KR20160081434A - Thermoelectic moudule and Apparatus for cooling and heating a vehicle seat having the same - Google Patents

Abstract

A thermoelectric module disclosed according to the present invention includes first and second substrates (110, 120) having metal coating layers (150, 160) formed on outer side surfaces of them and spaced apart from each other; a plurality of thermoelectric semiconductor pellets (170) disposed to make contact with each other while interposing electrode members (130, 140) formed on inner side surfaces of the first and second substrates (110, 120) facing each other; and a plate-type radiation fin (180) disposed to allow one end thereof to make contact with at least one outer side surface of the first and second substrates (110 and 120), wherein the one end (182) of the radiation fin (180) making contact with the substrate is disposed at a position to face the thermoelectric semiconductor pellet (170) disposed inside the first substrate (110) or the second substrate (120). According to the present invention, the radiation fin is installed at a position corresponding to a disposing structure of the thermoelectric semiconductor, so that the heat radiation performance may be more enhanced.

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD [0001] The present invention relates to a thermoelectric module and a vehicle seat heating /

The present invention relates to a thermoelectric module and a vehicle seat heating and cooling apparatus having the same.

As is well known, a thermoelectric element (or a thermoelectric module) is heat absorbed (cooled) on one side substrate and radiates heat (generates heat) on the other side substrate according to the Peltier effect when power is supplied. However, The electromotive force is generated by the Seebeck effect due to the temperature difference between the two electrodes. Such a thermoelectric device is used as a cooling device for various parts requiring temperature control including electronic parts due to the precision of temperature control and the miniaturization of the product. On the other hand, in the case of a thermoelectric element, heat or heat is generated by current flow, so that cooling and heating functions can be performed at the same time. Therefore, when heating and heating are simultaneously required, for example, it is applied to a vehicle seat, And performs a heating function.

1, the first substrate 11 and the second substrate 12 are spaced apart from each other by a predetermined distance, and the inner surface of the first substrate 11 and the inner surface of the second substrate 12 are spaced apart from each other. 2 substrate 12 are provided with electrode members 13 and 14 respectively and the P type thermoelectric semiconductor pellets 17a and the N type thermoelectric semiconductor pellets 17b are interposed between the electrode members 13 and 14, And are disposed in contact with each other in pairs.

In order to improve the performance of the thermoelectric device, the heat-radiating fins are provided on the heat-generating surface board because heat radiation from the heat-generating surface is effective for cooling efficiency on the heat-absorbing surface. The substrate is coated with a metal coating layer to improve the thermal conductivity. The metal coating layer is usually made of a copper (Cu) material having good conductivity.

On the other hand, in the case of a heat exchanger using a thermoelectric element, only the heat dissipation performance of the heat dissipation fin is changed without taking the position of the heat dissipation fin installation into account. For this reason, the thickness of the metal coating layer is made thick so that the temperature of the heat-generating surface is made uniform, so that the heat dissipation structure is used without considering a specific position of the heat-radiating fin.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances and provides a thermoelectric module and a vehicle seat heating and cooling apparatus having the thermoelectric module to further improve the heat radiation performance by disposing the installation positions of the heat radiation fins so as to correspond to the arrangement structure of the thermoelectric semiconductors It has its purpose.

According to an aspect of the present invention, there is provided a thermoelectric module including: a first substrate and a second substrate, each having a metal coating layer on an outer surface thereof and spaced apart from each other at a predetermined distance; A plurality of thermoelectric semiconductor pellets disposed in contact with each other with an electrode member formed on an inner surface of the first substrate and the second substrate facing each other; And a plate-type radiating fin to be installed. Wherein one end of the radiating fin in contact with the substrate is disposed at a position facing the thermoelectric semiconductor pellet disposed inside the first substrate or the second substrate.

The metal coating layer of the substrate may be made of aluminum (Al) or copper (Cu).

The metal coating layer of the substrate may be formed to a thickness of 30 to 110 탆.

The radiating fins may have a structure in which a valley and a floor are repeated in the longitudinal direction of the thermoelectric module, and the repeated bones or floors may be a single end of the radiating fin contacting the substrate.

The radiating fin may be a corrugated fin, a plain fin, or a wavy fin.

