JP3381897B2 - Leak inspection method of thermoelectric heat exchange block with built-in thermoelectric member - Google Patents

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a leak inspection method for a thermoelectric heat exchange block containing a thermoelectric member such as a Peltier element.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, the ozone layer depleting action of CFCs has become a global problem, and the development of cooling devices that do not use CFCs is urgently needed. As a cooling device that does not use CFC gas, a refrigeration system that uses a thermoelectric member is drawing attention.

Here, the thermoelectric member is represented by a Peltier element, and is a modularized Peltier module,
Alternatively known as a thermoelectric module. This thermoelectric module has two heat transfer surfaces, and has a function of heating one of the heat transfer surfaces to radiate heat by passing an electric current and cooling the other heat transfer surface to absorb heat.

Japanese Patent Publication No. 6-504361 discloses a refrigeration system using a thermoelectric module. This product applies a manifold member to each of the heat transfer surface of the thermoelectric module on the heat radiation side and the heat transfer surface of the cooling side, and forms a cavity with a manifold that forms a number of labyrinth-like parallel passages for the heat medium between them. In this case, one thermoelectric heat exchange block is used. The radiating side and cooling side cavities of this thermoelectric heat exchange block are connected to the radiating side and cooling side closed circuits formed by the heat exchanger and the pump, respectively, to connect the radiating side heat transfer surface of the thermoelectric module. A heat dissipation side circulation circuit including the above and a cooling side circulation circuit including the cooling surface are configured, and a heat medium mainly composed of water is circulated through these circulation circuits. Then, of the two circulation circuits, desired cooling is performed by the heat exchanger of the circulation circuit on the cooling side.

[0005]

DISCLOSURE OF THE INVENTION The invention disclosed in the above publication is a technique capable of practical cooling using a thermoelectric module. However, this conventional technique merely discloses the basic configuration of the cooling device, and in order to actually apply the present invention to the electric refrigerator, there are problems to be improved and problems to be newly solved. Piled up.

The present inventors have previously proposed a thermoelectric heat exchange block with improved productivity, maintenance, and compatibility of parts. With reference to FIG. 1 showing an embodiment of the present invention, this one has at least two heat transfer surfaces and one of the heat transfer surfaces is heated and the other heat transfer surface is cooled by passing an electric current. Two that cover the thermoelectric module 5 and the two heat transfer surfaces of the thermoelectric module 5 and form the heating medium passage cavities 7 and 8 having a manifold structure between the two heat transfer surfaces to cover the thermoelectric module 5 from both sides. Split shell member 53,
The thermoelectric heat exchange block 1 having 54 is configured.

If the heat exchange medium in the two cavities 7 and 8 leaks to the outside, the heat radiation function is lost in the heat radiation side circulation path and the cooling function is impaired in the cooling side circulation path. Not only that, but also a short circuit phenomenon occurs between the electric parts, and the entire thermoelectric heat exchange block 1 is damaged. Depending on the case, it may be a problem of electric leakage of the entire electric device such as an electric refrigerator using the thermoelectric heat exchange block 1.

Therefore, the heat medium passage cavities 7 and 8 are provided between the shell members 53 and 54 and the heat transfer surface of the thermoelectric module 5.
The inner seal portions S1 and S2 that are sealed by the seal members 85 and 86 around the formation portion of the
Shell members 53, 54 divided in two around the outer periphery of 1, S2
The outer seal portion S that seals the space by the seal member 87
3 are provided so that the liquid leakage prevention in the entire thermoelectric heat exchange block is doubled.

However, at the assembly stage of the thermoelectric heat exchange block, if the seal members 85, 86, 87 are forgotten to be attached, of course, even if they are attached, the positional deviation or the scratches formed during the assembly may occur. Liquid leakage may occur due to the cause. Whether or not the double prevention of liquid leakage is satisfactory cannot be easily determined from the appearance after assembly.

Therefore, in the process of assembling the thermoelectric heat exchange block 1, it is important to inspect for leakage with high accuracy in terms of product and use safety.

