KR100708947B1 - A cooling and heating apparatus with thermal electric module - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to a cooling and heating apparatus using a thermoelectric module,

After making the groove to fix the metal plate on the cold mass, attach an insulating material between the cold mass and the connecting ring, and then fasten the thermoelectric element by fastening the connecting ring and the heat radiating member, and fastening the cold mass and the cooling member with bolts in the high temperature part. It is characterized by improving the cooling performance of the thermoelectric element by reducing the direct intrusion of heat into the low temperature portion.

Thermoelectric element, heating device, cooling device, cold mass, insulation, bracket

Description

Cooling and heating device using a thermoelectric device {A COOLING AND HEATING APPARATUS WITH THERMAL ELECTRIC MODULE}

1 is a side view of a cooling and heating apparatus using a conventional thermoelectric device according to the prior art.

    2 is an exploded view of a cooling and heating apparatus using a thermoelectric device according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

    3 is a side view of a cooling and heating apparatus using a thermoelectric element according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

    4 is an exploded view of a cooling and heating apparatus using a thermoelectric device according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

    5 is a side view of a cooling and heating apparatus using a thermoelectric device according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

    6 is an exploded view of a cooling and heating apparatus using a thermoelectric device according to a third embodiment of the present invention.

    7 is a side view of a cooling and heating apparatus using a thermoelectric device according to a third embodiment of the present invention.

* Explanation of Signs of Major Parts of Drawings *

10: heat dissipation member 20: thermoelectric element

30: cold mass

40: cooling member 50: fastening bolt

60: bracket

70: insulation

The present invention relates to a cooling and heating apparatus using a thermoelectric element, and more particularly, the thermoelectric element, the heat dissipation member and the cold mass coupled to both sides of the thermoelectric element by fastening so as not to mutually interfere with each other the performance of the thermoelectric element It relates to a thermoelectric element fastening structure to improve the durability.

A thermoelectric element is a device made by combining two different metals or by bonding an n-type semiconductor and a p-type semiconductor to each other. When a direct current is applied to the device, endothermic reactions and heat radiation reactions occur on both metal surfaces. do. Therefore, when the heat exchanger is installed on the heat absorbing portion of the thermoelectric element, the surrounding space can be cooled. On the contrary, when the heat exchanger is installed on the heat radiating portion, the temperature of the surrounding space can be increased.

Since the thermoelectric element does not use a refrigerant using a conventional refrigeration cycle, there is no need for a driving device such as a compressor, and thus, operation noise does not occur, and the thermoelectric element is small and easy to install, and the product can be compactly constructed. There is a characteristic.

Therefore, when the heat absorbing portion of the thermoelectric element is disposed toward the storage space to be cooled and the heat dissipation portion is disposed outside the storage space to adjust the magnitude and time of the current supplied to the thermoelectric element, the storage space can be refrigerated or frozen. It can be used in products such as refrigerators, kimchi refrigerators, and medical thermostats.

On the other hand, when the heat dissipation portion of the thermoelectric element is disposed toward the storage space to be heated and the heat absorbing portion is disposed outside the storage space can increase the temperature of the storage space can be used in products such as warmers or heating devices.

1 shows a fastening structure between a thermoelectric element, a heat dissipation member, and a cooling member in a conventional cooling and heating apparatus using such a thermoelectric element. As shown in the related art, the conventional cooling and heating apparatus using a thermoelectric element is a thermoelectric element 20, one side is in contact with the heat absorbing portion of the thermoelectric element 20, the other surface is in contact with the cooling member 40 cold mass 30, one surface is in contact with the heat dissipation portion of the thermoelectric element 11, and the heat dissipation through the heat dissipation member 10 and the cooling member 40 and the cold mass 30 to dissipate heat to the external heat dissipation space Directly coupled to the member 10 consists of a plurality of connecting bolts (41).

