JP2563446B2 - Damper opening and closing device - Google Patents

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a damper opening / closing device in which a driven-side opening / closing plate is operated by a drive element made of a shape memory alloy.

2. Description of the Related Art For example, in a refrigerator including a freezing compartment and a refrigerating compartment in a divided state, temperature control is performed by opening and closing a damper provided in a passage connecting the freezing compartment and the refrigerating compartment.

Conventionally, a gas thermo bellows has been used as a drive source for opening / closing the gas thermo bellows.However, the gas thermo bellows has a problem that the response speed is slow and the device becomes large. The one using the driving element has been used.

A conventional damper opening / closing device using a drive element made of a shape memory alloy as a drive source will be described below. A conventional damper opening / closing device is disclosed, for example, in Japanese Utility Model Laid-Open No. 62-167981. FIG. 5 shows a sectional view of a conventional damper opening / closing device.

 1 is a conventional damper opening / closing device.

Reference numeral 2 is a substrate of the damper device, an opening 3 is formed at one end of the substrate, and a support plate 4 is projectingly provided on the upper surface of the middle abdomen thereof.

An opening / closing plate 5 is rotatably supported by the supporting plate 4, and a packing 6 for opening / closing the opening 3 of the substrate 2 is attached to the tip of the opening / closing plate. Further, a leaf spring 7 is attached to the opening / closing plate 5 so as to constantly bias the opening 3 in a direction of closing the opening 3.

Reference numeral 8 denotes a drive element made of a shape memory alloy that is heat-treated so as to shrink when heated to a predetermined temperature or higher, and is attached to one end of the opening / closing plate 5 on the side where the packing 6 is not provided. When the leaf spring 7 is extended,
Together with the urging force of the
During the contraction, the opening / closing plate 5 is resisted against the biasing force of the leaf spring 7.
Is urged in the direction of opening.

Reference numeral 9 denotes a heater 9 composed of a positive temperature coefficient thermistor disposed in the hollow portion of the driving element 8, which is connected in series to the driving element 8 so that the heater 9 is energized when a damper opening command is issued. Has become. The heater 9
When the heater is energized, the drive element 8 near the heater 9
The contraction of the drive element 8 exceeds the urging force of the leaf spring 7, and the operating plate opening / closing plate is rotated clockwise, that is, in the opening direction.

Reference numeral 10 denotes a cover for housing the driving element 8 and the heater 9.

The operation of the damper opening / closing device configured as described above will be described below.

First, in a normal state, that is, when the opening command of the damper is not issued, the heater 9 is not energized, so that the drive element 8 is in the extended state and the opening / closing plate 5 is biased in the closing direction by the biasing force of the leaf spring 7. Therefore, the opening 3 is opened by the plate 6 of the opening / closing plate 5.

When a command to open the damper is issued from a control circuit (not shown), the relay switch 11 is opened and a current flows through the series circuit of the heater 9 and the driving element 8, and the driving element 8 is heated by the heater 9. . For this reason, the drive element 8 contracts and the opening / closing plate 5 is rotated clockwise against the biasing force of the leaf spring 7 to open the opening 3.

DISCLOSURE OF THE INVENTION Problems to be Solved by the Invention However, in the above-mentioned conventional configuration, since the opening / closing plate 5 is closed by cooling the heating heater 9 after the energization of the heating heater 9 is stopped, the heating heater 9 sealed by the cover 10 It has a drawback that the cooling time is very long and the opening and closing plate 5 is very slowly closed, and in the worst case, there is a problem that the refrigerator is too cold and freezes.

The present invention solves the above-mentioned conventional problems, and an object thereof is to provide a damper opening / closing device having a simple structure for improving the temperature accuracy of a refrigerator by improving the fully-closed response of the opening / closing plate. To do.

Means for Solving the Problems In order to achieve this object, a damper opening / closing device of the present invention includes a substrate having an opening, an opening / closing plate that can be opened and closed by the opening, and a shape memory alloy attached to the back side of the substrate. Drive element, a heater for heating and driving the drive element, a piston pin mounted in the output direction of the drive element and linearly driven, and a cover for protecting the piston pin, the drive element and the heater from cold air. The opening / closing plate has one end in contact with the opening of the base plate and the other end in contact with one end of a spindle pin mounted through a hole provided at a position corresponding to the piston pin of the base plate in a recessed portion. A damper opening / closing device for opening / closing the opening / closing plate by one end of a spindle pin operated by the movement of the Is provided.

Function With this configuration, the heater is rapidly cooled by the cold air entering through the holes, the drive element returns to its original state faster, and the open / close plate responsiveness becomes faster. Problems such as overshooting do not occur.

Example Hereinafter, an example of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

The same parts as those explained in the conventional example are given the same numbers.

In FIG. 1, reference numeral 1 denotes a damper opening / closing device, which includes an opening / closing plate 5 as a driven member, a drive element 8 made of a shape memory alloy as a drive source thereof, and a cover 10 for protecting the drive source from cold air. Be prepared for the back side.