The inspection for the presence of leakage must be carried out for the two inner seal portions S1 and S2 and one outer seal portion S3. The inventors of the present invention have inspected the inner seal portion S1 of the cavity 7 by injecting a pressure fluid into the cavity 7 to check whether or not there is actually a leak, and the inner seal portion S2 of the cavity 8 has a pressure applied to the cavity 8. It is inspected by injecting the fluid whether or not there is a leak, and the outer seal portion S3 is pressured from the outer circumference of the thermoelectric heat exchange block 1 to see whether or not it enters the thermoelectric heat exchange block 1. Looking and inspecting.

However, in this case, it is necessary to perform the liquid leakage inspection three times for each thermoelectric heat exchange block 1, and a special device for applying pressure from the outer circumference of the thermoelectric heat exchange block 1 is required. Therefore, there is a problem that the inspection requires a lot of labor and equipment cost.

In view of the above problems, the present invention is to provide a leak inspection method for a thermoelectric heat exchange block which facilitates checking for the presence of leaks.

[0014]

In order to achieve the above object, the invention of claim 1 has two heat transfer surfaces and one of the heat transfer surfaces is heated by applying an electric current to the other heat transfer surface. A thermoelectric member comprising: a thermoelectric member whose heat transfer surface is cooled; and a split shell member which covers the thermoelectric member from both sides so as to form a heat medium passage cavity between each of the heat transfer members. to inspect the presence or absence of leakage of the built-in thermoelectric heat exchanger block, and the inner seal portion for sealing around the heat medium passes through cavitation I-shaped forming portion between the heat transfer surface of each shell member and the thermoelectric element, these 2 between the outer seal portion that seals between the two split shell members around the outer portion of the inner seal portion
Each through the through hole provided in one of the split shell members
Injecting a pressurized fluid from the outside into the closed space facing the inner seal portion and an outer seal portion, checks for leakage of each inner seal portion and an outer sealing portion by the state of the injected pressurized fluid, after the inspection, through It is characterized in that the hole is sealed.

In such a construction, the portion into which the pressure fluid is injected is the two inner seal portions of the thermoelectric heat exchange block and the closed space facing all the seal portions of one outer seal portion. Even if there is a gap or a defective seal due to insufficient pressure bonding, the injected pressure fluid will leak. Therefore, by setting the injection pressure of the pressure fluid so as to match the required seal guarantee pressure and checking whether there is a leak in the injected pressure fluid, it is possible to carry out one operation for each leaked portion. The inspection can be performed easily and with high accuracy in a short time, and after the inspection, a good product can be used by simply sealing the through hole. In addition, only by injecting the pressure fluid, no special device is required, and the equipment cost is low.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, the presence or absence of leakage is inspected by maintaining the state of injecting the pressure fluid for a predetermined time, and checking whether the pressure of the injected pressure fluid decreases during that time. Moreover, it can be inspected reliably.

As for the sealing of the through hole, as in the invention of claim 3, the portion around the through hole of the shell member made of a resin material is melted and poured into the through hole portion to be solidified. As in the invention of claim 4, by pouring an adhesive into the through hole to solidify it, or as in the invention of claim 5, a screw is screwed into the through hole, and the sealing member is attached to the edge of the through hole by the head of this screw. It can be achieved simply and reliably by crimping to the outer surface.

[0018]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION Embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail below with reference to FIGS. 1 to 11. The thermoelectric heat exchange block 1 of the present embodiment described above with reference to FIG. 1 is used for a thermoelectric module type electric refrigerator 30 as shown in FIG. 11, for example. The refrigerating system of this refrigerator 30 is as shown in FIG. 11, and the circulation circuit 2 on the heat radiation side and the circulation circuit on the cooling side via the thermoelectric heat exchange block 1 (hereinafter simply referred to as the thermoelectric heat exchange block 1) containing the thermoelectric module. It has three. A heat medium mainly composed of water is circulated in the circulation circuits 2 and 3. In order to prevent freezing, it is desirable to add an antifreeze liquid such as propylene glycol to the circulation circuit 3 on the cooling side. As the heat medium, it is desirable to use one mainly composed of water because it has a large specific heat, but of course, other liquid may be used.

