell member. Is a heat exchange unit incorporating a thermoelectric module, wherein a hollow portion is provided integrally.

The heat exchange unit incorporating the thermoelectric module needs to be subjected to an adiabatic treatment in order to prevent heat dissipation.
Therefore, in the related art, after incorporating the heat exchange unit into a refrigerator or the like, glass wool or the like is wound around the heat exchange unit to prevent heat from being dissipated from the heat exchange unit. However, the operation of winding such a glass wool or the like around the heat exchange unit is a time-consuming operation and requires skill. Further, when disassembling the heat exchange unit at the time of maintenance and inspection, it is necessary to turn over the glass wool and the like, which is troublesome. An object of the present invention is to provide a heat exchange unit having a built-in thermoelectric module which has a built-in thermoelectric module, which does not require heat insulation treatment, and which can be easily incorporated into a refrigerator or easily maintained. A replacement unit is provided.

That is, in the heat exchange unit incorporating the thermoelectric module of the present invention, the cavity is integrally provided on the back side of the heat medium passage cavity of the shell member. And this hollow part functions as a heat insulation layer. Therefore, in the present invention, the shell member and the heat insulating layer are integrated. Therefore, it is easy to incorporate into a refrigerator and perform maintenance and inspection.

According to a ninth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a heat exchange unit incorporating a thermoelectric module according to the eighth aspect, wherein a foam is incorporated in the cavity. .

[0031] Claim 1 for achieving the same object.
The invention described in Item 0 has a plurality of blocks, each block has at least two heat transfer surfaces, and a current is supplied to heat one heat transfer surface and cool the other heat transfer surface. Module, and a shell member that covers at least one heat transfer surface of the thermoelectric module and forms a heat medium passage cavity between the heat transfer surface and the shell member, the shell member being electrically connected to the thermoelectric module. A connector is provided, and each block is a heat exchange unit incorporating a thermoelectric module, which is electrically connected through the connector.

When the heat exchange unit is divided into blocks, it is desirable that the thermoelectric modules be electrically connected in series. In the heat exchange unit incorporating the thermoelectric module of the present invention, since the connector electrically connected to the thermoelectric module is provided on the shell member, the electrical connection can be easily performed by connecting the connectors of the adjacent blocks. Can be connected. Therefore, the heat exchange unit incorporating the thermoelectric module of the present invention can be easily incorporated into a refrigerator and can be easily maintained and inspected.

According to an eleventh aspect of the present invention, which is an improvement of the above-described aspect, a tubular connecting portion is provided on the shell member.
The block is a heat exchange unit incorporating a thermoelectric module according to claim 10, wherein a series of flow paths are formed by fitting the connecting portions together.

In order to achieve the same object, claim 1
The invention described in (2) is a heat exchange unit incorporating a thermoelectric module constituted by a plurality of blocks, and each block has at least two heat transfer surfaces, and one of the heat transfer surfaces is heated by passing an electric current. A thermoelectric module in which the other heat transfer surface is cooled and a shell member that covers at least one heat transfer surface of the thermoelectric module and forms a heat medium passage cavity between the heat transfer surface and the block; The heat medium passage cavities are heat exchange units incorporating thermoelectric modules, which are connected in parallel.

The heat exchange unit incorporating the thermoelectric module of the present invention has a small flow path resistance because the blocks are connected in parallel. When the heat exchange units are connected in series, if one heat exchange unit is clogged, the cooling capacity is completely lost. However, when the heat exchange units are connected in parallel, there is an advantage that a certain degree of cooling power can be secured. Therefore, the heat exchange unit incorporating the thermoelectric module of the present invention has an effect that a certain amount of time can be taken for maintenance, and maintenance and inspection are facilitated.

A first aspect of the present invention is to achieve the same object.
The invention described in Item 3 is a thermoelectric module having at least two heat transfer surfaces, wherein one heat transfer surface is heated and the other heat transfer surface is cooled by passing an electric current, and at least one heat transfer surface of the thermoelectric module A shell member that covers the surface and forms a heat medium passage cavity between the shell member and the heat transfer surface, and that a seal member is interposed between the shell member and the heat transfer surface of the thermoelectric module. This is a heat exchange unit incorporating a thermoelectric module.

In a heat exchange unit having a built-in thermoelectric module, it is important to prevent leakage of the heat medium, and in particular, it is necessary to strictly prevent the heat medium on the heating side and the heat medium on the cooling side from being mixed. However, in a heat exchange unit with a built-in thermoelectric module, there are a cavity on the heating side and a cavity on the cooling side with the thermoelectric module interposed, and the heating medium on the heating side and the heat medium on the cooling side pass through these, so that both are mixed. It often happens. An object of the present invention is to provide a heat exchange unit incorporating the thermoelectric module of the present invention, which solves this problem.In the heat exchange unit incorporating the thermoelectric module of the present invention, a shell member, a heat transfer surface and Since the seal member is interposed therebetween, the heat medium does not leak from the shell member. In particular, when the present invention is applied to a configuration having both the heating side and the cooling side shell members, mixing of the heating medium on the heating side and the cooling medium on the cooling side is prevented.

A fourteenth embodiment embodying the above invention.
The invention as set forth in claim 13 is the heat exchange unit according to claim 13, wherein the seal member is a ring having flexibility.

Similarly, the above-mentioned invention is embodied in claim 1.
The invention according to claim 5, wherein the seal member is a ring made of rubber or resin.
The heat exchange unit according to item 1.

According to a sixteenth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a thermoelectric device having at least two heat transfer surfaces, wherein one of the heat transfer surfaces is heated and the other heat transfer surface is cooled by passing an electric current. A heat exchange unit having a built-in module, wherein the heat exchange unit is connected to one or more heat medium piping circuits for performing heat exchange with a heat transfer surface on a heating side and / or a cooling side; A cooling device characterized in that a heat medium to which propylene glycol is added circulates in at least one of the piping circuits.

According to a seventeenth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a thermoelectric device having at least two heat transfer surfaces, wherein one of the heat transfer surfaces is heated by passing an electric current and the other heat transfer surface is cooled. It has a heat exchange unit with a built-in module, has a heating-side piping circuit and a cooling-side piping circuit, a heating medium circulates in each piping circuit, and propylene glycol is added to the cooling-side piping circuit. A cooling device having a refrigeration system.