According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a vehicle seat heating and cooling apparatus for a vehicle, comprising: a duct unit including a duct through which air is delivered to a vehicle seat and a blower fan for transferring air to the duct; Or a thermoelectric module for heating. The thermoelectric module includes a first substrate and a second substrate, each having a metal coating layer formed on an outer surface thereof and spaced apart from each other with a predetermined distance therebetween; and an electrode member formed on an inner surface of the first substrate and the second substrate, And a first radiating fin and a second radiating fin which are provided so as to be in contact with an outer surface of each of the first and second substrates, respectively, and the duct of the duct portion is connected to the first radiating fin and the second radiating fin, A first duct for transferring the air introduced through the first radiating fins to the vehicle seat, and a second duct for discharging the air introduced through the second radiating fins. Wherein one end of each of the first radiating fin and the second radiating fin in contact with the substrate is disposed at a position facing the thermoelectric semiconductor pellets disposed inside the first substrate and the second substrate.

The metal coating layer of the substrate may be made of aluminum or copper.

The metal coating layer of the substrate may be formed to a thickness of 30 to 110 탆.

The radiating fins may have a structure in which a valley and a floor are repeated in the longitudinal direction of the thermoelectric module, and the repeated bones or floors may be a single end of the radiating fin contacting the substrate.

The radiating fin may be a corrugated fin, a plain fin, or a wavy fin.

According to the present invention, the installation position of the heat dissipation fins is provided so as to correspond to the arrangement structure of the thermoelectric semiconductors, thereby further enhancing the heat radiation performance. Further, by increasing the heat radiation performance, the thickness of the electrode member made of copper can be reduced, or the electrode member made of aluminum can be used in place of copper, thereby reducing the manufacturing cost.

1 is a view for explaining the structure and concept of a general thermoelectric element,
2 is a front sectional view of a thermoelectric module according to an embodiment of the present invention,
FIG. 3 is a view showing a state where another radiating fin is applied in FIG. 2,
FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating a geometrical structure of an embodiment a) and b) a comparative example for a thermal conductivity test of a thermoelectric module according to an embodiment of the present invention,
FIGS. 5A to 5C are diagrams showing results of analyzes of thicknesses and materials of the metal coating layer of the substrate according to the embodiment and the comparative example of FIG. 4,
6 is a front sectional view of a thermoelectric module according to another embodiment of the present invention,
7 is a structural view of a vehicle seat heating and cooling apparatus to which the thermoelectric module of Fig. 6 is applied.

These and other objects, features and other advantages of the present invention will become more apparent by describing in detail exemplary embodiments of the present invention with reference to the accompanying drawings. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT Hereinafter, a thermoelectric module according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

2, a thermoelectric module 100 according to an embodiment of the present invention includes a first substrate 110 and a second substrate 110. The first substrate 110 has metal coating layers 150 and 160 formed on its outer surface, A plurality of thermoelectric semiconductor pellets 170 arranged to be in contact with electrode members 130 and 140 formed on the inner surface of the first substrate 110 and the second substrate 120 facing each other, And a heat radiating fin 180 installed on the outer surface of the second substrate 120 so as to be in contact with one end 182.

The first substrate 110 and the second substrate 120 are generally formed of an insulating substrate made of a ceramic material. In this embodiment, the first substrate 110 on the upper side is used as a heat absorbing side substrate, (120) is referred to as a heating side substrate.

Metal coating layers 150 and 160 are formed on outer surfaces of both substrates to have a certain thickness for improving thermal conductivity. The metal coating layers 150 and 160 may be formed of aluminum (Al) or copper (Cu). The metal coating layers 150 and 160 may be formed to a thickness of 30 to 110 μm.

The electrode members 130 and 140 are bonded to the inner surfaces of the both substrates, and the upper and lower ends of the P-type and N-type thermoelectric semiconductor pellets 170 are disposed in contact with the electrode members 130 and 140, respectively. Among the heat absorbing side electrode members 130, the heat absorbing side electrode members located at the ends are brought into contact with only one of the p-type thermoelectric semiconductor pellets or the n-type thermoelectric semiconductor pellets. In addition, the P-type and N-type thermoelectric semiconductor pellets 170 are disposed on the heat-absorbing-side electrode member 130 and the heat-releasing-side electrode member 140 so that they are in contact with each other. On the other hand, the P-type thermoelectric semiconductor pellets or the N-type thermoelectric semiconductor pellets 170 which are in contact with the one heat-releasing-side electrode member 140 are in contact with the other heat-absorbing-side electrode members 130, The p-type thermoelectric semiconductor pellets or the n-type thermoelectric semiconductor pellets in contact with the heat-releasing-side electrode members 140 are brought into contact with the respective heat-releasing-side electrode members 140.