The thermoelectric heat exchange block 1 contains a thermoelectric module 5 in which a Peltier element as one of the thermoelectric members is modularized. In the thermoelectric heat exchange block 1, two cavities 7 sandwiching the thermoelectric module 5 are provided. 8 are configured. The circulation circuit 2 on the radiating side includes the heat exchanger 10
And has a pump 11 and constitutes a closed circuit including the cavity 7 described above. The circulation circuit 3 on the cooling side also has a heat exchanger 15 and a pump 16 as in the heat radiation side, and forms a closed circuit including the cavity 8 described above. The circulation circuit 3 on the cooling side is provided with a bypass pipe 17 from the downstream side of the heat exchanger 15 and is connected to a thermoelectric heat exchange block 18 for ice making. The heat radiating heat exchanger 10 and the cooling heat exchanger 15 of each circulation circuit 2 and 3 are blown by the heat radiating fan 21 and the cooling fan 22,
The heat exchanger 15 for cooling is blown by the cooling fan 22.
The cooling air that has been heat-exchanged with is supplied to the inside of the electric refrigerator 30 (not shown) to cool the object.

As shown in FIG. 7, the thermoelectric heat exchange block 1 is configured so that three thermoelectric heat exchange blocks 50, 51 and 52 are connected to constitute the thermoelectric heat exchange block 1 having a required capacity. The number is not limited, and one can be used, or a plurality other than three can be connected and used.

The thermoelectric heat exchange blocks 50 and 52 are the same, and as shown in FIGS. 1 to 3, a lower shell member 53, an upper shell member 54 and two turbulators 5 are provided.
5 and the thermoelectric module 5. However, the turbulator 55 is provided between the heat transfer surfaces of the thermoelectric module 5 and the heat medium passage cavity 7 of the manifold structure,
8 for forming each shell member 53, 5
4 can be integrally molded.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the lower shell member 53 has an external shape in which two ridges are provided in parallel. The inside of this ridge is a hollow, and the two rows of flow channels 57 and 58 are formed by this hollow. That is, the flow paths 57 and 58 are provided in parallel on both inner sides of the lower shell member 53 along the continuous direction of the block, and have a circular cross section. And the flow paths 57 and 58
Are continuously formed from one end to the other end of the block of the lower shell member 53 in the continuous direction. Both of the two flow paths 57 and 58 are closed at one end,
The other end side is continuous with the male pipe joint portion 60. Specifically, the flow passage 57 on the right side of FIGS. 1 and 2 is continuous with the male pipe joint portion 60 on the back side of the drawing and is closed on the front side. On the other hand, the flow path 58 on the left side of FIGS. 1 and 2 is closed on the back side of the drawing and is continuous to the male pipe joint portion 60 on the front side. That is, the closed side and the male pipe joint portion 60 are staggered between the flow paths 57 and 58.

As shown in FIGS. 2, 7, and 8, the male pipe joint portion 60 is a projecting pipe, and an O-ring 61 is provided on the outer circumference near the tip.

The flow paths 57 and 58 are connected by a wall portion 62 as shown in FIG. A flange portion 63 is provided at a portion outside the flow paths 57 and 58. The wall portion 62 forms the heat medium passage cavity 7 between the wall portion 62 and the thermoelectric module 5, and is located deeper than the flange portion 63. The flange portion 63 is provided with four through holes 65 for screw insertion. In addition, the flange portion 63 of the lower shell member 53 is provided with two lead wire drawing holes 67 as shown in FIGS.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the upper shell member 54 has a structure similar to that of the lower shell member 53 described above, and has an external shape of two ridges. Two rows of channels 70 and 71 are formed inside. One of the flow passages 70 and 71 is closed, and the other is provided with a male pipe joint portion 60 to communicate with the outside.

