JPH1137599A - Cooler and its cooling method - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To easily cool a liquid in a tank by providing a Peltier element sandwiched between a heat absorbing panel and heat discharging panel in a casing, and connecting a medium circulating chamber at least partly covered with the heat discharging panel formed in the casing to an external heat exchanger to circulate the medium. SOLUTION: When the cooler 1 is introduced into a liquid tank 20 filled with a liquid to cool the liquid in the case of applying to a liquid input type cooler, heat of the liquid is transferred to a heat absorbing panel 3, absorbed by electronic cooling of an energized Peltier element 4 and transferred to a heat discharging panel 5. In this case, the panel 5 is opposed to an opening of a medium circulating chamber 6, and the heat is transferred to the medium circulating in the chamber 6. The medium removing the heat is output from the cooler 1 to dissipate heat by a heat exchanger 11 provided out of the tank 20 and is again returned to the chamber 6 by a pump 12 to remove the heat of the panel 5. The liquid in the tank 20 is cooled by repeating the operation.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

The present invention relates to a cooling device using a Peltier device and a cooling method thereof.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art The following structure is conventionally known as a liquid cooling device using a Peltier element. (1) A structure in which a structure including a Peltier element is installed outside the liquid tank to be cooled, and heat is absorbed from the outer wall of the liquid layer. (2) A structure in which the liquid inside is taken out by a circulation pump and cooled back by an external auxiliary tank. (3) A structure in which a circulating liquid is used from an external cooling unit to form a coil inside the liquid tank with a pipe or the like to cool it indirectly, or a structure in which a liquid is contacted and cooled with a heat pipe. However, the conventional structures have the following problems. (a) In the structure of the above (1), since the cooling tank and the device are integrated, there is a drawback that when cooling is performed, a liquid container cannot be selected. (b) The structure of the above (2) requires a pump, requires heat insulation of a circulation pipe, and has a disadvantage that the structure is complicated. (c) The structure (3) has a drawback that the arrangement of the cooling device and the cooling tank is limited because the heat pipe is usually made of metal.

[0003]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and cools a liquid or a gas in contact with a heat absorbing surface by electronic cooling of a Peltier element, and radiates heat by a heat exchanger provided outside. And a cooling method for the cooling device.

[0004]

In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, according to the invention of the cooling device of the first aspect, the cooling device includes:
A Peltier element sandwiched between the heat-absorbing panel and the heat-dissipating panel is built in such that the heat-absorbing panel becomes the surface of the casing, and a medium circulation medium that is at least partially covered by the heat-dissipating panel in the casing. A technical means is adopted in which a chamber is formed and the medium circulation chamber is connected to a heat exchanger provided outside to circulate the medium.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the structure of the first aspect, a technical means is provided in which a heat insulating layer is provided inside the casing outside the medium circulation chamber. Also,
According to the third aspect of the present invention, there is provided a technical measure in the first aspect, wherein the heat absorbing panel and the heat discharging panel are made of a fin-shaped metal material having excellent heat conduction.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, a Peltier element sandwiched between a heat-absorbing panel and a heat-dissipating panel is incorporated in a casing such that the heat-absorbing panel is a surface of the casing. A method of cooling a cooling device comprising forming a medium circulation chamber in contact with the heat exhaust panel in a casing, wherein heat is absorbed by a heat absorbing panel exposed on the surface of the cooling device, and heat is absorbed by a Peltier element. To the heat-dissipating panel, and the exhaust heat of the heat-dissipating panel is transferred to a medium circulating between the medium circulation chamber and a heat exchanger provided outside to dissipate heat. I'm taking it.

Accordingly, since the cooling device and the heat exchanger are provided separately, heat can be radiated away from the place where the cooling device is placed. Therefore, for example, even if a cooling device is directly introduced into the liquid to cool the liquid, the heat radiation of the medium is performed by a heat exchanger provided in a place different from the liquid tank, so that the liquid in the tank is removed. It can be easily cooled. If the cooling device is arranged in a box such as a cooling box and the heat exchanger is provided outside the box, the atmosphere in the box can be cooled to a low temperature.

[0008]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS A preferred embodiment in which a cooling device and a cooling method of the present invention are applied to a liquid-injection type cooling device will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 shows a principle diagram of this cooling device. The cooling device 1 incorporates a Peltier element 4 sandwiched between a heat absorbing panel 3 and a heat discharging panel 5 in a casing 2 having a waterproof structure, and also connects the medium circulation chamber 6 to the heat discharging panel 3 so as to form a casing. 2 are formed.

That is, the casing 2 is made of a waterproof resin material, forms a medium circulation chamber 6 with a hollow inside, and communicates with one side thereof and opens to the outside. 10 are provided. The Peltier device housing 10 holds the Peltier device 4 sandwiched between the heat absorbing panel 3 and the heat discharging panel 5, and the wide surface of the heat absorbing panel 3 is provided on the surface on the wide surface side serving as the heat absorbing surface of the casing 2. It is fitted and fixed so as to be exposed.

The Peltier device 4 is a cascade of thermoelements, has a known configuration in which the temperature is controlled by adjusting the current, and is used for electronic cooling utilizing the Peltier effect. Further, the heat-dissipating panel 5 is fixed such that its wide surface faces the opening side of the medium circulation chamber 6.