With this arrangement, the heat absorbing side electrode members 130, the P-type thermoelectric semiconductor pellets 170, the heat releasing side electrode members 140, and the N-type thermoelectric semiconductor pellets 170 are repeatedly electrically connected in series in this order. Accordingly, when a current voltage is applied to the lead wire (not shown), the current flows in the order of the heat absorbing side electrode member 130, the P-type thermoelectric semiconductor pellet 170, the heat releasing side electrode member 140 and the N-type thermoelectric semiconductor pellet 170 At this time, the upper first substrate 110 becomes a heat absorbing surface and the lower second substrate 120 becomes a heat generating surface due to the Peltier effect.

One end 182 of the radiating fin 180 is disposed in contact with the outer surface of the second substrate 120. One end 182 of the radiating fin 180 is disposed inside the second substrate 120, And is in contact with the thermoelectric semiconductor pellet 170 at a position facing it. The position facing the thermoelectric semiconductor pellet 170 means that one end 182 of the heat radiating fin 180 contacting with the second substrate 120, that is, the contact surface is the width of the thermoelectric semiconductor pellet 170 ≪ / RTI >

According to the embodiment of the present invention, the heat dissipation fin 180 is disposed in the lateral direction of the thermoelectric module 100 (in the lateral direction of the second substrate (or the first substrate) in the drawing) And the structure in which the floor is periodically repeated is applied. The floor of the heat radiating fin 180 becomes a contact surface with the second substrate 120 as shown in the figure, so that all of the plurality of contact surfaces are located within the width of the respective thermoelectric semiconductor pellets 170. The contact surface of the heat dissipation fin 180 is within the scope of the present invention as long as the contact surface of the heat dissipation fin 180 is located inside the width of the thermoelectric semiconductor, and it is most preferable that the contact surface of the heat dissipation fin 180 is located at the center portion of the thermoelectric semiconductor.

The corrugated fin 180 may be applied as shown in FIG. 2 according to an embodiment of the present invention. Alternatively, a corrugated fin 180 may be applied as shown in FIG. A flat fin 190 may be applied. Also, the radiating fin may be a wavy fin having a fin-shaped wall. The corrugated fin means a pin having a corrugated structure and can be interpreted as a concept including a louver fin. The flat wall of the flat plate fin has a flat structure, while the fin pin has a wave structure in the flow direction of the fluid, that is, the longitudinal direction of the thermoelectric module.

Although not shown, the thermoelectric module according to the present invention may have a case surrounding the outer periphery of the heat radiating fin 180 to serve as a heat sink.

4 shows a geometrical structure for testing the thermal conductivity of the thermoelectric module 100 according to an embodiment of the present invention. The bonding surface 182 of the thermoelectric semiconductor pellet 180 is located at the center of the thermoelectric semiconductor pellet 170, and the right side b) shows a comparative example. In the thermoelectric module according to the comparative example, one end (bonding surface) of the heat dissipating fin 180 'in contact with the substrate 120 is located at a position not facing the thermoelectric semiconductor pellet 170, that is, .

Figs. 5A to 5C show the results of temperature distribution analysis (Cu, Al) of the metal coating layer (35 mu m, 105 mu m) and the material (Cu, Al) according to the embodiment and the comparative example of Fig.

As shown in the figure, in the comparative example, hot spots (dark black portions) appear clearly toward the right side, but hot spots do not occur or hardly occur in the embodiment. In particular, when the metal coating layer is 35 μm, it can be seen that the temperature distribution on the actual single thermoelectric semiconductor (square shape portion) varies depending on where the radiating fin is attached.

Since the amount of cooling heat on the heat absorption surface of the thermoelectric module is influenced by the temperature on the heat generation surface, hot spots must not occur in the thermoelectric semiconductor itself in order to improve the cooling performance of the thermoelectric module. When a hot spot is generated, the thermoelectric semiconductor is a metal. Therefore, heat is conducted from the high temperature portion to the low temperature portion, that is, from the heat generating surface to the heat absorbing surface due to conduction through the metal. Generally, the thermal conductivity of the thermoelectric element is very low, The heat loss due to conduction is generated, thereby acting as a hindrance to the cooling performance.

