KR102478820B1 - Thermoelectric device moudule - Google Patents

Abstract

An embodiment includes a first substrate, a plurality of thermoelectric legs disposed on the first substrate, a second substrate disposed on the plurality of thermoelectric legs on top of the first substrate, and the first substrate and the plurality of thermoelectric legs. an electrode including a plurality of first electrodes disposed between legs and a plurality of second electrodes disposed between the second substrate and the plurality of thermoelectric legs, and sealing portions disposed on outer surfaces of the thermoelectric legs and the electrodes; , The sealing part discloses a thermoelectric module including a plurality of hollow fillers.

Description

Thermoelectric module {THERMOELECTRIC DEVICE MOUDULE}

The present invention relates to a thermoelectric module, and more particularly, to a thermoelectric module having improved heat flow performance within the thermoelectric module.

The thermoelectric phenomenon is a phenomenon caused by the movement of electrons and holes inside a material, and means a direct energy conversion between heat and electricity.

A thermoelectric module is a generic term for devices using a thermoelectric phenomenon, and has a structure in which a P-type thermoelectric material and an N-type thermoelectric material are bonded between metal electrodes to form a PN junction pair.

The thermoelectric module may be classified into an element using a temperature change of electrical resistance, an element using the Seebeck effect, a phenomenon in which electromotive force is generated by a temperature difference, and an element using the Peltier effect, a phenomenon in which heat absorption or heat generation occurs due to current. .

Thermoelectric modules are widely applied to home appliances, electronic components, and communication components. For example, the thermoelectric module may be applied to a device for cooling, a device for heating, a device for power generation, and the like. Accordingly, the demand for thermoelectric performance of the thermoelectric module is gradually increasing.

Such a thermoelectric module can be applied to a refrigerator or a water purifier when used for cooling, and there is a problem in that the thermoelectric element is corroded by condensation and moisture due to low temperature implementation. In order to solve this problem, in the prior art, a sealing material is directly placed on the side surface of the thermoelectric element to prevent penetration of moisture. However, since the sealing material is directly attached to the thermoelectric element, there is a problem in that heat flow performance in the thermoelectric module is deteriorated.

A technical problem to be achieved by the present invention is to provide a thermoelectric module with improved heat flow performance within the thermoelectric module by securing a heat flow space on the side of the thermoelectric element.

The problem to be solved in the embodiment is not limited thereto, and it will be said that the solution to the problem described below or the purpose or effect that can be grasped from the embodiment is also included.

A thermoelectric module according to an embodiment of the present invention includes a first substrate, a plurality of thermoelectric legs disposed on the first substrate, a second substrate disposed on the plurality of thermoelectric legs above the first substrate, the An electrode including a plurality of first electrodes disposed between a first substrate and the plurality of thermoelectric legs and a plurality of second electrodes disposed between the second substrate and the plurality of thermoelectric legs, and the thermoelectric leg, the electrode It includes a sealing part disposed on an outer surface, and the sealing part includes a plurality of hollow pillars.

The plurality of hollow fillers may include a film and an inner space surrounded by the film.

An inner space of the hollow filler may be vacuum.

The inner space of the hollow filler is filled with a first gas, and the first gas may have lower thermal conductivity than air.

The hollow filler may include an inorganic oxide.

The inorganic oxide may include at least one selected from the group consisting of Al ₂ SiO ₅ , Al ₂ O ₃ , SiO 2 , and TiO 2 .

The sealing part may include a resin layer surrounding the plurality of hollow fillers, and the resin layer may be hydrophobic.

A volume of the sealing unit may be 90% to 100% of a volume of the space between the first substrate and the second substrate excluding the plurality of thermoelectric legs and the electrode.

A volume of the sealing unit may be 20% to 40% of a volume of the space between the first substrate and the second substrate excluding the plurality of thermoelectric legs and the electrode.

The plurality of hollow fillers may be included in an amount of 30 wt% to 60 wt% based on 100 wt% of the total sealing part.

An average size of the plurality of hollow fillers may be 1 μm to 5 μm.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, a thermoelectric module having excellent waterproof and dustproof performance can be obtained. In particular, according to an embodiment of the present invention, a thermoelectric module with improved heat flow performance can be obtained.

Various advantageous advantages and effects of the present invention are not limited to the above description, and will be more easily understood in the process of describing specific embodiments of the present invention.

