Heat transfer device, temperature controller, internal combustion engine, exhaust system thereof, and melting furnace

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-2016017786-A1
Application number	US-201514798566-A
Country	US
Kind code	A1
Filing date	Jul 14, 2015
Priority date	Jul 18, 2014
Publication date	Jan 21, 2016
Grant date	—

Abstract

A heat transfer device that includes a thermionic power generator, a wiring, a load circuit, and a switch circuit. The thermionic power generator includes an emitter electrode and a collector electrode facing each other with an inter-electrode gap distance, and converts heat energy into electric energy by capturing, with the collector electrode, a thermoelectron that is emitted from the emitter electrode. The wiring electrically connects the emitter electrode and the collector electrode. The load circuit is connected to an electric current path of by wiring between the emitter electrode and the collector electrode. The switch circuit switches between an ON state and an OFF state.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1 . A heat transfer device comprising:
a thermionic power generator having an emitter electrode and a collector electrode facing each other with a preset inter-electrode gap distance, and converting heat energy into electric energy by capturing a thermoelectron emitted from the emitter electrode with the collector electrode; a wiring electrically connecting the emitter electrode and the collector electrode; a load circuit connected to an electric current path between the emitter electrode and the collector electrode via the wiring; and a switch circuit switching between an ON state and an OFF state for conducting and blocking the electric current path.

2 . The heat transfer device of claim 1 , wherein
the load circuit includes a resistor.

3 . The heat transfer device of claim 1 , wherein
the load circuit includes a power supply having a positive electrode connected to the collector electrode.

4 . The heat transfer device of claim 1 , wherein
the load circuit includes a resistor and a power supply having a positive electrode connected to the collector electrode, the wiring includes a first wiring serving as the electric current path to which the resistor is connected and a second wiring serving as the electric current path to which the power supply is connected, each of the first wiring and the second wiring receiving an electric current independently, and the switch circuit switches the ON state and the OFF state of the electric current path independently for each of the first wiring and the second wiring.

5 . The heat transfer device of claim 1 , wherein
at least one of the emitter electrode and the collector electrode is made from a semiconductor material.

6 . The heat transfer device of claim 5 , wherein
the semiconductor material comprises a diamond.

7 . The heat transfer device of claim 5 , wherein
a dopant density of the semiconductor material that forms the emitter electrode is higher than a dopant density of the semiconductor material that forms the collector electrode.

8 . A temperature controller comprising:
a heat transfer device, the heat transfer device comprising:
a thermionic power generator having an emitter electrode and a collector electrode facing each other with a preset inter-electrode gap distance, and converting heat energy into electric energy by capturing a thermoelectron emitted from the emitter electrode with the collector electrode;
a wiring electrically connecting the emitter electrode and the collector electrode;
a load circuit connected to an electric current path between the emitter electrode and the collector electrode via the wiring; and
a switch circuit switching between an ON state and an OFF state for conducting and blocking the electric current path; and
a control device controlling the switch circuit.

9 . An internal combustion engine comprising:
a temperature controller, the temperature controller comprising:
a heat transfer device, the heat transfer device comprising:
a thermionic power generator having an emitter electrode and a collector electrode facing each other with a preset inter-electrode gap distance, and converting heat energy into electric energy by capturing a thermoelectron emitted from the emitter electrode with the collector electrode;
a wiring electrically connecting the emitter electrode and the collector electrode;
a load circuit connected to an electric current path between the emitter electrode and the collector electrode via the wiring; and
a switch circuit switching between an ON state and an OFF state for conducting and blocking the electric current path; and

a control device controlling the switch circuit.

10 . An exhaust system of an internal combustion engine comprising:
a temperature controller, the temperature controller comprising:
a heat transfer device, the heat transfer device comprising:
a thermionic power generator having an emitter electrode and a collector electrode facing each other with a preset inter-electrode gap distance, and converting heat energy into electric energy by capturing a thermoelectron emitted from the emitter electrode with the collector electrode;
a wiring electrically connecting the emitter electrode and the collector electrode;
a load circuit connected to an electric current path between the emitter electrode and the collector electrode via the wiring; and
a switch circuit switching between an ON state and an OFF state for conducting and blocking the electric current path; and

a control device controlling the switch circuit.

11 . A melting furnace comprising:
a temperature controller, the temperature controller comprising:
a heat transfer device, the heat transfer device comprising:
a thermionic power generator having an emitter electrode and a collector electrode facing each other with a preset inter-electrode gap distance, and converting heat energy into electric energy by capturing a thermoelectron emitted from the emitter electrode with the collector electrode;
a wiring electrically connecting the emitter electrode and the collector electrode;
a load circuit connected to an electric current path between the emitter electrode and the collector electrode via the wiring; and
a switch circuit switching between an ON state and an OFF state for conducting and blocking the electric current path; and

a control device controlling the switch circuit.

Assignees

• Denso Corp

Inventors

• Kimura Yuji
• Kataoka Mitsuhiro
• Sobue Susumu

Classifications

• H01L35/30

  Electricity · mapped topic

• F01N5/025 Primary

  the device being thermoelectric generators · CPC title

• H10N10/13

  characterised by the heat-exchanging means at the junction · CPC title

• H10N15/00

  Thermoelectric devices without a junction of dissimilar materials; Thermomagnetic devices, e.g. using the Nernst-Ettingshausen effect (integrated devices or assemblies of multiple devices H10N19/00) · CPC title

• H01J45/00

  Discharge tubes functioning as thermionic generators {(structural combination of fuel element with thermoelectric element G21C3/40; nuclear power plants using thermionic converters G21D7/04; structural combination of a radioactive source with a thermionic converter, e.g. radioisotope batteries G21H1/10; generators in which thermal or kinetic energy is converted into electrical energy by ionisation of a fluid and removal of the charge therefrom H02N3/00)} · CPC title