JPH1194452A - Electronic cooling/heating device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To manufacture inexpensively an electronic cooling/heating device by utilizing a commercial power supply. SOLUTION: A DC power supply is constituted of a simple rectifier circuit to rectify a commercial power supply and smooth the same. Thermoelectric elements 16a, 16b are flat plate type and absorb heat from one surface and dissipate heat from the other surface by impressing a DC voltage, obtained by the DC power supply, directly on the elements. A plurality of pieces of thermoelectric elements 16a, 16b are connected in series whereby the optimum voltage is supplied to respective elements from the DC power supply and an internal space can be cooled. The direction of heat-absorption side and heat dissipating side is set whereby the internal space can be cooled or heated.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an electronic cooling / heating apparatus using a thermoelectric element suitable for refrigeration, freezing or heating.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In a conventional electronic cooling / heating apparatus, a thermoelectric element (Peltier element) operated by a DC power supply is used. Usually, when a commercial power supply is used, a desired DC voltage (generally, DC12V or DC24V) is obtained from a DC voltage source such as a switching power supply and applied to the thermoelectric element.

[0003]

Generally, an electronic cooling / heating apparatus has the characteristics of being smaller and lighter than a compressor-type apparatus, but has a poor cooling capacity. It is necessary to increase the number of elements and use a large-capacity DC voltage source.

However, a switching power supply capable of obtaining a large DC voltage is very expensive.
Not for practical use. For this reason, it was difficult to manufacture a product having a high cooling capacity.

Accordingly, a first object of the present invention is to provide an electronic cooling / heating apparatus which can be manufactured at low cost by using a commercial power supply.

It is a second object of the present invention to provide an electronic cooling / heating apparatus having excellent cooling capacity which can be used not only as a refrigerator but also as a freezer.

[0007]

The present invention, as means for solving the first problem, comprises a thermoelectric element to which a DC voltage is applied to absorb heat from one surface and radiate heat from the other surface. And a plurality of thermoelectric elements connected in series to the DC power supply.

According to the above configuration, the DC voltage obtained by directly rectifying and smoothing the commercial power supply via the DC power supply is applied to the thermoelectric element. The thermoelectric element absorbs heat on one surface and dissipates heat on the other surface due to the DC voltage. If the heat absorption side is provided inside, it can be used as a cooling device, and if the heat radiation side is provided inside, it can be used as a heating device.

Further, the present invention provides a means for solving the above-mentioned second problem, in which thermoelectric elements are stacked in a plurality of stages so that the amount of heat absorbed by the thermoelectric elements disposed on the heat radiation side is increased. is there.

When using a commercially available thermoelectric element,
One cooling unit may be provided on the heat absorbing side and two on the heat releasing side.

The amount of heat released from the thermoelectric element is a value obtained by adding the amount of Joule heat generated therein to the amount of heat absorbed. With the above configuration, the heat released from the thermoelectric element on the heat absorption side is reduced by the thermoelectric element on the heat radiation side. Absorbed heat reliably. Therefore, when cooling the internal space, the cooling capacity of the thermoelectric element can be maximized. When heating the internal space, the heating temperature can be increased while suppressing power consumption by utilizing Joule heat generated inside.

[0012]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

FIGS. 1 and 2 show an electronic cooling device which is an example of the electronic cooling and heating device. This electronic cooling device generally includes an apparatus main body 1 and a lid 2.

The apparatus main body 1 has a substantially box shape, is open at the top, and has a heat insulating structure. A substantially U-shaped handle 3 is rotatably attached to both side surfaces of the apparatus main body 1.

The cover 2 has a substantially box shape removably mounted on the upper opening of the apparatus main body 1, and its bottom 4 has a double structure. An outlet 5 formed with a plurality of vertically extending slits is formed at opposing positions on both sides of the lid 2. A pair of suction ports 6 are formed in the ceiling of the lid 2 at an intermediate position of the air outlet 5, and a radiation fan 7 is attached to each of the suction ports 6. The bottom 4
Projections 8 are formed on both end surfaces of the handle 3 to regulate the turning position of the handle 3. Openings 9a and 9b are formed on the upper and lower surfaces of the bottom 4, respectively. A guide wall 10 extends downward at the edge of the lower opening 9b.
Is extended. A heat exchanger 11 is mounted on the bottom 4 using openings 9a and 9b.