1 is a cross-sectional view of a general thermoelectric module;
2 is a cross-sectional view of a general thermoelectric module in which a sealing material is disposed;
3 is a cross-sectional view of a thermoelectric module according to an embodiment of the present invention;
4 is a perspective view illustrating the thermoelectric element of FIG. 3;
FIG. 5 is an enlarged view of 5 in FIG. 3 .
6 is a cross-sectional view of a thermoelectric module according to another embodiment of the present invention;
7 is an exemplary diagram in which a thermoelectric module according to the present invention is applied to a water purifier;
8 is an exemplary diagram in which the thermoelectric module according to the present invention is applied to a refrigerator.

Since the present invention can make various changes and have various embodiments, specific embodiments are illustrated and described in the drawings. However, this is not intended to limit the present invention to specific embodiments, and should be understood to include all modifications, equivalents, and substitutes included in the spirit and scope of the present invention.

Terms including ordinal numbers such as second, first, etc. may be used to describe various components, but the components are not limited by the terms. These terms are only used for the purpose of distinguishing one component from another. For example, a second element may be termed a first element, and similarly, a first element may be termed a second element, without departing from the scope of the present invention. The terms and/or include any combination of a plurality of related recited items or any of a plurality of related recited items.

It is understood that when an element is referred to as being "connected" or "connected" to another element, it may be directly connected or connected to the other element, but other elements may exist in the middle. It should be. On the other hand, when an element is referred to as “directly connected” or “directly connected” to another element, it should be understood that no other element exists in the middle.

Terms used in this application are only used to describe specific embodiments, and are not intended to limit the present invention. Singular expressions include plural expressions unless the context clearly dictates otherwise. In this application, the terms "include" or "have" are intended to designate that there is a feature, number, step, operation, component, part, or combination thereof described in the specification, but one or more other features It should be understood that the presence or addition of numbers, steps, operations, components, parts, or combinations thereof is not precluded.

Unless defined otherwise, all terms used herein, including technical or scientific terms, have the same meaning as commonly understood by one of ordinary skill in the art to which the present invention belongs. Terms such as those defined in commonly used dictionaries should be interpreted as having a meaning consistent with the meaning in the context of the related art, and unless explicitly defined in the present application, they should not be interpreted in an ideal or excessively formal meaning. don't

Hereinafter, the embodiments will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings, but the same or corresponding components regardless of reference numerals will be assigned the same reference numerals, and overlapping descriptions thereof will be omitted.

1 is a cross-sectional view of a typical thermoelectric module, and FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of a typical thermoelectric module in which a sealant is disposed.

First, referring to FIG. 1 , a general thermoelectric module includes a first heat conducting plate 1 , a second heat conducting plate 2 and a thermoelectric element 10 .

Here, the thermoelectric element 10 includes a P-type thermoelectric leg 12, an N-type thermoelectric leg 13, a lower substrate 14, an upper substrate 15, a lower electrode 16, an upper electrode 17, and a lead wire ( 18).

Also, referring to FIG. 2 , a general thermoelectric module having a sealant disposed thereon includes a first heat conduction plate 1 , a second heat conduction plate 2 , a thermoelectric element 10 and a sealant 3 .

The thermoelectric module according to FIG. 2 has improved waterproof and dustproof performance compared to the thermoelectric module in which the sealing material is not disposed, but as shown in [Table 1], between the first heat conduction plate 1 and the second heat conduction plate 2 The temperature difference (dT) decreases, and the heat absorption amount (Qc) at the cooling side decreases.

Thermoelectric module according to FIG. 1 Thermoelectric module according to FIG. 2 Endothermic value (Qc) 42.522W 41.959W Temperature difference (dT) 54.36℃ 52.47℃

This is because heat is exchanged between the first heat conducting plate 1 and the second heat conducting plate 2 through the sealing material 3 . That is, as the temperature difference between the first heat conduction plate 1 and the second heat conduction plate 2 decreases, the thermoelectric efficiency may decrease.

Hereinafter, a thermoelectric module 1000 according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 3 to 5 .

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view of a thermoelectric module according to an exemplary embodiment, FIG. 4 is a perspective view illustrating the thermoelectric element of FIG. 3 , and FIG. 5 is an enlarged view of 5 in FIG. 3 .

Referring to FIGS. 3 to 5 , a thermoelectric module 1000 according to an embodiment of the present invention includes a first heat conduction plate 1 , a second heat conduction plate 2 and a thermoelectric element 100 .