The opening / closing plate 5 is provided with a slightly larger packing 6 at a position corresponding to the opening 3 supported by a racket 13 supported by a bearing of the substrate 2 by shafts 12 provided at both lower ends thereof. A plate-shaped spring 7 fixed to 5
The opening 3 is always heated by the direction by
The drive element 8 is linearly driven by being heated by the heater 9, and is transmitted to the spindle pin 16 attached to the hole 15 of the substrate 2 through the piston pin 14 attached to the end face of the drive element 8 in the output direction. The opening / closing plate 5 is operated by bringing one end of the spindle pin 16 into contact with the recess 17 of the opening / closing plate 5 and driving the same.

Further, the cover 10 is provided with a switch 19 for controlling the heater 9 which is operated by a magnet 18 attached to one end of the piston pin 14.

Here, as shown in FIG. 2 and FIG. 3, the cover 10 and the piston pin 14 each have a hole, and when the drive element 8 is linearly driven and the opening / closing plate 5 is opened, Cover 10
The hole 20 and the hole 21 of the piston pin 14 are provided so as to be aligned with each other.

FIG. 4 is a control block diagram used in the damper opening / closing device of the present invention.

The operation of the damper opening / closing device configured as described above will be described.

When the temperature in the refrigerating chamber rises with the opening / closing plate 5 closing the opening 3, the control circuit 22 energizes and heats the heater 9 by the signal of the temperature sensor 23, and the heat causes the linear movement of the drive element 8. Driven from the piston pin 14 to the spindle pin 16 attached to one end of the drive element 8.
The open / close plate 5 is opened through the piston pin.
The magnet 18 attached to one end of the switch 14 switches the control switch 19 of the heater 9 attached to the cover 10, so that it is automatically maintained by the control circuit 22. At this time, cold air is sent into the refrigerating room.

On the contrary, when the temperature of the refrigerating room becomes low, the control circuit 22
The power supply to the heater 9 is stopped. In this state, the hole portion 20 of the cover 10 and the hole portion 21 of the piston pin 14 are arranged and connected in a straight line, so that cold air rapidly flows in, the heating heater 9 and the driving element 8 are rapidly cooled, and the leaf spring 7 The open / close plate 5 is closed at. Here, when the opening / closing plate 5 is closed, the hole 20 of the cover 10 and the hole 21 of the piston pin 14 are not in a straight line, and are sealed by the respective wall surfaces, so that the heater 9 is again connected to the heater 9. There is no loss of heating energy during operation when energized.

As described above, according to this embodiment, the cover 10 and the piston pin are
By providing the holes in 14, it is possible to improve the fully closed response of the opening / closing plate 5.

As described above, according to the present invention, the substrate having the opening, the opening / closing plate which can be opened and closed by the opening, the driving element made of the shape memory alloy attached to the back side of the substrate, and the heating element is heated. A heater to be driven, a piston pin that is mounted linearly in the output direction of the drive element, is driven linearly, a cover that protects the piston pin and the drive element and the heater from cold air, and the opening and closing plate has an opening at one end of the substrate. , And the other end is in contact with one end of a spindle pin mounted through a hole provided at a position corresponding to the piston pin of the substrate at the recess, and is opened and closed by one end of the spindle pin operated by the movement of the piston pin. It is equipped with a damper opening / closing device that opens and closes the plate, and by providing holes for cold air circulation in the piston pin and cover, the fully closed responsiveness of the open / close plate is improved. It is possible to realize a damper opening / closing device with a simple structure.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a sectional view of a damper opening / closing device according to an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 2 shows an arrangement of piston pin holes and cover holes when the opening / closing plate is opened by the damper opening / closing device of the present invention. Partial sectional view, FIG. 3 is a partial sectional view showing the arrangement of the piston pin hole portion and the cover hole portion when the opening / closing plate is closed by the damper opening / closing device of the present invention, and FIG. 4 is the damper opening / closing device of the present invention. FIG. 5 is a sectional view of a conventional damper opening / closing device, and FIG. 6 is a control block diagram of the conventional damper opening / closing device. 1 ... Damper opening / closing device, 2 ... Substrate, 5 ... Opening / closing plate,
8 ... Drive element made of shape memory alloy, 9 ... Heater, 10 ... Cover, 14 ... Piston pin, 16 ... Spindle pin, 20 ... Cover hole, 21 ... Piston pin hole.

Claims (1)

(57) [Claims] 1. A substrate having an opening, an opening / closing plate which can be opened and closed by the opening, a drive element made of a shape memory alloy attached to the back side of the substrate, a heater for heating and driving the drive element, and A piston pin mounted in the output direction of the drive element and driven linearly, a cover that protects the piston pin, the drive element and the heater from cold air, and the opening and closing plate has one end in contact with the opening of the substrate and the other end. Is a damper that abuts at one end of a spindle pin mounted through a hole provided at a position corresponding to the piston pin of the board at a recess, and opens and closes the opening / closing plate by one end of the spindle pin that is operated by the movement of the piston pin. A damper opening / closing device comprising an opening / closing device, wherein the piston pin and the cover are provided with holes for circulating cold air.