When a thermoelectric module is used, a heat medium containing water is often used because of its high specific heat. However, the heat medium containing water has a problem of freezing. An object of the present invention is to solve this problem in a heat exchange unit incorporating a thermoelectric module of the present invention. The cooling device of the present invention has a refrigeration system including a heat exchange unit incorporating a thermoelectric module,
In the refrigeration system, propylene glycol is added to the cooling-side piping circuit. Therefore, freezing of the heat medium on the cooling side is prevented.

Also, the present invention is embodied in claim 18.
The invention described in claim 16, wherein the heat medium to which propylene glycol is added is a mixture with water.
Or a cooling device according to item 17.

In the present invention, since a mixture of water and propylene glycol is employed as the heat medium, the specific heat is large, the heat transfer is smooth, and there is little fear of freezing.

The invention according to claim 19, which further embodies the above invention, is characterized in that the concentration of propylene glycol is
2. The method according to claim 1, wherein the content is 15% or more and 60% or less.
20. A cooling device according to any one of 6 to 18.

[0046]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below. FIG. 1 is a refrigeration system diagram of a refrigerator according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing the appearance of the refrigerator according to the embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 3 is a side sectional view of the refrigerator of FIG.
FIG. 4 is a rear cross-sectional view of the refrigerator of FIG. FIG. 5 is a perspective view of a heat exchange unit incorporating a thermoelectric module incorporated in the refrigerator of FIG. FIG. 6 is a sectional view taken along line AA of FIG. FIG. 7 is a plan view of the inside of the heat exchange unit of FIG. FIG. 8 is an exploded perspective view of the heat exchange unit of FIG. FIG. 9 is a perspective view of a turbulator incorporated in the heat exchange unit of FIG. FIG. 10 is an enlarged perspective view of the turbulator of FIG.
FIG. 11 is a partially enlarged sectional view of FIG. FIG. 12 is an enlarged cross-sectional view illustrating a lead wire deriving procedure of the lead wire deriving unit of the heat exchange unit in FIG. 2 and a state after the derivation. FIG.
FIG. 7 is a perspective view showing a joint portion between heat exchange units of the present embodiment and a modification. FIG. 14 is a perspective view showing the connection structure of the pipe portions of the heat exchange unit. FIG. 15 is a sectional view of a heat exchange unit used for an ice making part. FIG.
FIG. 16 is an exploded perspective view of the heat exchange unit of FIG. FIG.
FIG. 7 is a plan view of a heat exchange unit of another embodiment. FIG. 18 is a cross-sectional view of a heat exchange unit according to another embodiment.
FIG. 19 is a plan view showing a different embodiment of the connection form of the heat exchange unit. FIG. 20 is a graph showing the relationship between the propylene glycol concentration of the mixture of water and propylene glycol and the freezing temperature. FIG. 21 is a graph showing the relationship between the refrigerator internal temperature and the propylene glycol concentration when a mixture of water and propylene glycol is employed as the heat medium.

The refrigerating system of the refrigerator 30 of this embodiment is shown in FIG.
Having a piping circuit 2 on the hot side (heating side) and a piping circuit 3 on the cold side (cooling side) via a heat exchange unit 1 (hereinafter simply referred to as heat exchange unit 1) incorporating a thermoelectric module. It is. In the piping circuits 2 and 3,
A heat medium mainly composed of water is circulated. It is desirable to add an antifreeze such as propylene glycol to the cold side piping circuit 3 in order to prevent freezing. As antifreezes, those other than propylene glycol are also known, but refrigerators store food, and in consideration of leakage, it is recommended to use propylene glycol which is highly safe for the human body. It is desirable to use a heat medium mainly composed of water from the viewpoint of a large specific heat,
Of course, other liquids may be used.

When a mixture of water and propylene glycol is used for the cold-side piping circuit 3, the concentration of propylene glycol is desirably 15% or more and 60% or less. That is, when the refrigerating system as in this embodiment is generally applied to a refrigerator, the heat medium on the cold side drops to about -5 ° C. Therefore, the freezing temperature of the heat medium is desirably −5 ° C. or lower. Here, the relationship between the propylene glycol concentration and the freezing temperature of the mixture of water and propylene glycol is as shown in FIG. 20, and the propylene glycol concentration corresponding to the freezing temperature of −5 ° C. is 15%. Therefore, the concentration of propylene glycol is desirably 15% or more.

When the concentration of propylene glycol is excessively increased, the viscosity of the heat medium increases, the circulation amount of the heat medium in the piping circuit 3 decreases, and the efficiency of heat exchange decreases.
According to experiments by the present inventors, the relationship between the refrigerator internal temperature and the propylene glycol concentration when a mixture of water and propylene glycol is employed as the heat medium is shown in FIG.
When the propylene glycol concentration exceeds 60%, the circulation amount of the heat medium is remarkably reduced. Therefore, it is recommended that the propylene glycol concentration be 60% or less.

The heat exchange unit 1 has a built-in thermoelectric module 5 composed of a Peltier element, as described later. Two cavities 7 and 8 are formed in the heat exchange unit 1 with the thermoelectric module 5 interposed therebetween. ing. In this specification, a member referred to as a "heat exchange unit"
Sometimes referred to as a "manifold with a built-in thermoelectric module", the "heat exchange unit" and the "manifold" are merely differences in names. The hot-side piping circuit 2 has a heat exchanger 10 and a pump 11 and forms a closed circuit including the cavity 7 described above.

Also, for the piping circuit 3 on the cold side,
It has a heat exchanger 15 and a pump 16 like the hot side,
A closed circuit including the cavity 8 is formed. However, the cold side piping circuit 3 is provided with a bypass pipe 17 from the downstream side of the heat exchanger 15 and is connected to a heat exchange unit 18 for ice making. Heat exchanger 1 for each circuit
Air is blown to 0 and 15 by the fans 21 and 22.

Next, the actual configuration of the refrigerator of this embodiment will be described. The appearance of the refrigerator 30 is as shown in FIG. 2, and there is not much difference from the known one. That is, it has a box-shaped main body portion 31 and a door 32 is provided on the entire surface thereof. Heat insulators 35 and 36 (see FIG. 3) are arranged on the main body 31 and the door 32 of the refrigerator in the same manner as the known one, and a closed space storage (storage body) 33 is formed.