The first heat conduction plate 1 and the second heat conduction plate 2 face each other with the thermoelectric element 100 therebetween. The first heat conduction plate 1 and the second heat conduction plate 2 may be made of a metal material having excellent heat conductivity.

Here, the first heat conduction plate 1 is installed between the heat absorbing surface of the thermoelectric element 100 and the surface of the cooling side (not shown) to improve the heat transfer area when heat is absorbed through the heat absorbing surface of the thermoelectric element 100. At this time, although aluminum or the like is used for the first heat conduction plate 1, copper, stainless steel, or brass can be used as a matter of course.

Since the first heat conduction plate 1 can increase the heat transfer area during use, the temperature gradient can be reduced, and above all, the second heat conduction plate 2 attached to the heat dissipation surface of the thermoelectric element 100 and the cooling side (not shown) It is possible to block the transfer of heat from the relatively hot second heat conduction plate 2 to the cold cooling side (not shown) by artificially gapping the gap between the second heat conduction plate 2 and the second heat conduction plate 2 .

The second heat conduction plate 2 is in close contact with the heating surface of the thermoelectric element 100 to dissipate heat from the thermoelectric element 100, and an extruded heat sink is commonly used, but in some cases a skiving type heat sink or heat pipe is used. Embedded type heat sink and pin bonded type heat sink can be used.

Here, it has been described that the first heat conduction plate 1 is a heat absorbing surface and the second heat conduction plate 2 is a heat radiating surface, but the heat absorbing surface and the heat radiating surface may be interchanged depending on the direction of current applied to the thermoelectric element. .

In addition, the thermoelectric element 100 includes a P-type thermoelectric leg 120, an N-type thermoelectric leg 130, a lower substrate 140, an upper substrate 150, a lower electrode 161, an upper electrode 162, and a sealing part. 170, a lead wire 180, and a solder layer (not shown).

The lower electrode 161 is disposed between the lower substrate 140 and the lower surfaces of the P-type thermoelectric leg 120 and the N-type thermoelectric leg 130, and the upper electrode 162 is disposed between the upper substrate 150 and the P-type thermoelectric leg. 120 and the top surface of the N-type thermoelectric leg 130. Accordingly, the plurality of P-type thermoelectric legs 120 and the plurality of N-type thermoelectric legs 130 are electrically connected by the lower electrode 161 and the upper electrode 162 . A pair of P-type thermoelectric legs 120 and N-type thermoelectric legs 130 disposed between the lower electrode 161 and the upper electrode 162 and electrically connected to each other may form a unit cell.

For example, when a voltage is applied to the lower electrode 161 and the upper electrode 162 through the lead wires 181 and 182, a current flows from the P-type thermoelectric leg 120 to the N-type thermoelectric leg 130 due to the Peltier effect. The substrate through which A flows absorbs heat and acts as a cooling part, and the substrate through which current flows from the N-type thermoelectric leg 130 to the P-type thermoelectric leg 120 is heated and acts as a heating part.

Here, the P-type thermoelectric leg 120 and the N-type thermoelectric leg 130 may be bismuth steluride (Bi-Te)-based thermoelectric legs containing bismuth (Bi) and tellurium (Te) as main materials. The P-type thermoelectric leg 120 includes antimony (Sb), nickel (Ni), aluminum (Al), copper (Cu), silver (Ag), lead (Pb), boron (B), and gallium with respect to 100 wt% of the total weight. (Ga), tellurium (Te), bismuth (Bi) and indium (In) bismuth steluride (Bi-Te)-based main raw material containing at least one of 99 to 99.999 wt% and a mixture containing Bi or Te 0.001 It may be a thermoelectric leg containing 1wt% to 1wt%. For example, the main raw material is Bi-Se-Te, and Bi or Te may be further included in an amount of 0.001 to 1 wt% of the total weight. The N-type thermoelectric leg 230 includes selenium (Se), nickel (Ni), aluminum (Al), copper (Cu), silver (Ag), lead (Pb), boron (B), and gallium with respect to 100 wt% of the total weight. (Ga), tellurium (Te), bismuth (Bi) and indium (In) bismuth steluride (Bi-Te)-based main raw material containing at least one of 99 to 99.999 wt% and a mixture containing Bi or Te 0.001 It may be a thermoelectric leg containing 1wt% to 1wt%. For example, the main raw material is Bi-Sb-Te, and Bi or Te may be further included in an amount of 0.001 to 1 wt% of the total weight.

