Thermoelectric heat exchanger including a liquid flow circuit

Claim 1

A thermoelectric heat exchanger assembly with a liquid flow circuit, said exchanger assembly including: firstly at least one thermopile of electrically non-insulative units which are in good electrical and thermal contact and are superposed in a stack direction OZ, the thermopile being formed by a plurality of stages each of which includes the following four components: a thermoelement of a first conductivity type; a heat conductor of a first type; a thermoelement of a second conductivity type, opposite to the first; and a heat conductor of a second type; said thermoelectric heat exchanger also including electric connections at both ends of the thermopile to effect electrical current passage through said components in series; a first fluid flow circuit for the circulation of a first heat exchange fluid; a second fluid flow circuit for the circulation of a second heat exchange fluid, said second fluid being a liquid, said circuit being constituted by a pipe which passes in series through the heat conductors of the second type in the successive stages of the thermopile, the lengths of said pipe which pass through said conductors being heat exchange lengths and being interconnected in series by connection lengths which extend between two successive stages of the thermopile; and heat exchangers of a first type and heat exchangers of a second type to change heat between the thermopile and the fluids which circulate in said first circuit and in said second circuit respectively, the heat exchangers of the first type including the heat conductors of the first type, the heat exchangers of the second type being constituted by said heat exchange lengths and the heat conductors of the second type, each heat exchange length being curved at each stage of the thermopile so that it enters the heat conductor and leaves it through the same face of a thermopile, and wherein the direction YO in which each heat exchange length leaves the thermopile being substantially opposite to the direction OY in which the heat exchange length enters the thermopile, thereby facilitating assembly of the thermopile.