The cold mass 30 transmits the low temperature of the heat absorbing portion of the thermoelectric element 20 to the cooling member 40 to lower the heat absorption from the cooling member 40, that is, the temperature of the cooling space, as well as the thermoelectric element 20. Since the surface temperature change of the heat absorbing part due to the incomplete characteristic of the DC power supplied to the cooling medium 40 is not to be directly transmitted to the cooling member 40, it has to play a role of buffering heat storage in the middle, so that the material has a high thermal conductivity. Metals are used. In addition, since the heat radiating member 10 must radiate heat from the heat radiating portion of the thermoelectric element 20 to the heat radiating space, a metal having high thermal conductivity is mainly used. Although not shown in FIG. 1, high thermal conductivity such as thermal grease is used to reduce contact thermal resistance at the contact surfaces of the thermoelectric element 20, the cold mass 30, the cooling member 40, and the heat dissipation member 10. The material is applied. In addition, the cooling member 40 and the heat dissipation member 10 will have a variety of forms depending on the requirements to which the thermoelectric element 20 is applied.

In the prior art, as shown in FIG. 1, the thermoelectric element 20, the cooling member 40, the cold mass 30, and the heat dissipation member 10 are fixed, and the thermoelectric element 20, the cooling member 40, and the cold mass. The metallic fastening bolt 50 is mainly used as a coupling means for applying a constant pressure to the contact surface for reliable contact between the 30 and the heat dissipation member 10. However, since the fastening bolt 50 directly connects the cold mass 30 and the cooling member 40 on the low temperature side with the heat dissipation member 10 on the high temperature side, a heat conduction passage is connected between the low temperature side and the high temperature side. Becomes Therefore, the heat of the heat dissipation member 10 at the high temperature side may be discharged to the heat dissipation space, but is introduced into the cold mass 30 and the cooling member 40 at the low temperature side through the fastening bolt 50. As a result, the temperature of the cold mass 30 and the cooling member 40 is increased to increase the heat load, which in turn significantly reduces the performance of the thermoelectric element 20.

In addition, when the non-metallic fastening bolt 50 is used as a coupling means, the heat exchange between the cold mass 30 and the heat dissipation member 10 can be reduced, but the thermoelectric element 20, the cooling member 40, When the cold mass 30 and the heat dissipation member 10 are assembled, excessive fastening force is easily applied, and it is difficult to uniformly match the fastening force between bolts, causing breakage of the thermoelectric element 20.

In order to solve such a problem, a thermoelectric device fastening structure without using a bolt is disclosed in Korean Patent No. 10-0455924, but the cover for fastening the thermoelectric device is a heat transfer block (cold mass), the entire side of the thermoelectric device. Since the shape of the cold mass is complicated and there is a difference in shape from the thermoelectric element, a cover unit adapted to the shape of the cold mass has to be applied. Therefore, the manufacturing process becomes complicated because the cover unit of various shapes must be manufactured. Manufacturing costs will also rise. In addition, even if the cover unit is made of a material having a low conductivity, since the cover unit covers the entire side surface of the heat transfer block, the cover cross-sectional area, which is a heat inflow passage from the heat radiating member to the cooling member, increases, so that heat inflow cannot be effectively suppressed.

An object of the present invention is to solve the problems of the prior art described above, by using a bracket having a low heat inflow path and capable of accommodating various cold mass shapes, the thermoelectric element is fastened to the cold mass and the heat dissipation member to It is to provide a fastening structure of the thermoelectric element which can improve the performance of the thermoelectric element by thermally separating the heat radiating member and the cold mass which is the low temperature part to block the heat inflow between the high temperature part and the low temperature part.

Referring to the drawings of the thermoelectric element fastening structure constructed by the present invention in detail as follows.

2 is an exploded view of a cooling and heating apparatus using a thermoelectric element according to a first embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 3 is a side view of a cooling and heating apparatus using a thermoelectric element assembled according to the first embodiment of the present invention. to be. 4 is an exploded view of a cooling and heating apparatus using a thermoelectric element according to a second embodiment, and FIG. 5 is a side view of a cooling and heating apparatus using a thermoelectric element assembled according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

These embodiments according to the present invention are merely for illustrating the present invention, the present invention is not limited thereto. In addition, prior to description, in the various embodiments, components having the same configuration will be described in the first embodiment by using the same reference numerals, and in other embodiments, only the configuration different from the first embodiment will be described. Let's do it.