The P-type thermoelectric leg 120 and the N-type thermoelectric leg 130 may be formed in a bulk or stacked type. In general, the bulk P-type thermoelectric leg 120 or the bulk-type N-type thermoelectric leg 130 heat-treats a thermoelectric material to produce an ingot, pulverizes and sieves the ingot to obtain powder for the thermoelectric leg, and then obtains powder for the thermoelectric leg. It can be obtained through a process of sintering and cutting the sintered body. The stacked P-type thermoelectric leg 120 or the stacked N-type thermoelectric leg 230 is formed by applying a paste containing a thermoelectric material on a sheet-shaped substrate to form unit members, and then stacking and cutting the unit members. can be obtained

In this case, the pair of P-type thermoelectric legs 120 and N-type thermoelectric legs 130 preferably have the same shape and the same height, and may have different shapes and volumes. For example, since the electrical conduction characteristics of the P-type thermoelectric leg 120 and the N-type thermoelectric leg 130 are different, the cross-sectional area of the N-type thermoelectric leg 130 may be different from that of the P-type thermoelectric leg 120. may be

Meanwhile, insulators (not shown) may be disposed on side surfaces of the P-type thermoelectric leg 120 and the N-type thermoelectric leg 130 in a height direction (Z-axis direction).

Meanwhile, the performance of the thermoelectric element according to an embodiment of the present invention may be expressed as a Seebeck index. The Seebeck index (ZT) can be expressed as in Equation 1.

는 제벡계수[V/K]이고,

는 전기 전도도[S/m]이며,

는 파워 인자(Power Factor, [W/mK²])이다. 그리고, T는 온도이고, k는 열전도도[W/mK]이다. k는

로 나타낼 수 있으며, a는 열확산도[cm²/S]이고, cp 는 비열[J/gK]이며,

는 밀도[g/cm³]이다.here,

is the Seebeck coefficient [V/K],

is the electrical conductivity [S/m],

is the power factor (W/mK ² ). And, T is the temperature and k is the thermal conductivity [W/mK]. k is

It can be expressed as, a is the thermal diffusivity [cm ² /S], cp is the specific heat [J / gK],

is the density [g/cm ³ ].

In order to obtain the Seebeck exponent of the thermoelectric module, a Z value (V/K) may be measured using a Z meter, and the Seebeck exponent (ZT) may be calculated using the measured Z value.

Here, the lower electrode 120 disposed between the lower substrate 140 and the P-type thermoelectric leg 120 and the N-type thermoelectric leg 130, and the upper substrate 150 and the P-type thermoelectric leg 120 and the N-type thermoelectric leg 120 The upper electrode 162 disposed between the thermoelectric legs 130 may include at least one of copper (Cu), silver (Ag), and nickel (Ni).

Also, the lower substrate 140 and the upper substrate 150 facing each other may be an insulating substrate or a metal substrate. The insulating substrate may be an alumina substrate or a flexible polymer resin substrate. Polymer resin substrates having flexibility have high permeability such as polyimide (PI), polystyrene (PS), polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA), cyclic olefin copoly (COC), polyethylene terephthalate (PET), and resin. It may include various insulating resin materials such as plastic. Alternatively, the insulating substrate may be fabric. The metal substrate may include Al, an Al alloy, Cu, a Cu alloy, or a Cu-Al alloy. In addition, when the lower substrate 140 and the upper substrate 150 are metal substrates, dielectric layers are further formed between the lower substrate 140 and the lower electrode 161 and between the upper substrate 150 and the upper electrode 162, respectively. It can be. The dielectric layer may include a material having a thermal conductivity of 5 to 50 W/K.

At this time, the size of the lower substrate 140 and the upper substrate 150 may be formed differently. For example, the volume, thickness, or area of one of the lower substrate 140 and the upper substrate 150 may be greater than that of the other. Accordingly, heat absorbing performance or heat dissipation performance of the thermoelectric module may be improved.

Meanwhile, as shown in FIG. 4 , the lower substrate 140 is formed to have a first length D1 in a first direction, and the upper substrate 150 is formed to have a second length D2 in a first direction. It can be.

Here, the first length D1 is formed to be larger than the second length D2, so that it is easy to connect the lead wires 181 and 182 to the lower electrode 261 formed at the end of the lower substrate 140 in the first direction. Do.

