KR100792791B1 - A micro thermoelectric power generating module which can easily increases the output power capacity - Google Patents

Abstract

A micro thermoelectric power generating module which can easily increase an output power capacity is provided to improve a heating efficiency by directly delivering a heat generated in a heat source to a high temperature element of a thermoelectric element with the thermoelectric element attached directly to an exterior of the heat source. A micro thermoelectric power generating module which can easily increase an output power capacity includes a micro burner(2), at least one or more thermoelectric elements(1), and an electric condenser(6). The micro burner is used to supply a heat. The thermoelectric elements are attached onto an external surface of the burner. Electricity acquired from the thermoelectric element is stored in the electric condenser. Cooling fins(3) are installed on a surface facing exteriors of the thermoelectric elements. The burner has a rectangular pole shape. A duct-type case(5) is further installed outside the cooling fins. A cooling fan(4) compulsorily blowing an air to the cooling fin is installed in one end portion of the duct-type case.

Description

A micro thermoelectric power generating module which can easily increases the output power capacity}

1 is an exploded perspective view showing an example of a thermoelectric power module according to the present invention,

2 is a partial cross-sectional view showing an example of a thermoelectric power module according to the present invention,

3 is a partial cross-sectional perspective view showing an example of a micro combustor installed in the thermoelectric power module according to the present invention,

4 is a perspective view illustrating one example of a thermoelectric element and a cooling fin provided in a thermoelectric power module according to the present invention;

FIG. 5 is a plan view illustrating an example of a thermoelectric power module assembly in which two generations of a thermoelectric power unit module according to the present invention are connected to each other and a pair of power generation capacities are doubled;

FIG. 6 is a plan view illustrating an example of a thermoelectric power module assembly in which a power generation capacity of four times the thermoelectric power unit module according to the present invention is connected to each other in a pair and expanded four times.

<Code Description of Main Parts of Drawing>

1: thermoelectric element

2: micro combustor

  21: air hose

  22: fuel nozzle

  23: ignition coil

  24: exhaust pipe

3: cooling fin

4: cooling fan

5: duct type case

6: capacitor

The present invention relates to the construction of an ultra-small thermoelectric power module. Specifically, a high temperature part of a thermoelectric element is directly attached to an outer wall of a combustor serving as a high temperature heat source, and a cooling fin is attached to a low temperature part opposite to the thermoelectric element, thereby cooling by forced convection using a cooling fan. The present invention relates to a thermoelectric power module that can increase a thermoelectric power generation effect by increasing a cooling effect of a fin to increase a temperature difference between a high temperature part and a low temperature part of a thermoelectric element.

Most miniature thermoelectric power generation systems that have been studied in the past are mostly systems that produce or cool electricity by attaching thermoelectric elements to heat sources that are not used or discarded, such as heat generated by the human body or heat generated from electronic components. Very small within 1W.

The ultra-small thermoelectric power module targeted in the present invention is characterized in that the fuel having artificially high temperature calories is burned in a micro combustor to be converted into heat, and the high temperature heat source is configured to convert the thermoelectric element into electricity.

Thermoelectric power generation using thermoelectric elements is based on the Seebeck effect in which electromotive force is generated by a temperature difference. Thermoelectric power generation has an advantage of generating electricity by a very simple method of attaching a thermoelectric element to a heat source when there is a heat source. .

In constructing a thermoelectric power generation system, a compact and thermoelectric power module designed by combining an ultra-compact combustor and a thermoelectric element can make the energy density (Wh / kg) higher than that of a conventional secondary battery. The use time is longer than the battery. In addition, since the output can be produced from 1W to several tens of W, it is also possible to replace the secondary battery as a power source of some portable devices.

In the thermoelectric element, the electric power generation efficiency increases as the temperature difference between the high temperature part and the low temperature part increases, so even if the thermoelectric element is attached to the same high temperature heat source, the size and efficiency of the power generation output increases as the temperature of the low temperature part decreases.

In order to compose a thermoelectric power generation system with a power source of a portable device, the entire system must be lightweight and compact. Therefore, in order to increase the efficiency of thermoelectric power generation, the cooling device can be operated with low weight, small size, and low power consumption, among other methods of lowering the temperature of a low temperature part. Must have characteristics One of the cooling devices having such a light weight, small size and low power consumption is a cooling fan.

Most of the studies on the micro thermoelectric power generation system combined with the micro combustor and the thermoelectric element remain in the early stage, and some of the manufactured systems do not use the cooling device for the low temperature part, so the power generation efficiency is low. In many cases, a small number of studies that use a cooling fan to build a system have not optimized the method of attachment and construction of the combustor and thermoelectric element, so that the heat generation from the combustor is not fully utilized and the overall power generation efficiency is low.

