JPH02139976A - Thermoelectric transducer module - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To protect thermoelectric transducers and ceramic boards which are easy to be broken mechanically by a method wherein a weight applied to the ceramic boards is held by holding protrusions. CONSTITUTION:Holding protrusions 5 are trapezoid protrusions formed on a ceramic board at its four corner parts. The height of the holding protrusion 5 is equal to the distance between two ceramic boards when a thermoplastic transducer module is mounted. A plurality of thermoelectric transducers 1 and electric terminals 4 are connected with Cu plates 2 electrically between the ceramic board having the holding protrusions 5 and the flat ceramic board to constitute the thermoelectric transducer module. That is to say, when the thermoelectric transducer module is assembled into a heat exchanger and the like, even if a weight is applied to it by screws and the like, the weight is held with the holding protrusions 5 and the ceramic boards and the thermoelectric transducers 1 are not mechanically damaged.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION Field of Industrial Application The present invention relates to a thermoelectric conversion module used for thermoelectric conversion such as thermoelectric generation or electronic refrigeration.

Conventional technology Conventionally, this type of thermoelectric conversion module has been developed, for example, in Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. 5
It was constructed as described in Publication No. 8-18078. That is, as shown in FIG. 6, B1-Te type P-type and N-type thermoelectric elements 1 are electrically connected by a Cu plate 2, and mechanically connected and held between ceramic substrates 3 and 3'. It had been. In other words, in the case of electronic refrigeration, the electrical terminal 4,
By passing a direct current between the ceramic surfaces 4' and 4', heat transfer occurs due to the so-called Beltier effect, with one side of the ceramic surface cooling and the other surface generating heat. Conversely, in the case of thermal power generation, a voltage is generated between the electrical terminals 4, 4' by applying a temperature difference between the ceramic substrates.

Here, the ceramic substrate 3 has a thickness of 2 as shown in FIG.
It is a ceramic flat plate of about 1111.

Conventionally, when this type of thermoelectric converter Joule is mounted, heat exchangers are provided on both sides of the ceramic substrate 3 and used in a boat. That is, in the case of electronic refrigeration, a heat exchanger made of aluminum or the like is provided for heat radiation and cooling of the thermoelectric element 1, and in order to reduce the thermal resistance at the contact surface between the thermoelectric element 1 and the heat exchanger, the thermoelectric element 1 The surrounding area was fixed with multiple screws at a constant torque value.

Problems to be Solved by the Invention However, in the thermoelectric element 1 of the prior art described above, since the ceramic substrate 3 is a flat plate, dust and foreign matter may enter the contact surface with the heat exchanger during mounting, and the thermoelectric conversion module or heat exchanger may If the flatness of the contact surface of the device is insufficient, the screws may be tightened unevenly, resulting in cracks in the corners of the ceramic substrate 3, or
There was a serious problem that the thermoelectric element 1 could be damaged and become unusable. This is due to the fact that due to the physical properties of the thermoelectric element, the crystal has directionality, so that it breaks in the direction of the crystal under load. On the other hand, as a method of installing a heat exchanger without applying any weight, a reservoir material with good heat transfer properties was sometimes used.
This was not practical due to problems with the mechanical holding force required to connect it to the heat exchanger.In addition, tightening the screws sometimes requires complicated torque control, which requires additional man-hours in production. There it was ◎ again.

There was a problem in that damage to the thermoelectric element 1 inside the thermoelectric conversion module could not be inspected based on its appearance. improve strength,
The purpose is to avoid important problems such as damage to the thermoelectric element 1 and the ceramic substrate 3, and to solve production problems.

Means for Solving the Problems In order to solve the above problems, the present invention provides a thermoelectric conversion module in which a thermoelectric element is held by a ceramic substrate on which a protruding holding portion is formed.

Further, in the present invention, the protruding holding portions provided on the ceramic substrates are provided at positions where the two ceramic substrates face each other and come into contact with each other.

Further, in the present invention, a chip having a coefficient of linear thermal expansion similar to that of a thermoelectric conversion element and capable of holding a mechanical load is provided on two ceramic substrates.

action The effects of the above means are as follows.

In the present invention, by providing a protruding holder having exactly the same height as the thermoelectric element on a ceramic substrate that mechanically holds a thermoelectric element, the protruding holder absorbs the load applied to each ceramic substrate. This protects the thermoelectric element and ceramic substrate, which are easily destroyed by mechanical stress.

In addition, the present invention improves the positioning workability when assembling the thermoelectric conversion module in addition to the above-mentioned effect by providing the protruding holding portions provided on the ceramic substrate at positions facing each of the two ceramic substrates. Not only can the ceramic substrates be measured, but also the mutual protruding holding portions can bear the load applied to each ceramic substrate, thereby protecting the ceramic substrates that are easily destroyed by mechanical loads.