The piping of the above-mentioned refrigeration system is arranged at appropriate positions inside and outside the heat insulating materials 35 and 36. Specifically, the heat exchange unit 1, which is the center of the refrigeration system,
As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, the lower right side of the rear side of the refrigerator 30 outside the storage 33 of the heat insulating materials 35 and 36 (the left and right are viewed from the door side)
It is provided in. The above-mentioned hot-side piping circuit 2 is located outside the storage of the heat insulating materials 35 and 36 and concentrated on the back side of the refrigerator 30, and the pump 11 and the heat exchanger 1
0 is provided near the center of the lower part on the back side. And heat exchange unit 1, pump 11, heat exchanger 1
0 is connected in a ring shape by pipes 37, 38, and 39.

On the other hand, most of the cold side piping circuits 3 are arranged in a storage 33 surrounded by heat insulating materials 35 and 36. That is, the heat exchanger 15 is disposed in the center of the back part in the storage 33. The pump 16 is disposed in the upper right part on the back in the storage 33. A shelf 41 is provided in the refrigerator 33, and the heat exchange unit 18 for making ice is built in the shelf 41. The upper side of the shelf 41 functions as the ice making chamber 40.

Of the members described above, the pumps 11 and 1
6, the heat insulating structures of the heat exchangers 10, 15, the fans 21, 22 and the refrigerator itself are not different from those of the known one. The characteristic configuration of the refrigerator 30 of the present embodiment is the structure of the heat exchange unit 1 and the heat exchange unit 18 for making ice, and these structures will be mainly described below.

First, the heat exchange unit 1 which is the center of the refrigeration system will be described. The heat exchange unit 1 employed in the present embodiment has a triple structure divided into blocks as shown in FIGS. That is, the heat exchange unit 1 employed in the present embodiment is one in which heat exchange units 50, 51, and 52 each containing a thermoelectric module 5 are connected in series. These three heat exchange units 50, 51,
Numeral 52 indicates that the heat exchange units 50 and 52 at both ends have exactly the same shape and structure. Central heat exchange unit 5
As for 1, the basic structure is not much different from that at both ends, but the arbitrariness of the piping and the male and female structure of the connection part are different.

The structure of the heat exchange unit 50 is as follows. The heat exchange unit 50 includes a lower shell 53, an upper shell 54, and two turbulators 55, as shown in FIGS.
And a thermoelectric module 5.

The outer appearance of the lower shell 53 has a shape in which two ridges are provided in parallel. The inside of the ridge is a cavity, and two rows of flow paths 57 and 58 are formed by the cavity. That is, the flow paths 57 and 58 are
Are provided in parallel along the continuation direction of the blocks on both inner side portions of the inside, and have a circular cross-sectional shape. The flow paths 57 and 58 are formed continuously from one end of the block of the lower shell 53 in the continuous direction to the other end. One end of each of the two flow paths 57 and 58 is closed, and the other end is connected to the male pipe joint 60. Specifically, the flow path 57 on the right side in FIG. 6 is continuous with the male fitting 60 on the far side in the drawing, and is closed on the near side. On the other hand, the flow path 58 on the left side in FIG. 6 is closed on the back side in the drawing, and is connected to the male pipe joint 60 on the near side. That is, the closed side and the male pipe joint 60 are alternately arranged between the flow paths 57 and 58. The male pipe joint 60 is a protruding pipe as shown in FIGS. 5, 8, and 14, and has an O-ring 61 provided on the outer periphery near the distal end.

The channels 57 and 58 are connected by a wall 62 (FIG. 6). Flanges 63 are provided outside the flow channels 57 and 58. The wall part 62 forms a heat medium passage cavity between the wall part 62 and the thermoelectric module 5, and is located at a position deeper than the flange part 63. The flange portion 63 is provided with four through holes 65 for screw insertion. In addition, a lead wire drawing hole 6 to be described later is formed in the flange portion 63 of the lower shell 53.
7 are provided (see FIG. 6).

The upper shell 54 is provided with the lower shell 5 described above.
It has substantially the same structure as that of No. 3, and has an outer shape of two ridges, and two rows of flow passages 70 and 71 are formed inside. One of the flow passages 70 and 71 is closed, and the other is provided with a male pipe joint 60 and communicates with the outside. The flow paths 70 and 71 are connected by a wall 74, which is deeper than the flange 72. As shown in FIG. 8, the closed side of the flow paths 70 and 71 and the male pipe joint 60
And are provided at alternate positions. A boss 64 is provided on the flange 72 of the upper shell 54.
Are provided, and the boss portion 64 is provided with a screw hole 75. Male connecting portions 68 are provided at both ends of the upper shell 54.
Is provided. As shown in FIGS. 8 and 13, the male connecting portion 68 is provided with a pin 69 on a plate protruding in parallel with the upper shell 54.
Is provided. The upper shell 54 has no portion corresponding to the lead wire outlet hole 67.

The lower shell 53 and the upper shell 54 are molded by a known method such as injection molding of a thermoplastic resin. It should be noted that both the lower shell 53 and the upper shell 54 are transparent or translucent. It is to be. The material of the lower shell 53 and the upper shell 54 is not particularly limited as long as it is transparent or translucent. Polystyrene resin, ABS resin, methacrylic resin, polyvinyl chloride resin, polyethylene terephthalate resin, polybutylene terephthalate resin, urea resin , Melanin resin, chlorinated polyethylene resin, vinylidene chloride resin, acrylic vinyl chloride copolymer resin, polymethylpentene resin, polysulfone resin, polyvinylidene fluoride resin,
MBS resin, methacryl styrene copolymer resin, polyarylate resin, polyallyl sulfone resin, polybutadiene resin, polyether sulfone resin, polyether ether ketone resin and others can be used. Among them, it is desirable to employ a polyolefin resin.

The turbulator 55 has a plate-like shape as shown in FIG. 9, and has two legs 77 for positioning on one surface (the lower part in the drawing). And turbulator 5
On the other surface (the lower part in the drawing) of the number 5, a number of walls 78 forming a flow path are provided. The wall 78 is a turbulator 5
5 are provided continuously from one end to the other end, and the walls 78 are parallel and equidistant. The wall 78 forms a parallel groove-shaped flow path 84. In the turbulator 55 employed in this embodiment, an obstacle is provided in the flow path 84.

