JP2016127033A - Thermal power generation device and thermal power generation method using the same, and thermal power generation system - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a thermal power generation device having a simple structure and exerting high power generation efficiency, a thermal power generation method using the same, and a thermal power generation system.SOLUTION: A thermal power generation device 1 includes: an approximately plate-shaped heating element 2 whose surface temperature rises by being powered; coolants 3 respectively arranged on front and rear surfaces of the heating element 2 with an interval and whose surface temperature can be set lower than the surface temperature of the heating element 2 by being powered; Peltier elements 4 each having a heating plate that generates heat by being supplied with a current and arranged in a manner of closely adhering the heating plate to the heating element; a cooling plate arranged opposing to the coolant and whose temperature becomes lower than that of the heating plate by constituting the Peltier element 4 and being supplied with a current; and a battery 10 electrically connected to at least the Peltier elements 4 and the heating element 2. Further, the heating element 2 is made of cloth which is burned and carbonized in the absence of oxygen.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

  The present invention relates to a thermoelectric generator that generates heat by converting heat into electricity, a thermoelectric generator method using the thermoelectric generator, and a thermoelectric generator system.

  There is known an apparatus that generates a high temperature and a low temperature and generates power using the temperature difference (see, for example, Patent Document 1). In this apparatus, a Peltier element is arranged between pipes through which hot water and cold water pass, and electric power is generated by the Peltier element using the Seebeck effect. In such a power generation apparatus of Patent Document 1, in order to increase the power generation efficiency, the heat transfer efficiency to the Peltier element is improved.

  However, even in the power generation apparatus described in Patent Document 1, the power generation efficiency is not dramatically increased. In addition, the use of liquid for the apparatus complicates the apparatus.

JP 2013-21899 A

  The present invention has been made in consideration of the above prior art, and an object of the present invention is to provide a thermoelectric generator having a simple structure and high power generation efficiency, a thermoelectric generator method using the thermoelectric generator, and a thermoelectric generator system.

  In order to achieve the above object, in the present invention, a substantially plate-shaped heating element whose surface temperature is raised by supplying electric power, and a space with respect to the front and back surfaces of the heating element are disposed, A cooling body that can be set to a surface temperature lower than the surface temperature of the heating element by supplying electric power; and a heating plate that generates heat when an electric current is passed, and the heating plate is closely attached to the heating element. A Peltier element that is disposed in a row, and a cooling plate that is absorbed by forming an electric current to flow through the Peltier element to be lower than the temperature of the heating plate, and that is disposed to face the cooling body, Provided is a thermoelectric generator including a Peltier element and a battery electrically connected to the heating element, wherein the heating element is a fabric fired and carbonized in an oxygen-free state.

  Preferably, a plurality of the Peltier elements are provided.

  Further, in the present invention, a temperature raising step of raising the temperature of the heating element by using electric power stored in an external power source or the battery, and raising the temperature of the heating plate by the temperature raising step to A power generation step of generating power using the Peltier element by generating a temperature difference therebetween, and a power storage step of storing the power generated by the power generation step in the battery, using the power stored in the power storage step And providing a thermoelectric power generation method using a thermoelectric generator characterized by performing the temperature raising step.

  Further, in the present invention, the heat generating unit and at least the Peltier element are provided as a thermoelectric generator unit, and the thermoelectric generator unit includes a plurality of thermoelectric generator units, and the Peltier element is electrically connected to the heat generators of the other thermoelectric generator units. There is also provided a thermoelectric power generation system using a thermoelectric generator characterized by the above.

  According to the present invention, since the heating element is formed of a cloth that is fired and carbonized in an oxygen-free state, the temperature can be rapidly increased with a small amount of electric power. For this reason, the electric power for temperature rising can be made into low electric power, and high electric power can be generated with a Peltier device using the temperature. That is, power generation efficiency can be improved. Moreover, since the structure for that is only a heat generating body and a cooling body, and a Peltier device and a battery, it can implement | achieve with a simple structure.

  Moreover, the power generation efficiency can be further increased by arranging a plurality of Peltier elements.

  Further, according to the present invention, higher power than the power used in the temperature raising process is acquired in the power generation process and stored in the battery, and the power obtained in the power generation process is used in the temperature raising process to further increase the amount of power. Can be obtained. For this reason, if each process is repeated, more electric power can be obtained and the power generation efficiency is improved.

  Further, according to the present invention, a unit including a heating element and a Peltier element is used as one thermoelectric generation unit, and a plurality of thermoelectric generation units are provided to electrically connect the heating element and the Peltier element of another thermoelectric generation unit. The power generation by one thermoelectric generator unit can be used as the electric power for the heat generated by the heating elements of the other units, and the electric power can be stored and used indefinitely by using a plurality of thermoelectric generator units.

