RU2187052C1 - Thermoelectric air cooler - Google Patents

Abstract

FIELD: refrigeration equipment, in particular, ecologically pure thermoelectric air coolers designed for air cooling in a heat-insulated space. SUBSTANCE: air cooler has a thermoelectric battery with thermoelectric modules, cold and hot radiators, and heat release and heat absorption fans. EFFECT: improved technical and operating characteristics. 6 dwg

Description

 The invention relates to environmentally friendly devices designed for cooling air in a thermally insulated volume, in particular, it is used in vehicles, for example, vehicles for transporting products, in commercial refrigeration equipment - counters, slides, racks and in closed electronic cabinets.

 To date, the development of the design of an environmentally friendly air cooler for a thermally insulated chamber is quite relevant. Known environmentally friendly air coolers using thermoelectric modules as a source of cold, as a rule, are not sufficiently reliable in operation.

 For example, a built-in automobile refrigerator [1] is known, which comprises a housing consisting of a working chamber, a lid and a folding table, including a cold source, a heat sink, a fan and a temperature controller, and a heat sink. The cooling unit as a source of cold contains at least one thermoelectric module, the principle of which is based on the Peltier effect. The temperature controller, heat sink and fan are installed on the outer wall of the casing, the heat sink is made on the inner wall of the casing in the form of metal sheathing, while the heat-generating and heat-absorbing surfaces of the thermal module are in thermal contact with the heat-radiating radiator and heat-absorbing radiator, respectively.

 The disadvantage of this device is the low reliability during operation, due to the rapid destruction of the cold source due to shaking of the device in transit.

 Also known are thermal cabinets [2, 3], designed for commercial refrigeration systems, containing a thermoelectric air cooler with a thermopile on thermal modules, radiators on the cold and hot sides of the battery, and fans. The main disadvantages of these devices are due to the fact that their designs are low effective in the possibility of heat removal from hot and cold from cold junctions of thermocouples and unreliable in operation due to the rapid destruction of thermal modules.

 The closest in technical essence to the claimed object is a thermoelectric air cooler placed in a heating cabinet for storing products [4]. This air cooler is a thermally insulated insert in which technological windows are located on both sides of the central axis perpendicular to the insert plane, in which thermoelectric batteries are placed, and radiators and fans are installed on both sides of the insert.

 The disadvantages of this design are the low efficiency in heat and cold and the unreliability of operation due to the insecure fixing of thermoelectric batteries, insufficient maintainability of the device as a whole.

The problem to which the invention is directed, is to create an inexpensive and simple in design, environmentally friendly thermoelectric air cooler having high efficiency of heat removal from hot junctions and cold from cold junctions of thermal modules and the reliability of the device in operation. In this case, the achievement of the following technical and economic results should be ensured:
- improvement of technical and operational characteristics;
- low inertia;
- high reliability;
- lack of noise;
- environmental safety due to the absence of reactive or high pressure refrigerants;
- the possibility of application on moving objects;
- the possibility of operation in a wide range of climatic conditions.

 A thermoelectric air cooler is proposed comprising a thermopile with thermal modules, cold and hot radiators, and heat sink and heat absorption fans. The achievement of the indicated technical results is ensured due to the fact that the air cooler is equipped with a fixing cassette installed between the radiators, made in the form of a mounting plate, having contact pads for connecting the thermal modules and staggered technological windows for installing the thermal modules, while the internal surfaces of the cold and hot radiators are made with staggered protrusions, and thermal modules are installed in the windows of the cassette mentioned above with the possibility of contact tion of hot and cold sides with projections corresponding radiator, and also so as to form between the inner surfaces of the cold and hot insulation radiators channels.

 The claimed invention can be recognized as meeting the requirements of novelty, since no analogue has been found, characterized by features identical to all the essential features of the invention.

 The invention can be recognized as having an inventive step due to the fact that it does not explicitly follow from the prior art, since the influence of the transformations prescribed by this invention, characterized by significant features distinctive from the prototype, aimed at achieving the claimed technical result is not revealed from the prior art.

The present invention meets the requirement of industrial applicability, since it is manufactured and used in industry (see the attached advertising brochure). The essence of the claimed device is illustrated by the following drawings:
figure 1 is a General view of a thermoelectric air cooler (with section);
figure 2 is the same, view A;
figure 3 is the same, section bB;
figure 4 - the same section DD;
5 is a cassette (pos. 8, top view);
6 - installation of an air cooler.