The flow passages 70 and 71 are connected by a wall portion 74, and the wall portion 74 is deeper than the flange portion 72. As shown in FIG. 2, the closed sides of the flow paths 70 and 71 and the male pipe joint portion 60 are arranged in the upper shell member 54.
Are provided at alternate positions in a state of facing the lower shell member 53. The flange portion 72 of the upper shell member 54 is provided with a boss portion 64, and the boss portion 64 is provided with a screw hole 75. Further, male connecting portions 68 are provided at both ends of the upper shell member 54. As shown in FIGS. 2 and 9, the male connecting portion 68 is provided with a pin 171 on a plate portion protruding in parallel with the upper shell member 54. The upper shell member 54 has no portion corresponding to the lead wire drawing hole 67.

The lower shell member 53 and the upper shell member 54 are molded by a known method such as injection molding of a thermoplastic resin, but it should be noted that the lower shell member 53 and the upper shell member are notable here. 54 is transparent or translucent.

The material of the lower shell member 53 and the upper shell member 54 is not particularly limited as long as it is transparent or translucent, and polystyrene resin, ABS resin, methacrylic resin, polyvinyl chloride resin, polyethylene terephthalate resin, Polybutylene terephthalate resin, urea resin, melanin resin, chlorinated polyethylene resin, vinylidene chloride resin, acrylic vinyl chloride copolymer resin,
Polymethylpentene resin, polysulfone resin, polyvinylidene fluoride resin, MBS resin, methacrylstyrene copolymer resin, polyarylate resin, polyallylsulfone resin, polybutadiene resin, polyethersulfone resin, polyetheretherketone resin and others can be adopted. is there. Above all, it is desirable to use a polyolefin resin.

The turbulator 55 has a plate shape as shown in FIG. 4, and has two legs 77 for positioning on one surface (lower part of the drawing). On the other surface (lower part of the drawing), a large number of walls 78 forming the flow path of the manifold structure shown in an enlarged view in FIG. 5 are provided. The walls 78 are continuously provided from one end to the other end of the turbulator 55, and the walls 78 are parallel to each other and are arranged at equal intervals. The walls 78 form parallel groove-shaped channels 84. Further, particularly, the turbulator 55 adopted in this embodiment
Is provided with an obstacle in the flow path 84.

Specifically, the obstacles are the ridge 82 and the baffle 79. The ridge 82 is lower in height than the wall 78 and extends continuously in the vertical direction with respect to the wall 78. In this embodiment, the ridges 82 are provided in two rows.

The baffle 79 has the same height as the wall 78 but is discontinuous. The baffle 79 does not completely close the flow path 84, and there is a gap in the width direction of the flow path 84. Only one baffle plate 79 is provided in the center of the wall 78 in the longitudinal direction, and two adjacent walls 78 are provided at two positions from the end. Therefore, the baffle plates 79 are provided in a zigzag pattern with respect to the groove-shaped flow path 84. Further, the above-mentioned ridge 82 is located in a portion between the baffle plates 79.

The turbulator 55 is molded by a known method such as injection molding of a thermoplastic resin, and the molding method is not specified, but in the present embodiment, the turbulator 55 is also the lower shell member 53 and the upper shell. Like the member 54, it is transparent or translucent. The material of the turbulator 55 can be the same as that of the lower shell member 53 and the upper shell member 54, and among them, it is preferable to use transparent or translucent polyolefin resin.

The thermoelectric module 5 uses a known Peltier element, and is provided with a P-type semiconductor and an N-type semiconductor side by side. The thermoelectric module 5 has a plate-like outer shape, and both surfaces thereof function as heat transfer surfaces 80 and 81.