1 is a schematic view of a thermoelectric generator 1 according to the present invention. It is the schematic which shows the state which has arrange | positioned multiple Peltier elements to the heat generating body. It is the schematic of a Peltier device. It is a flowchart of the thermoelectric power generation method using the thermoelectric generator which concerns on this invention. 1 is a schematic diagram of a thermoelectric generation system according to the present invention.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the thermoelectric generator 1 according to the present invention includes a substantially plate-shaped heating element 2 and a cooling body 3. The heating element 2 is a fabric whose surface temperature rises when electric power is supplied. Specifically, the heating element 2 is a fabric fired and carbonized in an oxygen-free state. The raw material of the fabric is a fiber such as cotton, hemp, bamboo, and wood, and a general cellulosic fiber can be used. On the other hand, in this example, the cooling body 3 also has a substantially flat plate shape, and can be set so that the surface temperature is lower than the surface temperature of the heating element when electric power is supplied. The cooling body 3 is disposed with a distance from the front and back surfaces of the heating element 2. That is, a gap is formed between the heating element 2 and the cooling body 3.

  A Peltier element 4 is sandwiched between the heating element 2 and the cooling body 3. As shown in FIG. 3, the Peltier element 4 has + and − lead wires 5 and 6, respectively, which are connected to one of a heat generating plate 7 and a cooling plate 8 which are PN-bonded to each other. That is, a plurality of P-type and N-type thermoelectric semiconductors 9 are disposed between the heat generating plate 7 and the cooling plate 8. In this Peltier element 4, heat is transferred from the cooling plate 8 to the heat generating plate 7 by flowing an electric current (Peltier effect). Therefore, by flowing a direct current through the lead wires 5 and 6, the cooling plate 8 absorbs heat. The heat generating plate 7 generates heat. The Seebeck effect can also be realized by using this Peltier element 4. That is, a voltage can be generated by giving a temperature difference between the heat generating plate 7 and the cooling plate 8, and electric power can be obtained through the lead wires 5 and 6.

  The heating plate 7 of the Peltier element 4 is disposed in close contact with the heating element 2. Therefore, when the heating element 2 rises in temperature and generates heat, the heat is transmitted to the heating plate 7. In other words, the temperature of the heat generating plate 7 is also raised in accordance with the heat generating element 2. On the other hand, since the cooling body 3 set so as to have a temperature lower than that of the heating element 2 is in close contact with the cooling plate 8, the cooling plate 8 has a temperature lower than that of the heating plate 7. Therefore, a temperature difference is generated between the heat generating plate 7 and the cooling plate 8. For this reason, the Peltier device 4 generates electric power by the Seebeck effect.

  Here, the lead wires 5 and 6 of the Peltier element 4 are electrically connected to the battery 10. Therefore, the electric power generated by the Peltier element 4 can be stored in the battery 10. On the other hand, the battery 10 is also electrically connected to the heating element 2. Therefore, the electric power required for heat generation of the heating element 2 is supplied from the battery 10. The battery 10 may be electrically connected to the cooling body 3 as well. With this structure, the power of the battery 10 can be used for cooling the cooling body 3.

  With the above configuration, the heating element 2 is formed of a cloth that is baked and carbonized in an oxygen-free state, so that the temperature can be increased rapidly with a small amount of electric power. For this reason, the electric power for temperature rise can be made into low electric power, and high electric power can be generated with the Peltier device 4 using the temperature. That is, power generation efficiency can be improved. Moreover, since the structure for that purpose is sufficient only with the heat generating body 2 and the cooling body 3, and the Peltier element 4 and the battery 10, it can implement | achieve with a simple structure.

  The cooling body 3 may have a substantially plate shape as in the example of FIG. 1, or any configuration that provides a temperature difference between the cooling plate 8 of the Peltier element 4 and the heat generating plate 7. A thing may be used. For example, a cooling unit that covers the heating element 2 and the Peltier element 4 in a sealed space and cools the inside thereof may be used.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 2, a plurality of Peltier elements 4 may be provided for the heating element 2. In the example of FIG. 2, an example is shown in which a total of 16 4 × 4 Peltier elements 4 are arranged. As described above, the power generation efficiency can be further increased by arranging the plurality of Peltier elements 4. That is, the amount of electric power required to raise the temperature of the heating element 2 does not increase as much as the heating element 2 becomes larger, but the amount of electric power generated by generating a plurality of Peltier elements 4 is several times.

  The power generation method according to the present invention will be described below.

  First, a temperature raising process is performed (step S1). This temperature raising step is a step of raising the temperature of the heating element 2 using the electric power stored in the external power source or the battery 10. Since there is no power at the first stage, an external power source may be used to raise the temperature of the heating element 2, or power stored in the battery 10 in advance may be used.

  Next, a power generation process is performed (step S2). This power generation step is a step of generating power using the Peltier element 4 by the Seebeck effect by generating a temperature difference between the heating plate 7 and the cooling plate 8 that have been heated together with the heating element 2 in the heating step. That is, so-called thermoelectric conversion is performed using the Peltier element 4. By this step, a voltage is generated between both the lead wires 5 and 6 of the Peltier element 4, and as a result, electric power can be obtained.