Furthermore, the present invention provides an external thermoelectric conversion module by incorporating a mechanically strong element having the same height and the same coefficient of thermal expansion as the thermoelectric element into the thermoelectric conversion module using the same construction method as the thermoelectric element. This protects the thermoelectric element, which is easily destroyed by mechanical stress, without applying any weight to the thermoelectric element.

Embodiment One embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

First, a first embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 and 2. Note that the same reference numerals are given to the same parts as in the conventional example, and the description thereof will be omitted.

In FIG. 1, reference numeral 6 denotes a protrusion holder, which is a trapezoidal protrusion molded at four locations at each corner of the ceramic substrate. The height of the protruding holding portion 6 is made equal to the distance between the ceramic substrates when the thermoelectric conversion module is mounted.

As shown in FIG. 2, a plurality of thermoelectric elements 1 and electrical terminals 4 are electrically connected by a Cu plate 2 between the ceramic substrate having the protruding holding portion 6 and the flat ceramic substrate.
A thermoelectric conversion module is constructed from these.

In the above configuration, when the thermoelectric conversion module is incorporated into a heat exchanger or the like, even if the thermoelectric conversion module is loaded with a screw or the like, the protruding holding portion 6 will apply the load, and the ceramic substrate and the thermoelectric element 1 may be mechanically destroyed. There isn't.

Next, a second embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG.

Here, the same parts as in the first embodiment are given the same reference numerals and the description thereof will be omitted.

In the figure, reference numeral 6 denotes ceramic substrates 3, 3' having protrusion holding portions 6 whose height is exactly one half of the distance between the two ceramic substrates. Here, a V
A thermoelectric conversion module is constituted by a plurality of thermoelectric elements 1 and electrical terminals 4 that are electrically connected.

In the thermoelectric conversion module of this embodiment, in addition to the effects of the first embodiment, thermoelectric conversion is achieved by providing the protrusion holding portions 6 on the ceramic substrates 3゜3' at positions facing each of the two ceramic substrates. Not only does alignment work become easier when assembling the conversion module, but by using the protruding holders to carry the weight applied to each ceramic substrate, thermoelectric elements and ceramic substrates that are easily destroyed by mechanical stress can be removed. It is something to protect.

Furthermore, a third embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 4 and 6.

Here, the same parts as in the previous embodiment are given the same reference numerals and the description thereof will be omitted.

In FIG. 4, 6 is a substrate holding chip, and the first
This function is equivalent to that of the protrusion holding portion 6 in the embodiment and the second embodiment. The substrate holding step 6 has at least the same chip height as the thermoelectric element 1, and the ceramic substrate 3,
Similar to the thermoelectric element 1, it is attached to the four corners between 3' via Cu plates 2. Here, the substrate holding step 6 is made of a material having a thermal linear expansion coefficient equivalent to that of the thermoelectric element 1, and is made of a strong metal material with a larger elastic modulus than the thermoelectric semiconductor constituting the thermoelectric element 1.

Effects of the Invention According to the present invention, by having the protruding holding portion absorb the load applied to the ceramic substrate, it is possible to protect the thermoelectric element and the ceramic substrate, which are easily destroyed by mechanical stress.

Furthermore, it has a value similar to that of the thermoelectric conversion element and the thermal linear expansion coefficient, and is 1
Since the chips that hold mechanical loads are provided on two ceramic substrates, the thermoelectric conversion module will not be distorted or warped due to temperature changes.

[Brief Description of the Drawings] Fig. 1 is a perspective view of a ceramic substrate in a first embodiment of the present invention, Fig. 2 is a side view of a thermoelectric conversion module in the first embodiment of the present invention, and Fig. 3 is a perspective view of a ceramic substrate in a first embodiment of the present invention. A side view of a thermoelectric conversion module according to a second embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 4 is a plan view showing the element arrangement of a thermoelectric conversion module according to a third embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. FIG. 6 is a side view of a thermoelectric conversion module in an example, FIG. 6 is a perspective view of a thermoelectric conversion module showing a conventional example, and FIG. 7 is a perspective view of a ceramic substrate in a conventional example. 1... Thermoelectric element, 3... Ceramic substrate, 6... Protrusion holding part, 6... Substrate holding chip. Name of agent Patent attorney Shigetaka Awano #1 or 1 person

Claims (3)

[Claims] (1) A thermoelectric conversion module in which a plurality of electrically connected thermoelectric elements are held between two ceramic substrates each having a protruding holding portion molded in at least one location. (2) The thermoelectric conversion module according to claim 1, wherein the protruding holding portions provided on the ceramic substrate are provided at positions facing each other and in contact with each other on two ceramic surfaces. (3) A thermoelectric conversion module in which a thermoelectric element and a ceramic substrate holding chip having a coefficient of thermal expansion approximate to that of the thermoelectric element are provided between two ceramic substrates.