JPH01316579A - Device for opening/closing damper - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To reduce the thickness of a damper opening/closing device as a whole by opening/closing an opening/closing board by means of a relatively thin shape-memory alloy wire as a driving source both ends of which are fixed and which is expandable/contractible accompanying temperature change caused by electrification and heating. CONSTITUTION:Both ends of a relatively thin shape-memory alloy wire 109 which is expanded/contracted by heating at above a defined temperature are caulked and fixed to the backside of the base board of a damper opening/closing device by means of fixing terminals 110a 110b. This shape-memory alloy wire 109 is brought into contact with the recessed portion 113 of a vertically driven spindle 112, nearly in the center portion thereof. The other end portion of the spindle 112 passes through the base board and is brought into contact with an opening/closing board 105.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a damper opening/closing device for adjusting the flow rate of cold air in a refrigerating compartment or a switching compartment of an electric refrigerator or the like.

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

Conventionally, gas thermostatic bellows have been used as the drive source for opening and closing, but gas thermostatic bellows has problems such as slow response speed and increased device size.
Recently, drive sources using shape memory alloy coil springs have come into use. A conventional damper opening/closing device using a shape memory alloy fill spring as a drive source will be described below.

Conventional damper opening/closing devices are, for example,
There are some listed in 81.

This will be explained using FIGS. FIG. 5 shows a sectional view of a conventional damper opening/closing device.

1 is a conventional damper opening/closing device; 2 is a substrate of the damper device; an opening 3 is formed at one end thereof; and a support plate 4 is provided protruding from the upper surface of the midsection thereof. Reference numeral 5 denotes an operating plate rotatably supported on the support plate 4, and an opening/closing plate 6 at the tip thereof for opening and closing the opening 3 of the substrate 2.
is installed. Further, a bias spring 7 is attached to the actuating plate 6, which always biases the opening 3 in a direction to close it. Reference numeral 8 denotes a coil spring made of a heat-treated shape memory alloy so that it contracts when heated above a predetermined temperature, and is attached to one end of the operating plate 6 on the side where the opening/closing plate 6 is not provided. , during normal operation, it is in an extended state and urges the actuating plate 6 in the direction of closing together with the biasing force of the bias spring 7, and when contracted, the actuating plate 6 resists the urging force of the bias spring 7. They are now supporting the development of the area. 9 is a heater consisting of a positive temperature coefficient thermistor disposed in the hollow part of the coil spring 8;
The heater 9 is connected in series with the coil spring 8 and is energized when the damper is commanded to open. When the heater 9 is energized, the coil springs 8 near the heater 9 begin to contract in order, and as a result, the contractile force of the coil springs 8 overcomes the biasing force of the bias spring 7, causing the actuating plate 6 to move clockwise. That is, it is rotated in the opening direction. Note that 10 indicates a housing portion for housing the coil spring 8 and heater 9.

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

First, under normal conditions, that is, when there is no command to open the damper, the heater 9 is not energized, so the coil spring 8 is in an extended state, and the actuating plate 6 is urged in the closing direction by the biasing force of the bias spring 7. Therefore, the opening 3 is closed by the opening/closing plate 6 of the actuating plate 5.

When a command to open the damper is issued from a control circuit (not shown), the relay switch 11 is closed, current flows through the series circuit of the heater 9 and the coil spring 8, and the coil spring 8 is heated by the heater 9. Ru. Therefore, the coil spring 8 contracts, and the actuating plate 6 is rotated clockwise against the biasing force of the bias spring 7, thereby opening the opening 3.

Problems to be Solved by the Invention However, in the above conventional configuration, the coil spring 8 made of a shape memory alloy that is the driving source has a coil shape, so the wire diameter has to be thick in order to generate high output, which results in low resistance. In order to increase the response speed of the opening/closing plate 6, a heater e consisting of a positive temperature coefficient thermistor as a heat source is required, which requires a large number of parts and is cumbersome. or,
Since the coil spring 8 has a coil shape, the overall thickness of the damper opening/closing device 1 becomes thick, and therefore, when installed in a refrigerator, the internal volume is small, which is a factor that does not meet customer needs. .

The present invention solves the above-mentioned conventional problems, and aims to provide a damper opening/closing device that does not require a heater as a heat source, has a fast response speed of the opening/closing plate, and has a thin overall thickness.

Means for Solving the Problems In order to achieve the above object, a damper opening/closing device of the present invention includes a substrate having an opening, an opening/closing plate for opening and closing the opening,
a leaf spring that biases the opening/closing plate in the closing direction; a relatively thin shape memory alloy wire as a driving source that is attached to the back side of the opening/closing plate, fixes both ends, and expands and contracts as the temperature changes due to heat generation; - a spindle whose end abuts near the center of the shape memory alloy wire and whose other end penetrates the substrate and abuts the opening/closing plate;

Function: According to this configuration, when the shape memory alloy wire as a driving source is energized or cut off, the shape memory alloy wire expands and contracts as the heat generation temperature changes, and the spindle is driven up and down, thereby causing the opening/closing plate to open and close. is opened and closed.