Next, the assembly structure of the thermoelectric heat exchange blocks 50 and 51 will be described. As for the positional relationship between the lower shell member 53 and the upper shell member 54 and the turbulator 55, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the turbulator 55 has the lower shell member 53 and the upper shell member 54 with the wall portion 6.
2, 74, the leg portions 77 are fitted to the side surfaces of the flow channels 57, 58 or the flow channels 70, 71. Turbulator 5
The wall 78 of 5 extends in a direction perpendicular to the flow paths 70, 71. Therefore, the flow paths 70 and 71 are connected to each other by the groove-shaped flow path formed by the wall 78. The wall 78 of the turbulator 55 is in contact with the heat transfer surface 80 or 81 of the thermoelectric module 5. Therefore, the heat medium passage cavities 7 and 8 are formed between the surface of the turbulator 55 and the heat transfer surfaces 80 and 81 of the thermoelectric module 5.

Further, in detail, as described above, the heat transfer surface 80 or 81 of the thermoelectric module 5 and the shell 5
As shown in FIG. 2 and FIG. 3, annular seal members 85 and 86 are interposed between 3 and 54, and inner seal portions S1 and S are formed.
2 is configured to prevent leakage of the heat medium from the heat medium passage cavities 7 and 8 to the outside. Outside the inner seal portions S1 and S2 by the seal members 85 and 86, another annular seal member 87 is interposed between the lower shell member 53 and the upper shell member 54, and the outer seal portion is formed. S3 is configured and leakage of the heat medium from the entire thermoelectric heat exchange block 1 is prevented.
That is, in this embodiment, the liquid seal is the seal members 85 and 86.
And the sealing member 87 is used to do double.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the thermoelectric module 5
The lead wire 90 is a single wire, and the lead wire drawing hole 67
Has been pulled out from. Lead wire drawing hole 67
Has a step portion from the inside of the lower shell member 53 toward the outside, the inside diameter of the inside of the lower shell member 53 is large, and the inside diameter of the portion penetrating to the outside is small.

A seal member 92 made of an elastic material such as rubber is inserted into a portion having a large inner diameter on the inner side of the lead wire drawing hole 67. The elastic seal member 92 has a columnar shape, and has a through hole 93 in the center thereof. The outer diameter of the seal member 92 has a lead wire drawing hole 67 in the natural state.
Is almost equal to the inner diameter of the inside. The inner diameter of the through hole 93 of the seal member 92 is smaller than that of the lead wire 90. As shown in FIG. 1, the lead wire 90 is pushed into the through hole 93 after inserting the seal member 92 into the lead wire drawing hole 67. As a result, the elastic seal member 92 expands in diameter and internally contains a compressive stress, compresses the lead wire drawing hole 67 and makes close contact with the inside thereof. Also, the elastic seal member 92 and the lead wire 90 are also brought into close contact with each other in a compressed state.

Next, another thermoelectric heat exchange block 51 will be described. Since the structure of this is basically the same as that of the thermoelectric heat exchange block 50 described above, only the differences will be described.

The above-mentioned thermoelectric heat exchange blocks 50, 52
The male pipe fitting portion 60 and the connecting portion 68 were both male, whereas the thermoelectric heat exchange block 51 in the middle portion was female as shown in FIGS. 7 and 8. is there.

That is, the thermoelectric heat exchange block 51 in the middle portion
A female pipe joint portion 98 projects from the lower shell member 53 and the upper shell member 54. Female type pipe joint part 9
Reference numeral 8 is tubular as shown in FIGS. 7, 8 and 10, and the inner diameter thereof is substantially equal to the outer diameter of the male pipe joint portion 60 of the thermoelectric heat exchange block 51 described above. Thermoelectric heat exchange block 51
A female connecting portion 100 is provided on the shell member 53 at the lower part of. As shown in FIG. 7 to FIG. 9, the female connecting portion 100 is a plate portion 101 protruding parallel to the lower shell member 53.
The hole 102 is provided in the.