Here, the electrical connection between the lower electrode 261 and the lead wires 181 and 182 may be implemented by at least one of various methods such as a welding method or a mechanical fastening method.

The plurality of lower electrodes 161 and the plurality of upper electrodes 162 electrically connect the P-type thermoelectric leg 120 and the N-type thermoelectric leg 130 by using an electrode material such as Cu, Ag, or Ni. The thickness of the lower electrode 161 and the upper electrode 162 may be formed in a range of 0.01 mm to 0.3 mm. More preferably, it can be implemented in the range of 10 μm to 20 μm.

In addition, each of the plurality of lower electrodes 161 and the plurality of upper electrodes 162 is an array of m*n (here, m and n may each be an integer of 1 or more, and m and n may be the same as or different from each other). It may be arranged in a form, but is not limited thereto. Each lower electrode 161 and upper electrode 162 may be spaced apart from neighboring lower electrodes 161 and upper electrodes 162 . For example, each of the lower electrode 161 and the upper electrode 162 may be spaced apart from the neighboring electrodes 161 and 162 by a distance of approximately 0.5 to 0.8 mm.

A pair of P-type thermoelectric legs 120 and N-type thermoelectric legs 130 are disposed on each lower electrode 161, and a pair of P-type thermoelectric legs 120 and 130 are disposed under each upper electrode 162. An N-type thermoelectric leg 130 may be disposed.

That is, the lower surface of the P-type thermoelectric leg 120 is disposed on the lower electrode 161, the upper surface is disposed on the upper electrode 162, and the lower surface of the N-type thermoelectric leg 130 is disposed on the lower electrode 161. , the upper surface may be disposed on the upper electrode 162 . When the P-type thermoelectric leg 120 among the pair of P-type thermoelectric legs 120 and N-type thermoelectric legs 130 disposed on the lower electrode 161 is disposed on one of the plurality of lower electrodes 162, the N-type thermoelectric leg 120 is disposed on the lower electrode 161. The thermoelectric leg 130 may be disposed on another lower electrode 162 adjacent thereto. Accordingly, the plurality of P-type thermoelectric legs 120 and the plurality of N-type thermoelectric legs 130 may be connected in series through the plurality of lower electrodes 161 and the plurality of lower electrodes 162 .

At this time, a pair of lower solder layers (not shown) for bonding the pair of P-type thermoelectric legs 120 and the N-type thermoelectric legs 130 may be applied on the lower electrode 161, and the pair of lower solder layers may be applied. A pair of P-type thermoelectric legs 120 and a pair of N-type thermoelectric legs 130 may be respectively disposed on the solder layer.

In addition, a pair of upper solder layers (not shown) for bonding the pair of P-type thermoelectric legs 120 and the N-type thermoelectric legs 130 may be applied under the upper electrode 162 . A pair of P-type thermoelectric legs 120 and a pair of N-type thermoelectric legs 130 may be respectively disposed under the upper solder layer 172 .

The sealing part 170 includes a resin layer 171 and a hollow filler 172 .

The sealing part 170 is disposed on the surfaces of the plurality of P-type thermoelectric legs 120, the N-type thermoelectric legs 130, the lower electrode 161, and the upper electrode 162, and external moisture prevents the P-type thermoelectric legs ( 120), the N-type thermoelectric leg 130, the lower electrode 161, and the upper electrode 162 are prevented from coming into contact with each other.

Here, the resin layer 171 may surround the plurality of hollow fillers 172 and dispersively arrange the plurality of hollow fillers 172 .

The resin layer 171 may include a polymer such as a solvent, a curing agent, a dispersing agent, and a binder. Such a polymer may be made of a material having low thermal conductivity after curing and excellent sealing reliability, and the present invention is not limited thereto.

Here, the sealing part 170 has the P-type thermoelectric leg 120, the N-type thermoelectric leg 130, the lower electrode 161 and the upper electrode 162 without surplus space between the lower substrate 140 and the upper substrate 150. ) can be placed on the surface of

That is, the sealing part 170 may fill both the space between the lower substrate 140 and the upper substrate 150 .

That is, the volume of the sealing part 170 is 90% to 100% of the volume excluding the plurality of thermoelectric legs 120 and 130 and the electrodes 161 and 162 in the space between the lower substrate 140 and the upper substrate 150. can be filled with This can be defined as 100% fill rate.

The sealing part 170 may be coated on surfaces of the P-type thermoelectric leg 120 , the N-type thermoelectric leg 130 , the lower electrode 161 , and the upper electrode 162 through a coating process. Here, the coating process may include dip coating, spray coating, and the like.

