JP3477790B2 - Electric circuit device - Google Patents

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an electric circuit device that effectively uses heat generated according to the operation of an electric circuit.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, circuit components with small power consumption but large power consumption have been provided to the market. Such circuit components include electric components such as ICs, lamps, and motors. In addition to this, there are products such as a copying machine, a so-called laser printer, and a thermal printer, which are partially heated to be used.

In particular, in order to increase the processing speed for information and the like in IC components that are small in size but consume a large amount of power, ICs having a very high degree of transistor integration have been used. It is used in, for example, a computer or an image processing apparatus requiring real-time processing, which has a plurality of mounting boards on which a large number of such ICs are mounted. As a result, the electric devices described above are products with high power consumption.

[0004]

Since the electric equipment using the electric parts as described above has high power consumption, the board on which the electric parts are mounted in the electric equipment serves as a high heat source. In such an electric device, the temperature inside the device may be abnormally high. Therefore, if no heat countermeasure is taken, the circuit may malfunction. In order to avoid such malfunction and guarantee the performance of the device, the temperature inside the device must be kept within a predetermined guaranteed temperature.

Therefore, the measures against heat generated in the apparatus are:
Conventionally, a method of releasing heat generated outside the device has been adopted. To be specific, provide a hole for ventilation in the device,
Furthermore, a method was used in which heat-generating components were equipped with heat-dissipating fins or heat-dissipating plates made of metal with good thermal conductivity to dissipate heat and the hot air inside the device was forcedly exhausted using a fan. .

By the way, due to these heat generation, the electric energy supplied from the power source is discharged as heat energy for operating the circuit parts, and most of the input energy is discarded. The use of most of the energy supplied in this way in order to perform high-speed operation of the circuit results in very poor energy use efficiency.

Therefore, the present invention has been made in view of the above situation, and an object thereof is to provide an electric circuit device which can efficiently use the supplied energy and reduce the power consumption.

[0008]

In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, an electric circuit device according to the present invention comprises an electric circuit section composed of power supply means and electric parts to which electric power is supplied from the power supply means. And heat energy absorbed by the unwanted radiation countermeasure member using a heat absorbing member arranged in a thin film on the power supply unit and / or the electric circuit unit, and generated by the power supply unit and / or the electric component. And a thermoelectric conversion means for converting thermal energy into electric energy, and the electric energy generated by the thermoelectric conversion means is returned to the power supply means.

Here, as a material having a high coefficient of thermal conductivity, a material having a high thermal conductivity such as a copper foil or an aluminum material used as a countermeasure against unnecessary radiation is used for the heat absorbing member that absorbs heat energy. Moreover, it is preferable to use a thermocouple for the thermoelectric conversion means.

[0010]

In the electric circuit device according to the present invention, the heat energy generated when the electric circuit portion in which the electric component is mounted is operated by the electric power supplied from the power supply circuit, that is, the electric energy is converted into the electric energy by the thermoelectric conversion element. The electric energy is returned to the power supply circuit to improve the efficiency of use for the electric power supplied first.

By using a material having a high coefficient of thermal conductivity for the heat absorbing member that absorbs the heat energy, the heat energy is absorbed from the surrounding environment to improve the heat energy collecting efficiency.

By using a thermocouple as the thermoelectric conversion element, the contact points of the thermocouple are respectively connected in two regions having a temperature difference, and a temperature gradient is created between these two points to generate a thermoelectromotive force and generate a thermocurrent. To generate. At this time, if the type of metal used for the thermocouple is selected in consideration of the neutral temperature obtained from the relationship between the ambient temperature and the thermoelectromotive force, effective generation of electric energy can be performed.

This electric circuit device not only converts the heat energy directly received by the thermoelectric conversion element into electric energy, but also absorbs the heat collected by once absorbing it with a copper foil or the like having good heat conductivity. Energy is also used to create a temperature difference to increase the efficiency of conversion into electrical energy.

[0014]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment of an electric circuit device according to the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. Here, a first embodiment in which the electric circuit device of the present invention is applied to the housing of a device will be described.