The heat exchanger 11 includes a heat absorbing fin 12 and a heat radiating fin 13, and a cooling unit 14 disposed between the fins 12, 13.

The heat absorbing fins 12 and the heat radiating fins 13 are both formed of a material having excellent thermal conductivity such as a copper alloy.
The heat absorbing fins 12 are disposed inside the guide wall 10 of the bottom portion 4, and each fin portion 12a protrudes downward. The heat radiating fins 13 are disposed on the upper surface side of the bottom 4, and each fin 13 a protrudes upward. The fin portions 13a of the radiation fins 13 are arranged in parallel from the suction port toward the air outlet 5, so that a smooth air flow can be formed.

The cooling unit 14 includes a metal plate 15a,
15b and Peltier elements 16a and 16b as thermoelectric elements
Are alternately laminated, and two fins are provided for each of the fins 12 and 13 at a total of four locations. The metal plate 15 a disposed below is in surface contact with the heat absorbing fins 12.

The Peltier elements 16a and 16b are formed in a flat plate shape, and are arranged so as to absorb heat from the lower surface and to radiate heat from the upper surface when energized. In the present embodiment, the Peltier elements 16a and 16b have a 12V specification. According to the Peltier devices 16a and 16b, 12
By applying a DC voltage of V, 30 ° C.
Can be formed.

The lower Peltier element 16a is sandwiched between the lower metal plate 15a and the upper metal plate 15b, and the upper Peltier element 16b is sandwiched between the radiation fin 13 and the upper metal plate 15b. It is pinched. That is, the Peltier element 1 on the upper side is compared with the Peltier element 16a on the lower side.
6b is arranged so as to increase the amount of heat absorbed.

Each of the Peltier elements 16a and 16b is connected in series, as shown in FIG. 3, and has a rectifier circuit having a diode 17 bridge-connected at both ends, and smoothes the voltage obtained by the rectifier circuit. A DC voltage is applied from a DC power supply 19 including a capacitor 18. The DC power supply 19 directly rectifies and smoothes the commercial power supply A and applies it to the Peltier element 17. As described above, the DC power supply 19 has a simple configuration including only the diode 17 and the capacitor 18 and is inexpensive.

Incidentally, six Peltier devices 16a and 16b having a 24V specification may be used.

Next, the operation of the electronic cooling device having the above configuration will be described.

When a switch (not shown) is turned on, 100 V
Is rectified and smoothed by the DC power supply 19 to a DC voltage of about 141 V. This DC voltage is applied to both ends of the Peltier elements 16a and 16b connected in series. Since each of the 12 Peltier elements 16a and 16b is provided,
A DC voltage of about 12 V is applied for each. As a result, the Peltier devices 16a and 16b are moved from the lower surface by about 10 W.
And emits about 20 W of energy (about 10 W of which corresponds to Joule heat generated inside) from the upper surface.

In this case, since two Peltier elements 16b are arranged on the upper side, about 20 W of energy emitted from one Peltier element 16a on the lower side is completely consumed by the two Peltier elements 16b on the upper side. Endothermic. Therefore, the cooling ability of the lower Peltier element 16a is not suppressed, and the metal plate 15a and the heat absorbing fins 12a are not suppressed.
The internal space can be effectively cooled through the air.

The heat emitted from each of the upper Peltier elements 16b is radiated through the radiation fins 13.
The heat radiation fan 7 rotates in the lid 2, takes in outside air into the lid 2 through the suction port 6, passes between the fin portions 13 a of the radiation fins 13, and then blows out from the outlet 5. Thereby, heat exchange in the radiation fins 13 can be performed smoothly.

In each of the Peltier elements 16a and 16b, a temperature difference of about 30 ° C. can be formed between the upper and lower surfaces. As described above, since the upper and lower stages are provided, it is possible to set the internal temperature to −60 ° C. with respect to the outside air temperature. For example, if the outside air temperature is 30 ° C., the surface temperature of the heat absorbing fins 12 is −
It can be 30 ° C. Therefore, a device using a thermoelectric element can be used as a freezer.

