JP7126660B2 - wind direction controller - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a wind direction control device.

Conventionally, as described in Patent Literature 1, there is known a device that changes the direction of air flowing through a main duct by directing the air flowing through a sub-duct to the air flowing through the main duct.

U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2017/0253107A1

In the configuration of Patent Document 1, the direction of the wind flowing through the main duct changes depending on the wind flowing through the sub-duct. However, the configuration of Patent Literature 1 requires a plurality of ducts for changing the wind direction, which increases the size of the device. As the size of the device increases, it becomes difficult to mount the device on a vehicle, for example.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is an object of the present invention to provide a wind direction control device that can be downsized.

In order to achieve the above object, the invention according to claim 1 provides an ultrasonic A wind direction control device comprising a wind speed control unit (40) for controlling the wind speed (V1) of the wind flowing in the opening direction and the wind speed (V2) of the wind flowing in the direction crossing the opening direction by radiating.

This eliminates the need to arrange a plurality of ducts for changing the wind direction. Therefore, the size of the wind direction control device can be reduced.

It should be noted that the reference numerals in parentheses attached to each component etc. indicate an example of the correspondence relationship between the component etc. and specific components etc. described in the embodiments described later.

FIG. 2 is a configuration diagram of the wind direction control device of the embodiment; 2A and 2B are a cross-sectional view and a top view of an ultrasonic element of the wind direction control device of the present embodiment; FIG. 4 is a flowchart for explaining the processing of the power control unit 50 of the wind direction control device of the embodiment; FIG. 4 is a relational diagram of blower wind speed and element power for explaining the processing of the power control unit 50 of the wind direction control device of the present embodiment; FIG. 4 is a relational diagram of time, voltage waveform, current waveform, and ultrasonic wave waveform for explaining the processing of the power control unit 50 of the wind direction control device of the present embodiment. The figure which shows the change of the 1st wind speed and the 2nd wind speed by the wind direction control apparatus of this embodiment. FIG. 3 is a diagram showing the relationship between the distance from the ultrasonic element of the wind direction control device of the present embodiment and the sound pressure level of ultrasonic waves. FIG. 4 is a relationship diagram of a first wind speed and a reduction rate of the first wind speed by the wind direction control device of the present embodiment; The block diagram of the wind direction control apparatus of other embodiment.

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. In addition, in each of the following embodiments, the same or equivalent portions are denoted by the same reference numerals, and description thereof will be omitted.

As shown in FIG. 1, the wind direction control device 1 includes a blower 10, a pipe 20, a blower anemometer 30, a first anemometer 31, a second anemometer 32, an ultrasonic element 40, an element power supply 45, and a power control unit 50. I have.

The blower 10 is arranged to face the pipe 20 and blows air toward the pipe 20 with electric power from a power source (not shown). Here, the blower wind speed Vb, which is the speed of the wind from the blower 10, is adjusted to 0.5-50 m/s. In the drawing, the wind from the blower 10 is indicated by a two-dot chain line.

The pipe 20 has a rectangular tubular shape, has a first open end 21 on the side of the blower 10, and has a second open end 22 on the side opposite to the blower 10, through which air from the blower 10 passes. A flow path 23 is formed.

The blower anemometer 30 is arranged on the side of the first opening end 21 in the pipe 20 and measures the blower wind speed Vb.

The first anemometer 31 measures a first wind speed V1, which is the speed of the wind flowing in the opening direction Do, which is the direction in which the second opening end 22 faces.

The second anemometer 32 measures a second wind speed V2, which is the speed of the wind flowing in the cross direction Dr, which is the direction crossing the opening direction Do. Here, the cross direction Dr is a direction perpendicular to the opening direction Do.

The ultrasonic element 40 corresponding to the wind speed control section is arranged on the mounting section 24 extending from the second opening end 22 in the opening direction Do and is in contact with the second opening end 22 . Further, the ultrasonic element 40 is an element that emits ultrasonic waves by generating heat. Specifically, the ultrasonic element 40 has a substrate 41, a heat insulating layer 42, an electrode layer 43 and a heat generating layer 44, as shown in FIG.