In addition, if a thermoelectric power generation system is developed to be used as a power source for a portable device, it must be easily manufactured by capacity to meet the power requirements of various equipment. If it is not easy to expand the capacity of thermoelectric power generation system, the components of thermoelectric power generation system such as combustor, thermoelectric element, cooling fin, etc. must be redesigned and manufactured for each power capacity of portable device, which is difficult in terms of cost and time. It is effective to make thermoelectric power generation system with unit module that can easily generate power generation capacity and expand capacity according to future needs.

The present invention has been invented to solve the above problems, it is configured by directly attaching a thermoelectric element to the outside of the heat source, the heat generated by the heat source is transferred directly to the high temperature portion of the thermoelectric element thermoelectric power generation device for improved thermoelectric power generation device The purpose is to provide a power generation module.

In addition, an object of the present invention is to provide a thermoelectric power module for a thermoelectric power generation device having a higher power generation efficiency by increasing a temperature difference between a high temperature part and a low temperature part by lowering the temperature of the low temperature part by installing a cooling fin at a low temperature part of the thermoelectric element.

In addition, the present invention operates a cooling fan by using a part of the electricity obtained from the ultra-compact combustor and thermoelectric element, by increasing the heat transfer effect by forcibly blowing air to the cooling fins attached to the low temperature portion by reducing the temperature of the low temperature portion It is an object of the present invention to provide a thermoelectric power module that increases power generation efficiency by increasing a temperature difference with a high temperature part.

Thermoelectric power generation module according to the present invention for achieving the above object in the construction of an electric generator using a combustor and thermoelectric element, the ultra-small ratio of the large surface area to combustor volume ratio so that the outer wall area of the combustor to which the thermoelectric element is to be attached as wide as possible The thermoelectric element is attached to the outer wall of the combustor.

In addition, the present invention has a structure in which the outer shape of the ultra-compact combustor in the shape of a square pillar and four thermoelectric elements on each side wall and one thermoelectric element on the top to maximize the heat generated from the combustor, the outer side of each thermoelectric element The cooling face is installed on the facing surface to facilitate the cooling operation of the low temperature part.

Hereinafter, the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings so that those skilled in the art can easily understand and reproduce.

1 is an exploded perspective view showing an example of a unit thermoelectric power module according to the present invention, Figure 2 is a partial cross-sectional view showing an example of a thermoelectric power module according to the present invention, Figure 3 is a thermoelectric power module according to the present invention Partial cross-sectional perspective view showing an example of the ultra-compact combustor is installed, Figure 4 is a perspective view showing an example of the thermoelectric element and the cooling fin provided in the thermoelectric power module according to the present invention, Figure 5 is a thermoelectric power module according to the present invention FIG. 6 is a plan view illustrating an example of a pair of thermoelectric power module assemblies connected to each other, and FIG. 6 illustrates an example of a pair of thermoelectric power module assemblies connecting four thermoelectric power modules according to the present invention. One floor plan.

As shown, the thermoelectric power module according to the present invention is configured to attach five thermoelectric elements 1 to the outer wall of the combustor 2, and the electricity from each thermoelectric element 1 is stored in the capacitor 6. .

Since the combustor 2 becomes smaller in size, the ratio of the surface area to the combustor volume becomes large, and thus the combustor 2 is manufactured to be extremely small so that the area to which the hot part of the thermoelectric element 1 is attached is as wide as possible. The outer shape of the combustor 2 is to have a square pillar shape in order to take full advantage of the heat of combustion transmitted to.

As shown in FIG. 3, the combustor 2 is a conventional microminiature having an air supply pipe 21 through which air is supplied, a fuel supply pipe 22 through which fuel is supplied, a spark plug 23, and an exhaust pipe 24. As the combustor, it is preferable that the surface which transfers combustion heat to the outside is widely used among those already known in the art to which the present invention belongs, and the outer surface may be formed in a cylindrical shape. In view of the deterioration of the characteristics of the thermoelectric element 1 having the arc shape and the difficulty in processing, the surface on which the thermoelectric element 1 is attached is preferably formed in a flat surface.

In addition, the cooling fins 3 configured as shown in FIG. 4 are installed at the outer low temperature parts of the thermoelectric elements 1 to increase the cooling effect, and to provide more efficient cooling by forced convection. The cooling fan 4 is provided in the upper part of the mold case 5 as shown in FIG.

The duct type case 5 serves as a housing in which the respective component parts can be fixed and restricts the flow of air forcedly convection in the cooling fan 4 in one direction to induce more effective cooling. .

Grooves that fit the size of each cooling fin 3 and the number of cooling fins 3 are engraved on the inner wall surface of the duct-type case 5 so that the cooling is attached to the micro combustor and the thermoelectric element 1. The pin 3 is manufactured to be fitted into the groove without using a separate coupling method.