In order to clearly describe the present invention, parts irrelevant to the description are omitted, and like reference numerals designate like elements throughout the specification.

2 and 3, the fastening structure of the thermoelectric element according to the first embodiment of the present invention is a heat dissipation member 10 disposed in contact with the thermoelectric element 20, and the heat radiating portion of the thermoelectric element 20 ), The cold mass 30 disposed in contact with the heat absorbing portion of the thermoelectric element 20, and the cooling member 40 and the cold mass 30 disposed in contact with the other surface of the cold mass 30. It includes a bracket 60 for fixing the member (10).

The cold mass 30 transmits the low temperature of the heat absorbing portion of the thermoelectric element 20 to the cooling member 40 to lower the heat absorption from the cooling member 40, that is, the temperature of the cooling space, and to the thermoelectric element 20. Since the surface temperature change of the heat absorbing portion due to the nonuniform DC power supplied should play a role of buffering heat in the middle so that the temperature change of the heat absorbing portion is not directly transmitted to the cooling member 40, it is preferable that the surface temperature is made of a metal having high thermal conductivity. . In addition, the cold mass 30 may have various shapes such as a cylindrical shape or a hexahedron, but the thermoelectric element 20 may be used to reduce the thermal resistance in the cooling member 40 direction and to enlarge a uniform temperature region in the cooling member 40. The contact area with the cooling member 40 is larger than the contact area with the heat absorbing portion of the trapezoidal or spigot may have the shape of a cone cut.

In addition, the cooling contact surface 31 in contact with the cooling member 40 of the cold mass 30 is in contact with the engaging portion 61 of the bracket 60, the locking having a step formed at least deeper than the thickness of the engaging portion 61 The jaw portion 33 is formed on a part of the cooling contact surface 31. The locking jaw 33 is a straight groove that crosses the cooling contact surface 31 and a step formed along the entire outer portion of the cooling contact surface 31 according to the shape of the locking portion 61 of the bracket 60, and the cooling contact surface 31. ) It may have various forms such as a step formed on only a part of the outer portion. In particular, when the stepped locking step portion 33 is formed only at the outer edges of both ends of the cooling contact surface 31, the locking step portion 33 may be simultaneously formed in the manufacturing process of the cold mass extruded.

In the first embodiment of the present invention, the engaging jaw portion 33 formed as a step is formed only at a part of the outer portion of the cooling contact surface 31, that is, at both ends of the cooling contact surface 31 facing each other.

The bracket 60 not only serves to couple the cold mass 30 and the heat radiating member 10 to closely contact the heat mass and the heat absorbing portion of the thermoelectric element 20 to the cold mass 30 and the heat radiating member 10. Since it plays a role of thermally separating the low temperature portion and is formed in a thin plate shape in order to minimize the heat influx by heat conduction. In addition, the bracket 60 is formed integrally with one part as a whole.

The bracket 60 is integrally formed at both ends of the catching part 61 and the catching part 61 formed to match the shape of the catching part 33 so as to be caught by the catching part 33 of the cold mass 30. An extension portion 62 extending in the direction of the heat radiation member 10 in a plate shape having a predetermined thickness and a fixing portion formed at the end of the extension portion 62 and coupled to the heat radiation member.

Here, the locking portion 61 may be formed in various forms so as to match the shape of the locking jaw portion 33 in a range that does not interfere with the contact between the cooling contact surface 31 and the cooling member 40. The extension part 62 may be bent and formed in the direction of the heat dissipation member 10 directly at both ends of the locking part 61, and may have a predetermined length on the same plane as the locking part surface so as to be applicable to various shapes of the cold mass 30. It may be formed to be extended and then bent in the direction of the heat radiating member 10.

