Heat exchanger having thermoelectric element

Abstract

A heat exchanger may include a housing including an intake port through which air is introduced into the housing from outside, a seat inlet supplying air to a vehicle seat, and an exhaust port through which a portion of the air introduced from outside is exhausted from the housing to outside, a blower unit mounted inside the housing and operated by a first motor to supply the air introduced into the housing through the intake port, out of the housing through the seat inlet, and a thermoelectric element disposed between the intake port and the seat inlet and heat-controlling the air introduced into the housing through the intake port.

1 . A heat exchanger comprising:
 a housing including an intake port through which air is introduced into the housing from outside, a seat inlet supplying air to a vehicle seat, and an exhaust port through which a portion of the air introduced from outside is exhausted from the housing to outside;   a blower unit mounted inside the housing and operated by a first motor to supply the air introduced into the housing through the intake port, out of the housing through the seat inlet; and   a thermoelectric element disposed between the intake port and the seat inlet and heat-controlling the air introduced into the housing through the intake port.   
     
     
         2 . The heat exchanger in accordance with  claim 1 , wherein the thermoelectric element separates the intake port into an upper flow passage and a lower flow passage and wherein the blower unit is disposed in the upper flow passage and the exhaust port is formed to the lower flow passage. 
     
     
         3 . The heat exchanger in accordance with  claim 2 , further comprising first heat dissipation fins attached to an upper surface of the thermoelectric element and disposed in the upper flow passage, and second heat dissipation fins attached to a lower surface of the thermoelectric element and disposed in the lower flow passage, such that the first heat dissipation fins communicate with the intake port and the seat inlet and the second heat dissipation fins communicate with the intake port and the exhaust port. 
     
     
         4 . The heat exchanger in accordance with  claim 2 , further comprising a fan unit provided in the exhaust port, wherein the fan unit exhausts air, heat-controlled by the second heat dissipation fins of the thermoelectric element, out of the housing through the exhaust port. 
     
     
         5 . The heat exchanger in accordance with  claim 4 ,
 wherein the fan unit is driven by a rotary shaft of the first motor that drives the blower unit, and   wherein the thermoelectric element has a hole through which the rotary shaft extends and is connected to the fan unit.   
     
     
         6 . The heat exchanger in accordance with  claim 4 , wherein the fan unit provided in the exhaust port is driven by a second motor. 
     
     
         7 . The heat exchanger in accordance with  claim 3 ,
 wherein the housing includes upper, middle and lower housings,   wherein the upper and middle housings are coupled with each other to define a first space, inside of which the blower unit is mounted, and the seat inlet,   wherein the middle and lower housings are coupled with each other to define a second space, inside of which the thermoelectric element is mounted, and the intake port,   wherein the exhaust port is formed in the lower housing under the thermoelectric element.   
     
     
         8 . The heat exchanger in accordance with  claim 7 , further comprising a first separator film disposed between the middle and lower housings to define an upper hole to form the upper flow passage and a lower hole to form the lower flow passage respectively,
 wherein the first separator film prevents air, introduced into the second space through the upper hole of the intake port and heat-controlled by the first heat dissipation fins of the thermoelectric element, and air, introduced into the second space through the lower hole of the intake port and heat-controlled by the second heat dissipation fins of the thermoelectric element, from mixing with each other.   
     
     
         9 . The heat exchanger in accordance with  claim 8 , wherein the thermoelectric element unit includes a thermoelectric element and the first separator film extends from the thermoelectric element to form the upper and lower holes. 
     
     
         10 . The heat exchanger in accordance with  claim 8 , further comprising a second separator film to divide the second space into an upper output port and a lower output port, wherein the upper output port receives air heat-controlled by the first dissipation fins and the lower output port receives air heat-controlled by the second dissipation fins. 
     
     
         11 . The heat exchanger in accordance with  claim 10 , wherein the second separator film extends from the thermoelectric element to form the upper and lower output ports. 
     
     
         12 . The heat exchanger in accordance with  claim 1 , further comprising a fan unit provided in the exhaust port, wherein the fan unit exhausts air, heat-controlled by the thermoelectric element, out of the housing. 
     
     
         13 . The heat exchanger in accordance with  claim 12 ,
 wherein the fan unit is driven by a rotary shaft of the first motor that drives the blower unit, and   wherein the thermoelectric element has a hole through which the rotary shaft extends and is coupled to the fan unit.   
     
     
         14 . The heat exchanger in accordance with  claim 13 , wherein the blower unit comprises a Sirocco fan, and the fan unit provided in the exhaust port comprises an axial fan. 
     
     
         15 . The heat exchanger in accordance with  claim 14 , wherein the seat inlet includes at least two seat inlets and extending in the tangential direction of the circumference of the housing. 
     
     
         16 . A heat exchanger comprising:
 an upper housing;   a middle housing, wherein the upper and middle housings are coupled with each other to define a first space, inside of which a blower unit is mounted, and a seat inlet;   a lower housing, wherein the middle and lower housings are coupled with each other to define a second space, inside of which a thermoelectric element is mounted, and an intake port, and wherein the lower housing defines, therein, an exhaust port in which a fan is mounted; and   a separator film provided between the middle and lower housings to divide the intake port into upper and lower holes, wherein the separator film prevents air, introduced into the second space and heat-controlled by the thermoelectric element, and air, introduced into the second space and heat-controlled by the thermoelectric element, from mixing with each other,   whereby air introduced through the upper hole is supplied to a vehicle seat through the seat inlet after heat exchange with the thermoelectric element, and   whereby air introduced through the exhaust port is exhausted to outside through the lower hole after heat exchange with the thermoelectric element.