Next, the connection state of the thermoelectric heat exchange blocks 50, 51, 52 of the present embodiment and the relationship with other members will be described. Thermoelectric heat exchange block 50, 51, 52
Are connected in series as described above. More specifically, between the thermoelectric heat exchange blocks 50 and 51 and between the thermoelectric heat exchange blocks 51 and 52, the pin 171 of the male connecting portion 68 is fitted into the hole 102 of the female connecting portion 100, The electric heat exchange blocks 50, 51, 52 are integrated. Further, between the thermoelectric heat exchange blocks 51 and 52 and between the thermoelectric heat exchange blocks 51 and 52, the male pipe joint portion 60 and the female pipe joint portion 98 are fitted to each other, and the lower portions of the thermoelectric heat exchange blocks 50, 51 and 52 are joined. The heat medium passage cavities 7 formed by the shell members 53 are connected in series. Furthermore, the shell member 54 on top of the thermoelectric heat exchange blocks 50, 51, 52
Similarly, the heat medium passage cavities 8 formed by are also connected in series.

The male pipe joint portion 60 of the shell member 53 below the thermoelectric heat exchange block 50 and the male pipe joint portion 60 of the shell member 53 below the thermoelectric heat exchange block 52 are arranged on the heat dissipation side circulation circuit 2 Connected to. Further, the male pipe joint portion 60 of the shell member 54 on the upper part of the thermoelectric heat exchange block 50.
And the male pipe joint portion 60 of the shell member 54 above the thermoelectric heat exchange block 52 are connected to the circulation circuit 3 on the cooling side.

Therefore, in the circulation circuit 3 on the cooling side, the heat medium flows from the male pipe joint portion 60 of the shell member 54 on the upper side of the thermoelectric heat exchange block 51 to the right side in the thermoelectric heat exchange block 51 as shown by an arrow in FIG. Of the turbulator 55 of the heat medium passage cavity 7 and the heat transfer surface 81 of the thermoelectric module 5 and flows into the left side flow passage 71. In the present embodiment, the turbulator 55 is provided with the groove-shaped flow passage 84, and the obstacles due to the protrusions 82 and the baffle plate 79 are further provided in the flow passage, so that the heat medium hits these obstacles. At the same time, it is blocked by the groove-shaped flow path to lose the escape area in the width direction, and a flow in the direction of directly contacting the thermoelectric module 5 is generated. Therefore, the heat medium hits the heat transfer surface 81 of the thermoelectric module 5 in the vertical direction, and heat is efficiently exchanged.

The heat medium flowing from the turbulator 55 to the left flow passage 71 flows from the male pipe joint portion 60 to the outside of the thermoelectric heat exchange block 50, and the thermoelectric heat exchange block 51.
From the female pipe joint portion 98 into the flow passage 71 on the left side of the thermoelectric heat exchange block 51. After that, it is similar to the above,
It flows through the heat medium passage cavity 8 into the flow path 70 on the right side, and exits from the female pipe joint portion 98 to the outside. Then, the female pipe joint portion 98 of the thermoelectric heat exchange block 51 sequentially flows into the thermoelectric heat exchange block 52 into the flow passage 70 on the right side and the flow passage 71 on the left side, and goes out from the female pipe joint portion 98. In addition,
The same applies to the circulation circuit 2 on the heat radiation side, and a detailed description thereof will be omitted.

In the refrigerator 30 of this embodiment, the lower shell member 53, the upper shell member 54 and the turbulator 55 are transparent or translucent, so that the heat transfer surfaces 80, 81 of the thermoelectric module 5 are directly exposed from the outside. Visible
Therefore, the state of the flow of the heat medium described above can be easily understood from the outside, and the inclusion of air, the clogging of foreign matter, and the like can be determined at a glance. In addition, it is possible to know by visual inspection that the seal members 85, 86, and 87 have not been attached.

However, the seal members 85, 86, 87 and the seal members 85, 86, 8 of the upper and lower shell members 53, 54 are not shown.
It is not possible to discriminate a slight position friction of the seal members 85, 86, 87 in the portion where 7 is fitted, a minute gap caused by a scratch or the like formed during the assembling process, or a leak in the insufficient crimped portion.