The substrate 41 is made of silicon single crystal, for example.

The heat insulating layer 42 is formed on the substrate 41, and is made of porous silicon, for example, by passing an electric current through the substrate 41 in a hydrogen fluoride solution. Since the heat insulating layer 42 is porous, it makes it difficult for heat to be conducted from the heat generating layer 44 to the substrate 41 . Here, the film thickness of the heat insulating layer 42 is 1-50 μm.

The electrode layers 43 are laminated so as to partially cover the heat generating layer 44 , and are made of a metal such as aluminum in order to conduct electricity to the heat generating layer 44 . As a result, the electrode layer 43 supplies power to the heat generating layer 44 from an element power source 45 which will be described later.

The heat-generating layer 44 is laminated on the heat-insulating layer 42 so that the portion not covered with the electrode layer 43 is exposed to the outside, and the exposed surface 441 of the heat-generating layer 44 faces the cross direction Dr. Also, the heat generating layer 44 is formed of an electric resistor such as tungsten. Since the heat generating layer 44 is an electric resistor, it generates heat by power supplied through the electrode layer 43 . When the heat generating layer 44 generates heat, the air in the vicinity of the heat generating layer 44 expands, so that compressional waves of the air are formed. As a result, ultrasonic waves are radiated in the cross direction Dr. Here, one side of the exposed surface 441 of the heat generating layer 44 is 0.005 to 200 mm. Moreover, the resistance value of the heating layer 44 is 1-200Ω. Further, ultrasound is a sound wave containing frequencies from 10 kHz to 200 kHz, and the sound pressure level of ultrasound is adjusted to 60-120 dB.

The element power supply 45 is connected to the electrode layer 43 and supplies power to the heat generating layer 44 via the electrode layer 43 . Hereinafter, for convenience, the power supplied from the element power source 45 to the heat generation layer 44 through the electrode layer 43 is referred to as element power We. Here, the device power We is set to 1-1000W.

The power control unit 50 is mainly composed of a microcomputer or the like, and includes a CPU, a ROM, a RAM, an I/O, and a bus line or the like for connecting these components. The power control unit 50 is connected to the blower anemometer 30 and the element power supply 45, and controls the element power We based on the blower wind speed Vb by executing a program stored in the ROM.

The wind direction control device 1 is configured as described above. The wind direction control device 1 configured in this way controls the first wind speed V1 and the second wind speed V2 by means of ultrasonic waves emitted by supplying the element power We controlled by the power control unit 50 to the heat generation layer 44. do.

Specifically, the control of the power control unit 50 will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG.

In step S<b>101 , the power control unit 50 acquires the blower wind speed Vb measured by the blower anemometer 30 . After that, the process moves to step S102.

In step S102, the power control unit 50 calculates the element power We based on the blower wind speed Vb acquired in step S101.

Specifically, the power control unit 50 radiates an ultrasonic wave that makes the Rayleigh length Lr equal to or greater than the inner surface distance Li using a preset relational diagram between the blower wind speed Vb and the element power We as shown in FIG. Calculate the element power We for In FIG. 4, as will be described later, the element power We increases as the blower wind speed Vb increases. Therefore, the power control unit 50 increases the element power We as the blower wind speed Vb acquired in step S101 increases, and the element power We Calculate Note that the preset relationship diagram between the blower wind speed Vb and the element power We is set through experiments and simulations. The Rayleigh length Lr is the length obtained by dividing the area S of the exposed surface 441 of the heat generating layer 44 indicated by the dot pattern in FIG. 2 by the wavelength λ of the radiated ultrasonic waves. The inner surface distance Li is the distance from the first inner surface 25 to the second inner surface 26 of the pipe 20 facing each other in the cross direction Dr, as shown in FIG. Here, the inner surface distance Li is 1-15 mm.