As shown in FIG. 1, for example, this electric circuit device basically has a power supply circuit 2 for supplying electric power supplied from a power supply unit 1 to each electric component to a predetermined voltage, and a power supply circuit 2. Composed of an electric circuit section 3 in which electric parts that operate with electric energy supplied from the electric circuit section 3 are arranged, and a thermoelectric conversion element 4 that converts thermal energy generated in the power supply circuit 2 or the electric circuit section 3 into electric energy. To be done.

Generally, in an electric device, as shown in FIG. 1, for example, power is supplied to a power supply circuit 2 from a battery or a power supply unit 1 for supplying external power, and power is supplied from the power supply circuit 2 to an electric circuit unit 3. ing. Power circuit 2 and electric circuit section 3
Is a plurality of electric components mounted on a substrate.
The power supply circuit 2 and the electric circuit unit 3 generate heat by converting the supplied electric energy into heat energy. In particular, when speeding up electrical equipment, for example, power consumption is high and heat is also generated.

As the thermoelectric conversion element 4 for converting the heat energy due to this heat generation into electric energy, for example, a thermocouple is used for the conversion element for this purpose. In the present embodiment, the thermoelectric conversion element 4 adopts a non-contact configuration to convert the heat energy from the power supply circuit 2 and the electric component section 3 that generate heat into electric energy and return it to the power supply circuit 2.

A thermocouple used as the thermoelectric conversion element 4 will be described. As known in electromagnetics, thermocouples consist of two types of metal wires that form a single closed circuit, and the two connection parts of the metal wires are used as different temperature regions or heat baths to hold a temperature gradient. Then, as shown in FIG. 2, for example, a potential difference occurs between the connection point T1 and the connection point T2. This potential difference is what is called thermoelectromotive force. The current flowing with this thermoelectromotive force is the so-called thermal current I. The generation of the thermal current I due to this thermoelectromotive force is
It is called the Seebeck effect from the name of the discoverer.

Generally, the thermoelectromotive force is U and the connection points T1 and T2 are
Assuming that the thermoelectric power Q and the minute temperature dt are the indices obtained by converting the thermoelectromotive force per unit temperature difference when the temperature difference between the two is small,
The thermoelectromotive force U is generally

[0020]

[Equation 1]

It is represented by It is known that the thermoelectric power Q changes linearly as follows: Q = a + bt (2) when the coefficients a and b are used with respect to the temperature t. Substituting equation (2) into equation (1), the temperatures at the connection points T1 and T2 are t ₁ , t
_When calculated as ₂ , U = a (t ₁ −t ₂ ) + b (t ₁ ² −t ₂ ² ) / 2 (3). Therefore, the relationship between the temperature t _{1 at} the connection point T1 and the electromotive force U draws one parabola as shown in FIG. The temperature t _{0 at} which the maximum value of the parabola in FIG. 3 is obtained is called the neutral temperature.

From such a relationship, from the temperature in the high temperature part where the temperature rises due to the heat generation inside the housing and the temperature near the outside of the housing, the type of one metal A and the other metal B used for the thermocouple is the ambient temperature of the operating environment. Considering the above, the combination of metals that can cope with this neutral temperature is selected. By selecting the combination of the metals, the thermoelectric conversion element 4 efficiently generates the thermoelectromotive force U. Using this principle, for example, as shown in FIG. 4, connection points T1 and T2 are respectively provided in two temperature regions divided with respect to the temperature boundary, and the thermal current I generated by the thermocouple is returned to the power supply circuit 2. Then, the electric circuit device causes the electric circuit unit 3 to reuse the electric energy generated by the thermoelectric conversion element 4. As a result, the electric circuit device efficiently uses the supplied electric power (electrical energy). As a result, the electric circuit device can reduce power consumption by the amount of the recirculation of the thermal current.

Assuming that the total power consumption including the power consumption thus reduced is Pc, the electric power consumption of the electric circuit is W, and the conversion efficiency of the thermoelectric conversion element is η, the total power consumption Pc is Pc = W × η It is expressed as (4). Further, this reduction in power consumption also equivalently suppresses the temperature rise in the housing.