  Next, a power storage process is performed (step S3). This power storage process is a process of storing the power generated in the power generation process in the battery 10. Thereby, electric power is stored in the battery 10.

  While the power generation method is performed, steps S1 to S3 are repeated. At this time, the electric power stored in the power storage process is used in the temperature raising process and repeated. That is, the electric power obtained by the power generation of the Peltier element 4 is used again for raising the temperature of the heating element 2 via the battery 10. Thereby, electric power higher than the electric power used in the temperature raising step can be obtained in the power generation step and stored in the battery 10, and the electric power obtained in the power generation step can be used in the temperature raising step to obtain a larger amount of power. it can. For this reason, if each process is repeated, more electric power can be obtained and the power generation efficiency is improved.

  As a result of actually experimenting with the above effect, an electric energy of about 10 W was required to raise the temperature of the heating element 2 to 300 ° C. in the temperature raising step. And the electric energy obtained from one of the Peltier devices 4 in the electric power generation process was about 14W. The temperature of the cooling body 3 at this time was set to 50 ° C. Even if the amount of power for holding the cooling body 3 at 50 ° C. is subtracted, 14 W can be generated with the power of 6 W. Therefore, by repeating Steps S1 to S3, the obtained power increases infinitely. Will go. Therefore, it can be applied to battery-powered automobiles and the like in the future. There are other Peltier elements that can obtain 28 W under the same conditions. By using this, the power generation efficiency is further improved.

  In addition, the effect of this invention is acquired by making the heat generating body 2 into the said fabric as mentioned above. The heat resistance temperature of the fabric is 1000 ° C. after passing through a baking process under anoxic conditions. For this reason, the temperature difference between the heating element 2 and the cooling body 3 can be further widened, and further improvement in power generation efficiency can be expected depending on the temperature setting.

  As shown in FIG. 5, a thermoelectric generator unit 11 may be formed including at least the heating element 2 and the Peltier element 4, and a thermoelectric generator system 12 including a plurality of the thermoelectric generator units 11 may be formed (in FIG. A thermal power generation system 12 having a power generation unit 11 is shown). At this time, the battery 10 may be electrically connected to the heating element 2a of one thermoelectric generation unit 11a, and the battery 10 may not be connected to the heating elements 2b and 2c of the other thermoelectric generation units 11b and 11c. In this system 12, the battery 10 is first used to generate power using the Peltier element 4a, and the electric power obtained by the power generation is generated by another heating element (the heating element 2b of the thermoelectric generator unit 11b in the example of FIG. 5). Use as power for. Such a connection may be continuously connected to another thermoelectric generator unit 11 (in the example of FIG. 5, the Peltier element 4b is connected to the heating element 2c), or a single thermoelectric generator unit 11 in the form of a foot. Each of the plurality of Peltier elements 4 included in each may be connected to a plurality of other thermoelectric generator units 11. Thereby, it becomes possible to store and use electric power infinitely by using a plurality of thermoelectric generator units. In FIG. 5, the cooling body 3 is omitted.

1: thermoelectric generator, 2: heating element, 3: cooling body, 4: Peltier element, 5: lead wire, 6: lead wire, 7: heating plate, 8: cooling plate, 9: thermoelectric semiconductor, 10: battery, 11: Thermoelectric generator unit, 12: Thermoelectric generator system

Claims (4)

A substantially plate-shaped heating element whose surface temperature is raised by supplying electric power;
A cooling body that is disposed at an interval with respect to the front and back surfaces of the heating element and can be set to a surface temperature lower than the surface temperature of the heating element by supplying electric power;
A Peltier element that has a heat generating plate that generates heat by passing an electric current, and is disposed in close contact with the heat generating plate;
A cooling plate which is absorbed by flowing current by forming the Peltier element and becomes lower than the temperature of the heating plate, and is arranged facing the cooling body;
A battery electrically connected to at least the Peltier element and the heating element;
The thermoelectric generator is characterized in that the heating element is a cloth fired and carbonized in an oxygen-free state.   The thermoelectric generator according to claim 1, wherein a plurality of the Peltier elements are provided. A temperature raising step of raising the temperature of the heating element using an external power source or electric power stored in the battery;
A power generation step of generating power using the Peltier element by generating a temperature difference with the cooling plate by raising the temperature of the heat generating plate by the temperature raising step;
A power storage step of storing the electric power generated by the power generation step in the battery,
The thermoelectric power generation method using a thermoelectric generator according to claim 1, wherein the temperature raising step is performed using the electric power stored in the electric storage step. The heating element, comprising at least the Peltier element as a thermoelectric generator unit,
A plurality of the thermoelectric generator units;
The thermoelectric power generation system using a thermoelectric generator according to claim 2, wherein the Peltier element is electrically connected to a heating element of another thermoelectric generator unit.

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