Patent ID: 7868242

Claim:
A thermoelectric conversion module, comprising: a tubular unit, comprising a plurality of thermoelectric elements each having a shape of a disk with a circular aperture, said thermoelectric elements coaxially arranged with an insulator sandwiched between a pair of the thermoelectric elements formed adjacent to each other, the thermoelectric elements each having inner and outer circumferential surfaces substantially entirely covered with electrodes and generating electricity by a temperature differential between the inner circumferential surfaces and the outer circumferential surfaces, said plurality of thermoelectric elements comprising sintered bodies of a single type; a connecting member for electrically connecting a first one of the electrodes that covers the outer circumferential surface of a first one of the thermoelectric elements to a second one of the electrodes that covers the inner circumferential surface of a second one of the thermoelectric elements, the first one and second one of the electrodes being formed adjacent to each other, said connecting member being of a single, contiguous, and homogenous composition; and a cylindrical support, comprising an inner tube and an outer tube that are coaxially configured and electrically insulated, wherein an outer circumferential surface of the inner tube is in contact with and supports the inner circumferential surfaces of each of the thermoelectric elements, and wherein an inner circumferential surface of the outer tube is in contact with and supports the outer circumferential surfaces of each of the thermoelectric elements.