Next, the second aspect of the electric circuit device of the present invention
The embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. This electric circuit device uses a heat absorbing member 5 made of a material having a high coefficient of thermal conductivity in order to efficiently collect heat energy that generates heat. In the second embodiment, the thermoelectric conversion element 4 directly converts the thermal energy in accordance with the energy collected as it is in the first embodiment, but indirectly by using the heat absorbing member 5. Energy harvesting methods have been adopted.

As the heat absorbing member 5 made of a material having a high coefficient of thermal conductivity, for example, aluminum or copper is generally used. The heat absorbing member 5 made of such a material may be arranged in a thin film on the power supply circuit 2 or the electric circuit unit 3 in order to improve absorption of heat energy.

By the way, the arrangement of such a thin film heat absorbing member 5 is an unnecessary radiation which has been particularly regarded as a problem recently in the apparatus as an application completely unrelated to the arrangement of the heat absorbing member 5. It has come to be installed as a shield plate as a countermeasure. When this shield plate is used as the heat absorbing member 5, it is not necessary to newly dispose the heat absorbing member 5 in the device. Thereby, it is not necessary to consider the arrangement of the heat absorbing member 5 under various restrictions when designing the electric circuit device, so that the degree of freedom in design can be increased.

In the conversion of heat energy into electric energy in this embodiment, one end side of the connection point of the thermocouple is set to the heat absorbing member 5 which is also used as a shield plate for countermeasures against unnecessary radiation, and this heat absorbing member 5 is used. The part where the temperature of the connected connection point and the temperature difference are attached is the other end side of the thermocouple. By adopting the connection point of the thermocouple in this way, the thermocouple generates thermoelectromotive force, and the heat current accompanying this is supplied to the power supply circuit 2.

As a result, the electric circuit device can reduce the power consumption by the amount of the returned heat current. The total power consumption including the power consumption thus reduced is P
c, the electric circuit power consumption is W, the conversion efficiency of the thermoelectric conversion element is η, and the heat conduction efficiency is ζ, the total power consumption Pc is expressed as Pc = W × η × ζ (5).

With this configuration, the heat energy generated is converted into electric energy and the generated heat current is circulated. As a result, the power consumption of the electric equipment is reduced,
Equivalently, it is possible to deal with the temperature rise, and it is possible to improve the use efficiency of electric energy.

A schematic arrangement of the electric circuit device in the electric equipment will be described with reference to FIG. here,
The electric circuit device is housed in a housing 6 having a ventilation port 6A. In the thermocouple in this embodiment, the material of the portion indicated by the symbol a is copper foil or copper wire, and the material of the portion indicated by the symbol b is aluminum. As described above, aluminum is diverted to the heat absorbing member 5 which is provided on the electric circuit portion 3 and is provided as a shield plate for preventing unnecessary radiation.

Further, in order to efficiently absorb the heat radiation, in the heat absorbing member 5, the heat absorbing member 5A is provided in the vicinity of the high temperature region of the electric circuit portion 12 from the surface side of the heat absorbing member 5 facing the electric circuit portion 12. Are drooping. For example, the connection point T1 is provided immediately above the substrate on which the electric components are mounted in the vicinity of the high temperature region. Further, in order to make a temperature difference from the connection point T1 and to give a temperature gradient, the connection point T2 has a ventilation hole 13A.
Provide in the vicinity.

As described above, the thermocouple composed of two kinds of metals, aluminum and copper, generates thermoelectromotive force according to the temperature difference of the surrounding environment. The thermal current associated with this thermoelectromotive force is supplied to the power supply circuit 2. The power supply circuit 2 is configured to be able to supply the recirculated thermal current to each electric component of the electric circuit unit 3. In order to increase the conversion efficiency from heat to electricity,
A larger heat current I is obtained by making the heat absorbing member of FIG.
Is being obtained.

With this structure, the generated heat energy is converted into electric energy and the generated heat current is circulated. As a result, the power consumption of the electric equipment is reduced,
Equivalently, it is possible to deal with the temperature rise, and it is possible to improve the use efficiency of electric energy.