FIG. 4 shows an example of an electronic cooling device having a freezing room and a refrigerator room.

In this electronic cooling device, the space below the heat absorbing fins 12 is partitioned into a freezing compartment 22 and a refrigerating compartment 23 by a partition wall 21 made of, for example, polypropylene. The radiating fan 7 provided in the lid 2 is disposed laterally, sucks outside air from a suction port 6 formed on a side surface, and fins 13 a of the radiating fin 13 via a guide wall 24.
And the air is exhausted from an outlet 5 formed on the opposite side surface.

With this configuration, the freezing compartment 22 can be cooled to a temperature below freezing by directly absorbing heat from the heat absorbing fins 12 cooled to -60 ° C. with respect to the outside air temperature. Since the refrigerator compartment 23 is indirectly cooled through the partition wall 21, the temperature inside the refrigerator compartment 23 is reduced by adjusting the capacity ratio between the freezer compartment 22 and the refrigerator compartment 23, the heat insulation performance of the partition wall 21, and the like. A desired temperature suitable for refrigeration (eg,
5 ° C.).

In the above embodiment, the electronic cooling device has been described as an example of the electronic cooling and heating device. However, by replacing the cover 2, an electronic heating device can be used. That is, by arranging the cooling unit 14 in the opposite direction, it is possible to absorb heat from the outside air and heat the internal space. In this case, in the Peltier elements 16a and 16b arranged in two stages, the amount of heat absorbed by the Peltier elements 16b on the heat radiation side, that is, the internal space side may be increased. Thereby, the Peltier element 1
The internal space can be effectively heated by effectively utilizing the Joule heat generated inside as well as the heat absorbing and radiating effects by the 6a and 16b.

Further, the cooling unit 14 may be provided with a heating unit in which the cooling unit 14 is turned upside down. In this case, a heater may be used for heating instead of the heating unit.

Further, the DC power supply 19 may be provided with a triac 25 and a controller 26 thereof, as shown in FIG. Note that a coil 27 is connected between the rectifier circuit and the capacitor. According to this, the voltage rise when the triac 25 is turned on by the controller 26 can be smoothed by the controller 26 to reduce the ripple component. As a result, the voltage value applied to the Peltier element can be suppressed, and for example, a configuration in which only six or three Peltier elements (DC 12 V specification) are connected in series can be realized.

[0034]

As is apparent from the above description, according to the electronic cooling / heating apparatus of the present invention, the DC power is directly rectified and smoothed by the DC power to obtain the DC voltage. No expensive switching power supply is required, and it can be manufactured at low cost.

Further, the thermoelectric elements are stacked in a plurality of stages, and the amount of heat absorbed by the thermoelectric elements arranged on the heat radiation side is increased, so that the performance of the thermoelectric elements is maximized and the internal space is more effectively used. Cooling or heating is possible.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view of an electronic cooling device as an example of an electronic cooling device according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a plan view of FIG.

FIG. 3 is an electric circuit diagram of FIG.

FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view of an electronic cooling device including a freezing compartment and a refrigerator compartment, which is another example of the electronic cooling / heating device according to the present invention.

FIG. 5 is another electric circuit diagram.

[Explanation of symbols]

 16a, 16b Peltier element (thermoelectric element) 19 DC power supply

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. A DC power supply for rectifying and smoothing a commercial power supply, and a thermoelectric element to which a DC voltage from the DC power supply is applied to absorb heat from one surface and radiate heat from the other surface,
An electronic cooling / heating apparatus, wherein a plurality of thermoelectric elements are connected in series to the DC power supply. 2. The electronic cooling / heating apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the thermoelectric elements are stacked in a plurality of stages, and the amount of heat absorbed by the thermoelectric elements disposed on the heat radiation side is increased. 3. The electronic cooling / heating apparatus according to claim 2, wherein one thermoelectric element is provided on a heat absorbing side and two thermoelectric elements are provided on a heat radiating side to constitute a cooling unit.