THERMOELECTRIC CONVERTER WITH PROJECTING CELL STACK

摘要

A thermoelectric converter is formed by a plenum divided into high and low pressure chambers by a partition and includes a stack of series-coupled alkali-metal thermoelectric cells that projects orthogonally from the partition into one of the chambers.

主权项

1. A thermoelectric converter comprising:
a housing; a partition that divides an interior region of the housing into first and second chambers; and a thermoelectric cell stack disposed over an opening in the partition and projecting orthogonally from the partition into the first chamber without contacting the housing such that the cell stack is free to expand and contract in the projecting direction, the thermoelectric cell stack having a plurality of alkali-metal thermoelectric conversion cells stacked on one another and electrically coupled in series to generate a collective voltage higher than a voltage generated by any one of the thermoelectric conversion cells.