The heat absorbing panel 3 and the heat discharging panel 5
In this embodiment, a metal having good thermal conductivity (for example, Cu / Al
Fin-shaped panels. The heat-absorbing panel 3 has a large number of fins projecting outward so as to easily absorb external heat, and the heat-dissipating panel 5 transfers the exhaust heat exchanged by the Peltier element to the adjacent medium circulation chamber. Many fins protrude toward the medium circulation chamber 6 so as to be easily transmitted to the medium. The shapes of the heat absorbing panel 3 and the heat discharging panel 5 are not limited to those of the present embodiment. In short, the heat absorbing panel 3 and the heat discharging panel 5 may be made of a material having a high thermal conductivity or a structure having a high thermal conductivity such that the surface area is widened. Good.

Next, the medium circulation chamber 6 has an inlet 6a and an outlet 6b.
, And can be connected to a heat exchanger 11 and a pump 12 provided outside via a pipe line L. Therefore, the medium is circulated between the heat exchanger 11 and the medium circulation chamber 6 by the pump 12. As this medium, a known heat medium such as water or brain can be used. In the figure, reference numeral 13 denotes a fan motor for air cooling used in the heat exchanger 11.

On the other hand, a heat insulating material 7 is incorporated along the wide surface in the wall of the casing 2 on the closed side of the medium circulation chamber 6 so that heat transmitted to the medium in the medium circulation chamber is not transmitted to the outside. Insulated. If at least the wall from the medium circulation chamber 6 to the outer surface of the casing 2 is formed of a material having excellent heat insulating properties, the heat insulating material 7 does not need to be built into the wall of the casing as in the present embodiment.

The cooling device 1 incorporates the Peltier device 4 sandwiched between the heat absorbing panel 3 and the heat discharging panel 5 in the casing 2 as described above, so that the heat medium can be circulated in the medium circulation chamber 6. It has a built-in airtight waterproof structure.

Next, a method of using the cooling device 1 will be described. First, the cooling device 1 is placed in a liquid tank 20 filled with liquid.
Input. A stirring fan or the like may be provided in the liquid tank 20. Ports of the inlet 6a and the outlet 6b of the medium circulation chamber 6 and a terminal (not shown) for supplying electricity to the Peltier element 4 are provided at an upper portion of the cooling device 1, so that the terminal is not immersed in the liquid. The upper end needs to be arranged above the liquid level. On the other hand, the heat exchanger 11 is arranged at an appropriate position outside the liquid tank 20.

When the cooling device 1 is put into the liquid, the heat of the liquid is transmitted to the heat absorbing panel 3. The heat of the heat absorbing panel 3 is absorbed by electronic cooling of the energized Peltier element 4 and transmitted to the heat discharging panel 5. Since the heat exhaust panel 5 faces the opening of the medium circulation chamber 6, the heat of the heat exhaust panel 5 is transmitted to the medium (water, brain, etc.) circulating in the medium circulation chamber 6.

The heat-deprived medium exits from the cooling device 1 and is radiated by the heat exchanger 11 provided outside the liquid tank 20, and returns to the medium circulation chamber 6 again by the pump 12, and returns to the heat discharge panel. Take away the heat of 5. Thus, the liquid in the liquid tank can be cooled.

The object to be cooled by using the cooling device is not limited to the above embodiment, but may be water or other liquid or gas. For example, the cooling device 1 is installed in a chamber (not shown), and the heat exchanger 11 is arranged outside the chamber. If a fan or the like is provided in the chamber, it becomes easier to make the temperature uniform. Also in this case, similarly, the inside of the chamber can be cooled to a low temperature by electronic cooling, and can be used as a cooling storage. In addition, it goes without saying that various design changes can be made without departing from the scope of the present invention.

[0019]

As described above in detail, according to the present invention, a heat-absorbing panel and a heat-dissipating panel having a medium circulation chamber and a Peltier element interposed therebetween are provided in a casing, and the heat-absorbing panel is disposed on a heat-absorbing surface. Panel is provided facing the medium circulation chamber, so that the exhaust heat can be performed by a heat exchanger separated from the cooling device.Thus, it can be directly injected into the liquid for electronic cooling or installed in the chamber. Can be electronically cooled.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a principle diagram of a cooling device.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Cooling apparatus 2 ... Casing 3 ... Heat absorption panel 4 ... Peltier element 5 ... Heat removal panel 6 ... Medium circulation chamber 7 ... Heat insulating material 11 ... Heat exchanger 12 ... Pump

Claims (4)

[Claims] A Peltier element sandwiched between a heat-absorbing panel and a heat-dissipating panel is built in a casing so that the heat-absorbing panel becomes a surface of the casing, and the heat-dissipating panel is provided in the casing. A cooling medium formed by forming a medium circulation chamber in contact with the heat exchanger, and connecting the medium circulation chamber to a heat exchanger provided outside to circulate the medium. 2. The cooling device according to claim 1, wherein a heat insulating layer is provided inside the casing outside the medium circulation chamber. 3. The cooling device according to claim 1, wherein the heat absorbing panel and the heat discharging panel are made of a fin-shaped metal material having excellent heat conductivity. 4. A Peltier element sandwiched between a heat-absorbing panel and a heat-dissipating panel in a casing such that the heat-absorbing panel is a surface of the casing, and the heat-dissipating panel is provided in the casing. A method of cooling a cooling device, comprising forming a medium circulation chamber in contact with the cooling device, wherein heat is absorbed by a heat absorbing panel exposed on the surface of the cooling device,
A cooling method in which heat is absorbed by the Peltier element and transmitted to the heat-dissipating panel, and the exhaust heat of the heat-dissipating panel is transferred to a medium circulating between the medium circulation chamber and a heat exchanger provided outside to radiate heat. .