Meanwhile, the resin layer 171 may be hydrophilic or hydrophobic, and is preferably hydrophobic as shown in [Table 2] below.

Comparative Example 1 Comparative Example 2 Resin layer filling rate 100% 100% Endothermic value (Qc) 42.624W 43.24W Temperature difference (dT) 53.28℃ 55.01℃

Here, the thermoelectric module including a hydrophilic resin layer (Comparative Example 1) and the thermoelectric module including a hydrophobic resin layer (Comparative Example 2) have a higher heat absorption (Qc) and a temperature difference than the thermoelectric modules shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 . It can be confirmed that (dT) is excellent. That is, it can be confirmed that the thermoelectric module including the hydrophilic resin layer and the thermoelectric module including the hydrophobic resin layer have improved thermoelectric efficiency compared to general thermoelectric modules, as in one embodiment of the present invention. can

Meanwhile, when Comparative Example 1 and Comparative Example 2 are compared, it can be seen that the thermoelectric module including the hydrophobic resin layer has better heat absorption (Qc) and temperature difference (dT) than the thermoelectric module including the hydrophilic resin layer.

That is, it may be more preferable to apply a hydrophobic resin layer than to apply a hydrophilic resin layer in terms of thermoelectric efficiency of the thermoelectric module.

Here, the plurality of hollow fillers 172 are preferably included in an amount of 30% to 60% by weight with respect to a total of 100% by weight of the sealing part 170 .

As described above, when the hollow filler 172 is included in an amount of 30% by weight or less based on 100% by weight of the total sealing part 170 , a heat conduction suppression effect due to the sealing part 170 may be caused.

On the other hand, if the hollow filler 172 is included in an amount of 60% by weight or more with respect to the total 100% by weight of the sealing part 170, the plurality of hollow fillers 172 may be aggregated without being dispersed with each other, so that the hollow filler 172 A separate heat conduction path may be formed by the film 172a of the sealing part 170 to cause a heat conduction suppression effect.

Here, the resin layer of the thermoelectric module applied in Comparative Example 1 is composed of a polyacrylate-based material, and the plurality of hollow fillers are included at 50% by weight with respect to 100% by weight of the total sealing part. In addition, the resin layer of the thermoelectric module applied in Comparative Example 2 is composed of a polybutadiene-based material, and includes 50% by weight of the plurality of hollow fillers with respect to 100% by weight of the total sealing part.

The hollow filler 172 may be surrounded by the resin layer 171 to form the sealing portion 170 .

As shown in FIG. 5 , each of the plurality of hollow fillers 172 may include a film 172a and an inner space 172b surrounded by the film 172a.

The film 172a of the hollow filler 172 may have a spherical shape, a hexahedron shape, or a triangular pyramid shape. However, since this may be implemented in various shapes according to the manufacturing process, the present invention is not limited thereto.

The film 172a of the hollow filler 172 may be made of ceramic and may be made of at least one selected from the group consisting of Al ₂ SiO ₅ , Al ₂ O ₃ , SiO 2 and TiO 2 .

The inner space 172b of the hollow filler 172 is preferably vacuum.

Here, the vacuum has a thermal conductivity (0.004 W/m.k) that is very low compared to the thermal conductivity of air (0.026 W/m.k), and can suppress heat conduction from the first heat conductive plate 1 to the second heat conductive plate 2 side. there is.

Meanwhile, when the hollow filler 172 is manufactured in the first gas atmosphere, the inner space 172b of the hollow filler 172 may be filled with the first gas. Here, the first gas is preferably selected from a gas having a lower thermal conductivity than air, and may include, for example, argon, carbon dioxide, krypton, or xenon.

Here, the average size of the hollow filler 172 may be 1 μm to 5 μm.

When the average size of the hollow fillers 172 is less than 1 μm, gas in the inner space 172b may escape due to aggregation between the hollow fillers 172 due to relatively high surface energy, and the average size of the hollow fillers 172 When the size exceeds 5 μm, the hollow filler 172 may collapse due to a relatively large volume.

Meanwhile, each of the plurality of hollow fillers 172 may selectively have different volumes in order to improve the filling rate and dispersion rate within the sealing unit 170 .

Hereinafter, a thermoelectric module according to another embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. 6 .