The obstacles are, specifically, ridges 82 and baffle plates 79. The protruding ridge 82 is lower in height than the wall 78 described above, and extends continuously in the vertical direction with respect to the wall 78. In this embodiment, the protrusions 82 are provided in two rows. Baffle board 7
9 is the same height as the wall 78 but is discontinuous. The baffle plate 79 does not completely block the flow path 84,
Has a gap in the width direction. A single baffle plate 79 is provided on a certain wall 78 at the center in the longitudinal direction, and two adjacent walls 78 are provided at two positions from the end. Therefore, the baffle plates 79 are provided in a staggered manner with respect to the groove-shaped flow path 84. Further, the above-mentioned ridges 82 are located at portions between the baffle plates 79.

The turbulator 55 is molded by a known method such as injection molding of a thermoplastic resin, and the molding method is not specified. However, in the present embodiment, the turbulator 55 is similar to the lower shell 53 and the upper shell 54. Transparent or translucent. The material of the turbulator 55 may be the same as the material of the lower shell 53 and the upper shell 54, and it is particularly preferable to employ a transparent or translucent polyolefin resin.

The thermoelectric module 5 uses a known Peltier element, and is provided with a P-type semiconductor and an N-type semiconductor arranged side by side. The outer shape of the thermoelectric module 5 is plate-shaped, and both surfaces thereof function as heat transfer surfaces 80 and 81.

Next, the assembly structure of the heat exchange unit 50 will be described. The heat exchange unit 50 has a thermoelectric module 5 disposed at the center thereof. The turbulators 55 are arranged on both sides of the thermoelectric module 5, respectively. Further, a lower shell 53 and an upper shell 54 are provided outside the turbulator 55, and the lower shell 53 and the upper shell 54 are integrally connected by a screw 89.

The positional relationship between the lower shell 53 and the upper shell 54 and the turbulator 55 is as shown in FIG.
3, 74, the leg 77 is fitted to the side surface of the flow path 57, 58 or the flow path 70, 71. Turbulator 5
The fifth wall 78 extends in a direction perpendicular to the flow paths 70 and 71. Therefore, the flow paths 70 and 71 are connected to each other by the groove-shaped flow path formed by the wall 78. The wall 78 of the turbulator 55 is in contact with the heat transfer surface 80 or 81 of the thermoelectric module 5. Therefore, the surface of the turbulator 55 and the heat transfer surface 80 or 81 of the thermoelectric module 5
And a heat medium passage cavity is formed between the two.

The details will be described below.
Between the heat transfer surface 80 or 81 and the shells 53 and 54,
As shown in FIGS. 8 and 11, square annular (square ring-shaped) seal members 85 and 86 are interposed to prevent the heat medium from leaking from the heat medium passage cavity. In other words, the shells 53 and 54 and the heat transfer surface 8 of the thermoelectric module 5
0 and 81 are in contact with each other via square annular sealing members 85 and 86 to form a sealed space. Another annular seal member 87 is interposed between the lower shell 53 and the upper shell 54 outside the seal members 85 and 86, and leakage of the heat medium from the entire heat exchange unit 50 is prevented. Has been prevented. That is, in the present embodiment, the liquid sealing is performed in a double manner by the seal members 85 and 86 and the seal member 87.

That is, the heat transfer surfaces 80 and 81 of the thermoelectric module 5
Is easy to form smoothly and the shell 5
Similarly, it is easy to similarly form the moldings 3 and 54, so that the heat medium passage cavity is completely sealed by the seal members 85 and 86 between them, and the leakage of the heat medium from the heat medium passage cavity is prevented. Is complete. As described above, since the shells 53 and 54 can be easily formed smoothly, the leakage of the heat medium from the entire heat exchange unit 50 can be completely prevented by the seal member 87.

The material of the seal members 85, 86 and 87 is a material having flexibility, and it is particularly recommended to use rubber or resin. That is, it is desirable that the seal members 85, 86, 87 be made of a material equivalent to that of a normal O-ring or the like.

The lead wire 90 of the thermoelectric module 5 is a single wire, and is drawn out from the lead wire drawing hole 67 to the outside. The structure of this part is as shown in FIG. That is, the lead wire outlet hole 67 is provided with a stepped portion from the inside of the lower shell 53 to the outside. The inside diameter of the inside of the lower shell 53 is large, and the inside diameter of the portion penetrating outside is small. A seal member 92 made of an elastic material such as rubber is inserted into a portion having a large inner diameter on the inner side of the lead wire drawing hole 67. The elastic seal member 92 has a cylindrical shape, and has a through hole 93 at the center. The outer diameter of the seal member 92 is equal to the lead wire drawing hole 67 in the natural state.
Is approximately equal to the inside diameter of The inner diameter of the through hole 93 of the seal member 92 is smaller than that of the lead wire 90. The lead wire 90 is pushed into the through hole 93 after the sealing member 92 is inserted into the lead wire drawing hole 67 as shown in FIG. As a result, the elastic seal member 92 expands in diameter and has a compressive stress therein to compress the lead wire lead-out hole 67 and come into close contact with the inside thereof. Also, the space between the elastic seal member 92 and the lead wire 90 is closely contacted in a compressed state.

Next, another type of heat exchange unit 51 will be described. Since the structure of the heat exchange unit 51 is basically the same as that of the heat exchange unit 50 described above, only the differences will be described. In the heat exchange unit 50 described above, both the male pipe joint portion 60 and the connecting portion 68 are male, whereas the intermediate heat exchange unit 51 is both female. That is, the female pipe joint portion 98 protrudes from the lower shell 53 and the upper shell 54 of the intermediate heat exchange unit 51. The female fitting 98 is tubular as shown in FIG. 14, and has an inner diameter substantially equal to the outer diameter of the male fitting 60 of the heat exchange unit 50.

The lower shell 53 of the intermediate heat exchange unit 51 is provided with a female connecting portion 100. As shown in FIG. 5 and FIG.
A hole 102 is provided in a plate portion 101 protruding in parallel with FIG.