That is, in this embodiment, since the locking jaw portion 33 is formed in the step shape at both ends of the cold mass 30, the locking portion 61 of the bracket 60 is opened at the center thereof, so that the cooling contact surface 31 is directly cooled. It is formed to contact the 40, the extension portion 62 is formed by extending in a predetermined length at both ends of the locking portion 61 and then bent in the direction of the heat radiation member (10). Thus, since the extension part is formed in a thin plate shape only at both ends of the engaging portion, the cross-sectional area, which is a heat inflow path between the low temperature part and the high temperature part, can be greatly lowered, and the same shape can be applied to the cold mass of various shapes.

2 and 3, the shape of the fixing portion of the first embodiment in the present invention illustrates the flange 63 formed by bending in one direction in the extension portion 62.

In this embodiment, the bracket 60 is connected to the heat dissipation member 10 by using a bolt-nut or a screw, so the flange 63 of the bracket 60 is connected to the heat dissipation member 10 with the flange hole 64. At least one is formed, and the fixing member 11 for fixing the bolt 52 or nut passing through the flange hole 64 is formed in the heat dissipation member 10.

The material of the bracket 60 is not limited, but the bracket 60 must be fastened so that the cold mass 30 and the heat dissipation member 10 may be coupled to both sides of the thermoelectric element 20 with a uniform and proper contact pressure. It is preferable that the material itself has a little elasticity, the material may be metal, plastic, carbon fiber, wood and the like. In addition, even if metal is used, since the thickness of the extension part 62 of the bracket is thin, the thermal conductivity between the heat dissipation member 10 and the cold mass 30 through the bracket 60 is very small. Insulation material 70 having a constant thickness may be inserted between the engaging portion 61 of the bracket 60 and the engaging jaw portion 33 of the cold mass 30 to ensure contact with each other and to prevent thermal conduction between each other. .

In addition, the bracket 60 may not only form the conductive heat transfer cross-sectional area smaller than the fastening structure using bolts between the cold mass 30 and the heat dissipation member 10 described in the related art, but also the bracket engaging portion 61 and Since the contact heat resistance between the cold mass catching jaw 33 is formed to be large, it has a much larger conduction heat resistance than the bolt as a whole, and effectively blocks the heat inflow between the high temperature part and the low temperature part without using the heat insulator 70.

The heat dissipation member 10 is preferably made of a metal having high thermal conductivity such as aluminum so that the heat dissipation of the thermoelectric element 20 is easy, and the cooling member 40 is easy to absorb heat to the thermoelectric element 20. In addition, the cooling member 40 and the heat dissipation member 10 may have various types of heat dissipation structures according to the requirements to which the thermoelectric element 20 is applied.

Although not shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, between the thermoelectric element 20 and the heat dissipation member 10, between the thermoelectric element 20 and the cold mass 30, and between the cold mass 30 and the cooling member 40. Heat transfer grease or heat transfer adhesive is applied between the elements to reduce the contact resistance between the contact surfaces of the elements. The electrothermal grease is preferably prepared by adding conductive powder to oil.

As shown in Figure 4 and 5, the cooling and heating apparatus using a thermoelectric element according to a second embodiment of the present invention except for the shape of the fixing portion formed in the extension portion 62 of the bracket 60 2 and the same as the cooling and heating apparatus using the thermoelectric element of the first embodiment shown in FIG. Therefore, only the fixing part of the bracket 60 is demonstrated here.

In the present embodiment, the fixing portion of the bracket 60 is formed with a protrusion latch 65 protruding in one direction from one end of the extension portion 62. When the projection latch 65 is fitted into the engaging hole 12 formed in the heat dissipation member 10, the extension portion 62 of the bracket 60 is opened in the same direction as the projection direction of the projection latch 65 by the elasticity of the material. Since the bracket 60 is caught in the locking hole 12 is fixed. The position of the locking hole 12 may be formed on the thermoelectric element contact surface on the heat dissipation member 10 as shown in the figure, or may be formed on the other two other surfaces. In addition, according to the shape of the heat dissipation member 10, the protrusion latch 65 may be fixed by being caught with one end of the heat dissipation member 10 instead of the locking hole 12. Therefore, the locking hole 12 here means not only a hole shape but also various shapes such as a jaw to which the protruding latch 65 can be caught.