According to the embodiment of the present invention, there is an advantage that hot spots are not generated by providing the heat radiating fins directly above the thermoelectric elements.

On the other hand, in the case of the metal coating layer having a thickness of 105 mu m, it can be seen that there is not much difference between the embodiment and the comparative example. Generally, the metal coating layer can be formed in a unit of 35 μm, and the substrate of the thermoelectric module is generally coated with a copper (Cu) material having a good conductive property and 105 μm in thickness. This is because, as described above, since the installation position of the heat-radiating fin of the current thermoelectric semiconductor is not considered, the thickness of the metal coating layer is increased to uniform the temperature of the heat-generating surface to dissipate heat without considering a specific installation position of the heat- Therefore, when the heat radiating fins are disposed irrespective of the positions of the thermoelectric elements, the hot spots are less likely to occur even in the case of the worst case as in the comparative example.

 Therefore, according to the present invention, since the metal coating layer can be made thin (35 탆), the cost can be reduced. Also, since aluminum (Al) is cheaper than copper (Cu) There is an advantage that the cost can be saved because it is not a problem.

6, the thermoelectric module 200 according to another embodiment of the present invention includes a first radiating fin 280 and a second radiating fin 280 on the outer surfaces of both the first and second substrates 210 and 220, And two radiating fins 290 are installed. The floor of the second radiating fin 290 is a contact surface with the second substrate 220 and the valley of the first radiating fin 280 is a contact surface of the first substrate 210 with the first substrate 210 So that the plurality of contact surfaces are all located within the width of the thermoelectric semiconductor at the position facing the respective thermoelectric semiconductor pellets 170.

The thermoelectric module 200 according to another embodiment of the present invention has the same configuration as the thermoelectric module 100 according to the embodiment of the present invention shown in FIG. 2 except that the heat dissipation fins 280 and 290 are provided on both substrates And thus a detailed description thereof will be omitted.

The thermoelectric module 100 according to an embodiment of the present invention is mainly used as a cooler, and the thermoelectric module 200 according to another embodiment of the present invention is used as a cooling and heating device. When the power polarity is reversed, And the characteristics of the thermoelectric element in which the heat releasing surface is reversed.

FIG. 7 shows a vehicle seat cooling / heating apparatus 300 to which a thermoelectric module 200 according to another embodiment of the present invention is applied.

The vehicle seat heating and cooling apparatus 300 includes a duct portion 305 and a thermoelectric module 200. The duct unit 305 includes a blowing fan housing 330 having a blowing fan 320 and a duct 310 for guiding the air conveyed by the blowing fan 320 to a vehicle seat (not shown). The thermoelectric module 200 is disposed in the duct 310 to cool or heat the air.

As described above, the thermoelectric module 200 includes a first substrate 210 and a second substrate 220 having metal coating layers 250 and 260 formed on their outer surfaces and spaced apart from each other with a predetermined distance therebetween, A plurality of thermoelectric semiconductor pellets 270 disposed in contact with the inner surface of the first substrate 210 and the second substrate 220 facing each other with the electrode members 230 and 240 interposed therebetween, And a first radiating fin 280 and a second radiating fin 290, each of which is provided at one end thereof in contact with an outer surface of each of the two substrates 220. [ One end of each of the first radiating fin 280 and the second radiating fin 290 is in contact with a position facing the thermoelectric semiconductor pellet 270 disposed inside the first substrate 210 and the second substrate 220 As described above.

The duct 310 of the duct unit 305 includes a first duct 312 for transferring the air introduced through the first radiating fin 280 to the vehicle seat and a second duct 312 for radiating air introduced through the second radiating fin 290 And a second duct 314 for discharging the air.

Therefore, when a forward current is applied to the thermoelectric module 100 to generate heat on the top surface (first substrate) of the thermoelectric module 200, the first heat radiation fins 280 (first substrate) The air heated by the blowing fan 320 is heat-exchanged with the first heat-radiating fin 280, and the temperature of the air is increased. The heated air is conveyed to the vehicle seat along the first duct 312 to heat the vehicle seat. On the other hand, when the upper surface of the thermoelectric module 200 generates heat, the lower surface (second substrate) of the thermoelectric module absorbs heat, so that the temperature of the second heat radiation fins 290 contacting the lower surface thereof is lowered. Accordingly, the air transferred by the blowing fan is heat-exchanged with the second radiating fins 290, and the temperature is lowered and discharged through the second duct 314.