Next, the heat exchange units 50 and 5 of this embodiment
A description will be given of the connection state of the members 1 and 52 and the relationship with other members. The heat exchange units 50, 51, 52 of the present embodiment
They are connected in series as described above. More specifically,
Heat exchange units 50 and 51 and heat exchange unit 51
The pin 69 of the male connector 68 fits into the hole 102 of the female connector 100 between the
1, 52 are integrated. Heat exchange units 51 and 5
2, the male pipe joint 60 and the female pipe joint 98 are fitted between the heat exchange units 51 and 52, and the heat formed by the lower shell 53 of the heat exchange units 50, 51 and 52. The medium passage cavities are connected in series. Furthermore, the upper shell 5 of the heat exchange units 50, 51, 52
Similarly, the heat medium passage cavities formed by 4 are connected in series. The male pipe joint 60 of the lower shell 53 of the heat exchange unit 50 and the heat exchange unit 52
And the male fitting 60 of the lower shell 53 is connected to the piping circuit 2 on the hot side. A male pipe joint 60 of the upper shell 54 of the heat exchange unit 50 and a heat exchange unit 52
Of the upper shell 54 is connected to the cold side piping circuit 3.

Therefore, in the piping circuit 2 on the hot side, FIG.
The lower shell 53 of the heat exchange unit 50 as shown by the arrow below
The heat medium enters the left channel 58 in the heat exchange unit 50 from the male pipe joint portion 60 of the turbulator 55 and the surface of the turbulator 55 which is a heat medium passage cavity and the heat transfer surface 8 of the thermoelectric module 5.
0 and flows into the right channel 57. In this embodiment, the turbulator 55 is formed with a groove-like flow path 84, and the flow path is provided with obstacles such as the ridges 82 and the baffle plates 79, so that the heat medium hits these obstacles. As a result, the flow path is blocked by the groove-shaped flow path and loses its escape in the width direction, so that a flow is generated in the direction directly contacting the thermoelectric module 5. Therefore, the heat medium strikes the heat transfer surface 80 of the thermoelectric module 5 in the vertical direction, and heat exchange is performed efficiently.

The heat medium flowing from the turbulator 55 into the right flow path 57 flows from the male pipe joint 60 to the outside of the heat exchange unit 50, and then flows from the female pipe joint 98 of the next heat exchange unit 51. The exchange unit 51 is entered.

The lower shell 5 of the heat exchange unit 50
The heat medium is supplied from the male pipe joint 60 of the third heat exchange unit 51 to the heat exchange unit 51.
And flows into the left flow path 58 through the space between the surface of the turbulator 55 as the heat medium passage cavity and the heat transfer surface 80 of the thermoelectric module 5. Also in this case, similarly to the above, a groove-shaped flow path 84 is formed in the turbulator 55, and an obstacle such as a ridge 82 or a baffle plate 79 is provided in the flow path. At the same time, and is blocked by the groove-shaped flow path, so that there is no escape space in the width direction, and a flow is generated in the direction directly contacting the thermoelectric module 5. Therefore, the heat medium strikes the heat transfer surface 80 of the thermoelectric module 5 in the vertical direction, and heat exchange is performed efficiently.

The heat medium flowing from the turbulator 55 to the left flow path 58 flows from the female pipe joint portion 98 to the outside of the heat exchange unit 51. After that, it is the same as described above, and the heat medium is supplied to the female pipe joint 60 of the heat exchange unit 52.
Flows into the heat exchange unit 52 and exits from the male fitting 60 on the opposite side.

The same applies to the piping circuit 3 on the cold side. The flow of the heat medium on the cold side is as shown by the upper arrow in FIG.

Here, in the refrigerator 30 of this embodiment, since the lower shell 53, the upper shell 54, and the turbulator 55 are transparent or translucent, the thermoelectric module 5
Are directly visible. Therefore, the state of the flow of the heat medium can be easily understood from the outside, and it is possible to determine at a glance whether air is mixed in or the foreign matter is clogged.

Next, the heat exchange unit 18 for making ice will be described with reference to FIGS. In brief, the heat exchange unit 18 for making ice can be said to be one in which the upper shell 54 of the heat exchange unit 50 described above is replaced with a cooling plate 110. As shown in FIGS. 15 and 16, the cooling plate 110 is a metal plate having excellent heat conductivity such as aluminum, and has a hole 111 at a position corresponding to the screw hole 75 of the upper shell 54. In the heat exchange unit 18 for making ice, the cooling plate 110 is screwed to the lower shell 53, and the back surface of the cooling plate 110 is in direct contact with the heat transfer surface 81 on the cooling side of the thermoelectric module. Note that the heat exchange unit 18 for ice making is also used for the lower shell 5.
An annular seal member 87 is interposed between the heat exchanger 3 and the cooling plate 110 to prevent the heat medium from leaking from the entire heat exchange unit 50.

Further, a square annular seal member 85 is interposed between the heat transfer surface 80 of the thermoelectric module 5 and the lower shell 53 to prevent the heat medium from leaking from the heat medium passage cavity.

The heat medium cooled from the bypass pipe 17 flows into the heat medium passage cavity of the heat exchange unit 18 for making ice. Therefore, the heat exchange unit 18 for ice making
In the thermoelectric module 5 inside, the heat transfer surface 80 on the heating side is cooled by this heat medium, and the heat transfer surface 81 on the opposite side is
The temperature will be even lower. Therefore, when an ice tray (cooled material) 115 is placed on the cooling plate 110, the water inside can be frozen.

That is, in this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 1, a series of cooling devices (the cavity 8, the heat exchanger 15, and the pump 16) for closing the cold side by incorporating the thermoelectric module 5 for cooling the heat medium containing water. Cooling device where the circuit is formed)
Heat exchange unit 1 for ice making incorporating thermoelectric module 5
8 is connected to the heat transfer surface 80 on the heating side of the thermoelectric module 5.
Is cooled. And the heat exchanger 15 and the heat exchange unit 1
8 are in the refrigerator, and the heat exchangers 15
The inside of the refrigerator is partially cooled by the cooling plate 110 of the heat exchange unit 18 while the inside of the refrigerator is cooled. In this embodiment, the configuration in which the heat exchange unit 18 for making ice is connected in parallel to the cold-side piping circuit 3 of the cooling device is disclosed. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and the heat exchange unit for making ice is not limited thereto. The replacement unit 18 may be piped in series to the cold-side piping circuit 3 of the cooling device.
In the case of implementing the invention in which the heat exchange unit 18 for making ice is connected to the cold-side piping circuit 3 of the cooling device, the cooling device does not necessarily need to utilize a thermoelectric module.