To deal with this, in the present embodiment, in order to perform the leak inspection of the thermoelectric heat exchange block 1, as shown in FIG. 1, the shell members 53 and 54 and the heat transfer surfaces 80 of the thermoelectric module 5 are used. , 81 between the heat medium passage cavities 7, 8
One of the two split shell members 53, 54 is provided between an inner seal portion S1, S2 that seals around it and an outer seal portion S3 that seals between the two split shell members 53, 54 around the outer circumference. 2 through the through hole 201
A pressure fluid is injected from the outside between the split shell members 53 and 54, and the presence or absence of leakage in the inner seal portions S1, S2 and the outer seal portion S3 is inspected according to the state of the injected pressure fluid, and after the inspection, the through hole 201 Is sealed.

For this inspection, a pressure fluid source 202 is connected to the through hole 201 by a pipe line 203, and a pressure injection state can be maintained by closing a valve 204 provided in the middle of the pipe line 203. The pressure state of the pressure fluid can be determined by a pressure meter 205 connected to the conduit 203.

The parts for injecting this pressure fluid are all the two inner seal parts S1 and S2 among the upper and lower shell members 53 and 54 constituting the thermoelectric heat exchange block 1 and one outer seal part S3. It is a closed space facing the sealed part of. Even if any of the seal portions S1, S2, and S3 has a defective seal due to misalignment, a gap, insufficient pressure bonding, etc., the injected pressure fluid leaks. Therefore,
By setting the injection pressure of the pressure fluid to match the required seal guarantee pressure and checking whether there is a leak in the injected pressure fluid, all the seal portions S1, S2, S3
Whether or not there is a leak can be inspected easily by a single operation with high accuracy in a short time, and after the inspection, a good product can be used by simply sealing the through hole. In addition, only by injecting the pressure fluid, no special device is required, and the equipment cost is low.

In particular, as in the present embodiment, the state in which the pressure fluid is injected is maintained for a predetermined time by closing the valve 204 or the like, and whether or not the pressure of the injected pressure fluid decreases during that time is determined by, for example, the pressure meter 205. By discriminating and inspecting by using, it is possible to perform the inspection surely with a simple device. Moreover, even if there is a leak, there is no other effect, and it is possible to use air, which is inexpensive, as the pressure fluid, which is advantageous.

However, the present invention is not limited to this, and when liquid, colored liquid or air is used, leakage of the fluid is transmitted through the transparent shell members 53 and 54 and the turbulator 55, and the thermoelectric heat exchange block 1 is used. It is also possible to make a visual check directly outside.

As shown in FIG. 1 and FIG. 6A, the through hole is sealed by forming a portion 201 around the through hole 201 of the shell members 53 and 54 made of a resin material, for example, a convex portion 201.
By melting a and pouring it into the through-hole 201 to solidify it, or by pouring a thermosetting adhesive 206 into the through-hole 201 to solidify, as shown in FIG. 6B, or As shown in FIG. 6C, a screw 207 is screwed into the through hole 201, and the ring-shaped sealing member 208 is crimped to the outer surface of the rim of the through hole 201 by the head of this screw, so that it can be achieved easily and surely. can do.

The through hole 201 shown in FIG. 2 is not sealed before the inspection, but the through hole 201 shown in FIG. 7 is sealed after the inspection.

[0054]

According to the first aspect of the present invention, it is possible to easily and highly accurately inspect in a short time with a single operation for the presence or absence of all leaks at a plurality of seal portions. Therefore, it can be used only by sealing the through hole. In addition, only by injecting the pressure fluid, no special device is required, and the equipment cost is low.

According to the second aspect of the invention, there is an advantage that air can be used as a pressure fluid which can be inspected with a simple device and surely, and which has no other influence and is inexpensive.

Further, the through hole can be easily sealed as in the invention according to any one of claims 3 to 5.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a sectional view of a thermoelectric heat exchange block showing a leak inspection state according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view of the thermoelectric heat exchange block of FIG.

FIG. 3 is an enlarged cross-sectional view of a part of FIG.

4 is a perspective view of a turbulator used in the thermoelectric heat exchange block of FIG.