Since the cooling fan 4 is driven by the electric power obtained from the thermoelectric element 1 and stored in the capacitor 6, the cooling fan 4 should have a required power much smaller than the generation capacity of the thermoelectric elements 1, and the thermoelectric power generation. Since the electricity is not stored in the capacitor 6 at the beginning, the cooling fan 4 is operated in a state in which the cooling fan 4 is not driven, and the cooling fan 4 is operated after the electricity is stored sufficiently in the capacitor 6 so that the thermoelectric power generation efficiency is improved. It will increase the amount of electricity generated.

The cooling fan 4 may be designed and manufactured separately so as to be suitable for a unit thermoelectric power module targeted by the present invention, but the duct type case 5 may be used to use a small low-power CPU fan that is commonly used in a conventional PC. If you design and manufacture the cross-sectional size of the system, you can save a separate cooling fan manufacturing cost for cooling.

Since the thermoelectric power module of FIG. 1 is manufactured in a form in which all the component parts are combined inside the rectangular duct type case 5, when the capacity capable of generating power in the unit thermoelectric power module is determined, thermoelectric power generation having a larger capacity than this is determined. To manufacture the module, as shown in FIG. 5, the thermoelectric power module assembly having a larger capacity can be easily implemented by connecting the unit thermoelectric power module of FIG. 1 in a multiple of 2 to form a pair.

5 shows an example of a thermoelectric power module assembly in which an output capacity is doubled by connecting two unit thermoelectric power modules.

As shown in the drawing, when two thermoelectric power modules are disposed adjacent to each other to form a pair, the thermoelectric elements 1 are connected to each other in parallel or in series, and the cooling fan 4 is installed in each module. To achieve individual cooling.

6 shows an example of a thermoelectric power generation system in which an output capacity is quadrupled by connecting four unit thermoelectric power generation modules. At this time, the unit thermoelectric power module may be cooled by individual cooling fans, and as shown, all four modules may be cooled by one cooling fan 4 having a large capacity. Depending on the size of the power and the installation environment of the thermoelectric power module.

While the invention has been described with reference to the preferred embodiments, many modifications and variations are possible without departing from the scope and spirit of the invention as set forth by the claims below.

The ultra-small thermoelectric power module to be dealt with in the present invention can be used as a power source of a portable device that needs to be used for a long time, and since only a basic unit module needs to be connected in constructing a thermoelectric power system suitable for power requirements of various portable devices. The capacity can be easily expanded to easily produce thermoelectric power generation systems that can cope with various power requirements.

In addition, the ultra-compact thermoelectric power generation system using a combustor has a higher energy density than a conventional secondary battery, so it can be used longer than a secondary battery when applied to portable devices, and the lighter the power source, the smaller the aircraft and military portable equipment, which is advantageous for development. It can be applied as a power source.

While the present invention has been described with reference to the accompanying drawings, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that many various obvious modifications are possible without departing from the scope of the invention from this description. Accordingly, the invention can only be construed limited by the words of the appended claims.

Claims (7)

In constructing a miniature thermoelectric power module having a high energy density and a large power generation capacity by using a thermoelectric element, the micro-combustor 2 is used for supplying a heat source, and at least one thermoelectric element 1 is attached to the outer surface of the combustor. The electricity obtained from is configured to be stored in a separate capacitor (6), Capacitance expansion easy thermoelectric power module, characterized in that the cooling fins (3) is installed on the outer surface of the thermoelectric elements (1). 2. The capacity of claim 1, wherein the combustor 2 is shaped like a pillar whose outer shape is square, and the thermoelectric element 1 is fixed to four peripheral side walls and the upper surface of the combustor 2, respectively. Easily expandable thermoelectric power module. The method of claim 2, The outer side of the cooling fin (3) is further provided with a cylindrical duct-shaped case (5) with both ends open, the cooling fin (3) is a groove processed in four inner surfaces of the duct-shaped case (5) Easy expansion of thermoelectric power module, characterized in that the fixed to fit in. 4. The thermoelectric power module according to claim 3, wherein a cooling fan (4) for forcibly blowing air toward the cooling fin (3) is installed at one end of the duct type case (5). The thermoelectric power module according to claim 4, wherein the cooling fan (2) is connected to the capacitor (6) and driven using electricity generated by the thermoelectric element (1). The thermoelectric power module according to claim 5, wherein the thermoelectric power modules are connected in multiples of two to form a pair. 7. The thermoelectric power module of claim 6, wherein the thermoelectric power module is connected to each other in multiples of 4 to form a pair, and the cooling fan 4 is configured to be installed separately in each thermoelectric power module or to install one having a large capacity. Easy to expand capacity thermoelectric power module characterized by.

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