Next, another embodiment of the present invention will be described. The configuration described below desirably has a transparent or translucent shell, but can be applied even when the shell is not transparent or translucent. In the above-described heat exchange units 50, 51, and 52, the connecting member has shown the fitting structure of the pin 69 and the hole 102, but the other structure uses the fitting of the hook 119 as shown in FIG. It may be what you did.

In the above embodiment, the lead wire 90 of the thermoelectric module 5 was directly drawn out to the outside through the lead wire drawing hole 67.
Are provided with connectors 118 and 120.
It is also possible to draw out to the outside via 18, 120. In particular, when the thermoelectric module 5 as in this embodiment is arranged in a block heat exchange unit, the thermoelectric module 5
Are desirably connected in series, the lower shell 53
Male or female connectors 118, 12
It is desirable to directly provide 0 and directly connect the connectors. The male connecting portion 68 and the female connecting portion 10
0, the male pipe joint 60 and the female pipe joint 9
If the connection interval of 8 and the connection interval of connectors 118 and 120 are made the same, mechanical connection of the heat exchange unit, pipe connection and electric connection can be performed by one operation, and the assembling workability is further improved. I do.

FIG. 17 shows a configuration in which male or female connectors are provided directly on the lower shell 53 and these connectors are directly connected to each other. The configuration shown in FIG. 17 is similar to that of the previous embodiment.
Although the heat exchange units 51, 52 are connected in series, the difference from the previous embodiment is that each heat exchange unit 50, 51, 5
2 is provided with connectors 118 and 120. More specifically, the heat exchange units 50, 52 at both ends
Are provided with male connectors at both ends, and the intermediate heat exchange unit 51 is provided with a female connector 120. And each of the heat exchange units 50, 51, 5
The connectors 118 and 120 of the second thermoelectric module 5
Are connected one by one. The connectors 118 and 120 are connected to adjacent heat exchange units. Heat exchange unit 1 of the present embodiment
According to 23, not only the connection of the pipes but also the electrical connection can be performed only by joining the heat exchange units 50, 51, and 52, and the assembling of the refrigerator 30 becomes easy.

Next, another embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. The heat exchange unit 130 shown in FIG.
The purpose is to improve heat insulation. That is, the heat exchange unit 130 needs to insulate either the lower shell 53 or the upper shell 54. Specifically,
When the heat exchange unit is disposed outside the refrigerator as in the previous embodiment, it is necessary to wind a heat insulating material around the cooling side shell so that the cool air does not leak outside. Conversely, when disposing the heat exchange unit in the refrigerator, a heat insulating material is wound around the shell on the heating side so that hot air does not fill the refrigerator.
However, the work of winding the heat insulating material in this way is troublesome and requires skill, and depending on the operator, there is a concern that an exposed portion may be formed in the shell, resulting in insufficient heat insulation.

In order to solve this problem, the heat exchange unit 130 shown in FIG.
A shell 131 integrally provided with 32 is employed. That is, in the heat exchange unit 130, the flange 6
3, a substantially closed cavity 13 on the back of the wall 62
There are two. The method of forming the shell 131 is not particularly limited. For example, if it is manufactured by blow molding,
The substantially closed cavity 132 can be easily formed. In addition, even when the hollow portion 132 is empty, a considerable heat insulating effect can be expected by the heat insulating effect of air. However, by injecting urethane foam into the portion, a higher heat insulating effect can be exhibited. it can. In the heat exchange unit shown in FIG. 18, the cavity 132 is provided only on the back of one of the shells 131. However, the cavity may be provided on the back of both shells.

The above-described heat exchange unit has been described as an example of a three-unit configuration, but it is needless to say that two or less units or four or more units may be used. The heat exchange unit of the present embodiment can increase or decrease the number of connections according to the capacity of the refrigerator, so that it can be applied to refrigerators of all capacities, and has an effect of high interchangeability of parts.

In the above embodiment, the heat exchange units are connected in series. However, the heat exchange units can be used in parallel. FIG. 19 shows an example in which heat exchange units are used in parallel. In the embodiment shown in FIG. 19, the heat exchange unit 50 and the heat exchange unit 51 are connected in series as a set, and are connected in parallel with each other. An advantage of connecting the heat exchange units in parallel includes a reduction in flow path resistance. When the heat exchange units are connected in series, if one heat exchange unit is clogged, the cooling capacity is completely lost. However, when the heat exchange units are connected in parallel, there is an advantage that a certain degree of cooling power can be secured. Therefore, there is an effect that a certain amount of time for maintenance can be obtained, and maintenance and inspection are facilitated.

Among the configurations described above, those specific to the embodiment are summarized as follows. One feature is that at least two heat transfer surfaces are provided, and one of the heat transfer surfaces is heated by passing an electric current, and the other heat transfer surface is heated. A thermoelectric module whose thermal surface is cooled, and a shell member that covers at least one heat transfer surface of the thermoelectric module, wherein the shell member is provided with two flow paths provided at a predetermined distance, and two flow paths. And has a cavity in which the heat transfer surface of the thermoelectric module is in contact with the whole area of the thermoelectric module. The cavity has a groove-shaped flow path connecting the flow paths. A heat exchange unit incorporating a thermoelectric module, characterized in that an obstacle that blocks the air is provided.

The obstacles are ridges whose height is lower than the groove and baffles which are narrower than the width of the flow path.

Another feature is that a thermoelectric module having at least two heat transfer surfaces and having one heat transfer surface heated and the other heat transfer surface cooled by passing an electric current, and at least one of the thermoelectric modules A shell member that covers the heat transfer surface and forms a heat medium passage cavity between the heat transfer surface and the heat transfer surface, and has a facing member that faces the shell member. The seal member is interposed to prevent the heat medium from leaking from the heat medium passage cavity, and the seal member is also interposed between the shell member and the facing member to prevent the heat medium from leaking from the shell member. This is a heat exchange unit incorporating a thermoelectric module.

[0095]

The heat exchange unit incorporating the thermoelectric module according to the present invention has an effect that the workability for assembling into a refrigerator and maintenance and inspection are easy, and an effect that practical cooling can be performed using the thermoelectric module. is there.