5 is an enlarged perspective view of a part of the turbulator of FIG.

6 is a cross-sectional view showing an example of sealing a through hole after a leak test of the thermoelectric heat exchange block of FIG.

FIG. 7 is an explanatory perspective view in a use state in which a plurality of thermoelectric heat exchange blocks of FIG. 1 are connected.

8 is a plan view showing an internal structure in a state where a plurality of thermoelectric heat exchange blocks of FIG. 7 are connected.

9 is a perspective view showing a connecting structure portion of the thermoelectric heat exchange block of FIG. 7. FIG.

10 is a partial cross-sectional view showing a flow path connection state of the thermoelectric heat exchange block of FIG.

11 is a schematic diagram showing a refrigeration cycle of a heat transfer module type electric refrigerator using the thermoelectric heat exchange block of FIG. 1. FIG.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 Thermoelectric heat exchange block 5 thermoelectric module 7,8 cavity 50, 51, 52 Thermoelectric heat exchange block 53 Lower shell member 54 Upper shell member 55 Turbulator 80, 81 Heat transfer surface 85,86 Seal member 87 Seal member 201 through hole 201a part 202 Pressure fluid source 203 pipeline 204 valves 205 pressure meter 206 adhesive 207 screw 208 seal member S1, S2 inner seal part S3 outer seal part

─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of front page (72) Osamu Nakagawa Osamu Nakagawa 4-2-5 Takada Hondori, Higashi-Osaka City, Osaka Prefecture Matsushita Refrigerator Co., Ltd. (72) Hiroaki Kitagawa 4-chome Takaidamoto-dori, Higashi-Osaka City, Osaka Prefecture No. 2-5 Matsushita Refrigerator Co., Ltd. (72) Inventor Souma Maeda 4-5 Takaidahondori, Higashi-Osaka City, Osaka Prefecture Matsushita Refrigerator Co., Ltd. (56) Reference JP-A-8-60687 (JP, A) Tokuhyo Hira 6-504361 (JP, A) (58) Fields investigated (Int.Cl. ⁷ , DB name) G01M 3/04 F25B 21/02

Claims (5)

(57) [Claims] 1. A thermoelectric member having two heat transfer surfaces, wherein one heat transfer surface is heated and the other heat transfer surface is cooled by passing an electric current; and the thermoelectric member and each heat transfer surface thereof. A leakage inspection method for a thermoelectric heat exchange block, which comprises a thermoelectric member having a split shell member covering from both sides so as to form a heat medium passage cavity between the shell member and the thermoelectric member. in between each inner seal portion for sealing around the heat medium passes through the cavity forming portions between the heat transfer surface, an outer seal portion for sealing between the two split shell member around the outside of these inner seal portion, two Each inside through a through hole provided in one of the split shell members
A sealing portion and a pressure fluid from the outside into the closed space facing the outer seal portion was injected to inspect for leakage of each inner seal portion and an outer sealing portion by the state of the injected pressurized fluid, after the inspection, the through hole A leak inspection method for a thermoelectric heat exchange block having a built-in thermoelectric member. 2. The thermoelectric member with built-in thermoelectric member according to claim 1, wherein the presence or absence of leakage is inspected by maintaining the state of injecting the pressure fluid for a predetermined time and checking whether the pressure of the pressure fluid injected during that time is reduced. Leak inspection method for electric heat exchange block. 3. The sealing of the through hole is performed by melting a portion of the shell member made of a resin material around the through hole and flowing into the through hole to solidify. A method for inspecting a thermoelectric heat exchange block including the thermoelectric member according to 1. 4. The leak inspection method for a thermoelectric heat exchange block containing a thermoelectric member according to claim 1, wherein the through hole is sealed by pouring an adhesive into the through hole and solidifying the adhesive. . 5. The method according to claim 1, wherein the through hole is sealed by screwing a screw into the through hole and pressing the sealing member against the outer surface of the rim of the through hole with the head of the screw. A leak inspection method for a thermoelectric heat exchange block containing a thermoelectric member.