In the first and second embodiments of the present invention, the cooling member 40 and the cold mass 30 may be combined in various ways, but preferably, the through hole 41 and the cold mass 30 formed in the cooling member 40 are provided. The screw thread formed in the < RTI ID = 0.0 >

6 and 7 show a third embodiment of the present invention. This embodiment is characterized in that the cooling member and the cold mass are formed integrally. Such an integrated structure is one in which the cooling member and the cold mass are integrally formed so as to meet the cooling conditions of the cooling space when a special shape of the cooling member is not required. Thus, the shape of the cold mass has no cooling contact surface 31 to which the cooling member 40 of the first and second embodiments is attached, and instead a protrusion is formed from the opposite surface of the cold mass surface to which the thermoelectric element 20 is attached. This projection is located in the cooling space to play a cooling role. This integrated cold mass can be applied to, for example, a cooling module of a cold water tank of a water purifier. As shown in FIG. 6, the sealing member 80 is coupled to the cold mass in the cooling module of the cold water tank of the water purifier to prevent leakage between the cold mass surface and the water purifier cold water tank wall.

In this case, in the cold mass 30, a locking jaw portion 33 that contacts the locking portion 61 of the bracket 60 and fixes the cold mass 30 is formed at the outer peripheral portion of the cold mass 30. According to the shape of the locking portion 61 of the bracket 60, the locking jaw 33 has various steps such as steps formed along the entire outer circumferential portion of the cold mass, as shown in FIG. It may have a form.

Since the shape of the bracket 60 and the coupling structure of the heat dissipation member 10 are the same as in the first embodiment, description thereof will be omitted.

Next, a method of installing the fastening structure of the thermoelectric element 20 according to the present invention configured as described above will be described.

First, the thermoelectric element 20 is placed at a predetermined position such that the heat radiating portion of the thermoelectric element 20 is positioned on the contact surface of the heat radiating member 10, and the cold mass 30 is brought into contact with the heat absorbing portion of the thermoelectric element 20. Next, the locking portion 61 of the bracket 60 is positioned on the locking jaw portion 33 of the cold mass 30 with the heat insulating material 70 interposed therebetween, and then the flange portion 63 of the bracket 60 is moved to the heat radiating member. Screw or bolt to the fixing hole 11 of 10, or insert the protruding latch 65 of the bracket 60 into the locking hole 12 of the heat radiation member 10, and the extension 62 is elastically elastic. By opening the bracket 60 is fixed to the heat radiation member (10). Then, the cooling member 40 and the cold mass 30 are fixed using bolts or screws.

As such, the cold mass 30 and the heat dissipation member 10 are closely attached to the thermoelectric element 20 by using the elasticity of the bracket 60 to fasten the cold mass 30 and the heat dissipation member 10 using only the fastening bolts. In this case, the breakage of the thermoelectric element 20 generated can be reduced, and heat inflow between the low temperature part of the cold mass 30 and the high temperature part of the heat dissipation member 10 can be reduced due to the material of the bracket 60 and the high heat resistance structure. Since it can be reduced, the performance of the thermoelectric element 20 can be improved.

Although the preferred embodiments of the present invention have been described above, the present invention is not limited thereto, and various modifications or changes can be made within the scope of the claims and the detailed description of the invention and the accompanying drawings. It goes without saying that it belongs to the scope of the present invention.

In the fastening structure of the thermoelectric element 20 of the present invention configured as described above, the thermoelectric element 20 by fastening the heat dissipation member 10, which is a high temperature part, and the cold mass 30, which is a low temperature part, to the thermoelectric element using the bracket 60. ) The breakdown of the thermoelectric element 20 generated at the time of fastening can be reduced, and the heat inflow between the high temperature part and the low temperature part can be reduced to improve the cooling performance of the thermoelectric element 20, thereby reducing the energy cost by reducing the power consumption. You can get it.