Subsequently, in step S<b>103 , the power control unit 50 supplies the element power We calculated in step S<b>102 from the element power supply 45 to the heat generation layer 44 via the electrode layer 43 . When the element power We is supplied to the heating layer 44, ultrasonic waves are radiated in the cross direction Dr.

Specifically, as shown in FIG. 5, the power control unit 50 controls the voltage applied to the heat generation layer 44 with respect to the switching period Ts so that the output power becomes the element power We calculated in step S102. PWM control is performed to change a certain ON time Ton. In addition to this PWM control, the power control unit 50 also performs PAM control for changing the output voltage applied to the heat generation layer 44 . Note that PWM is an abbreviation for Pulse Width Modulation. PAM is an abbreviation for Pulse Amplitude Modulation.

Then, the power control unit 50 causes the element power source 45 to supply the element power We to the heat generation layer 44 via the electrode layer 43 to radiate an ultrasonic wave having the Rayleigh length Lr equal to or greater than the inner surface distance Li. When the element power We is supplied to the heat generating layer 44, the heat generating layer 44 generates heat in synchronization with the cycle of the ON time Ton of the element power We. As a result, an ultrasonic wave having a Rayleigh length Lr equal to or greater than the inner surface distance Li is radiated in the cross direction Dr in synchronization with the cycle of the ON time Ton of the element power We. After that, the process returns to step S101.

In this manner, the power control unit 50 repeats the processing from steps S101 to S103.

In this embodiment, the ultrasonic element 40 controls the first wind speed V1 and the second wind speed V2 by emitting ultrasonic waves in the cross direction Dr. Control of the first wind speed V1 and the second wind speed V2 by the ultrasonic element 40 will be described below.

Due to the heat insulating layer 42 , the ultrasonic element 40 has relatively high thermal insulation and relatively low heat capacity in the film thickness direction and planar direction of the heat insulating layer 42 . As a result, the heat generated in the heat generating layer 44 when electric power is supplied to the heat generating layer 44 changes uniformly and rapidly. Therefore, the surface temperature of the heat-generating layer 44 changes according to the electric power supplied to the heat-generating layer 44 , and the heat of the heat-generating layer 44 generated when electric power is supplied to the heat-generating layer 44 is immediately transferred to the exposed surface 441 of the heat-generating layer 44 . Heat is exchanged with nearby air. Due to heat exchange between the heat generating layer 44 and the air near the exposed surface 441 of the heat generating layer 44, compressional waves and sound pressure are generated. Therefore, the air layer in contact with the heat generating layer 44 acts like a piston to generate ultrasonic waves. The directivity of ultrasonic waves generated by the heat of the heating layer 44 is equivalent to the directivity of ultrasonic waves generated by vibration. In addition, since the ultrasonic waves generated by the heat of the heating layer 44 are not accompanied by mechanical vibrations, there is no resonance. Therefore, the frequency response of ultrasonic waves generated by the heat of the heat generating layer 44 is flat over a wide band. Therefore, ideal ultrasonic waves are radiated even when the ultrasonic element 40 is driven by PWM-controlled and PAM-controlled voltage power.

In the present embodiment, the radiation pressure of impulse or burst wave ultrasonic waves generated by heat when PWM-controlled and PAM-controlled voltage power is supplied to the heating layer 44 is output in the cross direction Dr. For example, assuming that the pulse width of the element power We is 10 μs, the frequency of the element power We is 10 kHz, and the peak power of the element power We is 21 W, the ultrasonic waves generated near the exposed surface 441 of the heat generating layer 44 during the time period with the pulse width of 10 μs. The sound pressure of sound waves reaches about 5000Pa. The particle velocity corresponding to this sound pressure is about 10 m/s, and the amplitude of this air vibration, that is, the displacement of the air vibration is about 2 mm. Also, the density of air in the standard state is approximately 1.293 kg/m ³ and the inner surface distance Li is assumed to be 3 mm, ie, 0.003 m. In this case, the gravity applied per unit area of the air blown out from the second opening end 22 in the opening direction Do is calculated by multiplying the density of the air by the acceleration of gravity and the inner surface distance Li, resulting in approximately 0.038 Pa. . Therefore, the sound pressure of the ultrasonic waves generated in the vicinity of the exposed surface 441 of the heat generating layer 44 is at a level that can affect the wind blowing from the second opening end 22 toward the opening direction Do. It is possible to effectively control the wind blowing from the opening direction Do.