Particularly, in the heat exchange unit incorporating the thermoelectric module according to the first aspect, since the shell member is transparent or translucent, the flow state of the internal heat medium can be observed from the outside. Therefore, in the present invention, since it is possible to confirm that there is no air entrapment in the heat exchange unit after assembling the refrigerator, the injection of the heat medium is
There is an effect that the workability of assembling to a refrigerator or the like is good without requiring much attention. Also, when performing maintenance and inspection of the refrigerator, it is possible to confirm whether air is trapped in the heat exchange unit, and it is possible to quickly identify the cause of the failure.

In particular, the heat exchange unit incorporating the thermoelectric module according to claim 2 has an effect that a low temperature can be produced with a simple configuration. In particular, according to the third aspect of the present invention, which is a modification of the second aspect, a common member can be used for the shell member that covers the heating-side heat transfer surface, so that the compatibility of parts is high.

[0098] Further, in the refrigerator according to claims 4 and 5,
There is an effect that a part having a low temperature can be partially provided in the refrigerator with a simple configuration.

In the heat exchange unit incorporating the thermoelectric module according to the sixth aspect, the capacity can be changed by changing the number of blocks to be connected, and there is an effect that the interchangeability of parts is high.

The heat exchange unit incorporating the thermoelectric module according to the seventh aspect has the effect of preventing the leakage of the heat medium from the lead wire lead-out portion with a simple configuration.

The heat exchange unit incorporating the thermoelectric module according to the eighth and ninth aspects does not require a heat insulation treatment after being incorporated in the refrigerator, and has an effect of facilitating incorporation into the refrigerator and maintenance and inspection.

The heat exchange unit incorporating the thermoelectric module according to the tenth aspect can be easily electrically connected by connecting the connectors of the adjacent blocks, so that the heat exchange unit can be easily incorporated into a refrigerator or maintained and inspected. There is an effect that is.

The heat exchange unit incorporating the thermoelectric module according to the eleventh aspect has the effect that electrical coupling and fluid coupling can be performed simultaneously.

The heat exchange unit incorporating the thermoelectric module according to the twelfth aspect not only has a small flow path resistance but also has a small flow resistance.
Even if one heat exchange unit is clogged, there is an effect that a certain amount of cooling capacity can be maintained, and a certain amount of time for maintenance can be gained, thereby facilitating maintenance and inspection.

In the heat exchange unit incorporating the thermoelectric module according to the thirteenth aspect, since the seal member is interposed between the shell member and the heat transfer surface, the heat medium does not leak from the shell member. Further, the heating medium on the heating side and the heating medium on the cooling side do not mix. Therefore, there is an effect that the efficiency is high without waste of heat.

The heat exchange unit incorporating the thermoelectric module according to claim 14 or 15 seals the space between the shell member and the heat transfer surface with a flexible ring or the like, so that the leakage of the heat medium can be more reliably prevented. It is.

In the cooling device according to the sixteenth aspect, since propylene glycol is added to the piping circuit, freezing of the heat medium is prevented.

In the cooling device according to the seventeenth aspect, since propylene glycol is added to the piping circuit on the cooling side,
Freezing of the heat medium on the cooling side is prevented.

Since the mixture of water and propylene glycol is employed as the heat medium in the refrigerator according to the eighteenth aspect, the specific heat is large, the heat transfer is smooth, and the heat medium is less likely to freeze.

In the refrigerator according to the nineteenth aspect, by appropriately limiting the concentration of propylene glycol, it is possible to prevent the freezing of the heat medium and secure the flow rate of the heat medium.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a refrigeration system diagram of a refrigerator according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing the appearance of the refrigerator according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a side sectional view of the refrigerator of FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is a rear sectional view of the refrigerator of FIG. 2;

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of a heat exchange unit incorporating a thermoelectric module incorporated in the refrigerator of FIG. 2;

FIG. 6 is a sectional view taken along line AA of FIG. 5;

FIG. 7 is a plan view of the inside of the heat exchange unit of FIG. 5;

FIG. 8 is an exploded perspective view of the heat exchange unit of FIG.

FIG. 9 is a perspective view of a turbulator incorporated in the heat exchange unit of FIG. 5;

FIG. 10 is an enlarged perspective view of the surface of the turbulator shown in FIG.

FIG. 11 is a partially enlarged sectional view of FIG. 6;

FIG. 12 is an enlarged sectional view showing a lead wire deriving procedure of a lead wire lead-out part of the heat exchange unit of FIG.

FIG. 13 is a perspective view showing a joint portion between heat exchange units according to the present embodiment and a modification.

FIG. 14 is a perspective view showing a connection structure of a pipe portion of the heat exchange unit.

FIG. 15 is a cross-sectional view of a heat exchange unit used for an ice making part.

FIG. 16 is an exploded perspective view of the heat exchange unit of FIG.

FIG. 17 is a plan view of a heat exchange unit according to another embodiment.

FIG. 18 is a sectional view of a heat exchange unit according to another embodiment.

FIG. 19 is a plan view showing a different embodiment of the connection form of the heat exchange unit.

FIG. 20 is a graph showing the relationship between the propylene glycol concentration of a mixture of water and propylene glycol and the freezing temperature.

FIG. 21 is a graph showing the relationship between the refrigerator temperature and the propylene glycol concentration when a mixture of water and propylene glycol is employed as a heat medium.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Heat exchange unit 2 Hot side piping circuit 3 Cold side piping circuit 5 Thermoelectric module 7, 8 Cavity 10, 15 Heat exchanger 11, 16 Pump 17 Bypass piping 18 Heat exchange unit for ice making 30 Refrigerator 33 Storage 50, 51, 52 Heat exchange unit 53 Lower shell 54 Upper shell 55 Turbulator 60 Male pipe joint part 67 Lead wire drawing hole 68 Male connector part 78 Wall 79 Baffle plate 82 Ridge 85, 86 Seal member 87 Seal member 90 Lead wire 92 Elastic seal member 98 Female pipe joint 100 Female connector 110 Cooling plate 115 Ice tray (cooled material) 118, 120 Connector 119 Hook 123 Heat exchange unit 130 Heat exchange unit 132 Cavity

 ──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continued on the front page (72) Inventor Shigeomi Tokunaga 4-2-5 Takaidahondori, Higashiosaka-shi, Osaka Matsushita Refrigeration Co., Ltd.