The temperature of the first radiating fin 280 that is in contact with the upper surface (first substrate) of the thermoelectric module 200 when the reverse current is applied to the thermoelectric module 200 and the upper surface of the thermoelectric module 200 is absorbed, At this time, the air conveyed by the blowing fan 320 undergoes heat exchange with the first radiating fins 280, and the temperature is lowered. The cooled air is conveyed to the vehicle seat along the first duct 312 to cool the vehicle seat. On the other hand, when the upper surface of the thermoelectric module 200 is absorbed, the lower surface (second substrate) of the thermoelectric module is heated, so that the temperature of the second heat radiation fins 290 contacting with the thermoelectric module is increased. Accordingly, the air transferred by the blowing fan is heat-exchanged with the second radiating fins 290, and the temperature of the air is raised and discharged through the second duct 314.

Although the preferred embodiments of the present invention have been described, the present invention is not limited to the specific embodiments described above. It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that numerous modifications and variations can be made in the present invention without departing from the spirit or scope of the appended claims. And equivalents should also be considered to be within the scope of the present invention.

100, 200. Thermoelectric module 110, 210. The first substrate
120, 220. The second substrate 130, 140, 230, 240. The electrode member
150, 160, 250, 260. Metal coating layer 170, 270. Thermoelectric semiconductor pellet
180,280,290. Radiating Pin 300. Car Seat Heating /
305. Duct 310. Duct
320. Blower Fan 330. Blower Fan Housing

Claims (10)

A first substrate and a second substrate having metal coating layers formed on outer surfaces thereof and spaced apart from each other with a predetermined distance therebetween;
A plurality of thermoelectric semiconductor pellets disposed to be in contact with each other with an electrode member formed on an inner surface of the first substrate facing the second substrate;
And a plate type radiating fin provided at one end thereof in contact with an outer surface of at least one of the first substrate and the second substrate,
And one end of the radiating fin contacting with the substrate is disposed at a position facing the thermoelectric semiconductor pellet disposed inside the first substrate or the second substrate.
The method according to claim 1,
Wherein the metal coating layer of the substrate is made of aluminum (Al) or copper (Cu).
3. The method of claim 2,
Wherein the metal coating layer of the substrate is formed to a thickness of 30 to 110 占 퐉.
The method according to claim 1,
Wherein the heat dissipation fin has a structure in which a valley and a floor are repeated in the longitudinal direction of the thermoelectric module, and the repeated bony or floor is one end of the heat dissipation fin in contact with the substrate.
5. The method of claim 4,
Wherein the heat dissipation fin is one of a corrugated fin, a plain fin, and a wavy fin.
1. A vehicular seat air conditioning apparatus comprising a duct section including a duct through which air is delivered to a vehicle seat and an air blowing fan for transferring air to the duct, and a thermoelectric module disposed in the duct to cool or heat the air,
The thermoelectric module includes a first substrate and a second substrate, each having a metal coating layer formed on an outer surface thereof and spaced apart from each other with a predetermined distance therebetween; and an electrode member formed on an inner surface of the first substrate and the second substrate, And a first radiating fin and a second radiating fin which are provided so as to be in contact with an outer surface of each of the first and second substrates,
Wherein the duct of the duct portion is divided into a first duct for transferring the air introduced through the first radiating fin to the vehicle seat and a second duct for discharging the air introduced through the second radiating fin,
Wherein one end of each of the first radiating fin and the second radiating fin which is in contact with the substrate is disposed at a position facing the thermoelectric semiconductor pellets disposed inside the first substrate and the second substrate.
The method according to claim 6,
Wherein the metal coating layer of the substrate is made of aluminum or copper.
8. The method of claim 7,
Wherein the metal coating layer of the substrate is formed to a thickness of 30 to 110 占 퐉.
The method according to claim 6,
Wherein the radiating fin has a structure in which bone and floor are repeated in the longitudinal direction of the thermoelectric module, and the repeated bone or floor is one end of the radiating fin in contact with the substrate.
10. The method of claim 9,
Wherein the radiating fin is one of a corrugated fin, a plain fin, and a wavy fin.

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