Therefore, as shown in FIG. 6, when the blower wind speed Vb is a fixed value, the ultrasonic element 40 emits ultrasonic waves in the cross direction Dr, thereby decreasing the first wind speed V1 and the second wind speed V2. increases. In FIG. 6, when the ultrasonic element 40 radiates ultrasonic waves in the cross direction Dr, it is described as ON, and the ultrasonic element 40 does not radiate ultrasonic waves in the cross direction Dr. The time is described as OFF.

As described above, the wind direction control device 1 controls the first wind speed V1 and the second wind speed V2 by emitting ultrasonic waves in the cross direction Dr. This eliminates the need to arrange a plurality of ducts for changing the wind direction. Therefore, the size of the wind direction control device 1 can be reduced. Further, when the wind direction control device 1 has a smaller size, the wind direction control device 1 can be easily mounted on a vehicle or the like.

In addition, the wind direction control device 1 also has the effects described in [1] to [4] below.

[1] Since the ultrasonic wave is a sound wave that is difficult for humans to hear, even if the wind direction control device 1 emits the ultrasonic wave, it is unlikely to become noise. Therefore, the wind direction control device 1 controls the first wind speed V1 and the second wind speed V2 while suppressing noise.

[2] The ultrasonic element 40 is in contact with the second open end 22 . As a result, the ultrasonic element 40 is positioned relatively close to the wind blowing from the second opening end 22 in the opening direction Do.

Also, the ultrasonic waves emitted from the ultrasonic element 40 are emitted by air vibration. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 7, as the distance from the ultrasonic element 40 increases, the ultrasonic waves are attenuated, and the sound pressure level of the ultrasonic waves decreases. That is, the sound pressure level of the ultrasonic waves increases as the distance from the ultrasonic element 40 decreases.

Therefore, since the ultrasonic element 40 is in contact with the second opening end 22, the position is relatively close to the wind blowing from the second opening end 22 in the opening direction Do. A sound wave can be applied to the wind flowing in the opening direction Do. Therefore, the direction of the wind flowing in the opening direction Do is likely to change. This improves the controllability of the first wind speed V1 and the second wind speed V2 when the ultrasonic waves are radiated in the cross direction Dr.

Moreover, since the ultrasonic element 40 is in contact with the second open end 22 , there is no space between the ultrasonic element 40 and the second open end 22 . This eliminates the influence of disturbance caused by the wind flowing through the space between the ultrasonic element 40 and the first open end 21 . Since the influence of this disturbance disappears, the direction of the wind flowing in the opening direction Do tends to change when the ultrasonic waves are radiated in the cross direction Dr. Therefore, the controllability of the first wind speed V1 and the second wind speed V2 is improved when the ultrasonic waves are radiated in the cross direction Dr.

Furthermore, when there are a plurality of ultrasonic elements 40, since there is no space between the ultrasonic elements 40 and the second opening end 22, the ultrasonic waves radiated from the ultrasonic elements 40, the ultrasonic elements 40 and the second opening Resonance with ultrasonic waves passing between the ends 22 is suppressed. As a result, when ultrasonic waves are radiated from the plurality of ultrasonic elements 40 in the cross direction Dr, noise due to resonance of the ultrasonic waves is suppressed.