Next, a third embodiment of the present invention is a combination of the above-described first embodiment and second embodiment.
Therefore, the heat is absorbed by the heat absorbing member 5 arranged on the first heat converting element 4a via the first heat converting element 4a. That is, the first heat generating element 4a is directly to reflux temperature difference to obtain a thermal current I _a due to thermoelectromotive force to the power supply circuit 2. The heat absorbing member 5 is arranged so that the absorbed heat is effectively given a temperature difference. Thermal current I generated based on the thermoelectromotive force generated between the connection points of the second heat conversion element 4b
_{Return b} to the power supply circuit 2. The thermal energy generated by the electric energy thus configured and supplied can be converted into electric energy as much as possible.

By using the above structure, it is possible to convert the generated thermal energy from the temperature difference of the surrounding environment into electric energy and use this electric energy. As a result, the power consumption of the electric circuit device can be reduced, and the temperature can be equivalently used to reduce the temperature.

By using a material having high thermal conductivity for the heat absorbing member, it is possible to efficiently collect the generated heat energy and make it easy to make a temperature difference between the contacts.

Further, when a thermocouple is used for the thermoelectric conversion element, a combination of two kinds of metals to be used can be selected in consideration of the ambient temperature of the use environment, and a combination of metals that can cope with the neutral temperature can be selected. By selecting the combination of, it is possible to perform more efficient conversion into electric energy.

By sharing a heat absorbing member and a member for preventing unnecessary radiation and using a thermocouple, it is possible to reduce restrictions in designing a device and influence the design flexibility even when this electric circuit device is mounted. Can be applied without.

[0039]

In the electric circuit device according to the present invention, the generated heat energy can be converted from the temperature difference of the surrounding environment into the electric energy and used.
As a result, the power consumption of the electric circuit device can be reduced, and the temperature can be equivalently used to reduce the temperature.

By using a material having high thermal conductivity for the heat absorbing member, it is possible to efficiently collect the generated heat energy and make it easy to make a temperature difference between the contacts.

If a thermocouple is used for the thermoelectric conversion element, a combination of two kinds of metals to be used can be selected in consideration of the ambient temperature of the use environment, and thus a combination of metals can be selected. In addition, the conversion into electric energy can be performed more efficiently.

By sharing a heat absorbing member and a member for preventing unnecessary radiation and using a thermocouple, it is possible to reduce restrictions in designing equipment and influence the design flexibility even when this electric circuit device is mounted. Can be applied without.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic block diagram of a first embodiment in which an electric circuit device according to the present invention is applied to an electric device.

FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram illustrating the principle of a thermocouple used in the electric circuit device.

FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram illustrating a neutral temperature of the thermocouple.

FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram illustrating a connection relationship between the electric circuit device and an electric device.

FIG. 5 is a schematic block diagram of a second embodiment in which the electric circuit device according to the present invention is applied to electric equipment.

FIG. 6 is a block diagram showing an example of a configuration of a mounting arrangement of the electric circuit device.

FIG. 7 is a schematic block diagram of a third embodiment in which the electric circuit device according to the present invention is applied to electric equipment.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 power supply 2 power supply circuit 3 electric circuits 4 Thermoelectric conversion element 5, 1A heat absorption member 6 housing 6A ventilation port T1, T2 connection point

Continuation of the front page (56) References JP 61-6270 (JP, A) JP 5-111101 (JP, A) JP 5-90649 (JP, A) Actual development Sho 63-74080 (JP , U) (58) Fields investigated (Int.Cl. ⁷ , DB name) H01L 35/32 G01K 7/02

Claims (3)

(57) [Claims] 1. A power supply means, an electric circuit section composed of electric parts to which electric power is supplied from the power supply means, and a thin film-shaped arrangement on the power supply means and / or the electric circuit section.
Yes heat energy absorbed by the unnecessary radiation countermeasure member using a heat absorbing member that is location, and a thermoelectric converter for converting heat energy into electrical energy emitted by the power supply means and / or the electrical components The electric circuit device is characterized in that the electric energy generated by the thermoelectric conversion means is returned to the power supply means. 2. The electric circuit device according to claim 1, wherein a material having a high coefficient of thermal conductivity is used for the heat absorbing member that absorbs the heat energy. 3. The electric circuit device according to claim 1, wherein a thermocouple is used for the thermoelectric conversion means.