EXAMPLE An example of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

In FIGS. 1 to 4, 101 is a damper opening/closing device, and 102 is a board of the damper device.
An opening 103 is formed at one end of 02, and bearings 104a and 104b are protruded from the other end. ”
+05 is an opening/closing plate rotatably supported by the bearings 104a and 104b, and a gasket 106, which is slightly larger than the opening 106 of the substrate 102, is provided at the tip of the opening/closing plate at a position corresponding to the opening 103 of the substrate 102. A leaf spring 107 fixed to the opening portion 103 is always biased in the closing direction. A protrusion 108 is formed in the midsection of the substrate 102, and on the back side there is a relatively thin shape memory alloy wire 109 that has been heat-treated so that it will shrink when heated above a predetermined temperature.
is fixed at both ends by caulking with fixed terminals 110a and 11ob. Fixed terminals 110a and 110b are fixed to substrate 1o2 by rivets 111a and 111b. The shape memory alloy wire 109 is in contact with the recess 113 of the spindle zLz 112, which is driven in the vertical direction by the expansion and contraction of the shape memory alloy wire 109, at the center thereof, and the other end of the spindle A/112 penetrates the substrate 102. and is in contact with the opening/closing plate 106.

Note that 114 is a cover for the protrusion 10B formed on the substrate 102 that houses the driving source.

The operation of the damper opening/closing device configured as above will be described below. First, under normal conditions, that is, when a damper opening command is not issued, the shape memory alloy wire 109 is not energized, so the shape memory alloy 109 is in an elongated state, and the opening/closing plate 105 is moved in the closing direction by the biasing force of the leaf spring 107. It is energized.

When a command to open the damper is issued from a control circuit (not shown), electricity is applied directly to the shape memory alloy wire 109, and the shape memory alloy wire 109 contracts due to self-heating. The opening/closing plate 106 is rotated clockwise against the urging force of the leaf spring 107 to open the opening 103.

As described above, according to this embodiment, since the relatively thin shape memory alloy wire 109 is fixed at both ends and serves as a driving source that expands and contracts as the temperature changes due to heat generation, a heater or the like as a heat source is not required. By directly applying current to the shape memory alloy wire 109, the response speed is fast in both the opening and closing directions, and the projection 108 is formed on the front side of the substrate 1o2, and the shape memory alloy wire 109, which is a driving source, is formed inside the projection 108. Since the alloy wire 109 is housed, the internal capacity of the refrigerator increases when it is installed in a refrigerator with a thin overall thickness, so that it can be used effectively.

Effects of the Invention As described above, the present invention has a substrate having an opening, an opening/closing plate for opening and closing the opening, a leaf spring for biasing the opening/closing plate in the closing direction, and a leaf spring attached to the back side of the opening/closing plate. , a relatively thin shape memory alloy wire as a driving source that is fixed at both ends and expands and contracts as the temperature changes due to heat generated by electricity, and one end touches near the center of the shape memory alloy wire, and the other end penetrates the substrate and opens and closes. By providing a spindle that comes into contact with the plate, the opening/closing plate can be opened by self-heating by simply applying electricity directly to the shape memory alloy wire, eliminating the need for a conventional heat source heater. The number of parts is reduced, and the shape memory alloy wire used as the drive source is used in the form of a wire rather than in the form of a coil as in the past, so the overall thickness of the damper opening/closing device can be designed to be thinner, meeting customer needs. It is possible to construct a low-cost, thin damper opening/closing device that meets the above requirements, and its practical effects are significant.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a damper opening/closing device according to an embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view taken along line A-A in FIG. Figure 4 is a sectional view showing the damper open state of the damper opening/closing device as above;
FIG. 5 is a sectional view of a conventional damper opening/closing device, and FIG. 6 is a control block diagram of the same damper opening/closing device. 1o1...damper opening/closing device, 102...river...
Substrate, 103... Opening, 105... Mark/opening/closing plate, 107... Leaf spring, 109... Shape memory alloy wire, 112... Spindle . Name of agent: Patent attorney Toshio Nakao and one other person
t---Danno? - Opening/closing storage device 102 - Board tOS - Opening part tOS - Opening/closing plate 107 - Plate wiring toq - One shape record, alloy section Fig. 3 //Z''°'' steering wheel Fig. 4 Fig. 5 Figure 6

Claims (1)

[Claims] A board having an opening, an opening/closing plate for opening and closing the opening, a leaf spring for biasing the opening/closing plate in the closing direction, and a leaf spring attached to the back side of the opening/closing plate to fix both ends and prevent temperature changes due to heat generated by electricity. A relatively thin shape memory alloy wire is provided as a driving source that expands and contracts with the accompanying movement, and a spindle is provided, one end of which abuts near the center of the shape memory alloy wire, and the other end of which penetrates the substrate and abuts the opening/closing plate. Features a damper opening/closing device.