[3] The wind direction control device 1 emits ultrasonic waves having a Rayleigh length Lr equal to or greater than the inner surface distance Li. Ultrasonic waves propagated from the ultrasonic element 40 within a range equal to or less than the Rayleigh length Lr are plane waves. When ultrasonic waves are propagated as plane waves, attenuation of the ultrasonic waves is small, so the sound pressure level of the ultrasonic waves is relatively high as shown in FIG. Therefore, by radiating ultrasonic waves having a Rayleigh length Lr equal to or greater than the inner surface distance Li, ultrasonic waves having a relatively high sound pressure level can be applied to the wind flowing in the opening direction Do. direction can easily change. Therefore, the controllability of the first wind speed V1 and the second wind speed V2 is improved when the ultrasonic waves are radiated in the cross direction Dr.

[4] The power control unit 50 controls the element power We based on the blower wind speed Vb. Thereby, the power control unit 50 can increase the sound pressure level of the ultrasonic waves based on the blower wind speed Vb. Therefore, since ultrasonic waves having a relatively high sound pressure level can be applied to the wind flowing in the opening direction Do, the controllability of the first wind speed V1 and the second wind speed V2 is improved.

Here, as the blower wind speed Vb increases, the speed of the wind flowing in the opening direction Do, that is, the first wind speed V1 increases. When the first wind speed V1 is high, the inertial force of the wind flowing in the opening direction Do is large when ultrasonic waves are radiated, so the wind flowing in the opening direction Do is less likely to change. Therefore, as in the comparative example shown in FIG. 8, when the sound pressure level of the ultrasonic wave is a fixed value, as the blower wind speed Vb increases, the reduction rate ΔV1 of the first wind speed V1 with respect to the first wind speed V1 decreases. Decrease. The reduction rate ΔV1 of the first wind speed V1 is obtained by subtracting the first wind speed V1 when the ultrasonic waves are emitted from the first wind speed V1 when the ultrasonic waves are not emitted. It is calculated by dividing by the wind speed V1.

In contrast to the comparative example, in the present embodiment, the power control unit 50 can increase the sound pressure level of the ultrasonic waves by increasing the element power We as the blower wind speed Vb increases. This makes it possible to apply ultrasonic waves having a relatively high sound pressure level to the wind flowing in the opening direction Do, so that the direction of the wind flowing in the opening direction Do is easily changed. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 8, as the blower wind speed Vb increases, the degree of decrease in the reduction rate ΔV1 of the first wind speed V1 becomes smaller than when the ultrasonic sound pressure level is fixed. Therefore, the controllability of the first wind speed V1 and the second wind speed V2 is improved when the ultrasonic waves are radiated in the cross direction Dr.

(Other embodiments)
The present invention is not limited to the above embodiments, and the above embodiments can be modified as appropriate. Further, in each of the above-described embodiments, it goes without saying that the elements constituting the embodiment are not necessarily essential, unless it is explicitly stated that they are essential, or they are clearly considered essential in principle. stomach.

(1) In the above embodiment, the ultrasonic element 40 is arranged on the mounting portion 24 of the pipe 20 and is in contact with the second open end 22 . On the other hand, the ultrasonic element 40 may be located inside the pipe 20 and embedded in the pipe 20, as shown in FIG. Even if the ultrasonic element 40 is positioned inside the pipe 20, the same effect as described above can be obtained. Moreover, in this case, it is not necessary to provide the mounting portion 24 on the pipe 20 .

(2) In the above embodiment, the pipe 20 has a square tube shape. On the other hand, the pipe 20 may have another tubular shape, for example a cylindrical shape. In this case, the power control unit 50 adjusts the on-time Ton to generate the element power We for radiating an ultrasonic wave having the Rayleigh length Lr equal to or greater than the inner diameter of the pipe 20 .