Claims (8)

A thermoelectric element 20 which is electrically operated; A heat dissipation member 10 disposed in contact with the heat generating surface of the thermoelectric element 20; A cold mass 30 having one surface contacting the endothermic surface of the thermoelectric element 20; A cooling member 40 disposed in contact with the other surface of the cold mass 30; And an integrally formed bracket which is caught by a part of the cold mass 30 and fixed to the heat dissipation member 10 so as to be in close contact with the cold mass 30 and the thermoelectric element 20 and the heat dissipation member 10. Cooling and heating apparatus using a thermoelectric element comprising (60). The method of claim 1, The bracket 60 does not contact the cooling member 40 and is integrally formed with both ends of the catching portion 61 and the catching portion 61 in which only part of the cold mass 30 is in contact with the heat radiating member 10. Extension part 62 extending in the direction and the end of the extension portion 62 is formed and coupled to the heat dissipation member 10, Part of the cold mass 30 is a cooling and heating device using a thermoelectric element, characterized in that the locking step portion 33 is formed in contact with the locking portion 61 of the bracket (60). The method of claim 2, The locking jaw portion 33 is a protruding portion protruding in at least a portion of the cold mass 30 in the circumferential direction, a step portion formed on at least a portion of an outer portion of the surface of the cold mass 30 to which the cooling member 40 contacts, Is formed in at least one or more of the grooves formed to cross the surface of the cold mass 30 in contact with the cooling member 40, The locking portion 61 of the bracket 60 corresponds to the shape of the locking jaw portion 33, and the thermoelectric element is formed so as not to contact the cooling member 40 when placed in contact with the locking jaw portion 33. Cooling and heating device used. The method of claim 2 or 3, The fixing portion of the bracket 60 is bent at the end of the extension portion 62 is formed flange (63) which is screwed or bolted to one surface of the heat dissipation member (10); Or protruding from the end of the extension portion 62 is used in the thermoelectric element, characterized in that formed in at least one form of the projection latch 65 is fixed to the engaging hole 12 formed in the heat radiating member (10). Cooling and heating. A thermoelectric element 20 which is electrically operated; A heat dissipation member 10 disposed in contact with the heat generating surface of the thermoelectric element 20; A cold mass 30 having one surface contacting the heat absorbing surface of the thermoelectric element 20 and having at least a portion exposed to the cooling space; And an integrally formed bracket which is caught by a part of the cold mass 30 and fixed to the heat dissipation member 10 so as to be in close contact with the cold mass 30 and the thermoelectric element 20 and the heat dissipation member 10. Cooling and heating apparatus using a thermoelectric element comprising (60). The method of claim 5, The bracket 60 is a hook portion 61 which is caught by a part of the cold mass 30 and is in contact with an extension portion 62 which is formed integrally with both ends of the hook portion 61 and extends in the direction of the heat radiation member 10. And a fixing part formed at an end of the extension part 62 and coupled to the heat dissipation member 10. Part of the cold mass 30 is a cooling and heating device using a thermoelectric element, characterized in that the locking step portion 33 is formed in contact with the locking portion 61 of the bracket (60). The method of claim 6, The locking jaw 33 is formed as a protrusion protruding in the circumferential direction from at least a portion of the outer circumferential surface of the cold mass 30 The hook portion 61 of the bracket 60 is thermoelectric, characterized in that the center portion of the hook portion 61 is opened so as to correspond to the shape of the locking jaw portion 33 so that a part of the cold mass 30 penetrates. Cooling and heating devices using devices. The method according to claim 6 or 7, The fixing portion of the bracket 60 is bent at the end of the extension portion 62 is formed flange (63) which is screwed or bolted to one surface of the heat dissipation member (10); Or protruding from the end of the extension portion 62, the thermoelectric element thermoelectric, characterized in that formed in at least one form of the projection latch 65 is fixed to the engaging hole 12 formed on one surface of the heat dissipation member (10). Cooling and heating devices using devices.

Images