6 is a cross-sectional view of a thermoelectric module according to another embodiment of the present invention.

Since the thermoelectric module shown in FIG. 6 has a different configuration of the sealing part 270 of the thermoelectric element 200 than the thermoelectric module 1000 according to an embodiment of the present invention shown in FIG. 3 , the thermoelectric module shown in FIG. Only the configuration of the sealing unit 270 of the element 200 will be described in detail, and detailed descriptions of overlapping reference numerals for the same configuration will be omitted.

In the thermoelectric module according to another embodiment of the present invention, the volume of the sealing part 270 in the thermoelectric element 200 is the plurality of thermoelectric legs 120 and 130 in the space between the lower substrate 140 and the upper substrate 150 and It may be 20% to 40% compared to the volume excluding the electrodes 161 and 162.

That is, the sealing part 270 includes the separation space 273 formed between the plurality of thermoelectric legs 120 and 130 and disposed on the surfaces of the plurality of thermoelectric legs 120 and 130 and the electrodes 161 and 162. The thickness of the sealing portion 270 may be reduced.

Accordingly, heat generated from the plurality of thermoelectric legs 120 and 130 and the electrodes 161 and 162 may be discharged to the outside through the sealing part 270 .

Referring to [Table 3] below, when the filling rate of the sealing portion 270 between the lower substrate 140 and the upper substrate 150 is 30%, the thermoelectric module having a filling rate of 100% (Comparative Example 2) Compared to , it can be confirmed that the heat absorption (Qc) and the temperature difference (dT) are excellent.

Comparative Example 2 Comparative Example 3 Resin layer filling rate 100% 30% Endothermic value (Qc) 43.24W 43.535W Temperature difference (dT) 55.01℃ 58.01℃

Here, the resin layer 271 of the sealing part 270 of Comparative Example 3 is composed of a hydrophobic resin layer like the resin layer 171 of the sealing part 170 of Comparative Example 2. On the other hand, the thermoelectric applied to Comparative Example 3 The resin layer of the module is composed of a polybutadiene-based material, and the plurality of hollow fillers may be included at 50% by weight with respect to 100% by weight of the total sealing portion.

Hereinafter, an example in which the thermoelectric module according to the present invention is applied to a water purifier will be described with reference to FIG. 7 .

7 is an exemplary diagram in which the thermoelectric module according to the present invention is applied to a water purifier.

The water purifier to which the thermoelectric module is applied includes a raw water supply pipe 22a, a purified water tank inlet pipe 22b, a purified water tank 22, a filter assembly 23, a cooling fan 24, a heat storage tank 25, a cold water supply pipe 25a, and A thermoelectric module 1000 is included.

The raw water supply pipe 22a is a supply pipe that introduces water to be purified from a water source into the filter assembly 23, and the purified water tank inlet pipe 22b introduces purified water from the filter assembly 23 into the purified water tank 22. The cold water supply pipe 25a is a supply pipe through which cold water cooled to a predetermined temperature by the thermoelectric module 1000 in the purified water tank 22 is finally supplied to the user.

The purified water tank 22 temporarily receives the purified water so as to store and supply water purified through the filter assembly 23 and introduced through the purified water tank inlet pipe 22b.

The filter assembly 23 is composed of a precipitate filter 23a, a pre-carbon filter 23b, a membrane filter 23c, and a post-carbon filter 23d.

That is, water flowing into the raw water supply pipe 22a may be purified by passing through the filter assembly 23 .

The heat storage tank 25 is disposed between the purified water tank 22 and the thermoelectric module 1000 to store cold air generated in the thermoelectric module 1000 . Cold air stored in the heat storage tank 25 is applied to the purified water tank 22 to cool the water accommodated in the purified water tank 220 .

The heat storage tank 25 may be in surface contact with the purified water tank 22 so that cold air can be smoothly transferred.

As described above, the thermoelectric module 1000 has a heat absorbing surface and a heating surface, and one side is cooled and the other side is heated by electron movement on the P-type semiconductor and the N-type semiconductor.

Here, one side may be the purified water tank 22 side, and the other side may be the opposite side of the purified water tank 22 .

In addition, as described above, the thermoelectric module 1000 has excellent waterproof and dustproof performance and improved heat flow performance, so that the purified water tank 22 can be efficiently cooled in the water purifier.

Hereinafter, an example in which the thermoelectric module according to the present invention is applied to a refrigerator will be described with reference to FIG. 8 .