(3) In the above embodiment, the power control section 50 performs PWM control and PAM control of the voltage applied to the heat generation layer 44 . On the other hand, the power control section 50 may perform only PWM control of the voltage applied to the heat generating layer 44 . Alternatively, the power control unit 50 may perform only PAM control of the voltage applied to the heat generating layer 44 .

(4) In the above embodiment, the heating layer 44 of the ultrasonic element 40 is made of an electrical resistor such as tungsten. On the other hand, the heat generating layer 44 may be made of metal such as tantalum, chromium, molybdenum, platinum, gold, silver and copper, and indium oxide such as indium tin oxide and indium zinc oxide.

(5) In the above embodiment, the crossing direction Dr of the ultrasonic waves of the ultrasonic element 40 is perpendicular to the opening direction Do. On the other hand, the crossing direction Dr of the ultrasonic wave of the ultrasonic element 40 may be set so as to include the component of the ultrasonic wave in the direction perpendicular to the opening direction Do. By setting the crossing direction Dr in this way, the same effect as described above can be obtained.

(6) The ultrasonic element 40 may be separated from the second open end 22 . For example, the ultrasonic element 40 may be located outside the pipe 20 and separated from the second open end 22 . Further, the ultrasonic element 40 may be arranged on the first inner surface 25 and the second inner surface 26 of the pipe 20 and may be separated from the second open end 22 .

(7) In the above embodiment, the wind direction control device 1 controls the first wind speed V1 and the second wind speed V2 by the wind passing through the piping 20 from the blower 10 . The wind direction control device 1 is not limited to the first wind speed V1 and the second wind speed V2 by the wind passing through the piping 20 from the blower 10 . The wind direction control device 1 may control, for example, the first wind speed V1 and the second wind speed V2 of running wind that is generated while the vehicle is running and that passes through the pipe 20 .

(8) In the above embodiment, the element power We is adjusted by combining the array structure of the ultrasonic elements 40 and the PWM control and PAM control conditions. Thereby, the sound pressure of the ultrasonic waves radiated from the ultrasonic element 40 can be increased. Since the sound pressure of the ultrasonic waves emitted from the ultrasonic element 40 can be increased, it is possible to control the direction of the wind passing through the piping 20 from the blower 10 in a more advanced manner than in one direction.

REFERENCE SIGNS LIST 10 Blower 20 Piping 22 Opening end 23 Flow path 40 Wind speed controller

Claims (7)

By emitting ultrasonic waves in a direction (Dr) that intersects the opening direction (Do), which is the direction in which the opening end (22) of the pipe (20) faces, the wind speed ( V1) and a wind direction control device comprising a wind speed control unit (40) for controlling a wind speed (V2) of wind flowing in a direction crossing the opening direction. The wind direction control device according to claim 1, wherein the wind speed control unit is in contact with the opening end. The wind direction control device according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the wind speed control unit is located inside the pipe. The wind speed control unit includes a substrate (41), a heat insulating layer (42) formed on the substrate, and a heat generating layer (44) formed on the heat insulating layer and generating heat when electric power is supplied. 4. The wind direction control device according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the ultrasonic wave is emitted when the heat generating layer generates heat. The length obtained by dividing the area (S) of the surface (441) of the heat generating layer exposed to the outside by the wavelength (λ) of the ultrasonic wave is defined as the Rayleigh length (Lr), and the direction perpendicular to the opening direction. Let the inner surface distance (Li) be the distance from the first inner surface (25) to the second inner surface (26) of the pipes facing each other in
The wind direction control device according to claim 4, wherein the wind speed control unit radiates the ultrasonic wave with the Rayleigh length equal to or greater than the inner surface distance. The pipe forms a flow path (23) for air flowing from the blower (10),
The wind direction control device according to claim 4 or 5, further comprising a power control section (50) that controls power (We) supplied to the heat generating layer based on the speed (Vb) of the wind flowing from the blower. The wind direction control device according to claim 6, wherein the power control unit increases the power supplied to the heating layer as the speed of the wind flowing from the blower increases.

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