 The thermoelectric air cooler contains (see FIGS. 1-4) a thermopile 1 with thermal modules 2, a cold radiator 3 and a heat absorption fan 4, a hot radiator 5 and a heat discharge fan 7. In addition, the air cooler is equipped with a fixing cassette 8 installed between the radiators 3 and 5 (see Figs. 4, 5), made in the form of a mounting plate having contact pads 9 for connecting the thermal modules 2 and staggered technological windows 10 for installation in each of which thermal module 2. The inner surfaces of the cold 3 and hot 5 radiators are equipped with staggered protrusions 11 (see figure 3).

 Thermal modules 2 are installed (see Fig. 4) in the windows 10 of the cassette 8 (see Fig. 5) with the possibility of contacting the hot sides of the thermal modules with the protrusions 11 of the hot radiator 5 and, accordingly, the cold surfaces of the thermal modules with the protrusions 11 of the cold radiator. In this case, the inner surfaces of the cold 3 and hot 5 radiators form the insulating channels 12, filled with heat-insulating material, for example a cycle thermometer or penofol.

 Thermoelectric air cooler operates as follows (see Fig. 1-6). The principle of operation of the air cooler is based on the use of the Peltier effect, when when passing a direct current through the contacts of the two dissimilar substances (metals, semiconductors) that make up the thermal module, cooling occurs on one of the contacts (heat absorption), and heat is released on the other. An air cooler is installed (see FIG. 6) in the wall of the thermally insulated chamber 13. Then, by switching on the “Network” switch (not shown in FIG.), Voltage is applied to the thermal modules 2 and the fans. From this moment, the process of cooling the cold surfaces of the thermal modules 2 and the fins of the cold radiator 3 begins. In this case, the heat absorption fan 4 carries out the process of circulating cold air from the cold radiator 3 in the chamber volume and warm air from the chamber volume to the fins of the cold radiator 3. The flow of air flows is shown in figure 3 by dashed arrows. Thus, thermal energy from the internal volume of the chamber 13 is "pumped out".

Simultaneously with the cooling process, a process of heat generation occurs on the hot surfaces of the thermal modules, which is transmitted to the fins of the hot radiator 5, blown by a stream of cooling air from the heat discharge fan 7, which ensures heat removal to the external environment (see Fig. 6). Thus, in a thermally insulated chamber, it is possible to provide a temperature equal to, for example, 7 ^{° C.} at an ambient temperature of 35 ^° C.

Thanks to the design, in which the thermal modules are fixed in the fixing cassette, the strength characteristics of the proposed device are significantly increased, which increase the service life and reliability in operation. The presence in the design of the protrusions on the inner surfaces of the radiators and the channels formed therewith provides an increased degree of reliability when radiators transfer both heat and cold, and provides high-quality isolation of cold and hot radiators from each other. From the foregoing, the following advantages of the proposed thermoelectric air cooler are obvious:
- the design is compact, increased strength and low cost;
- the design is distinguished by the use of an environmentally friendly source of cold and the absence of chemically active or high-pressure refrigerants;
- increased efficiency of heat removal from hot junctions and cold from cold junctions of thermocouples due to original design solutions;
- increased reliability of the air cooler during operation;
- the design provides the possibility of operation in a wide range of climatic conditions and on moving objects;
- improved specifications.

Sources of information
1. Built-in car refrigerator. Utility Model Certificate 4858, M. cl. H 01 L 35/00, 06/27/96.

 2. Thermoelectric refrigerator. Certificate for utility model 9510, M. cl. F 25 B 21/02, publ. 03/16/99.

 3. Thermoelectric cooling device. Utility Model Certificate 9511, M. cl. F 25 B 21/02, publ. 03/16/99.

 4. A heating cabinet for food storage. Certificate for utility model 4368, M. cl. F 25 V 21/02, publ. 06/16/97. (prototype).

Claims (1)

 A thermoelectric air cooler containing a thermopile with thermomodules, cold and hot radiators, the inner surfaces of which are provided with protrusions for thermal contact with the corresponding side of the thermomodule and have insulating channels filled with heat-insulating material, heat-discharge and heat-absorption fans, characterized in that it is equipped with a hot and cold radiators fixing cassette, made in the form of a circuit board having pads for connecting t thermal modules and technological windows for installing thermal modules in them with the possibility of contacting their hot and cold sides with the protrusions of the respective radiators.

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