8 is an exemplary diagram in which the thermoelectric module according to the present invention is applied to a refrigerator.

The refrigerator includes a simon evaporation chamber cover 33, an evaporation chamber partition wall 34, a main evaporator 35, a cooling fan 36, and a thermoelectric module 1000 in a simon evaporation chamber.

The refrigerator is partitioned into a simon storage chamber and a simon evaporation chamber by the simon evaporation chamber cover 33.

In detail, the interior space corresponding to the front of the simon evaporation chamber cover 33 is defined as the simon storage chamber, and the interior space corresponding to the rear of the simon evaporation chamber cover 33 may be defined as the simon evaporation chamber.

A discharge grille (33a) and a suction grille (33b) may be respectively formed on the front surface of the simon evaporation chamber cover 33.

The evaporation chamber partition wall 34 is installed at a point spaced forward from the rear wall of the inner cabinet, and partitions a space where the deep greenhouse storage system is placed and a space where the main evaporator 35 is placed.

The cold air cooled by the main evaporator 35 is supplied to the freezing compartment and then returned to the main evaporator.

The thermoelectric module 1000 is accommodated in the simon evaporation chamber, and has a structure in which a heat absorbing surface faces toward the drawer assembly of the simon storage chamber and a heating surface faces towards the evaporator. Therefore, it can be used to rapidly cool food stored in the drawer assembly to an ultra-low temperature of -50 degrees Celsius or less by using the endothermic phenomenon generated by the thermoelectric module 1000 .

In addition, as described above, the thermoelectric module 1000 has excellent waterproof and dustproof performance and improved heat flow performance, so that the drawer assembly can be efficiently cooled in a refrigerator.

Although the above has been described with reference to the embodiments, this is only an example and does not limit the present invention, and those skilled in the art to which the present invention belongs will not deviate from the essential characteristics of the present embodiment. It will be appreciated that various variations and applications are possible. For example, each component specifically shown in the embodiment can be modified and implemented. And differences related to these modifications and applications should be construed as being included in the scope of the present invention as defined in the appended claims.

1: first heat conduction plate 2: second heat conduction plate
100: thermoelectric element
120: P-type thermoelectric leg 130: N-type thermoelectric leg
140: lower substrate 150: upper substrate
161: lower electrode 162: upper electrode
170: sealing part 1000: thermoelectric module

Claims (11)

a first substrate;
a plurality of thermoelectric legs disposed on the first substrate;
a second substrate disposed on the plurality of thermoelectric legs on top of the first substrate;
an electrode including a plurality of first electrodes disposed between the first substrate and the plurality of thermoelectric legs and a plurality of second electrodes disposed between the second substrate and the plurality of thermoelectric legs; and
a sealing part disposed on outer surfaces of the thermoelectric leg and the electrode; including,
The sealing part includes a separation space disposed only between the plurality of hollow fillers and the plurality of thermoelectric legs,
The average size of the hollow filler is 1 μm to 5 μm,
The plurality of hollow fillers include a film and an inner space surrounded by the film,
The thermoelectric module of claim 1 , wherein the inner space of the hollow filler is vacuum.
According to claim 1,
An average size of the plurality of hollow fillers is 2 μm to 5 μm.
delete According to claim 1,
The inner space of the hollow filler is filled with a first gas,
The thermoelectric module of claim 1 , wherein the first gas has a lower thermal conductivity than air.
According to claim 1,
The hollow filler includes an inorganic oxide.
According to claim 5,
The inorganic oxide includes at least one selected from the group consisting of Al ₂ SiO ₅ , Al ₂ O ₃ , SiO2, and TiO2.
According to claim 1,
The sealing part includes a resin layer surrounding the plurality of hollow pillars,
The thermoelectric module wherein the resin layer is hydrophobic.
According to claim 1,
The volume of the sealing part is
90% to 100% of a volume of the thermoelectric module excluding the plurality of thermoelectric legs and the electrode in the space between the first substrate and the second substrate.
According to claim 1,
The volume of the sealing part is
20% to 40% of a volume of the thermoelectric module excluding the plurality of thermoelectric legs and the electrode in the space between the first substrate and the second substrate.
According to claim 1,
The thermoelectric module of claim 1 , wherein the plurality of hollow fillers are included in an amount of 30 wt% to 60 wt% based on 100 wt% of the total sealing portion.
According to claim 1,
An average size of the plurality of hollow fillers is 1 μm to 5 μm.

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