Claims (19)

[Claims] 1. A thermoelectric module having at least two heat transfer surfaces and having one heat transfer surface heated and the other heat transfer surface cooled by passing an electric current, and at least one heat transfer surface of the thermoelectric module And a shell member forming a heat medium passage cavity between the heat exchange surface and the heat transfer surface, wherein the shell member is transparent or translucent. 2. A thermoelectric module having a heat transfer surface on a heating side and a heat transfer surface on a cooling side, wherein the heat transfer surface on the heating side is heated by passing an electric current, and the heat transfer surface on the cooling side is cooled. A shell member that covers a heating-side heat transfer surface of the thermoelectric module and forms a heat medium passage cavity with the heat transfer surface; and a cooling plate that is in contact with a cooling-side heat transfer surface of the thermoelectric module. A heat exchange unit incorporating a thermoelectric module, wherein a cooling object can be placed on a plate. 3. The cooling plate is replaceable with a shell member. By replacing the cooling plate with a shell member, a heat medium passage cavity in contact with the heating-side heat transfer surface and a heat medium passage cavity in contact with the cooling-side heat transfer surface. A heat exchange unit incorporating the thermoelectric module according to claim 2. 4. A heat exchanger comprising: the heat exchange unit according to claim 2; a cooling device; and a refrigerator body, wherein the cooling device cools the inside of the refrigerator and a pump that circulates a heat medium. Wherein the heat exchange unit and the cooling device are connected by piping, and a cooling plate of the heat exchange unit is in the housing, and the inside of the housing is cooled by the heat exchanger and the cooling plate of the heat exchange unit is partially in the housing. A refrigerator using a heat exchange unit, characterized in that a part having a low temperature is provided. 5. A cooling device for cooling a heat medium containing water has a heat transfer surface on a heating side and a heat transfer surface on a cooling side. The refrigerator using the heat exchange unit according to claim 4, wherein a thermoelectric module for cooling the heat transfer surface is built in. 6. A thermoelectric module having a plurality of blocks, each block having at least two heat transfer surfaces, wherein one heat transfer surface is heated and the other heat transfer surface is cooled by passing an electric current, and A shell member that covers at least one heat transfer surface of the thermoelectric module and forms a heat medium passage cavity between the heat transfer surface and the shell member. A heat exchange unit incorporating a thermoelectric module, wherein the connection portions are fitted to each other to form a series of flow paths. 7. A thermoelectric module having at least two heat transfer surfaces and heating one heat transfer surface and cooling the other heat transfer surface by passing an electric current, and at least one heat transfer surface of the thermoelectric module And a shell member for forming a heat medium passage cavity between the heat transfer surface and the heat transfer surface, wherein the shell member is provided with a lead wire insertion hole penetrating to the outside, and the lead wire insertion hole has a center. An elastic sealing material provided with a through hole is provided, and a lead wire of the thermoelectric module is inserted through the through hole of the elastic sealing material and drawn out of the shell member, and a lead wire is inserted through the elastic sealing material. A heat exchange unit having a built-in thermoelectric module, wherein the thermoelectric module is in a compressed state when pressed, and the elastic sealing material compresses the lead wire insertion hole and the lead wire. 8. A thermoelectric module having at least two heat transfer surfaces and heating one heat transfer surface and cooling the other heat transfer surface by passing an electric current, and at least one heat transfer surface of the thermoelectric module And a shell member that forms a heat medium passage cavity between the heat transfer surface and the heat transfer surface, and a cavity is integrally provided on the back side of the heat medium passage cavity of the shell member. A heat exchange unit incorporating a thermoelectric module. 9. The heat exchange unit having a built-in thermoelectric module according to claim 8, wherein a foam is built in the cavity. 10. A thermoelectric module having a plurality of blocks, each block having at least two heat transfer surfaces, wherein one of the heat transfer surfaces is heated by passing an electric current and the other heat transfer surface is cooled. And a shell member that covers at least one heat transfer surface of the thermoelectric module and forms a heat medium passage cavity between the heat transfer surface and the shell member, wherein the shell member has a connector electrically connected to the thermoelectric module. , And each block is electrically connected via a connector. A heat exchange unit incorporating a thermoelectric module. 11. The shell member is provided with a tubular connecting portion, and the blocks form a series of flow passages by fitting the connecting portions together. Heat exchange unit with built-in thermoelectric module. 12. A heat exchange unit incorporating a thermoelectric module constituted by a plurality of blocks, wherein each block has at least two heat transfer surfaces, and one of the heat transfer surfaces is heated by passing an electric current. A thermoelectric module in which the other heat transfer surface is cooled; and a shell member that covers at least one heat transfer surface of the thermoelectric module and forms a heat medium passage cavity between the heat transfer surface and the shell member. A heat exchange unit incorporating a thermoelectric module, wherein the heat medium passage cavities are connected in parallel. 13. A thermoelectric module having at least two heat transfer surfaces and heating one heat transfer surface and cooling the other heat transfer surface by passing an electric current, and at least one heat transfer surface of the thermoelectric module And a shell member forming a heat medium passage cavity between the shell member and the heat transfer surface, and a seal member is interposed between the shell member and the heat transfer surface of the thermoelectric module. A heat exchange unit incorporating a thermoelectric module. 14. The heat exchange unit according to claim 13, wherein the seal member is a ring having flexibility. 15. The seal member according to claim 13, wherein the seal member is a ring made of rubber or resin.
The heat exchange unit according to 1. 16. A heat exchange unit including a thermoelectric module having at least two heat transfer surfaces and having one heat transfer surface heated and the other heat transfer surface cooled by flowing an electric current, One or more heating medium piping circuits for performing heat exchange with the heat transfer surface on the heating side and / or the cooling side are connected to the unit, and propylene glycol is added to at least one of the heating medium piping circuits. A cooling device characterized by circulating a heated heat medium. 17. A heat-exchange unit having a built-in thermoelectric module having at least two heat transfer surfaces and having one heat transfer surface heated by flowing an electric current and the other heat transfer surface cooled. A cooling device having a piping circuit and a cooling-side piping circuit, wherein a heat medium circulates in each piping circuit, and a refrigeration system in which propylene glycol is added to the cooling-side piping circuit. 18. The heat medium to which propylene glycol is added is a mixture with water.
18. The cooling device according to 6 or 17. 19. The concentration of propylene glycol is 15
%.